The Beading Gem

We love fruit in our household.  But it is not just nutritious food for eating. Fruit can be made into jewelry too. Just like real flower resin jewelry, real fruit jewelry requires the fruit slices to be dried first.  Check out this two part tutorial by Allyn of That Girl Who Never Talks. Part 1 shows how she uses a dehydrator to dry slices of fruit.

I've always admired loom weaving.  But I would never embark on so large a project, not to mention getting and using a large loom either.  However, this little tutorial for a an easy embroidery floss woven pendant appeals.  It uses a simple DIY loom made from just cardboard. It is by Roxy Taghavian of Brit + Co.

I have always enjoyed teaching and being able to share my jewelry making knowledge and tips. The greatest pleasure I get comes from the looks on the faces of students as they realize how able they are to create something lovely.   Everyone has creativity inside them - some just need more coaxing then others!

When I first spotted the Macrame School's frozen ice flower macrame bracelet tutorial, I immediately recalled the wildly popular animated movie, Frozen. There were a lot of ice crystal imagery in the movie which did look like frozen fractals!

This beaded button tutorial by Anna Taylor is such a versatile one because you can use the completed buttons for all sorts of jewelry making projects.  All the better if you are using up unattractive shank buttons from your stash!

Upcycled or recycled jewelry artisans are highly creative individuals.  One such designer is Bulgarian born, London based artist, Ina Prodanova of Enna Jewelry.  She also sells on Etsy.  What she does is reuse plastic bottles in imaginative ways.  She has two collections - a floral style and a bolder contemporary one.

Iris Mishly's giveaway last week garnered a lot of interest.  Many were already into polymer clay.  But others, like Holly of Hillcrest Studio, were not. She said, "I've not yet explored polymer clay & this might be just the impetuts to get me started with this versatile medium."  It was not hard to see why as Iris's designs are so gorgeous.

Not too long ago, I reviewed Charles Lewton-Brain's Professional Foldforming Techniques Craftsy Class.  What he teaches is his innovative method of folding and forming metal sheets. The video format is excellent for those who cannot get to this acclaimed metalsmith's class.   However, his book covers much more than the basics.  There is also one advantage - it is a silent resource as you won't be hearing any hammer blows!

Here is a refreshing change on the beaded fringe style earrings.   I love how Mortira of Inspirational Beading added decorative discs to the front of the earrings. Her tutorial used wooden nautical discs from Blueberry Cove Beads. It also shows how she attached them with some beads from the main fringe part.  This is a great tutorial for beginners.

John Ahr recently shared an excellent video on the 10 Things to Never Do in the Jewelry Lab.  Many of the points he covers are indeed the same as the safety rules in scientific laboratories.  The instructor is a metal smith so many of the don'ts are for other metal smiths.  However, good practices also apply to other areas of jewelry making.  So the following is my additional tips.

I've long admired designs which mix polymer clay with wire (see links below). The good news is you do not have to be good with wire to create wire-polymer clay jewelry combinations!  Check out this Christi Friesen tutorial over on Fire Mountain Gems to see how to fill filigree with colorful polymer clay!

Hand jewelry are such that the whole hand is adorned with a bracelet linked to a ring.  A popular way to do this is with chain.  I just loved Nicole of She's Got the Notion's diagonal take on the chain slave (panja)  bracelet and ring idea.  Her tutorial includes all the chain measurements you need to put such a design together,

Massachusetts based Mariko Kusumoto is an extraordinary metal, resin and fiber artist. Her fiber art is amazing . She transforms polyester fabric into translucent sculptured art jewelry.  The 3D shapes she designs even encase other forms. Some of her creations are clearly inspired by coral reefs and sea creatures.

We all make mistakes. The problem comes when we do not know how to fix them. Even better, how to avoid them in the first place.  So the book I wrote about for last week's giveaway certainly struck a chord with those of you doing metal work. A wonderful and handy resource written by an experienced metal work artist.

Polymer clay is arguably one of the most versatile medium for artists.  You can do so much with it.  One site which really helps in the artistic expression of polymer clay jewelry and accessories is Iris Mishly's PolyPedia Online Express. Iris is a very talented polymer clay artist whose work has been featured in various publications.

I was planning to do a resin clay wire framed pendant tutorial but Becky Nunn of Nunn Design beat me to it!  She demonstrated how to do this design in this Beadaholique tutorial  using one of her open pendant frames. I liked how she hammered round wire flat and cut the length into little pieces for the stalks.  The flowers were just crystals from cup chain, again cut apart.  Easy peasy!

This wonderful "Magic Carpet" design and tutorial by Kelly Dale of the Off the Beaded Path, is visually pleasing and will be fun to do.  It is easy but it will take a while to bead embellish the base bracelet!  The embellishments are just many beaded loops woven into each of the foundation beads.

I wrote about how to paint eyeballs on glass bubbles a while ago.  It was quite a surprise to see how many people thought Aniko`s tutorial was so useful. It`s not just about making evil eye jewelry but eyeballs are needed for all sorts of polymer clay creature art, plush toys and so on.  Check out Mandarin Ducky`s amazing polymer clay journals including some awesome creatures. If you know how to make them, then you can easily customize the eyes you need for the projects.

Did you like the bargello spiral polymer clay earrings tutorial I featured yesterday? Here is yet another wonderful example of one craft inspiring another!  This time Mortira Vanpelt of Inspirational Beading got her inspiration from patchwork quilts! Her square stitch bracelet tutorial is so colorful!

Morro Rock, Morro Bay, California - Custom Design

Landscapes have always inspired artists.  But miniature landscapes are definitely more challenging.  Artist Jo Anne St James of StudioStJames manages to capture those on her polymer clay beads and pendants.  Wonderful seascapes, desertscapes and shore scenes are her favorite artistic expressions.

Hydraulic presses are rather like kilns in my view.  They are more expensive tools for jewelry makers. But if you want to take your designing to the next level, these are worth considering as investments to your craft.   A few of you who are into metal work definitely saw the benefits and said so in last week's giveaway for Melissa Muir's fabulous class. One reader, "SimplyCrazyStill" said, "Manipulating Metal is one of my favorite processes. Using a hydraulic press would make the process so much easier. I would love to learn more!"

There are lots of project books out there with many inspirational designs. Less common are jewelry making resources which target common problems and offer solutions.  If you get stuck with a problem, "who you gonna call" ?  Well, ghostbusters sure aren't going to cut it in the jewelry making studio! Glitches do arise no matter how experienced the designer, so having a handy guide will help.

Filigree stampings are very useful for jewelry making. They can be folded over focal beads or even beaded upon - see links below for further ideas.  But there is something else you can try and that is to do wire cagework on filigrees. The technique is great for creating vintage style jewelry pieces which will remind you of classic Miriam Haskell costume jewelry from decades ago.

Maybe some may not be into recycled or upcycled jewelry.  But others do and still more appreciate the eco-friendly nature of such adornment.   The trick is to make these so you do not betray their humble origins.  People will be amazed when you reveal what they are made from!


One lovely example is the upcycled plastic bottle flower stud earrings tutorial by Ivalex.  She just uses a candle flame to help soften the plastic enough to bend it. The inner petals were singed at the edges.

I think she just sizes the holes of the punched flowers to be a tight fit on the studs (made from headpins).  But a bit of glue will work. Or use little resin clay balls both front and back of the flowers so they will stick to the wire.

The tutorial is in Bulgarian so you will need to translate it. Computer users : Use the Chrome browser, right click anywhere on the page and select "translate to English". Mobile device users : Download the Chrome app, add the URL. The app asks if you wish to translate.

Before You Go:

• Amazing Recycled Bottle Art Jewelry by Silver Nut Tree
• How to Make Recycled Jewelry from an Old Belt
• How to Make Recycled Plastic Bottle Jewelry

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Wire JewelryTips  -Jewelry Business Tips 

I really like the deep channel bezels that I got from Nunn Design.  They can be used to embed all sorts of things using either resin clay or resin.  (See this post where organics are used). As sea glass is translucent, I thought it would be fun to make a see through sea glass necklace. You could also add resin clay and embed decorative items in the outside channel.  But I opted to keep things simple.

Butterfly motifs are more often than not show these lovely insects with both wings spread out. Less common is the side view.  Maria Kardakov over on livemaster.ru shared her bead embroidered butterfly brooch tutorial.  She used a long pearl bead for the body!  If you look carefully, you can see she also integrated crystal chain in the design. A gorgeous design indeed!

I use polishing cloths - some are impregnated with jeweler's rouge.  While the cloths are really handy, I don't find them a very precise way of polishing jewelry.  So check out John Ahr  - the self styled jewelry professor - who shares how you can make and use your own jewelry polishing sticks.

Origami jewelry is simply lovely especially when done with Japanese paper. That's certainly one of the collections Canadian artist Gavin Canning offers on his Etsy store, FoldItCreations.  But he also sells hand folded metal clay origami jewelry - mostly in fine silver.

A new kind of stitch definitely got some beaders excited with last week's giveaway for Melanie de Miguel's Hubble Stitch book! Pam Guthrie was spot on when she said, "Hubble Stitch looks like a great addition to my repertoire of stitches. The intricacy of the stitch is amazing." 

Melissa Muir is an amazing metal smith with serious design skills.  I recently featured her video  which shows how she makes her copper flower pendant.  It was a demonstration which shows how having the right tools can make the production process faster.  Indeed, hitting that creative wall and being unable to form the designs she wanted was the reason why she bought an hydraulic press.

Maybe it is the scientist still in me.  But experiments are the only way to determine what will work and what won't. So I really appreciate it when an artisan goes the extra mile to actually try different things. Check out Katherine of Resin Obsession's comparison of different resin jewelry glaze alternatives.

Polymer clay artists are very creative.  I thought Russian artist, Anna Potsar of Studio March Hare's polymer clay wreath with flowers earrings tutorial was a fun design.  Very different.   The design is airy with touches of color from the flowers and leaves.

I've covered how to press real flowers using a microwave as well as how to embed them in resin.  The process is not as easy as it looks!  But I am game to continue learning and experimenting. This time, I wanted to make real pressed flower resin clay earrings. There were some challenges including the difficulty in finding flowers small enough for earrings.  Some people use petals but I wanted whole flowers!