I have noticed bullet casing jewelry trending for awhile now. And I love it! It has a rustic, masculine feel. I also love etching metal with ferric chloride acid, something I have been doing for the last couple of years. Etching bullet casings seemed like the next logical step. I thought they would be a great gift for Dad (or Mom, depending on how you make them)! So round up your bullet casings and let me show you how to make these awesome necklaces! —
Swarovski never ceases to amaze me with the pretty products they put out! While lovely Swarovski Navette crystals aren’t new, they are new to me and I love them! These beautiful marquise-shaped crystals are set in a silver colored setting. When I saw them, I knew I needed to create a project that used multiple colors in the same piece! They are just such vibrant colors. I decided to pair them with some lovely sterling silver chandelier findings! The result is beautiful! See how to make these lovely earrings below! —
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!
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Vintaj Special Edition BIGkick Machine by Sizzix (out of production, and replaced/upgraded by the Big Shot Jewelry Studio) is the perfect tool for adding detailed patterns to metal. Unlike a rolling mill, the BIGkick machine is affordable, compact, and doesn’t require a lot of strength to use. It comes with the main machine body, a solo platform and shim, and a pair of cutting pads. There are dozens of DecoEmboss and DecoEtch dies in a variety of popular themes; these are sold separately so you can select the designs you like best and add to your collection over time. Finally the embossed and etched blanks can be polished to a high shine, or colored with Vintaj patina inks. Continue Reading…
For years, longitude and latitude coordinates have been growing in popularity when it comes to fashion. They have been popping up in tattoos, jewelry and clothing. I decided I wanted to make my own longitude latitude project, with coordinates from one of my favorite places on earth, Tulum, Mexico! You can easily do this project with any location on Earth! Simply enter your desired location plus “longitude and latitude” into any search engine, and the coordinates will come up for you! —
I love niobium! If you’ve never used niobium jewelry findings, then you are missing out! Niobium is a very hypoallergenic metal that is great to use in your jewelry designs when you have customers that have metal sensitivities. It is a pure metal, not an alloy, so it contains no nickel, copper, or any other additives. It is also not plated. To create different colors, niobium is anodized which doesn’t affect its hypoallergenic qualities! Anodized colors of niobium can match all types of different jewelry designs. I personally love the bronze-colored niobium findings. I like using the bronze color with my antique brass and copper designs. I’ve assembled a couple pair or earrings below, to show you a quick fun way to use niobium earring wires. Continue Reading…
Making your own necklaces from bulk chain, jump rings, and lobster clasps can be a great way to save money when you want to make multiples of the same or similar items. My favorite style of bulk footage chain for this is our 2.2mm cable chain. It is fairly inexpensive, hangs nicely, and is great for adding charms to. And recently I have noticed a trend where charms are placed on lobster clasps, making them interchangeable! You can mix and match different charms and other adornments.
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As a child, I had a lovely charm bracelet. Every year for my birthday I would get a new charm reflecting my current interests and hobbies. I am not sure what ever happened to that bracelet, so I decided to recreate one! I collected the cutest sterling silver charms and paired them with beautiful freshwater pearls. —
I’ve noticed lately that minimalist jewelry is really in style. I’ve also seen a lot people wearing three dainty necklaces together. What better way to show off these converging trends than a Mother’s Day project! I used sterling silver stamping blanks and stamped three children’s birthdays, then paired them with the coordinating Swarovski birthstone accents. I then hung them at slightly different lengths. I love the end result. Learn how to make this project below! —
I am kind of a nut for Swarovski crystals. I anxiously wait for new colors and styles of crystals to come out! When they recently came out with these amazing Urban Pendants I was ecstatic! They have lots of fun, geometrical faceting. They are so lovely, you really don’t have to do much to make them into fun earrings! —