If you like rustic looking jewelry, you’ll love this book. The projects all have that handmade look, and the author encourages experimenting.

I love cold connections, which is probably evident when you look at my jewelry – lots of wire wrapping, and in my metalwork I often use variations on rivet techniques to hold things together while allowing for some movement – as in this pendant:

Caterpillar Pendant

Once you master a few easy techniques for connecting metal parts without soldering, you start to get lots of design ideas, and can create pieces that look and feel more complex than what you can do without these connections. I like to use a combination of torchwork, wirework, and cold connections in my work.

If you like using fiber in your jewelry, or fiber techniques, you’ll appreciate a few sections of the book that deal with things like weaving wire. Weaving with thin-gauge wire enables a designer to create very intricate, details pieces – without needing a lot of expensive metalworking tools.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a beginning metalworker wanting to learn some cold connections, or anyone who loves handmade jewelry with a rustic feel – plenty of inspiration for these kinds of designs.

It was just a matter of time til I started making my own chain, and that’s when I found out just how long it takes to make a chain. Let’s just say a long time.

Inspired by the Rachel Ray “semi-homemade” cooking theory, I decided to try a semi-homemade set of chain jewelry.

I finished the set of a necklace, two bracelets, earrings, and a few stacking rings in less time than a single chain would have taken if I did it all by hand, and I love the results.

Mixed Metal Jewelry Set

It was really easy to make – if you can make large jump rings, you could make yourself a similar set. I used antique brass chain I got on sale at a craft store. It has very large links, about the size of finger rings, and they are unsoldered. I made some copper jump rings in similar sizes, using thick-gauge wire and hammering them a bit so they’d be strong enough hold up, and inserted them into the chain somewhat randomly. I ended up with two bracelets and a necklace, and enough leftover links to make matching earrings & wear a few as finger rings.

I wear this set a lot and always get compliments, so I’m considering adding some similar pieces to my shop. It looks great combined with some simple brass bangles if I want a more dramatic look, or I just wear one or two of the pieces if I want to be more toned down.

Sterling silver is a commonly used form of silver in jewelry making. It consists of 92.5% pure silver alloyed with 7.5% other metals. In the United States, an alloy that is 92.5% silver can be called sterling silver, regardless of what the other 7.5% is; however, the standard alloy is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.

There are several non-standard alloys of sterling silver on the market today. These alloys are formulated using metals other than copper for some or all of the 7.5% that is not silver, and are usually intended to be more tarnish resistant than the standard silver-copper alloy.

Spiral Earrings made from argentium sterling silver

One of these alloys is argentium sterling silver, which has a very small amount of germanium mixed with the copper. Argentium resists tarnish better than regular sterling silver, and in addition has some properties that (in my opinion) make it a better alloy to work with when doing torch work. It costs a bit more than regular sterling silver, because germanium is expensive — luckily for jewelry makers, the amount of germanium used is very small, so it isn’t a huge price difference.

Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, which has not been alloyed with any other metals. It is softer than sterling silver, and therefore not suitable for certain jewelry applications, but it has a beautiful color and as a jewelry maker, I have to say it is wonderful to work with using a torch. Fine silver is a little bit more expensive than sterling silver, generally costing about as much as argentium silver.

Silver metal clay, which is sold under a few different brand names, is a form of fine silver in which ultrafine particles of silver are mixed with an organic binder, and can be worked on like clay (hence the name). Metal clay has to be fired, using either a kiln or a torch, and because the organic binder burns off during the firing process, it will shrink a bit when it is fired. How much shrinkage occurs depends a lot on the brand and variety of clay used. Once metal clay has been properly fired, the resulting metal is 99.9% pure silver – in other words, fine silver. It is more expensive than other types of silver, but allows designers many options for their creativity that would be far more labor intensive, if not impossible, using solid silver to start with. Jewelry designs made with metal clay often feature intricate textures and shapes. Metal clay is also available for some other metals, including gold and bronze.

Gold – 10k, 12k, 14k, 18k, and 22k are commonly used in jewelry. Gold jewelry is generally referred to by a number followed by “k” which stands for karat. The higher the number, the higher the actual gold content. 24k is pure gold, and like fine silver, is quite soft. Many people consider 14k gold to be the lowest gold content that should be used in fine gold jewelry. Higher karat golds, such as 18k and 22k, tend to have a richer gold color than lower karat alloys. They are also more expensive due to the higher actual gold content. The part of the gold that isn’t actual gold might be copper, zinc, silver, or other metals. There are many different alloys, resulting in a lot of color variation, from rose gold to green gold to white gold.

Gold filled and vermeil – These two metals are not primarily gold, but incorporate some gold and look like gold. Gold filled is created by bonding a thin layer of gold to a brass core. Vermeil is gold plated sterling silver. There are significant differences between the two. Although gold filled metal is primarily brass, the layer of gold must equal 1/20th of the total weight of the metal if it is labeled 14/20 gf, and the gold layer in that case is 14 karat gold (14/10 would mean 1/10th of the metal is 14k gold, and 12/20 would mean that 1/20th of the metal is 12k gold). Gold plated metal, such as vermeil, on the other hand, can be a nearly microscopic layer of actual gold, and is frequently 24 karat. Both gold fill and vermeil do have some inherent value – in the case of gold fill, because there is some actual gold content, and in the case of vermeil, because it is sterling silver underneath the gold plating, and sterling silver is a precious metal (although much less expensive than gold).

Copper Earrings

Copper can be used for many jewelry applications. Because it oxidizes relatively quickly, it’s a good metal to try with patinas, and is also often enameled on. Some people believe that copper jewelry has health benefits, such as aiding people with arthritis pain, while others wear it for its rich, warm color. If copper jewelry has not been coated with something to prevent oxidation, it will need to be cleaned and/or polished frequently in order to keep it from turning green or black.

Brass is another non-precious metal that is often used in jewelry designs. It is an alloy metal and there are several different formulations for brass. It is sometimes sold shiny and other times with an oxidized “antique” finish.

Stainless Steel – steel, particularly stainless steel, is becoming popular as a jewelry metal. It is very hard, and melts at a very high temperature. In fact, a lot of jewelry tools are made from steel. I haven’t worked with steel very much except a bit in wire form. Memory wire made from steel, which is sold in coils for making bracelets, necklaces, and rings, is fun for stringing beads onto because it “remembers” its shape. Very thin steel wire can be used for weaving, knitting, or crocheting wire. Many metal artists are using steel sheet to fabricate designs as well, and mixing it with more traditional jewelry metals like silver and gold.

Platinum – of the commonly used metals in jewelry making, platinum is the hardest and the most expensive. I’ve personally never worked with it, so I don’t know much more than that. It has a lovely silver color and is popular for wedding and engagement rings, and high-end jewelry with precious stones such as diamonds.

Base Metal – a non-precious metal, not copper or brass, may contain metals like nickel that people are often allergic to, or lead, which is known to cause cancer and other health problems. Some base metal jewelry will be labeled lead-free or nickel free, but if it isn’t, there’s really no way to know if it contains these (or other) harmful materials.

Silver or gold plated – this could be any metal that has been electroplated with silver or gold. Depending on how thick the plating is, it might last a long time, or it might wear off quickly. Unless it is specified otherwise, the underlying metal is probably some kind of base metal.

**If your favorite jewelry metal isn’t on this list, or you have more information to share about one of the metals I’ve listed, please leave a comment! Thanks!**

Has anyone seen a copy? I’d love to know what you thought of it…

I love string art. When I was in about fourth grade, I did a book report about a book that showed how to make these line drawings, which would be beautiful recreated in string. Using graph paper, I made a bunch of them, fascinated that I could make these beautiful curved designs using all straight lines.

When I started seeing the string art earrings all over the place a year or two ago, I thought about trying to make some, but never got around to figuring it out. But I think with this tutorial, I’m ready to try!

I’m pretty sure most of you reading are crafters of one sort or another. So I’m curious, why do you craft? Is it your job? Is it a hobby? A little of both?

For me, it’s both – a part time job that earns me a bit of supplementary income, and a long-time hobby that started because I wanted unique jewelry that was also beautiful and expressed my personality. Well, and because I’ve never been able to resist small, sparkly things.

I was thinking back on some of the really interesting things I’ve made along the way – beadweaving, crocheting with wire, weaving wire, melting silver, wire wrapping, covering things with resin – and was thinking it might be fun to pretend that jewelry making is still just a hobby, and not think about creating work “for my etsy shop” for a while. Maybe I’ll make myself something great to wear, or try out a technique I’ve been wanting to play with, or just string some beads (it’s been a while since I did that). I feel like it’s time to get out of the box again, stretch my creative wings.

Now, to carve out some time, not an easy thing with a toddler in the house!

Basically, anyone who wants to participate buys a kit with exactly the same beads, and they design a piece using some or all of the kit contents, plus anything from their stash that they want to add. The only rule is that they have to use “The Muse” which is a mystery component included in the kit that you don’t see until your kit arrives in the mail.

If that sounds like fun to you, here’s a direct link to the contest entry page. And if “fun” isn’t enough of a reason, check out the drool-worthy prizes you could win.

This is partially true. You can use readymade components in many of the projects in this book, however, for most projects, you will need the metalsmithing skills to create some of your own components. Expect to drill, saw, solder, sand, and file. In other words, don’t expect to be able to run to the hardware store, by some metal bits and pieces, and make all of the projects. Some of the projects are very easy, while others are more intermediate metalwork projects.

That might sound like a criticism, but it’s really only a criticism of the title. I actually really appreciate that there are projects appropriate for a variety of skill levels. And from an aesthetic point of view, the projects and galleries in this book are definitely modern, and I like most of them. There are a lot of pieces of jewelry I’d wear in this book. I love the cover piece, which is by Joanna Gollberg (I’ve reviewed one or two of her books – love her style).

If you have the tools for basic metalwork, and know how to solder and drill, you’ll be able to complete most of the projects. I think this book is great for the beginner or intermediate metalworker, as well as for visual inspiration for anyone who likes modern style metal jewelry. Perfect for my self-imposed month of inspiration.

So….in the interest of full disclosure, it only seems fair to explain why that is only partly true.

It is definitely cheaper for me to make my own earrings than to buy them from someone else. I have all the tools, and because I make a lot of earrings, I can buy my materials in bulk.

However, if you’ve never made earrings before, it will cost you more than what you’d pay for a pair of already-made earrings to get started. You need tools: pliers, files (or something else to smooth your wire ends), wire cutters, and ideally a rawhide mallet and steel block. You need 20 or 21 gauge wire (and I’ve never seen an inexpensive source for 1 foot of wire – typically you have to buy much more than that). You need some beads or charms or whatever it is you want to use to embellish your earrings. You probably need some head pins, or the tools to make your own head pins.

I think making jewelry is fun and a great way to express your creativity. So for me, investing in basic tools wasn’t a problem – but if you are just wanting to make a few things to save money….well, you don’t really start saving money until you’ve made enough things to equal the amount of money you invested in your tools.

Of course, if you end up *really* liking jewelry making, there are thousands of dollars worth of other tools you’ll need too….but I’ll tell you about those later. For now, get some good pliers and some practice wire, and see if you enjoy making earwires and wrapping beads onto head pins.

Since I make jewelry, the DVD I picked out to watch is her jewelry one: Michele Beschen's Courage to Create with Jewelry


The DVD is a lot of fun. She came up with some great jewelry projects, and as if I wasn’t green with envy over all her tools before, I am now! She has a drill press. She has a cool looking drill that she used to cut out a wood bangle bracelet. She has a soldering iron. Plus about a million other very cool, fun looking tools that I really want to try out now! And, she knows how to use all of them. Her tool expertise would put most guys to shame.

Michele likes to “break the rules” with her crafting, so you’ll see her do a lot of things that you may have heard are no-nos when it comes to making jewelry. But they work just fine – so why not? For example, she uses silver colored solder and a soldering iron rather than jeweler’s silver solder and a torch. As long as you understand that it isn’t real silver, and don’t try to sell it as real silver, there is absolutely no reason you can’t use inexpensive silver-toned metals in your jewelry work. A lot of people doing glass pendants use this type of solder to add jump rings to their foil-wrapped pieces, and I believe it is also used in stained glass work. I’d never seen it used in quite the way Michele uses it though!

The DVD shows a pretty wide range of projects and techniques, most made using uncoventional methods and supplies, which is refreshing. Some things she does, I do differently, but I think it’s always fun to see someone else’s take on a technique or style.

Overall, lots of fun ideas to get you thinking creatively about making some fun pieces without spending a lot of money. Well, except for the fact that you’re going to want lots of fancy tools, and that might set you back a little….

Michele has another Courage to Create DVD on painting:
Michele Beschen's Courage to Create with Paint

Although I’m not a painter, I plan to watch it and review it, and hopefully get some ideas on home decor projects.

Also – apparently Michele has a new show in the works called B. Organic, which I really hope I’ll be able to watch locally – I can’t wait to see her take on some “green” crafting and DIY home improvement projects!