Make a hot handmade clasp!

I love to add hand made details to my jewelry pieces. Whether you're making, buying or giving jewelry, the special touch of a beautifully crafted clasp really stands out. Here's a quick tutorial if you'd like to try one yourself.

1. I like to use 16 gauge all soft wire to make my clasps. Start out with a 2" piece of wire. Straighten and clean with steel wool if necessary.

2. Make a loop at each end. One loop should be slightly smaller than the other. Use simple round nose pliers for this step.

3. Bend the wire over either bailing pliers or the large base of round nose pliers. (You can even use a sharpie marker as a mandrel here!) Make the bend slightly off center, closer to the smaller loop.

4. Use a bench block and dapping hammer to add detail and work harden the clasp. This is where you can really add some personality.

5. Voila! You're so awesome!!

Get yourself a coil of copper wire for practicing and give it a try. It's much easier than you might think. Happy jewelry making!

Jane

http://mjanedesigns.com

Creative Connection

Quick blog post here with some exciting news! I'm going to be a vendor at the Creative Connection event in St.Paul, Minnesota next month! Really looking forward to being a part of what will be an amazing conference. Also, double fun, one of my BFFs is flying in from PA to help me out! Lots and lots to make between now and then as well as many logistics to figure out. I'll share more I promise. In the meantime, here's a link to their website. Check out all the amazing women that will be speaking and teaching! : ) Jane

The Creative Connection Event

mjanedesigns.com

Bead Soup!

I'm really excited to be a participant in the very talented Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. If you haven't heard of it, here's the scoop. Lori pairs jewelry makers from around the country and the world, they swap beads with their Bead Soup partner, and then make something with the beads they've received. On the day of the Blog Party everyone posts pictures of what they've created. The idea is to meet other jewelry designers and stretch your creativity using components you might not have chosen yourself. It's also an opportunity to discover new blogs and see what others have done with their Bead Soup components. (I'm sure I'll have many, "Hey! why didn't I think of that?" moments.) This Soup has 362 participants!!! That's a lot of pairing and organizing Lori! My partner is Geneva Collins and her blog is called Torque Story. Can't wait to see what she sends.

We're not allowed to show what WE sent yet, but here's a little tease of what I shipped to Geneva.

It's really nerve racking to figure out what to send. Sort of like dressing for a first date. What should I send? Fancy? Casual? How much? Will she like it? Is it enough? Too much? I guess that's part of the experience too. The exercise really forces you to look at your bead stash from a different point of view. As in, "Why do I have so many green beads? I'm kind of in a color rut..."

Look for pictures of my beads from my partner very soon! I know they'll be wonderful.

More Vacation Photos

Just downloaded more pics from my trip. It was so nice to be on vacation and be able to take the time to see the great images all around. These are from a trip to the mall with my girls & a night out on Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC. Love the fountains!

Leaflet Board

Fountain Boy Sitting

Fountain Boy Closeup

Fountain Boy Backside

Store Window Display

Molly skipping

Ice Cream on Franklin St

Stairway View

Pizza Place

Plane Back to Denver

 

More Vacation Jewelry Making - Shot on my Mom's cutting board!

www.mjanedesigns.com

Vacation Photos

This post is at least 2 weeks overdue, but since we got back from our east coast summer trip it's been nonstop at my house. So here's the "better late than never" vacation photo post!  I take plenty of family snapshots too of course and I treasure those memories, but these "artsy" photos are my little piece of zen. Enjoy!

Jack in my Dad's MG

Highway Redemption

Awesome old comic rack

Good to know...

Gator teeth & a storm coming

Marooned Mermaid

If only it were that easy

Pier

Vacation Jewelry Making

www.mjanedesigns.com

Vacation Jewelry Making

Good news: I'm on vacation on the beautiful coast of NC. Yea! Bad news: I have a 2 day show the week I get back and I'm low on inventory. Ouch! Gotta squeeze some jewelry making into my trip. What to take? What to carry it in? I can get myself and 3 kids packed up without breaking much of a sweat. But pack up my jewelry making supplies? I was breaking out in hives!

To carry my supplies, I ended up using a travel organizer toiletry bag that I already had. It's sturdy and is big enough and has enough pockets  to give me room and organization. I brought a set of letter stamps and a few design stamps: No wonder that these were checked by the TSA, huh? They look a little suspicious!

Stamps

Assorted Pliers and Cutters

 

Blanks and Dapping Block

Cleaning, Polishing and Buffing Cloths

Beads and Stones

Wire - of course!

Components Pre-made at Home

Findings

Guess what I forgot? Clasps! Hard to finish any jewelry without them. Luckily, Raleigh NC has a great store for beads and jewelry making supplies called Ornamentea. Great excuse to make a creative supply pit stop!

Ladybug, ladybug

Every July we trek to the garden center for annuals and end up getting talked into adding ladybugs to the cart. (Actually, I love this and it doesn't take much convincing.) They come in a plastic tub that is generically marked "ladybugs".

You are supposed to wait until dusk to let them out, which only adds to the kids anticipation. You release them, along with the food in their container, near low plants and hope that they will make your garden their new home. In the process, the ladybugs crawl and fly onto everyone.

 I don't know if they make the garden grow... but they grow some good summer memories.

www.mjanedesigns.com