“That’s what I would like to get more of, ideas for male or unisex jewelry.” ~Ken-H
It was my Dad’s birthday the other day, so I decided to make him some jewelry for a present. I don’t normally give him jewelry, but I remembered that when I was a kid, he always wore a turquoise necklace and since he really enjoyed the faux bone inlaid box I gave him at Christmas, why not make him a faux bone necklace?
You may have seen the pendant in today’s photo before… in the Inlay Technique Video. When I made it, I thought of Dad. It is the perfect style and size for a Men’s Jewelry piece.
The hook and wire cord ends are made with niobium wire, to compliment the Bali Silver Beads strung above the pendant.
My dad has a rather large neck and I didn’t know the size of it off hand. So I placed it on an extra long leather cord and only clamped one end of the finding down. Then bringing my tools along to the party, I sized it for him right there.
It looked great on him. He told me that he loves getting the stuff I make for him, and that each piece reminds him to think about me. (It makes me feel nice just typing that out.)
I love you Dad. Happy Birthday!
I would love to have some more ideas for making jewlery and small gift items for men. ~Cheryl-H
That’s what I would like to get more of, ideas for male or unisex jewelry. I can come up with many ideas for jewelry for women but really really hit a block when it comes to designs for men. I don’t understand why I would have such a hard time designing for myself. ~Ken-H
Bravo Cindy! How often does it seem like polymer clay is more for us girls making jewelry and knicknacks. I like the fact that men can be included in receiving gifts from the polymer world too! ~Maria-C
How nice to see something suitable for the guys.
~Marilyn-P
Bracelets, and neck decorations, seem to be all the rage with some younger men. I was recently in my favorite local bead shop and Sandy, the owner was helping three young men, age 16-20 fresh from Hockey practice, choose beads for bracelets they wanted to make. Money seemed to be no object but they balked at the idea of taking one of the many classes the store offers. I asked the owner later and she said that wasn’t so unusual and quite often men accompany their wives or girlfriends to choose the beads for the guys’ jewelery. There seems to be a great market niche there! ~Lawrence-S
Love this! The heck with making them for men!! lol. I want one of these for myself. ~Elizabeth-S
Very cool Cindy! I don’t have any men in my family that would wear jewelry. They won’t even wear watches! But I know many ladies who would love to wear this also!! Maybe I’ll just have to start looking for men elsewhere!! Lol ~Maureen-G
Yes, I would like very much to learn more styles for boys/men. I am totally out of the loop on what is acceptable and “cool” these days for males! ~Meg-B
I have the same problem…. my husband always wants me to make him a necklace or something…. and it always seems to feminine…. might have something to do with my adoration of the fabulous and different flower canes out there though. He he he. ~Melinda-H
I’d love more jewellery ideas for men, too. My son is an artist and I think he’d enjoy wearing something I’d made for him. My DSIL, a sailor, wears earrings, so I guess jewellery for men is finally acceptable. I’d like to come up with a necklace or bracelet design that was attractive, easy to wear, and a little bit unusual. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. Cindy, I’m really enjoying my video subscription. Just wish I had more time to play with the clay! ~Sue-W
So who’s got some good mens jewelry stories, tips, ideas or questions to share? Would love to see some more chit chat on this topic. Please use the comments section below.
| ************************************************************************************************** | ||
| ** Did You Know… Members with current subscriptions to the weekly tutorial videos are always entitled to a 10% discount when purchasing 6 or more back issue packages in a single transaction. If you are interested, let me know which back issues you would like and I will send further instructions on how to complete your order. |
||
| ************************************************************************************************** |
I have made several sets of polymer clay cufflinks over the years. We made some as a thank you present for all the ushers at our wedding using a celtic knot cane which matched our wedding stationary. I have seem them wearing them at other weddings too so they must like them.
I also often give men keyrings made with chunky polymer clay beads in manly colours. Other than that I tend to default to my standard novelty tea spoon present for men. Perhaps I should try out some necklace gifts….
I guess men are much less likely to get handmade gifts so probably appreciate them all the more.
@Cara: I’d sure like to see your celtic knot cane … I have a friend who is really ‘into’ celtic knots and I’d love to make something for her with this type cane. Are you willing to share?
The very first polymer clay item I sold was a bracelet which the man bought for himself! More and more men are realizing that they are manly enough to wear jewelry! It used to be ‘sissy’ but not any more. A REAL man wears jewelry.
While I tend to lean toward girlie, feminine designs wouldn’t it be great to come up with something my husband and 13 year old would wear! This could be quite a challenge, but the more I think about this… Father’s Day is approaching….hmmm. It might take a bit more time persuading my son – although, for an honest critique on what’s cool and what’s not, I’m sure he’d be glad to oblige! ;0)
For Christmas I made for my son who is on the faculty of UPenn a masculine looking egg with a very simple coordinating stand. He loved it and said it would be on display on his desk at work! Now I want to make a pen to go with it. Cindy, can you add pens to your list of future videos?
Thanks guys for your kinds words!
@carolyn: I don’t know if I will add pens to the tutorials or not. Others have done quite a bit of that and I am trying to stay more focused on polymer clay beads and jewelry… but we’ll have to see.
That turned out fantastic! Think I’ll try something like that for myself.
I am a grateful new member of your weekly video program and have purchased a few back issues, as well. I remember a week when you showed a super skinner blend technique done with alcohol ink, but I cannot find it. Could you please tell me which week it was. Thank you. Katherine Davis
@Katherine Davis: Hi Katherine, that was Cindy’s Psychedelic 60’s Glowing Jellyroll Cane. That’s the link to the article about it, with the video preview. For the actual video, go to the member video library, (link at top of page,) and in the table of contents go to 1. Weekly Video Newsletter. This will list your recent videos. But here’s the direct link to Video 022-1: Glowing Jellyroll Cane
Have fun!
@Katherine D: Forgot to mention, that was Friday, March 5th. Welcome to the community!
OH! Well, I didn’t look back at the glow jelly-roll because the description did not mention alcohol ink. Stupid, because that was a big part of the video.
Maybe if Cindy has time, it would be nice to have a SEARCH feature for dummies like me. She has obviously given me more than I can comprehend but I have high hopes that eventually it will all sink in.
Thanks again Phaedrkat.
Katherine Davis
@Katherine Davis: You’re not a dummy! You just focused on the inks instead of the type of clay used (Glow-in-the-dark-GITD.) The big “selling point” leading up to the tutorial was the glow-in-the-dark cane. It was an exciting topic around here!
Anyway, there is a search at the top left of every page in the blog. This could be used to find the videos, if you ever forget the name of one. Just type in what you know about the video, and it will lead you to the blog article & video preview (with the name on it.) I tried typing “alcohol ink”, and it came up 6th on the list. I tried again with “alcohol ink” and added “cane” and it came up as the number 1 item. (It also came up as #1 result with “glow-in-the-dark” or “gitd”, etc.) You can play around with the info you have to find what you’re looking for. There’s a search in the Library, too, but I haven’t used it before. Good luck, and I hope you enjoyed the video! I loved that one — thought it was extra cool!