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Education Station

Expand your creative powers with this encyclopedia of beads, jewelry-making and crafts information! You'll find how-to videos, techniques, tips, glossaries, charts, and more.

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Techniques & How-To Tips Jewelry Basics 101 (PDF) provides tutorials on how to make wire loops, open and securely close jump rings, use crimps, successfully string necklaces, choose the best finishing methods, and more. If you're new to making jewelry, or want to brush up on your techniques, Jewelry Basics 101 will give you the tools and confidence you need! How to Make Earrings (PDF) shows you how to use earring hooks, posts, and hoops to make earrings. Wire Jewelry 101 explains tips and terms you need to choose the right jewelry making wire. Learn about gauges, shapes, metals, & hardness. Find tutorials, projects, & supplies too. Leather 101 offers tutorials, techniques, and projects for working with leather strips (aka straps), leather snap bracelets, and leather cord — including popular lashed wrap bracelets! Metal Etching 101 provides the basics you need to make DIY metal etched jewelry. Learn how to choose your metals, etchants, and resists, plus find full tutorials and projects. Riveting 101 shows you the difference between compression (2-part) rivets, nail-head rivets, semi-tubular rivets, and wire rivets, with how-to videos and links to projects and blogs! Metal Stamping 101 takes you through the basic tools you need, plus the basic process to create your own stamped metal charms and pendants. Patina 101 (PDF) explains how to use liver of sulfur potash, XL Gel, Win-Ox™, & Novacan Black to oxidize (patinate) jewelry. Soldering 101 explains the difference between soft solder and hard solder, plus shows you various soldering jewelry projects, and links to soldering supplies. DIY No-Solder Bezels (PDF) teaches how to make bezels & frame pendants without soldering. Metal Clay 101 explains what metal clay is, how to use it, and details about working with Art Clay™ Silver (ACS), Precious Metal Clay (PMC), BRONZclay™, and COPPRclay™. Image Transfer 101 (PDF) gives you a step-by-step tutorial on how to transfer images with ITS™ Image Transfer Solution... which sadly, no longer exists. We hear that the Mod Podge version works pretty well too, we just haven't tried it.        Gluing Metal Findings (PDF) offers tips on choosing the right craft glue for making or repairing jewelry. About Polymer Clay offers you tips and hints on how to work with polymer clay. Plus, find differences between brands. Epoxy Resin 101 (PDF) gives you the basics for how to make jewelry with epoxy resin, including EasyCast and SuperClear. EasyCast Resin Jewelry (PDF) is a free book you can download and print. It covers resin casting, embedding objects, making faux gems, and more.

Jewelry Inspirations Our Design Gallery is where you'll find 100's of free jewelry projects, from simple stringing to metalworking and more. Cause Ribbon Colors Find the color symbolism for different awareness causes. Use with cause ribbon charms. Birthstone Chart Find gemstones for every month, plus the best colors of Swarovski crystals for making birthstone jewelry. Bonus: stones and colors for Zodiac signs and Chakras, too! Jewelry-Making Helpmates Gauges, Measurements, & Terms answers Q's like "what are findings" & "what is a gross." Plus, find the AWG wire gauge chart, inch to mm conversions, more. Bead Shapes Glossary Get definitions & images of over 135 bead shapes, including also known as names (aka's). Gemstone Beads Index Learn origins and uses of over 325 semi precious gemstones, including composition, metaphysical properties, more. About Metals & Platings answers questions including "what are base metals," "what is white metal," and "what's the difference between gold plate & gold fill." Compare metal colors and find info about lead in jewelry and nickel allergies. Bead Stringing Guide helps you choose the right cord, the right clasp, and the right finishing method when you're making necklaces and bracelets. Working with Colors offers you tips about color and light, definitions of basic color terms, and how to choose the best metals to complement different colors. How-To Videos Watch jewelry-making videos on Rings & Things' YouTube Channel. Organizations Bead Societies, Art Guilds, & Jeweler's Guilds Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) Bead Museums & Research Centers Inland Northwest Bead & Jewelry Resources