Beginner's Jewelry-Making

You, an artisan? Imagine that, creating metalwork, enameled or sculptured wire fantasies? Wearable art? 

It's true, many new students begin with the more demanding artisan skills, but you'll have a better chance at success if you begin simply. 

Lofty goals have their place but a complicated first-time project can be the road to easy frustration for a novice jewelry maker. Keep your grand ambitions, but start out with a few simple ideas in mind: Get used to working with your tools. Develop dexterity. Have a little fun.

Start with these simple projects for beginner's success that will give you a dash of confidence. You can grow into a true artisan from there.

Buy some cheap tools

Don't start out with expensive Swiss-made tools. If it turns out that jewelry making isn't for you, you'll be stuck with expensive toys. You can find basic jewelry making tools at a local craft shop or buy them online.

• Pliers
• Wire cutters
• Round nose pliers

Start with simple beaded earrings

Create simple earrings with a these few materials:

• Findings (the metal parts to construct your creation) 

• 2 head pins (looks like a straight pin with no point)

• A pair of ear wires- (wire pieces hooked at the top with a loop at the bottom.) 

• A few beads in a color you like 

• Tools: Pliers, Cutters, Round Nosed Pliers 

Assemble your earrings

Slip your beads onto your head pins. (Figure 2) Add two or three beads, if you like, arrange them until you like what you see; but make sure you have at least 3/8 inch of head pin remaining to create a loop on top.

• Use your cutters to clip away any excess wire.

• Use your pliers to bend the remaining headpin to a right angle. This gives you a good start for forming your loop. 

• To form a loop, grasp the tip of the headpin with your round-nosed pliers. (Figure 4) 

• Roll into the metal using a slight bit of pressure and a smooth, rolling wrist motion (like turning a car's ignition key.) (Figure 5) 

• Your completed loops won't be perfect, but you will get better with practice. 

• To finish your simple earrings (Figure 6), open the loop on the bottom of your ear wire. Slip your beaded headpin onto the open loop, then close it. (Figure 7) 

That's all there is to it. Now slip your simple earrings into your ears and wear them. When someone asks you where they came from. You can say, "I made them myself."

To add a bit of pizzazz to your simple earrings, you may wish to add metal trim beads in gold or silver or even brass or copper. Simply replace headpins with eye pins, a long piece of wire with a loop at the bottom.

Move up to a simple bracelets

Step up your artisan's tradition by creating simple bracelets almost as easily as your earrings. You will need the following supplies to make a basic beaded bracelet.

• Tiger tail, Beadalon or other coated beading wire 

• A clasp (shown here is a heart-shaped toggle clasp) 

• Beads and trim beads in your choice of colors 

• Crimp beads (Little metal tubes with ridges inside to hold things together.) 

Simple Bracelet Assembly

• Cut your beading wire (The average bracelet size is 7 inches but measure your own wrist and cut your wire with a few inches extra to work with) 

• Insert one end of beading wire through a crimp bead, then through the jump ring on the end of your clasp. 

• Loop it and back through the crimp bead (Figure 9) 

• Squeeze the crimp into place with a pair of pliers. If you like this method of stringing beads, you should buy crimp pliers, a tool made especially for closing crimp beads. 

• Add beads, separating each with a trim bead. (Figure 10) 

• After you've added enough beads to fit your wrist size, slip on a second crimp bead. 

• As you did at the beginning, slip the tiger tail through the crimp bead, then the jump ring on the other half of your clasp and back through the crimp. 

• Gently pull the loose wire end to tighten your arrangement and eliminate any bare wire spaces.

• Push the end of the wire through a few beads (See figure 11) 

• Clip off the remaining loose end of the wire. 

• Squeeze the second crimp into place. 

Simple Necklaces too!

For a beaded necklace, use the same techniques you used to make your bracelet. Bead shops offer a variety of trim beads and clasps to help you add details that reflect your own unique, creative personality. They also have bead boards to lay out your designs before you put them together.

As your confidence grows, you may choose to stretch your creative muscles by adding wire-work to your collection of techniques. Practice creating wire swirls to dangle for added creativity. Learn a few basic techniques to make earrings from scratch.

4 Tips for newbie jewelry-makers

1. Messing up is part of the process

You're learning a new skill, give yourself permission to mess up. Minimize the consequences by starting out with inexpensive tools, beads, and findings. When you do mess up, it won't be an expensive lesson

2. Practice, practice, practice

Your mother was right; practice makes perfect. Sort of. Perfection should not be your initial goal; but over time, practice will help you rise to your highest skill level.

3. Start inexpensively

Don't spend hundreds of dollars on supplies and books that end up stuffed in a drawer never to be seen again. Start with simple, basic supplies and tools. When you are certain, buy a few more. Don't go broke figuring out if jewelry-making is a craft you can stick with.

4. Set Aside Some Quiet Time

Of course, you're busy, but you are starting a new tradition. Find a quiet corner to work in between household tasks or wait until the kids are asleep. Most of all, enjoy your crafty self.


Written by Carol, The Nice Lady
Revised from her 2008 article published by Yahoo