jewelry making Archives - Page 2 of 3

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

DIY Leather Bracelet

December 18, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I spent eight hours at the hospital waiting for a procedure to be done on one of my family members.Hospital waiting rooms. Quite possibly one of the most nerve-racking places for me on the planet. As a highly sensitive person, I try really hard not to soak up what’s going on around me (or else I might not get out of bed. Ever.). Yesterday’s group wasn’t too bad. But, my mom said, bring something for us to work on…so I did.

Leather cuffs from LeathercordUSA.com to doodle on. It was the perfect waiting room craft.We used Sakura markers–Pen-Touch in gold, black and white. We like the extra fine and fine tip ones.This is my moms that I doodled on top of with the black.

I made the black and gold one (took me about five minutes).

The end verdict was, we want to make more for ourselves and think this would be a great teen craft. I even whipped up a slide show while I was in that waiting room–let me know if you like it!

On an end note, the doc was really happy with the procedure so we are feeling blessed. I hope you like this tutorial!

Filed Under: Jewelry, Leather

New Kids Jewelry Craft Videos Available Now!

December 9, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

You guys know I have a passion for teaching children how to make things–jewelry especially because I started making it in sixth grade! That was practically yesterday (cough-cough, eye roll).

I’m excited to announce one of my new videos with Interweave called Rainy Day Projects: Bead Crafts with Kids. These videos take you step by step how to make three projects as well as give you ideas for choosing materials and avoiding craft fails. Even though the projects are geared towards kids, I think you might want to make a couple of the projects yourself! Macrame bracelets with buttons, hammered pendants, and rubber band and bead bracelets.

We all know the pressures that kids are under these days and I always think it’s a good idea to encourage making things with their hands. Allowing children to be creative, make their own color choices in a positive environment also helps boost their self-esteem. It’s good for everyone. I could go on, but I’ll get off my soap box here.I hope you’ll check it out at the Interweave Store here. Thanks in advance 😉

Filed Under: Beads, Kids Arts and Crafts, Tutorials

Katie Hacker and Artistic Wire Braid and Flat Wire

September 30, 2015 By candiecooper 4 Comments

This post brought to you by the Beadalon crew!Welcome to day 3 of the party where we visit with Miss Kaaaatie Hacker! Good ol' Katie Hacker at the Beadalon tent sale If you’ve been in the DIY jewelry world for any length of time, I’m positive you know Katie. She’s a good egg and one of my favorite people. She also hosts the popular television show, Beads, Baubles, and Jewels on PBS. Katie is the author of many jewelry making books and has been on the Beadalon design team for years. Needless to say, she is a pillar in the DIY jewelry making community and I’m honored to call her a friend.For the tent sale, Katie was showing off Artistic Wire in braid (above) and flat versions (below).Both wires come in multiple metal finishes. The wire is super sturdy so it holds and shapes beautifully. I especially love hammering it. Didn’t I mention yesterday on the blog that I wanted to hammer some metal links? It might be my next favorite technique next to fringe….if fringe were a technique that is.The wire wraps easily and you can use regular round nose pliers to make loops at the end of it. But! Have you seen Beadalon’s large bail making pliers? They have a consistent cylinder tip vs conical. Handy.When you have your piece formed, you can wrap it with more wire and the like. This will make it even more sturdy and add a little texture to the smooth surface.

I love texture.This is the class that Katie taught at the tent sale. She is masterful at designing projects that look like it took hours to make, but you could make in an evening. I love that kind of instant gratification.Did I mention all the classes were $25 at the tent sale?!? And it included all the supplies and then some!Katie and I flew out to Pensylvania together and first stop…Michaels Craft store for some last minute supplies (and a few treats for ourselves).

Enter the giveaway below for some surprise Beadalon swag! I’m picking 4 winners this time. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Tutorials

DIY Fringe Earrings

September 14, 2015 By candiecooper 7 Comments

This post brought to you by BEADALON.J-Lo called….she wants her earrings back.

Ah, fringe.

You guys know I’m addicted right?Here’s the “gateway” finding: Beadalon slide connectors. I think it started with the Statement bracelets I made awhile back. These earrings have been on my brain since March and I finally finished them.I’m using cup chain and ball chain for the fringe and to spice it up, I’ve added an arrow charm to the center. You’ll need some cup chain connectors in the appropriate size.Set the last link of cup chain down in the finding and roll the prongs over with Beadalon’s sparkly chain nose pliers. The tapered end of the plier is awesome for working with tiny parts.Now you can connect your arrow charm.I found several art pieces with this arrow quote on the internet with no source but really loved the message.

From my experiences, it’s true. For me, the hard part is remembering to focus and aim when you’re in the thick of it. It’s something I really have to practice and be mindful about.

Moving on…Now, you can start sliding in your random bits of chain, trimming as you go with wire cutters.Before I forget, these slide connectors come in 3 different widths so you can simplify these if you like.Roll the cap on the slide connector closed, pushing it against the table top to make sure it’s secure.Now, we are to the finish line. Open the loop on your ear wire from side to side and connect the loop on the slide connector.
Close the loop with the chain nose pliers.Check out my book, Earringology, for more fun ideas!

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Tutorials

Easy Leather Jewelry

July 30, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.What’s a girl to do with a pile of delicious flat leather braid that she brought back from her visit to LeatherCord USA headquarters? Make hot bracelets. That’s what.
In this post we are climbing on the gray and gold fashion jewerly train to make this slick bracelet. Like it? You’re really going to like it when you see how easy it goes together.
Here are the basic supplies needed: razor blade, gold Glue and Go magnetic clasp, 9 strand braid in natural gray, and Locktite adhesive. LeathercordUSA.com is a one stop shop for the supplies (sans blade). This is the 9 and 5 strand flat braid. You can use this clasp with the 5 strand braid. If you’re shopping the LCUSA site, look at the bottom of the page for the product dimensions to help with matching clasps and cords.
The bracelet is so easy to make, I feel guilty! Grab your Locktite adhesive for leather and metal joining. Put a bead of glue along the backside edge of the leather braid.
Slide it in one side of the metal clasp. The braid and clasp are off in size by 1mm, but it doesn’t matter because the braid can “smoosh” a little to fit.
I stuck this shot in for a detail of the clasp. It’s pretty. Not too shiny and just the right amount of texture for a great designer look.Check the fit of the bracelet and then cut with a fresh razor blade. Do not use the one that has scraped windows with a lot of paint on them during a rennovation project just because it’s near by. Stop. Get up. And go get a fresh blade. I might be talking to myself here.

A note of safety: Carefully dispose of razor blades or store in a safe place…for obvious reasons.
Put a line of glue on the back edge of the leather and slide it into the other side of the magnetic clasp. Guess what?
We’re done.
Now do you see why I feel guilty?

Let the adhesive sit up according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Chic in gray and gold or brown and silver…
Are you making Christmas gifts this year? Need an idea for how to make some extra cash? This is it.

LeatherCord USA for the goods

Filed Under: Jewelry, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Make Sparkly Earrings with Stone Sett

January 1, 2015 By candiecooper 2 Comments

This post brought to you by Beadaon!

This is where it all started–the earrings Katherine Heigl was wearing on her new show, State of Affairs. I got completely distracted by the sweet simplicity of them. Does this happen to you? They were really eye catching and reminded of Beadalon’s new findings called, Stone Sett.

Stone Sett findings make it easy to set stones and CZ drops like these.

The settings come in a ton of different shapes so you can set pretty much whatever you like. Beadalon also has stunning cubic zirconia drops to fit in the settings. Ooo la la! That’s what I used to make my earrings.

Each setting will say what size CZ drop you can use in it on the back of the package to make life easy (and fool proof sparkly earrings).

These are some of the Beadalon findings I used to make the earrings above. Super easy!

Each of the findings have a clear spot where the CZ drop sits.

Then, use chain nose pliers to GENTLY squeeze the setting closed. The. End.

Ok, not really.

Now it’s time to connect your heart out. Use chains, jump rings and whatever your heart desires to construct the earrings. It can be as simple as hanging the drops on a pair of kidney shaped ear wires like this!

Done and done! How do ya like them apples?!