Simple but cute!

During the last trip to Hobby Craft I have decided to have a wander around the shop and see what other little gems they have hidden. Hobby Craft is great as it has massive variety of different arts & crafts supplies. Ranging from cupcake making or card making to jewellery!

So.... I have come across some really cute wooden leopard print buttons and figured they would make amazing earrings that are unique and stylish! Afterwards I couldn't wait to get home and get stuck in!!! The design is very simple and takes only 2 minutes. I am considering adding some little pearly colored roses in the middle of the button but haven't yet decided if I want to make them more "blingy" however would spruce up the design if you wanted to hide the holes in the middle. Have a play around and see what suits your liking.

Things that you will need:

• 2 buttons to your liking
• 3cm of 0.6mm wire
• 2 earring wires (can be handmade)
• Wire cutters
• Flat nose pliers
• 2 mins of your time!

Here is the result: (Without the roses... Should I add them? How CUTE are the buttons?!)

What do you think? ;)

Latest Shopping Trip

Yesterday me and my boyfriend made our way into Preston to get some supplies for our hobbies. I have patiently waited for him to get his little bits and bobs and then went to Hobby Craft. I could NOT wait! :)
This is where I found Wirework magazine which ended up being a bargain and I was well chuffed with it! Prior to this I have discovered Wirework magazine through browsing online and following the group of Facebook. As you probably know, I was not disappointed! :)

Some of the latest additions to my collection/supplies are some new beads, loads of wire, fimo, etc. Here are some pics:

I have never used Fimo but I am definitely looking forward to it. Making some handmade beads with the designs that I want should be a lot of fun and maybe I'll get the other half involved in this just for fun too! :D What are your recommendations for using Fimo? Maybe any tips?

Latest Attempts

Over the past few weeks I have been very busy with family visiting, work, home life, etc; so had less time to spend practicing my jewellery making. Finally things are calming down a little so I managed to spend a few hours with my wires and beads. I have also recently invested into two magazines and I must say I was very impressed!!! Here are the two magazines I went for: Make Jewellery and Wirework.

I had a quick browse through both and they've been great help! Wire Jewellery had some designs for people with a bit more skill however they look great and definitely can be done. This is an English magazine so easily accessible in UK. I bought mine from Tesco an it was around £5 I think. Not bad value for money!

Now the other magazine I bought is Wirework and I can't praise it enough. This magazine is perfect for newbies! It has basic tutorials with detailed step by step information and pictures. It's so helpful and it's probably the most useful bit of literature I own for wire jewellery learning. One down side to the magazine is that it's American magazine. So it's nothing too dramatic however I had to travel a little to get it from a Hobby shop. It was approx £4 and is the best value for money considering tutorial books are probably 5 times as expensive and have more or less the same info.

So after reading through the magazines I have attempted some of the designs. I have made and finished properly my first Big-ish project. I have made this bracelet yesterday as per design from Wirework magazine. Here is the picture of the final result:

It's a pretty straightforward design and it looks great! Hope you guys like it. If anyone wants me to post step by step tutorial because you can't get access to the magazine, then just let me know. I have also made a suggested variation of the design which can be used in the bracelet or perhaps for making a necklace or earrings.

So guys, any feedback or questions are always welcome! So feel free to comment/ask! :)

Open Spirals are Cool!... And Easy!!!

While browsing through Youtube I have stumbled upon this useful little video. It is very useful for making lovely identical spirals for earring, pendants, etc. While the technique itself is easy, it definitely saves you some time and effort! :) Check it out and see what you think...

Attempting Wire..

So I thought it's time I posted some of my first attempts of wire jewellery. On my trip to the Arts & Crafts store I decided to invest into a book by Sharilyn Miller on beginners wire work which has really helped out to get started so here are some pics.

Favorite piece so far (possibly a key ring or pendant?)... What do you guys recon?
I have used 1.2mm and 0.8mm wire to wrap plus heart shaped bead. The end result is pretty straightforward  to make however it looks great. It just needs some finishing touches and voila!

I have also stocked up on some home made jump rings which weren't that hard to make with a little help of using the screw driver. I've used the handle of the screw driver with 1.2mm wire and wrapped it around it. Then used the cutters to cut them into identical jump rings. Quick and effective! :)

Back to Basics

As much as I would love to dive into some amazing and beautiful designs, it's probably best to try out some easy basic designs at first and master the techniques. On the way home from my first trip to the Arts & Crafts shop I was already imagining the amazing work I will do.

Well let me tell you.. Wire jewellery is not easy! I have previously done bracelets wih tiny little beads but to me it was nowhere near as complicated as working with wire.

I quickly come across an issue which I am yet to research. Jewellery wire is very delicate and needs great care. The tools being metal tend to damage the enamel on the wire. I have a couple of ideas how to avoid this which I will try out later on this evening.

Perhaps you have any tips for this yourself?

First Trip to the Shop

The best advice that was given to me before my trip to the shops was "Get good/high quality tools". So I know that a start up cost of any hobby is pretty high however you can buy certain tools that are more important than the others. make sure you do some research online and make a list of the things you need to get before going to an Arts & Crafts store.

First and most important tools in my opinion are the wire cutters. It's best off the buy 2 pairs of cutters. Smaller pair for delicate thin wire and a bigger pair for cutting thicker wire.

Another very essential tool is round-nose pliers. These come in various sizes and thickness. I have currently got just one pair for making smaller loops and using it to grab loops in order to bend the wire, etc. As I have quickly found out, make sure the handles are very comfortable as you will be using these often and need to ensure they are soft enough not to hurt your hands.

Next important tool is bail-forming pliers. As a beginner I wasn't aware whether these are really important or not. After trying out some basic techniques it became apparent that these are a good investment so I have ordered a pair with 6 different sizes from small 2mm to bigger 9mm loops. However you can always use general things that are found at home. (I found that using the long part of the screw driver works well for making spiral loops.)

Flat nose pliers - are great for holding onto the little pieces and to start off with I got one pair. Make sure that the inside of the pliers does not have any ridges as these will damage the wire very easily. The pliers can be found in most tool shops or arts and craft stores. (I found that pliers from tool shops have more comfortable handles but also come in mini size for comfort so check out your local B&Q or Walmart.

When you start making twists and loops you will need to get some jewellery files to remove any visible sharp corners. I have ordered mine from Ebay and they come in a set of about 5 or different shape and size like round or flat file. 

Next, Storage! With all the tools and other small bits you will definitely need a bigger box to store bigger parts as well as a small box with compartments to store all the beads. I have bought a variety of beads to start off with and will use different techniques in order to establish which beads work best. It's best to get a variety of colours however if you don't fancy buying too many beads you can always take apart old inexpensive jewellery that you no longer wear.

Finally, and probably most importantly.... WIRE! These come in various sizes and gauges so to start off with I have bought 1.2mm and 0.8mm wire to play around and learn some basic techniques. After playing around with it for a couple of days I have ordered more wire in 0.6mm and 1mm for more intricate work. Use this table from http://www.wirejewellery.co.uk as a guideline to different sizes as it appears different companies and sites use either mm or gauge to identify wire sizes.

0.4mm	28-gauge	Binding, knitting, crocheting and weaving
0.6mm	24-gauge	Threading small delicate beads (i.e. semi-precious chips), binding and twisting
0.8mm	20-gauge	General-purpose jewellery work
1.2mm	18-gauge	Chunky pieces and ring shanks
1.5mm	16-gauge	Bold, chunky jewellery, bangle and tiara frames
2.0mm	14-gauge	Very chunky jewellery and accessories

Now that you have first essential bits just have a good play around with the different tools, beads and wires making loops and twists, etc. :)