Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

Tutorial how to make a Christmas Necklace

How to make a Christmas Necklace Tutorial
Edited by JPwithLove  Brought to you by Shadow Jewels

This sweet necklace cna be made with any kind of beads, chain and connector. The possible combinations are endless and easy to make. Stringing the beads on metal pins makes a very sturdy rosary style necklace that will last a lifetime. For this necklace I am using some vintage West German 8 mm pressed glass bead and brass findings.

Difficulty level: Beginner / easy



What do you need for this project?
Tools and supplies

round nose pliers
flat or chain nose pliers
shears or wire cutters
jump ring tool (looks like a ring)
seven 8mm beads more if you use smaller beads
ten 4mm jump rings
about 12 inches of chain 
7 eye pins
clasp
 One bird connector
one lobster clasp
one 7 or 8 mm jump ring for clasp



Use round nose pliers to make a loops

Place a bead on one of the eye pins. Using your shears or wire cutters, clip off the end of the pin leaving about 1/4 inch sticking out



Using the flat nose pliers, bend the sticking out part of the pin are right angles, getting as close as possible to the bead.
Grasp the beaded pin by the eye(loop) with your left hand. Using the round nose pliers in your right hand, twist your wrist to curl the sticking out part of the pin to make an eye.
This is not difficult, but it takes practice. Make several before you start, so you feel comfortable doing it.
You can cut the pin to remove the bead and start over if needed.
Your goal is to make an eye that looks like the first one - same size, same orientation and closed completely. Use the flat nose pliers to straighten and tighten your eye loop. Repeat until you all 7 beads are on their pins.

Now we are going to hook all of the beads together in a rosary style chain using the 4mm jump rings
Using your left hand, hold a jump ring firmly with your flat nose pliers. Using the jump ring tool on your right hand twist your wrist to open jump ring. Add 2 or your beaded pins. Twist your wrist to close the jump ring, making sure the ends line up tightly.
Twist back and forth to line up the ends of the jump ring if you need to.


Continue this process until all of your beaded pins are hooked together in a chain.
Using a ruler, measure your beaded chain. You should have about 5 or 6 inches. If your beads are small, you will need more of them to make a chain this long, or less beads if they are larger.
Now the hard part - you need to do the math . I want my necklace to be 18 inches long. Subtract the length of your beaded chain from 18, and that tells me i need 12 inches of chain, or 6 inches on each side.


Hook the bird connector to one end of your beaded chain with jump ring.

Hook the chain piese to each side of your beaded lenght using the jump rings.
Measure the chain and cut necessary length for each side of the necklace.

The chain I am using has links that open using the jump ring tool. If your chain has soldered links, cut it with the shears.

 




Attach the lobster clasp to one end of the necklace with a jump ring.Attach the 7 mm jump ring to the other end.


 
 

 



And You're done  !!!



 



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This tutorial was brought to you by Shadow Jewels. Shadow design wonderful Shabby chic and Victorian style jewelry using vintage rhinestone, lampwork glass, crystal beads and Genuine gemstone briolettes.





Thursday, December 8, 2011

Online Plug-Ins for the Visual Artsit

Online Plug-ins for the Visual Artist


This post has been created by Brandy Cattoor, an artist form ETSY. Her shop is Fine Art Brandy Cattoor. Check out her shop and read what she has to say about ways to increase views and sales in the art world!

Online Art Galleries
Online galleries are becoming successful and popular. Artwork Network is a well known online gallery, which helps promote your work for a minimum monthly fee. Turning Art is another great site, and is free if the artist gets accepted. Many have also found success withFine Art America or Zatista. All these sites of course require a commission if your work is sold through their site.

Online Art Competitions
Art competitions can be a pain but if successful they can be a great reward both personal and professional. An excellent site I’ve found is Light Space & Time, which hosts regular art competitions online. There are numerous sites for art competitions online aside from this one.  

Online Art Markets:
Believe it or not Ebay has many art buyers. The trick with ebay is to learn how to get your work seen through thousands of sellers. Etsy has a well known web presence (known for its quality and unique products) many galleries search for artists here. I’ve been contacted by Turning Art, and been involved in some juried shows because my work was found on Etsy. If the selling is slow, keep at it. Other good things are bound to happen if your work is good.     

Craigslist
In my experience, as an artist in Colorado, I’ve found Craigslist to be helpful at times. Many galleries utilize this site to help promote juried shows, studio space, art competitions, etc. Some shows I’ve been involved in are attributed to a quick response to a Craigslist ad.

Helpful networks for promoting Art:
The following sites are especially good for promoting artwork because their ability to represent images is high quality and organized. This is a good feature when deciding what sites to be involved in and what not to for the visual artist. In my opinion the more your work is seen the better.

Highly Encouraged Personal Networks:
Personal Blog
Facebook Page
Twitter
Personal Website

Many people underestimate the purpose of an actual personal website when considering other networking sites like facebook, twitter, and a blog. In my experience having a personal website has provided various search results to find my work.

Most hosting sites will allow people to create free websites in order for their name to be part of the URL. For example my site is www.brandycattoor.weebly.com. There are various hosts that provide free websites among many are Weebly.com and wix.com.

The other sites are of course a must because they provide interaction with others and help build your following unlike your personal website can do.

A word on Followers
Give people the opportunity to follow you! Even if you feel slow in starting, it’s just another step in finding the right audience for your work and allowing them to keep tabs on you. Don’t compare the amount of followers you have with another person. Who knows how other blogs or sites got their followers, this could have been by multiple giveaways they hosted. Or some sites help you get more followers by paying a small fee. Just compare your current progress with your past progress and success.   

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial


Fabric pumpkin

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial
Jen from BoutiqueVintage72 brings us a wonderful tutorial showing how to make a fabric pumpkin. These fabric pumpkins make the perfect Autumn decor. Any color or print fabric can be used and you can pack them up at the end of the season and use them every year.



Jen is an ex-pastry chef, with a serious jones for crafting and a commitment to living green.
Visit her delightful shop, BoutiqueVintage72 that has a strong message - to create a one-stop gift shopping experience, filled with beautiful things, thoughtfully created with interesting and often recycled materials.


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