These are examples of hand crafted jewelleries. For the beginner, I know what will be running through your mind now is ' how the heck am I supposed to get this done?
I do not wish to keep you in suspense for too long, so let's go...
For a Beginner the most intimidating step in jewelry making is to begin. The obvious first question is what do I need to know. In the following posts I will try to show the basic skills that are necessary. These skills will include how to cut the wire, how to bend wire, how to make a loop, how to open and close loops, how to insert the bead, how to make connectors, how to make earrings with or without a bead....
HOW TO CUT WIRE
The wire cutters that is mostly used are called "Flush Cutters". Flush cutters are specifically designed for jewelry and wire work to make a cut that leaves one side of the cut wire relatively flat or flush and the other side relatively sharp. The cutters are designed to be used with the flat side of the cutters perpendicular to the wire to be cut and the beveled side of the cutters provides the sharp edge necessary to cut. Try cutting a piece of wire and see the two cut ends to understand this better.
- Always hold both ends of the wire as you cut it. When the cut is made, the loose end of the wire tends to fly. It can be a hazard to your eyes and it can be a hazard to your back as you crawl around on the floor trying to find the wire and pick it up. Wearing safety glasses when jewelry making is often recommended, but it is safer still to make sure the loose end of the wire does not become a hazard.
- A good habit to have, is when you are cutting wire from a coil , cut it so that the flat side of the cut remains on the coil of wire. This way the shorter wire segment that you work with will always have one sharp end and one flat end.
- Flush cutters can be sharp and may not be suitable for young children. Jewelry making is probably not appropriate for young children.
