Famous Jewelry Collections: March 2012

Saturday, March 31, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Book Review - Absolute Beginner's Guide to Making Wire Jewelry

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Kalmbach Publishing has an awesome series of beginner jewelry making "textbooks". By that I mean a book that can get you started on jewelry making without knowing anything about and without the internet! It can also act as your personal instructor when there is none available.

The latest one they sent me is The Absolute Beginners Guide: Making Wire Jewelry by UK based Martine Callaghan. As with the others in the series, this one is thorough. The beginning of the book covers everything a beginner needs to know about materials, wire and tools. There are also many clear pictures.

The 25 projects start off with the very simplest tasks like how to do wire loops for earrings and builds up such that the student learns how to do a variety of techniques like making scrolls, coiling wire, hammering, making jump rings and forming clover links all with just basic tools and without a jig.

Beginners though will have to be willing to practice. It looks easy enough to make clovers with just chain nose pliers but a few tries might be needed to produce consistent ones. The book also includes instructions on how to make clasps, ear wires, coil bails and cord ends.

Some of the more challenging projects but still doable for a late beginner include the ever popular tree of life design only it is an apple tree in this reincarnation!

I also liked the well named Masterpiece Charm bracelet. It features loads of coiling

Even though I am not a beginner, I still picked up a few tricks from this author here and there throughout the book. One example is the double spiral link bracelet shown below which has two types of scrolls. One kind has only one loop on the outside and the other has two loops for connections. She forms the latter on the tips of her round nose pliers.

I highly recommend this faultless book (believe me, I really looked!) for beginners. Click here to see a preview of the book including the contents page.

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

Friday, March 30, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Abacus Bracelets Help Count Knitting or Crochet Stitches

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Wearing an abacus bracelet is an exceedingly clever idea because a knitter or crochet enthusiast can easily keep count of stitches. Sure you can buy those little plastic row counters but they are small and will only fit knitting needles not crochet hooks. Functional pieces of jewelry like counting bracelets are much prettier alternatives.

One of the most amazing designs is by Sharon Coleman whose Etsy Store is called Ablet : Home of the Knitting Abacus. Shown above is her bracelet using rainbow colors. Her design is reminiscent of how traditional wooden or bamboo Chinese abacus work. Her corded beads are movable with one row representing individual knitted or crochet row. The other row represents 10's of worked rows. The best way to understand how it works is to watch her video.

Other jewelry designers also have different ways to make a bracelet countable. Jeanette of Jed's Joy makes pretty double strand bracelets with one crucial difference. There is a small beaded ring which is moved to position so it marks how many rows have been done.

Jessica of the Crafty Chaos made this lovely black and pink design featuring two small beaded rings one for each row.

The abacus, a really ancient invention, is still widely used in other parts of the world, notably Asia, often at lightning speed. The most familiar design is the wooden frame one with beads like this :

A Chinese abacus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But did you know abaci were once simply beans and stones moved on grooves of sand or carved out wooden tablets? Shown below is a calculating table dating back to the medieval era.

Calculating-Table by Gregor Reisch: Margarita Philosophica, 1508 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before You Go :

A Bracelet to Help You Count and Stay Healthy
Geometrically Inspired Necklace Tutorials
Nursing Bracelet for a New Mum (includes link to tutorial)

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

Thursday, March 29, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

LoveMaegan's Great Upcycled Jewelry Ideas for Embellished Collar Tips

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PDT

LoveMaegan was inspired by many of the trendy embellished collar tip designs out there and eventually come up with her own spin and tutorial. She embroidered glass pearls, vintage rhinestone earrings, buttons and beads from her broken necklace for her drop dead gorgeous collar tips.

The blouse will have to be carefully hand washed or even dry cleaned. I think embellishing a coat or jacket collars are also a good idea - less frequent laundering for those garments!

But if you don't want to embroider, consider her other post on 10 Easy Ways to Upcycle Rhinestone Earrings. Every single one is a fabulous idea so I highly recommend you visit her blog for this post. One of them involves making over the rhinestone earrings into brooches which can be pinned to embellish collars of any outfit! So worries regarding the laundering.

Before You Go:

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