1018
... latest entries
|
|
|
|
|
1018
... latest entries
|
|
| Kalypso Feathers Button Bead - Helios Gaia Lentil Bead eBook - Feather Swirl Tutorial - Lucious Leaves Off Mandrel Lampwork Tutorial - Color Me Purple Purples are the second-most frustrating colors to find in the glassy world. At first, you buy all the "mainstream" brands of purple, only to end up with pounds and pounds of glass that is too grey, too red, too blue or just plain ugly. So after years of frustration and wanting to incorporate this color into my sets, I decided to pursue the dream of finding the perfect purple. I'm going to share what I found so you can be judicious in choosing your glass! (And from spending your hard earned money on glass you won't use.) - Etching Bead Caps So since I am about 6 hours short every day of getting everything done that I need to get done, I decided to try something new- incorporate more metal into my big holed beads. I wanted something different, an element that I design, etch, dome and then finish off to my own specifications to create something totally unique. - Striped Disc How To Adding stripes to your repertoire (I love that word) of skills can add dimension to your work. Since all glass wants to be round, the symmetry of the lines offers a nice contrast to all of that “roundness”. And you can do it- you can coax the glass into uniform stripes, it just takes a little bit of doing. There are a couple of ways of creating geometric stripes in your beads, both work beautifully, and each offers a different look. - Boro Clips Tutorial First I make my base bead - usually out of clear 3 mm rod. Here I'm making a thin tube shape as the core of my bead. Once you have the basic shape made from clear glass, encase the bead with your background colour. In this example I used Agua Azul. - Cabachon / Ring Topper If, like us, you have cabochon mandrels gathering dust in the corner of your workroom, this tutorial is a fun alternative to the conventional cab and can be mounted as earrings, in silver brooch mounts or as fun ring toppers. - Double Strand Seed Bead and Jump Ring Bracelet All measurements and quantities are approximate and may vary depending on the materials used. This example is for a bracelet of 7,5" with a beaded section of 6,5". This bracelet can be easily adjusted to fit by adding or removing beads and jump rings. - How to Make an Owl Bead I noticed that owls are really fashionable right now, they're on fabrics, stationery and people are even making owl-shaped beads! I was looking at a heart focal I made and realised the shape would make a great base for a wise old bird. - DIY Copper Wire Wrapped Ring Cut a piece of 20ga round dead soft wire2 ft (61cm) long. Place a 10 mm round bead in the middle of the wire. Bend the wire down as shown. Place the wire with a bead around the ring mandrel mandrel at 0,5 size larger than needed. Wrap the wire around the ring. There is one wire on either side of a bead. - Domino Christmas Ornament Take a regular Domino and turn it over on the blank side. Using Staz-On ink, stamp your image onto the domino. When you use this cute snowman form Holiday Tag Team, he won't fit. But what you can get on the domino looks very cute. - Button Bracelet Tutorial I actually made 3 of these and by the time I got to the third one, I had figured out a few tricks that made it much easier. Perhaps my trial and error will be of help to some of you who are looking to make some cute gifts for Christmas or a birthday. - DIY Knot Chain Bracelet Cut rope in half. Thread both pieces through the bottom link of the chain. Next, set up your workspace by taping the top of your chain, and bottom of one of the pieces of suede rope. Cross the rope on the right over the middle two pieces. - DIY Wire Heart Bracelet First, at one end of the wire, make two rounded humps by wrapping the wire around the thick part of your round nose pliers. Then squeeze the valley in between with the flat nose pliers to create the heart shape. - How to Make Pretty Organza Flowers Today's flowers are made from layers of organza, tulle, and satin and a few pearly beads. These are perfect for a hair clip or a pretty pin for your jacket or purse. Very classy. - How to Crochet a Butterfly My schedule has been too hectic to finish any real projects lately, so I've been getting my crochet fix by whipping up these tiny little butterflies in every color. The trick? Use embroidery floss. It comes in every shade imaginable, it's the perfect thickness for little accessories, and it's cheap. They're perfect for cards, scrapbook pages, hair clips, they'd even be cute on the front of a baby onesie or beanie. - How to Make Miniature Resin Photo Charms How did we do it? First I took jumbo sized popsicle sticks from the 99 cent store and cut them into square pieces. I used a razor to score both sides of the stick first and then actually cut through. This is the best way to cut them without weakening the wood. - Simple Wire Wrapped Ring This is about as "intro" as they come - a basic, simple wire wrapped ring with a single 8mm bead focal. For those of you just getting started with wire jewelry making, this is a terrific way to get your feet wet. With this design, you can create a colorful bit of bling in just a few minutes with a bit of inexpensive 20 or 22 gauge Artistic wire, an 8mm bead, and the necessary tools. I won't admit to how many of these rings are in my jewelry box - but a girl just has to have a ring to match, well, anything! - How to Make Spiral Swan Earrings These don't take that long to make, are pretty simple and make a wonderful pair of earrings. It's a versatile wrap because this can be done with many different types of beads, doesn't require a lot of wire and allows you some room to be creative with either side of the earring. Offering a customer a 'two sided' pair of earrings or a pendant wrapped that way, makes for a bonus reason to buy your jewelry! Plus it allows for you to enjoy both sides of the finished stones. Sometimes, it's hard for me to 'choose the front'. ;) - Earrings Passion a detailed instruction on how to create beautiful wire wrapped earrings made of silver wire and red drop beads - Wire Wrapped Cabochon Locket The following tutorial details the creation process of a Cabochon locket. A fairly advanced level of skill with wire wrapping is assumed, as is practiced familiarity with several techniques, which I feel, to instruct in much detail would be to detract from the overall point of the tutorial. - Simple Wire Wrapped Ring How to make a simple wire wrapped ring. This are basics of wire wrapping, you can add beads and adjust the design to your preferences.The length of 18 ga wires you have to cut, depends on the size of the ring you will make. Enjoy! - Wire Wrapped Cabochon Pendant It requires basic knowledge in wire wrapping and handling with pliers. You can download full sized image from my Photobucket album Pendant tutorial. Feel free to ask if you have any problems with your project, I'll be glad to help you. Enjoy, and please at least say thanks if you download it ;) - Simple Dangle Earrings How to create simple dangle earrings made with wire and czech glass beads. Pictures show every step from start to finish so I didn't add a description. If you have learned the basics of wire wrapping, there should be no problem with finishing the earrings. - Wire Wrapped Necklace This time I made a tutorial for a wire wrapped necklace. You will notice that there are no wire measurements, that's because you can make this necklace in any size you want, just be careful when choosing beads so they wouldn't be too big or too small. - Wire Wrapping 101- an overly detailed account! I use 20 gauge and 26 gauge wire here. Wrap 26 gauge wire around the three support wires. The three wires need to stay flat and parallel. You can use blue painter's tape on either side of where you intend to wrap to hold the wires in place. Trim off the ends ensuring that they are both on the same side of the main support wires. Tap down the ends with your soft jaw pliers. - How to make a Danish Love Knot So, Valentines Day is creeping up on us, but whether you like to celebrate that festival or not, you might find these Danish love knots attractive! I saw a tutorial for making them a while ago, then lost it, and struggled to find it again so I thought I might do one of my own. They are easy to make and I think pretty effective. - Rustic Foldover Pendant This rustic foldover pendant tutorial is an easy two-part project. Here in Part 1, we'll make a simple square pendant from copper, with a bail that's created by folding over a piece of the pendant: - Zen Spiral Hoop Earrings This easy wire hoop earrings tutorial adds a graceful inner spiral that brings extra style and interest to the design. These earrings are super light-weight and comfortable to wear. They're also quick to make - and if you're making them to sell, you can whip up several of them in a short period of time. - Sunshine Leather Cuff I really wanted to experiment with alcohol inks on my new leather cuff. Once I started I just loved the effect that it gave me, but it was calling for a little something more. So I decided to stitch in some Irish waxed linen and use it to attach a Vintaj artisan copper blank. - Using the Sliding Square Knot The sliding square knot is a great way to finish off your cord or twine bracelets. If you're already familiar with a square knot, this video will show you everything you need to tie a sliding square knot. - DIY Macrame Bracelet Growing up by the beach in Southern California, the ability to knot a macrame bracelet was practically a right of passage. Although those days are long behind us, we’ve never forgotten the ever-so-simple square knot technique. This time, however, we’re replacing hemp and wooden beads for more updated elements like colorful nylon cord and glossy metal charms. Happy knotting! - DIY Rope Bracelet First, remove the handles from the bag. Fold one of the handles in half and place it on your work surface, then place the second handle next to it so that the ends are lined up. Place a clothespin near the top. You're going to use the clothespin to hold the handles together so that you can braid them, and the folded handle will make a loop so for your bracelet so you can hook it together. - Summer bracelets DIY So, in case you 're in need of a fun summer project here's a how-to in 16 pictures with a short description below. I could probably have done with less photos - it's just that I had fun taking pictures... - DIY Gold Tube Bracelets I have very vivid memories of walking into a bead store for the first time, almost 15 years ago, and being overwhelmed by the million and ten ideas that filled my mind. I was immediately hooked on the concept of transforming simple and unexpected elements into something beautiful and wearable. - Pendant Necklaces & Glass Magnets The basic idea is pretty simple and you need the following supplies: pretty patterned paper - thicker is a better, flat-bottomed glass marbles - the ones in the floral department at Michael's, E-6000 glue, circular paper punch, strong round magnets - Patina A Rainbow: Colorizing Chain This tutorial we will concentrate on the ever-elusive colorization of chain. I've found a method that works quite well, I hope you enjoy the process! Materials: chain raw brass peanut knurled chn2, chain flattened drawn 21 x 10mm cable raw brass chn07385, Dye oxide patina solutions : I used blue, violet and indigo and verdigris - Stamping on Metal Cut the copper I just used a scrap I had since I am experimenting with this technique. I just randomly stamped the design now I know you can plan it all out and get it just so so and perfect but that"s not me. Sorry. I wondered about annealing the metal but thought that may have made the metal to soft to stamp on. Please always remember the hand should be at the end of the hammer when holding it to get the power from the blow to your object. I only hit once. I loved it. - Standard Cuff Bracelet This tutorial is for a Very Basic Method - one version of making the Standard or Basic Cuff Bracelet. There are many methods to accomplish this project. Explore! Experiment! Adapt! - Wire Scorpion Make one scorpion according to the pictures, then make another in reverse and see the difference in the size and shape of the body. In other words, instead of the "under side" in the photo being the bottom of the scorpion, make that the top side. All other steps are identical. - Make This: Drilled Natural Stone Want to learn how to drill holes in beach stones? Well, I've got good news for you: it's pretty easy and I'd love to tell you how it's done. I've been making this natural stone jewelry for several months with pre-drilled pebbles that I purchased from fellow Etsy artisans. It took a little bit of internet research and guessing to figure out the best way to go about drilling my own, indigenous Wisconsin stones. - DIY Bangles dress up your Wrists Do you ever start a project and then realize how much FUN you are having doing it? I may have found a new career decorating bangle bracelets – that is how much I love it. It started with an order of DIY Bangles and went crazy from there. Now I’m making bangles like there’s no tomorrow, so I’m sharing a few of my recent creations with you. I warn you though, I can’t be responsible for time spent away from your children, husband and work duties to make these. Right now I have ring-around-the-bathtub and I don’t even care. I have such cute bangle bracelets! Here’s how I made these. - How to Recycle Magazines into Jewelry Before you recycle those old magazines, turn some of their pages into pretty coiled pendants. You can make a whole collection of them in no time. A note on glue: After much testing, I've found that my low-temp hot glue gun works well for this project. Since this kind of glue hardens so quickly, I can build my coils in a snap. - Oxidizing with Perma Blue on Copper I love the effects of gun blue on copper! I use Perma Blue, found in the US where ever gun supplies are sold, so check all the sports stores. The chemical name - Selenium Dioxide. I dump it in a jar, use it as is, put the lid on and keep it in the cupboard until next use, alongside my jar of lemon juice/salt for cleaning copper. Not too strong a smell, no need for ventilation or gloves, poison if you drink it but otherwise safe for normal grown-ups. - Washer Pendant How To Wow, where does a week go? I finally had a chance yesterday to make a few more washer pendants and snap some photos along the way. So roll up your sleeves, here goes. - Making a Metal Pendant The first thing I usually start with is a drawing. I draw on the computer making it really easy to try out many layout variations until I achieve just the right one. This drawing then serves as a paper pattern, which I then adhere to the metal with double-sided tape. Using my jeweler’s saw and cutting lubricant, I cut out the outline. A center punch in enclosed areas (in this case the eye and eyebrow) makes divots where I can center my drill bit and drill a hole through which I thread the saw blade. - The Ball Pein Hammer There is a world of difference in ball pein hammers! Because I teach in many places and have met lots of people, I have had an opportunity to try a wide variety of hammers! There are some very important considerations when choosing a hammer. Personal preference is an important factor, but also the styles and qualities of the hammers factor into what makes one hammer more desirable than another. I'll share with you my preferences in ball pein hammers. - Liver of Sulfur Patina Some of the most frequently asked questions I get in classes and online are about oxidizing metal with Liver-of-Sulfur. Getting the patina process down just right is an art in itself and something you can perfect over time with much experimentation. To help you get consistent results, write down what you've done so you can duplicate it in the future. Here are some of my observations and answers to some of the more commonly asked questions. I hope it takes some of the mystery and fear out of using Liver-of-Sulfur. - |
