Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – October 4th – Getting Reimbursed for Your Scrap Metal

October 4, 2009

Do you work with sterling silver, fine silver or other precious metals? If so, you know that you will always have scrap material left over from your projects.  Did you know that you can save your scraps and send them to Rio Grande to be reimbursed for cash at market price? Here is a link to [...]

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Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – September 27th – Should I Use Dead Soft or Half Hard Wire for Wire Jewelry Making?

September 27, 2009

When learning how to make wire jewelry or experimenting with a new design, use artistic wire or copper wire which is much less expensive than sterling silver or fine silver. When you are ready to make your special creation, dead soft wire is easier to bend and is best for designs that are more free [...]

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Fall/Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers

September 26, 2009

The Fall/Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers by Margie Deeb is here! I just picked up my copy and am very impressed with the incredible colors and gorgeous jewelry designs. It is based on the fashion color report that PANTONE® publishes each season. The color combinations as well as the designs are [...]

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Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – Sep 20th – Using Color Creatively in Jewelry Designs

September 20, 2009

Using color creatively in jewelry designs can dramatically change the look and feel of a piece. For instance, including a small amount of a complimentary color (colors opposite on the color wheel) can add more interest and really bring a design to life. Margie Deeb is the author of “The Beaders Color Palette” and “The [...]

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Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – September 13th – Traveling with Beading Projects

September 13, 2009

An Altoids candy container is a great way to make a beading project portable. It can easily fit in your purse or pocket and there is plenty of room for beads, a needle, thread, and a small pair of scissors or thread cutter. You can even add a container of Thread Heaven (thread conditioner). Line [...]

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How to Use a Rotary Tumbler to Polish Sterling Silver Jewelry

September 8, 2009

A rotary tumbler is a great investment if you make sterling silver or precious metal clay jewelry.  It is the easiest way to bring shine to your silver pieces as long as you are not incorporating soft stones that can scratch such as pearls. Tumbling will also help to work harden the silver. Here are [...]

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How to Make a “Wish” Bracelet

September 7, 2009

Here is a link to a great tutorial on how to make a trendy wish bracelet. Once you complete the bracelet put it on and make a wish.  Leave it on until it falls off.  When that happens your wish will come true http://www.craftbits.com/project/wish-bracelet I’ve also seen these made with various semi precious stone chips.

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Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – September 6th – Using Seed Beads To Fill Gaps

September 6, 2009

If the holes in your beads are too large while stringing, insert one or more seed beads to tighten the gap. You can use a size 15, 11, or even an 8 depending upon the size of the hole in the bead.

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Video on How to Make Fine Silver Ball Earring Wires

September 1, 2009

Here I demonstrate how to make ball earring wires with fine silver using a torch and basic jewelry making tools.

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Jewelry Making Tip of the Week – August 31st – Fishing Line for Beading

August 31, 2009

Fishing line such as Fireline, Powerpro, and Trilene are great for beading! They are very strong and won’t stretch out of shape over time.  I like to use at least 10lb strength but 6lb is fine if you are using smaller, light weight beads that do not have sharp edges. Mono filament is good for [...]

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A Tip on Use of Color in Jewelry Design from Margie Deeb

August 23, 2009

I just took an excellent class with Margie Deeb on the use of color in jewelry design at Beadfest in Valley Forge Pennsylvania. Here she shares a tip with us on how to use a complimentary color to bring a design to life. I really enjoyed meeting Margie. She is a great person and very [...]

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Keeping Your Silver Jewelry Looking Like New

August 7, 2009

I’m sure that we all have a piece of silver jewelry that we would like to wear but it has become tarnished from being exposed to the air over time. It is actually the metal part of the alloy in sterling silver that causes tarnishing since pure silver, just like gold, is resistant to oxidation. [...]

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