Jumprings - DIY

There is something satisfying about making your own components, whether its the clasp, the beads or the connectors. If you've never tried making your own jumprings you're in for a pleasant surprise - it's not that hard and there are an endless number of ways to get just what  you need.

There are a ton of gizmo's out there to make your life easier.

These little mandrel sets are probably the easiest - its pretty self explanatory, wrap the wire around the mandrel, slide it off cut the rings apart. The problem with this is what kind of pliers do you use? You want a really flat cut so the ring will close as seamlessly as possible.

The obvious choice is the Double Flush Cutter. There are problems with pliers - if you need a lot of rings for a large project this is going to take forever! The shape of the head on the double flush cutters make it hard to cut smaller rings, but if you're doing say, 9mm or larger and you only  need a few at a time these are great.

Me - I like BULK - I don't want to have to stop in the middle of a project to wrap and cut jumprings.

So, I went the semi-pro route -

I have a complete cutting system - the Pepe coiler is awesome.

It can make any size jumpring you can dream up simply by inserting the correct size mandrel in the handle and winding right off the wire spool. In a couple of seconds you have a wire coil about 4" long.
The second step is as easy as the first. I have what my son calls the "Uber Dremel" - its a Flex Shaft cutting and grinding tool. The handle has a very thin (.008), VERY sharp blade, you operate with a foot pedal.

The coil goes under the metal plate, tighten the nuts to hold it snug, place the shaft flat on the plate, press the pedal and slide forward at a steady pull. It only takes a couple of seconds to cut the coil into lovely, perfect, flush closing jumprings!

Before you know it, you have a zillion rings in a rainbow of colors!

You can purchase jumprings in a fair number of colors at better bead stores but it's usually near impossible to get a variety of gauges or anything more then two or three sizes. What are you supposed to do when you want to have a hook that's the same color as the jumprings or maybe you need a 20mm jumpring? I love having the option of sizes, shapes and colors.

You don't need anything expensive - you can use anything for a mandrel, a pen or a knitting needle are good choices. Get creative! Get exactly what you want - don't settle for what you can find - and as always.... have fun!

Retro Remake

My Aunt came to visit in September. She loves antiques, so while she was here I took her to a huge (5 barn sized buildings!!) antique place in Fayetteville, PA. I didn't really expect to find anything - it's not really my decorating style. I thought it would be a nice day for her...

Was I ever wrong?? One of the vendors in the first building had cases and cases of vintage jewelry! It was awesome! I bought several brooches and pins for a bouquet I'm playing around with. I also got a couple of long necklaces that were made out of lucite. You know, that stuff your mom wore in the 50's? The beads were that typical salmon kind of pink that was so popular back then.

Anyway - I stupidly did not take a photo of the necklaces before I cut them apart - sorry!! But I did want to share with you a couple of pieces that I've put together.

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!

This one has the white sparkly lucite rounds and the pink inverted barrel shapes that turned out to be perfect with my favorite component - rubber O's!!

The hook is my own creation using 18g black wire, a bead cap and a bead.

The necklace uses more of the pink barrels, which I think paired perfectly with Donna Millards hand made vintage caps.The ribbed turquoise rounds were a great spacer and the color has that vintage feel.

The etched lampwork lozenges came from IMakeBeads on Etsy. The hook is, of course, my creation. I used sterling 18g wire and one of the ribbed turquoise rounds as an accent. I love the fun, light hearted feeling of this piece.

So - get yourself to an antique mall! They're loaded with fun vintage stuff at pretty good prices.

I even managed to find myself an awesome new desk chair!!

Create Space

For years I've dreamed of having a big, bright space all to myself. Space that I could use to make stuff. Where I could start a project, and if I didn't finish it, I could leave it set up and come back to it later. Instead, I've worked at the kitchen table, in the laundry room, at the dining room table - having to set up, start, run out of time, pack it all up, store it out of the way - wasting all my 'create time' getting ready or cleaning up!! GAK!

When we bought our new house, I thought that maybe I'd be able to convert some space in my garage. As it turns out, its too hot or too cold or too stuffed with stuff that we're storing for the kids (who no longer live at home!) ~ sigh ~

BING! The light goes on (finally) - we have a H-U-G-E unfinished basement. So, thanks to Angie's List, we found a local handyman who did the electrical and the framing. We hung the drywall, moulding, trim. Lowe's put down some fabulous carpet and viola! (mostly) - I have this awesome space to set up for CREATING!! It's very much a work in progress - my brother, who is a pretty awesome carpenter is making shelves that will hide my hot water tank and the HVAC. I still need lights and tons of other stuff but I'm getting there!!

 

I love that I have the doors out to the yard. Lots of natural light, and I hope to have a little patio and garden space out there! (future project!)

 

I love these base cabinets. I get them at Lowe's. So cheap! They make the perfect work station - slap a section of counter top on them - bang! done!

The sewing corner - these cubes are going to do double duty - fabric storage and I'm planning to top them with a large counter piece for cutting.

Now for the fun part! Gathering all the stuff from all the closets and hidey holes all over the house and getting it organized!

A place to bead - probably need some more shelving or cabinets above - but its a good start!

Fabric storage and cutting table - I like that its tall enough to work around standing up without killing my back!

A nice, big table with a drawer for sewing - just have to figure out the ironing board situation.

A sturdy new home for my favorite tool! the Flexshaft and Pepe coiler - awesome power!!

Made this nifty cork board for ideas out of a frame I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $10!

There you have it - the start of something big! Still needs a bit of work, a bit of polish - a few more storage ideas and definitely paint - who could live with all that white???  Anyone who has some awesome storage ideas - feel free to share!!

Oh, the Shame!!

I'm always happy to show people my creations. I know that my work isn't for everyone, but I'm always pleased with what I put in my shop. That's not to say that I'm always pleased with everything I do - case in point, my first attempt at  making lampwork beads.

I've wanted to learn this amazing craft for several years and finally had the opportunity to take a class from an incredible artist - Bronwen Heilman - at Bead Fest. Bronwen is a great teacher, patient and fun to work with.

What I learned about working with glass is that it's much like patting your head and rubbing your tummy! There are a lot of things to be paying attention to at the same time. I think that you have to do a hundred of the same type of bead to develop the muscle memory needed for this craft. In my case, I might need to make 1000 of the same bead!!

In the eight hours I spent in class, I managed to make about two dozen beads. This is all that survived a night in the kiln. Apparently, you have to get them into the kiln while they are smokin' hot! I didn't move fast enough - sadly! The little blue one on the right was my very first bead - its about 9mm.

As you can see, I had a little trouble keeping things balanced and even! I also had a problem keeping the beads level on the mandrel, which is why they look like gourds!!

The green and black with the little dots was my attempt at learning to use 'stringers' - a little wonky but not a complete failure! Can't even begin to tell you what happened to the weird orange one!

Will I continue to try to make beads? YES! This was such a challenge, but so much fun. I love to learn new things, to expand my knowledge base is always a good thing - I might not become an expert, but as I progress I'll be sure to share my attempts with you!

Cool Tool!

One of my favorite things about going to bead shows is getting to talk to so many experts. I was chatting with one of the sales people at the Jewelry Tools booth where I got an awesome pair of Wubbers pliers when I saw this...

    
     It's called the Double 3rd Hand. It's my new favorite tool. Everything on it is adjusts and swivels in every possible direction and is removable. The clips are strong enough to hold just about anything I need to hold onto and the magnifier is perfect for really close up work on tiny pieces. Here's the best part - it was only $5.95!!

What's your favorite handy gadget in the playroom?

Bead Fest ~ Day 2 ~ Lamp Work!!

So in my first post about Bead Fest I left you with this picture. Today, I learned that it's actually called a 'marver' ~ so much smarter already!

I spent over eight hours with the incomparable Bronwen Heilman, artist extrodinaire! A delightful, patient woman who taught the twelve of us in her basic lamp working class how not to set ourselves on fire while attempting to make beautiful glass beads.

 

Bronwen came all the way from her studio in Tucson, Arizona!

We started the day by learning about the equipment, safety and prepping our stations. We each made twenty mandrels and coated them with bead release.

Ready!! Set!! GOOOOoooooooo!!!

All of our equipment was donated and set up by Ross Thackery of ABR Imagery - this included all the torches, hoses, propane, table plates, glasses, marvers etc... Thanks Ross!! Ross was at the show working and handing out advice all week - It was awesome!! If you need supplies, instructions or advice he's the person to help you out!

Bronwen showed us basic things like making rondelles, different shaping techniques, how to center the bead and getting our creations into the kiln. As if this wasn't enough (it was!!) she also showed us some more advanced techniques - adding embellishments like spots, making heart shaped beads, making and using stringers and twistys (no, I can't do that!), encasing a bubble (what?!) and feathering. 

It was an amazing day - I made many, very crooked, lopsided, strange looking things - I don't think any of them will actually turn out to be beads. They spent the night cooling in the kiln and will be shipped to me soon. When they arrive - if I'm not completely ashamed of my work - I'll post the pictures.

If you've always wondered what it would be like to try working with molten hot glass - I definitely recommend going to one of Bronwen's classes. She is patient, amusing and an absolute expert. You'll come away with a whole new appreciation of this wonderful craft.

Bead Fest Philly ~ Day 1

   For those of you who weren't able to attend Bead Fest this year - here's a taste of what you missed! There are a lot of great sponsors - The Urban Beader provided our badges and Metalliferous gave us these great totes for hauling our loot! Thanks Guys!!

   After checking in I headed straight to the Exhibition Hall -  this is where all the shopping fun takes place!

This is a look up the first aisle - there are over 300 vendors selling beading products from all over the world. Normally, I go to Bead Fest with my DIL - she's awesome at keeping me focused, organized and grounded. Sadly, she wasn't able to go with me this year so I might have run amok a little, ok - a lot!

There are so many vendors that I HAVE to get to! Usually on the top of the list is seeing Yvonne at MyElements - I have to get my fun, color fix. There will be picts further down of what I bought!

I also have to get to the wholesalers who come and take up as many as a dozen tables that they heap with piles of long strands of every kind of bead you can imagine. These are at least 75% less then you can get them anywhere else and the dealers always have show specials.

The very first purchase I made was from Harry and Heather Boardman of HMB Studios. I just loved all the fun color combinations of these disks. Heather was so nice - she let me break up a set so that I could get just the right number of disks with orange. Harry is a truly talented portrait artist - check out their website!

At Julie Miller's booth I added these nifty little spacers that I use in a lot of my work.

Finally got to Yvonne's booth which is an absolute explosion of juicy, fun colors and shapes. I had to pick up some of her hand painted plexiglass pieces in my favorite boomerang shapes. I added some chain and lots of odds-n-ends in bright colors.

One of my favorite things about Bead Fest is that I can stock up on all those little bits that you have to have - bead caps, spacers and filler inners that you use in every piece you make. Bulk is awesome!! Each of the bags of pewter components only set me back $3.00!

Found a whole rainbow of these little glass circles (75 in a bag) for only $5.00 each!

Another of my favorite stops is the Parawire booth where I picked up a pile of 18 and 20 gauge wire to add to my stash. I love this wire - I make my own jumprings, clasps, hooks and toggles as well as using the wire to add that extra element to my colorful jewelry.

One of my last stops was ABR where I picked up this graphite paddle thingy. I have no idea what one does with such a thing but its on my list of supplies that I have to have for my lampworking class. I'll be spending Saturday learning how NOT to set my self on fire while making non-lopsided beads - I've been practicing by patting my stomach and rubbing my head simultaneously - I'll post the results soon!