RE: Jewelry Making -- beginning

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RE: Jewelry Making -- beginning - 6/4/2011 10:13:57 AM

SylvereApLeanan

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Back again.

I talked to my mother and she recommends Bead Work Magazine and Bead & Button Magazine for general patterns, and http://www.wire-sculpture.com/ for DVDs and how-to videos if you want to do wire sculpture. She also recommends getting a bead board and tools designed for jewelry work. She found these to be vastly helpful because the hardest thing (to her) was laying out the pattern and making sure each bead was exactly where she wanted it. She also says jewelry tools are smaller and easier to use. You'll also want a good crimping tool and separate cutters to cut wire vs. beading string. Wire is harder to cut and will dull your tools so when you cut the thread it will be difficult to string the beads. She also says buy cheap materials to start with because you'll have a lot of mistakes at first.

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RE: Jewelry Making -- beginning - 6/4/2011 10:16:01 AM

windchymes

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angel, it's very overwhelming at first. Even walking through the aisles at Michael's is enough to make you give up, lol. While I'm gaping at LaT's post....quite impressive, I never knew!....it's best to just start with basics so you can learn your way around. Get a couple small kits with beads and findings and a set of tools and start there. Or even just make bracelets with the stretchy cord and some beads you like. And then try new things that catch your eye. Start small and work up.

Don't end up like me with $225 worth of equipment to make fine silver out of precious metal art clay, and then have the price of silver skyrocket so that I can't afford to buy the clay to practice! lol

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RE: Jewelry Making -- beginning - 6/4/2011 11:28:30 AM

LaTigresse

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quote:

ORIGINAL: barelynangel

Wow you guys are a wealth of information. I did research prior to asking the question but it all got so overwhelming. So i do appreciate the ideas and such even if i haven't responded to each individual.

Thanks again.

What did you all find the hardest thing to deal with when starting?

angel

The hardest thing for me to deal with is always lack of time to spend on any given project and money to buy everything I need for that project.

I love to create. Since I was.......so small I don't really remember......I've been drawing, painting, sculpting (even with mud as a child). Nearly everything creative, I've done and many of the things, I've got a project around here, half finished. Hell, I started a Giant Dahlia quilt over 30 years ago, that is packed away in a closet, half finished. I've got 20# of resin clay and some sculpting tools in a bin. I've got a full paint set, canvases, sketch pads, pastels, coloured pencils, loose gems, jewellery making tools, findings, wire, beads, three sewing machines, allllllllllll my photography stuff.....stories I've begun on discs, flower beds, cookbooks out the wazoooo (cuz I believe cooking is pretty awesomely creative also) weird ingredients to 'try' something....just tons of goodies.

So the best advise I think I can give to anyone exploring something creative, unless their pockets are deep, is to find ways to try something in the least expensive way possible. As an example, the resin clay I got, needs to be heated in an oven to cure. I don't want to do it in the kitchen oven, instead in a good toaster oven, outdoors. So rather than buy a brand new expensive one........I went to a second hand store. Also, the old costume jewellery repurposing is a fantastic way to get a lot of stuff that would cost tons more in a new bead shop. Some of my tools, I actually found really inexpensively in places like Walmart. Just check out their craft section. It will probably be less than a specialty store.

Ebay and Amazon are fabulous for many specialty items at prices lower than specific specialty stores. I was eye balling a dremel tool on Ebay recently but restrained myself because I simply haven't the time to actually use it right now. Maybe this next winter....maybe.....depending on the photography gigs. I've gotten a lot of tutorial books on Amazon and love that you can read the reviews of those that have used them, to find out if they indeed were useful. OR, you could do the research on Amazon then look for them on Ebay also.... I know I've got a few tutorials that I likely will not really need after I am finished with them......I assume others are also. Similarly with some specialty tools. A lot of people buy stuff thinking they will use it, then realize they don't want to continue. Yay for Ebay and Craigslist! I've also bought gems on Ebay and never had problems. BUT.....I am not sure today's market is stellar for that. Of course there might be people buying used jewellery for the metals and stuck with gems they want to sell also...

I do want to say that when buying gems online, it really is a crapshoot ESPECIALLY with gems that do not photograph well. Things like labradorite and peitersite. It is very hard to convey the chatoyancy via photograph. It can go either way. If you've got a good eye, you can get a good deal because of the bad photographs ( I just got a fab labradorite piece a few months ago because of that...) OR, you can get burned badly. I also advise against bidding on listings from out of the US. There are a lot of Russian and Chinese sellers that are just.......bad news in the online gem market. More than enough here in the US to satisfy most gem collectors.

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