Search results matching tags 'Art Jewelry magazine' and 'free projects'

New online content — free videos, projects, and PDFs

Hazel Wheaton — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:56:00 GMT

::eyes calendar::

It's been a long time since we last checked in with the blog, but to make it up to you, I come bearing gifts. Our July 2009 issue made its debut just in time for the Bead & Button Show, which has occupied all our lives recently. We're awfully proud of the issue, and a quick look at the July table of contents will make it clear why.

To add extra value to the print edition, we've put a whole bunch of new content online, from videos that demonstrate particular techniques, to articles that give the basics about a particular medium, to charts that provide quick references when you're trying to pick out the right drill bit to use.

Plus, subscribers to the print magazine get an extra how-to project that directly ties in with one of the projects in the magazine.

Here's a rundown of some of the new stuff:

New subscriber-only project:

Learn how to use wireworking and wire-wrapping techniques to embellish a hook clasp in this beginner tutorial by Erin Paton. You can make a plain clasp or dress it up with a pearl — your choice!

Three new reference charts, available as free PDFs:

Ring size chart: Find standard U.S. and U.K. ring sizes plus inside diameter measurements and inside circumference measurements in this quick-reference chart. Also, learn how to calculate the length of metal sheet you'll need to make ring bands.

Metal piercing chart: Use this handy chart to determine which drill bit and saw blade to use for piercing your metal sheet.

Convert drill bit sizes to inches or millimeters: Drill bit sizes are based on a gauge system that's different from the standard wire-gauge system. Use this chart to convert between drill bit number, inches, and millimeters.

To get you all prepped for Angela Gerhard's lovely Sgraffitto enamel bracelet project, Associate Editor Jill Erickson has written an Introduction to Enamels: A glossary of terms plus safety basics.

And finally, the Art Jewelry editors unveil four brand-new instructional videos:

New video: Using a rolling mill Watch this video to learn about how to use a rolling mill to make a sheet of metal thinner.

New video: Roll-printing Metal Watch this video to learn how to impress a texture onto a sheet of metal using a rolling mill.

New video: Using a Disk Cutter Watch this video to learn how to use a disk cutter to cut circular disks from a sheet of metal.

New video: Using a Dapping Block Watch this video to learn how to use a dapping block to dome a piece of metal.

Enjoy all the new goodies!

New free fine-silver earrings project from Art Jewelry magazine, featuring water casting!

Addie Kidd — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

We just released Art Jewelry magazine's newest free downloadable project – in it you can learn how to make a pair of really fun mismatched Serendipity Earrings (click here to download the project). In the tutorial I walk you through all the steps necessary to solder and assemble the oxidized fine silver earrings you see at right.

I created these earrings to showcase one of my favorite (low-stress, non-fiddly, imprecise) jewelry-making techniques – water casting. I'm telling you, this technique is fool-proof! Even if you've never done a casting of any kind before, I guarantee you that you will make one-of-a-kind, artistic, and organic-looking components with water casting.

The result are instantaneous, which satisfies my instant-gratification streak. AND, if for some reason you don't like the components that you've made, you can remelt them and try again. You can't beat that!

[I added a teeny-tiny 2mm 24k solid gold accent ball to each earring. Little splashes of gold like that are a fantastic and inexpensive way to add color and panache to a jewelry piece. No seriously, this gold's not expensive: you can buy a pair of these little gold balls at Metal Clay Findings for less than 17 bucks!]

To see just how little time it takes to make a water casting, check out this video. (You need to be registered to view it, but registration is FREE!) Follow along as I pour molten fine silver into a bucket of water, and then immediately check out the results.

To learn all the particulars about water casting, read my article "Goof-Proof Water Casting" in the May 2009 issue.

And if you're mixing your own alloys to use with that water casting, you should check out our alloy calculator here. Just plug in the metal alloy you'd like to make and the calculator will instantly figure out the exact ingredient ratios for you. (Maybe it's just me, but here's a big whoo hoo for less math!)

Speaking of calculators, we also have a gold karat calculator for you too. Just plug in whatever karat of gold that you already have and the calculator will tell you what you need to add to your gold to change it to another karat (either higher or lower). How nifty is that??

If you give water casting a try, please post a comment and tell me how you like it.
I'd be surprised if it's not one of your new favorites.

Take care,

~Addie~

P.S. Click here to download our free desktop wallpaper for the month of March – a necklace by John Wik featuring a chain mail bezel around a guitar pick. How cool is that??

New chain mail project by Beth Hall shows how to make a flat weave that you can use to capture a gemstone

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:05:00 GMT

We at Art Jewelry love knowing that people are excited about making jewelry, whether they're subscribing to our magazine or, inexplicably, not. So, no matter what your subscriber status, read on to find out how you can get free projects!

Subscribers, you can download our new free project by Beth Hall here: It's an easy chain mail weave that you can wrap around a small gemstone. The resulting caged stone is a great component that you can use in multiple jewelry pieces. The project, of course, shows the components as earrings, but as Beth Hall suggests in the article, you could also use them in bracelets, necklaces, and as household embellishments. Check out the article to find out how she configures the components in different jewelry pieces, and to see her suggestions for other uses.

Not a subscriber? Click here to learn about the many perks of being an Art Jewelry magazine subscriber. (For example, you already know that you'd be able to download this chain mail project for free!) Among other things, you would also be able to read expert technique articles and see the contents of our must-have toolboxes in our Reference section here.

If you're a commitment-phobe, and you still want free projects, we're always putting new ones here.

And your random factoid for the day: My Forgotten English calendar word for November 20th was "bijoutry. Jewelry; the making or dealing in jewelry. —Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon c. 1850." The calendar goes on to note that November 20th is also the feast day of St. Bernward, "a twelfth-century French patron of jewelers."

Happy jewelry making!

—Kristin