Here is a book that I can whole-heartedly recommend to beginners who want to make great looking jewelry, and want it FAST!
Chain Style
by Jane Dickerson
There’s nothing like adding chain to your design, or even designing an entire piece around chain, to make the design work up quickly. Chain is an excellent material for both beginners and those with advanced skills, because the complexity of your projects is only limited by experience and imagination.
The techniques and materials section is minimal but sufficient.  Largely this is because the projects are all so accessible.  There are 50 designs to inspire you, many …read more

Technique Tuesday!
I made this multi-strand necklace for my friend Sherry. She wanted something that celebrated the fourth day of Creation, and she wanted me to make it for her! I was thrilled and flattered. Sherry is just about the perfect person to work for on a commission such as this: She knows the general style, weight, colors, and images that she wants, but she never crosses the line into micro-managing.
Her necklace became a three-strand affair, but still ended up relatively lightweight. I used a bead embroidered centerpiece, chosing a lovely fused glass bead made by my friend Jeanne Kent (New …read more

Technique Tuesday!
Back in the beginning of September, Mike and I went away for a long weekend with our friends Beth and Dan.  Both couples were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversaries, so we thought it might be a hoot to take a joint vacation.  The only thing was, Beth and Dan’s daughter was getting married the very next weekend!  So to assuage our guilt over not being around to help that weekend, we found a pretty rock on the beach (in Maine), and I wire wrapped it for Beth to wear to the wedding!

See, we were working on the details after …read more

Contemporary Copper Jewelry
by Sharilyn Miller
I love Sharilyn Miller’s work. Primarily known as a wire jewelry artist, Sharilyn also works in many other media. She was the original editor of Belle Armoire magazine, which I adore. This new book contains a great techniques section, followed by page after page of Sharilyn’s one-of-a-kind designs. The best feature of this book is the photography. There are a gazillion photos, one for each major step in the process of creating your own wire and metal pieces.
Several other designers have contributed projects to this book. I love many of them, a few I’m not so …read more

Paul Bishop had so much news that I had to split his answer into two parts!  It’s really not his fault: fact is, he is responding to two different Questions of the Month, and it was all good stuff that I felt I needed to share
Here are the pieces that Paul felt were the best things he made this summer, and an explanation of why the second piece is so special.  Remember as you read this, Paul works on his jewelry business part time.
Tigress
The design uses 12, 6 and 4 mm tiger-eye rounds, with pewter bead caps,
silver-plated findings …read more

Tara P, lucky number 50, is the winner of the new book  101 Wire Earrings!  Tara wrote:
Ooh!  I am a beginner and would love to learn more about wire-working and earrings are perfect chances to practice!

There are brands of beading wire available that fit just about every budget, but you’ll find that if I specify a brand, it is usually SoftFlex.  They don’t pay me to do it, so why?  Because it’s the best quality beading wire you’re going to find out there.  It’s also more expensive, but when you spend the amount of time making a piece that most of us do, it’s worth it to use the best.
I knew that it had the softest drape of any wire, but that it was also the strongest…how can that be?  A few weeks ago, Sara …read more

Oh good!  Another beautiful wire jewelry book to review and give away to a lucky reader!

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine, and she has written 101 Wire Earrings, Step-by-Step Projects and Techniques.  The first part of the books covers the basics of wire, the tools, and all the techniques you’ll need to make all of the projects in the book.  This section is excellent, with clear photos and well-written instructions.
The main part of the book is devoted to the projects.  Each of the 101 earring designs has a photo, a list of all tools …read more

Technique Tuesday!
Yesterday I showed you the necklace that I made using the copper findings and beads that I received from Auntie’s Beads.

You’ll need copper colored wire, some stone rounds and chips (I used turquoise and coral), and lots of cool copper stuff!
Step by step instructions
Materials:
Copper colored wire (20 gauge)
Turquoise and coral rounds, 4mm and 6mm
Turquoise and coral chips
Copper colored or red beading wire
Copper chain, hook, crimps, jump rings, and head pins
Copper round bead, floral patterned, 7mm
Copper 2mm rounds, daisy spacers, bead caps, and hammered round links
Tools:
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters
File
Measuring tape

After making numerous bead-embroidered necklaces, I was looking for a change of technique. Freeform peyote, netting, and brick stitch appeal to me, but I still wanted some sort of support for the work. Heavy gauge sterling silver wire makes an excellent armature to work around. My inspiration for this piece came from Lynda Musante’s lovely book, Exquisite Beaded Jewelry. Lynda shows how to make a bracelet using wire links as a base. My piece uses a single strand of wire instead, but the look is very similar, so I would be remiss in not acknowledging her inspiration!

Materials:
40 inches 14 …read more