Purple hits the Spotlight

If you create - you could get published - it's really that simple. And Somerset Studio offers ample opportunity for artists to show their work and get a bit of promotion for their shops. If you haven't already checked out their guidelines give them a quick read over here:

Somerset Studio writing guidelines

In particular they are having a Royal Purple Challenge - Aubergine with a deadline of August 15th. If you submit to this theme post us a note so we can all join in the fun. I think I will do something with the new purple ribbons we just got in the shop. I am thinking a cuff with hand stitched beads and bits of old brass....

Photo Inclusions

So there are about a hundred ways to get your favorite snippets of art into your jewelry. There are hard ways like transfers and there are easy ways like cutting up a picture and gluing the thing down. I choose the easy way - but with flair!

This series of shots shows how to create a clear acrylic piece with a photo glued to the backside of it. These are the Tim Holtz acrylics - you can get them in our shop. I am also using the Crystal Clear glaze - it is super thick and perfect for this application.


Put a small amount in the center - don’t go to the edge - then lay on your photo and squeeze out the excess and any bubbles. Wipe the edge with a cotton tip swab and let set overnight. Seriously - overnight - do up several and then have fun in the morning.

When dry trim back the picture with your craft knife and seal the back with more glaze or a clear acrylic paint if you are in a hurry. Now you can use these in any mixed media project - they are so perfect glued on a filigree piece and used as a pendant (Next blog).

Tip: Make sure to use real photos from the photo center -Winkflash is good and cheap. I have done the figuring and it really is cheaper to have your pictures printed at a pro’s than to do it yourself -- And they look tons better.

Alice is Back

We all love Alice in wonderland - which is made quite obvious by the amount of Alice crafts and jewelry on Etsy. Personally, my tastes run towards Dark Alice...with a bit more mistchief than innocence in her eyes! Look soon for my own Dark Alice paintings in cameos over at our Etsy shop.

But for now - the classic Alice has made her way into a set of 5 pendants at Winter Rose Cameos but they are going fast - I started listing yesterday and 3 are now gone - I only made ten this batch so hurry to grab them while they are still available.

These are a fabulous deal to make up a line of Alice necklaces - like this one perhapse:

Savings on Supplies

Shipping costs on jewelry boxes and display items can run more than the items themselves - but Gems on Display is currently running a free shipping promo and they have some of the lowest prices I have found on displays and jewelry boxes. Those gorgeous brown craft jewelry boxes that are so easy to personalize - you can get some of them for as little as 10 cents each! Check it out at Gems on Display.


Quick tip - personalize your craft boxes with a simple rubber stamp image and a length of hem tape - you can find all sorts of colors of this in our shop. These personal touches are really appreciated by customers.

Ribbon Ends...

Ribbons are all the rage right now and hem tape is the best bet for jewelers. It is rayon - doesn’t ravel overly much, comes in all sorts of fabulous colors, looks vintage right off the roll - Completely fabulous.

You can tie them in - fabulous vintage feel - just add a dab of glue inside the knot for stability.

Or dress it up a bit with a crimp end - just follow the squares to a fabulous finish.

You can also use a tube bead and then crimp it flat for a nice clean looking connection - you can use this at the front to connect into your design or at the back to hook into a jump ring or chain closure seamlessly. (Personally I love a ribbon tie back - it is so feminine!)

Here is a bit more complicated design - take one of our lattice bars and cut it in half. Turn it into a ribbon crimp by carefully folding over the cut portion of the bar, inserting the ribbon and closing the finished side of the bar over the back. This way all the cut ends are enclosed and you have a fabulous looking connection.

Give hem tape a try - make something fabulous! We have nearly a dozen shades and all the brass ox supplies you see here - just visit our etsy shop.

Bail Out!

You have a chain and a fabulous handcrafted pendant, now if you only had a bail to join them. I never seem to have one at my desk when I need one and often commercial bails are just too plain for handmade pendants. Also, bails are often hard to find in the color you are working with - but they are quick and easy to make. Most small symmetrical connectors can be fashioned into a bail if they are at least 18mm long and have a filigree at the tips.


Choose your filigree and finish if necessary (see other posts on how to color brass). Take a pair of flat nose pliers and grasp the filigree in the exact center. Finger fold the metal downwards to form a U. Bend the ends together and slide your chain through. A small jump ring will go through the bottom filigree and attach your pendant.

Customizing your own bail adds that extra touch to your design that makes it OOAK. The connector I have used here is one of my staple piece - I use it as a lengthener and bail regularly - Check out our etsy shop - we carry this Celtic connector in antique gold, antique silver, brass ox and raw brass (Yes - we love it that much!)

This necklace is available at Winter Rose Cameos.

Jump Ring Opener

A necessity if you want to keep your fingernails intact! This little beauty gives you all the leverage you need to open even the thick jump rings. You can find them in our Etsy shop under the findings tab - if you don't see one there convo us - we will just need to relist.

How does this work - you ask? Well slip it on your finger and slide the jump ring into the slot - three size slots for varied thickness of jump rings. Then take your pliers and, using the ring as leverage, push the ring open.

This opens the ring without changing the round shape - when you are ready to close it - just slide the jump ring in the slot again and push the opposite way.

Easier than the two pliers method for certain - have fun!