Soft, flexible barbed wires are best for craft use.
Almost any material can be turned into a clever craft, and these days traditional crafting materials such as cloth and wood are frequently taking a back burner to found or nontraditional materials. A string of barbed wire can easily be turned into wreaths, picture frames, key hooks or other decorative objects. Make sure that your barbed wire has not had prolonged contact with dirt, as tetanus might be a risk.
Wreaths
Fashion a few coils of barbed wire roughly 18 to 24 inches in diameter; you now have the basic form of a wreath. Using fake flowers with flexible stems -- sunflowers or roses are easy to find -- bind the coils into place by winding the stems tightly around the wire. For a cowboy theme, affix a straw raffia bow to the top of the wreath or pin a small doll-sized cowboy hat; wooden or metal cow skull accent pieces can sometimes be found at craft stores, you could tie or glue them to the bottom of the wreath.
Key Hooks
If you only have a short length of barbed wire, all you need to turn the wire into a craft is a pair of thick gloves, a printer and a pair of pliers. Print simple shape outlines, often available as free clip art. Using these images as guides, bend the wire to fit the outlines, beginning at the center of the shape's bottom. Crescent moons, stars and cowboy boots are easy beginner shapes. Once you finish the shape, measure roughly 5 inches of excess barbed wire and cut off the remainder with wire-cutters. Bend this new 'tail' to form a vertical line from the bottom of the shape. Curl the tail up into a hook-like shape. The finished project may easily be hung from nails and pegs.
Picture Frames
Purchase a simple, unfinished wooden picture frame. Larger frames are better suited to this craft. Use the point of a nail to make fine scratches along the grain and tap the head and back of a hammer against the wood at random intervals to make indentations. Using a benzomatic lighter, follow the line of the wood grain with the flame, without lingering more than a second in any one area; this should darken just the highest points of the grain, increasing the weathered look. Cut six strands of barbed wire, each roughly 1 inch shorter than the four sides of the frame, and using U-shaped nail staples, nail them roughly to the center of the frame. If your frame is broad enough, you may also bend your barbed wire into shapes, which can then be stapled into the frame. Apply one to three coats of varnish.
Decorative Spheres
Begin by stapling one end of a flexible gauge of barbed wire into a baseball, and wind the barbed wire around the ball, adding staples roughly every 6 inches until you have added 10 staples -- all the while attempting to cover as much surface area as possible of the ball. Continue winding the barbed wire until none of the baseball is visible. Cut the barbed wire, and use a staple to bind it back to the surface of the baseball, tucking the end into the lower layers. This decorative sphere may also be spray-painted or varnished.
