Jewelry making is a rewarding and profitable craft. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings can be made and sold either individually or in sets. Most jewelry makes use beads. There are so many types of beads available that the creative looks and options will never run out. Jewelry has been around for thousands upon thousands of years and will never go out of style.
People who make jewelry generally purchase the supplies they need to make it with. There are beads, clasps, jump rings, hooks, spacers, necklace, bracelet and ring wires, and threads that one needs to have in order to create necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. Here’s how you can make your own with what you have around the house.
Let’s start with necklace, bracelet, and ring wires. Wire is a durable and workable way of stringing beads and making rings. My favorite is copper. Copper is available in many different sizes. The thin copper wire that you find inside of telephone wire, for example, is perfect for necklace, bracelet, and ring wires. It is thin enough to string beads onto. It is stiff enough to let them slide on easily. It is soft enough to let you easily bend and twist it. Thin copper wire is also strong enough to securely hold without breaking. It is totally wearable and rarely causes allergic reaction like many other metals do. To make your own wires simply take that old roll of telephone wire you have laying around and strip it. To strip wire use a utility knife. Very gently strip the plastic away from the wire. Take your time to avoid cuts or nicks in the wire. One roll of telephone wire can make thousands and thousands of necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Cut the wire to the desired length once stripped. Fold one end down one half to one quarter of an inch and twist three times. String on your beads for your necklace or bracelet. Once they are strung fold the wire over one half to one quarter of an inch and twist three times. After this is done you are ready to add your clasp. For rings simply cut the wire to the ring size measurement plus one half an inch. Bend one end of the wire back one quarter of an inch to form a loop. Next add your tiny beads. Glass seed beads work perfectly for these types of rings. Once the beads are on fold the other end and make the loop. Lastly hook the two loops together and squeeze them with fine nosed pliers.
Jump rings can also be made from wire. Simply use one size thicker wire. Cut the wire at half inch lengths for bigger jump rings and at one quarter inch for small jump rings. Bend it into a circle and you have open jump rings. One foot of wire can make hundreds of tiny jump rings. You can use these for attaching clasps, and also for earrings. The tiny jump rings can be closed and used for spacers. Create silver ones by using aluminum wire.
Earring wires can easily be made from the same wire you’d use to make a necklace, bracelet or ring. Cut two pieces to be exactly two inches. Hold them together and place your fingers one inch down from the top of the wire. Bend them down together so that they are alike. After they are bent bend up one quarter of an inch at the end of the part that goes into the ear. At the bottom of the wire make loops by folding the wire up one quarter of an inch and twisting three times.
Not everyone likes to use wire. You need look no farther than the tackle box to find what you need. Fishing line is very inexpensive. It is also very strong. It is easy to tie and work with. It is also transparent which means it will not show between beads. One roll of fishing line can make hundreds of bracelets or necklaces. It’s a good trick to save money and to work with what you have! Thanks for reading and take care!
