resq-girl asked:

How to Make Jewelry

the most important tools in my opinion are as follows…
2 pair of needle nose pliers, both small hopefully one is even smaller. wirecutters, tiny ones! a crimper…good lord i made things off and on for 25 yrs. before i even knew such an animal existed! a good pair of scissors.
o.k. … now then, my favorite place to buy my beads are the “gem shows”…not, i repeat, not..the bead shows. gem shows offer bigger choices and more competitive
pricing. don’t forget, you can haggle with the sellers here!
after shopping around you can also get a sense of who has the best deal on sterling silver findings.
MAJOR HINT : there is usually a wholesalers room in the back or off to the side, don’t let that fool you, anyone can shop there!!!
besides that i buy what i call my “fillers” at my local bead shop, different beads and what-nots i didn’t pick up the show. also i can pick up my string/wire for beading there.
don’t know of any specific web sites, i am sure there must be a gazillion of them out there….GOOGLE IT !!!!!

It sounds like you want to try a lot of different things, but the tools you would need will differ depending on which direction you go. I’d check out a magazine like BeadStyle and see what kind of projects interest you.

That said, no matter what, you’re still likely to need a bead board, a few pairs of pliers (needle-nosed, nylon jaw, etc.), and wire cutters. Other than that, though, it depends. Other than some good pliers, though, most everything else is icing… nice to have, but you can get along without them.

I totally understand what you’re going through. I’m still there, really. I sold some of my old gold jewelry to make money to buy supplies and now I have tons of beads, hemp twine, wire, etc. and still don’t know what to do with it. My suggestion would be to start out with a jewelry making kit in whatever medium you like be it hemp knotted jewelry (which is what I love), micro-macrame, loom beading, or traditional wire jewelry. The kits don’t usually have the highest quality tools in them if they’re included at all, but they’ll give you instruct you on the basics and give you a good idea whether or not you truly like making jewelry. If your chosen kits don’t have tools, I suggest buying an inexpensive tool set that comes with all the basics (crimper, round nose plier, chain nose plier, etc.) because trust me, if you make jewelry with any kind of wire at all, you’ll need them. For hemp jewelry, you shouldn’t - instead, find macrame supplies like T-pins, a macrame board, crow beads or wooden beads with larger holes, and hemp twine (or silk or nylon #18 C-lon bead cord if that interests you). I had a heck of a time figuring out which nylon cord to use. I ended up buying nylon cord that ended up obviously being for loom beading and not knotting (size D is for loom beading, #18 is for knotting). I tried asking someone on Etsy.com, but was pretty much blown off and told “you don’t tell your secrets, do you? I’m not telling mine.” To be honest, I do tell my secrets because they aren’t really secrets… it’s a matter of helping out a fellow crafter. /shrug Anyway…
(instructions, a few projects, and lists of online suppliers)
(an online supplier - may have some kits you can try)
(same as above)
(for hemp twine)
(offers lots of different things for micro-macrame and knotted jewelry including macrame board, t-pins, nylon and silk cord, and end caps)

And finally… (I’ve purchased a LOT of beads from them. I’d suggest waiting until you know you’re going to need a lot of supplies since they give discounts based on number of items you order. The way I did it was to scour their clearance and sale beads and added those as well as the more inexpensive beads like crow glass beads or seed beads for looming. That way, I’m not spending much money on each individual item, but I’m ensuring I’ll get the discount for 50+ items which is pretty substantial and worth trying for unless you’re only buying 1-2 things)

GOODLUCK TO YOU AND LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES…. ;O)

Viola Lee Blues asked: how to make jewelry

To make the colors on a tie-dyed shirt less likely to run, follow the instructions closely. That’s why they’re there, after all. A vinegar bath also helps colors set better. Let them soak in somewhat-diluted vinegar for an hour or so, then let them dry. Then wash them the first time.

The beads for hemp bracelets can be made from Sculpey, Fimo, Premo, or any other polymer clay. Again, follow the instructions on the package for baking times and temps. Beads can be baked on heavy needles or thin metal skewers. Be sure the hole is a little larger than the implement, in case of slight shrinkage while baking.

You can either make beads yourself or buy wooden ones at craft stores. That’s what I do. They’re pretty cheap. You can also collect pretty rocks and learn how to wire wrap them. They make nice pendants on necklaces.