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DIY Multi Strand Leather Charm Bracelet

December 8, 2015

One of my favorite combinations when making bracelets is leather and charms! When deciding what color of leather to use, I chose turquoise because it’s a color that always calms me – plus it seems to work for all seasons. It reminds me of the beach where I would love to be! I decided to make this a multi strand bracelet because the stacked bracelet look is such a huge trend right now. To make your own version of this multi strand leather charm bracelet, read on. It’s easier than you think! Continue Reading…

DIY Leather Bracelets: Setting Rivets and Eyelets

February 19, 2015

I love leather cuff bracelets! Whether I wear one alone, or layer them with other metal and leather bracelets, I think they are always in style. They are bohemian, and can be in funky bright colors or subdued earth tones. With the large selection of pre-made cuffs we sell, the possibilities are endless! I made a few examples using the TierraCast eyelet setting tool and eyelets to show you! Check out how to make them below!
Continue Reading…

Futuristic Riveted Earrings with Swarovski Crystal Spikes

January 11, 2015

Last summer I decided to splurge and buy myself a riveting tool. Riveting allows you to cold connect (join) metal pieces without the use of a torch or other heat source. Innovative riveting tools allow you to rivet your own jewelry designs without the hard work (and endless hammer tapping) that traditional riveting requires. I wanted to show an easy design using the riveting tool that also features Swarovski spike pendants. See how to make these earrings by following the easy steps below! Continue Reading…

Best Riveting Tool Set

July 22, 2013

With 100s of rivets, eyelets, and related tools to pick from, the #2 riveting question I get is:

What are the best tools to easily
set both rivets and eyelets?

The answer depends on whether you want to rivet mostly leather, or mostly metal.

For leather, see my Riveting with TierraCast Leather Findings tutorial.

For metal and mixed media, the best set of riveting tools is…

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.

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.

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).

Prepare Embellishments

Using two-part epoxy, carefully glue the etched metal panels into place.

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).

Rivet Domes Into Place

Carefully clean and polish the pendant before attaching the necklace 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.

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.

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 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

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.

Riveting with TierraCast Leather Findings

April 22, 2013

The links, beads and rivets in TierraCast’s Leather Findings Collection are refreshingly easy to use — especially for those of you who are still nursing bruised fingertips from my previous riveting blog!

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:

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.
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:

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.

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.

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!

Riveting tool comparison – long reach vs. standard

September 21, 2011

One of these things is not like the others…

Hello, bloglandia! Today, I failed repeatedly at the project I undertook with the Crafted Findings semi-tubular riveting tool. But, as many wise people have stated, wisdom rarely comes from success. It is our failures that we learn the most from. And besides, these particular failures were actually wins in a way.