Jewelry making is a craft form that has been around for thousands of years. It is a form of personal adornment, manifesting itself as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewelry has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings and many more types of jewelry. While traditional jewelry is usually made with gemstones and precious metals, such as silver and gold, there is also a growing demand for art jewelry where design and creativity is prized above material value. In addition, there is the less costly costume jewelry, made from lower value materials and often mass-produced. Other variations include wire sculpture (wrap) jewelry, using anything from base metal wire with rock tumbled stone to precious metals and precious gemstones. As the evolution of jewelry making has grown, so has the availailty of jewelry craft supplies.

Wire/Stringing Material

• Plastic beads - beads in a variety of shapes and sizes from molded plastic. This category covers inexpensive perler and pony beads for kids, as well as fashionable and interesting pendants for costume jewelry.

Tools

• Wire looping pliers - top jaw has three tiers designed specifically for forming three loop sizes. Lower jaw is concave and fits over the looping jaw to allow for easy bending.

Jewelry Making Techniques

Sometimes, just having simple jewelry craft supplies is enough and it is all about proper technique. Here are a few jewelry craft supplies that can help achieve a custom and one of a kind piece:

Wire Wrapping

Use wire as a decorative element in your jewelry. Wrap it around your pliers to make spirals and shapes. Create kinks and angles in the wire by gripping the wire tightly with a pair of needle nose pliers and bending it. Wire can be wrapped around itself or other objects for creative jewelry. Use a wire wrapping technique to create a unique pendant out of an ordinary object.

Beading

String beads in any order you wish. Create knots to keep them in place. Beads come in all shapes and sizes and can be made out of many different materials

Macrome

Use hemp, rope, or embroidery floss to create beautiful knotted jewelry. There are many different knots available for a unique look. You can easily add a bead stringing it onto one strand, and then continuing the knot.

Chain Jewelry

Purchase a chain as is and add pendants with jump rings for a handmade charm bracelet or necklace.

Projects Using Jewelry Making