Blog - Candie Cooper

Boho Jacket Pin – DIY Jewelry

December 8, 2016 By candiecooper 2 Comments

Fall is here. Let’s make a pin about it. Bust out your leather scraps….(way more fun than raking leaves). Today we are making a Boho Jacket Pin – DIY Jewelry.

Full disclosure: I work with Sizzix on creative projects like this. All opinions shared in this post are mine.
I’ve got charms, ribbons, chains and more coming out my ears. These things are my love language. It only made sense to add them to this leather pin I created with Sizzix’s Jewelry Studio Tool (see source list at the end of this post).

You can make your pin out of felt, paper and more… This one is layers of leather conchos cut with this die and riveted together with a rivet from Tandy Leather.

Filed Under: Show Notes

How to open and close jump rings-for DIY jewelry

November 2, 2016 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Here is a quick project to show you the ins and outs of using a jump ring.

This post is brought to you by Beadalon–thanks Beadalon for sponsoring my blog posts and supporting my love of DIY jewelry.

One of the very first things I show people how to do when making jewelry is how to open and close a jump ring. It’s such a simple act and you can make so many things by knowing this technique for making connections in DIY jewelry. That’s how I made this sweet moth necklace.
The jump rings at the tip of the wings connect the moth to the chain. In about 5 minutes, you can have yourself an over the head layering necklace (and a really good time). Check out the tutorial and video at the end of this post for details on opening and closing a jump ring.
It’s helpful to use two pairs of chain nose pliers (see materials list at the end of this post) when opening and closing rings. Some people like to use a bent chain nose pliers to help hold their jump ring as well. Beadalon also has a super helpful jump ring tool to make opening jump rings much easier. You will still use your pliers to close the ring when you are finished.

Place the ring’s opening at “12 o’clock” and twist the ring open with the two pairs of pliers. Don’t open it so the ring looks like a “C” because it’s super hard to get the ring to go back into a perfect circle after this.
Connect your clasp, chain, moth, etc… and twist the jump ring closed.

This is a super quick project with beautiful results. You can use any pendant that has two holes as the top to complete this project, let your imagination take over.

Supply List:

Beadalon Ergo Pliers

Beadalon Jump Rings

Jesse James Bead’s Moth Pendant

Filed Under: Beads, Tutorials

Got Beading Wire? Four Necklace Ideas with Beading Wire

October 26, 2016 By candiecooper 1 Comment

This post brought to you by BEADALON. Thanks Beadalon for helping me to keep the lights on at my work bench. All opinions shared here are my own.

Got Beading Wire?

So after the post that explains all the ins and out of how to choose wire for beading, I thought it might be helpful to share some jewelry projects that actually use beading wire. Here are 4 of my favorite DIY jewelry making projects that use various beading wires. All four of these necklaces can be made using Beadalon’s selection of beading wire.

The quartz layering necklace. This jewelry piece has been a staple in my wardrobe with it’s neutral tones and exotic nature.
The illusion style necklace with .024in diameter gold, nylon coated wire.Quartz layering necklace–I wore this thing until it fell off!

Big chunky beads with Czech glass for the win in this fun necklace!

And the multi-strand gemstone Eden necklace to top this post off.

Filed Under: Bead Love, stringing

Candie Cooper on Etsy

September 14, 2016 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Have you checked out the Candie Cooper Etsy store?

For the last two months I’ve been loading the shop with unique DIY jewelry components. There’s a whole lotta rustic charm and sparkle.

Speaking of sparkle.,,,One of our faves right now is the Blue Jean Louise Swarovski bracelet kit. It goes together in a snap and packs some mega sparkle. Good for gifts. Amazing for bridal accessories. Honestly, we can’t get enough of them around here.

Check out all 12 Swarovski DIY crystal bracelet kits here.

Filed Under: Beads, DIY Wedding Jewelry, Party, Uncategorized

LIVE from Beadalon-Wire Wrapped Cabochon Pendants with Wyatt White

August 17, 2016 By candiecooper 1 Comment

This post sponsored by Beadalon. All opinions are my own. Thanks Beadalon for supporting mine and many others love of DIY jewelry.Is anyone else intrigued with pendants like these?

They just. don’t. stop.

Wire turning and twisting, up then down and around and ta daaaa–you’ve got a pendant.

Yesterday on the live show, I had Wyatt White from Beadalon show the basics of making wire wrapped cabochon pendants. He actually shows how to make the wrapped crystal on the right using a Swarovski faceted flat back.

According to Wyatt, you can set lots of things with this technique. He’s a wizard and if you’re curious about wire wrapping and setting cabs, definitely watch this video. He has designed special banding pliers from Beadalon that make the wrapping process really easy. So many comments were expressing excitement about these pliers. We like easy around here so thanks Wyatt!

Materials:

Wire Wrapping Component & Stone Setting Booklet, by Wyatt White

Double Band Banding Pliers

Single Band Banding Pliers

Practice Wire Kit

Watch the replay of the live video for how to make amazing pendants like these. And join us daily on my Facebook page at 2:30 EST for fun daily doses of DIY jewelry and mixed media techniques.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Jewelry, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Free Spirit Dragonfly Pendant Kits Available

August 16, 2016 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Full disclosure: the companies mentioned in this post are either sponsoring me to teach, sent product for me to play with or both. All opinions are my own.It’s Bead Fest Summer prep time here in my world. I’m teaching 13 classes and hosting a tailgate party Saturday morning with Jesse James Beads.

I love throwing parties and am lucky to have found Jesse James Beads who does also.

If you follow me on Facebook, you might’ve caught the live video where I showed how to paint dragonfly pendants like the one above. It also happens to be one of my classes at this weekend’s Bead Fest sponsored by Beadalon, Jesse James Beads and Vintaj.

I know some of you can’t make it, so I assembled some fun, one of a kind kits for this piece in my Etsy shop. A little piece of Bead Fest sent right to your door when I get back next week (kits ship Aug. 26th). I hope you love them as much as I do.

Materials:

Dragonfly kit

Gemstone Chain from JesseJamesBeads.com

Ranger Patina Paints from JesseJamesBeads.com

Beads from JesseJamesBeads.com

Fine sandpaper (600 grit)

Gold leaf paint from Plaid Enterprises

Acrylic sealer

If you missed the video, you can watch it here and feel free to add comments or questions about this technique in the post.

Filed Under: Bead Love

Scenic Drive Stone Slab Necklace

August 14, 2016 By candiecooper 4 Comments

Full Disclosure: I work with Beadalon and LeatherCord USA. They are sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine.
This stone slab pendant (here me sigh a sigh of aw).

One of the women in this week’s Facebook Live video said it was picture Jasper. I believe it because each one is a landscape painting, a forrest, the painted dessert or whatever you see ….
I wire wrapped leather lace with Beadalon’s flat Artistic Wire. So easy! Simply make your leather link, then wrap the middle with the flat wire, crimping it with chain nose pliers in between each wrap to cinch it.
Little knots give the ends of the leather a finished look.

Materials list:

Beadalon flat artistic wire, 3mm width

Leathercord USA deertan lacing, 1/8″ width

Picture jasper pendant: etsy.com/shop/candiecooper

Watch the live video recap here and join me almost daily at 2:30 EST for the Candie Cooper Facebook Live Show featuring easy DIY jewelry making ideas.

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Fringe Benefits: DIY Tassels

July 14, 2016 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Beadalon–Makers of great findings and DIY jewelry supplies. Thanks Beadalon for the sponsor love!Tassels are still having their moment.

Everywhere.

I ain’t mad about it either. I love flair.You can make your own tassels super easy with Beadalon’s tassel maker and some of that embroidery floss you were gonna use for that cross stitch project. For a tip-I like suctioning the tool to the top of a plastic bead storage box.This is the tassel maker. You can adjust the mandrels and make a ton of different sized tassels. In this tutorial, I’m showing how to make tassel charms. You can also loop a wire through and make a wrapped loop if you want to add a bead cap over the top of the tassel (see bracelets above).Either way, I like to tie off the top of the tassel so it is bound. You can use a contrasting thread color too.Loosen the mandrels and slide the bundle off. I tied mine at both ends so I could get two tassels for the work of one.Cut the bundle in the middle to create the two tassels.You can leave them like this or….Comb them out with a fork to make them nice and fluffy. You can also wrap wire around the tie or add seed beads.Get the tassel maker tool from Beadalon.com.You just never know where a quick little project like this will take you…All you have to do is start.

Filed Under: Beads, Crafting

Cue the Coachella Playlist and Make these Earrings

May 17, 2016 By candiecooper 3 Comments

This post is sponsored by LeatherCord USA. Thanks LCUSA for making awesome leather and sponsoring this post! All opinions shared here are my own.
I’m still sad I missed Coachella. But there’s always next year!

And there’s also more music events to go to this summer. After this post, I’m officially locked and loaded on summer style earrings made with LeatherCord USA round leather.
For these earrings, I’m using 1 to 2mm diameter leather in pretty metallics. Here’s what else I had nearby so I could whip these up. End findings for leather where the inside diameter matched the diameter, Loctite Gel adhesive, ear wires, head pins, extra beads and charms, wire cutters, chain nose pliers, and round nose pliers.
First, determine how big you want the teardrop leather shape. Cut two pieces the exact same length.String some beads–these are large holed spacers from Tierra Cast.Glue the end finding on the end of the leather. Connect the two ends together with a jump ring, adding the ear wire before closing up the ring.

Seriously.

How long did that take?

Five minutes?

It looks cute to add beaded dangles like this for a variation…
I love the hammered silver beads with the silver metallic jewelry making leather.
I’m wearing another pair that I added a beaded dangle plus a feather charm on the bottom.
Visit LeatherCordUSA.com to get the goods!

See me make these earrings in this video, but first, you need to know I filmed this video live which means I interact with comments as they come in on my Facebook page. You know, just in case I was talking to my imaginary friend. If you’re watching the replay you can always fast forward to the 8-minute mark where I start to make the leather earrings!

Catch more live videos on my Candie Cooper Facebook page!

Filed Under: Leather

What in the Wire?! Beading wire explained

May 11, 2016 By candiecooper 53 Comments

This post brought to you by Beadalon.com. Thanks Beadalon for sponsoring this post and helping me to share my love of DIY jewelry making.It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe.

Well….the jewelry making universe anyway.

Beading wire.

This is nylon coated beading wire we are talking about. It’s flexible and used for stringing beads of all shapes and sizes. Beading wire is not used for wire wrapping stones. That’s a common confusion I’ve found.

There are so many different ones available and it can get really confusing. That’s why I created this post to help you understand the different types of beading wires used in jewelry making.
7 strand, 19 strand, this diameter, that diameter, but what if I’m stringing chunky gemstones or making an illusion necklace? So many jewelry design ideas, but where to start?

The first thing I ask myself is what am I stringing? Seed beads or heavy gemstones? I pulled this image from the Beadalon website so you can see what wires are good for what beads.You can click on this image to make it bigger. From left to right:

Virtual size is the thickness of the wire.

Wire diameter is just that–I usually speak in millimeters here on the blog (i.e. .018)

Strand count is how many tiny wires are twisted together to make the single wire. More strands equal more flexibility.

More wire diameters–those are simply recommendations for the type of bead you are stringing. For example, Beadalon recommends .010 diameter wire for seed beads.

Before I forget–did you know Beadalon wire is made right here in the USA?! I love that so much.

Ninety percent of my jewelry uses 49 strand beading wire because it’s my fave if you can’t tell. It’s also the most expensive. And while I get mine for pretty much free from Beadalon–I’d still use this or 19 strand in my jewelry projects because I want it to last. You can see I have a few different diameters here.

If you’re just getting into this DIY jewelry making world I suggest starting with 49 or 19 strand .018 mm diameter. It’s a great all-purpose choice for your first jewelry making projects.Beadalon wire also comes in a huge array of colors from neutrals like these to ones found in the rainbow. You can shop their site to see all of them.Lastly, one really important thing to pay attention to on the package is what size crimp bead or tube to use with that particular beading wire. Crimps secure the clasp and beads to the wire in DIY jewelry. See the #1 or #2? These numbers vary according to the wire diameter. There are #3 and #4 crimps as well. If you would use those with this wire, your piece would most likely fall apart because they are too big for this wire.I hope this post has solved some of the mystery. The more you make, the more you learn…sometimes the hard way, I’ve found! Haha!