Learn this simple wire-wrapping technique and how to use pinch-style rivoli settings with this free wire-lashing jewelry-making tutorial from Rings & Things. Continue Reading…
Make Fashionable Ear Cuff Jewelry
October 9, 2013If you haven’t yet jumped on the ear cuff bandwagon, now’s your chance! Some ear cuff designs include an earring post to hold the design in place, but many of today’s styles work for both pierced and non-pierced ears, making them as versatile as they are trendy.
Customer service rep Tracy and Gallery guru Amy made the following Five Ear Cuffs to showcase some of the styles popping up.
Easy to Make Rubber Stamped Leather Bracelets
September 30, 2013With the holidays fast approaching, why not make some simple handmade gifts for friends and family?
Using rubber stamps and permanent ink pads, you can easily embellish ready-made leather bracelets to create fun and whimsical gifts in just a few minutes.
This DIY tutorial shows you how.
Gather your Supplies
You will need the following products and supplies:
- Leather Bracelets
- StazOn Ink Pads
- Rubber stamps of your choice
Rubber Stamp Angel Policy
If you plan on selling your finished pieces, remember to check out the “angel policy” for the rubber stamps you choose. The manufacturer or stamp artist may have restrictions on using the stamped images on items created for sale.
Plan your Design Layout
If you want a certain stamped image to appear in a certain location, like the center of the bracelet, you should plan your design layout.
Depending on the length of leather bracelet you choose, you can plan the layout directly on the bracelet.
Or use the bracelet as a template to trace its shape on paper. Trace several, so you can practice. This is helpful when determining the spacing needed between individual letter stamps when stamping words or names.
Stamp your Design
Place the rubber stamp on the ink pad and press down so the stamp picks up the ink. Repeat several times. Use plenty of ink for a dark image.
Press the stamp firmly on the leather bracelet and hold for a few seconds. Then gently lift off the stamp.
To prevent smudging, allow the ink to dry before stamping the next image. It takes about 3-5 minutes for permanent ink to thoroughly dry, if you can wait that long.
Use plenty of ink for a dark image. Less ink makes for a nice contrast. Or use several different colors of the StazOn ink for your design.
Fixing Mistakes
StazOn ink is permanent. If you make a mistake, you can remove the image with StazOn All Purpose Cleaner. But be cautious, as this cleaner is a solvent and will also remove the dye on the leather bracelet.
When you are finished, use the cleaner to remove the dried ink on the rubber stamps.
Since the StazOn ink is permanent, there is no need to apply a sealer to the bracelet.
Another fast way to make a bracelet is to draw your own design on the leather using Sharpie permanent marking pens.
With ready-made leather bracelets, StazOn ink pads, and your favorite rubber stamps, you can start making your handmade holiday gifts now.
Amy
How to Make Leather Bracelets – Two Finishing Methods
August 12, 2013In this do-it-yourself jewelry-making tutorial, the bracelet blanks from last week’s blog post, “Customizing Tim Holtz idea-ology® Word Bands for a Handmade Look”, combine with Rings & Things’ new leather strips to make two styles of leather cuffs.
Leather Bracelet Style One – A Single-Wrap Bracelet with Drawstring Clasp:
“In the Moment Leather Cuff Bracelet”
You will need the following tools and supplies:
ruler
1/2″ wide leather strip
3mm suede lace
5-ply waxed linen cord
large-hole bead (hole size 4mm)
customized Tim Holtz idea-ology® word bands
Sharpie®, Extra Fine Point
Leather Bracelet Style Two – A Double-Wrap Bracelet with Hitch Clasp:
“The Journey Leather Wrap Bracelet”
You will need the following tools and supplies:
ruler
Sharpie®, Extra Fine Point
1/2″ wide leather strip
5-ply waxed linen cord
customized Tim Holtz idea-ology® word bands
Make things,
Mollie
I love hand-stamped metal jewelry and given the popularity of this jewelry trend, chances are you do too. Metal stamping takes a few tools, basic stamping instruction, and practice; and sometimes more practice. But even though metal stamping is fairly easy, turning Tim Holtz idea-ology® word bands into bracelet blanks is even easier. Plus who can resist the 12 inspirational quotes?
The following is a DIY tutorial for turning Tim Holtz idea-ology® word blanks into curved bracelet blanks for use in your mixed-media jewelry projects.
You will need these tools and supplies:
- chasing hammer
- 4″ square steel bench block
- nylon jaw bracelet bending pliers
- Tim Holtz idea-ology®, Word Bands
- Vintaj patina
- masking tape
- disposable work surface…or a reusable Non-Stick Craft Sheet
- paint brush
- damp paper towel or baby wipe
Tape the word band, script side up, to the steel block with masking tape. Repeatedly strike the word band with the pein side of the chasing hammer to add a hammered texture. Remove the word band from the steel block.
Use nylon-jaw, bracelet-bending pliers to turn the idea-ology word band into a curved bracelet blank. Place the flat blank lengthwise in the pliers’ jaw with the script side facing the concave half of the jaw. Gently squeeze the pliers. Reposition the blank and repeat until the word band is fully curved.
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For a splash of color, paint the idea-ology word band’s script with Vintaj patina. Use a paint brush to liberally apply the patina to the word band, making sure patina is applied into all the letter indentations. You can use a mix of patina colors, or a single color. Allow to air dry for a few minutes.
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Wipe the word band with a damp paper towel or baby wipe to remove the excess patina. As you wipe, be careful not to remove the color in the letter indentations. Allow the patina to fully dry.
Now your “stamped” bracelet blank is ready to adorn your choice of bracelet (or maybe you turned all 12 word bands into bracelet blanks). In the next Rings & Things Blog post (How to Make Leather Bracelets – Two Finishing Methods), I will share two ways to finish leather cuff bracelets using the customized word bands and our new colorful leather strips. oh, and “word” from Tim Holtz is we can look forward to new styles of word bands coming soon, “Word Bands Observation” and “Word Bands Christmas”.
Make things!
Mollie
Create a Hinged Metal Memory Journal
July 18, 2013Use a hinge to turn shrine-shaped metal blanks into a journal!
Slide tubing down the channel and finesse hinges as needed. Rivet tubing into place to finish the hinge. Open and close hinge to ensure a proper fit.
Carefully clean and polish the pendant before attaching the necklace chain.
Handmade jewelry looks great on a custom beaded necklace, on leather cording, silk ribbon or chain. I created a necklace by making individual links using the one-step looping plier, eye pins, metal beads and natural agates. The links were connected using jump rings.
How to Make a Lashed Chain & Leather Bracelet
July 2, 2013Lashed wrapped leather bracelets aren’t just popular because they look great — they’re also a hit because once you know a couple tricks to get started, they are an easy and fun DIY jewelry project to make! A great twist on this hugely popular style is to lash chain instead of beads to leather cord. Read on to make your own leather and chain wrap bracelets! Continue Reading…
Quick and Easy 1-Step Looper Tutorial
May 10, 2013I love jewelry with lots of sparkly adornment, but making simple jewelry loops can be tricky. Creating matching loops with the perfect shape requires skill and time. It’s little wonder the “1-Step Looper” is so popular — this magical tool makes consistent loops in one quick and easy step. In fact, the process is so quick, you might miss it if you blink. Continue Reading…
Gemstone and Leather Cuff Bracelet Tutorial
September 24, 2012How many times do you open up a magazine and see photographs of adventurer type models wearing simple, but chic leather jewelry? I see it quite often when I’m thumbing through the usual magazines at check out while I’m shopping. It’s easy to see why these types of bracelets are oh, so trendy. They’re simple, stackable and easy to customize! Plus leather is pretty durable if you’re like me – a little too hard on your jewelry.
I’m going to show you just how easy it is to make this bracelet in a few photographs!
How to do a Herringbone Wire Wrap
September 30, 2011Wire-wrapping has become my newest jewelry making addiction! I am always browsing the internet and looking for new inspiration and techniques that I have yet to master. My latest accomplishment was learning how to create the oh so complicated looking herring bone wrap. I have admired this style of wire wrapping for years but was always too intimidated to attempt it. A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to learn it. And guess what? It was really pretty easy! Now I will pass my knowledge on to you, fellow bloggers and bead addicts, so you too can feel that sweet satisfaction that comes from creating something new and beautiful! (not to mention the compliments you are sure to receive by your coworkers!)
Continue Reading…