New Tutorial Site Launched!

Hurray! My oldest website has been completely renovated and is now a full blown wire jewelry making tutorial website with roughly 25 tutorials. These tutorials are now available for necklaces, bracelets, cuffs, earrings, beads and wire and much more. Go to www.beadifferent.com and check it out.

You'll even find some new free tutorials on wire manipulation and making "wibers", strands of thin gauge fiber and wire combined which will allow you to incorporate color/fibers/threads into your own jewelry. Simply download the free tutorial and you'll be on your way! You'll also find this tutorial helpful if you decide you can't live without some of the other tutorials on fiberwire jewelry. More free tutorials will be added on a continuing basis.

There's also a section on "The Beginner's Series" although this is just the beginning of this series. I decided to do a series of tutorials for those beginners who are looking for an alternative to wire wrapping. As a metalsmith, I learned (and taught myself) a different way of learning how to make both simple and complex wire jewelry and that's what I'm aiming at teaching with this series. The first of these "Beginner Series" tutorials is on manipulating wire by making two different kinds of wire earrings: wavey hoops and a wavy long earring using black steel wire that you can get at the hardware store.

With sterling silver at now over $40 an ounce, I'll be focusing my attention on using alternative metals like copper and nugold and even aluminum in a number of the newest tutorials as well.

Now that www.beadifferent.com is finally live, a dream for many years, I'll be working with aluminum (very soft and wonderful material to work with) in both wire and sheet forms. There is so much that I want to teach you all as I continue my wire jewelry adventure!

Review of the DVD On Making Fork Jewelry

Another Photo of a Fork Bracelet

I just had an article published called, What Makes Fork Jewelry So Appealing? that you might find interesting. I'll admit that this was a bit of a diversion for me but I thoroughly enjoyed the writing of it. I spent some time researching the history of the fork just because the whole idea of making jewelry from utensils is such a quick way for beginners to learn about making this very fast jewelry.

Learning to make real silver jewelry from forks is viable for anyone who's always wanted to make jewelry. In the process of learning how to say, make either bracelets or necklaces from forks, you also get to acquire some pretty quick but essential metalsmithing techniques. Like polishing and grinding, smoothing out your metal and adding all that shine that makes metal jewelry so appealing.

Since there's no annealing (heating) or fire necessary in the most recent DVD on Making Fork Jewelry, this method of making jewelry is especially appealing for beginners or novices to metalsmithing (making metal jewelry from scratch). There is so much to learn as a metalsmith that it can be overwhelming for quite awhile. Metal just isn't that forgiving and if you make a mistake and put a ding in something, it can take hours to remedy it.

Making jewelry from utensils though helps you avoid a lot of that frustration. I recently had the chance to review the DVD Making Fork Jewelry: How To Make Amazingly Unique Fork Bracelets and Necklaces by Maryanne Cherubino and was pleasantly surprised at how remarkably easy it is to do. In this DVD, Ms. Cherubino deftly walks you thru making TWO fork bracelets and a necklace to boot. The video is only around an hour long and by the time you're done, you have all the knowledge you need to make the pieces. Given the speed of working with already made forks, I believe you could make a few, if not several, within an hour or so. What other beautifully made, complex looking silver jewelry could you make that quickly? and also have it look professionally made? Being able to play off of the intricately designed forks is a sure fire leg up as well as wonderful inspiration.

In any event, there's a quick video on the process that's available to view before you purchase the whole DVD. If you're at all intrigued by the idea of learning to make jewelry from forks, I'd suggest you check it out HERE. I hope you'll be as enticed as I was.

Making Fork Jewelry

I've just come across something rather unusual in making jewelry: how to make fork jewelry! While my first encounter with jewelry made from forks was in the 1970's, today's fork jewelry is far more sophisticated and I think, appealing. Back in those hippie days, you could pretty much tell that utensil jewelry was really made from well, kitchen utensils. Nowadays, this type of jewelry making can tell you how to imbed gorgeous stones using the tines of the fork in a flowing kind of fashion. The results are nothing short of amazing! Seeing is truly believing where fork jewelry is involved. I was so excited about this new product that I started a completely new blog about making jewelry from forks.

There's a very short video on exactly how to go about making bracelets and necklaces from forks available here. I've decided to affiliate with this product and as such, do get remuneration should you choose to purchase the DVD although I'm far more interested in providing new and interesting educational resources for my readers. One of my main interests in presenting this to you is that making fork jewelry is a ready entry point for anyone wanting to either learn jewelry making as a beginner or anyone just wanting to expand their skills. Making fork jewelry is relatively simple compared to other metalsmithing projects. It's one of those few art jeweler skills that offers nearly immediate gratification. Now, what's better than that?

Great Things Coming

I haven't written in awhile because I've been busy redoing my Beadifferent Press website. Last year I put up my Woven Wire Studio website for showing exhibit and more advanced work. This year it's all about getting my tutorial and books up and running again.

The new Beadifferent Press website will be dramatically different from the original site. It's going to be top notch with a slide show of available tutorials on the homepage. There will also be featured designs/tutorials showing on the homepage.

I've been working on roughly 50 tutorials on necklaces, bracelets and earrings, each of which has a unique wire technique. I've also almost finished a 50 page technique tutorial on tubular braiding that I've been working on for over a year.........I'm very proud of this particular technique tutorial since it's got around 40 step by step photos and is very thorough.

Many of the techniques that I'll be presenting at the new Beadifferent Site are ones that I've created over the past 20 years. The real challenge in wirework for me is the creation of new techniques, something original. Getting all of it down in pdf's has been and continues to be, a massive undertaking. But, I promise, it will be well worth it. Right now I'm targeting this Fall for the launch. In the meantime, if you haven't already done so, please feel free to sign up on the Beadifferent Press website for my free wire bead tutorial. More soon..........