Etsy!

I started my own etsy.com shop for some of the stuff I am making!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/laurengibson?ref=pr_shop

Jeweled Headband

Sorry it has been so long since my last post--I have been pretty busy but I do have several cool projects in progress that I will post about.

Materials Needed:
 

Tacky glue is the duct tape of the craft/glue world

• 36" long 1" wide white ribbon
• 1 package of "Favorite Findings" (#1373)--Clear Rounds/Sew on gems 
• Tacky Glue

Steps/Assembly
You will be starting in the middle of the ribbon.

I marked the center of the ribbon with a pen where I would be gluing the round.

Positioning the largest rounds in the middle, put a drop of glue in the center of the round and affix round to the ribbon

Just a little glue will be fine.  Make sure it doesn't smush over the edges, you can clean off the excess glue with a Q Tip.  Also, Tacky Glue dries clear.

Voilá! One round attached.

Repeat this step, working outwards from the middle until the larger rounds are used up, about 11 rounds (large), 14 medium (7 on each side of the larger rounds), and 18 small rounds (9 each side).

Close up of the larger rounds.

Here is the finished headband.

**Very important!** Do not wear until the glue is completely, absolutely dried.  A good rule of thumb is to wait a day for the glue to solidify.

Close up of the rounds once the glue has dried.

Mom's Bird Earrings

Supplies: (I used all silver, keep the metal uniform)
-2 french ear wires
-2 jump rings
-2 Swarvoski channel set links, in crystal, 60 mm
-2 bird charms
(also, you will need chain-nose pliers)

Here are all of the supplies together

Assembly:
1.  Open earring wire by using chain-nose pliers

This is what the earring will look like once you bend open the wire.  To do this, look closely at the earring wire, and you will see a break in the wire.  Bend this open.

2.  Slide on one Swarovski link onto ear wire

3.  Close the ear wire with pliers by bending the wire loop back into its original position.

4.  Bend open jump ring, slide on channel/ear wire and bird charm.

5.  Bend close the jump ring.  Repeat these steps to finish the other earring.  Voilá!

Simple, but unique!

A wire-wrapped ring

Here is another wire-wrapped ring that I have made.  You make this ring in a similar manner to my "how to" on wire wrapped rings as mentioned in a previous blog, but add a few tweaks.  First, you will need a lot more wire, since it will be wrapped more than the ring mentioned in the blog.  Make sure when you anchor the stone, one side should be significantly longer.  You will be using the long end to wrap around the entirety of the ring (this is step 6 in the "how to" blog), and wrapping up and around the stone, ending with a decorative coil achieved by bending the tip of the wire, then using chain-nose pliers to hold the wire while you twist the wire into the coil.  This ring has quite a high profile.  I added a 5 or so inch long wire to the other side of the coil to even out the wrapping (to do this, I bent the end of the wire around the wire coming out of the stone, then tightly wrapped the wire around the ring to match the other side).  Voilá!

Wire-Wrapped Rings

Here is my "how to" make wire-wrapped rings.  They are very easy to make and look pretty awesome if you do it right.

Materials Needed:
-Highlighter or ring mandrel (the mandrels can be somewhat expensive, so I use a highlighter...because I have small fingers, this works for me, but the width of the highlighter should be tested before making rings so it fits your finger.  Just wrap a small piece of wire to around the highlighter to make sure that it fits around your finger before starting the project, making it slightly larger than needed to allow room for the wire).
-Wire (I used silver-plated), about 30 inches
-Button/bead to use in center of ring.  Make sure the hole in the bead is wide enough to put the wire through
-Wire clippers, crimper tool, and chain nose pliers

Here are all of the materials needed.

Assembly:
1.  Wrap wire in half around highlighter

2.  Then, wrap left side around the highlighter about 2-3 times, then the right side, returning the wire to the top.

3.  Add bead onto the left side of the wire.

I used a Citrine stone

4. Remove the ring from the highlighter.  Be sure to hold the ring firmly to keep it from unraveling.  Anchor bead onto the ring by wrapping it around the wire once.

5.  Repeat on the right side.  Then, continue to wrap the wire around the ring tightly.

6. Do this as many times as you like, but note the more wraps around the ring makes the ring size smaller. You can even wrap until the two ends meet each other, but start with more wire and adjust for size (as noted above, the more wire wrapped, the smaller the ring will be).

You can use the pliers to wrap the wire more tightly around the ring.

7.  Use crimper tool to press the end of the wire into a rounded shape that contorts into the ring instead of sticking out.

8.  Finished!

Here is the completed Citrine ring, and below are some of the other rings I have made using the same method.

From the top down: button ring, ladybug glass bead ring, freshwater pearl, and Swarovski crystal ring

I used a gold-toned wire for these rings and a black bead.  You can also make rings solely using wire.

Costume Jewelry Repair

Materials:
-Jewelry Cleaner
-Q-tips
-Old Toothbrush
-Xacto Knife
-Old damaged piece of costume jewelry
-Replacement foil-backed rhinestones (be sure to check on size, people at local bead stores are an awesome resource)
-Bead Enhance Glue (silly name, but this stuff is designed for jewelry, and dries clear)
-Toothpick/scrap piece of wire for applying glue

Growing up, I had a plethora of old costume jewelry to dress up with and play with to my heart's delight.  Of course, as a child, I had no idea what damage I could do to these pieces, not knowing that many of them once belonged to my mother's grandmother.  I have always remembered this jewelry fondly and wished I could incorporate them into my daily wardrobe.  After months of asking my mother to find this antique brooch, I finally had it in my hands, only to discover severe wear and a black residue under the glass stones, as well as more than half of the stones missing.  I was pretty depressed to hear this, and set out to try to fix the damage I had done as a small child.
Venturing out into my small town, I went to several jewelry stores to find out if I could get replacement stones and/or get it fixed.  Sadly, no one in my area does these types of repairs or carries the foil-backed stones I needed.  One store, however, had a very nice sales clerk who offered to measure the stones that i needed to replace what was missing and damaged.  Armed with a list of very oddly-shaped stones, I went to the one bead store (Daydreamers) in town that I thought would be able to help.  They suggested cannibalizing old costume jewelry (which I did) and looking for foiled back stones on the internet (which I did, leading me to Etsy.com and one website that had a minimum $25 purchase that I decided to pass on).  I was able to find more than half of the stones I needed at Daydreamers, including red 1.5 mm rounds that will add a dash of color to my old brooch and make it into something new that has sentimental value.

The replacement foil-backed glass stones I bought at daydreams.  They are quite small, so working on a light surface made them easy to find if they rolled away.

I ended up ordering my 6x4 mm oval stones on etsy.com, finding a pretty garnet color stone).  Overall, I spent less than five dollars on gem supplies.

Here are the 6x4mm oval foil backs.  The garnet colored one on the left is the replacement stone, and the stone on the right is one of the few undamaged stones that survived.

The first thing that I did was clean and removed the damaged stones.  I first soaked the brooch in some jewelry cleaner for five minutes, then scrubbed all of the residue off of the stones.  I should note that several costume jewelry websites warn that this is a dangerous thing to do, but since I essentially removed most of the stones, I went forward with using the jewelry cleaner hoping that it would aid in the removal of the stones.
Next, I pried off any remaining 6x4 mm ovals around the large center stone.  I decided to take these off because the clear stones would look odd mixed and matched as a daisy.  To pry these stones off, obtain a Xacto knife.

This is the brooch after I removed the damaged 6x4mm ovals.  It is important to clean out the setting of old glue and residue before repairing.

Because my stones were glued in rather than held down by the prongs, I simply popped the stones by putting the pointed tip of the Xacto knife between the stone and the metal, dislodging the glue from its hold on the stone and freeing the stone.
Once I was done removing all of the damaged stones, I notices much of the foil and glue remaining on the metal.  This would be troublesome if I put in the new stones and the old glue/foil would cause the stones to fit awkwardly.  I decided to dunk my brooch in the jewelry solution (I used a local jeweler's all-purpose jewelry cleaner) for about twenty minutes, and most of the glue and foil scrubbed off when I brushed it with a small toothbrush.
Once my brooch was clean and stripped of all of the damaged stones, I got ready to glue in the new stones.

This glue is pretty awesome. As mentioned above, I cleaned as much of the residue out of the old settings as I could.

Next, I applied the glue using a piece of wire with a rounded end to apply glue.  This allows me more control and doesn't smear the glue.  Also, this is useful for applying glue to small settings (which I did after I finished the ovals).

I added enough glue to it will not push out of the setting once I add the stones.  The wire is a cheap and easy way to apply glue with a lot of control.  I did not apply directly out of the tube as too much glue would come out.

Next, I carefully added the stone into the setting with the glue

This is before I adjusted the stone to fit better in the setting.  Notice that there is not too much glue flowing over the sides.

Next, I cleaned any remaining glue that flowed over the setting after better adjusting the stone into the setting.  Very lightly brush off the glue with a clean Q-tip.

Clean off stone after each stone is added to ensure that no glue gets on to any following stones that are added

Next, keep adding the stones and glue as mentioned above.  Use another Q-tip to clean between the stones by pulling on the cotton slightly to clean off any glue between tightly-grouped settings.

Clean between stones after each subsequent setting.  Then, press down on each stone to ensure that they are not loosened when brushing off any excess glue.

Then, continue adding all of the stones of the same size.

All of the oval stones added!

Next I added the clear rounds for one of the stems.  These stones were some of the stones re-purposed from older, much more damages costume jewelry, so some of the foil had scraped off, but this was able to give a nice aged effect to these stones.

Next, I added the smallest rounds, which were the most difficult to put in.  But I felt that the reddish stones that I found matched the oval rounds and tied them into the rest of the piece.

Before the glue dried, with all of the stones replaced.  On the top, I glued in some of the original ovals into the baguette stones I was unable to find, and using a slight excess of glue was able to cement them into the differently-shaped setting.  Here, it is easy to see where the glue is still wet, but once it dries is turns clear.

Here the glue is mostly dried and all of the stones are replaced (even the two small rounds that look like there is nothing there, but it is the shadow).

The repair skills I show here can be applied to any number of projects that use costume jewelry parts such as foil-backed stones.  Here is a hair thing that lost several of its stones, before I replaced them.

Before.

And after

After.

Kimberly's Simple Cat Charm Necklace

Here are the directions for a simple charm and chain necklace I made for my fantastic sister.

Materials

•  Silver chain.  I like my necklaces pretty long, but usually necklaces are either about 18" long or 22" long.  The length of the chain for this necklace is about 24 inches.  Michael's Arts and Crafts sells really inexpensive jewelry making supplies, like their small cable chains.  You will need jewelry metal clippers (I am not sure of the technical term, sorry) to cut the desired length.
• One cat charm (this one has moving parts--the head moves a bit)

• One clasp.  For this necklace, I found an awesome cat "s" clasp.

•  Three 6mm round jump rings

The split in the center allows you to use the jump ring to attach and connect items

• You will also need some needle nose pliers and clippers for cutting the chain.
• *Note on Materials* Make sure all metal materials are made from the same metal (i.e. gold, gold fill, silver plating, pewter, etc...also, gold plated fixings are not as expensive as one would expect, Michael's arts and crafts prices them at the same price of silver, although the selection is not as expansive).  This ensures that is the necklace ages and if it tarnishes the color will be consistent throughout the piece.

Note how all of the materials match.

Steps:

1.  Cut chain to length desired

2.  Fix one jump ring to charm by....

Bend open jump ring enough to allow charm to slide on to ring with pliers.  Be careful not to open it too wide or else the ring might become a little crooked



Now, carefully close the jump ring in the same manner as you opened the jump ring.



Here is what the charm should look like once you have affixed the jump ring properly.

  3.  Now you will attach one jump ring to the chain.  Follow the directions given in the picture captions below. (I used a finer chain, so if your jump ring can fit into the last link, you can skip this how to widen the link to affix the jump ring to the smaller chain...go down to the step where you affix the chain to the cat clasp using the jump ring)

Gently use the needle nose pliers, put enough pressure on the handles to round out the link so the jump ring can be used.

This is what it should look like once you have rounded the link (and before the jump ring)

Open one of the jump rings in the same manner mentioned above, and slide it into the newly rounded link.  Do not close it yet, as the clasp needs to be added. 

Once you slide the ring that is already affixed to the clasp, bend the jump ring closed. 

4.  At this point, only one end should be attached to the clasp.  Now, slide the cat charm via the jump ring onto the chain by the end that does not have a jump ring attached.

5.  Now, round out the last link on the other end of the chain (make sure the chain is not twisted), attach jump ring, affix to clasp. Voila! You are done!

The necklace in its entirety.  It's simple, yet unique.

A close up of the necklace.  An easy was to give a necklace as a gift and to prevent tangles is to cut into an index card and tape the chain to the back.