Jewelry Making

Hi there Jewelry Makers! Just wanted to let you know about a few upcoming changes in the next couple of months. In the past, I’ve often delayed posting until I had time to write up a truly informative (and sometimes rather long) article, product review or DIY jewelry shop review.

I’m going to start mixing in some shorter posts in the future that will just give a really brief overview of the topic or product, hopefully with links so that you can get delve into it more if you choose. But hopefully, this will mean more frequent posts as well since right now there is usually about 1-2 weeks between new material. I’m still going to attempt to put up tutorials and those WILL be very in-depth as usual. Those have been extremely popular so they aren’t going away. The Mailbag is also going to continue to be addressed, so keep sending in your questions.

In addition, you might notice some design changes in the next few weeks. Hopefully, we won’t have to take the website down for very long, if at all. But if you try and access pages (especially late at night) and you get errors or “updating” messages, then rest assured it’ll soon be corrected in the morning.

Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Jewelry Making @ Bloglander

Digging through the mailbag again, and this question popped out. I’ve been actually trying to work up a tutorial with several ways to make your own jump rings, but I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Actually, the real reason is I haven’t perfected that technique either!

From the Bloglander Jewelry Making Mailbag:

Brenda M. writes: “I would like to know if 18 gauge wire, not silver, is strong enough to make jump rings out of? Thanks!”

Bloglander Jewelry Making says: As far as I know, it should be fine. In fact I think many times that base metal wire might even be more rigid than full soft or half hard silver wire. The base metal is often more brittle, though. As far as gauge size goes, I’ve made it with anything smaller than 22 gauge.

One issue with base metal is that the jump ring “ends” may be sharp when cut, and I don’t know if it’s as easy to file down base metal as it is silver. I haven’t tried filing either (it might not even be necessary to file it if the wire isn’t cut at such an acute angle) so I might be wrong about this.

I suppose it would also depend upon the application and whether the jump ring is required to support stress or force. For example, for use in earrings you could get away pretty thin wire. For chunky necklaces, however, I wouldn’t use really thin wire. Actually, a bigger concern might be the fact that the jump rings aren’t soldered so you have a chance of the connector slipping out through the opening if they aren’t closed correctly (refer to this article on opening and closing jump rings).

Depending on the application, it may be worth it just to buy them if you need the quality to be consistent. Above are store-bought jump rings, nickel plated base metal on left, silver on right. For making the jump rings, I know Beadalon sells a really simple device for it that’s about $10. It has 4 metal mandrells for wrapping wire around, and a plastic doohickey base for winding it. Try Rings & Things for more info.

Here’s another jewelry making competition that I had forgotten to post about this past spring. But I guess that means that now you have a good amount of time to prepare for entering next year’s event, which is due April 1, 2007. Time to get crackin’!

Actually, this contest is called the Jewelry Arts Awards and is presented by the Lapidary Journal. Although it’s open to any jewelry designers, to me it seems like the majority of the featured winners are pretty serious about the craft. I dunno if you’d be interested in this if you’re just beading at home!

Regardless, the winners were pretty amazing. There are 6 different categories you can enter under: Bracelets, Earrings, Pendants/Necklaces, Pins/Brooches, Rings and Miscellaneous Jewelry. The entry fee is $25 and you need to submit a slide or photographic image of your piece of jewelry. They judge it based on overall design, visual appeal, originality and execution.

There are some really beautiful and amazing pieces that have been featured as winners in past contests, so even if you don’t enter it’s cool to see what the pros are submitting.

Visit this page of the Lapidary Journal site for more info.

I came across some elegant jewelry through Style Bakery the other day. Carrie Schafer of Original Hardware creates beautiful necklaces, earrings and bracelets characterized by earthy colors and textures. Taking much of her inspiration from nature and travels abroad, the Colorado-based artist uses rustic handmade silver paired with warm-colored precious stones like carnelian, smokey quartz and jade in her pieces.

I especially like her use of hand-dyed chocolate colored silk and leather to compliment the natural colors of the stones and oxidized silver pieces. Another common design touch in her work includes the use of loops and ovals of silver with gemstones hanging within. Carrie is all about the “road less traveled” and that’s clearly reflected in her design… here’s a blurb from her website:

My design philosophy is simple: make pieces that reflect the strength, beauty and individuality of its wearer… I like to make pieces that are off-the-beaten path and incorporate the cultures and colors of the exotic places I’ve travelled.

Continue reading “Original Hardware” …

More mail for today. This one is actually something that I’ve been interested in figuring out as well:

From the Bloglander Jewelry Making Mailbag:

Don P. writes: “Hi, I’m trying to find ‘blank’ adjustable finger rings. I’d like to glue unmatched old earrings to these bands to make unusual finger rings. I’m having trouble finding these plain adjustable bands. Could you direct me? Thanks.”

Bloglander Jewelry Making says: We haven’t really used these adjustable ring blanks in making rings as of yet, though we’ve always been interested in giving a shot one of these days. Up until this point we’ve only tried making ring blanks out of wrapped silver or basemetal wire (this might be an upcoming tutorial). But we’d always wondered if there were options for times when you just want to glue some pieces on the top of a ring.

I believe that there are 2 types of ring blanks commonly sold, adjustable ring blanks with a pad and adjustable ring blanks with loops (often known as Charm Rings?) I did a quick lookup on Rings n Things and found the two items pictured at left that might fit the bill for you. You may want to take a look at other jewelry resellers and compare prices and styles.

The first (pictured on the left) are called Adjustable Glue-On Finger Rings and feature a round textured 1cm flat pad on which you can glue stuff. The ring itself adjusts size as well. The only thing is that there are only base metal or silver/gold plated ring blanks.

The other ones are called Adjustable Finger Rings with Loops and these come with 1 or 3 loops connected to the band. They are adjustable as well, except for the sterling silver one which is not. These are also called Charm Rings because you can just attach charms directly to the loops.

I’m not sure if the above links will work since they’re CGI based… if not, try go to the Rings n Things website and navigate into “Our Products” -> “Specialty Findings” -> “Finger Rings”.

Whew, I’ve FINALLY got a new article up. Lately, I haven’t had any time at all to devote to these tutorials. They take up an immense amount of time to photograph and write. But I figured it was about time for a new one, and plus this tutorial serves as a “Mailbag” answer for several similar questions that have come in. (A quick note: I’ve also gotten a hold of a new camera so the pictures are going to be “off” for a bit until the functionality is learned.)

Basically, to paraphrase the question asked by 3 readers so far:

How do you connect a closed ring jewelry clasp to a length of cable type footage jewelry chain?

We actually wrestled with this one, trying many different ways. In the end, the method that we use most frequently is outlined in the tutorial below. We basically use a wirewrapped accent bead to connect any two closed loop metal pieces. I hope this helps out the readers who wrote in to ask this question… sorry this answer comes so late.

Attaching Chain to Clasps with Wirewrap Accents

Billed as “Jewelry With Soul”, Pieces of a Girl is run by Lizzy Carter who lives in the New England area. Although she does make a seasonal line of jewelry that you can order straight from her website, a big focus of her site involves custom designs on commission. You basically contact her to set a price range and other parameters such as the desired look and style, and the design progresses from there.

The custom pieces also get the full star treatment as far as packaging goes. Items over $100 come in an elaborate box along with a full set of story cards - these include custom greetings and sentiments that are behind the actual jewelry which are sure to tickle the fancy of the lucky recipient of the item.

Her seasonal line for Fall 2006 includes a beautiful assortment of necklaces, pendants, earrings and bracelets. I feel like her pieces have a lighter, airy touch to them.

Here’s a little bit about Lizzy, from the Pieces Of A Girl website:

lizzy carter is an artist, entrepreneur and texture junky. she launched pieces of a girl in 2002 after eight months of strategic planning and a lifetime of daydreaming about a career made from her own creativity. she has more than 1,000 pieces of signature custom jewelry to her credit, and her collections are available in exclusive boutiques nationwide…

Continue reading “Pieces Of A Girl” …

Ok, I have to admit that I was a little slow posting about this contest. It was on my calendar but I forgot to write about it until today, which is only a few days before the deadline. Well, consider it a heads up for next year’s competition.

This is the annual Saul Bell Design Award design contest which was created in honor of the Rio Grande founder in 2000. From the website:

This competition honors the spirit of Saul Bell and his life’s work. It is our hope that his influence will continue to inspire and enlighten jewelers everywhere… Designers are encouraged to unleash their imagination within any of several categories and push the boundaries of jewelry design.

I have to warn you that the jewelry designs that are entered in this competition tend to be rather elaborate; I have a feeling it’s geared more toward the seasoned designer rather than most of us who are either just starting out or making jewelry for fun.

However, that’s not to say that you can’t win with simpler strung necklaces. The necklace shown at right by Mary Smith of Beaded Jewelry by Design is called “Fall Leaf Necklace” and won First Place for the Beads category in 2006.

In addition, the $45 entry fee per item isn’t that prohibitive. But like I said, you’ve only got a few days left to enter. The entry form is due September 22. But maybe you can start on a masterpiece now to enter next year…

Also, the prizes are certainly nothing to sneeze about. The overall Grand prize nets a $10,000 gift cert at Rio Grande. There are four first places for each of the 4 other categories where you can win $2500, and five 2nd places that are worth $1000. All of the winners get their designs featured in Rio Grande’s publicity campaigns.

Visit the website for the Saul Bell Award Competition for more info.

I came across some rather nice jewelry the other day at Ornamental Things (I’ve since forgotten how I found the site, but I think it was from Indieshopping).

Designer Natalie Tischler has only been selling her jewelry since 2004, but has already made a big splash with her extremely playful bracelets, necklaces and earrings. She also offers a number of interesting cameo rings.

A little bit about Natalie, from the Ornamental Things website:

… The thing I like most about jewelry is its sentimental nature. If you think about it, every woman has some piece of jewelry which has special meaning to her - a necklace from a sweetheart, a bracelet that was a gift from a best friend, an heirloom from her grandmother. I strive to create pieces that are stylish but also classic enough to be worn forever - jewelry with soul and meaning. I love to think that something I create will hold a special meaning for someone in the future.

One of her signature products are her rather eclectic bracelets, many of which are one-of-a-kind creations. They are characterized by the use of dangles and trinkets of many different shapes and colors. I picked this unique Red and Yellow Explosion bracelet to show here, which includes vibrantly colored vintage beads and metal stars and hearts. Very nice complementary color choices here, and the overall design actually works surprisingly well without seeming overly “muddied” by too many trinkets.

Continue reading “Ornamental Things” …

The latest jewelry poll held a big surprise for me. We asked readers what their favorite type of glass beads were. Admittedly, there are always only 4 choices in our polls so I’m sure many other different types of glass beads were represented. But anyhow, the winner was Lampwork Beads.

Here are the complete results:

I fully expected Czech Pressed Beads to come out by far on top as far as the “average” jewelry makers who mostly do beading were concerned. This is because they aren’t super expensive, and have a lot more consistency in quality and tend to be more “refined” in look than just your ordinary cheaper glass beads from Michaels or Joann.

Granted, at 171 votes the Czech beads nearly tied Lampwork’s 181 votes. Seed Beads were just about where I expected they’d be in third place with 102 votes - it’s extremely useful to have several hanks of various colors around at all times, but I don’t think they’re anything to write home about for appearance. But I’m sure some jewelry designers who wake those wonderful woven seed bead creations are going to beg to differ!

Well, I gotta admit that a lot of those Lampwork beads are indeed gorgeous. I actually confused everything by throwing in “Furnace Glass” into the mix which is sort of related to lampwork. But I believe that Furnace Glass is meant to refer to those beads that look like candy or licorice. They are made using long thin rods of glass that are melted and fused together and then cut into chunks.

Whereas with Lampworking, they actually may add other colored glass to the surface of the existing glass bead in order to create vibrant designs. I think that’s the difference, but again correct me if I’m wrong on that. Anyhow, Furnace Glass brought up the rear with only 57 votes. I still like these beads that look like colorful candy pieces quite a bit, and it’s evident some of you do too!

Our next poll asks what your favorite gemstone shape is. Again, I only have the four slots for my poll, so I’ve combined several of the shapes together.