Extra Pictures for The Rustic Briolette Tutorial

I am posting a few more pictures to clear up the confusion about where the wire goes after you wrap it back up the briolette, hopefully these will help. Good luck and happy wrapping... D.

Wrap to the top of the briolette.



Trim the wire.

Either push the wire against the coils or tuck it under, as long as there are no sharp edges.

Finished.!

Your Wire Choice Can Make or Break a Project!

Dead soft, half hard, wire gauge, half-round or square, the choices are endless so where do you begin when you're choosing a wire for a project? The truth is all wires are not created equal so here's the run down on what you need to know when choosing wire for a project.

Dead soft, half hard or hard are terms used for more expensive wire like gold-filled or sterling silver and describe how flexible and malleable the wire is. Dead soft can be bent easily and withstands much more work, meaning if you make a mistake you can usually undo it and reuse the wire, half-hard is exactly that, less flexible and unfortunately less forgiving. All wire will snap when it's overworked so when you are a beginner, less expensive wire is always preferred.
Craft and less expensive wires come in different gauges but malleability isn't measured so if you don't want to spend a small fortune and come out with a mangled mess then cheap is in. The bottom line is, if a project calls for dead soft wire you can use any wire that is very flexible. If you need half hard then you can manually harden the wire by hammering it. I use a wire whacker because it keeps the shape of the wire and doesn't flatten it.You can check it out here:
http://www.beadaholique.com/p-10984-wire-whacker-wire-hardening-for-wire-wrapping-whack-it.aspx.

Alternately you can  pull a wire through nylon pliers several times to harden it. Usually half-hard wire is preferred if you are making ear wires or scrolls.
Gauge describes the diameter of the wire, the higher the number the smaller the diameter. Gauges can be anywhere from 10, which would be used for a band ring to 32 which is ultra fine and best for wire crochet. The gauges in the middle are more often used by most people. I use 20 to about 26 gauge most often. 20,21 and 22 gauge are all-purpose and great for jump rings, ear wires, wrapped rings and much more. The only downside to this size wire is that they don't always fit through natural gemstone beads, which leads into why I also have, 24 and 26 gauge available for my gemstone bead projects. I've found that any gauge smaller than 26 is just too flimsy for my uses because I don't crochet or bead weave.

Last but not least is wire shape, as well as your standard round wire there is half-round, square, twisted and even triangular. Round is my "go to" wire and what most people use, square or half round is best when working with stones without holes like cabochons and nuggets because it molds to the shape of the stone and is easier to work with. Twisted, is wire that has been twisted for you and is most times half-hard, it's used for decorative techniques. Some people twist their own wire with a pin vise, I prefer to buy the wire already twisted because I'm not an expert at doing it myself.

That concludes wire 101. I know it's not an exhaustive description of everything you'll find out in the beading world but it gives you and idea of what to look for in a wire. One final suggestion, when buying wire for jewelry projects try to avoid wire that has a plastic coating, some colored wires have this type of coating. I don't recommend this type of wire because most times the coating gets damaged and little frayed bits of plastic make the project look terrible.
So good luck and until we meet again happy wire-working.D

Wire-wrapping Cabochons

Just posted a new tutorial on wire wrapping a cabochon. This tutorial is different because it is a slideshow project. Keep in mind that I'm not an expert cabochon wrapper, I just learned lately so if I can learn it so can you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmlxhBLOuCo&feature=youtube_gdata_player


A few added tips on wrapping that I learned along the way:
- if possible use half round or square dead soft wire for the project because it will be much easier to work with. I used round because I didn't have inexpensive square wire to play with.
-use a cabochon with a smooth front( not faceted) and flat back if possible when you are first learning, it will make it easier for you to anchor the wires.
-remember this is a semi-advanced technique so you need patience when trying it and even if you have some wire-working experience you still may find it a bit challenging.I know I did.
-practice,practice, practice and practice some more, the more you do the better you'll get, so good luck and see you soon, D

Twenty Minute Pearl and Wire Earrings: Easy and Quick!

With little more that 3/4 of a foot of wire, two beads and earwires, in twenty minutes or less you can have fabulous earrings. Great for gifts or personal wear, enjoy. D

What you need:

 3/4 foot of half hard wire(more or less if bead is smaller ot larger.) I used 24 gauge.

Two center drilled beads( I used 10 mm coin pearls)

Two ear wires, or post earring finding or whatever you have on hand.

 Regular tools: rosary pliers and wire cutters.

Tip: You can mark your plier tips with a black marker for more consistent loops.

1. Wrap wire around loop once.

2. Grasp wire close to first loop and wrap wire around your pliers toward the center.

3. Grasp wire close to the second loop, wrap the wire around the plier toward the first loop.

4. Thread your bead on the wire. Don't push against the bottom too hard as it may stretch your design out of place.

Tip: for added strength you can hammer the wire to harden it for stability. To prevent marks on your wire and also retain the shape of the design a Wire Whacker http://tinyurl.com/yhqhda9  is a useful tool.

5. Make a standard wrapped loop but again do not press the bead too hard against the bottom wires otherwise it may loose its shape.

6. Trim the wire as close as possible to the wrap and make sure there are not sharp edges.

7. Attach earwires, reshape if necessary and enjoy. D

The Key to Selling Your Jewelry Successfully: Research, Research, Research

When I started selling my jewelry on Ebay I had no idea that I was diving head first into a pool of sharks.  Ebay is one of the toughest markets to sell in because there are always sellers watching and waiting to steal your best-selling designs. It didn't take me long to realize that if I was going to survive I needed to find an edge. That's when I found Research, I admit it may be a bit time consuming but research is the key to success for anyone who sells jewelry anywhere.

The difference between you being a thriving seller and someone who just can't seem to break in, is finding the trends and using that information in your designs.Most buyers are fickle so you always have to be one step ahead and try your best to predict where jewelry is going in the future.

The first place to look is Hollywood. What are the "it" girls wearing? You wouldn't believe how much mileage sellers, including me, got from the Jennifer Aniston leaf necklace from " the Break-up" and the Rhianna, handcuff necklace. Sure after a while the excitement dies but no one really knows how long these trends will be in vogue so you have to ride the wave as long as you can.

Places to find the intel you need:
1. People "Style" edition magazine.
2. In Style magazine (remember these trends are usually 6-8 months ahead of the standard market.)
3. Any websites that cater to current jewelry themes like http://www.emitations.com/ (celebrity jewelry section) and Sundance(http://www.sundancecatalog.com/CATEGORY/Jewelry.html)
4. Bead Style Magazine
5. Fire Mountain gems http://www.firemountaingems.com/fashion-trends/default.asp
6.Kitson  http://shopkitson.com/
7.Any designer who is the "in" designer, for Celebrities, just check out their websites there might be something inspiring.  http://www.meandrojewelry.com/ and  http://www.adinadesign.com/

8. Check out popular movies, and television shows and see what people are wearing. This is where the palm tree necklace from Kate Hudson and the movie Fool's Gold came into play.
Of Course this list is just the beginning, the more you look the more you find. Good luck and happy researching.
D.

How to Make a Double Loop Bail For a Top Drilled Bead

Someone asked me how to make a double loop bail so here is a quick tutorial on how to do just that. D

Tools needed.

1.Dead soft or half hard wire

2.top drilled bead,

3.wire cutters

4.rosary pliers

1. Thread wire through the bead, use appropriate size wire to fit the bead. This is a 24 g dead soft with a 10 mm blue faceted chalcedony bead

2. Bend up one side of the wire as shown in the picture.

3. Bend up the other side of the wire so they are parallel but not crossing.

4. Wrap the wire around the plier tips once to form a single loop. 

5. Slip the loop over the tip of the pliers.

6. Slowly wrap another loop around the plier tips. Do this only once.

7. Grasp the rings in you pliers and begin to wrap.

8. Trim the wire as close to the bead as you can.

9. Carefully squeeze the wire end in place (to stablilize) with the wraps, some people tuck it under, be very gentle otherwise you may damage the bead.

10. If the loop is facing the wrong angle for your design give it a 90 degree twist, again be careful to maintain the shape and wraps.

11. Wear it.

I'm Coming Back!

I have to admit I've been lax with my blog but I am making a promise to do better. So in the future I'll be talking about how to find trends in jewelry so you'll be updated but you'll also be able to get ahead of other sellers if you are selling your pieces. I'll show a few techniques I like and talk about a few products I love, so until then...I'll see you soon. D.

Circular Brick Stitch Lesson

Although I am not a bead weaver as such this is a nice turtorial provided by Beading Daily, you can subscribe to their free newsletter with this link,
http://www.beadingdaily.com/user/CreateUser.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fdefault.aspx
This technique could be done with a 28-30 gauge dead soft wire instead of the beading string. Enjoy! D.

The trickiest part of circular brick stitch is fitting the right number of beads in a flat circle for each concentric round. Don't try to squeeze in too many beads, or the shape may buckle into a ruffle (which is nice only if you want it that way). For a flat circle, spread out your stitches neatly and evenly around the circle

1: Pass through the central bead twice, placing the two thread loops on either side of the bead. The brick-stitched beadwork will attach to these base threads. You want them strong.

2: Always start a row of brick stitch with 2 beads. String beads 1 and 2. Pass under the thread loop and up through the second bead strung. Pull the thread and nudge the beads with your fingers to lie snug to the center bead

3: String bead 3, pass under the thread loop and pass back up through bead 3. Again, nudge the new bead in place and keep your thread tension snug.

         

 
4: Repeat around your center bead, spacing the beads to fit evenly. In this lesson, 8 green beads fit nicely around the center round black bead; string bead 8, pass under the thread loop and back up through bead 8. Pass down into bead 1, under the thread loop, and exit out bead 1 again, ready to start a new row. Continue, starting each new row with 2 beads.