November 2011 - Rings and ThingsRings and Things

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 8 – Ceramic Holiday Cookies Charm Bracelet

November 30, 2011

Me. Want. Cookies! When I was in junior high, one of my mom’s friends actually paid me to make Christmas cookies for her cookie exchange each December. I was thrilled to be earning money. She paid me well, but was still getting an amazing bargain considering how many hours I spent rolling dough and piping frosting.

I still like baking, but chocolate chip is about as fancy as it gets. Detailed little gingerbread houses are a thing of the past – or a thing for jewelry. Check out these adorable little ceramic Christmas cookie beads:

Ceramic cookie houses with Swarovski crystal bicones.

Amongst our rather large selection of hand-painted Peruvian ceramic beads I also found cute little ceramic gift boxes and ornaments:

Presents!

These little guys would make great earrings.

There are a many other cuties available, but I digress. Today’s Christmas jewelry project is a charm bracelet using the cookie beads and sparkly little crystals.

Supplies Needed for Charm Bracelet:

Charm bracelet with toggle clasp

Head pins – you can get away with using shorties, but longer are fine too.

Ceramic cookie beads

4mm Crystal Jam bicone mix (I used Karma Chameleon)

Metal spacer beads

Jump rings

Jewelry-making tool set

This design is a great opportunity to perfect your technique for making simple loops! Simply string beads on a pin, bend wire 90 degrees, trim the wire to about 4mm (1/6th of an inch), grab the very end of the wire with round-nose pliers and loop it back over to touch the base of the wire. The metal spacer beads are decorative, but they also help fill the ceramic bead holes.

The anatomy of a wire loop.

Assembly goes faster if you make a little production line out of it.

Once you have all the dangles made, group them together however you like and attach them to the bracelet using jump rings. It seemed to be missing something, so I added a TierraCast gingerbread man charm and a
fern green bicone drop as an accent near the clasp to finish my easy Christmas cookie charm bracelet.

Can’t catch me!

And now I’m off to find some more cookies – edible ones this time! ~ Cindy

How to make ball-end head pins with a micro torch

November 28, 2011

Little butane torches are sweet, and not just because they are often used to caramelize sugar on fancy desserts. Micro torches are great for a ton of jewelry making techniques – soldering, fusing fine silver, sintering small Art Clay Silver pieces, even enameling. One really fun and easy project for the micro torch is balling up wire to make your own ball-end head pins.

Supplies needed:

Non-plated wire (I’m using fine silver wire. Sterling silver and copper wire also work. Brass, nickel silver, steel and coated craft wires do not.)

Micro torch

Butane (sold at most hardware and general stores)

Cross locking tweezers

Bowl of water

Making DIY head pins is addictive. Using the locking tweezers, simply hold the wire vertically above the bowl of water. Heat the end of the wire with the torch.

As the wire starts to melt, it crawls up the wire. Once you have a good size ball, quench the wire in the water. Ta da!

If you get too ambitious, the ball might get too big and drop off the wire. Not a big deal. The little balls make cute additions to other projects, and the water ensures you’re not burning down the house. A little practice is all it takes to consistently make the balls the same size.

The balled wire also makes nice French hook ear wires. Don’t have a torch? Rings & Things micro torch kit contains everything you need to get started, except the fuel. A book such as Soldering Made Simple: Easy techniques for the kitchen-table jeweler or Melissa Manley’s Jewelry Lab will provide loads of inspiration and how-tos for more complicated projects that take full advantage of your new tool’s powers! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 7 – Faux Stained Glass Soldered Ornaments

November 23, 2011

Capture the look of snow falling – even if it is raining outside!

Have you heard of Tim Holtz? If you make jewelry, perhaps not. However, he is wildly popular and famous amongst scrapbookers or mixed-media artists. Rings & Things started carrying some of his Idea-ology trinkets and components because they make fun additions to mixed-media designs (both jewelry and jewelry displays!). And then we added his line of alcohol inks because they can be used to colorize metal and other non-porous surfaces. And now we’ve added his acrylic paint dabbers. I watched his video on how to use the paint dabbers to create a resist for alcohol inks and was intrigued. Watch the video, you’ll see what I mean.

Oh, boys.

So Tim – pictured above with our buyer Nory in a headlock! – demonstrates the inks on paper. I wanted to use the process on glass – specifically memory glass slides – in order to make a faux stained glass ornament. One of the coolest things about the alcohol inks is how you can blend them together. My theory was that if I did all my inking and painting on the inside surfaces of the glass, the colors would be safe from the ravages of time.

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 6 – Family Keepsakes

November 22, 2011

Not all Christmas crafts or Christmas jewelry designs need to be Christmas-y. Sometimes the best jewelry presents are the ones with special meaning.

A perfect keepsake for a sister.

Soldered and riveted necklace by designer Mollie Valente. Photo by her sister, Janet, of Pink Poppy Studio on Etsy. The photo inside the one of a kind pendant is of their mother. (I’ll be posting a tutorial on how to sweat solder brass charms onto other metal components – just like Mollie did with the brass key charm and fairy door set – soon.)

If soldering and riveting sounds like too much work (work?!? it is fun!) then check out our hinged pendant frames. All you need to do is cut a picture to size and insert it in the frame. Here is a design by Amy that features a photo from her childhood:

Amy and her sister are swimming with their dad in this snapshot from California road trip.

A third option is to glue an image into a bezel and cover it with jewelry resin, like Rita did for her keepsake necklace:

“Days Gone By”

No traditional “jewelry making skills” are required here – she simply strung the pendant on a pre-made choker.

Maybe it is time to print out some of those digital photos languishing on your computer – or make photocopies of antique originals languishing in a box – and make some keepsakes to treasure! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 5 – Swarovski Crystal Holiday Lights

November 18, 2011

Swarovski crystal holiday lights

Hi bloglandia! Here is another sparkly design, courtesy of the Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements design team: holiday light charms! You need just four ingredients to make them:

9x6mm crystal teardrop beads

4mm rhinestone wheel beads

5mm round crystal beads

Head pins

Simply stack the crystals on head pins and complete each charm with a simple loop or wrapped loop. The crystal lights can be used individually or en masse to create all sorts of jewelry:

Dangly Christmas light earrings are so festive!

Holiday light earrings are also cute with just one light bulb.

Or, instead of head pins, string the light pattern on a strand of beading cable for a necklace like this.

For easy charm bracelets, just add some lights to a toggle bracelet!

Aren’t they de-light-ful? (Sorry, that’s the cold medicine talking!) Happy Friday! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 4 – Beaded Snowflakes

November 17, 2011

Making beaded snowflakes is a fun project for anyone old enough to not put beads in their mouth!

Day 4 is an ultra-simple, instant gratification project: beaded snowflakes. Simply take a wire snowflake form and add beads. This is an ideal project for using up leftover beads, especially sparkly glass beads!

There are several options for keeping the beads in place:

Use crimp beads. (Use a crimp with loop at the top to make it easy to hang).
Glue the last bead in place.
Use round-nose pliers to loop the end of the wire.
Or – the easiest and best in my opinion – use a French wire keeper. French wire keepers are little rubber stoppers that keep earrings in place – or beads on snowflake forms. French wire keepers also make great pin backs, or clutches/nuts for post earrings. A very versatile little jewelry finding indeed!

Dress up the view with sparkly snowflakes!

Winter – and the cold & flu season – is upon us. I didn’t post day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas jewelry designs yesterday because I never made it out of bed. Silly head cold. So let that be a lesson to you all – it is never to early to start your holiday projects because you never know what interruptions you might face!

Happy beading! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 3 – Lampwork Glass Bead Zipper Pulls

November 15, 2011

Candy bead zipper pulls make a great gift for someone sweet!

Quick, cute and affordable gift idea: zipper pulls! Zipper pulls are actually quite functional when you’re wearing gloves or mittens – why not make them pretty, too? Here are the three things you must do to make beady coat decorations strong enough to withstand a blustery winter.

That hooked jaw will save your manicure.

Use beads that are large enough to grasp when you’re gloved up. If the bead holes are large, like on many of the holiday lampwork glass beads I used, add small beads on both ends. (Small Czech glass flower beads make convincing cellophane wrappers on silver-foil glass bead candy.)
String beads on a headpin and make a wrapped loop. A basic loop won’t cut it here.
Use split rings instead of jump rings to attach your baubles to a swivel clip or clasp.

Pliers make this so much easier!

You’ve heard the song “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”? Well, save your nails – use split ring pliers! Just insert the hooked jaw into the split ring and squeeze. Now slide both the swivel clip and beaded pin onto the ring.

Mint candy freshens up any outfit.

Well done. You’ve just learned how to make great gifts for under $1 each! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 2 – Bottle Cap Baubles

November 14, 2011

What *can’t* you make with a bottle cap? That seems to be what our design team wanted to find out. Check out all of the fun and fabulous bottle cap jewelry, bottle cap home decor and bottle cap holiday accessories you can make! *

Santa Claus charm bracelet – or wine bottle adornment! Or both!

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 1 – Swarovski Crystal Tree Earrings

November 11, 2011

Hi bloglandia! The holidays are sneaking up on us like stealthy ninjas. Whether you have been making jewelry for years or would like to make your very first pair of earrings, these super sparkly crystal Christmas tree earrings are a fast and fun way to whip up some holiday spirit. Over the rest of November, I’m going to share twelve holiday jewelry designs, most of which are simple and sweet. All of them make great DIY gifts or highly sellable products for your next craft show. Today’s detailed instructions for how to make beaded earrings should make it possible for you to make a variety of jewelry designs – the more you practice making wrapped loops on head pins, the easier it gets!

Supplies for one pair of Crystal Christmas Tree Earrings

Earring parts – you’ll also need a set of the basic jewelry pliers.

One pair of ear wires (I’m using sterling silver filled – less expensive than sterling, but the same look and quality for people who can’t wear base metal. Learn more.)
Two 2″ head pins (since the pin won’t touch the wearer, I think it is ok to use silver-plated pins if you like, instead of sterling silver. 1.5″ head pins will work too, but longer pins are easier for beginners to wrap.)
Three to five graduated sizes SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal margaritas in one color (I used Crystal Vitrail Medium in 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 14mm)
Two 4mm crystal cube beads
Two 3mm crystal bicones (I used Fuchsia)

Step by Step Photo Instructions for Making Crystal Tree Earrings

Stack the crystals on a head pin.

Grip the pin with round nose pliers.

Bend wire away from you.

Turn just your wrist to rotate the pliers a quarter turn away from your body, like so.

Pull the wire back towards your body, looping it over the top jaw of the pliers.

Now the wire is pointing back towards you.

Rotate your wrist towards you again to move the pliers into this position.

Now there is room to close the loop (push the wire away from you).

After you’ve closed the loop, switch to chain nose pliers to grip the loop.

Grip the tail with flat nose pliers and wrap it around the wire.

Stop wrapping when you reach the crystal.

Trim the excess wire.

Squeeze gently with chain nose pliers to tuck the wire tail in tight with the wrap.

Open the ear wire just like you’d open a jump ring. Add the crystal tree and close the ear wire.

Ta da! One sparkly tree earring. Now repeat all the steps to make its mate!

Green and red make the classic color combo, but there are plenty of other options. Foiled crystal margaritas look like icy trees, especially when paired with blue trunks and stars. Fern Green is an even “greener” green than Emerald, while the Crystal Vitrail Medium I used are mostly green with all kinds of reflected colors. I paired it with pink for a slightly less traditional look. I like to use the “Browse by Crystal Color” page on Rings & Things website to pick crystal color combos. Here are a few other crystal Christmas trees made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS:

More sizes and colors of Christmas tree earrings – the smooth one is made with a Fern Green Artemis bead instead of margarita crystals.

Now that you know how to make these crystal tree charms, you can attach them to anything: use them as pendants, zipper pulls, cell phone charms, tree ornaments or wine glass markers if you like! ~ Cindy

Five designers: Five very different gemstone and chain jewelry pieces!

November 9, 2011

We’ve recently changed our jewelry design contest at Rings & Things. Instead of just one big contest, we’re now going to have a series of jewelry design challenges peppered throughout the year. The first of these is our Rock n’ Rollo Design Challenge. The rules are simple: just use any style of our rollo chain and either rainbow amazonite or larvikite gemstone beads in your design! And also – the design doesn’t even have to be jewelry! Any type of art or craft is eligible, so long as it incorporates the challenge supplies.

Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying “A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.” Design challenges like this one really highlight this truth. Given the same basic building blocks, it might seem like you’d end up with the same basic designs. Not true! Five of our designers created inspiration pieces that meet the contest guidelines, and all five use chain and gemstone in completely different ways:

“Wee Bird” riveted metals and rainbow amazonite necklace by Mollie Valente

A sweet etched copper bird pendant, riveted to brass. Mollie used a mesh choker for the back of the piece. Rollo chain is used as a stylish alternative to jump rings to link the gemstone connectors.

“Unfurled” copper and rainbow amazonite necklace by Cindy Morris

I created the leafy bead cap with copper clay and strung a river of copper and swirly gemstone oval beads flowing from it. I used chain in the back to keep the necklace from feeling and looking too heavy.

“Reverse Stack Effect” larvikite necklace by Amy Mickelson

Amy combines a lavish and unexpected mix of materials (larvikite, dotted lampwork glass squares, wavy silver-plated disks, chunky rollo chain, hand-dyed silk ribbon) into a colorful statement piece. The full parts list is available in our newly reformatted design gallery. The gallery is now integrated with our online store, so it is much, much easier to find and buy the supplies that catch your eye!

“Slated for Chain” larvikite and silver-plated chain bracelet by Val Nygaard-Pouzar

Clean and classic: the shimmery larvikite (or black labradorite, as it is commonly known) gemstone bead anchors this symmetrical design.

“Eyeball in My Martini” necklace by Polly Nobbs-LaRue

With a “raku” ceramic flying eyeball, C-Koop enameled gear and swirly TierraCast copper links, you might not even notice the rollo chain and single rainbow amazonite bead on this necklace!

No matter what type of jewelry you design, I hope you will stretch your imagination and enter the 2011 Rock n’ Rollo jewelry design contest! With hundreds of dollars in gift certificates (and the possibility of free advertising for your work!) as prizes, and nothing but a emailed photo required to enter, why wouldn’t you rock out a stunning rollo chain design? Be sure to check out the contest page for all the details! ~ Cindy

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