Jewelry Blog

Fire Mountain Gems & Beads is known for its articles and free projects both on-line as well as in supplemental catalogs it sends out. I don’t always have the time to read through these as I would like to do. In fact, they are sort of a cross between catalog and magazine really. However, I was recently flipping through the January 2009 supplement and discovered a wonderful article by Tammy Honaman about her experience at the International Bead & Jewelry Show held this past May in Sandton City, South Africa.

Along with the article about her time at the show and the work she did as the Clover Mama Afrika teacher for beading, she also includes a beautiful peyote-stitched bracelet project that is a good fit for anyone who wants to try to learn some basic bead weaving. She used fairly large beads, Matsuno size 8/0 seed beads, so this means it will work up more quickly than many bead weaving projects which often use smaller size 11/0 seed beads.

I thought her article and project was something my readers would enjoy reading, even if they didn’t receive the supplemental catalog, so I asked her if she had any links that had this same information on the FMG web site. Sure enough, they do have the article and project on line, and Tammy was nice enough to send them to me so that I could share with you:

Clover Mama Afrika at the International Bead and Jewelry Show

Bracelet with Seed Beads

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Jill Biden stacked two necklaces on day 2 of the Democratic National Convention, a delicate diamond horseshoe pendant and what appears to be a necklace made from pastel blue beads.

If you like the pendant, look at the Roberto Coil ‘Tiny Treasures’ Baby Horseshoe pendant, with diamonds on an adjustable 18K white gold chain. (Buy Direct)

Here’s another, with fewer diamonds and set in 14K gold (with a price tag that reflects the differences). The pendant comes on a 17″ rolo chain. (Buy Direct)

Color and clarity can both be altered to make a diamond appear to be more perfect than it would be if left alone. Is that okay? You’ll have to decide for yourself. Get a head start on your diamond shopping by using these tutorials to become familiar with common diamond treatments.

Improving Diamond Color
Diamond Clarity Enhancements

What Are Wire Cutters?

Wire cutters are hand-tools used to cut wire such as sterling silver, copper, and gold-filled. The blade of the cutters are available in different configurations, including flush cutters, bevel cutters, end cutters.

How Are Wire Cutters Used?

Wire cutters are indispensable to jewelry designers who work with wire. There really is no substitute. They are used to cut specific lengths to fabricate various jewelry designs or to trim off excess wire after a piece of wire as been used, such as in a wrapped loop. Flush cut wire cutters are used when you want to get the wire trimmed off as closely (or as flush) as possible to whatever piece of jewelry you are working on so that the end of the wire is as flat as possible rather than pinched or pointed a little on the end. Bezel cutters leave a larger pinch or point on the end of the wire. End cutters will cut the end of a wire closely, but they are limited as far as use since they are only able to trim off wire that is fairly short.

What Should You Look for in a Pair of Wire Cutters?

When selecting a pair of wire cutters, considering the following tips:

• Flush wire cutters are normally going to be at the higher end of the price range, but if you want a very clean cut, they are worth the cost.
• Try to find a pair that have a spring handle. This will make your hands do a little less work and help avoid hand fatigue.
• You may want a few pair: a nice flush-cut pair for use with smaller diameters of wire and a less expensive pair that can handle thicker piece of wire.
• The quality of the cutters makes a big difference when it comes to the quality of the finished piece of wire jewelry, so for anyone seriously interested in wire jewelry making, this is the one tool you don’t want to economize on.