a crystals & jewelry adventure

Eni Oken has a new wire jewelry tutorial up: Border for Net Bezel Pendant.  So go get it already. ;)  No, Eni doesn’t pay me for telling you about her tutorials. Sheesh. Someone actually asked me that.  I just think they’re great, and I think you will too.

Know of other jewelry making tutorials?  Let me know. I’m always interested in learning more. And I can share the info with folks here too.

And again, I have to say: Pay for your tutorials if Eni and others sell them. They can make this huge amount of work inexpensive for each of us only if we each do our part. Respect the artists who share their talent with these inexpensive tutorials: buy yours and don’t share it or sell it to others.  If we had to go the traditional route and buy these in a book, they’d cost more and we’d have to wait for a whole book-worth to be ready. Ugh. I’d not like that.

Eni Oken has another new tutorial up. Woo!  Go get it right here.  This one is a spiral pendant. Yum yum.

As I mention every time, do Eni and all of us all a favor, don’t share them or give them to folks - if we all pay for them, she can keep her prices outrageously low like they are now.  She does incredibly high quality tutorials with tons of photos and great instructions. They’re more than worth the few bucks she asks for them.

Several people have asked recently if I could tell them how to make jewelry with crystals like I do, or recommend a good book about it, or do I teach classes. Unfortunately, I really can’t tell anyone exactly. I’d have to write a book myself, since I’ve never seen one about making jewelry with crystals and natural stones.  And at this time, I don’t teach classes or write tutorials because there aren’t enough hours in the day for me as it is. :)  I can give you some information on how I learned to do what I do, and how you can learn it too.

I’ve spent the last several years making wire and crystal or gemstone jewelry virtually every day.  I also have earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in jewelry making, where I studied casting, fabrication, and many other jewelry techniques. I’m fairly sure that it’s not necessary to get a degree of any sort because I’ve seen work far better than mine made by people who didn’t have a degree, but the time spent learning about making jewelry, and actually practicing making it, probably is an absolute requirement. I’m quite sure anyone can learn to make jewelry as well as I do or better, if they’re willing to put forth the effort to learn and practice.

Here are some of the  online tutorials and resources I used to learn more about making wire jewelry in general, and I applied the principles learned first to regular shaped stones like cabochons, then to crystals and natural stones.

• Eni Oken’s Jewelry Lessons - ranging from beginner to advanced, great, inexpensive tutorials and lessons. and I’ve incorporated many of Eni’s techniques into my own work
• Studio Heath - also ranging from beginner to advanced, inexpensive lessons that are well worth the small cost, again, many techniques I’ve incoporated many of DK Heath’s techniques into my work
• Wire Sculpture.com - many DVD’s and online videos for sale, much more expensive than either Eni Oken’s or DK Heath’s tutorials, but if you prefer demonstrations and can’t get to a class, this would probably work well for you 

And here are a couple of of the books I’ve used to learn techniques I use for making jewelry with crystals and natural stones.

The ultimate key is to keep learning and to practice. Practice until your fingers know instinctively how to make the wire behave the way you want it to. Learn different ways to shape the wire so that it will hold the crystals or stones firmly. Practice until you no longer have to think about it step by step. Then learn and practice some more. If you’re not sure what I mean by the difference pratice makes, check the pendant to the left, which I made in 2002 and the one to the right which I made in 2007.

Good luck in your learning and practice! 

Sometimes life throws lessons at me. And sometimes I’m lucky enough to have them thrown at me gently. This is one of those times.

Many of you who have kept up with my blog or my site at all, know already that I’ve learned a ton from Eni Oken’s tutorials. Yep, I have no trouble admitting that. She’s great with them!  And some of my jewelry is quite obviously based on things I’ve learned from her. I’ve no trouble admitting that either. And I’d like to give her credit for those. I’d never have learned many techniques without her generosity in sharing techniques she’s figured out.

 BUT…

Where I’ve blown it recently is that I didn’t mention any of that on the page where that jewelry is shown and sold.  Using templates to get jewelry up quicker has bitten me on the you know what, as far as that goes.  I’ve been using templates without checking to make sure things like mentioning Eni’s work get mentioned. Argh! Yes, I know that I’ve been reeling lately with changes of bipolar disorder medications changes, but it’s still not good to miss something like that. It’s especially not good when all I have to do to fix it is make another template for when I have new jewelry along those lines.  It doesn’t make anyone feel good to blunder like that, and can make some folks think that I don’t appreciate and acknowledge Eni’s incredible help in learning everything. Or worse yet, some may believe I’m copying her exact jewelry. So I’m working to get all that fixed. It will take a little time, but it’s more than worth it. Although Eni doesn’t actually require any acknowledgment of using her tutorials, she’s a great person and deserves it. I just feel incredibly silly for not catching myself with my website templates. And I feel incredibly lucky that she’s not the type of person who would be nasty about it or worse, over my making such a silly mistake.

The lesson? Pay attention to website templates (or pages if you don’t use templates) when you put jewelry on the web. You may not be so lucky with your lesson.

And go visit Eni Oken’s site. She has a new tutorial up!  I’ve got it, and you may well see something based on it soon. Of couse, this time I’ll get it right on the jewelry page the first time.

Yep, I almost missed it. Eni Oken has another new tutorial out there. This one is for an ethnic style ring. Go get this one, too. Why? See my previous post on her tutorials for the answer.

[tags]jewelry tutorial, tutorials, ring tutorial[/tags] 

Extra! Extra!  Eni Oken has a new jewelry tutorial up that you can buy online. Go Get It Now!
It’s the Basket Weave Bezel in the Advanced Tutorials section.  It’s only a few measly bucks, so there’s no excuse not to get it if you want to learn more about doing wire work.

It may sound a little odd for me to be pimping someone else’s jewely tutorials, but there’s a good reason. Eni does great tutorials. Period. And I’ve learned so much from her tutorials over the last couple of years that I’m more than happy to send you over there. Maybe she’ll make more if she sells more of the ones she’s done, and I’d love that!

Many of her tutorials, as with this Basket Weave Bezel tutorial, are for designs or techniques similar to ones that I have already figured out or come up with myself, but it’s well worth the couple of dollars to me because there’s always something more I learn from her tutorials. It may be a on that technique, or a seemingly small tip on wire work in general, but I always get something worthwhile from her tutorials.  Those seemingly small tips can add up to dozens of hours saved, or headsful of hair not pulled out, over the course of a year.  I highly recommend buying every single tutorial she has. And of course, grab the free ones too!

And while I’m talking about Eni’s tutorials, let me add this about all tutorials you get… Don’t share them or give them away, please! And for goodness sake, don’t go sell them yourself. Eni and the others who write tutorials for us and charge such small prices do a huge amount of work on them, and deserve to get paid for every single use of their tutorials. If you find yourself in a situation where you just have to share a tutorial, turn right around and go pay Eni for it. I’ve done that before, when I gave a friend who didn’t have net access a printed copy of one of Eni’s tutorials. It’s only fair. If we abuse their hard work and generosity in making tutorials for items we can sell once we learn the techniques, it’s bad karma and will eventually cause them to either stop doing it or start having to charge much higher prices.  Respect your tutorial-makers, please.

This little tool that I put together myself is just one of the handiest things I’ve ever had. I got the idea to use a needle to move coils and make room for coiling wire from Eni Oken. But I kept losing my needle! I decided I had to find a way to keep from losing my needle constantly, or I’d end up walking on a carpet of needles. One inexpensive cell phone lariat and a bit of scrap silver wire later, I had my answer. My needle tool!

To make your own, get a cell phone lariat or other “handle” to attach your needle to.
Use some fine gauge (28ga is good) scrap wire of any type, and string it through your needle and your “handle”. That’s all there is to it. It’s very simple, but super handy for wire coiling!

Coiling wire is a technique that I use pretty extensively, as you can see in my gallery. As I was working on a piece tonight that involved coiling wire, it struck me that it would have been a huge help if I’d had these two tips when I started doing coiled wire pieces. So I nabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures to pass on these two tips.

Wire Coiling Tip #1
When coiling one wire around another wire, stick a finger inside of the coil loop you’re making so that you can catch any potential snags before they become problems. If you pull the wire tight right off, it’s much easier to get snags and funky twists in the wire. Trust me on this. I must have done it a few hundred times before I figured out a way to prevent it.

Here’s another view to make sure you know what I mean.

Wire Coiling Tip #2
When pulling a wire tight, hold very close to whatever you’re coiling it around. That way you’re not work hardening the entire length of the wire and making it too hard to do the rest of the coiling. This is especially important if you’re using a long wire to do the coiling. I’ve tried pulling it from further away and ended up with 2 and 3 foot long pieces of hard, stiff wire that I had to cut off and toss because they were too hard to coil. Not fun.

Coil on!

That’s a question I’ve been asked many times. Wire always wants to fly around and do its own thing. So we have to find ways to keep it in line. There are several methods I use, and no doubt more I haven’t thought of.

• Masking Tape - 2600 Highland 1/2 inch width masking tape is my favorite. It’s sticky and strong, so it’s great for holding larger wire bundles. CompUSA has it the 3M Highland brand here, and Sparco brand here.
  Tip: If it’s too sticky, stick it to your pants or shirt first to dull the stickiness a bit.
• Quilting Tape - Less sticky than the masking tape by far, and very narrow. Quite handy for narrow spots. It’s also great for measuring around cabochons and marking where you want wraps and prongs. Available at most fabric or craft stores, like JoAnn’s.
• Mini Spring Clamps with Moleskin on the Jaws - I get the mini spring clamps and line the jaws with moleskin (in the foot care section of drug stores). They’re great for holding up to 5 or 6 wires together, and with the moleskin, they don’t mar the wire. Here’s a before and after the moleskin was added picture of the clamps. Clamps available at CrystalsAndStonesHaven.com and moleskin available at most drug stores, like CVS.
  
• Last but not least, Fingers - Yes, the handiest tool I have. More and more I use my fingers instead of other tools. I find that the longer I work with wire, the more I’m able to control the wire without resorting to other gizmos. Available at the end of your nearest arm.

I’ve tried larger spring clamps and found that they tend to bend the wires, even when they’re coated so they don’t mar the wire. Needless to say, I didn’t find that very useful.

Do you have a favorite way of holding all those wires together while you’re working? I’d love to hear about it!

I got the best tip when I went to the first ever Wire Jewelry Fest in Delaware. I had a great time, and got to meet some great folks. One of them was Robbie Ward, aka Metallique, who I had an advanced ring making class with. The single most useful tip I got from her in class was so simple it’s comical that I needed to hear it. But since I’d managed to miss it so far, I thought I’d pass it on to you in case you’re in the spot I was.

The Tip: Go slow.

Well gee. I *should* know that. But I never really thought about it. I tend to fly off with whirling wire all over the place. And generally that works, but it does take its toll on craftsmanship at times. But you know what? Going slow works. How funny that the one little tip has made such a difference to me.