Interview with Gemheaven

   

 

This weeks interview is with Jo from Gemheavenjewellery.com  in west Cornwall, UK.

  Jewellery Website/Blog Interview

1.  How long have you had a website/blog?

I’ve had my website open since 2006 ~ my hobby was becoming a business with requests for pieces from friends and family and so I took the leap of opening my website up.  My blog started in June 2007 ~ things were really taking off and it’s a great way of people to see what you have been doing, life and jewellery.

2. How did you get into jewellery making, as a business/hobby and how long have you been doing it?

I started in 2005 after a long illness ~ I needed something creative and sort of fell into jewellery design when a favourite necklace broke ~ needless to say I never did mend that necklace!!

IT became a business once I started selling ~ in the UK you have to declare yourself a business within three months of selling so it was something that happened quite quickly and it was very exciting to suddenly think of people all over the world wearing a piece of gemheaven.

3. Who are your favourite online jewellery designers?

OHhh I have so many favourites and many I can now say are friends of mine ~

Ginger ~ www.msbelle.etsy.com ~ beautifully elegant jewellery.

Freya ~ www.tigerburningbright.etsy.com ~ her wire wrapping and composition of gems is fabulous

Iza ~ Mgypsy ~ http://www.wireboutique.com ~ Iza also another wire wrapper but in a totally different context ~ organic beauties.

Anna Karin ~ www.smabla.etsy.com ~ she does things with wire, material and gemstones that just blows me away!

As you can see there are so many and yes I could go on!

 4. What is your favourite medium to work with?

Silver, gemstones and Artisan created lampwork.  I also like using local sea glass and now I am really enjoying bezel setting the glass to create beautiful pendants and rings.

5. Are you self taught or have you studied jewellery making professionally?

I am mainly self taught with a silver work basic course which I took at a jewellery school locally.
6. What has been your favourite creation?

Ohhh that’s a hard one ~ in wire I think my Snow Queens Bouquet it turned out perfectly from what I had in my head! In silver I think would be harder to choose but I am really pleased with my latest ring Summerblues

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24986044

http://www.wireboutique.com/epages/es113722.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es113722_shop/Products/%22Snow%20Queeen%27s%20Bouquet%22

7. What site do you use for selling your products on?

www.gemheaven.co.uk

www.gemheaven.etsy.com

www.wireboutique.com

www.gemheaven.blogspot.com

8. What type of jewellery do you make?

I call my jewellery ~ organic jewellery in silver with a hint of colour. Most of my ideas come from living in Cornwall ~ it’s a pretty organic place surrounded by the sea with a fabulous hint of mystery!

9. Do you belong to any online jewellery making groups or forums?

I am proud to be part of the Etsy Street Team Artisan Beaders ~  and there is a fabulous network on Flickr ~ a great gallery for showing off your latest work.

10. Which is your favourite jewellery making website/blog?

Eni Oken has a fabulous website for anyone interested in wire work ~ http://www.jewelrylessons.com/jewel/home

The artisan Beaders Street Team blog also give techniques on a Tuesday J

http://artisanbeaders.blogspot.com/

All about Argentium sterling silver

 

 

Argentium Sterling Silver is a modern sterling silver alloy which modifies the traditional alloy (92.5% silver + 7.5% copper) by replacing some of the copper with Germanium. As it retains the same 92.5% silver content, it is still sterling silver.

 Germanium is a crystalline semi-metallic element which is found naturally in small amounts in silver, copper and zinc ores, as well as in the mineral, germanite. The germanium forms an invisible film on the surface of silver alloy. This film prevents oxygen from reaching any tarnishable metals, such as copper, employed to harden the pure silver.

 Germanium was discovered to impart the following properties to sterling silver:

1. High tarnish resistance(An excellent selling point for your silver jewellery)
2. Firescale elimination
3. Increased ductility
4. Increased thermal and electrical resistance (making alloys suitable for welding and laser forming)
5. Environmental advantages (associated with not having to remove or plate over firescale)

 The absence of firescale eliminates time-consuming steps required by the silversmith when working with sterling silver

Argentium Silver is the result of research begun in 1990 and perfected in 1996 by Peter Johns at the School of Art & Design, Middlesex University, England. The University owns the patent and licenses its production. Argentium Silver is patented and trademarked by Argentium Silver Company, UK..

As for working with Argentium Sterling, artisans who forge and weld sterling need to be aware of certain differences between Argentium and traditional sterling silver (e.g. lower melting point), but those who merely incorporate Argentium findings or wire into their jewelry will not find it any different to work with. 

 

 

 

 

 Argentium wire it is a bit stiffer than sterling silver. So if you make wirework jewellery it is recommended you use dead soft Argentium wire.

 Links about Argentium silver:

Official website:

• http://www.argentiumsilver.com/availability/suppliers
• http://www.argentiumsilver.com/availability
• http://www.argentiumsilver.info/index.php/questions-answers
• Email: info@argentiumsilver.com

 Useful links:

• http://www.argentiumsilverfindings.com/index1.html
• http://www.gsgold.com/cart/idxargentiumssmillproductsandfindings.asp
• http://argentiumfindings.com/
•  Argentium silver findings and wire from Rings & Things
• http://www.thebeadman.com/JRargentium.html

Interview with Pauline Salvucci

 

                                                                                                               

 This weeks interview is with

Pauline Salvucci of Sirona Jewelry. 

Blog: http://sironajewelry.blogspot.com

Shop: http://www.rubylane.com/shops/sironajewelry

 Jewellery Website/Blog Interview 

 1.  How long have you had a website/blog?

I started a jewelry blog in December of 2008 and deleted it because I felt it had no focus. Then in January, 2009, I thought about dedicating my Sirona Jewelry blog to my Aunt Rhetta because of her influence in my life and love of jewelry

2. How did you get into jewellery making, as a business/hobby and how long have you been doing it?

For years I made and remade jewelry as a hobby, It wasn’t until 2008 that I became serious about designing as friends and others wanted to purchase my designs.

3. Who are your favourite online jewellery designers?

I love the work of Barbara Lee of Gemella Jewelry on Etsy. Barbara is an incredibly talented  jewelry designer. I admire her work trememdously.

4. What is your favourite medium to work with?

I have grown to love the feel of working with real gold in 14k and 18k. In the beginning I found it difficult since I was used to working with 14k gold-filled wire, which I still use. It’s a pleasure to work with gold, it’s got a terrific feel. I also love high quality semi-precious gemstones. Recently I purchased some AAAA rubies which are going to become a necklace for Christmas.

5. Are you self taught or have you studied jewellery making professionally? 

 I am self-taught, although will be taking a metalsmithing course at the Maine College of Art to begin this June.

 6. What has been your favourite creation?

That’s a difficult question because I really like so many of the pieces I’ve made. So to answer the question, it would have to be an 18k gold necklace made with mystic pink topaz, prehnite and tanzanite gemstones. It’s a stunner.

7. What site do you use for selling your products on?

I have used Etsy in the past and am currently using Ruby Lane. At the end of this month, I’ll have my own website with a shopping cart.

8. What type of jewellery do you make?

Sirona Jewelry has four collections:

The Luxury Collection made with Semi-precious gemstones in 14k/18k gold,

The Fused Dichroic Glass Collection made with semi-precious gemstones and 14k gold-filled, sterling silver or Argentium silver,

The Swarovski Collection made with Swarovski crystals, pearls and 14k gold-filled or stering silver

The Classic Stone Collection which incorporates the use of imperial jasper, chalcedony, pietersite, agate, nakite, chrysocolla, etc. with 14k gold-filled or sterling silver

9. Do you belong to any online jewellery making groups or forums?

Yes, I’m a member of the Jewelry Designer Network and a contributor to Jewelry Design Ideas by Rena Klingenberg.

10. Which is your favourite jewellery making website/blog?

There are so many wonderful choices. My favorite would have to be Jewelry Lessona by Eni Oken & friends at http://www.jewelrylessons.com/jewel/

Interview with YouveGotMaille

 

 

This week’s interview is with Deanna of YouveGotMaile, from Tennessee, USA.

 1.  How long have you had a website/blog?

I opened my Etsy shop May 24, 2008, my blog a few months after that, and my website around September.  I keep the first two up but the website needs attention.

http://youvegotmaille.etsy.com  and  http://SecondRenaissance.etsy.com

http://youvegotmaille.blogspot.com

http://www.youvegotmaille.net

 2.  How did you get into jewelry making as a business/hobby and how long have you been doing it?

I took a metalsmithing class at Appalachian Center for Craft (an amazing place!) in February 2008.  For the class, I acid-etched a brass triangle with heiroglyphs, and I wanted to make a chainmaille collar to set it in.  So I did some research on chainmaille and found the fantatic websites with tutorials out there – http://www.mailleartisans.org and http://www.cgmaille.com  They’re both free.  I was hooked.  I’ve since become obsessed with wire wrapping as well, and then seed bead weaving, and am just now getting a workshop set up so I can come full circle and do some metalsmithing again.  Funny thing is, I still haven’t finished the maille colar for that acid etched piece.

 3. Who are your favorite online jewelry designers?

For maille, Corvus Chainmaille, IKOW Designs and Maille Mystique (and MANY others).  For wire, I’d have a hard time choosing among the amazing ladies of Etsy’s Wire Artisans guild – which I was honored to be accepted to this February!  I also greatly admire Shaktipaj Designs, Gailavira, My Wired Imagination, Wire Bliss Mei, of course Eni Oken and a lot of others.  For bead weaving my favorites are Sand Fibers, Sandra Halpenny and Time2Cre8.  I spend lots of time visiting jewelry websites (too much, really).

 4.  What is your favorite medium to work with?

Whatever catches my fancy at the moment?  I’d still probably have to say chainmaille.  You work into a rhythm and it’s relaxing the way needlework or crochet is relaxing.  Plus, I think I need more miles on my wire work, bead weaving and metalwork before I’m really comfortable in my own creativity.

 5.  Are you self taught or have you studied jewelry making professionally?

Mostly self-taught, except for the eight-week metalsmithing class I took.  I’d really like to take some more classes at the Center for Craft, the people and atmosphere there are amazing.  Possibly even a certificate or degree in metalsmithing at some point.

 6.  What has been your favorite creation?

The ones that are still in my head are my favorites.  I’m enchanted with the creative process.  But, if I had to choose something I’ve done, I’d say the Celtia chainmaille choker I sold a few months ago http://www.flickr.com/photos/youvegotmaille/3024818870/, and of the things for sale now, I love the ribbony look of the “Gaia” pendant that’s in my Second Renaissance shop. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19308509

 7.  What site do you use for selling your products on?

At the moment, almost exclusively Etsy, although I have plans for my shops on Artfire, Fine Art America and Winkelf, and of course my own website.  I’m excited about an opportunity to join a local gallery that’s opening for artisans in my area and I’m hoping they’ll have some sort of online presence, as well.

 8.  What type of jewelry do you make?

I have two distinct styles.  In the You’ve Got Maille shop, there’s a lot of colorful maille items, lots of fun items that are really popular with young people in my area, and there’s also a lot that fits the Renaissance Faire-going crowd, including chainmaille chokers, wire ear cuffs, and I hope to do some circlets and torcs and such.  In the Second Renaissance shop, the aura is more sophisticated, mostly precious metals and semiprecious cabochons, my wirework and bead weaving with a Victorian bent. It feels more like art to me.

 9.  Do you belong to any online jewelry making groups or forums?

I administrate Etsy’s Chainmailler’s Guild (currently having an awesome contest, check out the blog:  http://chainmaillersguild.blogspot.com) and Etsy’s Wire Artisans Guild ( http://thewireartisansguild.blogspot.com ).  I’m also in Artfire’s Chainmaillers Guild.  I’m a member of jewelrygeeks.com ( http://www.jewelrygeeks.com/youvegotmaille ) and Maillers Worldwide ( http://corvuschainmaille.ning.com/profile/Deannayouvegotmaille ).  I also recently joined Creative Wire Jewelry’s Year of Jewelry and will be making my first piece very shortly  ( http://creativewirejewelryyoj.typepad.com/cwjs_year_of_jewelry_2009/ ).

 10. Which is your favorite jewelry making website/blog?

Tough call!  Can I pick one for each thing I do?  For wire jewelrylessons.com has great tutorials and a nice community.  For chainmaille mailleartisans.org for sure.  For bead weaving I love bead-patterns.com, lots of free and for sale patterns to get you started.  I also have a massive blogroll I visit on a daily basis

 

 

Interview with BeadingGem

 

 

This weeks interview is with Pearl from http://Beadinggem.com in Canada.

 1.  How long have you had a website/blog?

 I started my blog in January 2007. It sort of grew to encompass two other hub pages – my squidoo site on coloured gemstones called Gemstone Place Names (2008) and more recently in 2009, Jewelry Making Tips both of which group several of my past blog posts in different and fun ways.

 2. How did you get into jewellery making, as a business/hobby and how long have you been doing it?

 I had always wanted to learn to make my own jewelry. Whilst on holiday in Florida several years ago, I was introduced to the craft at an informal craft session. I was immediately hooked. Jewelry making soon became an important way for me to express my creativity – the other is blogging. About five years ago, I decided to start my own small business teaching jewelry making through beading parties and workshops. How else could I feed my bead addiction?

 3. Who are your favourite online jewellery designers?

I have so many favourites it’ll be difficult to list them all! They all share one important trait – they are the kind of jewelry artisans who approach the craft in truly innovative ways. They stand out above the crowd and INSPIRE.

4. What is your favourite medium to work with?

I like working with wire – all sorts of metals although when I first started, I did a lot more bead work.

5. Are you self taught or have you studied jewellery making professionally?

I am largely self taught.

6. What has been your favourite creation?

My favourite creation is the one I just did! The excitement of completing a new design usually makes that piece special…..until I create a new one!

7. What site do you use for selling your products on?

So far, all my sales have been local, at my own bead parties and at craft shows. A few friends and I have banded together and formed the Bead Sisterhood. We have had a number of local showings over the past year. We are in the midst of creating our own website.

8. What type of jewellery do you make?

I love making earrings. I never tire of them as there are so many ways to make them fun and unique. I also make bracelets and necklaces. Wire work, chain maille and bead work are the techniques I am most interested in.

9. Do you belong to any online jewellery making groups or forums?

I do lurk around in several places but the two I belong to and visit as much as possible are Jewelrygeeks.com, a social site of like minded people as well as About.com Jewelry Making Forum.

10. Which is your favourite jewellery making website/blog?

I enjoy reading many blogs and am an avid follower of many of them. The full list can be viewed on the Blog List in the left side bar of my blog.

Interview with Jerry Scavezze

This week’s interview is with Jerry Scavezze a goldsmith living and working in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA.

1.How long have you had a website/blog?

My jewelry website www.scavezzegoldsmith.com has been up and running for 8 years. The School website www.ColoradoSchoolofJewelryandMetalArts.com for about 3 months, and my blogs http://coloradometalarts.ganoksin.com/blogs/  and   http://coloradoschoolofjewelryandmetalarts.wordpress.com/ for a few weeks. Very new to blogging. I’m much better with a hammer than a mouse.

 2.How did you get into jewellery making, as a business/hobby and how long have you been doing it?

I fell in love early, at the age of 20 or 21. Still love it today 38 years later. My jobs have changed, from bench repair jeweler to diamond setter, to designer, to retail store owner, to artist/craftsman, my current incarnation. My current work is anticlastic raising, made famous by Heikki Seppa and Michael Good.

3.Who are your favourite online jewellery designers?

Jacob Snow, Tom Herman, Toni Tischer, Samantha Freeman, and of course myself, Jerry Scavezze.

4.What is your favourite medium to work with?  Gold,14 K or above. It is a wonderful metal, very strong and versatile. Open design option up with very few limitations by the metal itself.

5.Are you self taught or have you studied jewellery making professionally?  A combination. I was initially self taught. Trial and error, just playing. I learned alot, but became frustrated with my slow progress and many struggles. I went to work for a trade shop doing jewelry repair and custom work. A great education. I got to learn from a master, they payed me, and I use their gold. What a Country! After I wanted to go out on my own and develop my own line I studied with both Heikki Seppa, and Michael Good. I love the forms and movement anticlastic raising produces. It also makes very lightweight and wearable pieces yet structurally very durable.

6.What has been your favourite creation?  Probably one of my Black Pearl Necklaces, it is style # 82 on my website under the necklace category.

7.What site do you use for selling your products on My own website, www.ScavezzeGoldsmith.com

8.What type of jewellery do you make

Anticlastic Raising is the technique I use. It is a technique using hammers and mallets to deform sheets of gold or silver into compound curves. A saddle shape rather than synclastic, a bowl shape. The pieces become very work hardened, which makes a very strong heirloom quality piece.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  9.Do you belong to any online jewellery making groups or forums?     www.ganoksin.com and http://www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com/

10.Which is your favourite jewellery making website/blog?  www.ganoksin.com because of both the forums and the many different blogs by some of the finest jewelers in the country. The amount of information, help and resources on this site is incredible.               

How to make beads from Polymer Clay

This weeks feature is on Polymer Clay; find all about Polymer Clay Bead Making withTips, Pics and Tutorials by Cindy Lietz from Canada.

Visit her blog :http://www.polymerclaytutor.com
Polymer Clay Bead Making Tips, Pics and Tutorials by Cindy
Lietz… “I learned by making the mistakes… Now you don’t
have to.”

Visit her Website below:
By subscribing to Cindy Lietz’s email newsletter at
http://www.beadsandbeading.com/ you will receive 3 free polymer clay bead making videos plus weekly color recipe cards.

There is also an indepth 39 Part Polymer Clay Basics Course:
http://www.beadsandbeading.com/crse/01-more.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to make chainmail from scratch

A handy list of chainmaile and wire wrapping resources from Longcanyon.com

 Includes how to make jump rings, recommended ring sizes for chainmaile weaves, aspect ratio of jump rings, and wire gauge charts.  

Longcanyon.com/Resources

How to use Precious Metal Clay

Learn to use Metal Clay, FREE, online!

by Elaine Luther

This is your guide to learning to create with Precious Metal Clay online, 100% for free. I’ve searched the web for the best of free videos and how-tos, and even more importantly, I’m presenting them to you here in a logical order.

The internet is full of free information, but when you’re a beginner, how do you know how to harness that information?

I was inspired to create this tutorial by the concept of a web quest, a teaching tool.

According to WebQuest.org, “a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.”

In this web adventure, I present excellent resources on beginning to work with metal clay, in a logical order. Let’s get started!

Tools You Need

Supplies for Beginning Working with Metal Clay
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

Top Ten Tools for Metal Clay
http://www.Squidoo.com/PMCtopten

Precious Metal Clay, Getting Started and Beyond
http://www.squidoo.com/allthingsmetalclay

How to Work the Clay

Videos from Art Jewelry Magazine: MUST BE A REGISTERED USER, registration is free
Metal Clay
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/ART

Repairing a Break In Metal Clay
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Making Metal Clay Paste
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Texturing Metal Clay
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

More on textures
http://www.squidoo.com/metal-clay-textures

Rolling & Cutting Metal Clay
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Liver of Sulfur Patina
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Making Lavender-Oil Paste For Metal Clay
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Firing Metal Clay with a Handheld Butane Torch

Getting Started with PMC pdf, PMC Guild.com
http://www.pmcguild.com/gettingstarted/gettingstarted.html

Video Clips
http://www.pmcguild.com/gettingstarted/video_clips.html

Rolling Coils
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

Choosing Combustible Cores
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

Relatively Simple First Project:
http://pugetsoundmetalclay.com/shellpendant.htm

Rehydrating Dryish Clay
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

Reconstituting Metal Clay
http://langeestla.canalblog.com

http://www.silverclayart.com/reclaim_clay.htm

Add gold foil using Keum boo
http://alienorbijoux.canalblog.com
and
http://www.pmcconnection.com/pdf/KUMBOO.pdf

Stone setting

Overview of choices
http://www.creativetexturetools.com/resources

Using tabbed bezel wire from Metal Clay Findings
http://www.metalclayfindings.com/pdfs/bezelwirehowto.pdf

Embed prong setting, fire in place, set stone after firing

(free pdf project at Art Jewelry)
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Setting Stone using a recessed bezel cup
http://pugetsoundmetalclay.com/bookofkells.htm

Stone setting using a plaster plug and making your own fine silver bezel wire (can be made to fit any cabochon stone)
http://pugetsoundmetalclay.com/freeformbezel.htm

How to Torch Fire
Video Clips:
http://www.pmcguild.com/gettingstarted

Video, how to torch fire MUST BE A REGISTERED USER
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art

Which Torch is Best
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

How To Kiln Fire
http://www.paragonweb.com/videos

How to Tumble-polish
http://www.jewelrylessons.com

How to add Liver of Sulphur

http://www.hollygage.com

How to add Liver of Sulphur without dipping
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

Liver of Sulfur Patina
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/ART

Iridescent Patina
by Katherine Palochak
http://www.ganoksin.com

Additional skills to use with metal clay:

Make your polymer clay texture plates
http://blog.craftygoat.com

Make your own photopolymer plates
http://www.silverclayart.com

Video by Tonya Davidson:
http://www.wholelottawhimsy.com

Dry Metal Clay? It Could Be Your Hands (and what to do about it)
http://creativetexturetools.com/news

What else? Have I missed any essential skill? A great tutorial that you know about? Tell me, and the world, by posting a comment below, and feel free to post the url of the great tutorial you recommend. Thanks!

Learn to use Metal Clay, FREE, online! by Elaine Luther is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at creativetexturetools.com.

 

 

What’s the best wire for wire wrapping?

An informative article from Jewelrywirewrap.com:

What’s the best wire to use for wire wrapping?

 This is a common question for most new and aspiring wire wrap artists.  However, the “best” wire to use is wire that’s appropriate for the design or project you want to create and then personal preference as you become more experienced. Most artists will experiment with different wires to create new and unusual designs and end up choosing their favorite which dominates most of their work.

 

There are many types of wire from Stainless Steel craft wire to Gold Filled and Solid Gold wire.  The most popular craft wire is available in a variety colors usually coated with colored or clear vinyl and is made with multiple strands for durability and flexibility and is used for beading.  There is also solid or thick single strand stainless steel spring wire used for a lot of popular bracelet and necklace designs. On occasion I use gold filled and solid gold wire for some of my work.  But my favorite, which happens to be the most popular for a variety of reasons, is sterling silver. Copper wire is the second most popular wire used for making jewelry.

 

Wire for Wire Wrap Jewelry, including Sterling Silver wire, is available in many shapes like oval, triangle, square, and round profiles.  Each profile lends itself well for the various styles they are used for.  Sterling wire comes in other shapes or profiles, but those listed above are the most commonly used.  Wire also comes in different thicknesses or gage and hardness levels also known as malleability.  Wire gages range from 6 gage to 28 gage with 28 being the thinnest; which is about the thickness of human hair.

 

Hardness levels range from Dead Soft (DS) to Soft, Half Hard (HH) to Hard.  Soft and Half Hard are used more often because it’s easiest to work with.  Dead-Soft wire does not hold its shape well when used for wide looping or elaborate designs so I stay away from it for this reason.

 

I use Half-Hard and Hard Sterling Silver Round wire for 99.9% of my work with the majority falling between 18 and 24 gage wires.  I simply prefer round wire and it happens to be the easiest to obtain.  Half-Hard and Hard wire is difficult to work because it is hard to bend and requires a strong hand and tools.  The wire nicks or damages easily as well because you must firmly clamp down on it to get the wire to bend correctly.  However, I still prefer HH and Hard wire because once it’s bent , it’s done, and will usually not get damaged through wear and tear.  Durable is the word I’d use. These pieces should last for generations and even become heirlooms.

 

- Earrings: I use 22 to 24 gage sterling wire.

- Pendants: I prefer 18 and 20 gage sterling wire.

 

New wire wrap artists and beading enthusiasts may want to practice with copper wire.  Not the multi-strand wire you buy for speakers or lamp cords, but electrical wire like the type used for light load household use.  These wires can be purchased at major hardware or building supply stores.  A 12 to 18 gage *ROMEX works well and is a common brand of 3-conductor (3-wire) solid copper wire that comes in various gages and is sheathed with white or black plastic.  The profile is a flat oval due to the 3 wires inside.  Simply stripe away the outer insulation as well as the insulation around the wire inside.  Each inner wire is insulated with black, white and green , and one wire may not be insulated at all.  A non insulated copper wire inside the outer sheath is the ground wire and will not need to be striped; which can save you time.

 

*Romex is a brand name and copyright is held by the Romex company. This is not an endorsement, merely a guide.

 

Sterling Silver and Copper wire can become tarnished over time; keep its luster by storing in plastics bags.  This is a nice way to keep your wire shiny or to preserve the luster for a longer period coiled up in a plastic bag.  The kind with a tight seal , or zipper style works well; just press out as much air as possible before you seal it.  Air is the culprit of oxidation, removing the air keeps you and your wire happy for a longer time!

 

The wire I use for Pendants spans the gamut and depends on the size and shape of stone or other material that I am wrapping.  But I mostly use 18 and 20 gage wire for pendants since I prefer a specific size, shape, and stone or bead type.

 

Hope this tid-bit of info helps you.

 

Happy Wrapping!

 

Raymond Ihrig

 

http://www.jewelrywirewrap.com/index.htm

 

 

How to wire wrap crystal points tutorial

 

http://www.jewelrywirewrap.com/Tips/Wire%20Wrap%20Instructions.pdf