Using a Wire Guardian to Protect Your Beading Wire

April 17, 2017 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Many of us use beading wire for our projects. My favorite beading wire is from Beadalon and is 49 strands. This is a perfect go-to wire for any project. When the finished piece is something that is going to we worn often you want to make sure to protect the bead wire. By using a wire guardian to protect your beading wire you can lengthen the life of your jewelry.

Spring cleaning was at the top of my list the other week and I was going through my TV projects that I had left over. A little secrete between you and me is that most of the time when I create a design for a TV show the piece is not finished in the back. When the show is over I have a pile of projects that are designed and just shy of being finished and ready to sell or wear. I found this great piece that I designed for kits on JTV with Dakota Stones. Having never finished this piece I wanted to turn it into a great over the head necklace, my favorite.

To finish off the necklace I will be adding some Lipstick Ranch chain to give it the extra length that I want. Rather than just using a regular jump ring to connect my chain I will be using a decorative bail as my connector. Since there will be movement of the beading wire through this connector I will be using a wire guardian to protect the beading wire and extend the life of my necklace.

A wire guardian is a horseshoe shaped finding that had two tunnels at each end and a channel across the top. Your beading wire will go through the tunnel, over the track and back through the other tunnel. Before you attach your wire guardian be sure to add a crimp tube. To find the size crimp tube you need be sure to look at the packaging, it will tell you on the front. If you are new to beading wire you can see my post about choosing the right beading wire that I did for you. Once you string your wire through the wire guardian and your bail then you will crimp your wire as normal.

After I crimped the beading wire to hold the bail on I decided that I wanted to cover the crimp tube to clean up the design a little more. You can use any color crimp cover that you like for your piece. The crimp cover adds finishes the piece off just one step more.

You can see the Facebook Live show that I did showing how to use wire guardians and how I created this project on my Facebook page or below in this post. I always recommend using wire guardians when the piece will be worn often or in a high traffic area, like a bracelet.

Post your pictures on my Facebook page of any projects that you create that use these techniques. Join me each weekday at 2:30pm EST for a Facebook Live video with a new project.

Using a Wire Guardian Facebook Live Video:

Filed Under: Jewelry, Show Notes

Making Baked Marble Jewelry

April 6, 2017 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

“You Crack Me Up”

Making jewelry from cracked marbles is a wonderful way to use found objects that you might not typically think to use in your projects. Baked marble jewelry is a project that you could make with your kids and teach them a little about science in the process. If you take some time to look on Pinterest you can find many projects to make with the baked marbles technique, but today I am going to talk to you about turning them into a beautiful pair of custom earrings.

Baked Marble Jewelry Supplies List:

Marbles (you can get these at the Dollar Tree)
Oven
Baking Pan
Container of ice water
Safety glasses
Glue (E6000)
Bead Caps
Earring Findings
Head pins
Pliers-round nose and chain nose
Bowl of uncooked rice

Before getting started there are a few things that you will need to think about. First, this project is made in the oven at a high temperature and for a solid amount of time. I suggest doing this on a day that isn’t too hot or it will make your house hot too, but it can be done whenever you like. When you pick out your supplies for your baked marble jewelry you will need to look for clear marbles. Opaque marbles will not work well for this project. Due to the nature of the coloring in opaque marbles you won’t be able to see the cracks in the marble, which is what is giving us the uniqueness of the piece. Another tip that I found was to not use the two tone marbles. You can see below how my marbles turned out and I have a few that were multi colored that worked out just fine. Be sure to make a few extra marbles to be sure you have two that you like for your earrings.

Baked Marble Jewelry Directions:

You may be surprised at how easy it is to get the cracked effect in the marble. You will preheat your oven to 500 degrees (F) and then bake the marbles for 20 min. Once you have baked them long enough you will take them out and immediately dunk them into your ice water. As the marbles hit the ice water you will start to hear them crack.

After the marbles have been cracked and cooled you will then be able to assemble them into your earrings, or whatever piece you want to create.

Assembly of Baked Marble Jewelry:

In this tutorial we are talking about making earrings. If you have one marble that you really love and there isn’t a match to make earrings with you could always get one of the cage pendants that I have in stock in my Etsy shop to display the marble. The cage charm will allow you to display your favorite marbles and change them out to match what you are wearing.

For the video tutorial below I made a pair of earrings. In order to attach the marble to earring wires I added a bead cap with glue. Be sure to use E6000 on this project NOT super glue. If you use super glue you run the risk of frosting the marble if you get excess glue on it. Super glue will frost any glass surface once it dries, this will hide the cracked effect that you worked to put into the marble. Before you start glueing your piece together be sure that the marble is completely dry. Any moisture on the marble will not allow the E6000 to adhere securely. One tip about using the E6000, be sure to pull the glue away quickly when you are finished. If you pull it away slowly you will get the strings as you would see if working with hot glue.

Ann Gardan bead caps are one of my favorites and what I really wanted to use in my baked marble jewelry. As I was putting the piece together I noticed that my Ann Gardan bead cap did not give me enough contact with the marble. Without a fairly flush connection (you want as much surface area connection as you can) you run the risk that the marble will come off of the bead cap if stressed. To get more contact between the bead cap and marble I decided to add another bead cap that had better contact first and then stacked the second bead cap on top. Finishing off the earring I used a wrapped loop to keep the stack of beads together.

When choosing your bead cap you will want to test out the size of your head pin. If the head pin is too small it will fall out of your bead cap and you won’t be able to put another in once it is glued. As you test your bead cap and head pin size together if you find that it is too small just add a spacer bead to the head pin before threading it through the bead cap. This will stop it from falling out.

Drying Tip:

After you have glued your piece together you will need to allow the glue to dry for about 12 hours to be sure that it is completely dry. It is tricky to set up a round object to dry without moving the stack of beads on the top. My tip for allowing the pendant to sit up right is to use a bowl of uncooked rice. This will give your marble a nice bed to sit upright as to not move the glued bead cap on the top.

The Facebook Live video posted below will walk you through the creating of the baked marble jewelry that I made today. Please share any items that you make from this technique on my Facebook Page. Like the Facebook page to be notified of what is going on and you will be able to see the Facebook Live Videos. I go live every weekday at 2:30pm EST, unless I am traveling, with a new project idea for you. See you around online!

Filed Under: Jewelry, Show Notes

Join me at the Country Living Fair in Nashville

April 4, 2017 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

At the end of April I will be attending the Country Living Fair to teach two classes. This will be my first time at the event and I can’t wait to get there and see all the artsy goodness! Be sure to head to check out the Country Living Fair website to get the details about the event. There is also a list of all of the classes that they will be offering on their site. I hope to see you there and have you in classes, registration is open now.

Classes:

At the event I will be teaching two beginner classes. Both of my classes will be on Sunday the 23rd. This event is being sponsored by JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts. What this means for you is that all of the workshop supplies will be provided for you in my classes. All you need to bring is yourself and your creativity! Special thanks to JoAnn for sponsoring this event.

My first class is Floral Concho-Pin or Pendant. If you have been following me for a while you will have seen that I wear a similar pin on my jean jacket and in this class I will teach you how to make your own. In this class you will learn how to use a Sizzix machine to easily cut leather and fabric pieces and rivet them together to make a pin or pendant. We will also play with Vintaj Patina paints, beads, chains and more. It’s a good class for beginners or advanced jewelry makers. If you love embellishing you will love this class!

The workshop will last approximately one hour and all the necessary supplies will be provided for your use at the workshop (just bring yourself).

The second class that I will be teaching on April 23rd is Silk Knotting Made Simple. Are you ready to revive that vintage necklace? Or maybe grandma’s pearls? In this class, students will string a unique blend of beads from JoAnn’s then set to knotting.

You will learn how to decorate Vintaj pendants with paints, finish the silk ends, hang a sweet brass pendant and attach to a decorative chain to create a beautiful layering necklace. The knotting process can be a great stress reliever too, I’ve found. To make knotting with silk easier we will use the “Knot a Bead” tool from Beadalon. The workshop will last approximately one hour and all the necessary supplies will be provided for your use at the workshop.

Filed Under: Classes

How to sketch your jewelry designs

February 13, 2017 By candiecooper 1 Comment

In preparation for Bead Fest Santa Fe I have been designing some new classes. The first step that I take when working on class material is the sketching process. I thought that I would share with you how I go through sketching jewelry designs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Show Notes

Hammered Filigree Earrings with Beadalon Chasing Hammer

February 6, 2017 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

On today’s show I showed you how to take simple filigree pieces and make them into something artisan and handmade as hammered filigree earrings. *This video was sponsored by Beadalon but all opinions are my own.*

To complete this project I started with some filigree pieces, you can use any that you find at your local store. I then used ball side of my Beadalon chasing hammer and small bench block to create the texture. You will want to make sure that you have something under the bench block to help dampen the sound. For this project I used a folded up bead mat. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Show Notes

These Boots Were Made for Embellishing

January 27, 2017 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Over the past few days I have been showing you what I am working on for the CHA runway. Today I am showing you more of the boots that I have been working on. All I can say is that the more I work on these boots the more I see that these boots were made for embellishing. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Show Notes

DIY Earring Ideas with Jesse James Beads

January 16, 2017 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Today on the show I wanted to share with you some DIY Earring Ideas using Jesse James Beads. *Jesse James Beads sponsored the show, all opinions are my own*

I made three pairs of earrings today, two that were simple and one that was a chandelier pair. You can see the full video below of how I made each of these pairs.

To start us off I pulled out some chandelier findings, which you can find at Jesse James Beads or in my Etsy shop. I went for a true boho style on this earring and had fun playing with the turquoise and purple colors.

One of the cool things about using chandelier findings is that you can use them as earrings or alone as a necklace pendant. The first thing that I suggest doing is counting the number of spaces you have to see where the true middle is. This allows you to figure out how you want the piece to cascade down. If you have a chandelier finding like the one that I used that has a lot of loops, you can use chain to connect them to lighten the look.

When starting your design think about what you want in the middle, this is the center of the whole piece. When making earrings, any earrings, make sure you count your beads out. Make sure that you have enough to make both sides match. For this project I wanted to use jump rings and the wrapped loop to give it some interest. I also like to mix and match the head pins that I use. I like some that are flat and some that are more decorative, like the ball head pin.

As we worked through the design there were some beads that I wanted to be a little lower. A way to accomplish this is to make the loop larger when doing a wrapped loop or to use multiple jump rings to make the bead hang lower. You can also use jump rings as spacers when you don’t want too many beads close together. I did this on the top ring of the chandelier earrings with the micro tassels.

If I were to sell this pair of chandelier earrings I would make sure to put a little bit of white school glue on the tassels to make sure that they don’t come apart. It will dry clear and you won’t even see it, but you will know it is more secure. A tip when working with multiple colors is to separate the colors with mental findings. This could be with using a metal bead or using the jump rings as I did in this piece.

After making the chandelier earrings I went with two more that were a little more simple to give you some other DIY earring ideas. For the blue pair I used the Lapis connectors from Jesse Jame Beads and cage beads. This was a quick pair of earrings that look super expensive. They are just a great go to pair of earrings.

For the third pair I used some of the drop beads that I had been wanting to use and paired them with the Green Agate Stone Connectors. Again another simple pair that look expensive. All I used was the connector and some head pins.

Bead mixes shown in the video:

Shanghi Nights

Mini Mixes-Midnight Dreamscape

Chinese Dragon Design Mix

Kung Pao Design Mix

Materials List for DIY Earring Ideas:

Beads of choice

Ball Head Pins

Flat Head Pins

Jump rings

Ear Wires

Filed Under: Show Notes

Take A Class with Me in Tucson at To Bead True Blue

January 8, 2017 By candiecooper 8 Comments

So excited to be teaching in Tucson in late January and early February!

Check out the below descriptions. My classes specialize in mixed media techniques and unique connections and a lot of laughs. To top it off all my classes are sponsored so your materials are FREE! Plus I give away a bunch of free stuff thanks to my sponsors.

All tools are provided by Beadalon, but you can bring your own if you like.

Class space is limited to 10 and cost $35 at the Doubletree Hotel. There will be a registration table at the front to help you find the classroom.

Materials kit is free thanks to Beadalon.com, JesseJamesBeads.com, Sizzix and LeatherCordUSA.com. Thank you to these generous, sponsors!

Leave your questions in the comments section. Thanks for your interest in my classes!

Feb. 1 4:30-5:30 BUSINESS Of BEADING: Thinking about or have your own jewelry business? In this class, Candie will share helpful tips for taking good photos, marketing online, selling at craft shows as well as online. You’ll also learn ideas for branding and telling your story so your jewelry shines. This is one of Candie’s most popular classes-don’t miss it!
Each person will leave with a swag bag of jewelry making goodies. Sponsored by Sizzix, Beadalon, and Jesse James Beads.

Feb 3 11-1 Cutting A Concho: Riveted Leather Charm Pendant:
One of her most requested technique how-tos, Candie Cooper will show you how to use the Sizzix Jewelry Studio tool to create an amazing leather and tin concho pendant. You will learn tips for cutting leather, vintage cookie tins and more. Once the layers are cut, you will rive them together and add charms, beads and more. Participants will have the opportunity to string their unique pendant with beautiful beads and wire to create a stunning necklace. Sponsored by Sizzix, LeatherCordUSA.com, Beadalon, and Jesse James Beads.com.

Filed Under: Classes

Into the Woods Tassel Necklace

December 8, 2016 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

In this Facebook Live Video I showed you how to make the Into the Woods Tassel Necklace.
This video was sponsored by Jesse James Beads and Beadalon, all opinions are my own.

In the video I show you how to layer a pendant with a tassel and how to do some basic wire wrapping. Tassels have been a hot trend for a while and something that I love to add into my jewelry. Tassels can be made from a lot of different materials but today I will be showing you a chain tassel.

This necklace features Jesse James Beads’ new collection, Into the Woods. This is a beautiful earthy collection that you could use in so many ways. This necklace could be made with any beads but the Into the Woods collection really gives the piece a unique edge.

Keep reading to see where you can purchase the other supplies for this project.

When you make this project you can select any color pallet that you like. You can try to mix different pallets to get a different look each time with the same technique. If you make this project head over to my Facebook page and post a picture so we can all be inspired! While you are there be sure to turn on the notifications to see the LIVE Facebook videos. There is a new video almost every weekday at 2:30pm EST.

Supplies:

We already talked about the beads needed for this tassel necklace but there are a few other items you will need to finish the project.

You can find wire and chain for this project on Beadalon’s website. If you need a bail making plies to complete the project you can pick up the bail making plier with your Jesse James Beads order or you can see the full selection of jewelry making pilers on Beadalon’s website.

Filed Under: Show Notes

Boho Jacket Pin – DIY Jewelry

December 8, 2016 By candiecooper 2 Comments

Fall is here. Let’s make a pin about it. Bust out your leather scraps….(way more fun than raking leaves). Today we are making a Boho Jacket Pin – DIY Jewelry.

Full disclosure: I work with Sizzix on creative projects like this. All opinions shared in this post are mine.
I’ve got charms, ribbons, chains and more coming out my ears. These things are my love language. It only made sense to add them to this leather pin I created with Sizzix’s Jewelry Studio Tool (see source list at the end of this post).

You can make your pin out of felt, paper and more… This one is layers of leather conchos cut with this die and riveted together with a rivet from Tandy Leather.