jewelllery making for 2010

Crafty_JuJu

Great thankyou I've found a seller on ebay thats offering 12 x 56g blocks for £14.99, I can choose the colours Sounded good to me?!

Your welcome xx

CommitedToChange

thanks craft Ju Ju, I've just bought the smaller set to get me started. Actually didn't think that there was much more in the bigger one when I compared them....

Now, where to start :-D

fazeypie

Crafty_JuJu wrote: »

Hi everyone I'm in need of some more Fimo & just wondered if anyone on here has a tip on the best place to buy from for single colours Thankyou xXx

ive got a shop called the range near me that sells fimo and sculpey singles and sets cheaper than hobbycraft.

CommitedToChange

Jo.G - how did you make your snowflakes because they are lovely, sorry if its obvious and easy but I'm a proper beginner - but would love to make some of these for my christmas tree. What materials did you use please?

Thanks

sunshine01

Has anyone received the beads that they ordered from Bead gem a few weeks ago. I haven't yet and have not had a response to my e mail? I just thought they were taking a long time, they are usually much quicker

Amy_xx

Hiya,
I'm completely new to jewellery making and have been browsing the internet to look for kits. I've found one on bluestreakbeads and just wondered if anyone knew if they are a respectable company? The kit is a super deluxe kit on there costing just under £160, is this a reasonable price?
I'm completely new so have no idea so would appreciate any help
Thanks!

Jo.G

CommitedToChange wrote: »

Jo.G - how did you make your snowflakes because they are lovely, sorry if its obvious and easy but I'm a proper beginner - but would love to make some of these for my christmas tree. What materials did you use please?

Thanks

Hi CTC. I came across the snowflake by chance when buying beads from eBay. The wire shapes are by Beadsmith, the first seller I bought them from didn't have any more when I decided to get more in different sizes so I just did a search for 'beadsmith snowflakes' and found just one other seller that had them although they were more expensive. They come in 3 sizes from what I've found, 4", 6" & 9" and I now have all 3! I usually buy glass beads for making jewellery, just personal preference, but I've bought acrylic beads for these. My Christmas colours are gold and cream so I've bought gold and silver beads in 4mm, 6mm & 8pm, some pearl drops and clear acrylic bicones. You need to put small seed beads on first as the wires are quite close together at the centre. It's just a case of finding a design you like with colours & beads. The hardest part is turning the wire over at the end as it's quite strong so leave a bit of a gap.

Jo.G

For this snowflake, which is the smallest size, I've used gold and silver 4mm 'starburst' beads at the centre, then an 8mm clear acrylic bicone, a silver 4mm starburst bead, a 4mm pearl bead that I already had, a 6mm gold or silver starburst bead, a 10mm acrylic pearl drop bead, a 6mm gold starburts bead, followed by a 4mm pearl and finished with a silver 4mm gold or silver starburst bead. It may have been easier to turn the wire over if I'd used one less bead. For this snowflake I've alternated each 'arm' of the snowflake. I plan to hang 3 (one of each size) together with ribbon as room decorations as opposed to on my tree but the smallest size ones would be ideal to hang on a tree.
I costed this one out and it cost about £2.50 to make:eek: They are really easy to make though, although I dont know if they'd be worth making to sell as I've found people want something for nothing! Although others could maybe source the beads from cheaper sources. I will use the bigger sized gold and silver beads on the bigger snowflakes.
The silver and gold beads are really nice actually, they have a bit of a tinkle sound and the gold ones aren't as yellow as they look.
HTH.:)

Jo.G

Amy_xx wrote: »

Hiya,
I'm completely new to jewellery making and have been browsing the internet to look for kits. I've found one on bluestreakbeads and just wondered if anyone knew if they are a respectable company? The kit is a super deluxe kit on there costing just under £160, is this a reasonable price?
I'm completely new so have no idea so would appreciate any help
Thanks!

Hi Amy,
£160 is a lot for a starter kit. It does look like you get a lot for your money but I'd suggest getting a smaller, cheaper set to start you off. CommittedToChange has just bought one I think.
I never bought a starter kit, I just dove straight in and bought what I 'thought' I needed! It would have been much easier to buy a starter kit!
Decide what you want to start off with - necklaces? Earings? Bracelets? and pick a kit that will provide whatever you need to make those: thread/earing hooks/chain, together with clasps, headpins/eyepins and of course beads. You need pliers, I have round nose and flat nose pliers but if you only got one i'd go for the round nose pliers.
I wouldnt bother with a book, I bought one, flicked through it once and havent looked at it since.
I've just discoverd memory wire which is really easy to use. It comes in one big coil (like a slinky!) and you cut whatever length you want. Create a loop at one end with your pliers, thread your beads on, loop the other end and its as easy as that! The photos I posted earlier are memory wire, I just found that to get a decent bracelet (about 3 loops) takes a lot of beads.

Hope this makes some sense as I seem to be waffling and hogging the thread by myself! Be aware - beading is VERY addictive!!

CommitedToChange

Thanks Jo.G, I'm gonna have a go at making them for my tree - not to sell, and for gifts - a home-made decoration each would be a nice gift :-D

Amy - I think Jo. G is right, starting small is probably best - after all you may not like it (unlikely I think) and £160 is a huge amount of money. This is the one I ordered http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260526414436&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT - it seems to be recommend by lots of people. You can always add to it later.