DIY Clasps

Whether you are looking to save money, match a unique pattern, or add your own sense of flair, making your own clasps is a cinch.    Doing a little research on the technique that works for you can take you from Oh, you made it yourself to Wow, you made that?

Here are some pics from that net that I'm tempted to try:

Cool Copper Celtic Clasp

Circulet Clasp with Dangling Bead

Beaded Wire Clasp

Bead-Centered Clasp

Gorgeous Front Clasp

For tutorials, try these sites:  

Easy, simple S clasp for beginners

Beaded S Clasp

Bonus!  A Clever DIY Tool for Fastening Your Bracelet.

Easy Crystal Bracelet Tutorial

Left:  Blue crystals, rows of three 6 mm alternated colors.
Right:  rows of three 4 mm, with four rows of 4-6-4 mm crystals in the middle.

Skinny bracelet: Single crystal rows (8mm).

One of the first types of bracelets I learned to make is this simple crystal bracelet.  If you love sparkle and want something that works up quickly and easily, this is a great way to practice beading while giving yourself or a loved one a gorgeous gift.

You don't have to use crystals. In fact, any beads you like will do.  I just happen to love the sparkle of Swarovski crystals.



What you'll need:

• Wire Cutters
• Round Nose Pliers
• Crimper

• 11/0 seed beads (about 220 of them, or one small package)--I used size 11 cylinder beads instead.
• Crystals (about 60 6 mm or so for a wider bracelet or 20 8 mm for a smaller one)
• A clasp (I usually use a two-strand clasp)
• Beading wire
• 4 crimp beads

1.  Start by affixing your two strands of wire to the clasp with crimp beads.  Basically, you insert the wires into the clasp holes.  String on a crimp bead for each strand.  Fold the tail of the wires with a little excess (about a centimeter or so) and tuck them into their respective crimp beads.  Use your crimpers to squeeze the crimp bead closed.

2.  Next, string 6 seed beads onto each wire.

3.  Pick up your crystal(s) with one wire.  Then go through the crystal(s) in the opposite direction (criss-crossed) with the other wire.  Pull snug, but not too tight.




















4.  Repeat until you have the desired length (usually this will be 20 rows of crystals with the 6 seed bead columns on either end).  Avoid help from eager children and mischievous cats.

5.  When you have your desired length, add the crimp beads and insert the wires into the clasp.

6.  Trim the wires, slip them from the back of the clasp into the crimp bead and several of the seed beads.  Crimp and then you're done!

Tips:  
Be careful about the length you use when crimping around the clasp.  Too tight and it will be too stiff.  Too loose and it won't look right.

As you work, pause after each row to make sure your tension is adequate (not too tight, not too loose).

Always cut a longer strand of wire than you think you need.  It's better to have extra than to run out!

Jewelry Dress Form

For some time now, I've wanted something that would help me perfect my necklace-making.   I've yelled, "I can't believe that just happened!" so many times that my kids and husband roll their eyes at my now-ironic statement.  I guess I should believe it because half the time I hold up a strung design to my neck and chest (trying to figure out how long I want it), one half of the wire slips out of my grasp and beads cascade all over the floor.  I even tried using Bead Buddies to keep the ends secure and it still spilled all over the place!!!  Hopeless?  Nope!

Jenny II:  My sister-in-law's form.

In the absence of a mannequin, I decided to make my own necklace form.  Luckily, my sister-in-law just moved up and happens to have similar dimensions!  After watching a Youtube on how to make a dress form, off I went to her place with a bunch of duct tape, an old shirt, and my enthusiasm.  An hour later I was cutting the form off her and sealing it up.

Using the dress form to see how my chameleon charms hang.

Here's what I learned:

1.  Pinning up hair isn't good enough.  Spray water, detangler, or better yet, hairspray.  Baby hairs love duct tape.  OUCH!

2.  Cut the duct tape into smaller pieces for around the neck.  That much curve is hard to handle.  I even cut it in half length-wise.

3.   For bumps, use a curling iron.  Just run it hot over the tape (preferably with a thin cotton tee between the iron & tape). Of course, wait until you get it off the model's body first.

4.  Because you've used many layers of duct tape, now the form is going to be larger than the actual model.  I now need to cut it apart again and reduce the size.

Learning to Create Digital Art

Of course this is a jewelry making blog, but what better way to design custom looks than to draw out the specs?  So after a few glasses of really scrumptious syrrah, my wallet escorted me to Amazon where I foolishly, but excitedly, ordered a graphics tablet.  I chose the Create from Wacom's Bamboo line and two days later it arrived!




So I guess this summer will be spent learning to use the new tablet.  I will say if you're used to pen and paper, it's a little tricky to switch to a new medium like this, but not impossible.  Hopefully in the next six weeks, thanks to awesome Youtube vloggers, I'll see some progression in my skills (or lack thereof)!

My first doodle:

Mushroom Guy

Why a mushroom?  Well, I tried to draw a face and it was so bad it looked like a mushroom character to me.  Oh well, at least I was able to practice using Autodesk Sketchbook Express, which came with the drawing tablet.

Waited so Long! Faceted Glass Briolette Necklace with 6/0 seed beads

I bought these beads a few years ago for pennies on the dollar.  It was one of those awesome sales I can't resist even though I really try to follow this advice to prevent overspending:

Buy ONLY what you need for the project at hand.

Sometimes you just have to jump on a good deal, though.  As I was goofing around with a cool Pinterest crochet lace tutorial, I tried these amethyst colored glass briolettes and realized they might not be best for the project.

BUT, and this is where craft fails turn into craft successes, I loved the way they looked with alternating pairs of 6/0 seed beads.  I loved that the necklace reminded me of the classic Swarovski collar necklaces from the 1950's.

It's simple and repetitive, but elegant, I think.

The only problem with waiting so long to use them is that I don't know whether these are crystal or just plain glass.  I'm guessing glass.  Either way, the faceting adds a bit of sparkle in the light.

Resined Shrink Plastic Necklace Tutorial

Remember back in childhood when Shrinky Dinks were all the rage?  I used to love coloring them in and then watching them shrink into a firm charm in the oven.  Well now they're back, but better than ever.  Instead of having to color in pre-printed designs, you can grab a generous set of 10 large sheets at a local craft store for under $10.

I bought these at Michaels with my 40% off coupon (you can download the Michaels app to your smart phone for unlimited coupon use.  Plus they offer a 15% off coupon for teachers!)


Caution! Buy the "Frosted Ruff N' Ready."  I started out with the Crystal Clear and found out you really cannot use them unless you sand them down first with a fine grit sandpaper.

Materials Needed for Dragonfly Necklace:

Shrinky Dinks Frosted Ruff N' Ready
Envirotex Two-Part Resin
Pencil
Sharpie (or permanent marker): fine or ultra fine
Color Pencils
A couple sheets of white paper
Scissors
Hole Punch
A cheap or old paintbrush
A plastic spoon to measure resin
A small paper cup
An oven
A box or something to cover your project from dust while it dries
Jump rings
Chain
Clasp
Jewelry Making pliers & wire cutters

Instructions:

Finished Dragonfly Necklace

1.  Find an image you would like to turn into your pendant or charm.  If you want to create one yourself,it works best to draw it on another sheet of paper, and then trace it on.  I trace first with a pencil and then retrace with a fine or ultra fine Sharpie.  If you are good at tracing, just use a permanent marker.

2.  Color in your design.  I used Prang color pencils: nothing fancy.

Check the bottom of this blog to see more about which types of media you can/cannot use to color them.

For special effects, you can color on a paper and then place the Shrinky Dink on  top.

3.  Cut out your project.  I used small craft shears.  Then punch a hole where you want to hang it.  If it's a large charm, consider punching two on the sides instead of one at the top center.














I used a small hole punch, but you can use a regular size.



4.  Find a cookie sheet or pan that is completely flat at the bottom.  I usually put a piece of printer paper under the charm to protect the pan and to make it easier to take the charm out.

5.  Cook according to directions.  The charm will usually curl up, but be patient.  It will flatten back down.  It's so fun to watch it shrink, so turn on the oven light and call the kids over!

Uncooked next to a cooked Shrinky Dink.

Look at the change cooking makes!  Not only will it shrink to a third of the size, but it'll darken.  Keep this in mind when you  choose your colors.  I wish I had either chosen lighter colors or pressed lightly while coloring, but it still turned out alright.






In the packet there is a gauge so you can see how big to make your pendant and how much it will shrink.  Very handy!

6.  When you pull it out, you might want to use something to flatten the charm out if it isn't completely flat.  I just used a box of pasta and held it down for 10 seconds.

7.  When the charm is cool, mix up some resin according to manufacturer's instructions.  Apply a little at a time.  If you get bubbles, you can use a straw to blow them gently out.

Caution!  Anything that touches the resin will be ruined.  I used a cheap, old paintbrush and a plastic spoon to apply the resin.  Anything that touches the resin will have to be thrown out, except the cat (see below).

Don't apply too much resin as it will spill over the sides as it levels.  Let it dry for 24 hours and then reapply if needed.

Be sure to cover your pieces as they dry.  Pets and dust can junk up a beautiful project.  You can prop up an upside-down shoe box or plastic container over the top.  Make sure air can enter so the project dries.

8.  Use wire or jump rings in the holes of your piece to attach it wherever you want it.  I used jump rings to attach it to silver chain.  Add your clasp and voila!  Done!

Coloring Media

You can use color pencils, acrylic paints, and paint markers.
Do NOT use water color markers or crayons!

Troubleshooting & Preventative Tips:

Always cook your shrink plastic with the colored side up!

Double check that you've punched your holes BEFORE cooking.  Oops.

If the paper ends up sticking to your charm, you can rinse it in water and scratch the paper off the back with your fingernail.


If your hole is covered over in resin, use a bead reamer to re-open it.  I usually use a toothpick to clear the hole as it's drying.

Project now stuck to kitty's tail?  This happened to me.  I had to throw it away after carefully extracting it from the cat.  Wish I had known about covering my pieces before this happened!  Me-OW!

Using resin is the best way to coat a piece, both for aesthetics and to protect it from skin oils while wearing.  I do not recommend gloss (I tried Sculpy Gloss) because some will change the color of your design and it ends up looking rough and ragged.

The Spastic Beader Gets a Clue!

Okay, I'm one of these people who start a dozen projects and then finish only a few.  The problem is, if you have outstanding jewelry projects, they can be easily ruined by crazy cats who play with the string or by losing beads when they aren't stored properly.

I tried using shoe boxes, paper bags and Ziplock bags.  No go.  As I was cleaning out my cabinet, I found these plastic bins and thought, wow, if I cut my bead mat to line them, these bins would be perfect.  They stack, so I could accommodate several projects!

One problem:  beads could fall out of the little slats.  Then I remembered my daughter's recent fetish:  colored duct tape.  I grabbed a roll and made these:

I still have to watch out for Delilah (above) and Vinnie, but this works so much better than previous attempts.  And since I stack them on my craft table, I am also reminded that I have projects to complete--I'm a bit of the out of sight, out of mind crafter.

Bead Buddies and Other Clamps

When stringing beads, it's so helpful to use some kind of clamp at the end.  This ensures the beads don't slide off the end of the wire as you add more.

 But why not just crimp the end?  Why put on a temporary clamp?  Sometimes you find that as you near the end of the project, you need to add or subtract a few beads to get the right look or the correct length.  If you are using a repeated pattern that has no extra variables, that's fine.  But using pendants or certain patterns will make the necklace lopsided if you only change on side.

Love these!

The Versatility of Polymer Clay

Polymer Clay has to be one of the most amazing substances for crafting!  Below are two techniques I have been working on:  backfilling and wire wrapping with metallic pigment coloring.

Backfilling is a cool but sometimes tricky technique in which you either stamp (in the case below) or carve into clay.  Next, you use a transluscent liquid polymer with coloring or mixed with metallic pigment to fill in the indenture from the stamp/carving.  Since carving takes a lot of practice, I just stamped into the clay.  I then mixed the TLS (translucent liquid Sculpy) with gold Pearl Ex powder and used a toothpick to ease it into the stamp indent.  After cooking the creations, I covered in two coats of resin.

The seahorse, one of my favorites so far, was accomplished by rolling out black Premo polymer clay in a pasta machine, cutting it into the seahorse shape with an Exacto knife, and then bending craft wire, which I placed onto the seahorse.  I used a piece of glass from a picture frame to press it evenly into the clay.  I then flicked metallic powder onto the seahorse for coloring and fired it up in the oven per the manufacturer's instructions.  When it cooled, I used Envirotex resin, a 2-part mixture, to coat it for the shiny effect.  After 24 hours I repeated the resin coating.  Turned out great, I think!

Wire with metallic pigments pendant.

Next blog posts: 1. Idea for storing unfinished jewelry projects to avoid damage.

                              2. Tutorial on making shrink plastic necklace.