Mixed Media Jewelry

On the Road with Lexi: Inspiration, Design and Making Jewelry in California

Greetings from Sausalito! As my husband and I drive through northern California for some teaching and a "working vacation," I give a lot of thought to the metalsmithing class I'm teaching. I suppose the most asked question is, "How
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Happy Birthday to Us! Week 3: Win a Disc Cutter Set from Otto Frei

On May 3, 2010, Interweave announced their newest arrival: an online community for jewelry makers of all skill levels and all interests. From beginners to masters, Jewelry Making Daily was created to be a melting pot of learning, sharing, and having fun
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From the JMD Archives and My Purse: A Fun Polymer Clay Jewelry-Making Mold Tip

We were riding back home from breakfast in the mountains on Mother's Day earlier this week when I heard my brother whisper to our mom, "Mama, why does she have a little thing of Play-Doh in her purse?" Whenever he wants gum or something
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Jewelry Making for Knitters, Crochet for Beaders: Introducing Craft Daily, All Types of Craft for All Us Crafty Types

The past few weeks have been exciting times for all of us at F + W Media and Interweave, because we've been hard at work on a big fun secret that we can finally share: Our newest creative cousin, Craft Daily , is live! Being a long-time "crossover
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Speak Your Heart: Telling Secrets with Acrostic Gemstones

From the JMD archives, here's one of my favorite blog posts ever. Judging from the amount of comments and feedback we received, it was one of your favorites, too! Enjoy this look back... The lovely old acrostic key brooch I saw on Antiques Roadshow
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Join Us for Our Next Live Webinar: Launch Your Jewelry Business with Nina Cooper

Join Jewelry Making Daily for this month's "must-see" webinar with Nina Cooper, owner of jewelry-making supply company Nina Designs! On Thursday, May 23, 11 am PT (12 noon MT, 1 pm CT, 2 pm ET) , Nina will join us LIVE to talk about how
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Happy Birthday to Us! Week 2: Win CraftOptics Telescopes from Rio Grande

On May 3, 2010, Interweave announced their newest arrival: an online community for jewelry makers of all skill levels and all interests. From beginners to masters, Jewelry Making Daily was created to be a melting pot of learning, sharing, and having fun
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Earrings: Lovely to Make, Lovely to Give, But What a Pain to Photograph!

Earrings are one of my favorite pieces of jewelry to make for friends and family. They can be a little more difficult than other types of jewelry, since in general, you want them to look alike so you have to make a cute design and then make another one
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Intro to Chasing and Repoussé: Ancient Ways to Move Metal Plus an Easy How-To

Chasing and repoussé are tied with gem cutting at the top of my techniques-to-learn wish list. I can't think of any other jewelry-making or metalsmithing technique that can create so many unique designs on metal or one that creates such an
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What Has Your Hammer Done for You Lately? Make Fluted, Domed, Concave, and Convex Metal Designs

I often forget that hammers can do so much more than flatten metal and wire; I forget that they can move metal the other way, to literally create height, depth, curves and recesses where there were none. When used in a particular way, hammers can create
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Happy 3rd Birthday to Us! Celebrate by Winning Presents for YOU!

On May 3, 2010, Interweave announced their newest arrival: an online community for jewelry makers of all skill levels and all interests. From beginners to artisan masters, Jewelry Making Daily was created to be a melting pot of learning, sharing, and
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More, More, More: Our 11 Best Wire Jewelry-Making Tips

Whether it's jewelry making, beading, quilting, knitting, or some other hobby--or even housekeeping--one good tip is enough to make your day and change your world. Friday is Jewelry Making Daily's third birthday (whee!), and here are the 11 most
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Easy Wire Stone Capture: Make Woven Wire Bezels and Cages for Gems, Shells and More

"You can make anything with wire...It's just a fabulous, fabulous medium." This line at the beginning of Janice Berkebile's new jewelry-making workshop, Easy Wire Stone Capture , sums up how I've been feeling about wire lately. It
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Our Newest Free eBook: Get 3 Free Epoxy Clay Jewelry Projects

Learn to Mold Epoxy Clay and Stud it with Crystals, Stones and More Epoxy clay is a fun and relatively new jewelry-making material that's so easy to work with! It is known for its adhesive superpowers that allow you to set stones in it or adhere stones
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Chain Maille How-To: Make Charlene Anderson's Embellished Barrel Weave Necklace and Earrings

I may not know chain maille, but I know who knows chain maille! Enjoy this pretty summery project from Charlene Anderson, a chain-maille jewelry expert who was the 2010 artist of the year for Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine. Isle of Capri Embellished
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Happy Earth Day! 10 Ways to Make Upcycled Mixed-Media Jewelry and Save the Planet

Happy Earth Day! In honor of our amazing planet, it seems only fitting that we think about ways to "reduce, reuse, recycle" today, and it's easy to do--even in jewelry making! Yes, even jewelry making can be a very environmentally friendly
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Our Next Exciting Live Webinar: Step-by-Step Cold Enameling with Susan Lenart Kazmer on Friday, April 26!

Exciting news! One of my favorite jewelry artists and crafters ever , Susan Lenart Kazmer is joining Jewelry Making Daily for a live interactive webinar! On Friday, April 26 at 1pm ET, Susan will join us LIVE to talk about her new cold enameling technique
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Basic Wire Design Components: 4 Ways to Make and Use Wire Coils for Jewelry Making

I like how JMD member PrettyWearJewelry repeated the wire coil from the ear wire as a design element on her Swarovski Wild Heart Dangle Earrings . Even being an old-fashioned girl, I sometimes forget about the basics that make the world go 'round
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Forming Metal with Pliers: Meet Lexi's Favorite New Jewelry Tools

How Do I Wub Thee? Let Me Count the Ways I am the first to admit when I'm wrong about something, and God knows I'm not perfect or always right. So, about three or four years ago at Bead Fest, while showing a student how to make a bail for a pendant
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Stone Cutting How-To and Adding Dimension to a Gem by Stone Carving with a Flex Shaft

Anytime I get a chance to share a stone-cutting or jewelry-making project by Roger Halas, I take it! He's a man of many talents and frequently shares them in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. This stone-cutting project is great for the lucky
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Bail Detail: Design Better Pendants with Lexi Erickson

I always like things that are just as pretty on the back as on the front. I know of several professional jewelry designers who put a secret design or tiny gemstone on their pieces as a special little hidden gift for the wearer alone to know about. Nunn
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Best Practices: 6 Tips and Ideas for Making More Interesting Necklaces

I was browsing around an antique store the other day when I heard the lady behind the counter say to a customer who had just come in, "Wow, I LOVE your necklace!" You can bet that I made haste trying to see the necklace all the fuss was about
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My Silver Love Affair and the Sterling Silver Alloys: Continuum, Argentium, and Sterlium Plus

Sterling silver has always been my favorite metal to wear, collect, and work with, and like many of you, my fingers are crossed for the day it becomes affordable again (if that ever happens). Meanwhile, I get my little joys from finding a $10 sterling
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Colorful Metal: Fun with Enamel Shapes and the 24-Cent Necklace

It's funny how our interests change. Each time I sit down to write to you on a particular topic, I think back about what we've discussed about it before, and I find more and more that I am liking techniques I didn't like in the past! Take
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What Is Steampunk Design? Plus 3 Free Steampunk Jewelry-Making Projects

Search for Steampunk on Etsy and you'll find over 215,000 results . . . and 35 million on Google. About two years ago, it was only 70,000 on Etsy and 6.5 million on Google. Wow. Needless to say, Steampunk is not going away anytime soon. But what is
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, April 2013

Don't miss out on the colorful world of enamel! Learn to work with enamels on metal sheet and add a touch of texture with raku firing, or add enamel to a silver and copper metal clay pendant. Looking for a really unusual gemstone? Find out how to prep and bezel set fossil ammonites as cabochons for
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Add Some Zing to Your Earring Designs: Make Asymmetrical Complementary Earrings

Here's a favorite post from Jewelry Making Daily archives a couple of years ago. Enjoy! JMD member freshbakeddesigns shared these mismatched earrings in our member gallery. Love the copper heat patina! Several years ago at the AGTA gem show in Tucson
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Save the Pieces: Recycled, Upcycled Found-Object Jewelry

Whenever something was dropped or broken at my maternal grandmother's house, she'd call out, "Save the pieces!" I never knew what she did with the pieces, but her prudence stuck with me. I love creating recycled, upcycled jewelry with
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Jewelry Photography: How to Take Great Photos and Share Them Wisely

Do you know about our Net Profits blog? Cathleen McCarthy writes on a range of jewelry business topics, including selling jewelry online, a variety of jewelry and inventory software, using websites and social media to build your brand online, and other
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From Wire to Wow, Part Two: Expanding Wire into Design Elements for Jewelry Making

Thanks to the prices of metals going up, up, and up (even though silver took a small dip this week, still...), I'm increasingly interested in what I can do with wire instead of metal sheet (ironic, coming from the girl who was adamantly not a wireworker
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Michael Boyd's Basic Stone Setting and Bezel-Making Tips

Setting stones in bezels isn't necessarily hard to do, it just requires more precision and attention to detail than possibly any other jewelry-making technique I can think of, except maybe cutting the stones themselves. Whenever I venture to create
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Beyond Rivets: The Other Cold Connections

I'll be honest: I'd never heard the term " cold connections " until I became the lucky girl editor of Jewelry Making Daily. I'd always just called them connections, cold joins or by their "given" names, like rivets, screws
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Lexi Goes to Europe: Tour Kristallwelt, the Swarovski Crystal Museum

Sensory Overload: Falling in Love with Innsbruck, Swarovski, and Everything Baroque by Lexi Erickson, "Foreign Correspondent" Even thought I live in the Rocky Mountains of the US, I must say that driving into Innsbruck (which means "bridge
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10 Tips for Chain Maille Jewelry Making Plus a Bonus Deal

Even though I still struggle with making chain-maille jewelry , it isn't for lack of trying. It's all my fault, really--I'm just too impatient for all those little jump rings! But my chain-maille efforts have sure taught me some great tips
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Goodbye February! Everything's Coming Up (Mixed-Media) Roses…and Poppies, and Daisies, and…

Do you find yourself returning to one motif over and over in your jewelry making? For me, it's flowers and stacking about three flower or flower-like components, which I usually make into rings. Whenever I'm in a bead store or at a trade show
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Silversmithing Techniques: 3 Free Silver Jewelry Making Projects plus Bonus Silver Findings Projects

Guess what? We've just updated and re-released one of our most popular free eBooks, Silversmithing Techniques from Jewelry Making Daily : 3 Free Silver Jewelry Making Projects plus Bonus Silver Findings Projects . It provides step-by-step instructions
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A Stamper's Dozen: 13+ Ideas for Making Personalized Stamped Metal (or Wood) Jewelry and Gifts

I can't think of any one jewelry-making technique that can add as much personality and meaning to your designs as metal stamping , can you? With just a few whacks of the hammer and a set of alphabet metal stamps, you can add any message (love, encouragement
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Learn 6 Ways to Add Color to Metal with Gail Crosman Moore

Have you ever met a jewelry designer or other artist whose work is so appealing to you that you love every single thing they create? For me, one of those jewelry artists is Gail Crosman Moore. Her work features so many of my favorite jewelry-making techniques
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A Few of My Favorite Things: New Jewelry Tools and Supplies from Tucson 2013

If you're a fan of Jewelry Making Daily on Facebook, you already know that I had a great time last week in Tucson. Every year, it's the same great fun--old friends, favorite shows, visiting vendors, meeting talented and creative people--but there's
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Metalsmithing Ideas for Artisan Bails: You Never Know From Whence Your Inspiration Will Spring

By Lexi Erickson (Foreign Correspondent) I found bail design inspiration everywhere in Europe, even between the cutouts of the balconies of the Swiss chalets. My most recent trip to Europe was not a pleasure trip (yeah, right) but a "working holiday
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Bling on the Beads: How to Set Cubic Zirconia Crystals in Lampwork Glass Beads

Some of my sparkle sisters and I joke that the only thing better than lots of bling is more bling. Don't tell them I said so, but there definitely is such a thing as too much bling--but these lovely lampwork glass beads by Diane Woodall of Soda Lime
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Getting Ready for Tucson: Jewelry-Making Products I Love and Making Way . . . for More Products I Love

As I've been preparing for the Tucson gem, jewelry, and bead (and fossils and minerals and tools) shows this week (I'll be arriving just as you see this, yay!), I've been making a shopping list. I never follow it, mind you, but it helps me
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Lessons Learned in Torch Enameling: You can do it!

When I wrote about my newfound love of brass a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised at how many people commented, "I didn't know you could enamel on brass!" Well, I didn't know you couldn't enamel on brass, so I did . . . and it
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Intro to the Flex Shaft: What Can It Do For You?

If you're one of those people who would look at a jeweler's bench and say, "What does this do? What does that do?" then you're going to love our new video workshop Intro to the Flex Shaft with Travis Ogden . You'll feel like
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Resolve to Save! Continues with Fusing Fun: Make this Circle Pendant With Your Micro Torch

Hammering and fusing metal, colorful enamel, dapping and doming . . . many of my favorite jewelry-making techniques and supplies have all come together in this cool project from our friends at Fusion Beads! For those of you looking for a project you can
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Get Ready for Bracelet Season: Adorn Your Arms with Bangles and Cuffs and Resolve to Save!

There's a reason they call it "spring fever." I get the fever this time of year and it distracts me from all my grown-up responsibilities. When the occasional warmer, sunny days (down here in Louisiana, at least) become more frequent than
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From Wire to Wow: 6 Design Elements You Can Create with Simple Wire

When I first started seriously making jewelry a few years ago, I had little interest in (or, I'm sad to say, respect for) wire. Most of the wire jewelry that I saw wasn't really my style, and I didn't realize how much of what I was seeing
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How to Make Resin Jewelry: 4 Free Projects, Plus a Bonus Guide to Resin Jewelry-Making Supplies

When I first discovered resin jewelry-making, I think it appealed to me because it was so much like making snow globes (which I love) in jewelry. I can put anything inside that I want to treasure and preserve, and then wear it like a pretty little reminder
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Alternative Metals for Jewelry Making: 6 Reasons I've Become a Fan of Brass--and a Giveaway!

White metals have always been my thing. Back in the 1980s and '90s, I did wear yellow gold jewelry--but mostly because that's what my Dad, who was my primary jewelry-gifter at the time, bought me. Soon after that, possibly during my "hippie"
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Improve Your Jewelry Photography Using Lightroom & Photoshop Webinar with Jim Lawson

UPDATE : You can now download the recording of Jim's "Improve Your Jewelry Photography" webinar direct from the Interweave Store! I'm thrilled to tell you about an upcoming Jewelry Making Daily event that I know you're going to love
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My 10 Favorite, Fun Lines from Kate Richbourg's Simple Soldering Book

The first time I read Kate Richbourg's new soldering book Simple Soldering , I found myself smiling and even laughing at times, because mixed in with all the great tips and informative soldering tutorials is Kate's personality. It's hard to
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Designer Spotlight: Meet Glass Chain-Maille Jewelry Artist Kim Edwards

As a new recurring feature on Jewelry Making Daily , I'm going to share with you some of the amazing and talented jewelry designers that I am so fortunate to meet. First up is Kim Edwards of Lone Tree Studio . Since I first met her at Bead Fest Philly
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The Future of Jewelry Design: Get Inspired by the Fretz/RIT Student Tool Challenge

In a recent issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine, we shared the metalwork of students at RIT who were challenged to use Fretz miniature hammers and stakes to create metal jewelry designs. Here are some of their inspiring pieces and enlightening
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Build a Little Birdhouse for Your Soul: Make a Mixed-Media Birdhouse Pendant

While visiting family over the holidays, I noticed how many of them have birdhouses in their yards. My dad and his two pups get up every morning and put enough dried corn and birdseed in the big backyard birdhouse to feed all the birds in his neighborhood
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Top 12 of 2012: A Look Back at the Best of the Year on Jewelry Making Daily

What a fun year we've had making jewelry together! I hope you've all enjoyed learning new techniques and mastering ones you already knew, learning about new jewelry-making tools and supplies, and swooning over gemstones with me. I've learned
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Metal Magic: Turn Your Treasures into Metal Jewelry Components

About this time last year, we had just released an exciting workshop video and DVD about what has become one of my favorite jewelry-making techniques ever-- electroforming . Now that I've had the chance to try it, I'm still as fascinated by this
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Make a Party Hat Cocktail Ring for New Year's Eve

Cocktail rings were designed to look pretty on a lady's hand while she's holding a cocktail at parties--in other words, they're perfect for New Year's Eve, and there's still time to make this one in time for your festivities. This
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Getting Ready for Tucson with Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine's 2013 Gemstone Price Index

If you're in the gem and jewelry industry, it's time to start getting ready for Tucson. In just a little over a month, tens of thousands of folks involved in all aspects of the jewelry industry--including beaders, jewelry artists and professional
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, January/February 2013

It’s the combined Special Gem Issue and Annual Buyers’ Directory – new for 2013, suppliers listed in the directory who are Tucson show vendors are identified as such for your convenience. See the winner of the Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65 th Anniversary Faceting Contest and find
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Gemstones and Fashion: Pantone's Spring 2013 Color Trends and Color of the Year

The news just came out last week: "Emerald" is Pantone's color of the year for 2013. If "emerald" makes you think more of gemstones than fashion colors, welcome to my world! But it's fun for me to see Pantone and other color
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Intro to the Flex Shaft: How, When, and Why You'll Use it for Jewelry Making

All day, every day, we're confronted with decisions. Soup or salad? Diamonds or pearls? Edward or Jacob? Coke or Pepsi? (Make that sweet tea or unsweet?) Flex shaft or Dremel? That last one can get a group of jewelry-tool fans and jewelry makers in
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Bezel-Set Stamped, Textured Clay: Make a Unique and Stylish Ring in Minutes

Here's another great project from our friends at Nunn Design, this time from Becky Nunn herself. I particularly loved this ring because the brown stamped clay looks like embossed leather to me--very Bohemian!--and I love the contrast of the shiny
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Making Jewelry from Found Objects: Lessons Learned and Tool-Saving Tips for Next Time

Since I first shared the pitiful little tale of how I ruined my then-favorite wire cutters trying to snip off parts of some found objects , I've gotten so many nice "me too" empathy messages from others who have done something similar. I've
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Day 11 of 12 Days of Deals: Save 60% on Digital Magazines!

Today only (December 11, 2012) Digital magazines are 60% off! Get hundreds of jewelry-making projects and expert articles you can dive into instantly! Hurry, this offer ends Dec 11, 2012, at 11:59 pm CT.
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Day 10 of 12 Days of Deals: Dapped and Wrapped: Make Stylish Wire and Metal Earrings in Minutes (and Free Shipping)

Just in time for holiday gift-giving, here's a quick and fun earring-making project, courtesy of our friends at Fusion Beads. With wrapped wire and textured and dapped metal, they're stylish and modern but not difficult to make, so you can set
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Day 9 of 12 Days of Deals: $1 Downloads of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and Other Popular Issues!

Today only (December 9, 2012) Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist December 2007: Digital Edition for only $1! Looking for some new projects that feature copper? Whether it's a copper cuff or a no-torch riveted multi-metal bracelet, we've got what
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Day 8 of 12 Days of Deals: $2 Merry Merry Wire and Beaded Christmas-tree Earring Project

Today only (December 8, 2012) Make these festive holiday earrings! The wire and bead earring project download is just $2, so you can make Christmas tree earrings for everyone on your list! Hurry, this offer ends Dec 8, 2012, at 11:59 pm CT.
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Day 7 of 12 Days of Deals: Metal Mix Up: A Smart Trick for Soldering Copper and Other Alternative Metals (and Half Off eBooks)

Hardly a week goes by that I don't get asked how to solder copper or other alternative metals, like brass and bronze, to each other or silver. Even though copper and brass solders (wire and paste) do exist, they're not always on hand. Here's
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Day 6 of 12 Days of Deals: Five-Star Digital Products for Just Five Bucks!

Get five-star-rated digital jewelry-making products for only $5! How about Denise Peck's Metalwork: Making Bezels for Stones and Found Objects , Scott David Plumlee's Make Chain Maille Jewelry! Single, Double and Byzantine Chains or Lapidary Journal
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Day 5 of 12 Days of Deals: Master Three Metalsmithing Techniques with Three Metalsmithing Masters (and Save 20%!)

Metalsmithing --more specifically, forming metal into curved or angular components and then fabricating those components into jewelry either by soldering or cold connections like riveting--is at once the most fun and intimidating "hobby" I've
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Day 4 of 12 Days of Deals: Denise Peck's Wire Style and Wire Style 2 BOGO Offer

Denise Peck's Wire Style BOGO! Get both Wire Style and Wire Style 2 for only $22.95 That's like buying one and getting the other one FREE! Today only (December 4, 2012) Discover 50 stylish, contemporary, and wearable wire designs from Denise Peck
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Day 3 of 12 Days of Deals: Make a Hollow Metal Clay Bead with Barbara Becker Simon and Save 70% on Great Books

The ability to create hollow-form metal clay beads opens so many possibilities for making large but lightweight metal clay beads that are much more comfortable to wear and wallet-friendly than if they were solid metal. Making hollow-form metal clay beads
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Day 2 of 12 Days of Deals: Everything You Want Is On Sale!

Do you want a soldering DVD? How about a riveting eBook? Maybe a polymer clay or chain maille print book? Yes, yes, and yes! Everything you want from the Jewelry Making Daily Shop is on sale today (December 2, 2012)! Just use the codes below when you
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Day 1 of 12 Days of Deals: Exclusive Metalsmithing Book and DVD Collection, More Than Half Off!

Perfect Your Jewelry-Making Skills . . . Get 4 of the most essential metalsmithing resources at one low price, today (December 1, 2012) only! Plus, save an additional 10% on this already reduced price by entering code EXTRA10 at checkout! Whether you're
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Cocktail Bling Rings: Make a Handful for Sparkle Season and Holiday Parties

It's cocktail season! The next few weeks are usually filled with holiday parties, dinners out, and multiple opportunities to be sparkly. Here's another great project from our friends at Nunn Design, just in time for all those fun holiday events
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Cyber Monday Specials: Get Additional Discounts on Digital Products Now in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop!

Happy Cyber Monday, JMD friends! To celebrate the day, we've increased the discounts on digital products in our Bargains & Blowouts Sale for even better deals. Here are some of my favorites that you won't want to miss: Shop all the even-deeper
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Etching Metal Tutorial: Turn Any Image Into One-of-a-Kind Metal Art for Jewelry and Gifts

Etching provides a great way to create personalized, unique metal jewelry and gifts--and it's that time of year! Using simple metal-etching techniques, you can transfer any image--be it a photograph of a loved one, a design you drew yourself, or a
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A Black Friday Weekend

Just because you're ready to finally relax during the holiday weekend, doesn't mean you need to miss out on some of the best bargains of the year! Shop the Bargains and Blowouts Sale in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop, where you'll save up to
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Metalsmithing Zen: Learn the Value of Hand-Finishing Your Metal Jewelry

Nightfall on the Mesa Shaman pendant in sterling silver and copper by Lexi Erickson. Hope all of our American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The holiday rush has officially begun, and for many of you (and me), that means making jewelry gifts for
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Editor's Picks: Jewelry Supply Holiday Wish List for Jewelry Makers (And it's all on sale!)

Even though I'm at the age when women start saying it's some anniversary of some other acceptable birthday, my dad still asks me for a Christmas list each year. When I was younger, it usually included a doll, an electronic game or two (remember
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8 Ways to Set Stones with Jewelry Making Daily: Bezel Setting and Other Stone Setting Techniques

There's so much info packed in our updated free stone-setting eBook, 8 Ways to Set Stones: Bezel Setting and Other Stone Setting Techniques , I don't know how they found room to update it! You'll learn expert stone-setting tips and tricks
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Jewelry Tool Freebie: Sandpaper + Paint Stirrer Stick = Make Your Own Metal Sanding Sticks

Rust, finances, borrowing neighbors, wear and tear--these are the threats that will endanger your jewelry-making tool collection. Avoid all those things with this handy project for making your own sanding sticks. You can customize any way you want--use
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6 Micro-Torch Tips: Imagine What This Little Guy Can Do!

I always choose my micro torch over the larger torch setup whenever it will do the job just as well. I like to work with fine silver, too, which is ideal for micro torch use. Perhaps I like fine silver because it allows me to use the micro torch, or perhaps
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At the Drawing Board: Advice from a Fine Jewelry Designer

I've been very lucky to have generous mentors throughout my career who've shared their wisdom about jewelry making, metalsmithing, jewelry design, and gemstones. For the past decade, much of what I've learned about fine jewelry design and
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Soldering vs. Fusing: Learn the Pros and Cons in Jewelry Making and When to Do Which

To solder or fuse, that's the question! Literally. It's a question that my students ask quite often. Since fusing and soldering are high on my list of go-to metalsmithing techniques, I want to share some of my observations with you and discuss
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Mixed-Media Jewelry: Make Ephemera Earrings Using Resin, Paper, Wire and More

One of my favorite parts about taking jewelry classes or reading jewelry-making blogs and magazines is learning new ways to do jewelry-making tasks and techniques that I already know. It's fun and enlightening to see the unique ways that others do
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Quick and Bold Halloween Jewelry: Make an Ostrich Shell Bracelet

Ever the fan of found-object jewelry, I love seeing jewelry artists who use natural found elements such as shells, twigs, and rocks, etc. when making jewelry. It's the ultimate in upcycling, to pick up something from the ground, something just discarded
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Get Creative and Be Prepared: 8 Tips for Making Fabulous Chain-Maille Jewelry

Whether you're beginning a new jewelry-making technique or have mastered one and spent years honing your skills, a good tip is always a good thing for helping the process go more smoothly. Here are eight chain-maille jewelry-making tips I learned
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Jewelry-Making Tools: Using the Right Pliers at the Right Time

Admit it, you do it too. Once in awhile, when you're in a hurry or distracted or whatever, you'll make a loop with chain-nose pliers instead of round-nose pliers, or coil a wire spiral with round-nose pliers instead of flat-nose pliers. Horrors
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Torch-Fired Enameling: Make an Enameled Disc Bracelet by Barbara Lewis

Gorgeous enamel powder colors! Torch-fired enameling is my current favorite jewelry-making technique. I have always loved enameling and the colorful possibilities it offers, but I was put off by the kiln--I don't have one, which was a major deterrent
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I want my Jewelry Making Daily!

I've heard from several of you lately because you suddenly no longer receive your JMD emails. Goodness! So sorry for the inconvenience and that you didn't get them--but happy that you missed them and want them back! I've got some solutions
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Guide to Jewelry Design: Ideas and Tips to Make You a Better Handcrafted Jewelry Designer

Ever notice that after you learn a new word, suddenly you start to see that word everywhere? For me, it has been jewelry design elements. I recently bought an old antique buffet for the dining room and when my professional-jewelry-designer friend saw
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Jewelry Students, Tools, and Designs: The Winners of the Fretz Stake Challenge at the Rochester Institute of Technology

Compiled by Helen I. Driggs What happens when you combine new and innovative jewelry-making tools with fresh young minds, creativity and talent? Tool designer and silversmith William (Bill) Fretz wanted to find out--and chose his own alma mater, the Metals
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Lexi's New Soldering eBook and Frank Talk on Learning to Solder

Just yesterday I was talking to one of my students who has decided to move from beading gorgeous treasure necklaces to metalsmithing. She was explaining how different the learning curve is. "Learning a new beading technique or stitch may offer a
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Join us for a free Thomas Mann webinar: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw

Some of Thomas's intricately sawn jewelry designs snapped when he spoke to my metal guild this past summer. One of the most basic metal jewelry artist's tools is the saw. Even beginning metalworkers who don't solder yet will most likely use
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Make a Quick and Pretty Mixed-Media Ribbon and Wire Necklace

Photos by the designer. Here's another great mixed-media and wire jewelry project from our friends at Nunn Design! Stephanie Gard Buss created this pretty flowing pendant using sari silk ribbon, wire, chain, paper collage images, and beads. You can
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 22: Win a GemOro Sparkle Spa Pro Ultrasonic Cleaner from Jemco USA

Welcome to week 22, the final week of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's
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Steampunk-Style Jewelry: What It Is and How You Can Make It

Search for Steampunk on Etsy and you'll find over 180,000 results . . . and 40 million on Google. A year and a half ago, it was only 70,000 on Etsy and 6.5 million on Google. Wow. Needless to say, Steampunk is not going away anytime soon, and to put
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Lampwork 101: Turning Glass Rods into Glass Beads with Jodi Hesting

Welcome to Jodi Hesting, a lampwork glass bead and jewelry artist and our newest guest blogger on Jewelry Making Daily . To get us started with the basics, Jodi's sharing an intro to lampworking history, supplies to make lampwork glass beads, and
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Liver of Sulfur 101: What Is It, How to Use It to Create Patina on Silver and Copper Jewelry

Pew-eeee! What's that stinky stuff? Liver of sulfur on a copper bracelet, then sanded with a 3M 9-micron finishing film. I love Celtic designs! Whenever I teach hand-finishing jewelry workshops and we get towards the end of the class, I mix up a small
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 21: Win a Slant Cabber from HiTech Diamond

Welcome to week 21 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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What's Good for the Metal is Good for the Metal Clay, Plus How to Reconstitute Dried Metal Clay

I feel like a traitor. My love for metal clay is no secret, and when I first started learning traditional metalsmithing, I participated in more than one debate about which was "better" or, more specifically, found myself defending metal clay
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Inspiring Words for Aspiring Metalsmiths and a Special Way to Learn Metalwork

I've had some great conversations with friends recently about metalsmithing , about how fun it is to dap and dome metal, to hammer textures into it, to anneal and bend and fold it, even to solder it. I'm not going to stop until I convince my metal
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Join the Cure for Breast Cancer: 30% Donation and Free Cover Images

How many girlfriends do you have? When I think about friends from elementary school, high school, college, and various jobs and organizations I've been involved with along the way, in addition to family members, there are dozens of special girls in
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Join the Cure: 8 Great Ways to Make Better Wire Jewelry and Find a Cure for Breast Cancer

Whenever our "Best of" issues come out, the tip-collector part of my brain gets all jumpy. I love learning a new perfect tip that fixes a problem I've encountered while working with wire or helps me make wire jewelry faster/easier/better
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 20: Win Craftsy's Wire-Wrapped Stones, Crystals and Clusters Online Class

Welcome to week 20 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Metal Jewelry-Making for Everyone: Intro to the 5 Metalsmithing Techniques

Chatting with a jewelry-maker friend recently about metalsmithing skills (and the ability of everyone to do it) reminded me of this post from the JMD archives. I truly believe that breaking it down into these simple steps makes it more manageable for
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6 Hot Tips for Cold Connections: Master Riveting, Metal Tools, and More

Sometimes the journey from knowing to mastering a skill takes just as long as the journey to knowing did. In addition to practice, practice, practice, you can often expedite that journey with a few good tips--especially when they're the result of
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Simple Soldering: Kate Richbourg's Tips and Techniques Just for Beginners

For a few months now, we've had the pleasure of guest blogs by Kate Richbourg , a talented jewelry artist and metalwork teacher with a magnetic personality, on all kinds of soldering topics: soldering with a mini torch, soldering alternative metals
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 19: Win the Jewelry Designer Manager Deluxe from Bejeweled Software

Welcome to week 19 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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5 Free Cold Connection Jewelry Projects: How to Rivet Jewelry and More

I've been thinking about and using cold connections more and more lately and now, voila! We've just released of our newest free eBook, 5 Free Cold Connection Jewelry Projects: How to Rivet Jewelry and More . What's been on my mind about cold
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Weaving, Painting, Sewing, and More: Using Nontraditional Techniques to Create More Interesting Jewelry Designs

I jumped at the chance to take a two-day immersions metal class with Mary Hettmansperger at Bead Fest last August after I watched her Weaving Wire Jewelry DVD . In a luxurious two-day class, we were able to mimic some of the techniques from Mary's
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Faux Enameling: Create the Look of Enamel Jewelry Quickly and Easily

Imagine how my little bubble burst when I found out that I had not, in fact, invented faux enameling. Humph. But then I realized that even though someone beat me to it, basically stealing away the fame and fortune that was sure to come to me from it
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 18: Win a Soldering Kit from Halstead Bead!

Welcome to week 18 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Fun Lessons Learned: Four Things I Learned While Electroforming

If you ever want to pretend you're a mad scientist while making jewelry, electroforming is the technique for you! When I first learned about electroforming (or electroplating) jewelry, I couldn't wait to try it. I'd been saving up a bunch
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Metal Stamping Freebies: Create Custom Designs with Common Hardware-Store Tools

The subject of impressions on metal has come up a lot for me in the past few weeks. A friend told me how she inspects the faces of old hammers at thrift/antique stores because some of the wear and tear on them can make great textures on metal. Similarly
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Jewelry Business: Net Profits Advice for Creating Your Own Jewelry Website

Do you know about our Net Profits blog? Cathleen McCarthy writes the Net Profits column in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and an exclusive web-extra blog to accompany it for Jewelry Making Daily . Net Profits is all about jewelry business : selling your
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 17: Win a $50 Gift Certificate to JewelryTools.com

Welcome to week two of our 22-week giveaways of jewelry-making tools and supplies! In celebration of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary, we've gathered a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most respected
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Metalsmithing Magic: Build Rings, Bezels, and More with Bill Fretz

Hollow Form Bezel Ring by Bill Fretz. Photo: Todd Murray I had so much fun in my classes at Bead Fest Philadelphia a few weeks ago! I had three full days of playing with a torch (annealing metal, flame-painting copper, and enameling), hammering the dickens
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Resin Jewelry Making: Double-Sided Resin Butterfly Pendant

Here's another great project from our friends at Nunn Design! This time Becky Nunn herself shares a double-sided necklace project that mixes the versatility of resin with Nunn Design jewelry-making components for a project that's simple enough
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 16: Win a Fretz Naja Forming Hammer

Welcome to week 16 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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How to Solder Jewelry: Lexi Erickson's Memories of Learning to Solder and Her New Soldering eBook

Even after years of soldering experience and those 1,400 times, I still get frustrated by some projects. So don't ever give up! I remember my first foray into soldering bezels. My teacher didn't give us a lot of info, he just demoed a bezel for
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Colorful Simple Chain Maille: Make Handmade Roller-Girl Earrings in Minutes

Sara Richardson's Roller-Girl Earrings. Photo by Jim Lawson. Finally, a chain maille project that even I can sit still long enough to complete! Awhile back, Sara Richardson's colorful chain maille earrings project wowed Karla Rosenbusch, Lapidary
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 15: Win a Tomahawx Edition Blade and Cabochons

Welcome to week 15 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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4 Free Metal Clay Jewelry-Making Projects, Plus Make Metal Clay Tools from Household Items

Our free metal clay eBook has had a little makeover! Now instead of just three free metal-clay jewelry-making projects, you'll get four--from expert metal clay artisans Hadar Jacobson, Noël Yovovich, Paula Bastian-de Leon, and Lis-el Crowley
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5 Rings, Unlimited Possibilities: Ring-Making Projects for Every Skill Level

Rings are my favorite jewelry to make . While I was at Bead Fest last week, I made several "tops" to go on rings and bought some metal and lampwork glass components that I intend to wire or solder into rings. "Everything is a ring to me
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, September/October 2012

Boost your jewelry design expertise: it's the annual Design Issue! See outstanding jewelry designs from three artists inspired by textiles, the work of a witty enamelist, wonderfully carved gems, fantasy-themed jewelry, and some of the overall best gem and jewelry designs produced over the last 65
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My Metal Clay Guild Goes to the PMC Conference: One Member's Tips and Tales

Earlier this summer, several talented ladies from my local Louisiana metal clay guild, L'esprit du Metal, took a fun and informative field trip to the annual (albeit final) Precious Metal Clay (PMC) Conference. Here's our guild president Paula
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Ear Wires Galore: 9 Awesome Ear-Wire Designs to Make Any Design a Star

Once I realized how easy and cost-effective it is to make my own earring findings, I stopped buying manufactured ear wires in favor of making my own. The possibilities truly are endless; ear wires can be just about any shape or style, as long as they
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 14: Win CraftOptics Telescopes!

Welcome to week 14 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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5 Jewelry Designers on Their Jewelry Designs

"Develop Your Artistic Identity" by well-known jewelry designer, goldsmith, and teacher Michael David Sturlin appears in the September/October 2012 issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, the Design Issue. In the feature article, Sturlin focuses
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Dapping and Forming Blocks: Jewelry-Making Tools to Help You Shape Your Sheet with Ease

Photos by Jim Lawson. By Helen L. Driggs I have a shameless obsession for hammers, but that's only the half of it. If I have a hammer in one hand and some sheet in the other, the next logical tool I'll look for is something to strike against-
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Adding Patina to Copper and Brass: How to Make Your Alternative Metal Designs Pop

Lovely patinas! Oh, the things you can do to copper! Many folks love the warm hue of the metal as it is (me included), but it's also the metal master of disguise in the gorgeous patinas it so easily takes on. Of all the alternative metals, copper
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 13: Win a Wire Jewelry-Making 9-DVD Set from Wire Sculpture!

Welcome to week 13 of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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8 Great Ways to Use Your Micro Torch: Tips for Fusing, Soldering, Making Wire Findings and Chain

There are so few soldering and metalsmithing techniques that can't be achieved with a micro torch , especially now that new and improved micro torches are popping up in the market. You can solder with a micro torch, of course, but you can also "flame
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The Language of Gemstones: Acrostic Jewelry Says It All, In Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires...

Have you heard about acrostic jewelry? I learned about it watching an old episode of Antiques Roadshow UK a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm fascinated by it. Just what I needed--a new reason to be hooked on gemstones ! The lovely old acrostic key
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Fabulous, Cabulous! 10 Tips for Buying Cabochons for Your Art Jewelry Designs

By Helen Driggs Coyamito Agate (Chihuaha, Mexico) Barlow's Gems. Photo by Jim Lawson. The earth makes beautiful things. With heat, pressure, and time, raw planetary stuff eventually morphs into fantastic minerals of every color, size, and shape. In
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Five Things We Love: Great Jewelry-Making Supplies and Tools

As with any specialized hobby or job, the proper tools usually make all the difference. I'm a huge fan of repurposing everyday household items for use in my jewelry shop, and I love finding ways to reuse what might be trash into a jewelry-making tool
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 12: Win Stone Sanding and Polishing Points from Diamond Pacific

Welcome to week twelve of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Practice the Gem Cutter's Magic: Faceting a Gemstone with a Pattern

106.84ct aquamarine Dreamscape TM cut by John Dyer. Photo by Lydia Dyer. Do you have a favorite stone cut? I've always been a fan of the simple understated elegance of the emerald cut, but the magpie in me loves a sparkly round brilliant just as much
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The Big Reveal: My Bead Soup Blog Party 2012 Jewelry Creations

Soup's On! Welcome to the Bead Soup Blog Party 2012 Reveal. (If you don't know what Bead Soup is, check this out first .) First, let me say WELCOME to Jewelry Making Daily , all of you Bead Soup Blog Party blog hoppers who haven't been here
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 11: Win One of Our Best-Selling Jewelry-Making DVD Duos!

Welcome to week eleven of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Metalsmithing Basics: Tips and Tools for Filing and Finishing Metal Like a Pro

Nothing sets your metalwork off like finely finished edges and a nicely polished surface. In the rush to finish a piece, sometimes this is a job that doesn't get the attention it deserves. There are a variety of methods that you can use for the process
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Intro to Stone Setting: Essential Tools for Setting Stones in Bezels and Other Settings

What's the next jewelry-making technique you want to master? For me, it's setting stones . I want to master the whole process--cut the stones, make the settings, and then properly set the stones. I've done it before but not with enough regularity
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The Art of Forgotten Things: Creating Jewelry from Objects with a Past

A portion of my treasure box. When I first learned that The Art of Forgotten Things: Creating Jewelry from Objects with a Past was going to be published this year, I was giddy. I couldn't imagine a jewelry-making book more made for me! For years I've
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Over 399 Ways to Be Inspired to Make Great Jewelry: Bead Soup Blog Party 2012

399. Three hundred and ninety-nine! That's how many participants (plus me, 400!) are in this Bead Soup Blog Party (the second one for me). I'm so excited to be participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party again! Last time, I discovered some amazing
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 10: Win a Knew Concepts Saw Frame from Otto Frei

Welcome to week ten of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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6 Free Mixed-Media Jewelry Projects: How to Make Jewelry with Leather, Fabric, Paper, Glass and More

Underwater Mermaids by Stephanie Gard Buss I've always been a mixed-media kind of girl. Call it collage, "altered art," or even scrapbooking--it has always been my thing. I love the freedom afforded in mixed-media design. There are no rules
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Polymer Clay Bead- and Jewelry-Making Secrets: Make a Spotted Cane and More

One of the most essential techniques for working with polymer clay is caning, or creating specially designed canes of clay by rolling snakes of colored clay and arranging them together in a particular way to create designs in the cane slices, such as
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Tourmaline Sunglasses: Not Your Average Wire Wrapped Jewelry

Once in awhile I get an email from Merle White, Editor-in-Chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine, offering me some fabulous bonus from the mag to share with you on Jewelry Making Daily . They're usually such fun things--but this one must
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Mixed-Media Wire Jewelry Design: Bird on a Wire by Rochelle Nation

It's time for another great project from the Nunn Design Creative Team! This one, from Rochelle Nation, employs not only wire but also fun mixed-media jewelry-making materials such as epoxy clay, paper transfers, rubber stamps and ink, and gilder's
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 9: Win a Cuff Bracelet from Ad Adornments

Welcome to week nine of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Be a Player: The Value of Playing for Creativity and Jewelry Design

I read something on Facebook recently about the value and effect of play on creativity. It struck a chord with me immediately, as I'd been wondering why I hadn't been inspired to make anything in awhile. What had happened to my . . . what shall
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Show Off Your Lampwork Glass Stash and Save 30% on All Jewelry-Making eProjects

Cassie Donlen's Slink-a-Dink Necklace I'm not much of a seed beader, but I have lots of friends who are and I often hear them "lamenting" their addiction to beads. I can empathize, because while I don't have the seed-bead bug, I
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Making Chain Maille Jewelry: 8 Great Jump Ring Tips and an Epiphany

I'm (probably) no longer going to complain about how challenged I am when it comes to making chain maille jewelry . I've had an epiphany. The inspiration necklace. Photo: ABC Family. I was watching one of my guilty-pleasure ("teeny bopper"
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Solder Alternative Metals with a Micro Torch: Soldering Copper, Brass, and Nickel

Let's start by discussing the type of "alternative" metals that we are going to solder . We are going to use "nonferrous" metals, meaning that all of these metals belong to the same iron-free family and therefore can be treated
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 8: Win a Flexshaft from Contenti

Welcome to week eight of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Make My Wired Pearl Flower Cuff in Under an Hour, Plus More Great One-Hour Bracelets

I've always worked well under pressure. I procrastinate almost all the time and I seem to thrive in timed challenges, such as having to make a piece of jewelry in a specified (short) amount of time. So when we started doing a series of one-hour project
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Ode to Patinas: How to Create Emotion and Lasting Style in New Metal and Wire Jewelry

I love patina. On metal, on wood, on leather, I love it, but I especially love patina on metal and wire jewelry (where it's sometimes referred to as "bloom"). Merriam-Webster defines patina primarily as such: a : a usually green film formed
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Polymer Clay Jewelry Artists Share Top Tips, Plus Hot News!

One of the things I love about polymer clay is its versatility. Polymer clay can be used to mimic--or be combined with--just about any other jewelry-making material: wire, metal, found objects, gemstones, mixed-media favorites like paper and fibers .
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 7: Win a $50 Gift Certificate to Fire Mountain Gems

Welcome to week seven of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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First Tip of Stamping on Metal: Do it the "Hard" Way, Plus More Metal Stamping Tips

Remember mouse pads? (For our younger and future readers, they're not hip homes for mice.) When I first started stamping metal (years ago as a crafter), I assumed it was wise to use something underneath to absorb the shock--at least to absorb some
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Metalsmithing How-To: Make Rings for Your Fingers, Rings for Your Toes

Rings for your fingers, rings for your toes . . . I love rings. There was a time, when I was younger, that I wore several rings at once and swapped them out regularly, pairing them up like stack rings on some fingers and even wearing groups of them on
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 6: Win a Resin Jewelry-Making Kit from Rings & Things

Welcome to week six of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Quick and Easy Summertime Jewelry: Make a Sparkling Shell Ring

It's officially summer! In addition to splashy swimming pools, juicy watermelons, and blooming roses, nothing says summer to me like a warm sandy beach. I'm constantly inspired by long walks on the beach, picking up shells, wave-worn rocks and
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Jewelry Tools Are Your Friends: Choosing and Caring for Your Pliers

I love it when it's "bonus time" at the makeup counter. You almost always get free lipstick (a girl can't go anywhere in the South without lipstick!) and free moisturizer of some sort in a little container just right for keeping in your
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 5: Win the Wubbers Designer Square Mandrel Pliers Set from Wired-Up Beads

Welcome to week five of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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The Illustrated Guide to Jewelry-Making Tools: Over 125 Jewelry Tools Explained, Plus Make an Ergonomic Saw Handle

It's easy to find sage advice about tools in the jewelry-making world. "Buy the best tools you can afford" is a popular directive, and rightly so--it is better to spend $20 on a tool once than to spend $5 on that same tool every time you
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Top Wire Tips: Six Reasons to Love the Newest Easy Wire Magazine

Since I've become such a fan of wire jewelry making , I've gotten hooked on finding great wire tips. I find myself sharing favorite wire jewelry tips over and over, such as the cool tip for making ear wires using a Sharpie marker as a mandrel
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Sculptural Metal Clay: Building Three-Dimensional Metal Art Jewelry in Silver Metal Clay

You guys are so lucky! My favorite metal clay jewelry-making book is included in our big annual Hurt Book Sale, going on now--and it comes with a free metal-clay tutorial DVD so that you can enjoy very visual, detailed one-on-one sculptural metal clay
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 4: Win 25 Sets of 14k Gold-Filled Ear Wires from CGM Findings

Welcome to week four of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! The background: We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's
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Make Your Own Metal-Look Charms: Epoxy Clay and Resin Charm Necklace

Welcome to Rochelle Nation, the next guest jewelry project designer from Nunn Design and creator of this charm pendant necklace! "As a 2012 member of the Nunn Design Innovation Team, I've had the great pleasure of experimenting with their latest
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A New Approach to Wire Jewelry Making: Wire Weaving with Mary Hettmansperger

Every time we release a new DVD, I get excited about the new possibilities of being able to have a one-on-one jewelry-making lesson with an expert in jewelry-making techniques. Whether it's soldering, hammering and texturing, etching, electroforming
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Helen's Favorite Cold Connections: Screws, Tabs, Rivets, and More

Do you know the most common types of cold connections? I found this great post about them by Helen Driggs, from the earliest days of Jewelry Making Daily . So worth repeating! 7 Favorite Cold Connections by Helen Driggs, Senior Editor of Lapidary Journal
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 3: Disc Cutter Set from Otto Frei

Welcome to week three of our 22-week-long contest of jewelry-making tools and supplies! We're celebrating Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary by giving away a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most
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Bracelets, Bangles, and Cuffs: Learn to Make Quick and Easy Arm Candy in One Hour

It might not be officially summer yet, but thanks to the warm weather, it's officially short-sleeves-and-bracelets season! Though rings are my favorite piece of jewelry to make and wear, bracelets are the official jewelry of summer, to me. Wrists
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Metal Fuming Tutorial: Give Your Lampwork Glass Beads a Gold (or Silver) Glow

Fuming glass is the technique of applying metal particles to the surface of a lampwork glass bead. I found this project while looking through the Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine archives (from the October 2004 issue), and even though I've
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Gemstones for Jewelry Making: Why Colored Stones Deserve a Better Name Than "Semi-Precious" Stones

My love of gemstones goes back to my rock-hounding days at about the age of seven. I kept my prized "gemstone" collection in a pink (of course) Styrofoam egg carton, and as I only had twelve spots to work with and many more stones than that
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 2: $50 Gift Certificate for JewelryTools.com

Welcome to week two of our 22-week giveaways of jewelry-making tools and supplies! In celebration of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary, we've gathered a huge collection of jewelry prizes from the industry's most respected
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Create Etched, Stamped Pendants in "Clay Soldered" Bezels

One of my favorite things about attending "the shows" in Tucson each February is seeing the work of great new designers and reconnecting with old friends. That's two things, I suppose, but in this case it's all one--I got to spend some
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Hello, Boho! Let Your Hair Down with Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry-Making Techniques and Materials

Jewelry Technique Tip from Lorelei's Queen Anne's Lace: Instead of cutting apart chain and wasting links, simply fold it for a mulistrand look. A quick online search will turn up all kinds of interesting definitions of bohemian and bohemian style
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 65th Anniversary Giveaway, Week 1: Rio Grande's Falcon Diamond Saw Blades

Welcome to the first of a long, hot summer full of jewelry-making tools and supplies Friday giveaways! In celebration of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine's 65th anniversary, we've gathered an impressive collection of new and favorite jewelry
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Chain Making: Take Wire from Functional to Fabulous, Plus 7 Tips on Caring for Chain

Since I've been working at Jewelry Making Daily (good times!), I've gained a whole new appreciation for wire . I used to have a pretty specific view of wirework, but slowly, thankfully, I've realized that wire is everywhere in jewelry making
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Gemstone Adventures: Mine for Moonstone and Learn to Set it in Jewelry

The recent full moon was so large and bright (earning itself "supermoon" status), so pretty in the spring sky, I found myself gazing at it as I traveled around Louisiana over the past weekend. Perhaps it's the gemstone training (or gem geekiness
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I Can Fill That With Resin: Out-of-the-Ordinary Bezel Ideas Plus Five Resin Jewelry-Making Tips

After I learned how easy it is to create unique effects and jewelry designs with resin , preserving all the pretty or precious little things that I tend to collect, I was so hooked. Now I find myself browsing my front sidewalk, the beach, antiques stores
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Beyond Metalsmithing Basics: Turn Plain Band Rings into Bamboo Stack Rings

Photo by Jim Lawson. Once you've mastered the basic metalsmithing skills required to make simple band/stack rings, you'll probably want to start jazzing things up a bit with textures and other designs. As a follow-up to my Metalsmithing Basics
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Make Easy Molds for Easy and Memorable Metal Clay Designs

In a recent meeting of my local metal clay guild, someone shared the idea of using Play-Doh to make metal clay molds. It's inexpensive and readily available, it's hard when it dries, and it comes in convenient little sealed containers that are
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Wire Fusing, Coiling, Wrapping, Chain Making, Findings, and More: Our Best Wirework Tips from Denise Peck

I've been digging through the Jewelry Making Daily wire articles and found that Denise Peck's blog on how to finish your wire jewelry professionally is our most visited blog *ever*! Here are her tips from that blog along with a few of her other
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Coming Soon!!! Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine's 65th Anniversary Contests

Enter Our Two Anniversary Contests! Help us celebrate Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist ’s 65 years in the gem and jewelry arts by entering our Giveaway Drawings and our 65 Facet Design contests. GIVEAWAY DRAWINGS: To enter the drawing, visit the
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Organizing Your Jewelry Tools: Making a File Holder

I found this easy-to-make jewelry file organizer in a back issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. This one is for files, but I think a similar structure could be created for hammers, mandrels, and even pliers, with a little creative re-engineering
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Polymer Clay Jewelry Making: Learn How to Make Polymer Clay Jewelry with 5 Free Projects

Versatile. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of polymer clay jewelry making. The other words that come to mind when I think about making jewelry with polymer clay are forgiving, affordable, colorful, fun, and easy, but the first
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, May/June 2012

Discover the hottest new gemstone, Sonoran dendritic, and learn how to bezel set one in a silver pendant - plus learn to cut this stone yourself or find out what you need to know when buying a cabochon. See what new jewelry pliers are on the market and find out what's cool about them. Learn how Pinterest
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Lexi's Tips for Selecting Cabochons: Choosing the Pick of the Litter, Stonewise

Do you suffer from sleepless nights because of your jewelry-making addiction? Are you still awake at 3 a.m. because your mind can't stop designing something elegant for that gorgeous new triangular Rain Forest jasper you just bought? If so, you are
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Jewelry Design: Taking Cues from the Ultimate Designer, Mother Nature

Ask any jewelry designer (or designer of most anything, for that matter) what inspires them, and I bet more often than not, they'll say nature. I find myself picking up random things in the wild everywhere I go because they have a neat pattern or
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Metalsmithing Techniques, Tips, and Tutorials: Introduction to Broom Casting

Pebbles by Beth Rosengard. Diamond and black drusy garnet earrings. On my ever-growing list of more advanced metalsmithing techniques to try, casting--specifically broom and cuttlefish casting--is near the top. The surprise and randomness of the results
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Part Two: Patina and Texture, a Jewelry Maker's Essential Tools by Ronna Sarvas Weltman

Editor's note: Ronna Sarvas Weltman is a contributing editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and author of Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay and Wire Jewelry . She teaches workshops in polymer clay and wire jewelry making . Ronna creates artisan jewelry
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Resin, Paper, Fibers, and More: Mixed-Media Jewelry Making with Kristal Wick

Kristal made these sparkling bezels using UV resin and chunky Martha Stewart glitter. I've always loved mixed-media jewelry, probably because it combines some of the many crafts I've enjoyed for years. When you put all the paper products from
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More Great Jewelry Supplies: 27 Everyday Items Every Jewelry Studio Needs

The more I make jewelry, the more regular household things prove themselves useful jewelry tools and supplies for the process. I find myself hoarding lids--lids that have lost their bowls, lids from sturdy takeout containers, all kinds of lids. They make
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Creative Cold Connections: Setting a Stone with No Soldering

by Tim McCreight In the jewelry world, the term cold connections usually describes mechanical joining techniques that are used to fasten together parts that cannot be soldered (which is a "hot" connection). The leaders of the pack are probably
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Micro Torches 101, Part 1: The Which, What, and Why of Butane Torches

by Jewelry Making Daily's newest contributor, Kate Richbourg ! Welcome to the world of butane torches (also known as micro torches or even crème brûlée torches)! Micro torches make creating simple soldered jewelry a breeze. I am
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Alternative Metals: Tips for Soldering Copper and Brass

You learn something new every day--if you're lucky, and if you follow the Jewelry Making Daily forums! Likely due to the rising cost of silver, there's been a lot of buzz of the forums recently about soldering copper as well as soldering copper
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Stone Setting: Basic Bezel-Making Tips and Techniques from Michael Boyd

by Michael Boyd In our shop, we make hundreds if not thousands of bezels each year--sometimes twenty, thirty, and even up to fifty bezels for one piece of jewelry! Bezels offer the jewelry maker a nicely integrated gemstone setting that is secure as well
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Chain Maille Jewelry Making: Understanding Aspect Ratio

Ah, chain maille. We meet again. (Can you hear that woo-hoo-woo sound they play in old Westerns, just before two cowboys have a shoot out? No? Just me? Okay. . . . ) I get a little nervous whenever it's time to write about chain maille jewelry. A
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Lagniappe for Jewelry Design: The Value of a Little Something Extra

That little blue bead hanging from the clasp of Lorelei Eurto's Oxford Circus cuff provides the lagniappe. This month I've officially been a southwest Louisiana resident for one year. What a year! The music, the food, the people, the environment
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Learn How to Make Wire Jewelry: Designs for Making Wire Jewelry with 6 Wire Jewelry Making Techniques

I've gained a new passion and respect for wire jewelry in the past two years, and it's largely due to discovering how versatile wire and wire jewelry making is. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's almost no jewelry to be made without
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Metal Stamping: Bring the Power of Words to Your Metal Jewelry

I love the whimsy behind metal jewelry with inspiration stamped on it. "Dream" and "wish" and "believe" and some other encouraging words, and short Bible verses (or portions of verses, such as "Be still"), are always
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Mixed-Media Jewelry Artists: Sneaking a Peek at Their Studio Spaces

I admit it: I'm a studio voyeur. If I could peek in the windows of my favorite artists' studios without getting arrested, I'd do it in a hot minute. And being a mixed-media kind of girl--jewelry, paper crafts, fibers, just about anything you
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Jewelry Making with Alternative Metals: Upcycled Cookie-Tin Earrings, Part One

Having been a tree hugger since college and a crafter since long, long before that, I get real joy from seeing some of the clever ways artists reuse materials to make beautiful things. I can't go into an antiques store or junk shop without finding
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Jewelry Making with Alternative Metals: Upcycled Cookie-Tin Earrings, Part Two

Continued from part one of "Making Artistic Jewelry from Recycled Resources: Cookie-Tin Earrings" by Katherine Wadsworth of Natalia Designs . Kate's earrings 3. Select, mark, and cut out the tin shapes. After just a little fun destruction
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Metalsmithing Details: Designing Interesting Pendants (and Speaking French) with Lexi Erickson

These highly polished bails are a stark contrast to the heavily patinated foreground, and they accent the high polished metal of the background. ( Canyon of Remembering from Lexi's Conversations with Harold Series) By Lexi Erickson I love teaching
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist March 2012

Take advantage of Argetium Silver alongside Betsy Porter. Master this new sterling silver alloy and learn how to: anneal, make granules, fuse, polish, harden, and more! Use your new skills and tricks to create projects with step-by-step instructions that feature Argetium Silver: Use lightweight fused
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Jewelry Design Principles: Movement, Wearability, Balance, and Durability

As I've spent time talking with professional jewelry-designer friends, one word that comes up a lot is "principles." The principles of design, the mechanics of design, wearability, balance--these are the things that are foremost in their
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National Craft Month: Pass on Your Passion with Jewelry Making Daily and Other Interweave Craft Communities

March is National Craft Month! All of us at Jewelry Making Daily , Beading Daily , and other Interweave craft communities Cloth Paper Scissors Today , Knitting Daily , and Crochet Me are committed to "passing on our passion" for crafts by teaching
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Wire Jewelry Tip of the Year: Make Perfect Ear Wire Sets in Minutes

I had a great time catching up with my new friend Eleanore Macnish , the fun and incredibly talented lampwork glass artist and metal jewelry designer behind Ellie Mac Beads, in Tucson last month, and while we were chatting, she showed me a super quick
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Lampwork Glass Beads: Favorite Jewelry Projects

Sometimes we just get so enamored with jewelry-making goodies that we have to put ourselves on a stash diet for our own good. For metal clay enthusiasts, I think it's probably texture sheets (if not metal clay itself). There's always a new color
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Quick and Easy: Modern Polymer Clay Earrings

Are you looking for a forgiving, easy to use, versatile, affordable medium to add to your jewelry-making repertoire? Let me introduce you to my friend, polymer clay. Surely you've heard about him, but do you realize what he can do for you? Polymer
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Freeform Resin Jewelry: Make Fairy Wings (or Leaves, or Flowers, or. . .) Using Wire and Resin

I finally got over my fear of possibly "wasting" supplies with resin gone wrong, and now I'm hooked! I've been resin-ing all kinds of things--bezels, old pocket-watch cases, even backless shapes (thanks to that little trick of backing
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Fun Gem "Facts": Add Color and Intrigue to Your Jewelry Designs with Meaningful Gemstones

I didn't think I could get even fonder of gems, but when I saw all the gemstone slices all over Tucson, my (already substantial) passion for them grew even greater. I've seen gem slices before, of course--who hasn't seen watermelon tourmaline
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Photographing Your Jewelry: Tips on What To Do (and What Not To Do) for Great Photos

I had the pleasure of hanging out with some of my metal clay L'Esprit du Metal guild members recently for a jewelry photography session . I learned some great info and got a little practice using light tents, and we talked about backgrounds a lot
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The Importance of Being Sketchy: Capturing Jewelry Ideas in Drawings

In spite of all the "to do" lists I made before heading out to Tucson last month, I still managed to forget two very important things: my toothbrush and my sketchbook. Fortunately the hotel's store had toothbrushes (somehow I managed to
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Ode to the Head Pin: Wire Jewelry's Humble Component Gets Decorative

Second only to my beloved pearls, I spent the most time and money in Tucson buying . . . head pins. Head pins? Whoa girl, why not go crazy and get some jump rings while you're at it, right? My dotted Sylvie Beads glass head pins, floral glass head
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Intro to Stone Cutting: Beginning the Lapidary Journey with Freeform Cabochons

Lapidary work has long been on my bucket list; I've been collecting and cracking open rocks since I was a little girl. The idea of being able to purposefully and cleanly slice into one, to see something inside that no one has ever seen before, is
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Jewelry Tools 102: Guide to Jewelry-Making Pliers

I read in Jewelry Making Daily's Facebook feed recently that Rio Grande's fans voted chain-nose pliers as their favorite tool. They're certainly among the most versatile, and I admit to having four pairs of chain-nose pliers on my jewelry
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Etched Copper and Brass Jewelry: Phototransfer Metal Etching

by Lexi Erickson Etching brass and copper plates can result in interesting designs, and the metal may be used several ways. I plan on making this etched copper plate into a piece of jewelry. If I had etched the same design onto brass, it could be used
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5 Handy Copper and Wire Jewelry-Making Tips

Preparing for Tucson this year has me digging through the Jewelry Making Daily archives, finding projects and techniques that I want to try this year so I can prepare my Tucson shopping list. In my research, I've come across so many great tips for
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Unlimited Possibilities: Making Jewelry with "Delicate, Organic, Exquisite" Polymer Clay

Having spent so many years working in the craft industry, I have been familiar with polymer clay for a long time--but hardly ever in terms of jewelry making . And after spending so much time working with gemstones and the cool hardness of metal, the versatility
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Jewelry Soldering Basics: Using Solders, Flux, Tools & Creating a Safe Soldering Space

If you've been a Jewelry Making Daily reader for awhile, you've undoubtedly seen me write about Lexi Erickson, my beloved friend and metalsmithing teacher. Lexi is so generous with JMD readers, sharing her knowledge about all things jewelry related
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Gemstones for Jewelry Making: Pantone's Spring 2012 Color Palette

I'm passionate about color and all of its little nuances. I'm fascinated by the different appearances a single color can have based upon the light it's viewed under, and I get satisfaction from identifying multiple hues in an object that appears
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Creative and Alternative Metals: Mokume Gane

Or, Mokume Gane: What It Is, How to Really Mess It Up, and How to Do It Right By Lexi Erickson I was recently interviewed for an article on jewelry-making techniques and was asked, "What was your biggest jewelry-making mistake as you were learning
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Lampwork Glass Bead Making: 8 Lessons Learned

My first day's attempts at making lampwork glass beads. Even though I've had one (very good) lampwork glass bead-making class (thanks Marcy!), I'm still fascinated by lampworking and am determined to do more of it this year, even if it's
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Five Elements of Design: Mastering the Basics in Jewelry Design

I've been thinking a lot about jewelry design lately, about the difference between designing jewelry and creating jewelry . . . that is, designing jewelry (drawing that vision on paper or using some sort of design software to create a rendering of
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Meet Tube, Gypsy, Crown and Bead, the Four Types of Nonbezel Stone Settings

We've talked a lot here on Jewelry Making Daily about creating perfect bezels and making bezel settings , but I think the other types of stone sets are getting jealous--so let's take a look at them, shall we? Beyond Bezels: Try your hand at other
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Bronze Metal Clay: My First Impressions and the Charm Swap

I participated in my first metal clay charm swap last month during our L'Esprit du Metal guild's holiday party, and now I have a beautiful bracelet full of talent, friendship, and special memories. If you're a member of a metal clay guild
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Making Three-Dimensional Metal Jewelry: What can your hammer do for you?

I'm always amazed at the malleability of some metals . . . the most typical metals that artisan jewelry makers work with at least--I can't speak much about metals like platinum and titanium and the like. Maybe someday! But for now, whenever I
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Creating the Perfect Jewelry-Making Studio: Jewelry Tools and Supplies

In writing last Friday's blog about the most talked-about posts on Jewelry Making Daily in 2011, I came across a great one that I saved for today: a look at jewelry-making tools and supplies from master jeweler and soldering queen Lexi Erickson. Lexi
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People Are Talking About...The Best of 2011 on Jewelry Making Daily

Gosh we had fun last year, didn't we? We did lots of wirework and metalsmithing, a little chain maille (ahem), metal clay of all kinds, and lots and lots of mixed-media jewelry, using fun jewelry-making materials such as enamel, resin, fibers, found
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Quick and Easy Cold Connections: Make Riveted Flower Dangle Earrings

I wanted to make some fun and unique earrings for a friend for Christmas, ones that incorporated mixed metals and flowers--and these pretty earrings by Karen Dougherty immediately came to mind. Karen designed these earrings especially for Jewelry Making
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Where Should You Sell Your Jewelry?

by Ronna Sarvas Weltman (Originally published in Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry , Feb/March 2011) Just about everybody who makes jewelry has thought about selling it. Although one obvious reason for selling jewelry is to make money, that isn't the only
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My Favorite Jewelry-Making Tips for Wire, Metal, Polymer Clay, and More

I love a great time- and money-saving tip. I mentally collect them like Heloise must, and when I learn a new one, it's like a new word--I use it and share it as often as possible. If only there was some way to truly measure the value of a great jewelry
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Easy Enameling: Make Enameled Copper-Tube Beads

This time last year, I finished up my list of New Year's resolutions, among which were promises to add lampwork glass and enameling to my jewelry-making toolbox. I marked lampwork glass off my list (thanks Marcy!), but I didn't quite make it to
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Helen's Top Tips for Aspiring Metalworkers: A Jewelry Expert's Metalsmithing Dos and Don'ts

I meet people on a regular basis who want to learn metalsmithing and other jewelry fabrication techniques, and I'm fortunate to always have a wealth of resources to share with them. One such resource is Helen Driggs, senior editor of Lapidary Journal
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Jewelry Tools 101: Guide to Jewelry-Making Hammers

Much gentler than a rawhide mallet, Lexi's current favorite hammer is a paper mallet. "Choosing a favorite hammer is like choosing a favorite child," she says. "Today this one's my favorite, but tomorrow it will be another."
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Stylin' with Metal

By Barbara Delaney from Jewelry Making Daily's sister site, Cloth Paper Scissors Jewelry is a very important part of any wardrobe, and as far as I'm concerned, you can never have enough jewelry. I'm not talking diamonds and sapphires here
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Resin Confessions and Foolproof Solutions: 15 Resin Jewelry-Making Tips and Fixes

I have a confession to make: I get nervous when I'm going to make jewelry with resin . My fears are totally unfounded--I was taught by experts, use the best materials, and follow instructions exactly--but I still inexplicably hold my breath when I'm
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How to Sell Jewelry: Tips for Your Home-Based Jewelry Business and Selling Jewelry Online

What a dream to be able to make money doing something that you love to do: making and selling jewelry. Even if you don't want selling handmade jewelry to become your full-time career, it's gratifying to design your own handcrafted jewelry, offer
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Ask the Experts: Soldering Silver to Gold

Did you see jewelry artists and experts Tom and Kay Benham's response to a community member on the Jewelry Making Daily Ask the Expert Forum , about soldering gold to silver? A. We recommend you use hard silver solder to solder a gold accent piece
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Polymer Clay Jewelry Making Tips from Clay Expert Lisa Pavelka

After over a decade of working in the crafting industry, I can't think of polymer clay without thinking of Lisa Pavelka . She's a polymer clay designer, teacher, author, television personality, and product creator--in short, she knows her stuff
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Mixed-Media Video Tutorial: Don't Be Afraid to Use Resin in Jewelry Making

Here's another great video tutorial I found on Jewelry Making Daily's sister site, Cloth Paper Scissors . This resin video tutorial will help you get through the fear that we sometimes have about working with resin. I'm guilty of it too--but
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Lights, Camera . . . Gemstones: Lighting Tips for Gem and Jewelry Photography

by Merle White, Editor-in-Chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Shoot--it's hard to shoot gemstones ! Everything that makes them so interesting to look at also makes them challenging to photograph. Each of these stones alone has its own photography
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Crossover Crafts: Mixed-Media Jewelry Making from Cloth Paper Scissors

Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like looking at mixed-media art and jewelry--and mixed-media art jewelry is even better! I love the freedom mixed-media art and jewelry gives me to mix favorite materials from all of my crafts. Having been a crafter
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Found-Object Jewelry: Make a Mixed-Media Spoon Necklace

I love the freedom of making mixed-media and found-object jewelry, don't you? Anything goes! I'm constantly amazed and inspired by the this-and-thats and any-ol'-things designers turn into art jewelry. This cheerful "Stirring Up Sunshine"
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Mixed-Media Jewelry Making Video Tutorial: Easy Altered Metal

I just found this great video tutorial about altering metal on our sister site, Cloth Paper Scissors, by CPS Editor Jenn Mason . There are so many finishes to be achieved on metal, beyond the one that likely comes to mind first--patinas created by products
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Endless Wire Jewelry-Making Tips: Save Time and Money

I love a good tip, especially one that can save me hours of time and lots of moola--which I can spend on more jewelry-making tools and supplies, right? And that's perfect for this time of year, while we're making jewelry for holiday gifts. Here's
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Specialized Silversmithing Skills: How to Make a Brooch Pin Catch

I've said it before--I absolutely LOVE this time of year. I find myself singing Christmas carols all the time, and I don't mind making up the words when I don't know the right ones. I made up my own little version of the Rudolph song this
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10 Metal Clay Secrets for Metalsmiths: The Best of Both Worlds

I get a kick out of hearing jewelry-making friends debate over the difference between metal clay work and metalsmithing or metal fabrication. Each camp thinks theirs is best (of course), and it's fun to hear them explain why. The more they debate
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My Favorite Gemstone . . . at the Moment: Cutting a Spinner Quartz

by Merle White, Editor-in-Chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Viewed face up, my spinner quartz shows the same needle of rutile reflected around the stone. Am I ever going to do something with that spinner quartz I bought at last year's Tucson
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Pricing Your Handmade Jewelry: Tips from Etsy Experts

One of the hottest topics on jewelry-making forums is how to price your handmade jewelry and sell in brick-and-mortar shops as well as online shops and sites like Etsy. The divide between pricing your jewelry designs high enough to make them profitable
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9 Great Chain-Maille Tips from Expert Scott David Plumlee

Dear Chain Maille, I've tried ( and tried ), but I just can't do it anymore. Our relationship isn't going to work. I have so much admiration and respect for you, but I don't have enough patience for this relationship right now. It's
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Riveting Ideas: Setting Vintage Buttons in Riveted Bezels

I've been in love with buttons since I was a little girl. Both of my grandmothers sewed and quilted, so there was always a jar of buttons sitting around their houses. As I've gotten older and become so passionate about crafting and jewelry making
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Expert Metal Clay Tips from Jewelry Artist Kate McKinnon

I found myself referring back to one of my own articles for a tip recently, isn't that funny? You can't beat Kate McKinnon for smart tips and clever designs in metal clay, so I thought you might appreciate the refresher as well. Don't miss
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Guide to Jewelry-Making Techniques: How to Make Jewelry with 5 Free Jewelry Projects

I love being able to share my passion for jewelry making with new makers, especially ones who are learning new jewelry techniques such as wirework and even metalsmithing, including fun techniques like texturing, doming, and soldering metal, bezel making
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Selling Handmade Jewelry Online: Tips for Great Photography

It doesn't matter how long you've been making jewelry and getting compliments on it from friends and strangers--it's still scary to sell your jewelry , to put your work out there for the world to see! I'll never forget the last few days
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Metal Magic: Electroforming Organic and Other Materials for Jewelry Making

It was at only the eleven-second mark in the DVD that I saw this image--and when I knew I had to have it! For weeks now, my friend and co-worker Denise Peck (editor of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry , author of great jewelry-making books, and host of fun and
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5 Tips for Colored Wire Jewelry Making

I've been unpacking my craft room/studio/office since I moved (yes, that was six months ago . . . shh!) and working on getting each part of the room set up and organized--one side for jewelry making, one for paper crafts, one for my work desk, and
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Get to Know Denise Peck, Queen of Wire Jewelry

She's the Editor-in-Chief of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine, the author of (and contributor to) several great jewelry-making books, including Wire Style and Wire Style 2 (you know something is fabulous when we have to make a sequel!), and the
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Jewelry-Making Firsts: Wire Earrings, Gem Cutting, and More

Everyone remembers the big "firsts" in their lives--first car, first home, first kiss. For jewelry makers, their first jewelry designs always stick in their minds. Whether it's the first piece they ever made or the first time they tried
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Project Accessory Episode 2 Recap: Swarovski Shoes? Yes Please!

Rich's shoe pattern Photo by Lifetime Television. So, what did you think of Project Accessory, episode 2, last night? The designers were challenged to choose a piece of Swarovski jewelry at a Swarovski Crystallized store and then choose a bag full
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Trash-to-Treasure Jewelry: Make Art Jewelry With Me Using Gifts from the Sea

Beachcombing has always been one of my favorite pastimes. Through years of family vacations and girls' weekend trips, my mother and I have visited dozens of beaches on the east and gulf coasts--including nearly every beach from the Outer Banks of
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Easy Metal Clay, 2011

Discover jewelry making like never before! You can create marvelous metal jewelry in moments with metal clay. Design earrings, bracelets, pendants, and rings in the versatile medium that gives you the accessibility of clay and the durability, luster, and genuine artisan feel of metal. With this remarkable
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All About Ear Wires: Dozens of Tips and Techniques to Make Unique Handmade Earrings

A jewelry-maker friend recently asked me about a good resource for ear wires, and I teased her about buying rather than making her own. She does amazing work in bronze clay (as well as pottery clay) and makes her living creating art and art jewelry with
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Gem, Jewelry, and Lapidary Classifieds

Gem, Jewelry, and Lapidary Classifieds E-mail our Classified Advertising representative for more information. How to Search the classifieds with Internet Explorer or Netscape ANTIQUE/ESTATE JEWELRY AUCTIONS BEAD SHOPS BEADS/BEAD SUPPLIES BOOKS & VIDEOS
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Jewelry Classes

Jewelry Classes Welcome to our Jewelry Classes listings. Find the finest jewelry workshops, courses, techniques and instructors at a jewelry program near you. If you would like to list your school or jewelry workshop, please contact Monica Turner at 1
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Project Accessory Recap, Episode 1: Trash-to-Treasure Jewelry

What did you think of the gorgeous Project Accessory workroom? Love the ruby-red wall against the blue-gray suede-finish walls. Photo from Lifetime Television. So did you watch Project Accessory last night? I've never seen a reality show that I've
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Tell Me A Story: Fun Facts About Gemstones Add Interest to Your Handmade Jewelry

I love being able to tell people a little something about the gemstones I use to make the jewelry they buy from me. I think a fun response to "What a pretty necklace!" would be "Thank you, it's aquamarine--did you know that sailors
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Excerpt from Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay and Wire Jewelry – The Mechanics of Jewelry Design

by Ronna Sarvas Weltman One of the luxuries of making your own jewelry is having the flexibility to size every piece according to your own tastes and needs. If you are making jewelry for others to wear, it is important to be familiar with common sizing
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Customer Favorites and Editor's Picks: The Best of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine

Since I started here at Jewelry Making Daily about a year ago, I've slowly but surely doubled my collection of back issues of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. Every once in awhile I get a happy email from a coworker that goes something like
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Make Successful Bezels, Every Time: Bezel Wire Tips from the Jewelry Making Daily Forums

When it comes to making bezels, the hardest part for me (and, so I've heard, for many of you) is the piecework of cutting bezel wire to fit together just right. While soldering a bezel, the solder will flow up into the seam of the bezel wire--but
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Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers: A Million (okay, 17) Silver Jewelry-Making Tips

I've been like a kid awaiting Santa Claus since I learned about our new silversmithing book, Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers: A Handbook of Techniques and Surface Treatments. (Is it here yet? Is it here yet?) I couldn't even get my hands on
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6 More Silver Jewelry-Making Tips from Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers

Enjoy these six bonus silversmithing tips from Elizabeth Bone's book Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers: A Handbook of Techniques and Surface Treatments , a must-have comprehensive silversmithing resource! Create unique surface treatments in the texturing
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It's Sparkle (Jewelry) Season: Make Earrings for the Holiday Party Season

I looove this time of year. Leaves falling, warm bright blue-sky days, crisp chilly nights . . . and when all that natural beauty gives way to dreary cold, dark days, there's still something else to love about autumn: the beginning of the holiday
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Metalsmithing Techniques for Jewelry Making: Free Metal-Stamping Video Tutorial

Even though I'm a writer and regularly write and read how-to instructions for creative projects, sometimes you just have to see something happening to really get it . So when I learned that our newest free metalsmithing tutorial on metal stamping
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Mixed-Media Jewelry: Using Found Objects in Handmade Jewelry

By Ronna Sarvas Weltman I love mixed-media jewelry. I love that it flaunts any rules of what goes with what. Diamonds with Legos? Fair game. I love that it points out possibilities, showing us that this chipped game piece or that faded ribbon can take
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5 Tips for Marketing and Selling Your Handcrafted Jewelry

One of the questions that I get asked most often is, "How do I sell my jewelry?" Even though I've spoken to groups about selling jewelry online and it's something I've done myself for awhile now, there's always more to learn
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6 Reasons Not to Miss the Newest Series of Beads, Baubles, and Jewels

I get excited every time a new series of Beads, Baubles and Jewels comes out. Each one gets better than the ones before, and there's so much to talk about, I never know where to begin. The newest series is packed full of dozens of handcrafted jewelry
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Texture and Patina on Jewelry: Creating Metal Effects with Household Items

I've always been a thrifty girl. I save interesting things to reuse in all kinds of projects, such as beautiful packaging that can be turned into paper art or snippets of ribbon that have a million uses. I also enjoy finding multiple uses for household
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How to Make Resin Jewelry: 3 Free Projects plus a Bonus Guide to Resin Jewelry Supplies

I've always loved snow globes and the limitless possibilities of scenes and mementos you can put inside. When I first discovered resin jewelry-making, I think it appealed to me because it was so much like making snow globes in jewelry--I can put anything
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Bead Soup Blog Party: Handcrafted Jewelry Tips and Tricks from the Participants

Lesley created this amazing masterpiece using the beads I sent her and supplies from her stash. When I revealed my Bead Soup Blog Party necklace (made using beads and a gorgeous bead-woven clasp sent to me by my Bead Soup partner, Lesley from Sweet Freedom
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Chain Jewelry How-To: Faux Chain Maille Secret Bracelet by Jane Dickerson

Well, I think I've found the solution to my chain maille problem . . . and I was comforted to learn that even an accomplished jewelry designer like Jane Dickerson has some trouble with it, too. Read on for an easy way to achieve the look of chain
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The Versatility of Metal Clay: Making a Customized Rosary

I made a rosary for a very dear friend's birthday about a year ago, and I believe I learned as much making it as I have in any other jewelry-making endeavor I've ever had. I am not Catholic, so I had to do a bit of research to learn how to make
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My First Bead Swap, Part Two: Doing the Bead Soup Blog Party

Welcome to Jewelry Making Daily, Bead Soup Blog Party blog hoppers!!! First of all, holy cow! A few weeks ago I said I was so excited to do the Bead Soup Blog Party because it would be an exercise in creativity. Turns out, that old saying about stretching
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, August 2011

The August issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist will help you start designing outside your box with tips for a successful partnership. Create resin jewelry with demos for earrings and pendants. Take a look at Topaz with expert dos and don'ts. PLUS . . . Learn one of the most important tricks
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The Great Eight: the Best of Jewelry Making Daily

Jewelry Making Daily turned one earlier this summer, and at the end of this month, I'll celebrate my one-year anniversary as the Jewelry Making Daily editor. I can't believe it has been a year already! Our community has grown so fast (thanks to
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Fave Five: Top Jewelry-Making DVDs to Teach and Inspire You

Even though I wasn't an early adapter, I can't imagine not knowing all the jewelry techniques that I've learned by watching a DVD: etching, chain maille, riveting and cold connections, resin, even some wirework. Classes are a luxury that not
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, July 2011

The July issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist is just like the weather, hot, hot, hot! Covering so many topics including mandrels, alabaster, mokumé snakes, and copper, you'll be hooked by the first page. Learn all about ring and bracelet mandrels for an easy way to form your metal. From
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Wire Wrapping with the Cougar: Wire Jewelry Q&A with Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Even though I've written about wire jewelry many times and even this author in particular, I've never done an interview with Dale "Cougar" Armstrong. High time, don't you think? When I heard she was a rock hound like me, I couldn't
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, May/June 2011

Discover the 5 essential secrets to successful soldering and practice on 3 easy silver rings. Learn to set pearls with pegs in silver wire and sheet design for a pendant plus earrings - and find out why South Sea pearls enjoy such a great reputation. Find out how to make a corrugated copper pendant with
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Part One: Patina and Texture, A Jewelry Maker's Essential Tools by Ronna Sarvas Weltman

Ronna Sarvas Weltman is a contributing editor to Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry and author of Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay and Wire Jewelry . She regularly teaches workshops in polymer clay and wire jewelry making. Ronna creates artisan jewelry using sterling
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Jewelry-Making Inspiration to Revive Your Stash

Every time I try to clear out my stash of jewelry-making supplies, it's the same story. I'm too attached, even to ones that I've had for a long time and still not used. I can't give them away just because I don't know what I want to
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Meet Bill Fretz and Master His Hammering and Forming Techniques

First, a little background: A frequent contributor to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist , William Fretz has been a jewelry designer since high school. Since then, Bill has added a BFA from The Rochester Institute of Technology's School for American
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My First Bead Swap: Mining Our eMags for Inspiration

I'm so excited to be taking part in my first bead-swap blog party! I was thrilled to be invited to Lori Anderson's 2011 Bead Soup Blog Party (there are over 300 participants this year!) and couldn't wait to join in. I sent Lesley turquoise
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Add Some Zing to Your Earrings: Make Mismatched Earring Designs

Several years ago at the AGTA gem show in Tucson, I was shadowing a gem buyer, my friend and mentor, while he was buying high-end gemstones. After he purchased several coordinating but not matched pairs, he said that designers who create mismatched earrings
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Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist January/February 2011

Discover the world of designer gems, fabulous one-of-a-kind cuts and unusual materials that can make your custom jewelry stand out: find gem designers, learn what to look for when you buy, and what setting skills you’ll need to set these outstanding stones. Learn basic gem carving and stone polishing
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Free Project: Make Your Own Kidney Ear Wires, Plus Other Handcrafted Wire Jewelry Findings

I couldn't believe the response when I wrote about handcrafted ear wires and other wire findings a few months ago, and I was introduced to so many unique ear wire designs and jewelry designers as a result. Now, it's like when you've learned
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Jewelry-Making How-To: Top Tips for Oxidizing Silver Wire and Metal

Sterling Wire-Wrapped Necklace by Sally Stevens I was looking for some information about oxidizing wire and metal the other day, and I found a great post on our sister site, Beading Daily , by queen of wire Denise Peck, the Editor-in-Chief of Step-by
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Lots to Love: My Favorite Things About Our 3 New Wire Jewelry-Making eBooks

One of Jewelry Making Daily 's friends on Facebook commented recently that she didn't know what an eBook is. Here I am talking about our eBooks all the time (and we continue to make new ones every month, like the three new wire eBooks I'm
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Tell Me a Story: Top Designers Share the Creative Tales Behind Favorite Jewelry-Making Projects

Whenever I sell a piece of jewelry, the buyers (and browsers) often ask me the story behind a piece. Sometimes I can tell them where I found some unusual old metal found object I've used in it, or I'll describe the thing--art, other jewelry, flowers
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What will 10 cents buy you? A Wire Jewelry-Making Essentials Video!

Watching Denise's video, you can learn to make perfect flush cuts . . . . . . make your own hammered flat-end wire head pins in minutes . . . . . . easily straighten wire, and more. I love paper books, paper magazines, regular old movies. But the
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Hanging Out with Kate McKinnon, Part 2: Sculptural Metal Clay Genius

It's no secret that Kate McKinnon's books Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry and Jewelry Architect are two of my favorite craft and jewelry-making books of all time. We've written about her work on Jewelry Making Daily before, sharing metal clay
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Hanging Out with Kate McKinnon, Part 1: Sculptural Metal Clay Genius

Kate McKinnon Did I tell you about the time I met Kate McKinnon? No? Well then . . . I was walking the aisles of one of the smaller bead shows in Tucson last February when I saw a booth with books, art, and jewelry that looked familiar. Just about the
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Behind the Pages of Wire Art Jewelry Workshop with Sharilyn Miller

It's no surprise: I love craft books, and jewelry-making books in particular. Seeing the projects and reading what designers write always makes me want to know more about the authors and the background behind each project. Did you catch my interview
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Cool Off with Hot Jewelry-Making Picks: Mixed-Media and Metalwork Inspiration (and a Coupon!)

I'm pretty easily distracted. If I have work or chores--even things I enjoy, like reading or making jewelry--that I should be doing, a blue sky and a country road with the top down or an invitation from a friend can easily lure me away from the task
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My Chain-Maille Adventure, Part 2: Dubious Weave Chain

Four jump rings and two paper clips later, the beginnings of my Dubious spiral chain! Well, I finally did it. I finally sat down with pliers and a million little jump rings and did chain maille. And I survived! If you've been reading Jewelry Making
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Ode to a Jump Ring, Plus Get 3 Free Chain-Maille Jewelry Projects

Plus a Bonus Guide to Aspect Ratio, Wire Gauge, Inner Diameter and Outer Diameter Oh, little jump ring. You're about to become very, very popular, when all of the chain-maille fans find out about our new free eBook, 3 Free Chain Maille Projects, Plus
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Jewelry Design, Inspiration and Ideas: The Value of Keeping a Sketchbook

A rare example of a "whole" design in my sketchbook. Inspiration comes from everywhere, and lately I'm inspired by the intricacies of antique ironwork and the colors and textures of weathered wood that I'm seeing when I explore my new
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Sketching Jewelry Designs: Creating an "Idea Book" with Lexi Erickson

When I asked my friend and metalsmithing teacher Lexi Erickson to share with me her thoughts on drawing and jewelry design, she was generous and brilliant, as always. After teaching for more than twenty years, Lexi has encountered her share of students
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Soldering Next Steps: Make My Silver Flower Ring and a 10-Part Soldering Series

Last week on Jewelry Making Daily, I shared how to make the beginner soldering stack rings project that master metalsmith Lexi Erickson taught me to make in her studio last year (also found in the May/June 2011 issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist
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Copper Clay Tips from Arlene Mornick

Since I first discovered it about ten years ago at a craft trade show, metal clay has been my favorite medium ever , for jewelry making or any other craft. I can't talk about it without saying the word "magic" over and over. I thought silver
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Pearl Girl: Looking Forward to the Pearl Issue

K. Brunini seed pearl, South Sea pearl, and diamond earrings. Photo courtesy of JCK . There's a reason my friends call me Pearl Girl--I've never met a pearl I didn't like! My collection includes South Sea, Tahitian, Akoya (even one I harvested
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Wire Jewelry Making Comes Alive in Our New Live Wire eMag!

It's almost time for the last Harry Potter film, and I'm so excited to see all the bells and whistles they've packed into the finale. I was amazed at all the brilliant special effects in the movies, like the framed photos and photos in newspapers
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Bezel Settings Love Stones

You can set faceted stones of any shape and flat gemstone slices equally well in bezels. Helen Blythe-Hart's "Watermelon Parfait Pendant." Photo: Jim Lawson. I Love Stones, So I Love Bezel Settings The first time I saw a faceted stone in
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Time Tested: 6 Wire Jewelry-Making Tips from the Beginning of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry

Fanciful Figure 8 Earrings by Alice Korach I've never been a big fan of gadgets, the Next Big Thing, or newfangled anything . I'm very old-fashioned and have always been drawn to old, well-worn, and classic things, even when I was much younger
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Soldering Made Simple: Create Easy Textured Silver Stack Rings

Rings are my favorite piece of jewelry to collect, wear, and make. Fortunately, the ring design possibilities are endless when you combine sterling silver wire with texturing tools such as hammers and files. (I prefer standard 8-gauge half-round, but
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Make Wrapped and Double-Wrapped Loops for Pretty Summer Earrings

Ah, it's summer. Or maybe I should say, "Whew! Summer!" I don't know about where you are, but Louisiana is sure living up to its reputation as a summer sauna for my first summer down here. It has required a bit of a lifestyle change;
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Add Interest to Your Jewelry Designs: Texturing and Etching Copper

Copper has been a hot topic in jewelry-making circles for many months now. The price of silver (and don't get me started on gold) has many jewelry makers looking for alternative metals, so copper's rise in popularity has been attributed to that
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10 Fusing and Soldering Micro-Torch Tips: Make Wire Findings and Bezels for Found Objects

No matter how often I use a full torch setup, I admit that I still choose my micro torch over the larger torch whenever it will do the job just as well. I like to work with fine silver, too, which is ideal for micro torch use. Perhaps I like fine silver
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Carats of Carrots and Christian Hemmerle's Gemstone Vegetable Brooches

Welcome to Stuff We Love, a fun catch-all sort of place where we can share inspiring jewelry designs and jewelry-making products! Christian Hemmerle's corn brooch. Photo from JCK. I was so enamored with today's topic that I created this new blog
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Best of Step by Step Wire Jewelry, 2010

The biggest, the best, the ultimate wire resource is back again!
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Handmade Wire Findings: Make Your Own Balled Head Pins

Scott's tornado wire-wrapped earrings Growing up on a cattle ranch and building barbed-wire fences, Scott David Plumlee developed a love of wire. What an unusual beginning to a career in wire jewelry making! Now Scott has just finished his latest
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Using Gems in Jewelry: Tips and Advice from the Pros

My gem-geek-ness is no secret; I'm drawn to colorful gemstones --spinel, ruby, tourmaline, and some garnets, especially, and my beloved pearls, of course--like a moth to a flame. Sometimes when I'm working at my bench, I think that I might make
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Make Art Jewelry Out of Anything: Techniques for Using Plastic, Concrete, and More in Your Jewelry Designs

Based on the cover and the title, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry-Making Techniques was about. I felt like I knew what the jewelry inside probably looked like, what the how-tos and instructional pieces
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Resin Magic: From Backless Bezel to Mixed-Media Pendant In Minutes

I'm a collector of way too many things, especially tiny things like shells and antique watch parts. I'm always looking for ways to use my tiny treasures in my jewelry designs, and resin is my favorite method of choice lately. There are so many
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My Great Chain Maille Adventure, Part One: Making Jump Rings

Well, I finally did it. I started my adventure of learning chain maille. Those of you who have been reading along with Jewelry Making Daily for a few months (thank you!) know that I've resisted chain maille because I'm just too impatient for it
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7 Tips to Help You Weave, Wrap & Coil Your Way to Pretty Wire Jewelry—For 50% Off!

I love our Hurt Book and Overstock Sale; it allows me to rediscover some of my favorite jewelry-making books—and to share them with you. Today's special find is Weave, Wrap, Coil: Creating Artisan Wire Jewelry , by Jodi Bombardier. As you might
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Make Quick & Easy Jewelry To Sell: 101 Stylish Wire Earrings and Ear Wires

Super simple, super stylish Carnelian Coils by Denise Peck. I often get asked for advice from jewelry makers interested in making and selling jewelry at craft shows, online, or in local shops and markets. Making jewelry to sell is one of the first things
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Smokin' Stones: The Great "Jasper" Gemstone Riddle

Here's a gemstone riddle for you. When is jasper not necessarily jasper? When it's Red Creek "jasper" from China! And frankly, it's not red either--although there are some lovely red tones in it, along with exquisite shades of yellow
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Make Custom Jewelry Findings, Part Two: 6 One-of-a-Kind Wire Clasps

Your comments on posts are dear to me, because I always learn from them--whether it's a specific jewelry-making tip or skill, a great resource for jewelry supplies, or just fun, unique glimpses into who you are. From a reader's posts on Jewelry
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Free Project: Create Lampwork Bead and Stamped Wire Jewelry-Making Components

Cassie Donlen's Slink-a-Dink Necklace I just got my copy of the newest Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry , and I'm going crazy with the page markers, marking all the projects I want to do and tips I want to remember. I can't give too much away at
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Favorite Jewelry-Making Projects from Interweave Editors

Whenever I'm calling in for one of Interweave's Online Editor conference calls, I always think about that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercial that says, "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate! You got your chocolate in my peanut
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Free eBook: How to Enamel Jewelry With 20+ Expert Enameling Tips and Techniques

Enameled Filigree Beads by Pam East Photo by Frank DeSantis. Apparently, I was a strange little girl. I remember being enamored with cloisonné and enameled jewelry at a very young age--at seven or eight years old, which seems really young to be
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5 Wire Jewelry Tips: Mixing Metals and Creating Patinas

Here are five bonus wire jewelry tips about mixed-metal jewelry and patina from the newest issue of Easy Wire magazine. Enjoy them, and then pre-order your copy of Easy Wire now so you'll also be able to enjoy all 144 pages of wirework tips and more
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Easy Wire Jewelry-Making: 10 Wirework and Tool Tips

Every time I receive a new issue of Easy Wire , I'm amazed at the amount of wire jewelry-making projects and wirework tips and information the editors manage to pack into a single magazine--and I certainly wasn't disappointed with my preview copy
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Helen's Perfect Rivets: Cold Connections for Metalsmithing and Mixed-Media Jewelry Making

These two photos show a well-fitted tube rivet, one with thick-walled stock and one with thin-walled stock. You should have to coax the tubing into the hole with a little bit of muscle--if the hole is too big, eventually the rivet will fail. A few times
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What will 10 cents buy you? Metal Clay Jewelry-Making Lessons!

I'm not a gadget girl. It was a good five or seven years into the cell-phone age before I got one, and then only because I was taking a cross-country road trip. I don't have an iPhone, iPad, iPod, or i-anything else. I'm a very old-fashioned
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Is that just a wire? Unexpected Wire Uses in Jewelry Making

There's a lot of potential in wire. Whether it's sterling wire from your favorite jewelry-making source or more utilitarian wire from the local hardware store, wire by itself can be a pretty humble material — but the more I pay attention
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Jewelry Making, Metal Style: 5 Tips for Doming Metal

Have you heard that expression, "I wish I had a nickel for every time I've . . ." something-or-other? After five hours driving through a particularly boring state during a recent road trip, my mom said she wished she had a nickel for every
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Nature's Beads: Make Meaningful Jewelry with Genuine Gemstones

I began my jewelry-making hobby (and now, career) with gemstones . Their infinite variety of colors, shapes, and special characteristics like phenomena and texture are endlessly inspiring to me, and I love the "realness" of genuine gemstones
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Learn New Jewelry-Making Techniques: From Wirework to Metalsmithing

I always said wireworking wasn't my thing, until I realized just how much wireworking I was doing without even realizing it. When I read "Exploring the World of Metals" in a recent issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry , I was struck by this
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The Life of a Jeweler's Apprentice

In the past six months or so, I think I've been one of the luckiest girls in the world. I've gotten to learn many new jewelry-making techniques through face-to-face interaction with masters at their arts. I learned to enamel on copper, and I spent
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5 Tips (and A Great Deal!) for Making Colorful Wire and Beaded Jewelry

Wrapping colored wire can enhance the color of dramatic pieces like Sara's Ocean Garden necklace. Photo: Michael Richardson. Colorful wire jewelry is a great antidote for dreary, rainy days, and as the price of precious metals continue to rise past
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5 Jewelry Techniques + 5 Must-Have How-Tos = 1 Great Jewelry-Making Library

Crafters in general (jewelry makers too) are notorious for our supply stashes, but working in a "making" industry of one sort or another for over ten years now makes mine different, because I have to have all this stuff for work. Riiiight. I
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Ode to My Ruined Wire Cutters: Found-Object Metals Tips for Jewelry-Making Tools

Thanks to my beloved Stuller flush cutters, I first really felt the difference between fine and average jewelry-making tools. Forgive me if I get a little emotional, but the pain is still just a little too intense. I recently ruined my favorite jewelry
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Behind the Scenes with Lexi Erickson: Filming Her Soldering DVD

Lexi preparing her soldering samples for the camera. It doesn't matter how many times you've done something, each circumstance is different. I've taught jewelry making for . . . er . . . a number of years. (OK, twenty-five.) Students have
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More Mixed-Media Jewelry Making: Resin Tips and Tricks from Kristal Wick's New DVD

After watching my Sparkle Sistah Kristal Wick's new Mixed Media: Beaded Bracelets with Fiber, Beads, Crystals, Resin, and Wire DVD, I was overflowing with great things to share with you about using epoxy clay for bezel setting and making mixed-media
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Bringing Mixed-Media Jewelry Together: Epoxy Clay Bezel-Setting Tips from Kristal Wick

Kristal made these sparkling bezels using UV resin and chunky Martha Stewart glitter. I've just finished watching my Sparkle Sistah Kristal Wick's new DVD, Mixed Media: Beaded Bracelets with Fiber Beads, Crystals, Resin, and Wire --again! Now
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7 Ways to Riff on Jewelry Design

Silver-in-quartz in silver bezel setting by Helen Driggs; photo: Jim Lawson One of my favorite effects in jewelry design is echoing some aspect of the main or focal element elsewhere in the piece. I especially love it when a really interesting gemstone
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Silver Metal Clay Tips from Expert Jewelry Artist Kate McKinnon

After my PMC guild meeting earlier this week, I couldn't wait to get my metal clay stuff out and start playing with it. It has been boxed up since I used it to make a friend's rosary late last year, so I felt a little rusty. When I haven't
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Behind the Little Paper Strips: 5 Tips from My Jewelry-Making Books

On this, the fourteenth day of my big move, I've found my books. Hallelujah! If there's anything I like about moving, it's unpacking beloved treasures and deciding where they will live in the new house. I usually save books for last, though
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Making Art Jewelry: Why do we do it?

Enchanted Adornments by Cynthia Thornton of Green Girl Studios I had the pleasure of attending my first L'esprit du Metal precious metal clay guild meeting in my new town last weekend and was awed by the friendly, gracious, and talented jewelry artists
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Make Custom Jewelry Findings: 9 Inspiring Ear Wire Designs for One-of-a-Kind Earrings

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Making your own findings is one of the easiest ways to add unique style to your jewelry-making designs, and for some reason, it's an idea that many jewelry makers often overlook. I was making earrings
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More on Brooches: Jewels fit for a Princess

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Yesterday I wrote about the great versatility of brooches and how to make your own . I even believe they are The Most Versatile Piece of Jewelry. You can wear them just about anywhere--that's to anywhere
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Learn to Make Brooches, Fashion's Most Versatile Piece of Jewelry

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Brooches are probably the most versatile piece of jewelry. Sure, you can pin one on your blouse, sweater, jacket, dress, scarf, hat, or just about anywhere else for a little dash of pretty (or bling,
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Jewelry Artist Roger Halas Talks About Design and Inspiration

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Through my work on Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist , I've been very privileged in getting to know several top jewelry artists and jewelry makers. One of those artists is Roger
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Planning for a Sequel: New Metalwork Essentials from Helen Driggs

Helen Driggs is senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . The most important thing I learned in art school had nothing to do with talent. It was that planning well—but being creative and adaptable if the plan changes—is the key to
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Experts Share How To Turn Your Jewelry-Making Mistakes Into Masterpieces, No Foolin'!

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Today is all about trickery and pranks, but messing up a piece of jewelry is no joke. The costs--in materials, time, sanity, and heartache--are too much to trifle with, so I try to never let a jewelry
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Mixed-Media Jewelry: Free Resin Bezel Project by Kristal Wick

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Resin is such a fun material to work with, especially for jewelry making. It allows you to turn just about anything into jewelry—especially anything that normally wouldn't seem sturdy enough
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Make Colorful Wrapped Wire Teardrop Earrings with Swarovski Crystals

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. This bright and cheerful wire-wrapping, wire-coiling teardrop earring project was designed by Lindsay Burke for Fusion Beads. Make them in a jewelry-box full of colors or use any combination of one, two
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Where can you learn everything you need to know about colored gemstones?

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Akoya pearls freshwater pearls Tahitian pearls South Sea pearls Pearl photos by Jim Lawson. Pssst! Can I let you on a little secret? Until I started working at Interweave a few
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Cold-Connection Jewelry Making: Create Riveted Flower Dangle Earrings

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. In Karen Dougherty's new book Metal Style: 20 Jewelry Designs with Cold Join Techniques , she defines cold connections as the joining of materials without the use of solder or flame, but cold connections
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Unique Ear Wires: Make Earring Findings in Minutes

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Karen Dougherty, author of Metal Style: 20 Jewelry Designs with Cold Join Techniques , shared these step-by-step instructions for creating uniquely shaped ear wires. Use them with your own earring designs
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Southern Hospitality and Lampwork Glass Beads

Sculptural Glass Pin by Marcy Lamberson Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Remember my recent lampwork glass bead adventures ? My kind, generous, and oh-so-talented glass bead-making teacher Marcy Lamberson has written about our day of
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Jewelry Making Tips: Create Your Own Bezels

The difference in gauge between the bezel and the backplate is an important factor when soldering. Don't fry your bezel! Keep the torch on the thicker backplate until you are teetering on the brink of solder flow. Only then play the flame over those
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Polymer Clay Art Jewelry Making: Tips and Ideas from the Pros

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Polymer clay is like an old friend that keeps popping up throughout the years of my crafty how-to career. I'm happy to have it back now in the form of gallery-quality art jewelry, and I've called
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Polymer Clay Jewelry Making: Top Tips from Lisa Pavelka

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. When you hear the words polymer clay, there's a good chance the name Lisa Pavelka is coming up, too. Lisa has spent years creating polymer clay jewelry and art for books, television, magazines, and
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Top 10 Wirework Tips for the Wire Jewelry Artist

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Who doesn't love to learn a good tip or trick? You can save hours of time, lots of money, and so much frustration by implementing a clever, useful tip. These wirework tips from our wire jewelry-making
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Hello, Cupcake! 8 Things I Learned About Glass Bead Making

Marcy's lampwork gnome perched on a branch of wired lampwork glass bead leaves creates a charming and whimsical pendant. Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Fresh off of lampwork glass bead-making lessons last week, I'm still fascinated
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3 Free Glass Bead-Making Projects Plus Bonus Lampwork Tool and Supply Checklist

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. I just had one of the most exciting, fascinating experiences of my life: I learned how to make lampwork glass beads. I spent the day with a lampwork bead maker/artist in her studio making a handful of
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Wire Jewelry-Making Quiz: Are you a wire wizard or a wire wimp?

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. What's your wire jewelry-making IQ? Answer these 10 wirework questions and compare your responses with the answers at the end. Then count up your correct answers and see if you're a wire wimp
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Silver Jewelry-Making for Everyone: Intro to the 5 Silversmithing Techniques

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. If the word silversmithing intimidates you, get ready to get excited! I recently had a discussion with Jewelry Making Daily 's Facebook friends about what we wish someone had told us when we first
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My Metal Clay Gurus: The Value of Joining a Jewelry-Making Guild

Linda Folks made this flawless and beautiful dimensional metal clay pendant. Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Monday night I learned to enamel copper clay and tube beads, was invited to a gallery event showing a friend's work, saw
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Q&A Part Two: Wire Art Jewelry Workshop Author Sharilyn Miller

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. It was a treat to ask Wire Art Jewelry Workshop author Sharilyn Miller some questions to get to know her a little better. I hope you enjoyed part one yesterday ; here's part two, with a little more
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Q&A Part One: Wire Art Jewelry Workshop Author Sharilyn Miller

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Craft books are full of fun anecdotes and other glimpses into the author's personality, and that just makes me want to know more about the authors and the stories behind the projects. So I was excited
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Your First Metalsmithing Project: Create Textured Copper Earrings

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. My first metalsmithing experience resulted in these handmade textured copper earrings. My friend and teacher, metalsmith Lexi Erickson, taught me how to saw and then set me loose, helping me quickly turn
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Easy Wire Jewelry: Make a Wire Ring in Minutes

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. Copper Top Ring by Denise Peck Rings are my favorite type of jewelry to make. I think they are easier than earrings (because you only have to make one instead of a matching pair) and easier than necklaces
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Spring in my Step: Tammy's Favorite Jewelry-Making E-Projects

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. It's nearly 70 degrees and sunny here today, and even though it's still February, I've just been hit with a ferocious bout of spring fever! My to-do list is a mile long, but it's all going
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Get Hot for Cold Connections: Make a Cabochon Bezel Setting

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and Step by Step Wire Jewelry. I love my job. One of the best things about working in an office full of jewelry makers and jewelry artists is that you always have someone close
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Save Time and Money: Five Wire Jewelry-Making Tips

Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. While traveling to Tucson and beyond for the past few weeks, I've stayed in nine different places and hotels. Whew! Fortunately I don't mind the hotel hopping; the cute little shampoos/conditioners
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Found-Object Jewelry: Create a Cheery Spoon-Link Necklace

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Helen Driggs is the managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Pantone’s regatta and blue curacao would be in this color family. Aqua and turquoise are generally good colors for any skintone. This group of gems includes amazonite, tourmaline
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Make A Mokume Gane Heart Pendant

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Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. The tree is twinkling, my family is nearby, something in the oven smells deeelish, and there's a fire crackling in the fireplace . . . that sounds like a heavenly Christmas Eve, to me. The past few
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Helen's Tips on Packing Jewelry Tools for Travel

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Wrapping, Coiling, Knitting: Define Your Wire-Jewelry Style

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Merle's Top 7 Holiday Gifts for Jewelry Makers

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Bonus Project: Helen's Steampunk Pendant

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Wire and Gemstones: A Match Made in Heaven

Carol Dean Naukam's turquoise and onyx wire-wrapped bracelets Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . One of the best things about designing wire jewelry is being able to showcase
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Tammy Jones is the editor of Jewelry Making Daily. I'll never forget when I first discovered metal clay, about eight years ago at a craft trade show. As the demo artist was working it, firing it and, most miraculously, burnishing it to a brilliant
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Five Free Stone-Cutting Projects and Techniques

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Add Texture and Patina to Your Wire-Jewelry Designs

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Helen's 7 Favorite Ways to Texture Metal

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Easily Explore a Year of Jewelry Design

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Copper Clay Success

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New Jewelry Making Daily Editor and a New Handcrafted Jewelry Special Issue!

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Get Inspiration for Fall, Winter, and Year-Round Projects During the eProjects Sale

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Make Great Wire Jewelry: 4 Essential Finishing Tips

My Aqua Waters earrings. Really? You call those wraps?? My Switching Gears earrings--with much better matching wraps! Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Sweat the Small Stuff
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Make Easy Spiral Earrings in Just 5 Steps

Denise Peck's Mixed Blossom earrings from Easy Wire . Karla Rosenbusch is the associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Lately, my favorite jewelry-making medium has become working with wire. The thing I like best about wire is that you
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Enrich Your Jewelry Designs with the Spirit of King Tut

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Explore the Architecture of Jewelry

Lexi Erickson is a contributing author to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . This combines many elements and principles of Design. Color, emphasis, line, shape, repetition, and texture of the tiny petrified turtle shell and the druzy play off against each
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Overcome the Challenges of Bezels—Let us Help!

Fold Pendant: This piece has two bezels--a hand-textured one around the fold-formed copper metalwork (made with a cross peen hammer) and one around the stone. Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . I've never understood
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Free eBook: How to Create with Metal Clay

An example of the beautiful patterns you can create by mixing metal clays. Noël Yovovich is a contributing author to Jewelry Making Daily and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . I grew up hearing, "There's nothing new under the sun,"
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Mad About Copper

Beautifully patinated copper. Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Sure, I love silver and gold. But my one true love is copper. Nothing hammers like copper. Nothing patinates like copper. Nothing is more forgiving
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Make Masterpieces from Mistakes

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Sliders: What’s in a Name?

by Scott Stepanski Barbara Minor and Christopher Hentz's multi cable and bead necklace in silver and gold tones. Note: In the October, 2010, issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, Scott Stepanski focuses on sliders and other hanging devices for
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Karla’s Top Seven Jewelry-Making Picks

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Make Your Next Design a Winner

Merle White is editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Really? Only One? Marcus Gillihan's 18K white and rose gold ring with 13mm freshwater pearl won the People's Choice in the 2010 All That Glitters competition. The jewelry design
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Five Free Designs for Making Wire Jewelry

Sonja Kiser's Beading Heart Pendant. Joyce Tromp's Floating Crystal Cube necklace. Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . When we thought about putting together a free
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Cold Connections: How to Make Perfect Rivets Every Time

Helen Driggs is the managing editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . What the World Needs Now is Better Rivets These two photos show a well-fitted tube rivet, one with thick walled stock and one with thin walled stock. You should have to coax the
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My Gift to You: 50% Off for My 50th!

My new favorite stone, African blue opal, combined with bronze metal clay to make a necklace/bracelet set. Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. My mother always told me
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What’s Your Wire Style? Take the Quiz!

Linda Gettings' 3x3 chain maille bracelet. Sara Richardson is a guest editor for Jewelry Making Daily . I'm often asked how I would define my jewelry style. For me, it's hard to define; I've had to explore many jewelry making techniques
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Cabs and Stones: Like Candy for Jewelers

Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . What's Your Favorite Color? This Royal Sahara Jasper brooch was an interesting design challenge. I didn't want to obscure the raw edge on the lower right of the cab, so
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Kate McKinnon’s Five Top Tips for Working with Metal Clay

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Apprenticeship: 9 Days that Will Shake Your World

Here's me, soldering away at the apprentice bench in the Pueblo, Colorado studio of master jeweler/lapidary Michael Boyd. Too cool for school! Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. I've been so busy travelling
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Helen's Apprentice Log -- Day One, Friday

Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist managing editor Helen Driggs spent nine days in apprentice mode with master lapidary and jewelry artist Michael Boyd at his Pueblo, Colorado studio. This is her day-by-day log of her experiences. The first 20 of my 50-bezel
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How to Find 100s of Interesting, Affordable Stones

Merle White is editorial director of Interweave's Gem & Jewelry Group and editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Attractive and Inexpensive Unusual cabochon gems can make your jewelry designs stand out like this dendrite in quartz
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Link Up! Create Your Own Chain Jewelry

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . The Allure of Handcrafted Jewelry My chain bracelet. Long before I knew how to make jewelry, I'd often go to craft shows to ogle (and
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Best of Step by Step Wire Jewelry, 2009/2010

The 2009/2010 issue of the Best of Step by Step Wire Jewelry in a convenient downloadable format.
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Get Your Free Stone Setting eBook!

Tom and Kay Benham's opal and lapis earrings from 7 Ways to Set Stones: Bezel Setting and Other Stone Setting Techniques . Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. There
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Turn Simple Wire Techniques into Your Personal Designs

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. My scrollwork and bronze metal clay bracelet. You can find how to make it below. One of the best lessons I've learned while experimenting
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Learn How to Personalize Your Jewelry with Stamping Tips and Tricks

This is the finished guitar pick necklace. See how I made the stamped element below. Photos: Michael Richardson. Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Last year, I decided to take a
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Take Your Jewelry Skills to New Heights with More Techniques

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Looking To Learn Even More? Jeanette Blix Ryan's Linked Spirals bracelet. Don't be surprised if you start yearning to know more and
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Explore the Art of Polymer Clay

My father's "Jazzman" clay sculpture is a focal point and conversation piece in my living room. Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Most jewelry makers
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5 Reasons to Explore Bead Fest Philadelphia

Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . There's one time of year where I feel like my creative spirit can really soar. It happens to be the third week in August. Welcome back, Bead
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Save Money and Have Fun with Alternative Metals

Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor f or Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Fun and Cheap, What a Combo! A fold-formed bronze brooch by Helen Driggs. Photo by Jim Lawson. I've been working on a new series of mixed metal brooches with custom cut freeform
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Free Guide: Learn the Ins and Outs of 100+ Jewelry Making Tools

Merle White is editorial director of Interweave's Gem & Jewelry Group and editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Everyone Loves Tools A "third hand" tool makes jewelry-making easier by leaving both hands free. I love exploring
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7 Favorite Cold Connections

Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor f or Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Screw, Rivet, Tab, or Stitch? I love soldering just as much as I love cold connections. Luckily, I've got the equipment and knowledge to go either way when it comes to jewelry
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FREE Simple-Chic Chain Maille Project: Handmade Earrings in 5 Minutes!

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Sara Richardson's Roller-Girl Earrings. Photo by Jim Lawson. One of my favorite things about working in an office full of jewelry
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Turn Hurt Books Into Well-Loved Books

Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Recently, we had a community yard sale in our neighborhood. My husband Mike and I went through the house, thinking of stuff that we could Princeton
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A Cool Bracelet on a Hot Saturday

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Jodi Bombardier's 3D Sterling Bracelet Last week, Pennsylvania was suffering through a rare early June heat wave, with temperatures
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Expand Your Jewelry Skills at Bead Fest Texas

Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . When I first joined the staff at Interweave five and a half years ago, I had no previous jewelry-making experience. I came from a journalism background
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Find 12 Months of Jewelry Making – Fast!

Merle White is editorial director of Interweave's Gem & Jewelry Group and editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Timeless Information The rich colors in Helen Blythe-Hart's Watermelon Parfait Pendant from July 2007, remind me
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Expert Jewelry Artists Share: What Drives You to Make Art?

Helen Driggs is the Managing Editor f or Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . I often wonder where art making comes from. I know I can't not do it, especially when there is an insistent need to. That need wells up from deep inside my chest when I am
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Learn the Expert Secrets of Metal Clay Jewelry Making

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Thinking about moving up from beading and wirework to another phase of jewelry making? If you're fascinated by the look of metalwork
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Soldering & Fusing Made Simple

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . You Don't Need a Whole Studio Fine silver fuses to itself like magic, without solder. Even if you're dying for one, not everyone
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Mixed Media: Chips, Transistors, and Diodes, Oh My!

Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . When Kerry Bogert's "Waste Not, Want Not" bottle cap collage pendant project first crossed my desk for the February/March 2010 issue
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Glendo Corporaton/GRS Training Center Classes for 2010

COURSE: Fundamentals of Power-Assisted Stone Setting with Todd Daniels DIVISION: Stone Setting SKILL LEVEL: Basic DATE: June 14-18, 2010 HOURS: 8am-5pm (CST) LOCATION: GRS Training Center • Emporia, KS 66801 PRICE: $785.00 DESCRIPTION: This course
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Make Connections with Handmade Jewelry

Merle White is editorial director of Interweave's Gem & Jewelry Group and editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Personal Connection This antique ring was made in a time and place I can hardly imagine, yet wearing the ring is literally
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Finding Out About Findings

Sara Richardson is the associate editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . For a long time, I hesitated making my own findings. I just didn't feel confident enough that I could make them as well as store-bought Earrings
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Can You Solder Copper Cleanly?

I've been working on a new series of mixed metal brooches with custom cut freeform stones for about three months now. It's been tough for me to find time after my full workdays at Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist , but I'm determined to have
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Step Into the World of Wire

Karla Rosenbusch is the managing editor of Jewelry Making Daily and associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Every jewelry artist has a different story of how they became one. Maybe their grandmother/mother/best friend/favorite uncle taught
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Welcome to the Jewelry Making Daily Community: Inspiration, How-tos, Free Projects, and More

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry and the senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . You Are So Generous What's struck me the most in my journey through jewelry making is the generosity that defines the spirit of this
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Jewelry Arts Awards

The Jewelry Arts Awards are an annual contest for jewelry designers and makers presented by Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . The contest is open to any jewelry designer/maker. Entries must be submitted by the designer/maker, or in cases of collaborative
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