Our original tutorial on “How to solder jewelry with Simply Swank Tools” has been very popular. Since the “Simply Swank” company no longer exists, I have attempted, here, to provide information on similar supplies, and to answer some questions.
Continue Reading…
With a little resin and a little paint, you can create your very own miniature snow globe that will never leak and never need shaking!
Continue Reading…
Rings & Things has carried the BeadSmith Micro Engraver for about five years, and can you believe I have never tried it? I always discredited it for not being what I consider a “real” tool. Isn’t this something you would see engraving names on carnival trinket necklaces? But it turns out the Micro Engraver is actually a pretty cool tool. It is fun and easy to use, and the results are surprisingly pleasing.
If you like to draw or doodle, you will instantly love the Micro Engraver. But even if you can’t draw, you can still make pretty things that look great–just follow my step-by-step instructions.
Continue Reading…
Lots of time at home has had me investing more time in my backyard, trying to create some beauty around me by pulling weeds and planting seeds (in fact I planted broccoli and dahlias right before I started this project), and I figured that creating a garden with Ceralun clay would also be a rewarding and fun project for a Friday.
Continue Reading…
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I quickly became a fan of the show Portlandia. It is a comedy sketch show on IFC (the Independent Film Channel), and all the characters are representative of the eccentric people that live in Portland, Oregon. In the first season, there was a famous sketch called, “Put a Bird on It” where two characters go around putting birds on everything and selling it as art. It is one of my favorite sketches! So when I made this necklace, I used that episode as inspiration!
Continue Reading…
You can create personalized image jewelry with glass tiles and glue-on findings from Rings & Things. In fact, if you can cut paper and glue, you can make image jewelry! Just follow the detailed steps below to turn any image into a wearable piece of art. Continue Reading…
There is no denying that little glass bottle necklaces are adorable, and as keepsake jewelry they are easily adaptable for a multitude of themes. Whether you want to make the featured “Beachcomber” Vial Necklace, or a variation–this style of jewelry is easy to make. You might also consider filling your little bottle with dried flower petals, dandelion wishes, a lock of baby hair, a printed parchment scroll, tiny photos, sea shells, moss, feathers, ashes, or the other seemingly endless possibilities.
Step 1: Gather your supplies needed to make the Beachcomber Vial Necklace.
You will need the following supplies:
1 each 8mm round jump ring (I used item #37-167-1: 8mm round, white-plated jump ring)
3 each 3.2mm rondelle spacer beads (I used item #26-155-32-1: 3.2mm white-plated rondelle spacer bead)
1 each 2″standard head pin (I used item #37-422-1: 2″ white-plated standard head pin)
1 each clear glass bottle (I used item #30-187-3515: 32x15mm clear glass bottle)
1 each 12mm faceted rondelle crystal bead
1 each ball chain clasp (I used item #40-801-1: 2.4mm white-plated ball chain clasp)
24 inches ball chain (I used item #40-889-1: 1.8mm white-plated ball chain)
And Treasures to fill your vial:
20 each 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone beads (I used #05-328-04-116, #05-328-04-124, #05-328-04-407, #05-328-04-90, and #05-328-06-138.)
1 each 17x7mm white-plated key charm
Glitter (I used Tim Holtz Distressed Glitter “Clear Rock Candy“)
You will need the following tools:
mini spoon / tiny glitter scoop
Step 2: Remove the cork stopper from the vial; use the awl to make a centered hole running from the top of the cork through to the bottom.
Step 3: To make the beaded cork stopper, string the following parts onto a 2″ head pin: a white-plated rondelle spacer bead, the cork, a faceted glass bead, and a bicone crystal bead.
Step 4: Finish the beaded cork stopper with a wire-wrapped loop. Follow the instructions for making wire-wrapped loops in Rings & Things “Jewelry Basics 101″.
Step 5: Add a jump ring to the top loop of the beaded cork stopper. Adorn the jump ring by adding two white-plated rondelle spacer beads prior to closing it. Follow the instructions for opening and closing jump rings in Rings & Things “Jewelry Basics 101″.
Step 6: Fill the vial with your combination of beads, crystals, and charms (or other tiny treasures). When selecting items to go in the vial, keep in mind the neck of the vial has a diameter of approximately 7mm.
Step 7: Add glitter to the vial. Rings & Things’ tiny spoon charm #44-639-0 makes a perfect scoop! Once your vial is filled, add the beaded cork stopper to the vial.
Step 8: Finish your necklace with chain. Measure and cut the ball chain to your desired length. Add the ball chain clasp to one end of the chain and string on the vial pendant. Connect the open end of the ball chain to the clasp. Enjoy!
♥Get Inspired! If you loved making the “Beachcomber” Vial Necklace, visit the Rings & Things Design Gallery and get inspired! You will find instructions for making the following necklaces (just click the image for details):
Fairy garden terrarium tutorial by Sondra Barrington & the Rings & Things Showroom crew
Tiny Living Terrarium Tutorial by Summer Melaas of Rings & Things Showroom
Healing Shrine Necklace Tutorial by Rings & Things Designer Sondra Barrington
Make things!
Mollie
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.
Pendant frames for all styles and tastes.
Hi bloglandia! Today’s design question: What memories or images do you have that are worth framing?
I just stumbled across this photo of some little house hinged pendants our design team made awhile back. It always amazes me how you can give people, in this case 9, the same jewelry component and end up with such completely different results! Our hinged glass frame pendants are reversible, so you can have two images inside if you’d like! (Also check out the memory boxes, which aren’t two sided but are deep enough to hold all sorts of treasures.)
From the bottom right going clockwise, you see the following jewelry designs:
Selina made the Dia de los Muertos paper collage, another jewelry designer used fabric and a peace sign, Mollie has a spritely fairy with star charms, Lindsey made a ginormous, interactive wooden pendant, Amy captured summer childhood memories, Sondra soldered up some enlightenment, I used one of my favorite vacation photos, a bulldog earned a crown and wings, and Rita created a wee house inside her frame. Hopefully one or more of these designs will inspire you to frame some mementos of your own! ~ Cindy
I filled this glass bezel with sand, starfish and seashell charms. It’s a little ocean microcosm.
Glass bezels are great! You can make your own by using a bottle cutting tool from Delphi. This tool is also pretty handy to convert old wine bottles and beer bottles into drinking glasses and votive holders. Check out this video from Six in the Suburbs Blog to see how easy it is to cut glass bottles. However, if you aren’t quite ready to go down the path of cutting glass, we have a solution for you here at Rings & Things: Glass Bezels already made and ready to fill with all of your wonders!