Tips on how to care for your wire jewelry

Couldn't resist it, I had to get these fabulous colored wires because of their gorgeous colors from nottoto.

I also asked her (Anne's her name, Toto's the name of her pooch) how would anyone care for their wire jewelry, and she was kind enough to share the following information:

The colored wires are enameled copper wire and indeed tarnish-resistant, and shouldn't change colors at all. they are made from a core of copper, coated with a colored enamel coating, and then coated again with a clear enamel for protection. so they should always stay the color/s they are now.

For silver filled wire, and the solid copper wire, they are not coated, and since silver and copper are both reactive metals, eventually they will patina. ways to keep this to a minimum is to keep them clean and dry when not worn, and wearing them will actually minimize a patina because of the gentle friction. the best and safest way to remove a patina is with the sunshine polishing cloths, but they don't really get into little nooks and crannies. for copper, a mix of lemon juice or vinegar plus a little salt works well, and then buff clean to shine again, and for silver, if i need to use a liquid, i use Weiman's liquid silver tarnish remover. i don't know if vinegar/salt works for silver, but it is worth a try, just to minimize needing a chemical. to avoid using a chemical though, use some of the advice below and mainly keep clean, dry and in baggies, because many of the impurities that cause tarnishing are in the air, soaps, cleaners, water, etc...

It is recommended that you clean it with the same care of opals and pearls. My 'philosophy' is to take care of all jewelry as though it's precious jewelry, regardless of the materials they're made from.

here's what i recommend

• no chemicals
• no bleach or chlorine, no swimming pools, these quickly destroy any jewelry
• gentle cleaning only with a non abrasive gentle liquid cleaner
• rinse well, dry well
• keep cleaned pieces dry and in individual baggies
• don't toss in a jewelry box so things don't scratch each other
• no perfumes, lotions, oils, instead, wash clean of these things
• no household cleaners
• no abrasives, except my sunshine polishing cloths,
• no toothpaste as abrasive

wear with gentle care - if you wouldn't do it wearing the most expensive diamond, don't do it with any jewelry on - like washing dishes, scrubbing, etc...

So do visit nottoto to see what other supplies she has plus she has great after-sales service. I'm a fan and loyal customer!

New Pendants

When you have to much stock in jewelry supplies, it's time to stop buying more and start getting to designing items. Here are some new pendants I made 2 weeks ago, I used the parrot clasp as a bail so you would be able to use it with a chain, cord, ribbon or whatever you fancy as a necklace. I used 30ga wires to assemble the components together.

BEFORE

AFTER

Materials: Chain, bicone glass beads, tarnish-resistant wire, aged brass leafs and findings

Materials: Off-white lucite rose, aged gold disc , swarovski crsytals, tarnish-resistant wire (Sapphire), aged brass leafs and findings

Materials: Off-white lucite rose, aged gold disc, red coral, peridot chips, swarovski crystal, tarnish-resistant wire, aged brass leafs and findings

Bazaar @ Cineleisure again

Off I will go again for the weekend bazaar tomorrow and day after at Cineleisure @ the Curve in Mutiara Damansara. Setting up a temporary booth takes a lot of work I admit, but once you get into the hang of things, everything flows into place nicely. I'm still waiting for things to flow. Having a checklist for setup helps, so here's mine (for now):

• Tool box with pliers, scissors, glue, debur tool, pens, ruler, wire cutter.
• Cellophane tape
• Duct / Masking tape
• memo pads
• little price displays
• Price tags
• Calculator
• Receipt book
• Sketch book
• Namecard
• paper and plastic bags
• Earring display stand
• Necklace displays
• Trays
• A4 Poster
• My finished jewelry
• Some findings and loose beads (to do on-the-spot requests for new jewelry, customize size to fit customers and repairs)

Hmmm... did I miss out anything?

The last time I was there, the setup was next to McDonalds, I think it should be there again. See you there if you're free ;)

Wedding season is drawing near

As the warmer season draws near in certain parts of the world (over here, it's summer all year round), so is the wedding season. So to celebrate the idea of romance, passion and all things love, I created a range of earrings to suit the mood (matching necklace and bracelets still in progress :)).

I used tarnish-resistant gold-tone and sterling silver wires to create sets using swarovski crystals in different colors and lucite roses. Tell me what you like or don't about it. It would be nice to hear your thoughts...

Wire jewelry fit for a bride!

What a great experience I had last weekend! i did a setup at the weekend bazaar in Cineleisure@theCurve and got some favourable response. Met a lot of nice folks who were doing their thing too, and equally as many great customers :)

Had a customer (Esther's her name) who's getting registered this week and was looking for a necklace and bracelet set to match her gown. So she got a piece of wire jewelry that I put up for display and I custom-made a bracelet on-the-spot for her (on-the-spot was more like 3 1/2 hours actually). I used a small cream lucite rose, tarnish-resistant half-hard gold wire to form the daisies and the frame of the focal flower, textured gold metal beads and aged brass findings to give it character.

Congratulations Esther, and wish you and your other half a wonderful life together!

If you want to shorten your URL...

Have you noticed how some other websites have shorter URLs? For instance, I usually copy the long link for my FB page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trinket-Trove-Handmade-by-Jessie/148058104975 , which will take up a chunk of your space for your tweets.

Instead of that, you can shorten your URL by visiting http://bit.ly/ . Sign up for your free account, and you can get a complete history, real-time stats, and saved preferences.

So, with my shorten FB URL, http://bit.ly/cyFcId, I'm able to tweet it with a relevant remark or promotional message.

Trinket Trove at the weekend bazaar in Cineleisure this weekend

Since I've got way too much things and stock on hand now, I've got to find a way to clear them. So, I'll be parking myself for the weekend (Sat - Sun) from 11am - 10pm in Cineleisure @ Mutiara Damansara (near the Curve) to showcase my stuff in real person. So, if you've got some time, come on over, and check it out.

BTW, if you've got existing jewelry that you want to repair or you have some loose beads you're thinking of making into earrings perhaps, bring them over and let's see what I can do for you. I'll bring my tools so if I can, your things will be fixed on the spot.

See you there!

Jessie

Added more of those odd looking beaded rings...

So I had some time of during the weekend and went crazy with beading more rings.

I used garnets, amethyst, rose quartz, swarovski crystals, turquoise, and various types of seedbeads.

With a ring mandrel as a guide, I am able to custom make from US size 2 - 15.

Had some camera problems but uploaded the images nonetheless.

The turquoise ring stands out by far, but the other darker ones exude some mystery. Well, that's what I think anyway.