Friday, December 14, 2018

Embossed Leather Cuff with Concho Focal

Get the traditional look of tooled leather even if you don't have any leather crafting skills. Tooling leather is the traditional leather technique where you "sculpt" the leather to create patterns. But you can replicate the look even when you don't have any leather crafting skills. And it's as easy as 1,2,3! All you need is an embossing folder and die cutting machine. Team the patterned leather with a concho, filigree and charms and you have a very chic, bohemian leather cuff. Here's a shopping list of the supplies you'll need: SS 1504202 Realeather leather strip Brown 1.5x42” BC786 Realeather Rope Edge Concho T3630-20 20L Snap Setter Kit Embossing folder: Leaves and branches DecoArt Metallic Lustre: Brilliant Turquoise ; Copper Kettle ; Burnished Brass 48mm ornate round brass or antique gold filigree 3 assorted leaf charms in brass and silver Two 4mm brass jump rings One 4mm Silver jump ring Beacon Power Grip Adhesive Tools: Sizzix Big S...
Friday, December 7, 2018

Glowing Red and Gold Christmas Tree Cuff

Add some Christmas cheer to your holiday outfits with this glowing red, gold and silver cuff. Would you believe me if I told you it is made on memory wire?  Finished size: Internal diameter 2 11/16” (67mm) Memory wire is such an under utilised stringing material. It's a great place for beginner jewellery-makers to start, but there's so much more that you can do with it when you get creative, making it an ideal stringing material for advanced jewellery-makers too! This Christmas cuff shows how it can be used to create sculptural pieces that will belie it's humble status as a beginner's stringing material. But the clever thing is, it uses just one technique: hot to turn loops. Read on to see how to make it. Here's what you'll need: 3 22mm red glass Christmas tree beads   44 4mm gold glass pearls 4 4mm red bicones 2 10mm red rondelles 3 silver star beads 10 25mm silver curved tubes 3 50mm silver eye pins 24 gauge silver wire silver br...
Friday, November 30, 2018

How to Make Pendants from Resin Art Overflow

If you've ever created a resin painting, you'll have noticed that the resin flows over the edge of the canvas and onto the table below. As it drips, it pools and creates incredible marbled eddies and flows. Most resin artists just leave it to cure and then discard it. But some of the prettiest pieces of marbled resin jewellery I've made have come from this resin waste. The way the resin drips and flows is unpredictable and the patterns are much more intricate than you could ever create in a bezel so I save any of the larger pieces that I think I can use for other projects. Read on to see how easy it is to turn that waste into some unique pendants. To start with, you'll need some cured resin overflow from a resin project. The overflow I'm using here is from a marbled cheese board. (Check out my class schedule if you'd like to learn how to make these.) You'll also need some bezels . They come as a variety of different jewellery components: pendan...
Thursday, November 15, 2018

Jewellery-Making Basics - How to Turn a PERFECT Loop on Memory Wire

There are a few basic jewellery-making skills that every jewellery maker should master and turning a loop on memory wire is one of them. It seems quite straightforward... until you actually go to do it and end up with a lopsided, half-open loop that small beads slide around or, the unclosed loop catches on your clothes. But this simple trick will change all that and make your memory wire jewellery look really professional. Read on... You'll need: Memory wire Round nose pliers  - this is the style I use. Memory wire shears .  These are absolutely essential .   Memory wire is made of steel and trying to cut it with your regular jewellery wire cutters will destroy the cutting blades. I know this from FIRST-HAND experience!  This is what happened to the blades of my wire cutters when I used them on memory wire.  Eventually, they were unusable even for soft wire. Investing in a pair of memory wire shears is TOTALLY worth the outlay . How to Turn a Perfect Loop in Memory...
Thursday, November 8, 2018

Scalloped Christmas Choker Necklace

Red, green and gold might be the traditional colours at Christmas but why not shake things up and put a modern spin on them? Here, I've swapped the usual emerald green out for a more muted olive tone which works really well with the soft gold dagger beads. The combination of textures, colours and finishes make this Christmas choker a stand out! Here's a shopping list of what you'll need: 1 Red top-drilled marquise bead: 25x10mm ( try these which are similar ) 2 Red faceted top drilled tear drop:13x6mm ( these are similar ) 2  Red Czech dagger bead: 15x5mm 1 10mm Olivine Helix bead 2 7mm Olivine Czech tri-cut rounds 2 4mm Olivine Czech faceted rounds 130 4mm Gold or bronze Haematite tube beads  (or glass bugle beads if you can't find these) 4 15x5mm Gold dagger beads Gold necklace memory wire 22g gold wire 26g gold wire 5 Gold head pins Tools: Chain nose pliers; flat nose pliers, round nose pliers, flush cutters, memory wire shears , ruler Cut ...
Monday, October 15, 2018

Bountiful Harvest Necklace

When summer comes to an end, the leaves begin to fall and the aroma of pumpkin spice fills the air, our thoughts turn to how thankful we are for the many blessings we have. For jewellery makers, our colour palette takes on a change as the sun drenched shades of summer make way for the softer orange, brown and gold tones that radiate feelings of warmth and comfort. This necklace is inspired by the bountiful harvest of late summer and early autumn, featuring beaded cobs of corn in autumnal colours and spicy pumpkin-shaped beads. No need to hide the beautiful leaf clasp at the back.... it deserves to be noticed and sits off to the side where it becomes part of this harvest-inspired design. Strung on soft brown velour tubing and with a collection of warm gold and copper charms to complement the autumnal colours, this is the perfect necklace to wear for Thanksgiving. Here's what you'll need to make this design: Seed beads in transparent gold, pumpkin, orange, green and ...