How you unleash creativity

What could I make with these

jpwjewelry.com — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:49:01 GMT

We have sold lots of these, and only have a few left so I was thinking of making something with them but I have no idea what I could make other then a necklace as there are so large. Any suggestions I would be greatful for.

Custom Designs

Balisongman07 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:28:50 GMT

Okay i am extremely new so bear with me, I have this craving to get an angel pendant of a seraphim angel made, EXACTLY like this one

But with 2 more wings on each side like this image i made.

MY QUESTION: IS THERE ANYWAY I CAN HAVE THIS MADE? LIKE A CERTAIN CUSTOM MAKER, CUSTOM COMPANY, ANYTHING!

Where is the line between inspiration and stealing a design?

dressagewoman — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:27:50 GMT

I'm still getting my sea legs, as it were, making jewelry. I've subscribed to "Art Jewelry" magazine and I have a growing collection of books, mostly bead and wire techniques. Often I see a project laid out and think "oh I like that" or "I like <this aspect> of that" and then I'll make something similar but different. At the same time I feel driven to be genuinely creative, and I have a sense of disappointment if I feel I came too close to following the project (or copying the item) too verbatim. An example is the piece I just finished for my SIL. I saw a pendant in one of my books that involved 10-guage and 22-gauge tinned copper wire and a round blue cabochon, with the 10-guage in a double spiral embellished with the cab and mini-double spirals of 22-guage, the embelishments glued on. I made my pendant out of 10-guage and 22-guage brass, an oval pyrite cab,so I varied the shape of the base spiral, and I varied the shape of the embellishment, and I used a slightly different type of bail. On the one hand, I am proud of the piece, which turned out looking really professional IMO (and will probably post it for comment when I get some pics) on the other hand, I feel too much as if I "cheated" even though I barely referred to the "instructions".

Was I "inspired by" or did I "steal"?

Thinking of a necklace what do you think?

jpwjewelry.com — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:05:30 GMT

I was thinking of taking the ones we have left of these beads, and making them into a necklace what do you guys think?

Thx for the feedback guys it helps.

Are there any competitions in this forum???

Maille_Fantasy — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:55:09 GMT

I'm a member of xFalcon (Ford motor cars) forum and they have photography competitions and photoshop comps, all based around their cars (of course). My dad runs a poetry forum and they have a monthly competition, where a theme is set and whoever wants to submit something is welcome. Is there a place for something like that in this forum??? It would seem the ideal place to trigger ideas and get some creative juices flowing as well as sharing ideas and how people interpret the same theme in such vastly different ways......just an idea, but I know that having a challenge every month or every quarter would certainly push me to create as well as helping overcome 'thinker's block' and maybe even get more of us using materials which we wouldn't normally incorporate into our designs.

Anyone else interested??

The most useful or unusual thing you have used?

Telulah — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:18:58 GMT

Just thought it would be fun to find out what is the most unsual thing that you have used to make jewelry.

This came from my racking my brain try to figure out something to use to make marquis shapes for earrings. Now, I've heard that Lego's work good but I haven't tried that yet.

I use highlighters for ear wires. I bought a jig but used it for a few days but found I like the handcrafted ear wires better. I've used rulers, empty thread and wire spools too. Poverty is the necessity of invention. lol

How to awaken your muse

JustBarrette — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:35:59 GMT

Recently I was told that my muse must need a vacation. (I have been creating a storm and made more sets of beads for a swap then needed, even though I will only send in one set!) I have found that I may need a vacation from my muse, although I sincerely hope that that NEVER happens.

Last night on my way home from work, I put in a CD that I haven't listened to in quite awhile. Boy, did it get the creative juices flowing. I know have quite a few more things I want to try! The CD is moving from the car to the craft room/studio today and I sure that my husband will get sick of it!

What do the rest of you do to awaken your muse? Any sure fire ways?

Please sure!

Have a great day creating,

Helen

www.justbarrettes.com

Working with Brass & Copper to Make Jewelry

pgunter1 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:34:25 GMT

I need help. I have quite a bit with silver braising but do not know how to master brass and copper. When I sweat the metals together, the brass and/or copper become discolored. Is there a special technique? I want to work in mixed media but don't know how to keep brass the original color after soldering.

Customizing Engagement Rings

Roman Jewelers — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:11:18 GMT

by Lucy Zimmerman, fourth-generation designer at RomanJewelers.com

If you are in the market for an unusual ring, have an idea for something different and spectacular but don’t know where to start - read on to find out why going the custom way may be right for you.

1: Use “old” to make “new”.

Did you inherit an engagement ring from your grandmother or a diamond wedding band from another woman in your family? The “old” pieces carry a lot of sentimental value. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to “re-use” all of these diamonds in your own ring?

Work with your designer to incorporate the stones into the new engagement ring. Your ring will not only be unique, but will carry a part of special women in your family.

2: You love your friend’s engagement ring, but don’t want to be a copycat.

You don’t have to. Talk to a jewelry designer about the ring you admire; describe everything you like about it. You probably love the style rather than the details. Or is it the stark simplicity or the intricate filigree details? Maybe it’s the striking combination of white and yellow gold in the setting that makes the ring look so bold.

Think style and you will end up with an engagement ring where every detail is you.

3: You don’t want a traditional engagement ring; you are a trend-setter.

I hear you. The plain Tiffany-style engagement ring is just not for you. How about a three-stone ring, with a larger diamond in the center and two smaller diamonds on the sides? Not your style either?

How many jewelry stores have you visited looking for that “different” ring? Ten? Twenty? If you think you will never find it, you are probably right. When you have something very specific in mind, chances are it is not in a jewelry showcase.

It is time to talk to a jewelry designer. Describe your vision and try to sketch the ring out. The designer will be grateful to you for any help you can provide with the design.

4: You want to be able to remember not only where the ring was bought, but also how it was made.

You want to be part of every step in your engagement process and don’t want any surprises. You want the process of designing your engagement ring to be memorable and need to be involved in the creation process.

Custom-designing an engagement ring is not simply a process, it is a journey. Stay involved from the sketch, to a wax model, to casting, to selecting all the stones.

5: You love what the Hollywood actresses are wearing.

Did you fall in love with one of the engagement rings worn by a celebrity? Is it the one with a 10 carat emerald cut diamond, or, perhaps, the one with a 6.1 carats rare pink diamond? Yet realistically, you and your fiancé-to-be cannot afford either one of those.

It’s time to compromise. Would you be happy with an engagement ring in which a pink diamond is replaced with a pink sapphire or a light pink kunzite?

Still prefer a diamond as a center stone? How about scaling the ring down and forgoing some of the finer details? A good jewelry designer will be able to offer many options and help you remain within your budget.

6: Details only known to you.

Are there things you want in your engagement ring that you don’t want other people to see? Like a little ruby stone you received in your pre-engagement ring years ago? A detail like this is important and meaningful to you but you may prefer to keep it private.

Certainly, this is a challenge, but not for a good designer. If you are custom-making your engagement ring, ask the designer to place the stones, initials, or dates into the ring’s gallery, the part located just under the stone of your ring. The gallery makes the ring smooth on the inside, the construction stronger, and it is a great place to keep the things that are meaningful to you away from other people’s eyes.

7: You like Period Jewelry but don’t want an engagement ring from an estate collection.

Think about what is it that attracts you to a style you so admire. For example, the Art Deco period is known for the geometric forms it offers, and the bold contrasting shapes and colors of stones. During the Edwardian jewelry period, jewelers used platinum and diamonds to create intricate, delicate, airy, and lace-like patterns. Which end of the spectrum do you fall under? It takes some time to learn about the different periods to figure it out but definitely worth it!

If you decide to custom-make your engagement ring, tell your jewelry designer which time period you want your engagement ring to adhere to and he/she will guide you through the rest of the process.

8: You know a jeweler whose work you have always admired.

You are lucky. Just as a trusted doctor or an attorney, a good jewelry designer is not easy to find. Has the designer made any pieces for you in the past? Do your family members always speak highly of that jeweler? Have you seen their work and fell in love with the style and quality of craftsmanship?

If you were lucky to find a good jeweler -- stick with him/her!

9: Use your artistic abilities.

Can you sketch the engagement ring of your dreams? Terrific! An experienced designer will take you and your idea in the right direction, and together, you can make your dream a reality.

Keep in mind that sometimes, what looks great on paper should not be made in metal. Your designer should tell you if some parts of the ring would be too thin and structurally unsound, or the design would jeopardize the security of the stones.

10: You have no idea of what you want in your engagement ring.

You are not alone and now there is homework to be done. Start by visiting jewelry stores, trying different rings on, and determining the styles that make you feel comfortable. Also, look at engagement rings in bridal magazines and imagine them on your finger.

So what do you do if you like the band (called a shank) in one ring, the box holding the center stone in another, and the way the side stones are set in a third ring?

A good designer will help you sort out the details and create a ring for you to enjoy and to be proud of.

Author Bio:

Lucy Zimmerman is a fourth-generation jewelry designer at Roman Jewelers in Flemington & Bridgewater Commons Mall in New Jersey. You can reach her at 908-575-1242.

For more information about Roman Jewelers and custom design work, please visit http://www.romanjewelers.com/Default.aspx?id=27

need help picking out a kiln!

Skyes — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:23:53 GMT

Greetings! I am interested in buying a kiln and I have no idea what I am doing. I would like to make glass jewelry, but I am wondering is that a seperate type of kiln or can I use a kiln for ceramics? Any ideas? I found a used kiln within an hour from my home.... it is a Sno-Kiln LT-3K Its a medium-Large kiln She does not have a price on it - she just said make an offer. Help! thanks- skye

to be creative

A Y U R I — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:49:00 GMT

being creative is one of precious things in our life. i think many of us here on this forum are creative and enjoy designing/making jewelry including myself

"making things better" & "being curious" are a couple of many steps to become better in creative world / creative process. we/people have created many things (i am talking beyond jewelry) and we can take many inspirations from other things besides jewelry to make them into the inspiration of the jewelry. it's fun and exciting especially when the whole idea comes into "life" = finish piece.

my approach is "less is more" -- > keeping not necessarily simple but not to have anything unnecessary = things nothing related to the ideas/inspirations, functions of the piece and even to the metal thickness (reasons to be thicker than necessary) to how the stones are cut to perhaps feel on the skin.

turn on your switch "on"!

Staying creative when you "have to" deliver

dressagewoman — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:34:42 GMT

Most of the folks on this board actually do this for a living -- how do you stay inspired when "want to" becomes "have to". I'm finding this is a big block for me. I developed a backlog of promised pieces, none for money, but several to donate to a charity and several I just promised relatives. I'm finding my "studio" now a place where I have to go and have to make X thing, not a place to go and play and let things happen. These pieces were fun in the design stage, but I'm making 5 copies of the same thing and it's a slog. Fortunately, I'll be done soon and can go back to exploring... but what would I do if I had to deliver for a living? What do you do?

Help! I need help with buying camera.

Raven815 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:35:34 GMT

Hi everyone,

I finally ready to invest in a digital camera to take picture of my jewelry (yeah!). I need your help and expertise. I am VERY electronically illiterate. What camera do you use? I would like to spend only around $100 or so and I want something that will take great pictures and be relatively easy to use (no bells and whistles). I would love to hear everyone's opinion on some great cameras out there and why they are so great.

Thanks in advance,

Laura

P.S. I had no idea where to put this in this forum. I figured once I get my camera that would unleash my creativity in taking the pictures of my creations. Am I right? (LOL)

Whats's your favorite Jewlery-related book?

dressagewoman — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:11:00 GMT

Well, I've been a bibliophile my whole life, so it's probably no surprise that I'm finding a lot of inspiration in books and magazines. I like the ones that describe a technique and show a variety of results using it, rather than the more "project" oriented ones.

In fact, the book "Bead on a Wire" by Sharilyn Miller, started me off on this whole jewelry making adventure. I was making jeweled browbands for my horse and just looking for some basic techniques (like crimping, really basic) and this book made me go "wow! I want to make wire do that!" Now I'm exploring books on Color and Design and polymer clay as well as wire working...

What's your favorite book? What book has most influenced your work?

Elizabeth Gilbert on Creative Genius at TED

Inner Voice Designs — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:06:50 GMT

Elizabeth provided a truly inspirational speech. She starts with the thought that her best success may be behind her now, and questions her way of coping with this thought as she continues to create in the future. She explores ancient thoughts about coping with the emotional risks of creativity.

I would post the video, but Im pretty new to the forum and I dont know all the rules just yet, so if you go to my blog I have the whole video embedded so you can watch it. Its very inspirational.

http://innervoicedesigns.wordpress.com/

printers

moon — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:12:16 GMT

i need help choosing the best printer to print photos of my jewelry

Making Cable Jewelry

Custom Jewelry — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:53:18 GMT

Making wire bind jewelry is mostly a simple way to make jewelry from rope. It is a cheap way of making rope jewelry and enjoy it since you made it. All that is needed are few pair of pliers cable or wire, wrap jewelry. If you have a little of imagination and the tolerance to sit and enfold wire, then making wire enfold jewelry could be your key distinction from other jewelry.

There are a few methods to make cable jewelry and that once more is on the type of materials you use and on the kind of jewelry portion you are making. Nevertheless, it is one of the simplest ways to make cool jewelry fast. There are websites and books available on making cable necklaces, bracelets that will direct you slowly on how you can attain the jewelry part of choice such as a necklace, bracelet, ring or earrings or any other jewelry that you like. Hope you enjoy this post and feel to reply with any ideas or suggestions. Thank you!

Do you use creative methods for sneaking beads into the house?

robinaronson — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:39:07 GMT

This may have been done before, but I did a search on 'sneak' and 'smuggle' and didn't get any hits. It was prompted by yet another comment from a customer about how she was going to sneak her latest bead purchase into the house.

Just thought I'd throw this out and see how many confessions we get, or let us know the most creative way you have smuggled jewelry-related items into the house. People in the Beadstyle forum might be more likely to be the ones to smuggle, but this is the one I hang around in, so I thought I'd post here.

For my confession, some of my purchases used to stay in the trunk of the car where I wouldn't really need them until hubby happened to be in the shower. (It's easier now that we sell beading components - there's no way for him to tell what is inventory and what has been purchased for my use.)

Photographic Inspiration

salster — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:21:54 GMT

Hi I am not sure if this is the place for this post, I have recently returned from our family holiday, while I was away I picked up some new cabs and as I couldnt start work on them straight away for the first time I picked up a pencil and pad and decided to try my hand at drawing my designs (I usually avoid this as I am rubbish at drawing!) This then led me to thinking about sources of inspiration, I had my camera with me and decided to photograph anything that looked kind of interesting!
So long story short.............these are the pics that I took, I love the contrast of the black and white, it seems to highlight the lines.

Hey, I'm the first to post....'shudder' scary..LOL

ilove5ferrets — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:12:02 GMT

Ok, well if I've got a severe case of creativity block I go for a walk. It's that simple, wether I walk in the park or on a trail there's always something to spark inspiration. I would say nature is the queen of inspiration, like..."oh look at how those violet flowers pop in the long golden grass" or how the reflection of the tree flows and sways in the water. Even the crowded city can provide inspiration however, like the way the bright neon lights illuminate the darkness. All three of these situations can inspire jewelry, bright purple beads on gold wire or chain or even on hemp cord! Dark, light and bright green beads along with royal blue beads dispursed randomly throught the piece, or brightly colored beads wrapped with jet black artistic wire!! Oooh the possibilties....aaah....I'm in heaven, yes I'm in heaven....LOL!! Please reply to tell how you unleash your creativity, I would love to know ( and so would everyone else I'm sure!) !! :)

LOL

Tabitha

The most unusual things I've used

Marie St. Claire — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:06:30 GMT

I'd have to say it's a toss up between three different media.

When I was in high school, I made a bonsai planter bowl for a cypress from a cast-off brake drum. It was so heavy we didn't even have to secure it when a tropical storm or hurricane hit. Sucker must have been made out of cast iron.

Another thing i've used is toilet paper. What the hell, I was really broke. I was working on a small piece of painted muslin using watered down acrylic paint mixed with white glue. When the paint/glue mixture was still wet, but tacky (no pun intended), I wadded up pieces of toilet paper and blotted them on the fabric. This created an unusual texture and also left small toilet paper fibers (cling-ons?) on the fabrics. I then made beads from the finished fabric and sealed them with a very light coating of a water-based polyurethane spray. The muslin was free from worn-out clothes, and everything else was left over from other projects So the jewelry line was essentially a no-cost, recycled project which was very attractive. I marketed it as eco-friendly (which it was), sold it at a local craft fair only 2 miles form home and made a nice profit with a negligible carbon footprint.

I'd have to say the other most unusual item I used was a large screw and washer and a piece of K-wire (surgical supplies used to stabilized a fracture) which were removed from my knee in 1977. Unfortunately, I lost it a few years after I made the broach!!!! How could I ever replace those supplies.

If anyone has used anything more unusual than that, I'll eat my hat (but not one of my vintage or home-made ones!!

Speaking of recycled materials, we have one of the only paint and solvent recycling facilities in the South, or possibly the nation. If you'd like to start one in your community, google "The Green Project" of New Orleans and they'd be happy to help you get started.

Creativity abounds

lapidarygirl — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:39:05 GMT

I unleash creativity in a number of ways. The most successful for me is to buy new beads and findings on speculation. By that, I mean that I have no clear idea of what to do with them at the time I make my purchase. I take them home and throw them on my desk and let them move around and suggest to me what I should do with them.

Occasionally, I will have a specific design in mind when I buy something only to find that when I get it home, it tells me to do something else entirely.

Color plays such a big role in jewelry making (even if you are working just in metals), that sometimes I will just sit and look at clothing catalogs and then inspiration strikes.

I have a day job in a jewelry supply shop and the thing I hear most from new customers is that they would like to make jewelry but that they are not creative. We all have creativity inside of us. We just have to find the right key to unlock it.

Where to find unique charms?

butteredheart — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 05:09:22 GMT

Sorry if this is posted under the wrong category, but i can't find the "Help where can i find?" section.

Aside from etsy and ebay, where do you buy whimsical vintage-looking charms? I find FMG's prices too steep... is there a cheaper alternative?

Hope someone can direct me to the right online store.

Thanks!

Help needed, wedding gift...

linas — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 22:26:44 GMT

Ok. I don´t take custom orders, but a friend of mine asked really nicely. So I need your help.

Her brother is getting married. And she wants me to make 2 pieces (one for the bride and the other one for her brother) that will fit together to one piece but still can be worn as separate pieces (not showing that it´s only a half).

And I´m just totally blank! I´m thinking of making something in PMC. But I also work with Polymer Clay, lampwork and do beading. So I´m really open for suggestions.

The couple ware simple things and both of them work as jurists. Thats all I know. My friend said she had no problem with me mixing the materials (since I work with different things), but I just don´t know what to do. If I don´t get any ideas I´ll have to turn her down, but I really want to give it a try first. Any ideas?

Also, I could not find an appropriate place to post this...

/Lina