jewelllery making for 2010

chuggingtongirl

sparklygirl71 wrote: »

tigertail is a popular choice for necklaces and bracelets, its very durable (nylon coated wire) and theres a variety of types and colours to choose from. I would opt for a 7 strand tigertail to try out with first, there are other unbranded nylon coated wire on the market that do the job just aswell and are a little cheaper on the pocket.Have a look at jillybeads as they have a nice choice. I personally like working with illusion thread, its transparent and hard to break (same as fishing line or parachute cord - if you happen to have any lying around ) but it can be prone to kinking, or you could try memory wire for a nice choker necklace. I've just bought some satin ribbon which I'm going to try making a necklace with some focal beads on it.

Thanks sparklygirl71 for the advice.I find it really addictive once Ive started now as theres just so many things to make.

nic2075

Im really chuffed, I sold my donut,cupcake and bakewell tart charms on Ebay last night. only for £1 but its a sale and counts toward my supplies. ive put a few more things on today.

I made a memory wire bracelet out of some orange and lemon slice beads I made. Ill post it on my blog as I have no idea how to post pics on here.

kinkyjinks

thistledome wrote: »

Anybody got any tips for working with seed beeds? I've never had any before and I'm currently picking them up with a licked finger and threading them onto the wire from there. Have dropped a couple and lost them. How do you experts handle them?
.

Hi from a lurker :wave: I've made loads of things with seed beads (might post some of my creations later) and had the same problem. Like other people have said a bead board is handy as is a bit of matting but I have to say one of the best things for the job is a seed bead spinner. I managed to pick a kids one up for £1 from a charity shop and it's one of the best pounds I've ever spent.

I stopped making anything with beads a couple of years ago but I'm finding it really hard to resist going into my loft to look at all the pretty, shiny, sparkly beads that are up there (along with dozens of unfinished projects no doubt) since I've been lurking on this thread

Jo_F

I have a spinner, I use it mainly for my seed beaded flowers, as I am filling metres of wire with seed beads (I actually dread to think how many beads are in some of them!) and it saves me hours and hours of threading.

Just don't spin them too fast!

Kandipandi

I will have to check this seed beed spinner out tonight on youtube - its looks great!

Kandipandi

nic2075 wrote: »

Im really chuffed, I sold my donut,cupcake and bakewell tart charms on Ebay last night. only for £1 but its a sale and counts toward my supplies. ive put a few more things on today.

I made a memory wire bracelet out of some orange and lemon slice beads I made. Ill post it on my blog as I have no idea how to post pics on here.

Bet you are delighted with that, well done! They are fab - I used to make this sort of stuff for my dolls house, I had a 12th scale tea room and it took forever to make enough fimo cakes and treats to stock it up! They are so simple yet effective and rather fiddly, the hardest bit for me was making sure I had not left fingerprints everywhere!

p.s. I love your little fairy house

hart44

kinkyjinks wrote: »

Hi from a lurker :wave: I've made loads of things with seed beads (might post some of my creations later) and had the same problem. Like other people have said a bead board is handy as is a bit of matting but I have to say one of the best things for the job is a seed bead spinner. I managed to pick a kids one up for £1 from a charity shop and it's one of the best pounds I've ever spent.

Brill, must get one :jthank you for this Kinky :A

dawnteabag

Hello!
Can I ask a quickie question. .........
I've been making 2 necklaces strung on thin wire but have had a nightmare with the findings (is that the right word - the attachment bits?).
At the moment I'm using a lobster claw amd a teeny tiny ring like you'd get on a key ring attached to a metal thing that holds the wire by folding over the middle and the sides. I'm hoping someone might know what this is called as I have no idea
I've really struggled as my eyesight is poor and getting things to go on those mini keyring things was practically impossible.
Does anyone know what the easiest way of finishing a metal wire necklace is - if what I'm doing now is the easiest way then I'm gonna have to give up!

Kandipandi

dawnteabag wrote: »

Hello!
Can I ask a quickie question. .........
I've been making 2 necklaces strung on thin wire but have had a nightmare with the findings (is that the right word - the attachment bits?).
At the moment I'm using a lobster claw amd a teeny tiny ring like you'd get on a key ring attached to a metal thing that holds the wire by folding over the middle and the sides. I'm hoping someone might know what this is called as I have no idea
I've really struggled as my eyesight is poor and getting things to go on those mini keyring things was practically impossible.
Does anyone know what the easiest way of finishing a metal wire necklace is - if what I'm doing now is the easiest way then I'm gonna have to give up!

What you are describing is crimping, You add a tiny little bit of silver tube and nip it together and then nip it again.
I have been using a spiral thing on my leather thong ends rather than crimps they may be easier for you to work with have a look here at the different types of fastenings there are others that are bigger that you can just nip with your pliers, then maybe add a larger split ring and a larger lobster claw..

sparklygirl71

Kandipandi wrote: »

What you are describing is crimping, You add a tiny little bit of silver tube and nip it together and then nip it again.
I have been using a spiral thing on my leather thong ends rather than crimps they may be easier for you to work with have a look here at the different types of fastenings there are others that are bigger that you can just nip with your pliers, then maybe add a larger split ring and a larger lobster claw..

following on from Kandipandi's great suggestion,have a look at the silver corporation aswell. I use them quite often as they have a good selection of ends including some glue on ends too - I've never tried the glue variety though so I dont know how good they are. It took me a while to get the hang of crimping so you might just need a bit of practice,also make sure you have a good pair of crimping pliers and you'll soon get the knack of it in no time.