The Following blog post is brought to you by Mexican Silver
Homemade silver jewelry can be a wonderful heirloom later. Whether you choose molded, beaded, or wire style to create silver jewelry, it is essential to know a little about the materials chosen before starting to work. Here is a little information about silver jewelry creation, the materials needed, where to purchase supplies, and a few simple guidelines to make the experience worthwhile.
When determining what kind of materials to use for jewelry making, there are many options. Plastic, clay, stone, bone, metal, crystal, and glass beads and findings are readily available for the hobby jewelry maker, and most of the time, the cost is quite a deal less than one might pay for the finished product. Websites like firemountaingems.com, and online ecommerce sites like Ebay are both great places to purchase anything you need to create stunning jewelry, but before you start beading, it is important to know what kind of jewelry you wish to make, what your budget entails, and what kind of supplies you need.
Plastic is often an inexpensive element to jewelry as is nickel based goldtone and silvertone findings. The problem with plastic and cheap metal is that the end result is often a lower quality and value after the item has been made. In other words, the price of the materials is often higher than the value of the item after the fact. Authentic gold is a fickle item to use for creating jewelry. It is often very expensive and the end result is typically exactly what you put into it unless the piece is ugly (worth less) or made with other rare materials (sometimes worth more). The certain way to make a lasting quality piece that is usually more valuable as a finished product than as materials is to choose high-quality beads, charms, and materials with sterling silver findings.
The foundation of your jewelry should be sterling silver, gold, or surgical steel if pierced earrings, tigertail or sterling chain if a necklace or bracelet, a sterling silver or solid gold setting if a pendant or ring, and if wire wrapped, half-hard sterling is preferred, seconded by copper. The value of a jewelry piece from an artesian can be limited by the materials chosen. If the jewelry is strung on plastic or thread, for example, it can break or hang incorrectly. Tigertail line, made up of thinly coated inter-braided wire is also much easier to string and is much stronger.
One of my favorite ways to make homemade silver jewelry is to string a mix of gemstone and glass beads with sterling silver findings and accents. The picture attached to this article shows a necklace made by creating the design pattern of amethyst tear drop beads, sterling silver accent beads, purple jade, and amethyst chip beads. The end result is a stunning piece that goes with many different outfits and looks both dressy and casual depending on what you wear it with. To make this necklace, line the beads on a bead board. carefully string a closed jump ring along with a crimp bead and affix it to the tiger tail. String the first couple of beads and feed the tail end of the tiger tail as well through them hide it. String the remainder of the beads as shown with desirable pattern. End with a crimp bead and closed jump ring, crimping tight and feeding the tail back through the beads.
Findings are another important consideration. Clasps, crimp beads, and spacers should always be made of quality metal, like .925 Sterling silver. Using lower quality silvertone or goldtone clasps or spacers for an artistic piece of jewelry is likened to a bride wearing a voluminous gown but topping her head with pigtails and plastic barrettes. It simply destroys the quality of a piece. These types of findings are fine for children handcrafting a Mothers' day piece or for a quick craft show offering that will sell for less than three dollars, but if an artist is taking the time to create a nice piece of jewelry, springing the extra few dollars to make sure the piece is quality for years to come is highly recommended.
Tools for jewelry creation are as vast as the jewelry artists themselves. When making homemade silver jewelry, there are a few tools that are recommended. One of the best inventions for beaders and earring masters alike is the bead board. Typically coated in felt or flocking, a bead board makes it so bead artists can create a piece of stunning jewelry without having to drag the strand full of beads as it is strung and risk losing the entire piece. Special grooves in the board make it easy to line up beads without roll away and gauge marks along the edges show exactly how long a piece is. Another jewelry tool is a special set of artist pliers. These sets typically contain cutting, crimping, and bending tools for special purposes like closing jump rings and pinching crimp beads without leaving serrated lines. Proper lighting and magnification are also recommended silver jewelry making tools. A jewelry artist may also want a Chelsea filter, loupe, diamond tester, a component organizer (fishing tackle boxes work great), punches, a dremel or rotary tool, soldering iron and a small torch.
Making jewelry can be a fun and rewarding hobby that results in a great piece of art that can be worn well after the finishing touches have been applied. With careful considerations, making homemade jewelry is both fun and rewarding, offering a wonderful way to express personal aesthetic with some one of a kind results.
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