Handmade Jewelry-Making Basics – What is a Crimp?
Good crimping practices and quality crimps play an important part in jewelry design, but many designers minimize the roles these components play in favor of the more visible components.
What is a jewelry finding?
In jewelry terms, a "finding" is a component of jewelry less than a finished piece.
What is a jewelry crimp?
A jewelry crimp is a jewelry finding pinched or pressed together with the purpose of holding findings onto a jewelry piece or fixing beads in place. Crimp tubes, crimp beads, crimp-on eyes and crimp-on hooks are four forms of jewelry crimps commonly used.
Jewelry beads are spheres with the hole cut through. When they are flattened, they usually form an hourglass shape. Crimp tubes have a uniform diameter and flatten into rectangles. Twisted crimp tubes have a spiral pattern cut into the tubes that might add patterns to the crimp, but they still flatten into rectangles. Crimp-on hooks and crimp-on eyes have either a hook shape or an "eye" (a closed loop) attached to a tube made of heavier gauge metal.
Handmade Jewelry-Making Basics – What is a Pearl Clasp
Come up to speed faster as a jewelry designer when using correct terminology for different jewelry-making components. Locate the right findings faster, converse with suppliers intelligently and boost your credibility in the jewelry making marketplace.
What are Jewelry Findings?
A jewelry components less than finished pieces are called "jewelry findings" or just "findings".
Jewelry Making Tools for Creating the Perfect Jewelry
Making jewelry can be daunting but also creatively rewarding. Antique pieces are all the rave, but they’re expensive to buy and can be impossible to fix. Nothing claims style more than a unique piece of jewelry, and often the best way to achieve this is to make it yourself. But where to begin? To make jewelry, you must have the required set of tools.
Some of the basic tools a beginning jewelry maker needs might be found with a simple scan through the garage. Round nose pliers are an essential, as well as a necessity around the household, so locating a pair of those shouldn’t be too difficult. However for other tools and supplies such as a flush cutter (pair of pliers with a diagonal cut intended for cutting wire, these too might be easily found in a tool box), chain nose pliers (these pliers are specific to jewelry making, and are used to make loops in wire), an acrylic jig (a wire form jig with removable pegs used to make patterns for wire curvature), and free time.
Depending on which type of jewelry creation you may want to make: necklaces, ear rings, rings, or broaches, additional tools might also be helpful, as well as required. With rings, for example, a ring sizer/bender, ring clamp, ring cutter, and ring mandrels are tools vital for a successful outcome. Then the fun part, adorning the jewelry with beads in different colors and sizes.
Jewelry making tools have other functions also, which includes self-jewelry repair. Some fixes are simple enough to do at home, and the do-it-yourself-approach as always, is another fantastic way to save money as well as time.
You can get more information on jewelry making tools and jewelry supplies by visiting ExceltaHobby.com.
Where To Find Jewelry Making Supplies
If you want to make your own jewelry at home as a hobby, you need to find your own jewelry making supplies online so you can put together the trinkets you want without spending a lot of money. Handmade jewelry is the most beautiful you can own because it's made by a caring person - and it's a piece of art. Luckily, jewelry making supplies are easy to find on the Internet.
Simply do a search for "jewelry making supplies" and you should come across tons of sites that sell exactly what you need for low prices. In fact, if you're into making handmade jewelry, you'll have more choice than you'd expect, and will need to take some time sifting through the different stores and their wares.
It's easy and inexpensive to make handmade jewelry at home, and it can be a lot of fun if you like to get creative. It makes a great gift for yourself or family and friends, and you can even turn your hobby into another form of income by selling your handmade jewelry online or locally.
By getting your hands on the right jewelry making supplies from the beginning, it's possible to put together some items that will last for years, especially if you find amazing, high-quality jewelry-making kits.
If you visit craft supplies sites you can get more than just materials for your creations. You can find kits that help you with patterns and to design ideas. You should also purchase a book on making beaded jewelry to help you along the way. It's easy to find books on the topic because craft supply stores have tons of them for sale on a regular basis.
Learn some of the terminology before you get into making beaded jewelry as well. Learn about where you can find clasps, metal rings, and earring posts. Making silver jewelry is a particular subject you may want to familiarize yourself with if you're going to get into the hobby of making jewelry at home. Silver necklaces and other accoutrements can make amazing gifts and keepsakes for those you love.
Other supplies you may need, in addition to the actual beads for the jewelry, include tools, pliers, glue, clasps, and other items such as containers to hold the various supplies, and bead boards to stay organized.
If you look in both online and local stores you should be able to find exactly what you're looking for, as far as supplies are concerned. Compare prices to find the best deals, and browse as many stores and items as possible.
When you purchase kits, the whole process from start to finish will be much easier. You won't have to worry about forgetting supplies, and most kits are fairly reasonably priced. Also, the kits are available for a wide range of different jewelry-making, so you won't run out of ideas to try. If you're buying online, don't forget to factor the cost of shipping into the price calculations.
To learn more about Making Jewelry at Home, check out the Jewelry Making HQ Web Site.
Jewelry Making for Fun and Profit
There is an old adage that says work isn't really work if you enjoy what you're doing. If one of your hobbies is jewelry making, why not turn this activity into a source of income? You're already having fun anyway, and it wouldn't take a whole lot more to share your jewelry creations with people who would appreciate them and be more than happy to pay for them. With a bit of extra effort, time management and discipline, jewelry making is a great way to have fun and make a bit of extra money on the side.
Whether you're a novice about to enter the jewelry making field for the first time or whether you've been doing this for some time now, there are always several basic factors to consider. First, it's important to have an adequate amount of space where you can work unbothered for a certain length of time each day and where you can store your jewelry making materials and tools. It doesn't have to be a large space, just a corner or room where you can concentrate on bringing your ideas to life and be free from undue distractions.
Second, if you haven't already, decide on the kind of jewelry you are going to make. If you're just getting your feet wet in the jewelry making arena, start out with something simple. Think about what type of jewelry you'd enjoy and feel comfortable wearing and go on from there. Whatever materials you might need are readily available either on the Internet or in a physical retail store. Then, as you become more adept at what you're doing, you can start exploring other, more complex jewelry making techniques. Remember, there is a plethora of information resources to help you make money from your hobby: books, specialty magazines, the Internet, and other jewelry makers.
After you've made a number of jewelry items, there are steps you can take to get other people interested in them. Be a walking advertisement for your jewelry making business. Wear some of your creations whenever you go out: wear them to work, when you go to the supermarket, or when you attend parties. Word of mouth is also a great way to let other people know about your jewelry making endeavor. Show some of your finished pieces to family and friends, and encourage them to spread the word.
The important thing to remember is that you continue to enjoy making jewelry and to take pride in your creations. Your love for jewelry making will be the key factor in maintaining your creativity level and it will help you come up with the designs that appreciative customers will buy. Never forget the 'fun' factor in jewelry making, as this will be reflected in your work, and the 'profit' factor will follow.
Sam Serio is a musician, a writer, and Dad. For more on jewelry and gemstones, visit MORNINGLIGHTJEWELRY to get your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com.
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