DIY jewelry Archives - Page 2 of 2

What in the Wire?! Beading wire explained

May 11, 2016 By candiecooper 53 Comments

This post brought to you by Beadalon.com. Thanks Beadalon for sponsoring this post and helping me to share my love of DIY jewelry making.It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe.

Well….the jewelry making universe anyway.

Beading wire.

This is nylon coated beading wire we are talking about. It’s flexible and used for stringing beads of all shapes and sizes. Beading wire is not used for wire wrapping stones. That’s a common confusion I’ve found.

There are so many different ones available and it can get really confusing. That’s why I created this post to help you understand the different types of beading wires used in jewelry making.
7 strand, 19 strand, this diameter, that diameter, but what if I’m stringing chunky gemstones or making an illusion necklace? So many jewelry design ideas, but where to start?

The first thing I ask myself is what am I stringing? Seed beads or heavy gemstones? I pulled this image from the Beadalon website so you can see what wires are good for what beads.You can click on this image to make it bigger. From left to right:

Virtual size is the thickness of the wire.

Wire diameter is just that–I usually speak in millimeters here on the blog (i.e. .018)

Strand count is how many tiny wires are twisted together to make the single wire. More strands equal more flexibility.

More wire diameters–those are simply recommendations for the type of bead you are stringing. For example, Beadalon recommends .010 diameter wire for seed beads.

Before I forget–did you know Beadalon wire is made right here in the USA?! I love that so much.

Ninety percent of my jewelry uses 49 strand beading wire because it’s my fave if you can’t tell. It’s also the most expensive. And while I get mine for pretty much free from Beadalon–I’d still use this or 19 strand in my jewelry projects because I want it to last. You can see I have a few different diameters here.

If you’re just getting into this DIY jewelry making world I suggest starting with 49 or 19 strand .018 mm diameter. It’s a great all-purpose choice for your first jewelry making projects.Beadalon wire also comes in a huge array of colors from neutrals like these to ones found in the rainbow. You can shop their site to see all of them.Lastly, one really important thing to pay attention to on the package is what size crimp bead or tube to use with that particular beading wire. Crimps secure the clasp and beads to the wire in DIY jewelry. See the #1 or #2? These numbers vary according to the wire diameter. There are #3 and #4 crimps as well. If you would use those with this wire, your piece would most likely fall apart because they are too big for this wire.I hope this post has solved some of the mystery. The more you make, the more you learn…sometimes the hard way, I’ve found! Haha!

Special thanks again to Beadalon for keeping me locked and loaded on beading wire and sponsoring this post.

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry

Now Watch Me Whip…This Wire Pendant Up

February 26, 2016 By candiecooper 6 Comments

This post brought to you by Beadalon.com–maker of jewelry findings in all types and metal colors.
Remember that pendant I made a couple weeks ago with the wire piece from the hardware store?

Meet it’s new BFF.

DIY bead wrapped horn pendant. The idea of wearing these chains together was a coincidence. I had the first two pendants on when we shot the tutorial. Naturally, I needed this statement horn piece to complete the look.

Can you say, power play?I’m using Beadalon’s new bail making pliers at in this tutorial. More on those later, plus:

Artistic Wire in bronze
Chain
Ergo tools
Flush cutters
Tierra Cast spacer beads
Jesse James Beads Horn pendant
a bead I got randomly in Tucson–it’s handpainted and been in my stash for.ever!

So first, make a loop using the bail making pliers. The thing I like about these pliers is that they are not conical like round nose pliers. This makes it easy to get consistent size loops every….single….time! And that makes me happy!
Loop in the horn pendant.Grab the chain nose pliers and hold the loop while you wrap the extra wire.
String some unique beads…
and make a 90-degree bend just above the last bead.
Use the large section on the bail making pliers and wrap the wire up and around.Now wrap the extra wire above the last bead.
So easy!
Cut away any extra wire with the flush cutters.
Have I ever told you that I think there should be no spacer beads left behind? That’s my philosophy–I think beads look so nice in a spacer bead frame.
Thread the chain through the wire loop.
Determine the length of the necklace that you want, open a link and connect the ends–No clasp needed.That’s all there is to it! Let me know if you decide to try those bail pliers!

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Beads, Tutorials

DIY Painted Leather Cuffs That Will Knock Your Socks Off!

February 15, 2016 By candiecooper 2 Comments

This post brought to you by leathercordUSA.com. Candie Cooper demoing in the LeatherCordUSA booth at the To Bead True Blue All last week, I worked in the leathercord USA booth showing mixed media techniques to use with leather at the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson. Holy cow. I painted cuff after cuff and after each one, I fell a little more in love with the process. These are some of my new friends I made as well as Michelle and Que that work at LCUSA. It is lovely visitors like these that make my job fun. If I didn’t say it at the time–thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by and watching, asking questions and chatting. YOU are my favorite part of these gigs.We were hoppin’ at the LCUSA booth and people were really digging the new metallic gold and silver gecko printed and stitched leather (it really is magical looking–you get lost looking at it). The tassels were also hot sellers!If you do art shows or craft festivals, you know that displaying work can be a challenge. I overheard compliments on the frames of leather over and over in the booth. It really is a great idea.

Now onto some techniques!

If you love artsy jewelry and building up layer after layer (or making artsy messes in my world), I think you’ll find this post right up your ally because I’m going to show you some new ideas on how to paint and embellish leather.

Do you remember that post that was all about painting leather tassels? That’s one of the first leather surfaces I tried adding Ranger Patina paints on. These are a few tassels I splashed some metallic paints on with a stiff bristle brush.

Here’s a peek at my demo area in the leathercord USA booth–there’s a little bit of everything, no doubt!
Remarkably CLEAN and tidy by my standards though. I don’t trust an artist with a clean work surface 😉 Haha.
This is a detail of one of the cuffs. Believe it or not–these take about 10 minutes to create, start to finish. Tracy at Tierra Cast put the rivets on for me (thanks Tracy). I love these simple little details that add so much!

leathercord USA makes the cuffs in all different sizes and finishes. You can see them here.
Que at leathercord USA filmed me painting one. This is me talking in the video. If you like it or have questions, let me know in the comments.

Have fun! (useful supply list at end)

LeatherCord USA cuffs (wholesale order on site or ArtBeads.com has them)

Stencil1 Stencils

Sakura PenTouch gold pens

Ranger Patina paints

Stayz On Ink pad

Leather hole punch

Tierra Cast rivetables

Filed Under: Jewelry, Leather

Lucky Wire Wrapped DIY Pendant

February 10, 2016 By candiecooper 5 Comments

This post is brought to you by BEADALON–makers of great jewelry findings and tools.
This pendant. I’ve worn it every other day since I made it.
This morning I was watching GMA and they were making dinners that cost $5. (or really close if you play your coupon cards right). It’s just as good, right?

Now I bring you the $5 DIY jewelry edition. You ready?
I’m using a dollar strand of beads, Beadalon’s antique brass chain, a retainer ring from the hardware store (look for it in the washer/bolt section of the store), 20g. antique brass colored Artistic Wire, a couple jump rings and that’s all.
String a row of 20 to 25 beads onto the Artistic Wire. It’s definitely better to have more so you can wrap your heart out.
Artistic Wire for jewelry making and crafts comes in every color under the rainbow. If you’re making this project with tweens, I would work with 22g. vs. the 20g. so it’s extra easy to wrap.
Here’s a closer peek at the retainer ring. This thing is made of steel so you’ll need to rub it with some beeswax or spray it with a lacquer so it doesn’t rust–I learned this from the master of steel wrangling, Brenda Schweder.

Secure your wire with a couple wraps.
Slide a bead next to the retainer ring and make a full wrap.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Each bead is separated with a full wrap of wire to help with spacing.
Anchor the wire the same as when we started with a few wraps. This is the back side of the pendant.
Use jump rings to attach the pendant to the chain.Boom.
Donesies.

A little design tip after wearing this necklace a few thousand times. Leaving it long is awesome, but if it’s too long, you can make an overhand knot so it hangs shorter–like we used to with super long strands of pearls found in grandma’s closet.
I don’t know about you, but we are in the thick of winter and I need all the instant gratification I can get. This necklace fits the bill.

Until next time, stay warm and visit Beadalon.com for the goods!

Filed Under: Bead Love, Jewelry, Tutorials

Whipped Buttercream Frosting Leather Jewelry Idea

January 22, 2016 By candiecooper 2 Comments

This post is brought to you by LeatherCordUSA.com.

Leather Cord USA sent a box of goodies recently with all kinds of color palette ideas for the next few months. Sign up for their newsletter to get inspiration like this delivered right to your inbox (the sign-up box is at the bottom of their home page).

January’s pallet is all about butter and mushroom colors. I love both.

Hungry yet? Me too.

Mixing and matching the leathers, I started seeing this color combination everywhere. On bananas, when the sun hits the porch walls just right, and in this jar of crystals I’ve had on my shelf for years.This is my swirl of favorites. Yum. Swirl. This is the moment I saw buttercream frosting. Paging Cinnabon. Come in Cinnabon. Did I mention I’m trying to get off the bread and carbs? That’s another story for another day.

I’m only using the round leather cords from LeatherCord USA in 1 and 1.5mm diameters for these projects. This is the simplicity that I love when it comes to using leather in jewelry making. Pick your favorite colors and go!
The first idea I had was to make some earrings using those funky fold over end findings (get them at Hobby Lobby) and delicate shell bead dangles.Simply cut your leather so one piece is 3 and one is 3.5 inches long, string some beads and set the ends inside the finding. Use chain nose pliers to roll the ends over. Connect to ear wires and add beaded dangles. I’ve ironed out the kinks so I think you can knock these out in 30 minutes.The second idea I want to share uses the super skinny macaroni-sh shaped beads strung onto the leather to make a bracelet (also from Hobby Lobby). I really loved how this instantly gave it a chic feel. Cut the leather at an angle so it nestles nicely in the LeatherCord USA Glue and Go end finding (see foreground).Use Loctite gel to glue it in one end. Check the fit and make adjustments. Glue the second side.

Tip: Leave one or two strands out and use a toothpick to pry open a spot or two so you can put them right where you want them. DIY Leather and gold jewelry making idea using leathercordusa.com leather That’s really all there is to it. Shout out to my vintage picnic basket for making the perfect surface to shoot this on.
This set is going to get me through winter. Sunny days ahead people!

Check out LeatherCordUSA.com for more beautiful leathers and ideas.

Filed Under: Jewelry, Leather, Tutorials

DIY Elastic Skull Bracelets

November 19, 2013 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Do you ever have an idea that rolls around in your head for a year, but you can never find that extra hour you need to make it? Probably because it was jewelry solely for me. Anyway, that’s exactly what happened with this stack of bracelets. It all started with some gum-ball head skull beads. I wanted to make some Halloween jewelry without it really looking like Halloween jewelry. Know what I mean? No orange and black. No dangling skull charms. Very sneaky. This fancy design worked. People did double takes! My mother said, “Candice, are those skull beads?” “Why yes Mother, they are.” So fun to wear! Make one. Make eight! Don’t over-think the bead order–just string them! I made mine with hefty 1mm diameter beading elastic and Jesse James focal beads between the skulls. Tie the ends of the elastic in a surgeons knot and touch the knot with clear nail polish. Let it dry and go on with your bad self!