Browsing Category

Cold Connections

Create a Hinged Metal Memory Journal

July 18, 2013

Use a hinge to turn shrine-shaped metal blanks into a journal!

Decide on the layout, location of the hinge and other decorative elements. Using a checkered hammer, apply texture to the top and bottom panels of the journal. Patina, file rough edges and clean.
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Layout

Cut the hinges, which can be as wide or as narrow as you choose. For 3/32 tubing, make hinges that are one-half inch deep. You need an odd number of hinge tabs. Measure, mark and saw tabs into the top panel. Use plenty of cut lube to prevent the saw blade from sticking when cornering.
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Create Hinge Tabs

Using wide, flat nose pliers, crease and fold each tabs up to a 90 degree angle. The position of the fold determines whether the hinge will be visible from the front of the pendant, or only from the back side. Keep the textured sides face up, so the design is consistent.
Carefully roll tabs into cylinders using chain nose pliers or medium bail making pliers. Leave hinges a bit loose until after you have inserted the tubing, then you can tighten for best fit.
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Roll Into Cylinders

Use a tube cutting jig to cut a length of tube 1mm longer than the width of your piece (for 1/2mm on each side).
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created  Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Cut Tubing

Slide tubing down the channel and finesse hinges as needed. Rivet tubing into place to finish the hinge. Open and close hinge to ensure a proper fit.

This free DIY jewelry design by Sondra Barrington features antique brass, nickel silver, metal etching, dapping and creating hinges.

Assemble Hinge and Insert Tubing

Working with the bottom panel, lay out etched metal pieces for the cover and inside page. Cut, file and patina as necessary. Leave sufficient room for the hinge to lay flat against the bottom panel.
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Lay out Etched Metal Page

Measure, mark and punch holes for decorative rivets, accents and center piece (using the small side of the hole punch).
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Prepare Embellishments

Using two-part epoxy, carefully glue the etched metal panels into place.
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Lay out Etched Metal Page

Using a dapping set, dome two small round shapes that can nest one inside the other. Patina, file away any rough edges and clean the domed metal. Layer, and rivet domed metal nests onto the top panel. Connect top and bottom panel with rivets. Use a tube rivet at the top so that you can thread a jump ring through it (if you choose).
Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Rivet Domes Into Place

Carefully clean and polish the pendant before attaching the necklace chain.

Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Clean Finished Pendant

Handmade jewelry looks great on a custom beaded necklace, on leather cording, silk ribbon or chain. I created a necklace by making individual links using the one-step looping plier, eye pins, metal beads and natural agates. The links were connected using jump rings.

Hinged Pendant Memory Journal created by Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This free DIY jewelry project features metal etching, metal stamping, dapping and riveting. Antique brass, nickel silver, copper and natural agate were used in creating this design. The one-step looping plier was used for the handmade chain.

Memory Journal Necklace

This free DIY Memory Journal pendant was created by designer Sondra Barrington of Rings & Things. This necklace features riveting, metal etching, antique brass shrine stamping blanks, dapping, and metal stamping. The chain was created in an ombre pattern using natural agate gemstone beads, TierraCast antique brass bead caps, metal heishi trade beads and the one-step looping plier with antique copper head pins.

Create a Healing Shrine

June 6, 2013

Making handmade jewelry for someone is a unique and inspiring way to show you care.  This “Healing Shrine” was created for a friend suffering from cancer.  It was inspired by our new brass “window” blank shapes and a recent trip to Santa Fe, NM.

Sondra Barrington Memory Jewelry An antique brass "Healing Shrine" created for a friend suffering from cancer. The glass vial is filled with 'holy dirt' from a sacred site purported to have healing powers.

Healing Shrine

Each year, thousands of people pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo seeking blessings.  Many visitors take a small amount of “holy dirt” from the site, in hopes of a miraculous cure for themselves or someone who could not make the trip.  I chose to encase my “holy dirt” in a glass portal, that I nested inside a brass reliquary.  Following are instructions for how-to create this DIY jewelry design using stacked brass layers and cold connections.

First, envision your shrine and decide how you want it to look and feel.  Decide on contents for your glass bottle.  Unscrew the top loop from the cork in the glass vial.  Measure, mark and punch holes for rivets (using the small side of the hole punch).

Stamp word “heal” on the metal band designed to hold the glass vial.  Measure the band to ensure that it is going to fit.

Measure metal band to fit glass vial

Measure and bend metal band to fit glass vial

Using bail making pliers, bend the center of the band into a curved shape, leaving each end flat.  Cut to shorten as needed.  File the ends.

Arrange pieces and punch metal Sondra Barrington Memory Jewelry

Arrange pieces and punch metal

Rivet the stamped metal band into place after double-checking that it will snugly hold the glass once it is assembled.

Punch holes and rivet band to hold bottle

Rivet the band into place (to hold the vial)

Insert tube rivets in holes between the front and back of shrine, stacking copper heishi trade beads between the layers (to fill the space and strengthen the connection between the top and bottom layers).

Use metal heishi beads as spacers between the layers of metal.

Heishi beads as spacers between layers Sondra Barrington Memory Jewelry

  Rivet them into place.  Note: Be careful, it is very difficult to reinstall the heishi spacer beads if they fall off the tubes!

Place all metal heishis before riveting back panel into place

Place all  heishi beads before riveting together Sondra Barrington Memory Jewelry

Patina and clean.  Using two-part epoxy, attach a magnet to the back side of the shrine.  Carefully fill vial with contents.

Fill the bottle and install it into reliquary Sondra Barrington Memory Jewelry

Fill the vial and pop it into place

Once the glue has cured, pop the glass vial inside the band.  This DIY jewelry project can be a pendant, magnet or pin.

How to Create a Reliquary Pendant

May 20, 2013
Create a personal keepsake with this free DIY reliquary pendant tutorial.

Create a personal keepsake with this free DIY shrine pendant tutorial.

I love keepsake jewelry, and this reliquary necklace is perfect for capturing mementos. You can adapt this pendant design to make your own personalized jewelry; encase a family photo, dried flower petals from a special event, or perhaps a lock of baby hair.

The following is a DIY tutorial for making a glass bezel shrine necklace.

Continue Reading…

How to Use Fancy Wire Rivets

April 5, 2013

Bees ~ Fleur-de-Lis ~ Leaves ~ Simple Domed ~ Shells ~ Hearts ~ Stars

If you already know how to make and set traditional wire rivets, then you only need to know one new thing about setting these fun decorative rivets:

  • To prevent marring the decorative rivet head, don’t hammer with your rivet head directly on the usual steel block. Instead, set the rivet head on a piece of wood (a scrap of 2×4″ works great), or use a piece of heavy leather between the rivet head and steel block.

Continue Reading…

Upcycle cans and tins into jewelry!

October 7, 2011

Metal shears, a metal tin and the completed metal pin!

We all know recycling is a good thing, but upcycling is even better! Aluminum and tin cans can easily be turned into jewelry, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

  1. Metal edges can be wicked sharp. Make clean cuts and file off any jagged points. Quality jewelry metal shears make this much easier! Most tin snips and other shears from hardware stores are difficult to grip.
  2. Aluminum cans and most tins are too thin to be durable enough for jewelry by themselves. We suggest layering the metal you cut from recycled items. Three ways of doing this are riveting, gluing and/or coating the metal pieces.

Here are a few examples of how to turn packaging into lovely adornments:

pollys-tin-pins

Polly’s tin pins and pendants

Polly sandwiched her recycled metal elements between brass fairy doors, disks and gears. She riveted the pieces together using Crafted Findings’ riveting tool. Learn more about the riveting tool system here.

soda pop can necklace

The holes are lined with large eyelets from a scrapbooking supplier.

For this Soda Pop necklace, we cut disks out of cans and then glued them to brass disks to make them thicker. A circle template (commonly found in Art Supply stores and sometimes Craft Store) makes this task easier. Get more info in our design gallery.

soda can bobby pins

Layers of flowers punched from soda cans form these fun bobby pins.

Instructions for how Toni coated these pins with liquid polymer clay to make them safe to wear are in our design gallery.

Start looking at soda cans and other product packaging in a different way! I for one always check the bottle cap design when deciding on a beverage.

How I wish every city had an Upcycle Exchange Market (yikes! Link removed in 2019 … that link goes to something COMPLETELY different and unsavory now). It is a brilliant idea for reusing and redistributing crafty supplies and recyclables! Until then, ask your friends and family to help collect interesting materials for you. You might just upcycle something wonderful!

Bobby pins: favoriter & favoriter

June 24, 2010

A jewelry “basic” for years & years: bobby pins.

Several new colors of bobby pins: favoriter & favoriter.

Along with a bunch of brand-new platings to expand your design palette, another great thing about bobby pins is that they’re perfectly made for popular “gluing stuff on” styles.

Bobby pins with buttons glued on

Glue buttons, resin pieces, art glass, Vintaj components…anything that catches your eye and will make a pretty hair decoration…onto a bobby pin!

Make Vintaj bobby pin designs!

Oh, and the 5 new plating colors? Well, a picture tells the story instantly:

New bobby pin colors

Tip: while you’re browsing bobby pins in our online store, you’ll see big, useful chart of gluing tips.

Did you know? Other ways to attach decorations to bobby pins include riveting (cold connections), sewing, or soft soldering.

* Update 6/25/10: I’ve received another photo showing all our bobby pin platings side by side. Thanks Nory!


Hot for cold connections

April 1, 2010

Love the look of mixed metals? Have found objects taken you ‘beyond findings’…but your soldering’s not up to snuff? Cold connections are the common cure!

Also called cold fusion, cold connections are what they sound like: ways of putting metal jewelry together without dangerously glowing or flaming implements. Some tips on how to achieve this…

Tip 1: game spinners

Tip 1: game spinners

Game spinner findings from Tim Holtz Idea-Ology are a super fun way to hold metal pieces together. They make jewelry you can play with!

Tip 2: the hardware store is your friend

Tip 2: the hardware store is your friend

Did you know that by getting into cold connections, you can help support local businesses? It’s true. The guys at your local hardware store needed to learn more about jewelrymaking anyhow, and they’ve got the teeny tiny hinges & things to hold your metal stamping blanks together!

Tip 3: there's a really good book for that

Tip 3: there’s a really good book for that

There’s at least one awesome book about cold connections, and it’s so gorgeous that it’s sold as a coffee-table book too. Relax with Susan Lenart Kazmer’s book “Making Connections: A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jewelers and Mixed-Media Artists”. Susan’s all about using regular hand tools to join metal parts, found objects and even fabric into jewelry pieces that people won’t be able to keep their eyes, or hands, off of. (Just look at that cover!)

I know quite a few of you who have done some cold-connecting…care to share your work? Rings & Things (that’s us!) loves seeing your work — you can upload photos on our Facebook Bead Fans page!

Rings & Things on TV: metal charms

June 26, 2009

You may have seen Rings & Things on TV. Does this look familiar?

Artisan and author Mary Hettmansperger shows how to make metal charms, using cold connections…

Thanks to public TV’s Beads, Baubles and Jewels for this “Metal Charms” segment. Rings & Things is a proud sponsor of the program!

If you’ve spotted our “stuff” on TV somewhere else, let us know in a comment!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!