Archive for the ‘Rings & Things products’ Category

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Birthstone jones? Citrine dream?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Citrine: the November stone :)

A great thing about citrine is that you’ve got options, options, options.  Both the natural stuff and geometrically perfect lab-grown citrine are available, and each has its charms.

Shapes you can only find in natural citrine — small but rugged chip beads:

Brighten a November birthday party by bringing chips!

Bring chips to the birthday party!

Citrine that’s manufactured by humans is much more regular in shape:

Extra-faceted for extra shine: manmade citrine

Extra-faceted for extra shine: manmade citrine

With artifice comes pizzazz–dig this jazz:

A dash of lime-green quartz!

A dash of lime-green quartz!

You’re not dreaming, there are lots of ways to do your citrine-ing!  Look what you can do with a megadose of “vitamin C”:

Several milligrams of citrine beads... :)

Several milligrams of citrine beads... :)

Riff on the theme, drop a comment below!

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Posted in Rings & Things products, beads, birthstones | 3 Comments »

ITS: It’s the Image Transfer Solution blitz!

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

As promised, I’m transferring some images from our digital cameras to our blog — To show your our recent Image Transfer Solution (ITS) workshop.

We had a whole crew putting this new product through ITS paces…

Busily trying all kinds of ideas

Busily trying all kinds of ideas

Everyone had lots of inspirations they wanted to try out…

So many images to transfer, so much jewelry to make!

So many images to transfer, so much jewelry to make!

In the spirit of yesterday’s belt-buckle blog post, here’s another approach…

Impressionist belt buckles, anyone?

Impressionist belt buckles, anyone?

You can do so many things with Image Transfer Solution…

Amazing images

Amazing images

It was neat to see how a transferred image works when it’s overlaid on another design…

Try layering contrasting images

Try layering contrasting images

While we were at it, we tried out some new products we’re introducing…

Game spinners & sprocket gears (available soon!)

Game spinners & sprocket gears (available soon!)

We learned tons from doing this workshop!  Soon you’ll see an ITS technique sheet on our website.  We’ve been adding more ITS-related items to our store, too, to enhance your experience.  Check out new Wetordry™ polishing paper for truly delicate hand-sanded results.  And Renaissance® micro-crystalline wax polish is a fantastic way to protect your transferred images!

Have you tried Image Transfer Solution yet?  It’s a marvelous way to create custom pendants, beads, and more…we’d love to hear of your experiences with it in a comment below!

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Posted in Fun, New products, Rings & Things products, Trendspotting, designing | 4 Comments »

Look ahead: October’s birthstone will be Tourmaline

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Where we check into possible birthstone plans for the upcoming month…

Tourmaline meteor bracelet and ring

A great design you can make with tourmaline beads...

Tourmaline beads, the birthstone of choice for October, show some appropriately magical properties.  Did you know that if you rub this stone, it generates a charge that attracts small objects like bits of paper or strands of hair?  (I couldn’t find an image of this.  Bummer.  Please submit one if you’ve got one.)

True to its name (which originally meant “stone of mixed colors”), tourmaline is found in a very pretty palette of blue, yellow, pink, red, black, green and clear stones.  Here are most of those colors in a strand that we sell:

Tourmaline 21-731-035

Rings & Things also sells strands of the nice black tourmaline alone:

Black tourmaline beads 21-889-183

Here’s a great idea for using black tourmaline in a rosary:

David's Rosary uses the black tourmaline beads

David's Rosary uses the black tourmaline beads

And don’t forget tourmalated quartz.  These beads technically include tourmaline, so they add to your options for “October babies”:

Tourmalated quartz beads 21-884-100

You’ll find lots more neat background reading at our Gemstone Index ‘tourmaline’ entry!  And this is the time of year when you can come to our BeadTour bead shows to look for great new tourmaline, tourmalated quartz and many more gemstone beads not found in our catalog!

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Posted in Rings & Things products, bead shows, beads, birthstones | 6 Comments »

Featured bead: Hollow sterling beads

Friday, August 28th, 2009

“Hollow” means a lot of different things when you talk about beads and findings.  Let’s look at hollow sterling beads…

Hollow sterling silver beads all have one thing in common — they’re light in weight and they’re more affordable than solid silver beads.

  • There are organic-shaped hollow sterling nugget beads.  They’re hollow because they’re a continuous surface like a pebble, only empty inside:
hollow sterling nugget beads

Hollow...

hollow silver roller beads

...toroidal...

  • Silver teapot charms are hollow because they’re shaped like a real teapot, with room inside for a tiny drink:
hollow 3-D silver teapot charm

...concave

If you really think about it, “hollow” could mean even more things…how about those deeply pockmarked lava beads?  Leave a comment to suggest more ideas about hollow beads!

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Posted in Featured Bead, Rings & Things products | 2 Comments »

Dapping tools and why you need them

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Do you use metal clay?  (Like Art Clay Silver and Gold.)  Or metal sheet?

dapping tool set

If you do metalwork, making a smooth finished product is a major goal.  Dapping punches with their ball-shaped ends are a huge help.  They’re used to “dome” metal.  (So some call them “doming punches”.)  Think of adding depth to pendants…or making each half of your own unique bead!

“Dappling” punches (as we’ve also seen them called) are usually used in an affordable set with another dapping tool…

dapping block

Dapping blocks are a block of wood or steel with domes (half-spheres) of various sizes indented into the sides.

You just place the metal, or metal clay, against one of the dimples in the dapping block.  Then you work it smooth, rounding it by “dapping” at it with the punch.

Dapping blocks are also wonderful for forming a domed filigree, as Mara Marlow did in her “Eglantyne” necklace for the Rings & Things Your Designs Rock design contest:

Domed filigrees made with a dapping block

Domed filigrees made with a dapping block

Share dapping ideas — leave a comment!

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Posted in New products, Rings & Things products | 2 Comments »

Featured bead! The un-plain “dash 3″

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

I wrote the title of this post to purposely make you ask “What?????”  Got your attention!  Now read on about one of the coolest beads I know, and why it’s so…

So what is a “dash 3″?  Rings & Things geeks like me use that name for anything silver-plated. And I wanted to talk for a minute about the basic, but not plain, silver-plated round bead.

What are the great points of round silver-plated beads?  Off the top of my head, here are 5:

Silver-plated bead awesomeness #1

Silver-plated bead wonderfulness #1

  • These have big holes. For example the 5mm bead above has a 1 to 1.5mm hole.  That’s a lot of space for stringing onto a range of wire, cable or cord!  How versatile!
2nd silver-plated bead wonderfulness

2nd: silver-plated bead supremacy

  • They’re shiny. Of course!  And with that real-silver gleam.
3rd silver-plated bead thing

3rd silver-plated bead thing

  • They’re affordable. Up next to a solid sterling bead, the “dash 3″ plated version is an incredible bargain.
4th silver-plated bead feature

4th silver-plated bead feature

  • What a blank slate to work with!  Silver goes with so many colors and textures.  Along with basic black (and lava stone :) ), this is one of the easiest ‘colors’ to work into all of your designs.
5th 'dash-3' fabness

5th 'dash-3' fabness

  • They’re from Rings & Things…so you actually know they’re silver-plated. We don’t try to tell you they’re sterling or anything else.  Just the facts, ma’am!

Dash-3’s have lots more going for them. Do you have a testimonial for silver-plated beads? Write it in a comment below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in Featured Bead, Rings & Things products | 3 Comments »

Cuteness: clip charms

Monday, July 27th, 2009

They’re cute, they’re new, and you’ll love ‘em too!

We’ve added a whole passel of clip charms that are just too cute to skip blogging about.*  The wonderful thing about these little items is that they come with a little lobster clasp already attached.  So they’re incredibly easy & fast to attach & remove.  And you can keep a stock of them on hand to sell your customers some add-ons!

These are silver-plated dangle charms, averaging about an inch in size.  (In other words, they’re charms.) :) There are 20 of them at last count, and they’re all fun.  Let me throw some visuals at you…

Most of these clipon charms are decorated with colorful rhinestones, some with a choice of stone colors.  Try this heeled boot on for size:

Heeled boot clip-on charm

Heeled boot clip-on charm

And for your summer beachcomber crowd, how about this flip-flop?

Flip-flop clip-on charm with jet rhinestones

Flip-flop clip-on charm with jet rhinestones

We’ve also got rhinestoned peace signs, moons, hearts, stars, dragonflies, butterflies and this sweet little key:

Rhinestone key clip charm

Rhinestone key clip charm

Not all that glitters is rhinestones, though.  Some of these charms are enameled in detailed, glossy designs that will knock your customers’ socks off.  See if this ducky doesn’t float your boat:

Enameled ducky clip-on charm

Enameled ducky clip-on charm

Or go Tampa Bay with this buccaneer:

Enameled pirate skull clip charm

Enameled pirate skull clip charm

There are plenty more dangle designs to check out, so connect up with our full selection in the online store.  Remember, the code word is “stock number 44-810″.  (Or “d’nagly” if you work at Rings & Things.) :)

Have more ideas for using these clip-on dangle charms?  Share in a comment below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in New products, Rings & Things products | 3 Comments »

Bulk chain is hot for jewelry!

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Tip: bulk chain is hot for jewelry.

News flash: it’s in stock at Rings & Things right now.

09_bulk_chain_017We have pallets of it!  I’m dizzy looking up so high!

09_bulk_chain_026Chain is spilling out, overflowing into bins!

09_bulk_chain_030We’ve got all colors & styles!

So get your bulk jewelry chain now…at our usual nice wholesale price.

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in Rings & Things products, Trendspotting | 5 Comments »

Featured bead: flower spacers

Monday, July 13th, 2009

The humble but endlessly useful spacer bead comes into the spotlight this time…

4mm flower spacer beads

4mm flower spacer beads

What would you do without these?  Spacer beads are the unsung heroes of jewelry making.  While other beads are the focus of attention and the center of your designs, spacers hold them in place.  Spacers help make your beads and your stringing material match up in length.  Flower spacers, like these, pretty up the corners just enough to maintain a certain visual feel throughout the jewelry piece.

In the understated spirit of flower spacers, I’m showing you just two examples, both in demure multi-purpose antiqued silver finish.  Both are Bali-style spacers, made by the reliable TierraCast company, with holes large enough to work with most cords.

6mm flower spacers

6mm flower spacers

Whatever color of metal they are, whatever size they are, and whatever pattern adorns them, we salute the flower spacers of the world!  Stock up on a good selection and you’l be able to make any design inspiration come to life.

Have a favorite spacer, or a personal tip for using them? Leave a comment!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in Featured Bead, Rings & Things products | 6 Comments »

Rings & Things on TV: metal charms

Friday, June 26th, 2009

You may have seen Rings & Things on TV.  Does this look familiar?

Artisan and author Mary Hettmansperger shows how to make metal charms, using cold connections…

Thanks to public TV’s Beads, Baubles and Jewels for this “Metal Charms” segment.  Rings & Things is a proud sponsor of the program!

If you’ve spotted our “stuff” on TV somewhere else, let us know in a comment!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

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Posted in About Rings & Things, As seen in, Rings & Things products | 2 Comments »

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