Rings and Things » multipurposing

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 10 – Velvet Bookmarks

Cindy — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:04:56 +0000

Yes, it is just my opinion, but I’ll say it as though it is a fact: books always make great gifts. I love giving books. I love receiving books. And it is easy to make pretty ribbon bookmarks to personalize your gifts even more!

Start with a length of beautiful velvet ribbon.

Use choker clamps to attach beads and baubles to the ends.

Amy’s bookmarks are in our design gallery, where you’ll also find a list of the exact supplies she used to make them.

Sure, Kindles and other e-readers are gaining popularity, but nothing really compares to curling up with an actual paper book and a big mug of your favorite beverage. Make the moment even more indulgent with a luxurious bookmark! Need a jewelry-making book to gift (to a friend or maybe yourself)? Here are three recommendations:

Jewelry Lab by Melissa Manley

Wire Style 2 by Denise Peck (includes DVD)

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry Making Techniques by Vanetta Seecharran.

Happy reading! ~ Cindy

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Upcycle cans and tins into jewelry!

Cindy — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:59:00 +0000

Metal shears, a metal tin and the completed metal pin!

We all know recycling is a good thing, but upcycling is even better! Aluminum and tin cans can easily be turned into jewelry, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Metal edges can be wicked sharp. Make clean cuts and file off any jagged points. Quality jewelry metal shears make this much easier! Most tin snips and other shears from hardware stores are difficult to grip.
Aluminum cans and most tins are too thin to be durable enough for jewelry by themselves. We suggest layering the metal you cut from recycled items. Three ways of doing this are riveting, gluing and/or coating the metal pieces.

Here are a few examples of how to turn packaging into lovely adornments:

Polly's tin pins and pendants

Polly sandwiched her recycled metal elements between brass fairy doors, disks and gears. She riveted the pieces together using Crafted Findings’ riveting tool. Learn more about the riveting tool system here.

The holes are lined with large eyelets from a scrapbooking supplier.

For this Soda Pop necklace, we cut disks out of cans and then glued them to brass disks to make them thicker. A circle template makes this task easier. Get more info in our design gallery.

Layers of flowers punched from soda cans form these fun bobby pins.

Instructions for how Toni coated these pins with liquid polymer clay to make them safe to wear are in our design gallery.

Start looking at soda cans and other product packaging in a different way! I for one always check the bottle cap design when deciding on a beverage.

How I wish every city had an Upcycle Exchange Market. It is a brilliant idea for reusing and redistributing crafty supplies and recyclables! Until then, ask your friends and family to help collect interesting materials for you. You might just upcycle something wonderful!

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Two ways to color metal using Image Transfer Solution

Cindy — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:01:32 +0000

Alice in Wonderland image transfer bracelet

Hi Bloglandia! Last weekend I did a demo in our Spokane showroom on how to use Sherri Haab’s Image Transfer Solution (ITS) and thought now would be a good time to share these techniques for colorizing metal with everyone.

Image transfer is just that – transferring an image from the paper it is printed on to a different surface (in this case, metal jewelry components). Image transfers have a vintage, ethereal feel, and I love how the different colors of metals shine through. Unlike many of the other solvents and processes used for image transfer, Image Transfer Solution (ITS) is non-toxic. Yay! Plus, it has another purpose not even mentioned on the bottle: it is an excellent way to seal colors onto metal (more on that in a bit).

Transferring Images – ITS Method #1

One caveat: The images you use must be printed on a laser (toner based) printer. Ink jet pictures will not work. The pictures can be black or white or color. Photos and text should be reversed before you print, since transfers will be mirror images.

To be honest, I did not like ITS the first couple of times I tried it. I kinda hated it. Following the directions on the bottle, I prepped my metal with steel wool and heat-set the images in a 325 degree oven – just like it said! – but things just kept going wrong. Either my images would wash right off the metal or the paper would be so very stuck to the metal that no amount of scrubbing would remove it. But I loved the concept, so I kept playing with it. Below is my own method for using ITS. Maybe the package directions will work like a charm for you. If not, I hope my tips and tricks help:

Scuff up your metal (aluminum, brass, copper and silver all work great) with a medium grit sanding pad or sand paper. Steel wool leaves the surface too smooth, in my opinion.
Wash metal with rubbing alcohol to remove dirt, dust and oil – even if it looks clean!
Using a clean, dry paintbrush, evenly coat the prepped metal with just a couple of drops of ITS.

Press image face-down onto metal and press firmly into place to remove any air bubbles. ITS is like glue – you will not be able to reposition your paper at all, so be careful to place it where you want it! Let dry. Use an iron (high heat, no steam) to heat the metal for 1 or 2 minutes. Don’t worry, the paper won’t burn. Let metal cool.
Place the metal into water and using a gentle circular motion, begin rubbing the paper off, leaving the image behind. Don’t get to aggressive or you could lift off parts of the image. Patience pays off here.
After most of the paper is removed, use a sheet of polishing paper and more water to remove the finer paper fibers.
After all of the paper is removed, seal the image with a dab of Renaissance Wax and a soft cloth. It really improves the luster.

My photograph looks like a vintage postcard after being transferred onto aluminum. The Swarovki crystals are the same colors as the prayer flags hanging on the mountain tea house.

Complete your jewelry piece! The image is permanently attached. You can even punch holes or dap the metal and it won’t come off!

Sealing Colors – ITS Method #2

Image Transfer Solution can also be used to permanently seal inks onto metal! Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks are tons of fun to mix and blend onto non-porous surfaces, like metal, but since they are ink, they can be rubbed or washed off. That is, unless you seal them with ITS. When you heat-set ITS, it binds the color to the metal. It will not wash off or bleed onto your customer’s skin.

Vintaj fussy peacock pendant colorized with alcohol inks for a faux enamel look.

You can color your metal with alcohol inks and then, after they’ve dried, paint a thin layer of ITS over the top. Another option is to mix the ITS directly with your inks (just a few drops of each) and paint that mix onto your metal. Either way, once the ITS has dried, you need to heat-set it to make the bond permanent. Just follow the directions on the Image Transfer Solution package for using an oven to heat-set (the iron won’t work for this application).

Looks like patina - but this blue bee was colored with alcohol inks.

There you have it! Two tried and true methods for permanently coloring your metal pieces for jewelry and other applications. Although this post focused on metal, Image Transfer Solution can be used on polymer clay, etched glass and other surfaces too! Since it really only takes a couple of drops per image, you’ll have plenty to experiment with! ~ Cindy

PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to‘s in the Rings & Things blog!

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How to make interchangeable magnetic jewelry with 1″ buttons

Cindy — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:35:16 +0000

Handmade magnetic bottle cap necklace with assorted buttons

Mollie has been borderline obsessed with one particular item lately. It’s not a pretty gemstone bead or sparkly crystal pendant. It isn’t even new. No, Mollie is obsessed with plain old sticky dots. Almost daily, she’d ask me, “Oooh, have you tried the sticky dot?” and I’d just roll my eyes. But now I’m a convert too.

Sticky dots are just that – self-stick little glue pads. Easy to use, strong, zero mess, no fuss, no cure time, no smell. This is true instant gratification!

Round sticky dots fit perfectly under our magnets!

Two of Mollie’s recent designs use the sticky dot: the interchangeable magnet ring and the interchangeable magnet bottle cap pendant. Like many of you crafty people, Mollie has a button making machine. The little 1″ buttons are particularly adorable, and since they are made of steel, naturally they are magnetic. I don’t have a button machine myself, but I buy lots of buttons – and now I can wear them instead of leaving them on my bulletin board!

Here's the magnet

Here's the pendant - so cute!

Rings & Things’ wholesale price breaks makes it really affordable to make a whole bunch of these necklaces. For about $50 (before shipping and tax, if applicable) you can get everything (except the buttons) to make 70 necklaces – with supplies leftover! If you don’t already have one, add a pair of EuroPunch plier s to make holes in the caps.

1 spool of ball chain (makes 70 17″ necklaces) $18-25 ~ 100 ball chain clasps $2 ~ 1 oz. jump rings $5-6 ~ 100 bottle caps $7-10 ~ 144 adhesive dots $6 ~ two packs of 35 magnets $12-14

The adhesive dot is completely hidden by the ring and magnet.

1" buttons make perfect rings!

The same value applies to the magnetic ring design – and absolutely no tools are required to make these!

72 adjustable flat-pad ring blanks $42-62, depending on color (we do sell a less expensive ring blank if you prefer, but the style and comfort of this style is worth the added cost) ~ 144 adhesive dots $6 ~ two packs of 35 magnets $12-14

At these quantities, the necklaces cost less than a dollar and the rings about $1.20 to 1.50 each to make. Buy more and the cost per is even lower. Ah, the genius of good design! ~ Cindy

“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
~ Albert Einstein

PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to’s in the Rings & Things blog!

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