If you are an avid crafter – here are two sales to enjoy!

Until 9am (PST) on Thursday, November 12, 2009, Artbeads.com is having it’s famous $1 day sale. There over a 1000 items being sold at $1. Beads, stringing supplies, charms, pendants, and findings.

Create For Less Virtual Craft Warehouse is having a huge EK Success sale for those people who love scrapbooking through 11/9/2009.

Making jewelry can be very easy. Sometimes we forget just how easy making them is! Here’s our newest video on how to make memory wire bracelets. It shows you step by step what is involved to making a great gift.

We intentionally kept in some of the gotchas that may happen so you will know it isn’t just you. These include having your memory wire get tangled with itself. Also it goes into details on how to close memory wire as that is the tricky piece.

For more jewelry making videos see: How to Make Jewelry

We hope you have fun creating great gifts!

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For those who want to start beading, ArtBeads, has great beading supplies.

I have found them to be the cheapest priced vendor for Griffon silk thread on the net when I have searched. Even cheaper than EBay. If you appreciate the convenience of having the needle already attached to the thread for beading, this is the place to go. (For beginners, it is really a nice way to start into crafting!)

So if you are wanting to find discount silk thread for beading, enjoy discovering ArtBeads. It is a great place to go for people who make jewelry.

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If you like beading, ArtBeads is having their dollar days sale!

Their dollar days sale has over 2000 items at $1.00. This includes a wide selection of beads, stringing material, findings and more. Save up to 60%!

I love the Griffin Silk cards for $1 — they usually are $1.25 each or more! As they have free shipping and a good selection – it really saves money.

The beading supplies sale ends at 9am (PDT) on Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

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If you love brooches but do not have the money to spend on diamond brooches and other jewel-encased pins, it doesn’t mean you have to go out unadorned. There are simple ways to make handcrafted brooches that rival the beauty of even the most expensive jewels. More often than not, what makes handcrafted brooches attractive is the effort that went into the making of it and the meaning attached to it.

Brooches can be made from all kinds of materials easily found in your local department store, or even at home. You can brooches out of wood, buttons, beads or even bottle caps. Following are three examples of giftable brooches that you can make yourself and a step-by-step guide on how to make them.

1. The Ruffle Button Brooch. This brooch can be a hip attachment to your coat, hat or bag and is very easy to make. All you need is a needle and thread, a piece of fabric (approximately 8″x8″), a button, a pin back and a hot iron. The first step in making this brooch is by cutting your fabric into a circle, after which you need to create a hem by folding the edges of the fabric and pressing it with the hot iron. Once you have the hem, you may start creating the ruffle by sewing baste stitches along the hem of the fabric. You may adjust the size of the ruffles according to your preference. After stitching, place the button at the center of the fabric and secure it with the needle and thread. It is now time to attach the pin back simply by sewing it onto the back of the fabric. Presto, you’re done!

2. Classic Beaded Brooch. All you need to make this inexpensive but attractive brooch are the following: brooch back, beads, beading wire, a large jump ring and your charm of choice. You may also need a pair of metal cutters and round-nosed pliers. These tools are easy enough to find and are also inexpensive. Now that you have what you need, its time to make your brooch. Cut your desired length of wire and secure the first bit by passing it through one of the holes in the brooch back and tying it tightly. Thread on beads as desired, then pass the wire through the next hole and secure. Repeat the process until you have secured the wire through all the holes of the brooch back. Now, to add the charm to your brooch — open the jump ring, insert the charm then hang the jump ring on a central wire at the back of the brooch. Squeeze and adjust the wire holding the beads together to create the desired effect.

3. Beaded Safety Pins. Probably the easiest handcrafted brooch to make, all you need for this accessory are a number of small safety pins (10-14 pieces), beads and one larger safety pin. Open a safety pin, slip beads onto it then close the pin and pinch the end with pliers to make sure that it does not pop open and spill the beads. Repeat this step with all the small safety pins and beads. Open the large safety pin and slightly part the coils at the end. Slip the loop of the small safety pins onto the large one, puling it around the loop to the other side. Once all the small safety pins are in place, squeeze the loop back with the pliers to close it. You now have a fun and hip accessory for your hats, shirts or shoes.

There are a lot more ways to create trendy handcrafted brooches without spending a fortune, and the three examples cited above can get you started. With practice, you can move on to other, more challenging designs. The book linked above has some great projects!

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Sometimes when making jewelry, one needs some inspiration. Here are a few of my newest designs (and some old standbys) that may inspire you to make your own. All were very fast to make as we know that the holidays are coming soon.

Bracelets

Here I fell in love with making memory wire bracelets. These are fun and fast to make. Memory wire bracelets take very little skill to create. Simply close the end, add beads, then close the other end. Very fast and easy to make. Wonderful gifts that are easy to make.

Pearl Set

This classic design seemed to be appreciated by all and was fairly inexpensive and easy to make. These are simply pearls beaded onto silk thread. I must admit that I didn’t knot when I made them to save time. See a video called: How to make pearl earrings to make these earrings for yourself.

Simple Beaded Necklaces

Sometimes you just feel like stringing gemstones for the fun of it. I just felt like making beaded gemstone necklaces. I had fun creating these. You too can make something too!

I hope these jewelry making ideas helped inspire you! I had lots of fun creating them. Have a great time making fast easy gifts

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If you plan to make jewelry for the holidays, now is the time to prepare. Making jewelry can really save you money. Handmade jewelry is often a personal gift the recipient really appreciates. Here are some things to consider:

Deciding Who

In order to not forget anyone, having a list of people you want to create gifts for really helps. You may change your mind later, but at least it will be a conscious decision. Sometimes you will make jewelry for some, cookies for others, and buy gifts for a few.

Deciding What

Earrings are usually the cheapest and the easiest to make as there are less materials needed. I can make earrings in less than 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can often buy sterling silver chains in bulk and simply add a pendant. Also, making a memory wire bracelet is relatively fast and fun. Being able to estimate the time your projetcs will take helps you know if you will have enough time to make them.

Setting Aside Time

As we get closer to holidays, time gets filled quickly. Putting time to make jewelry or other crafts on your schedule can make certain you have the needed time for your projects. I enjoy having jewelry making parties so all of us can make jewelry together.

Purchase Any Needed Supplies

Of course, now that you know the projects you want to do, make certain you have the supplies you need on hand. Running out of findings, beads or other materials can change your timetable. Often I make sure I have extra on hand to make a few last minute extra gifts.

Have LOTS of Fun Creating

I really enjoy making jewelry. Whether making jewelry with friends or while watching television, I always feel like I’ve accomplished something as well as made something beautiful. I also feel like I’ve saved lots of money which really helps our budget too!

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If you want to make a fabulous simple bracelet, try making a bangle bracelet with beads.

Usually when thinking of bead bracelets, one often thinks of silk or nylon thread with beads. Using memory wire makes a different fun look that is wonderful. My favorite bead bracelet is one my friend made me.

Making such a bracelet is easy. You just need memory wire, beads and pliers.

Two full loops of memory wire seems to be a perfect length of wire.

I enjoyed these big beads, but note that the large disks can sometimes be uncomfortable if typing. Still, I love wearing this and get compliments all the time.

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People who love jewelry and gemstones often want to show it off. We’d love to see it on a website or in a book. But how do you go about that?

Website Publishing

Getting your photos or designs on a website is easy. You can put them on your own Squidoo page (or any other free service) to just show them off or you can sell them on ShutterPoint. There are many such services, these are just a few ideas.

Getting Published in a Book

Getting photos or jewelry designs published in a printed book is more interesting. Often you don’t want to go through the effort of writing a whole book. Getting a few photos or designs would be plenty. If this is what you desire, you may want to submit gemstone & jewelry photos and get reimbursed by getting a free copy of the book at: Paid for Gemstone Jewelry Photos ; You can get PAID $150-$250 for earring designs that take 30 minute or less at: Paid For Earring Designs

The free jewelry publicity for any of these methods is wonderful. So publish your jewelry photos today.

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Jewelry is so personal and wonderful, that creating celebrity jewelry with style is a true art.    It is wonderful to see such beautiful jewelry that it inspires dreams. 

Here is the detailed article:

 Better TV: Celebrity Jewelry Maker – This one is a profile of jewelry  maker Rosena Sammi, a former lawyer, who takes the ornate styles of ancient India and creates modern, wearable pieces for present day. Her jewelry is favored by stars like Naomi Watts, Lindsay Lohan, …

I especially enjoyed her jewelry with positive affirmations in Sankrit for a way to keep a positive outlook on life.   The other jewelry was fabulous too!

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