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Showing posts with label jewelry design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jewelry design. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

What Would Happen?

So what would happen if you gave eight very unique designers the same exact beads to work with?   We are about to find out!  One of our Creative Circle Ambassadors, Dawn Doucette, came up with the idea and hand-picked our supplies for us and a great job she did too.


We have been issued a challenge to create unique items using the same pieces. Okay...sounds fun.  Reveal date will be on March 30th.   We can do whatever we want using the materials given and adding in our own findings, beads, chains, etc. that make us happy. 

I do plan to blog along the way as I brainstorm as to what to create.

Below I have grouped our ladies into "teams.  Most of them have been grouped together by their styles and techniques.  The last grouping is of the last two remaining original Creative Circle Ambassadors.

 THE DESIGNERS

The Glamazons:   It's all about the bling with these two.  The more sparkly, the better for them.  They can move between sharp, edgy, on trend designs to laid back girl next door styling.  They know how to bring the punch to their designs.


Allison Cooling - young, innovative, edgy designer of Quiet Lion Creation, skilled photographer, graphic designer, blogger

After obsessively scanning through Vogue and other fashion magazines, she became inspired by the designer jewelry that filled the pages. Wanting to replicate the look and feel of those designs; she found that after a few experiments, it was easy to do.

Allison aims to show the world that making cool, hip, and beautiful jewelry is fun, regardless of skill level. Her blog is devoted to DIY jewelry using all types of techniques and materials. Occasionally, Allison posts tutorials for men's jewelry, accessory DIYs, nail design DIYs, recipes and art inspirations.


Rebecca Grafton Utermohlen - young, feisty, vibrant, leans more towards the sparkles and glitter, DIY jewelry fanatic, marathon runner, dedicated blogger

Rebecca started making jewelry as a 12-year-old kid who was bored one summer and needed a hobby. As the years have passed, jewelry making became more than just a hobby; it developed into a true passion. Rebecca dabbles in all types of different crafts, but jewelry making remains her favorite.




The Romantics:  These ladies always seem to have that old world charm in their designs.  Romance exudes from all they create. They are laid back, calm people who love the world around them.


Dawn Doucette -Victorian influenced, one of a kind designs, attention to the most intricate details, created works of art that become family heirlooms.

Dawn has been designing jewelry since she was a little girl. What began as loomed friendship bracelets evolved into a business of creating couture jewelry; Bella Amore Legacy Jewelry. Dawn works with gemstones, crystals, pearls and seed beads to create one-of-a-kind statement pieces. Her designs have been published in Beadwork Magazine; winning design contests and modeled by distinguished public speakers.


Molly Moore Alexander - wire and mixed media artist, blogger

Molly is a self-taught jewelry, mixed-media and mosaic artist, and is the owner and designer of Miss Molly’s Designs. Here jewelry designs have been published in such publications as Bead Trends, Belle Armoire Jewelry, Jewellery Magazine and Jewelry Affaire, and can be found in public and private collections around the world.

Each of Molly’s pieces are created lovingly in her home workshop, incorporating copper, silver, glass, resin and natural stones with wire, fiber and found objects, resulting in unique, one-of-a-kind designs. Molly continues to push herself artistically, learning new techniques and working with exciting new materials whenever she can to keep her designs distinctive and current.


The Die-Hard DIY/Crafters:  These ladies bring a very unique perspective to the table.  They have the ability to switch back and forth between crafting and jewelry design with great ease.


Rachel Goodman Nielsen - DIY enthusiast, dedicated blogger

Rachel loves to create. Some of her passions include baking, building stuff, sewing, gardening, crafting and, of course, making jewelry. Rachel loves to try new things and a few years ago decided to give jewelry making a shot. Her sister showed her a few basic skills and she was hooked. She enjoys the process of creating a piece of jewelry and learning new techniques. Rachel shares what she creates with the readers of her blog, Adventures of a DIY Mom, in the form of step-by-step tutorials. Rachel is a wife and stay-at-mom to four kids, three girls and a boy.


 
Carolina Moore - DIY Fanatic, blogger

Caroline has been crafting all her life in a variety of areas including jewelry, quilting, and papercrafting.  She currently maintains two blogs dedicated to her crafting - alwaysexpectmoore and 30minutecrafts.

She is a newcomer to the Cousin Creative Circle experience.





The Silver Sisters - The last two remaining original Creative Circle Members.  We have been with Cousin from the beginning back in August of 2011.


Lisa Crone - laid back and very organized, author of A Bead in Time, blogger, bead fanatic, creates more classical designs with modern twists, beachy and nature themed designs

Lisa has been designing beaded jewelry for over 20 years. She is a self-professed bead fanatic and enjoys learning new techniques from other bead enthusiasts through books, magazines and classes or improvising as she goes.

In her book A Bead in Time Lisa shares her journey of finding design inspiration in nature, artwork, vacations and the craft store. She currently maintains a daily beading blog where the tagline reads, “appreciating the individual beauty of beads and the unique works of art they are used to create.”

Lisa blogs to share in the fun of the online beading community. She regularly showcases beads, techniques, projects, bead artists, designers and crafters.


Shelly Owen (aka Me) - jewelry designer, wire and metal artist, graphic designer, painter, design style varies, given to melancholy on occasion

Shelly is a self-taught designer with over 20 years experience in jewelry design.  Her designs have been seen on the CW's hit show "Hart of Dixie" and published in Crafts 'n Things magazine.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

All Daintyfied and Super Cute!


Part of the fun of being a Creative Circle Ambassador for Cousin Corporation for America is getting to play around with some of the new product lines before the public gets to see them and design projects to go around those product lines.  Here are two (one easy, one a bit harder) projects using the new daintyfied™ line due to hit Michaels Craft Stores on August 15th.  The daintyfied™ program is comprised of itty, bitty charms and small, thin chains and bangles to serve as the bases.  A mixture of silver and gold charms, chains and bases provide the platform for hundreds of combinations to create and to get your creative juices flowing.


Project One:
daintyfied™ Freespirit Charm Bracelet




Tools:
Two Pair Chain Nose Pliers

Materials:
daintyfied™ #34778252 Bangle
daintyfied™ #34778226 "free" charms (or charms of your choice)

Craft Time:
5 minutes

Skill: Beginner

Jump Rings

Remove the charms and bracelet from packaging.  Attach the charms to the open loop on the bangle with their jump rings.  You can also just slide the charms on to the bangle itself so you can have interchangeable charms as well.



Project Two:
daintyfied™  Charmed Ring







Tools:
Two Pair Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Ring Mandrel or Large Barreled Marker
Flush Cutters
Ruler
Rawhide Mallet (Optional)

Materials:
daintyfied™ #34778226 "faith" charms (or charms of your choice)
22 gauge Craft Wire (I used Artistic Wire Non-Tarnish Brass)
Head Pins in a finish that matches your wire and charms.
4mm Crystals or Beads (I used Jewelry Basics #34721016)

Craft Time:
25 minutes

Skill: Intermediate Wire Wrapping

Jump Rings
Forming Loops
Wire Wrapping

Remove the charms from packaging and set aside.  Make four bead dangles by threading a 4mm bead onto a head pin and forming a loop.  Set aside.

Measure, cut and straighten 36 inches (91.44 cm).  Place round nose pliers at the center point of the wire and create a loop. 

Determine the size of ring you want to create and place the wire against the ring mandrel or marker barrel at the underside of the loop.  Wrap the wire ends around the mandrel two times each forming a ring shank. 

Take one wire end and bend at a 90ยบ angle.  Wrap around the ring shank five times.  Trim excess wire.  Repeat for the other side of the ring.  Push any rough edge of the wire down using the tip of your chain nose pliers.

Slide the ring back onto the mandrel to ensure that it is still round.  Hammer lightly with a rawhide mallet to harden the shank.

Attach the charms to the loop of the ring. 








 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Open, Closed, or Split - Choosing the Best Jump Ring for Your Project

Jump rings are very important jewelry findings.  They provide a means to connecting pieces that wouldn't ordinarily be able to connect. They can vary in sizes, gauges and styles. Your design will dictate which jump ring to use for each project. It can be confusing when trying to pick the right one especially when you are looking at Open, Closed, and Split jump rings. Hopefully, this post will help you choose the right one for your project.

Open Rings 

Open Sesame:  An open jump ring is one that has a cut in it that allows you open and close it as to connect pieces together.  Open jump rings are used in Chainmaille designs and can be grouped in clusters.

To open a jump ring, use two sets of pliers (chain or flat nose).  If you only have one set, you can hold the other side with your fingers or use a jump ring opener.  When opening a jump ring, open with a twist.  It's like a push/pull action.  Push in one direction and pull in the other.  Never open a jump ring by pulling the sides apart.  It will warp the ring.  To close it back, just twist.  You should hear a slight grading of metal on metal when you close the jump ring correctly.
Jump Ring Opener available at Prima Bead


To use the Jump Ring Opener, slide it onto a finger on your non-dominant hand. Insert the jump ring into the closest fitting slot on the jump ring opener.  Using your chain nose pliers or fingers, gently open one side in a downward direction. The tool will help you stabilize the jump rings while you work on them.






See the video below for more technique.




Closed Rings


Closed Up Shop:  Closed jump rings have been soldered shut and have no way of opening them.  These are perfect for adding dimension to dangle earrings.  Use them as a connector for your eye pins and head pins to connect to.  I use them as the an "eye" for clasps.  When I have finished my beading, I slide the wire through the ring and crimp.  It provides a more secure connection for the clasps.  These can come in various styles and shapes and are often referred to as connector links.


 Split Rings

Split Personality: A split ring resembles a miniature key ring.  Split rings provide a stronger connection than open jump rings and offer an opening that closed jump rings cannot.  You can also use these for more secure connections of charms on a charm bracelet.  I find it has more stability and security than regular jump rings when attaching beading wire to a clasp.

There are a few ways to open them.  The first way is to insert a fingernail to open a split ring and slide a head or eye pin shaft to help you hold the spring ring open a you thread on your clasp, bail, or connector.  Once started, pull the pin out of the way, then finish twisting the split ring on.  The second way to open them is using a set of special pliers for split rings or a set of split ring tweezers.

Pliers available from Prima Bead
Tweezers available from Beadaholique
To use a pair of split ring pliers or tweezers, place the split ring on the flat side. As you close the pliers or tweezers, press the pointed side between the rings of the split ring. Once you have a grip on the split ring, you can slide it around until the end is securely open with room to add your charm, clasp, or whatever else you may be attaching.  Slide the object that you are attaching to the split ring onto the open end. Hold the object in your fingers and use flat nose pliers to work the split ring around to the other side, where the object will dangle freely.



Check out the video below. For more information.



My hope is that this information will help you choose the right jump ring for the right project.  Happy beading!


Unless otherwise credited, all photos and videos are from Prima Bead and Cousin Corporation.






Friday, September 27, 2013

FREE Friday Afternoon DIY Project! Floral Dangle Earrings

Today's project is fun and really sort of simple.  You can use pretty much any color and customize it for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter by just changing out the colors of the flowers, tear drops and crystals.


Crafting Time: Less than an hour
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Skills Needed
Cutting Wire
Basic Wire Wrapping
General Knowledge of Hammering
Supplies
22 gauge Red Brass Wire (2 sections of 20 inches) (#NU022 from Jewelry Supply)
2 Crystazzi 6mm Bicone Crystals in K Champagne (#7727320 from Prima Bead)
2 Acrylic 14x21mm Teal Teardops (Item #34709144 from Prima Bead)
2 Lucite Tulip / Lily Of The Valley Flower Bead Caps Matte Orange 6x10mm (BCP-40053 from Beadaholique)
2 Lucite 26mm Plumeria Flower Beads Matte Lemon Yellow (BCP-40009 from Beadaholique)

Tools
Chain Nose pliers
Flush Cutters
Nylon Mallet
Chasing or Ball Peen Hammer
Cup Burr
Steel Bench Block or Anvil
Wire Looping Tool
Optional Tool: Crimping Tool

Measure and straighten 2 pieces of wire 20 inches long.

On one piece of wire, center the crystal. Bend each end of the wire over the crystal forming an X at top the crystal. 

Twist two to three times. Straighten wire. 

Thread both flowers onto both ends of the wire and push down to crystal. 

Take the shortest side of the wire and twist around the longest at the base of the last flower two to three times. 
 


On the twisting wire, thread the teardrop. At about ½ inch from the base of the flower, twist the wire and bead counterclockwise to form an X above the teardrop and twist three to four more times. Take twisting wire and wrap around the base of the flower twice. 


 


















 Use crimping pliers if necessary to tighten the wraps. Trim excess from twisting wire. 




Bend long wire at a 90 degree angle.  Measure 2 ½ inches from flower base and trim wire. 
Measure 1 inch from base of flower and place the largest part of the barrel of looping pliers. 




 Push wire away from you over the barrel and downward.












At ¼ inch from the end of your wire, make a slight bend with chain nose pliers. 
Repeat for second earring. 


Use a nylon mallet to harden the ear wire on each earring. Using a ball peen hammer or chasing hammer, slightly hammer the ear wire for a forged look. Finish by using a cup burr to smooth the end of the wire.


Crystals can be substituted for Swarovski Crystals if you so choose.  I recommend using Jonquil.



Finished length: 2 ¼ inches.