New Jewelry A Day

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Make a Ring from Scrap Wire & a Bead

Rings are a great fashion accessory. Rings require little metal and are a great project to make with limited resources. You can make a wire wrapped ring using scrap wire leftover from other projects and a bead or two.

Materials
16-gauge copper wire
Lampwork glass bead(s),

Tools
Ring mandrel
Raw hide hammer or plastic mallet,
Cup burr or needle file
Tumbler & stainless steel shot (optional)

Step 1
Assemble your tools and materials. In our example, we used 16-guage copper wire, but scrap wire in gold, silver, brass or any other nonferrous metal can be used to make a ring. Similarly, different gauge wires can be substituted if you want a ring with a finer or heavier look. Select the lampwork bead, checking to be sure the wire will fit through the bead.

Step 2

Check ring size

Measure your finger or the finger of the person for whom you would like to make the ring. Use a ring that fits well and slide the ring onto the ring mandrel to measure ring size if you do not have a ring sizer.

Step 3
Slide the focal bead onto the wire.

Step 4
Wrap the wire around the ring mandrel the number of times needed for your wire wrapped ring. Fit the wire through the bead each time you wrap. In our example, we show rings with one, two and three wraps.

sizing a wire ring

Step 5
Check the ring as you work to be sure the ring is sized correctly.

Step 6
Stop wrapping with the ends of the wire close to the bead. Tuck the wire ends under the bead and trim any excess.

You can also bend the ends of the wire up to hold the bead so that they look like prongs. If you chose to use the prong method for your wire wrapped ring, then be sure to file the prong tips with a cup burr or needle file so that the prongs are not sharp.

Step 7
Harden the wire of your wire wrapped ring so the ring will maintain its shape. Harden the wire by hitting the wire with a raw hide hammer or plastic mallet. You can also place the completed wire wrapped rings into a tumbler with stainless steel shot to burnish and harden the wire so the wire wrapped rings hold their shape.

Happy Beading!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Make A Dreidel Bracelet

Before: Dreidel

It's Chanukah and there are many dreidels floating around the house. Gather a few extras and create a fun bracelet to celebrate the holiday.

Happy Chanukah!

Materials
Dreidels
16-gauge copper wire

Tools
Size 52 drill bit
Flex shaft, Dremel or drill press
14-gauge cup burr or wire rounder
Needle files

Order the dreidels

Step 1
Select the dreidels and arrange them in the order you like. We used seven dreidels but the number you need will depend on the size of the dreidels. The size links you make and the length you need for your bracelet.

Wash the dreidels with soap and water. Some of our dreidels had smudges of chocolate on them since some of the game players ate their loot.

Mark the dreiel

Step 2

Drill the dreidel

Mark the dreidel with a center punch and then drill a hole in the dreidel to create a bead.

Step 3

Feed the wire through the dreidel. Use pliers to create a medium sized loop on either side of the dreidel.

Step 4

Assemble the bracelet. Attach the dreidels link by link until the bracelet is the desired length.

Step 5
Make the hook and eye clasp. Make a few chains of links to create several eyes so the bracelet is adjustable.

After: Dreidel Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Step 6
Attach the hook and eyes of the clasp to the bracelet.

Related Tutorials
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Dreidel Pendant
Make Dreidel Earrings

Further Reading
"500 Judaica: Innovative Contemporary Ritual Art (500 Series)"; Ray Hemachandra, Daniel Belasco.
"500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs (500 Series)"; Lark; 2005.

Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: dreidels, sivivon
New Jewelry a Day.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Make a Ring from a Spoon

Go to almost any yard sale and you will find pieces of mismatched flatware. Rings upcycled from vintage or antique sterling silver or silver-plated spoons and other flatware are easy to construct. Spoon rings are clever, ageless jewelry.

Jewelry saw

Step 1
Select an old spoon to use to create a ring. Vintage and antique sterling silver or sterling plate flatware work particularly well and will make interesting jewelry.

Step 2
Determine the size ring you need by measuring your finger or the finger of the person for whom you plan to make the ring. If you do not have a ring sizing tool, take a piece of paper and wrap it around the finger for which you plan to make the ring. Mark and cut the paper to the ring size needed.

Step 3
Place the sizing paper on the decorative end of the spoon. Cut the spoon to size using a jewelry saw.

Sanding sponges

Step 4
File the end of the cut metal until quite smooth, then use sand paper or sanding sponges until the metal is smooth enough to be worn as a ring. You can use traditional files and sand paper or a flex shaft and sanding tools to smooth and then sand the metal.

Butane torch

Step 5
Anneal the metal cut from the spoon with a torch, to soften the metal and make forming the ring easier. If you do not have a torch, you can still form the ring but the metal will be more difficult to move and shape.

Form spoon into ring

Step 6
Form the ring by wrapping the cut metal around a ring mandrel at the size needed. Use a forming mallet to shape.

Step 7
Finish the ring by buffing and polishing to a high shine. You can leave the spoon ring shiny or you can chose from a variety of alternate finishes. For example, you can add a mat or scratch finish. You can also add color through patina or enamel.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Make a Bracelet from a Knitting Needle

Vintage plastic knitting needles get a new modern look when they are made into a bangle bracelet. With a few simple tools you can upcycle old knitting needles into fantastic jewelry.

Materials
Vintage plastic knitting needle(s)
Pot of boiling water
Bracelet mandrel

Step 1
Select a plastic knitting needle that you want to turn into a new bracelet.

Step 2
Boil a pot of water.

Step 3
Place the knitting needle into the water until it softens and can be formed, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 4
Measure your wrist and gather a mandrel in the appropriate size. Women have different wrist sizes, so it is important to measure for size before forming. Chose your mandrel based on the size you need. An average bangle size is about 8" inner circumference (20 cm inner circumference). If you do not have a bracelet mandrel, look around your house for a substitute. Baseball bats, certain canned goods, jars, a fallen tree limb and similar round objects can all be used a mandrels in a pinch.

Step 5
Carefully remove the knitting needle from the water using tongs or tweezers and wrap the knitting needle around a mandrel to the size you desire for your bracelet.

Step 6
Allow the plastic to cool on the mandrel or, to hasten the process, remove the bracelet from the mandrel and place it in a bowl of cold water to set.

Step 7
Adjust the bracelet. If you are not happy with the shape you can put the knitting needle back into the boiling and repeat the process until you are pleased with the result.

Warnings
Note that the colors may change or fade when boiled. You can use the same technique to make a knitting needle ring. Substitute a ring mandrel for the bracelet mandrel.

If you do not like working on your stove top, you can preheat an oven (or toaster oven) designated solely for crafts to 350 degrees F and then bake the knitting needles for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until the plastic is pliable.

Take care when working with boiled water.

Be sure to use proper exhaust and ventilation when heating and forming plastic.

Do not reuse pots for food after using for crafts.

Take care that knitting needles used are not sharp. File away any burrs, sharps or items that could catch clothes or injure the wearer.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Make a Cell Phone Charm

Cell phone charm by GeltDesigns.com

Most cell phones look the same until you decorate them with a cell phone charm! We used basic wire wrapping techniques to create a cell phone charm using basic tools available in most beading, jewelry supply and hardware stores.

Materials
Bead(s)
Cell phone finding
Head pin

Tools
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutters

Step 1
Assemble your tools and materials.

Select your beads and arrange your design. You can use any loose beads that fit on the head pin, including craft beads, lampwork beads, blown glass beads, dichroic beads, sterling silver beads, gold filled beads. You can also combine different types of beads as you sort through jewelry supplies to find your ideal pattern.

Step 2
Feed the beads onto the head pin in your desired pattern.

Make loop

Step 3
Use round nose pliers to create a loop at the top of the head pin just above the last bead. Wrap the tail end of the wire three times to secure the loop. Trim any excess wire with your wire cutters. File smooth, if needed.

Step 4

Open finding

Open the finding with your pliers.

Step 5
Attach the charm to the finding. Slip the loop of the drop you just created onto the cell phone finding. Close the loop of the cell phone finding with your pliers so

Attach charm & close finding

that it is secure.

Step 6
Your cell phone charm is now ready to be placed on the cell phone. Make a few and use them interchangeable.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

NJAD Index by Type of Found Object (Nov. 2010 - March 2011 / Months 1 - 5 )

Friday, April 1, 2011

NJAD Index by Type of Jewelry (Nov. 2010 - March 2011/ Months 1 - 5)