Guide to Making Jewelry
Jewelry for Fun and Profit
Looking for fun and profitable project to do at home? Consider making jewelry—fun and beautiful items that you can sell to friends and relatives. Give as souvenirs on weddings and birthdays or even sell through online sites like eBay. Making jewelry requires a minimal capital depending on the materials that you will use.
To start you’ll need a small amount of money and perhaps a little extra to add presentation on your jewelry like maybe small boxes or small pouch.
The tools you need to make your jewelry include round nose pliers for making loops, flush cutter for cutting wires and ruler for measuring wires. These are enough for beginners. You can find these tools at your local craft store.
Now we go to the materials. You will need jewelry wire; this can be brass, copper, silver, gold, silver-plated, gold-plated or gold-filled wire. Beads, these are decorative stuffs made from different materials that in general have a hole used for holding the bead in position in your jewelry. These can be made of glass, plastic, wood, stone, metal and semi-precious or precious materials. You also need findings like clasps, head pins, ear wires, jump rings, and others. There are many other findings but these are the most necessary for beginners.
You also need to know some basic skills in jewelry making like cutting wire, bending wire, straightening wire, making loop, opening and closing loop, connecting materials to make simple bracelets or earrings. These are the basic skills for starters. If you can accomplish these skills you will be able to make some jewelry pieces from simple to complex design.
You can also use other materials of your choice all you need is a touch of creativity and some jewelry skills. Enjoy!
A few things to remember before starting to work on your jewelry:
1. Organize your work space. Make sure it’s clean and well lit.
2. Make a sample first before producing large quantities to avoid wasting your time and money.
3. Take photographs of each sample and make a portfolio or catalogue.
4. Be patient and love what you’re doing.
Good luck !
