Comments on: Tips for Making Jewelry Wire Work Links for Polymer Clay Disc Beads

By: Joceyln

Joceyln — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:54:06 +0000

Cindy – Just getting ready to start the color section of your bead making course. What I would have paid to have these tutorials to have started with at the beginning!!! When I think of all the hours I wasted trying to figure out how these techniques and tools worked…. from books (ugh! always too short and not enough pictures) or from TV (too fast, too much left out), it almost makes me want to cry. LOL! — For someone just starting, wow. Talk about a jump start into being able to create beautiful objects. Going to be able to test out this with a friend of mine soon. She loved the stuff I showed her, and being another photographer, loved the idea of creating beaded slip knots to be able to adjust her camera equipment. So, for her birthday in Sept, her husband is giving her membership to your site and the bead course. Will be fabulous to watch someone artistic start from scratch with your courses, blog, and tuts and see what she does.

The drill bit section was particularly notable. Never had thought of or seen someone turn these into tools. For me, the use of power tools will be a little risky with the hands, so this technique opens the door for safely adjusting bead holes without a hole in the hand via the Dremel. Just took a good sized chunk out of my thumb yesterday wiping a kitchen knife clean while slicing my tiny yellow plum tomatoes for drying (yum, so sweet) so caution is something I really need to apply when I start with the process again this winter. Definitely hauling out all my old bottles of red nail polish and marking the tissue blades right end up before I set to work too.

Another tip I am going to start using religiously is tearing the clay in half, then rolling through the pasta machine. Always folded and put the folded end in first, but, thinking back, I think using that method is bad, bad, bad. Introduces way to much air into the clay, and your way is just as fast. Actually, it’s fun, LOL! I like tearing it, and looking at the inside, comparing it to the surface. — Well, time for bed. Thanks to you, the bead courses and your site, today was exhilarating. Fondly always.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:23:37 +0000

Agree with Aims, would love to see some instructions on how to create bezels, especially with all those faux stone lessons in our future.

By: Catalina

Catalina — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:13:48 +0000

I’m lucky to have married an electrician! He came home one day and was telling me how he had to lift this cable that was about 10″ in diameter! He was the only one who could lift it up to a guy on a ladder up about 20 feet in the air!.

He brought me a 4″inch piece which had a diameter of an inch and about 20 copper wires inside. I told him I wanted some more! He said only a small scrape because copper is expensive and people have been know to steal more than a scrape and have gotten into a lot of trouble. So, he got me a piece about 12″ long and I have yet to do anything with it. By the way the cable he was talking about had 10 or 12 of those 1″ inch pieces bound together in one big cable!! That one inch piece weights about 3lbs. So, can you imagine how heavy that cable was? That 12″ piece could be used to knock someone out like a club! You couldn’t even bend it.

Now, I will strip the rubber off and get it ready for some wire jewelry!!

By: Freda

Freda — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:26:34 +0000

You have a great Home Depot. Mine doesn’t have the small copper wire and I’ll bet they don’t have this black wire. They suggested I go to Joann’s.
When you put a piece like this up, I always want to see the whole piece.

By: Cindy Lietz@Alcohol Ink Polymer Clay

Cindy Lietz@Alcohol Ink Polymer Clay — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:29:35 +0000

@Ritzs: My parents just cleaned out their shed so I’ve got a good stock of copper wire too!

@aims: Crafty people are very innovative! I’m glad to hear you’re doing alright. You are an important part of this community! :-)

By: aims

aims — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:04:10 +0000

Isn’t it amazing how innovative jewelry makers are! They will use anything to create something beautiful!

I’m interested in wirewrapping pieces – like creating a bezel or something like that.

btw Cindy – thank you for your lovely comment over on mine. You made me feel great.

By: Ritzs

Ritzs — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:47:41 +0000

I cant wait to see how you do them, I have just striped electric cable to get the copper wire so now i have a good stock