Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

This is a guest project designed by Tansy Wilson. Tansy is a professional jeweller and runs her business from beautiful rural Somerset. She also teaches a jewellery evening class at her local college. Tansy has a BA in 3-D Design and has been in the design industry for 20 years.

You will need:

• 1 x fully annealed soft sterling silver sheet 1.2mm
• 2 x silver scrolls 110
• 2 x silver 5mm pegs and flat disc earring posts

STEP 1

The first crucial step in any design project is to plan your idea on paper first to ensure you have the right shapes and sizes of required material. This step avoids mistakes which can be costly if you cut straight into your silver sheet. I have used a 50mm x 50mm piece of 1.2mm thick sheet enabling me to plan 4 pieces the same size. All measure approximately 34mm x 16mm.

STEP 2

Mark these measurements onto your silver still keeping the protective film on. Use a piercing saw to cut out these 4 pieces. Remember to keep the blade at 90° to the sheet to allow the blade to cut smoothly and for you to keep control of the saw.

STEP 3

You should now have four pieces of silver sheet all the same size. Remove the protective film from one side only of two of these pieces. Using a ball nose or texturing hammer,  place one of these pieces onto a hard flat surface, protective film side down and hammer across the exposed side of sheet to reveal an evenly textured pattern. Repeat this for the other piece.

STEP 4

When both pieces are textured, using double sided sticky tape, stick one textured piece to a non textured piece ensuring that you leave the non textured piece on the top, so you can easily draw onto the protective film. Also ensure that the two pieces are aligned as closely as possible.

STEP 5

Again using the piercing saw, cut your shapes out. You will now be cutting through two sheets of metal at exactly the same time. Try and use as fine a piercing saw blade as possible at this stage. This is because the thickness of the blade will not remove too much silver when cutting, meaning that your opposite pieces will fit together as closely as possible.

STEP 6

When you have finished piercing out your shapes, pull the stuck pieces apart and remove all the protective film. You will now have positive and negative shapes that are textured and smooth. Place the best fitting opposite pieces together so you have a contrasting texture next to a smooth one.

STEP 7

When happy with your combination, place onto a piece of emery paper and rub all of the backs only of the shapes to remove any grease and then place face down onto a soldering block. Paint flux and place tiny squares (paillons) of hard silver solder along the joins of all the pieces. Soldering on the back means that solder will not run onto the textured fronts of your pieces. Heat slowly so the flux doesn’t bubble and continue heating so the solder melts and runs along the joins. Place in a mild pickle and wash.

STEP 8

When your pieces are clean, remove any blobs of solder from the back with a file and emery paper so it becomes a nice smooth flat surface again. Now you can draw a final shape onto each earring. Again plan this on paper before hand so you don’t make any mistakes when marking onto the silver.

STEP 9

File your earrings into their final shape. If you are removing a lot of material, it is advisable to cut excess away using the piercing saw. When you are happy with the final shape, polish both sides of each earring, ensuring you do not remove too much of the texture.

STEP 10

When all clean and polished, I have bent each earring over a former to add some shape. You will probably be able to bend your shape by hand but if not use a plastic ended hammer so you do not mark the surface of the earrings. Finally solder an earring post onto the back of each earring using easy solder. This enables you to solder the post on without melting any of the previously soldered joins. Pickle and rinse and polish up with a silver cloth.

STAMP AND CUT: An effective but simple project for Precious Metal Clay in association with PMC. Design this pendant in only 7 steps!

You will need:

• Badger Balm
• Spacer Roller Set
• Texture mat
• Circle cutters
• Oval cutters
• PMC3 Clay
• Work mat
• Teflon sheet
• Sandpaper
• Butane Torch
• Stainless Steel Brush
•  Burnisher
• Antiquing solution (optional)
• Stringing material – Cord or Leather thong

STEP 1

Roll out some Precious Metal Clay on a piece of Teflon sheet using a Spacer Roller set. Remember to lightly apply Badger Balm to your tools to prevent your clay sticking.

STEP 2

Use a texture mat to add texture to both sides of your Clay.

STEP 3

Cut out 2 circles that are the same size. Cut a large oval in the centre of 1 circle. Cut a small circle near the top of the second circle.

STEP 4

Leave the pieces to dry thoroughly and then use sandpaper to refine the edges.

STEP 5

Torch fire each piece. Torch fire for a minimum of 2 minutes, time this from after the binder has burnt off and the piece starts to glow orange.

STEP 6

Polish using a Stainless steel brush and Burnisher.

STEP 7

To bring out the depth in the piece use an antiquing solution such as Liver of Sulphur or Platinol. Use the agate burnisher when the solution is dry to bring up the highlights on the piece. Loop a piece of cord around the top of both circles and your pendant is ready to wear.

This is a guest project designed by Jane Kharade. Jane is a craft designer who designs beautifully coloured pieces with the aid of clay, crystals and silver.

You will need:

• Rubber Stamp Mat – Fleur De Lis
• 7 x Silver jump rings   7mm heavy
• 2 x Silver jump rings   5mm heavy
• Silver curb chain 7”
• Silver 14.5mm plain Ring and Bar
• PMC3 – 25gm

Tools

• Scalpel 3 handle 10A blades
• 2 x Roller spacers
• Teflon mat
• Needle Files
• Hand held blow torch
• Soldering block
• Oxidising solution (Liver of Sulphur)
• Tweezers
• Pliers: round nosed, flat
• Emery paper fine, extra fine
• Wire brush/ metal burnisher

STEP 1

Carefully cut out four shapes from medium weight card. Use a 10A scalpel blade and a cutting mat then trim the card down on each one.

STEP 2

Roll out the PMC3 clay to approximately 1.5mm on a Teflon mat. Use a plastic roller, and two spacers to roll the clay to an even thickness. Lightly dust the Fleur De Lys rubber stamp with talcum powder and carefully but firmly press the PMC onto the stamp.
STEP 3

Carefully peel the PMC from the rubber stamp and lay it on the Teflon mat. Gently place the card template on top of the PMC and cut out the clay with a scalpel. Work quickly and cut out seven shapes in total, you may wish do make a couple of spares; choose the better ones for the bracelet and the spares can be made into pendants.

STEP 4

Use a 7mm Ø paintbrush protector and cut out a circle from the centre of each shape. Roll the clay into a ball and wrap it up immediately as it can be re-used.

STEP 5

Use a sharp instrument to make a hole in each charm for hanging.

STEP 6

Use a needle file to file all the rough edges on the charms, do this while the PMC is in its ‘dried out plaster’ state. The task will be time consuming once the PMC has been fired and is metal.

STEP 7

Fire the charms on a soldering block with a hand held blow torch. Make sure they glow steadily pale orange all over. Begin timing for 2.5 minutes – enough for pieces under 10g. This stage is known as ‘sintering’. Don’t worry if the charms become curved during firing. Simply leave them curved as I have or turn them over with tweezers and re-fire.

STEP 8

Oxidise the charms in a solution of Liver of Sulphur; use it in a well ventilated room as the fumes can be dangerous.

STEP 9

Polish the charms with emery paper, as the PMC is soft fine and extra fine will be sufficient to create a polished surface. Finish off by burnishing them with a metal burnisher.

STEP 10

Use pliers and add a 5mm jump ring to either end of a silver curb bracelet. Thread on the ring and bar and attach a 7mm jump ring to each charm and hang them from the bracelet. Make sure all of the jump rings are tightly closed. You have finished your Chunky Charm bracelet!

Designer Tip

Peel a little part of the clay away from the stamp and check that a good impression has been made in the clay. If the impression is weak simply apply more pressure to the clay with the fingers.

Make sure the holes made the charms for hanging will be big enough. As the charm shrinks during firing so will the holes.

Hope you enjoy the project and let us know what inspires you this summer!

This is a guest post by Tansy Wilson. Tansy is a professional jeweller and runs her business from beautiful rural Somerset. She also teaches a jewellery evening class at her local college. Tansy has a BA in 3-D Design and has been in the design industry for 20 years.

“I loved the pink and white swirls of their stunning glass marbled beads and this gave me the idea of creating the summery strawberries and cream theme influenced by the classic treat at Wimbledon or any summer picnic. I also used their Swarovski crystal pearls to compliment the design. The marble beads are sold in a mixed bag of 50 grams so you do not know what shapes you will receive so plan your design and then you can utilize all the beads you do get so you can make either a bracelet or necklace or both! What you can guarantee is that you know your piece will be truly unique. The daisy toggle clasp adds that extra summery garden feel and is such a pretty feature it won’t matter if you wear the clasp at the front or back.”

You will need:

Necklace

• 2 x 20 inch lengths of 0.5mm Beadalon elasticity
• 2 x silver crimp tubes 2.00mm long
• 1 x silver flower ring and bar clasp
• 21 x glass marble pink beads
• 40 Swarovski crystal pearl white beads 4mm
• 40 Swarovski crystal pearl rose beads 4mm

Bracelet

• 2 x 12 inch lengths of 0.5mm Beadalon elasticity
• 2 x silver crimp tubes 2.00mm long
• 1 x silver flower ring and bar clasp
• 7 x glass marble pink beads
• 24 Swarovski crystal pearl white beads 6mm

STEP 1

Look at all your beads in your mixed pack and decide what shapes you want to use to make your bracelet and necklace. Lay the beads out next to each other planning that an average adult bracelet length is 7½ inches long including the daisy clasp.

STEP 2

Cut two lengths of 0.5mm elasticity 12 inches long for the bracelet and two lengths that are 20 inches long for the necklace. Starting with the bracelet, hold the two 12 inch lengths together and thread onto both a 2mm silver crimp tube. Then thread both ends of elasticity through the jumpring on the daisy clasp and then back through the crimp tube. Slide the crimp tube up towards the jumpring so that the elastic is trapped nice and tightly making sure you still have long lengths of elasticity to bead onto. Using crimping pliers, squash the crimp tube so it secures the elastic and trim excess short ends away.

STEP 3

Starting with your first bead in your design, thread both lengths of elasticity through the hole of this bead.

STEP 4

Now split your elasticity and thread two 6mm white Swarovski crystal pearls onto one length and two 6mm white Swarovski crystal pearls on the other length.

STEP 5

Taking your next larger glass marble bead regroup the elasticity and again thread both lengths through the same hole of this bead. Keep repeating steps 4 and 5 until you reach your desired length of bracelet.

STEP 6

When you have finally added your last glass marble bead, holding both lengths of elasticity together, add another 2 mm silver crimp tube and this time thread both ends of elasticity through the loop on the bar of the clasp and then back down through the crimp tube. Ensure all the beads are nicely packed together before finally crimping in place. Cut off excess ends.

STEP  7

As each 50 gram pack of beads contains a mix you should have enough smaller beads to make a necklace. So again work out your design and lay out the beads planning a necklace that is at least 16 inches in length including the clasp.

STEP 8

Repeat steps 2 to 6 this time using the two lengths of 20 inch elasticity. As I am using smaller glass marble beads for this necklace, I have used 4mm Swarovski crystal pearls. When threading the pearls onto the divided elasticity, I have added one 4 mm white Swarovski crystal pearl and then one 4 mm rose Swarovski crystal pearl to add more colour then reversed this combination to create a pattern.

STEP 9

As you repeat the process of adding the Swarovski crystal pearls either side of each marbled bead try and plan your pattern so the colours alternate all the way down the necklace. Finally repeat step 6 to add the bar of the clasp and secure the necklace. The beauty of a 16 inch necklace on elasticity is you can always double it and wear as a bracelet!

STEP 10

You have completed the project. This is the finished Strawberries and Cream necklace. You can get everything you need to design it by clicking here. Have fun making your own!

You could also try…

Bracelet 

There may be odd shaped beads left over from your 50 gram mixed bag that you could make additional bracelets with. You could combine with beads you have already in your bead box to make quite a different style!

Designer Tip

- Using elastic rather than nylon coated wire means that putting your bracelet or necklace on and taking them off is easy and simple as you do not have to undo the clasp at all!

- If you order two packs of the mixed glass marble beads you will be able to be more selective with bead sizes and then have enough left over to make more designs for your friends!

This project has also been featured in Making Jewellery Magazine.

This is a guest project designed by Linda Jones. Linda Jones specialises in wirework and has written a number of books on the subject.

“These beautiful lustre beads look gorgeous when linked into pairs, while the wire units create a pleasing overall shape.”

This beautiful necklace, bracelet and earrings set looks so glamorous and intricate, made up from individual beaded wire units that provide their unique shape. Yet this project only takes a little practise to master and you won’t need much in the way of materials, just wire and a pack of glistening oval beads! Before long, you’ll have a set to treasure.

You will need:

Beads

• Lamp beads, mixed, lustre, oval, 1mm x 9mm

Findings

• Wire, silver, round, 0.8mm x 6ft
• Caribiner,heavy, 11mm, silver
• Ring and bar, 14.5mm, silver
• Earwires, fish hook, silver

Tools

• Pliers: round-nosed, chain-nosed, flatnosed
• Wire cutters

STEP 1

There are 7 beaded units in this necklace, however, if you wish to create a longer piece, just make more! To make each unit, you will need 8 beads and 10” (25.5cms) of 0.8mm silver wire. Once you have cut a 10” (25.5cms) of wire, place your round nosed pliers at the centre of the length and bring the wire around to form a loop. Wrap one wire around the other where they cross over and straighten out the projecting wires in a ‘V’ shape.

STEP 2

Thread each projecting wire with a bead and bring the wires together, crossing them over at the centre. Straighten the wires out on either side.

STEP 3

Thread two more beads onto the projecting wires and once again, bring the wires together, crossing them over at the centre as in step. Repeat with 2 more sets of beads until you have formed a unit with 4 pairs.

STEP 4

To complete the unit, secure one wire around the other and using your round nosed pliers, create a circular link at the end of the projecting wire. Cut off any excess wire and neaten the ends. Use your flat nosed pliers to twist this link so that it sits at right angles to the beaded unit.

Attach the trigger clasp at the end. To connect the beaded units together, open the end link of one unit and attach to the wrapped the loop of another, forming a continuous beaded chain.

You have completed the project. This is the finished Crossed Wires Necklace. You can get everything you need to design it by clicking here. Have fun making your own!

You could also try…

Earrings

STEP 1: Cut 20cm of 0.8mm round silver wire and form a unit with two pairs of beads in the same way as the bracelet. Before finishing, thread one more bead onto one of the projecting wires. Take the other wire and wrap it around the perimeter of the bead, framing the oval shape.

STEP 2: Secure at the top end and if you have any leftover wire, spiral the end and flatten at the reverse of the bead. Create a spiral with the other wire projecting from the bead and flatten this against the front as added detail and decoration. Suspend from an earwire, then repeat to make a pair.

Designer Tip

Try a few practise runs with the beaded units before starting the project, until you’re comfortable with shaping the wire. And why not add a pendant to the centre of the necklace for extra impact.

To see more of Linda Jones’s work visit www.wirejewellery.co.uk . How did you find  this project? Are you going to try it? If you like it, take a look at our other jewellery making projects here!

This is a guest project designed by Tansy Wilson. Tansy is a professional jeweller and runs her business from beautiful rural Somerset. She also teaches a jewellery evening class at her local college. Tansy has a BA in 3-D Design and has been in the design industry for 20 years.

“In this design I have used Cookson’s coloured glass mix of beads in turquoise to make this fabulous statement necklace. This will be your ultimate must have piece of jewellery for the summer and can be worn with just your swimsuit or dressed up for the evening. I just love the beautiful blues of these glass beads and feel they totally sum up the colours of summer!”

You will need:

STEP 1

Cut six 20cm lengths of turquoise round leather cord. Holding just three of the lengths together, place them inside a 4mm silver end cap and using flat nose pliers, squash the end cap’s walls down tightly to secure all the ends firmly in place. Add a drop of super glue for extra security.

STEP 2

Start plaiting the three leather cords nice and evenly and when you reach 12cm in length, take another 4mm end cap and trap these ends in place, cutting away any excess cord. Again add a drop of glue for extra security. Make sure your end caps have the eye loops facing out at both ends. Repeat step 1 and 2 for the other three lengths of cord.

STEP 3

Attach one 5mm jumpring to the loop of the end cap at the top of one of the sections and close. Then add another jumpring to the loop of the end cap on the other plaited section. Before closing this jumpring, add a bolt ring clasp and then close.

STEP 4

Take 20cm of silver chain, I have used Cookson’s flat round and polished oval link (10mm.) This means I have eleven large flat round links in the length. Attach one end of the chain to the loop at the bottom of the other end cap on the plaited cords by using a 5mm jumpring. Finally attach the other end of the chain to the other section with another 5mm jumpring so you now have a completed necklace shape.

STEP 5

You now need to attach the glass beads to the chain and to do that you need to make headpins. The size of the holes in your beads, determines the thickness of wire used to make your head pins. These beads have quite large holes so I have used 0.8mm round Sterling silver wire. Hold a length of the sterling silver wire vertical under a steady flame from a gas torch so that just the tip of the wire is being heated. As it glows to cherry red it will suddenly melt onto itself creating a small ball of molten silver. As soon as this happens remove from the heat, cut to approx. 8cm and leave to cool.

STEP 6

Repeat step 5 until you have made enough head pins to match the number of beads you are using. You may need to polish the end of your head pins to remove any fire-stain or discolouration. Place a headpin through a glass bead and make an eye loop as close to the top of the bead as possible. Spiral the remaining length of wire round the eye loop at the top of the bead to secure the loop and make a decorative feature.

STEP 7

Repeat step 6 making a spiralled eye loop at the top of all your beads except for one smaller bead. This smaller bead will attach to your central feature bead. To do this you need to make an eye pin. Make an eye loop at the very end of 6cm of 0.8mm wire. Thread the smaller bead onto this length and then make another spiral eye loop at the top of this bead. Link this small bead onto your feature bead by the bottom eye loop and close.

STEP 8

Attach your two feature beads onto the very central flat round link of your chain by using a 5mm jumpring.

STEP 9

Move on to the next flat round link and add another 5mm jumpring linking this to the spiralled eye loop at the top of another glass bead. Repeat this process until all the glass beads are secured to the round links. Finally taking the small silver stamped flower shapes, add these to the polished oval links in between all the glass beads by also linking them to the chain using 5mm jumprings.

STEP 10

You have completed the project. This is the finished Beautiful Blues necklace. You can get everything you need to design it by clicking here. Have fun making your own!You could also try…

Bracelet

When you buy a mix of beads and have chosen ones for the necklace you may have several left over. These can be used to make a matching bracelet. Plait another three lengths of leather cord together adding end caps at either end. A good size guide for a wrist length is between 7” and 8”. Then make more head pins as in step 5. Thread a head pin through a glass bead and onto one of the leather cords then spiral the wire round on itself, securing the bead into place. Continue adding beads and if you have any flower shapes left over add these as well using 5mm jumprings.

Designer Tip

Glass beads can be heavy when a lot are being used in one design. Sort out your beads so you can match similar sized ones to each other. Then when you are adding them to your chain they will balance evenly when being worn.

This project has also been featured in Making Jewellery Magazine.

You can see Tansy’s other project – Monochrome Magic - here. Have you tried it? What projects have you been doing lately to inspire others?

This is a guest project designed by Jane Kharade. Jane designs beautifully coloured pieces with the aid of clay, crystals and silver.

“Create unique accessories for your own wedding or a friend’s special occasion, with easy to use rubber moulds and precious metal clay.”

Mould pretty charms from silver clay to form Jane Kharade’s wedding gift jewellery.

Use a flexible rubber mould and precious metal clay to create these stunning keepsake gifts for a wedding, all of which can be worn after the special day has long gone. The mould features a selection of pretty elements, that can be used to create charms suitable for a number of occasions. Find out how to design a pretty pendant and stunning charm bracelet for the bridesmaids, embellished with glittering Swarovski crystals, plus striking cuff links for the best man.

You will need:

• Bicones, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, 6mm, light peach x 11
• Crystals, round, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, 6mm, Indian pink crystals x 11
• Chain: snake, sterling silver; plain curb, loose, silver
• Jump rings, silver: 5mm, light ; 7mm, heavy
• Head pins, 3 bead end, silver, 50mm
• Clasp, lobster clasp, 13mm
• Clay, precious metal, PMC 3 x 25g
• Cuff links, silver
• Mould, flexible rubber, Occasions
• Badger Balm
• Needle
• Pliers: round-nosed; flat-nosed
• Cutters, wire
• Mat, Teflon
• Blow torch, hand-held
• Soldering block
• Brush, wire
• Files, needle
• Burnisher, metal

STEP 1

Lightly coat a teacup, teapot, flower, shoe, bonnet, and dress moulds with a thin layer of Badger Balm, using your finger. This will stop the clay from sticking to the mould and damaging the pattern of the charm as it is being removed. You will need to make up six flowers and one shoe, dress, bonnet, teacup and teapot charm for this project. Form each one individually by pinching a piece of precious metal clay from the block, then wrapping the rest back up to stop it from drying out.

STEP 2

Roll the clay into a ball and press it into your chosen mould, then push a needle into the charm to create a large hole for attaching a jump ring. Bend the mould slightly and carefully release the charm out; if the clay doesn’t have a good impression, simply ball it up and re-mould. Lay the charms on a Teflon mat to dry out overnight; once they feel like plaster, use needle files to remove any rough edges and create a smooth finish.

STEP 3

Fire the charms on a soldering block with a blow torch until they glow orange, then maintain this glow for a minimum of two minutes. Alternatively, fire in a PMC kiln on the PMC3 fast programme or 700°C for 10 minutes. Quench in cold water, then brush the charms with a wire brush, front and back, and use a metal burnisher to polish the high points. Thread each charm onto a 5mm jump ring. Hang them from a 18cm curb chain at regular intervals so that the charms are balanced throughout the bracelet.

STEP 4

Thread 10 pink crystals and 10 peach crystals onto head pins. Use round-nosed pliers to form a neat loop. Wrap the end of the head pin around itself three times and trim the excess. Thread one pink and one peach crystal onto 5mm jump rings then hang them between each charm. Attach a lobster clasp to the bracelet with a 5mm jump ring to one end, and a 7mm jump ring to the other.

STEP 5

You have completed the project. This is the finished Special Occasion bracelet. You can get everything you need to design it by clicking here. Have fun making your own!

You could also try…

Pendant

Step 1: Lightly coat a teacup and a flower mould with a thin layer of Badger Balm. Pinch a piece of precious metal clay from the block, divide it in two and push each piece into the teacup and flower moulds. Make holes in the charms with a needle for the jump rings, then carefully ease them out of the mould.Leave the charms to dry out overnight, then remove any rough edges with needle files. Fire the charms with a hand-held blow torch, quench and brush with a wire brush, then use a metal burnisher to create a mirror finish on the high points.

Step 2: Add a 5mm jump ring to each of the charms. Thread one pink and one peach crystal onto individual head pins. Using round-nosed pliers, form a neat loop and wrap the end of each head pin around itself three times with the aid of flat-nosed pliers, then trim off the excess. Open up a 7mm jump ring with pliers and thread the two crystals onto the jump ring, add the teacup charm and close tightly, then slip it onto a snake chain. Add the flower next to this.

Cufflinks

Step 1: Coat the top hat mould with a light film of Badger Balm. Pinch a piece of precious metal clay from the block, roll into a ball and push it into the top hat mould. Carefully ease the charm out, lay on a Teflon mat and repeat to make a second charm. Once they have dried out overnight, remove any rough edges with needle files.

Step 2: Fire the charms on a soldering block, quench and brush with a wire brush, then use a metal burnisher to polish to a mirror shine. Mix up epoxy resin according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stick the top hats to cuff link findings and leave the resin to cure overnight.

Designer Tip

Take care when filing the charms after they have dried, as they can be fragile in this pre-fired state.