New jewelry making class - corrugated mixed metal earrings

For those who have been patiently waiting for my next class, it's on the schedule!  Learn how to make these earrings at Gifts of Avalon, Monday, March 7, 6 to 8 PM.  Yes, you will be able to get these done in 2 hours.  For you curve buster types, maybe even two pairs.



The example here is done with sterling silver and brass, but copper can be used as well.












If you're a tool junkie, you'll love this class.













Best part - no experience is necessary and you don't need a concealed weapons license.  (Yeah, long story.)  Contact Gifts of Avalon directly to register.

How to make beaded hoop earrings

I know a lot of my blog readers are budding jewelry artists and are always on the look out for ideas. I caught this video the other day on how to make your own beaded hoop earrings. Oh my gosh, they turned out so cute! The video is a bit long (just under 10 minutes), but the woman teaching the technique takes her time talking you through all the steps. If anyone makes a pair of these, post a picture on the KMS Designs jewelry Facebook page!

Jewelry making mistakes

I don't think it's completely fair to put up all the pictures of my jewelry without showing you that I'm not perfect.  Two lessons that reared their ugly head this week:

You can't be too stingy with the glue when you're sealing your artwork.  This pendant was from a batch of scrabble tile pendants for Christmas.  I was running low on glue sealant and didn't go over the back of the papers as thick as I normally do.  I figured since I was gluing them to the scrabble tiles, it would be okay.  As you can see, the results were a disaster!  About half of that batch of pendants have "water marks" and can't be used.

I also found out that I can't look for bubbles too often.  Once I pour resin over the tiles, I go back over them and look for bubbles to remove.  (I use a combination of a heat gun and toothpick to get them out.)  Aargh!  I missed one on this pendant.  It's also headed to the scrap pile.




Overall, I feel good when everything goes well, but hate when I get to the end and don't have a salable piece of jewelry.

Jewelry making class - forged copper metal earrings

 My next class at Gifts of Avalon, Gainesville, Florida, is Monday, November 15 at 6 PM.  This is another brand new class, and I will be teaching students how to make copper earrings using metal forging techniques.








No experience is required, but of course is always helpful.  Students will learn to make earrings, like the ones shown here, in about two hours.  Anyone interested should contact Gifts of Avalon to register.

How to Make Jewels, Gems, Crystals, and Pendants

I found this easy to follow video on how to use resin to make your own gemstones and such. While I don't use this exact technique, viewers of the video can appreciate some of the ways jewelry makers can use resin to make jewelry.

Corrugated metal earrings - jewelry making class pictures

I taught another class this past Monday evening on how to make corrugated metal earrings.  Five of the six students had taken a class from me before, so it was fun for me to get a chance to catch up with everyone.


Students for this class got to make two different pair of earrings: one with sheet metal and one with wire.

(These are student Kathy's collection of future earrings from class.)

Everyone had some kind of metalsmithing and jewelry making experience, which helped to allow students to get both pairs made in the two hour class.










We had fun chatting it up too.  It was a great energy in the class.

A little concentration doesn't hurt either.

The general consensus was that making earrings this way is a lot of fun.  Almost everyone purchased extra metal to make a few extra earring pairs for friends and family.

 These are just a few of the finished projects everyone completed in about two hours. 

Chris made these earrings; a pair for her and a pair for her daughter.

 These are Jill's wire earrings.  She couldn't decide on the beads, so she made one of each.

Claudia also made a pair of each.  She admitted she was going to have to do this again. *smile*

A close up of Claudia's wire earrings with the beautiful denim lapis beads.

Cheryl made her wire earrings with brown goldstone.  

Cheryl's corrugated sheet earrings were also the "guinea pigs" for the tumbler.  













Linda decided she would rather have pendants than earrings.  Her four designs are shown here.







I don't know when I will be teaching this class again, but I know I will also be teaching an "intermediate" level metal corrugation and crimping class sometime in the near future. Check my class schedule to get the latest.

Jewelry making class pictures - making a metal brooch

I taught my forged wire brooch class at Gifts of Avalon in Gainesville (Florida) this past Monday night.  Once again, I had a dynamic group of students that was a quick learning bunch!

Students start by filing their pieces of sterling silver or copper wire they selected for their finished piece.  At far left is Chris (a perennial class attendee) and Brenda (center left).  Kathy (or at least half of her) is on the right side of the picture.









Derry was also new to my class.  She's filing her metal wire as well.

















In making their brooches, students learned how to use a draw plate.  This is Linda getting ready to use a pair of draw tongs to pull her wire through the draw plate.










Once everyone pulled their wire down to make the brooch stem, it was time to shape and form it.  Brenda used a hammer to give some of the curves of her brooch a flat edge.









Cheryl (another class newbie) used round nose pliers to form the end of her pin to be the pin catch.










And here's the best part -- finished projects!



Brenda's pin, to which she added some beads as she was forming it.












Derry's finished pin.

Cheryl's finished pin.  I couldn't believe how quickly Cheryl adapted to using the draw plate.  She told me she had never done this before.  Quick learner!

Chris' finished pin which she proudly wore.

A closeup of Chris' pin.

Kathy (another new one to my class) was the only one who made her pin out of copper.  My photography doesn't do it justice!  She finished it with a soft, satin sheen and attached an aquamarine bead to dangle from the middle.

Kathy's pin really looked great on her black blouse.

Linda was having some artistic challenges during class, but I hope to help her finish it at another time.  I shared with her that sometimes taking a piece that has bad karma and throwing it in the scrap pile can be very therapeutic.  *smile*

My next class is the first Monday in October.  Hope to see you there!

Pictures of my local bead shop

 I took my new silver earrings class examples by Gifts of Avalon, Gainesville, Florida, on Monday.  Since I know I have readers from all over the world, I thought it might be fun to post some pictures and hear comments about how this bead store is alike or different from yours.

They always have a large rack of books available for purchase.  The latest beading magazines are usually there too.










 There is a HUGE selection of beads!  Shoppers can purchase them as singles, strung, or as "hanks".











The glass counter here has the class examples for the upcoming months.  I'm not the only who teaches jewelry making there.  There are several other local jewelry artists who teach bead weaving, glass fusing and other metalsmithing techniques.







Gifts of Avalon also has a nice selection of semi precious stone beads.  There is a nice assortment of colors, shapes and sizes.











A closeup of of some turquoise, sugilite, jasper and coral beads.












How can you make beaded jewelry without metal findings?  Trick question!  This is a picture of some of the large trays of copper and bronze beads.  There are sterling silver beads for sale as well.









 Sometimes store owners, Trude Spillane and Rhonda Bergman, buy beads in bulk.  They will repackage them into smaller containers for sale at a bargain price.














Currently, Gifts of Avalon does sell beads and jewelry making items on their website.  There store has a lot of inventory, so I would even recommend you to call if you don't find what you're looking for on their jewelry store site. 

Does this look anything like your favorite bead shop?

Metal jewelry making class examples

I teach a jewelry making class at Gifts of Avalon, Gainesville, Florida, once monthly. My students are always pushing me to come up with new class ideas. For my class on October 4, I am showing students how to create a crimped pattern in both metal sheet and wire. The class examples are shown here.

No experience is necessary to take these classes.  Students only to need to pay the class fee.  A materials allowance is included with the class registration.










I teach students how to use the equipment we need for the project.  The store generally offers a discount to equipment purchases made on the day of the class.









I teach classes that don't require a torch.  There is so much to jewelry making that students can do without needing to use heat.












I also like to teach short, evening classes.  I think students have the best attention span that way and tend to get less frustrated.













Is there something you would like to see me teach?  I'm always open for suggestions.

Making resin jewelry bracelets, Part 7

(Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6 of the resin jewelry making process)

Now that I've got the individual pieces sanded and drilled, it's time to assemble and polish the pieces.



These are the bracelet links I'm going to use.  It's just a random, complimentary assortment of the links.











I line them up in the order that I like.  For the most part, it's random, but I try to make sure I don't have all the same paper patterns next to each other.  I try to mix it up.









 I thread my stretch plastic cord through the holes.  Remember how I was being so  particular about making sure the drilled holes were free of shavings?  This is why.  I can't thread the plastic through if anything is in the way.








I have the first set of holes threaded.  Now I go back and do the second set.











Once I have the cord strung through both sides, I tie a square knot into each piece.










After trimming the ends of the cord, I give the bracelet one last good shine with some wax. 













This is it!  Can you believe it's finally done?










So here's the question I need answered from fans and visitors:

After seeing the posts on how to make this bracelet and seeing the finished resin bracelet above, what would you expect to pay for a piece of art jewelry like this?