I have these pretty hemp necklaces and they smell bad and I was wondering if there is a way I can get them to stop smelling bad. I wove most of them myself. Any ideas? Thanks.
soak them if they are up to it. With soap and water or detergent
Are you setting up an an online shop? If not you should consider doing so, as you will receive considerable higher traffic which will generate into more sales. If you are not sure you’d like to spend the money on your own domain right now, Etsy is a good website for this. You can set up your own online shop relatively easy, and they also have a great support network and feature many artists and their wares on their main page.
Having said that, there are more to setting up shop than putting your wares online. You need to be very organized, keep track of your purchases and your stock. How much money are you spending vs. earning? You can start by keeping all your receipts in an excel sheet, and creating various tabs for various expenses. This should keep you on track and on budget even online. If you are interested in reading more in depth articles on this and other topics related to setting up shop online, check out the following resources I have pasted below.
Best of luck to you!!!
Jewellery making articles and setting up shop
http://www.stonesandfindings.com/jewelry-making-articles
What is the best way to package jewelry for a move. I have a ton of necklaces and fishhook earrings and other small nick knacks that I’ve purchased while living in my current residence and I have to to move. Right now most of my jewelry is hanging on vanity trees and I’m wondering whats the best way to package them so they dont get tangled or damaged during the move.
When moving jewlery around you can get a box of snack sized or sandwich size ziplock bags and put each piece in its own baggie. Just toss all the baggies in a box that will contain them well ( without smashing the bags together) and of you go. Simple, effective, and cheap.
I made some and my mum suggested to sell them but I don’t know what an appropriate price be.
My bracelets are good but there not crap quality. I make the candy stripe ones, chinese staircases and more. Should they be like a dollar each? Should it depend if the more complicated the design, higher the price?
sell them on ebay, and start it at a bid you like and watch it go up.
And would it be a sin if you kept looking after your threw those beads?
I take the rosary seriously. I have given rosaries, but I have never thrown them around like the Santa Claus in the back of a truck throws candies. I don’t think many would be converted.
I’m not Christian and I don’t like the religion much at all but I don’t go around knocking it every chance I get but if I got preached to I would be a little blunt. How would I fare in this part in America? What would happen if I wore a necklace of another religion’s symbol (i.e. not a cross)? I’ve just heard rumours about this part of the world and want to hear what some Americans might say to this.
I lived in Oklahoma for a year in a small town (population roughly 20,000). I was a pagan when I lived there, and I often wore a pentacle necklace. Some people asked me about it, but in all, I wasn’t treated that badly. There were no burning crosses left in my front yard or anything like that. I got along with my neighbors, though I’m sure they wondered about the suspicious smells coming from my apartment (I lived in a quad-plex type thing). I got along with most of my coworkers, who knew about my faith, and was even invited many times to hang out with them after work, or to a club on the weekends.
One of my managers was gay, and he was treated a lot worse than I was. But, after a couple weeks, most everyone followed me in accepting him. He lived with his boyfriend, even, and several of us got to where we’d go to their house after work for beer and movies. It was fine.
I think it all depends on a person’s attitude and exactly where they’re living in the "Bible Belt." Some places are more tolerant than others. The place I lived was pretty tolerant, though I did get strange looks every now and then.
Looking to buy an Irish Claddagh ring for my girlfriend for valentines day. I have the choice between a sterling silver ring coated in thick white gold or one that is simply sterling silver. I know nothing about jewelry Can anyone tell me which one would be better?
the white gold plating will add a ‘colder’ color to the silver and will prevent tarnish for as long as it’s there. ‘Thick’ plating means nothing unless it states how thick it actually is. Sterling silver has a warmer color and will scratch a bit easier. It will also tarnish (turn black) after a while, but that is easily cleaned off and with regular wear shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
How long will the plating last? That depends on the thickness of the plating, how regularly the ring is worn and what type of activities your girlfriend does with the ring on (gardening etc.).
I personally don’t like the white gold plating. To me, the silver looks like rhodium plated costume jewelry. I like the way silver ‘ages’. The little scratches, the bit of tarnish that will sit in the scratches etc. It gives the jewelry real personality.
I really love jewellery and when I’m older I plan to study jewellery design, I want to start making some pieces as a hobby, i really like the kitsch style and quirky necklaces and bracelets. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good way to start making jewellery and any good websites to get some charms from? 
Many thanks.
xx
Check out Fire Mountain. Besides selling virtually any and everything you would need as a supply, they have a gallery of designs, and the staff are very helpful. They have online chat (or was that email?) but also you can call them.
They also sell silver CLAY and the tools to form the jewelry and to fire (or "torch") it. I plan on buying that set up this next spring.
Have fun!
I wanted to make some earrings using a pair of rabbits i made with clay. Do I glue it onto the earwires or do I poke a hole through it before baking so I can insert the head pin?
There are quite a few ways to attach small polymer clay items to other things, including to earring findings. Basically you can make a hole, or you can put something in the clay that creates a loop.
If you make a hole, the hole can go all the way through the fat part of the item or bead (usually from top to bottom, or could be from side to side), or a hole can be made from front to back (usually in flatter items).
In the first case, you’d usually thread a head pin or an eye pin through the hole from the bottom of the item, then bend the top of the shank sticking out of the hole into a loop shape by hand.
You’d either attach that loop to the loop of a dangle-type earring finding, or you’d attach a jumpring then attach the jump ring to the finding for a bit freer dangle.
In the second case, you’d put a jump ring through the hole, then attach the jumpring to the loop of an earring finding (…or if making a necklace, you might just thread the cording directly through the hole).
You can also create holes before or after hardening the clay… it’s a little easier beforehand though.
You can also "embed" the shortened shank of an eye pin into the top of the clay item before or after hardening the clay… again, it’s a bit easier beforehand.
Rather than describing all those possibilities in detail, I’ll just give you links to the 2 pages at my polymer clay encyclopedia site that have lessons, links to examples, variations, for them:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/pendants_cording.htm
…click on *Flat Holes* for making front to back holes
…click on *Top Loops* for putting shortened eye pins (or eye screws or upside-down U shapes) into the top of a clay item
http://glassattic.com/polymer/beads-holes.htm
…click on *Holes Before Baking* or *Holes After Baking* for top-to-bottom or side-to-side holes
And this page has info on creating your own "simple loops" in eye pins or other wires, if you need lessons for that:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/wire.htm
…click on *Basic Wire Shapes*
You might also want to check out the page where earrings in particular are discussed at my site too:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/jewelry.htm
…click on *Earrings*
HTH,
Diane B.
I saw some really cool pictures in google of these nice hemp bracelets and i cant find how to make them ANYWERE! Its getting on my nerves.
There is this one that looks braided multipul times and i wanna learn how to make it!!! If you find a site or actually know how to make it HELP is greatly needed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6nGKJd51IE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0SqmQNV2yU
