Jewelry making tools and materials

Work Space
Your work space doesn’t need to be very big. If you are anything like me, you’ll need more space to store your beads and bobbles than area to work in. I do most of my work on my home-office desk. I move my laptop aside and set up a work area. I lay down a large textured rubber placemat on my work surface. This prevents beads and pearls from rolling away as well as creates a well defined work area which prevents clutter. If I am using light colored beads I use a black placemat, and for dark beads I use a white placemat.

Tools
Wire work requires pliers. It takes some practice to learn how to use them properly and at the beginning, your hands may cramp every once in a while. Shown above left to right are: round nose pliers, wire cutter, and tapered-nose pliers with grooves. These are all useful for making loops and modifying chain lengths. Most pliers have rubber padded handles. Each of my tools has a different colored handle, that way I can easily spot it and grab for it when I need it.


Beads
Beloved beads! Oh, how I thee love!.. Yeah, well, I imagine that you too, since you are here reading this page, means you have been in someway or another enchanted by their beauty. I lay out my beads in sequence as to how I want them to be strung along the necklace or bracelet. It helps to place beads in a row or on a beading board, this way you can see that you have the correct amount, see the color combinations and try variations before you attach the beads together. Be experiemental, be bold, try randomly tossing them on your table and see what happens- you may create something you couldn’t ever plan out.


Findings & Components for Jewelry
In this photo you can probably only see some headpins. There are hundreds of kinds of findings each with a particular function. Headpins go through beads so you can make loops and attach them to fish hooks for earrings, or in this case to a chain as a charm. Crimp beads secure and hold the end of a beaded string. Clasps are available in many shapes and sizes. There are so many more types of findings… and they are available in all kinds of materials, like silver, gold, or silver and gold plated, pewter, even some in wood or plastic.


In summary
■ keep your work space well organized and uncluttered
■ use a surface that prevents beads from rolling away
■ experiment and have fun!
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