JEWELRY BASICS

This is a long overdue post.I'm not a jewelry expert. My older sister taught me the basics when I was in middle school. Eight or so years later, and I haven't really strayed far from what she taught me. It's those techniques I use to create all my earrings/creations, so they have worked well for me and hopefully will work well for you (:Also, I apologize beforehand about some of the explanations, I don't know exact technique names haha.1. HOW TO OPEN AND CLOSE CHAINSSo you can either take wire cutters and snip your chain, or you can open a single chain link. To open the link, find the 'crease'.Then take your pliers and press down on the crease.This way, you can still use the links instead of snipping them (;To close:Take your pliers and press the link closed.2. HOW TO MAKE A LOOPSlide your bead onto your headpin. Bend the pin close to the bead 90 degrees.Then use your wire cutters to snip the headpin. I think I left about half an inch? I pretty much eyeball it, and its better for the stem to be too long than too short. I usually save the remainder stem for later use.Grip the pin at the end then curl your grip into a loop shape.3. HOW TO MAKE A WIRE-WRAPPED LOOPThis will be using wire. First, slide your bead on a length of wire.Then take one side and wrap it around the bead to meet the other side. Curl it around the stem still sticking out.Wrap it around how ever many times you wish to. They look like bunny ears (; Then, you will snip that 'ear'.Using the same technique shown in #2, take the stem and bend it 90 degrees then make your loop. Wrap it around the base.#4. HOW TO OPEN AND CLOSE A JUMP RINGDon't open the ring like you would the chain link. But still look for the crease.Using the flat sides of your pliers, grip one side of your jump ring. With your other hand, grip the other side. Twist.Now to close:Using the flat side of your pliers again, grip one side of the jump ring. Using your other hand, twist the two sides together again.And those are your basics (; If you have any other questions, feel free to comment or email me at ask8645@gmail.comSince I used such huge beads for this post, I had no idea what to do with them. I ordered these beads when I didn't really know about different sizes... I was shocked getting 26mm beads in the mail. Humongous. I had no idea what I was doing.I ended up making a bracelet. Check out all the basics being used (:Thanks and happy crafting!- A