Jewelry Making For Beginners With Video Tutorial
Jewelry. Humans have been adorning themselves with it for thousands of years. In fact, jewelry is one of the oldest types of archaeological artifacts, with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewelry. But the first signs of established jewelry making didn’t happen until around 3,000-5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt.
Since then, much has changed, yet much has stayed the same. Whether you call it jewelry in the States, jewellery in the UK or jewelery elsewhere, these accessories make a statement, indicate status and showcase personal style.
Forget items being cranked out by the thousands (or millions) at a factory. There’s something much more satisfying in creating your own jewelry designs to sell or even use to promote a brand. Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces forge style and sentiment into a single, unique DIY accessory that has a story to tell.
Like with any good story, we must start at the beginning: The Fundamentals. This jewelry making for beginners guide will show you how to make jewelry that is functionally sound, aesthetically pleasing and professional looking so that you can not only confidently sell it to make a profit or use it promotionally but also proudly wear it yourself or happily give it to friends and family.
-Jewellery Making Tools-
Many of us had our first jewelry making experience in elementary school by weaving friendship bracelets. They’re inexpensive, easy and require no tools. But there are limitations to style and sophistication.
Opposable thumbs are great for simple projects, but they don’t cut it when hundreds of tiny parts must be threaded together. Plus, fingers are only so strong. Making jewelry should be fun, not painful. Enter tools.
In jewelry crafts, tools are used in a number of applications for holding and manipulating materials, including tasks such as bending, folding, cutting, attaching and finishing.
In the beginning, you’ll need simple hand-held tools such as wire cutter and pliers. But don’t head out to your dad’s/grandpa’s/uncle’s/brother’s/ husband’s (or wife’s) toolshed. Jewelry tools are a bit more specialized than what you’ll commonly find around the house to fix the plumbing.