“It’s May! It’s May! The month of yes you may...” - Camelot by Lerner and Lowe
Yes you may, join us for more inspiration and fabulous product on Jewel School this month, that is. We’re as excited as we can be about our new and returning guests to the Jewel School show on Jewelry Television. We’re trying our best to shoot video educational content with each one of them, so keep checking the Jewel School Video on Demand page at JTV.com so you can see more of our amazing guests and learn more about their products. There isn’t always time on the shows to get to every detail, so the videos allow us to expand on the information in a format you can watch over and over again.
The Jewel School team just got back from Nashville where we had a booth at the Southern Women’s Show. Talk about a blast! You can read more about it straight from our Jewel School Divisional Merchandising Manager, Jeffrey Banks!
Our customer spotlight shines on Shawn Weis who recently purchased the Jewelry Design Manager software and has loved using it to inventory, price, and sell his designs. If you sell your designs, this software is like hiring a virtual assistant who will help keep you organized and successful in your endeavors. If you’d like to be a featured customer, email us at Jewel.School@JTV.com with your story.
Mother’s Day is quickly approaching (May 8th, 2011) and Jewel School's lovely and talented Christiane Ross has created a very special pendant using the ArtClay heirloom kit and Lisa Pavelka’s resin. This celebration of her grandmother is so inspiring. What better gift to give your mom or daughter than a personalized, handcrafted keepsake locket?
If you’re mad for wire wrapping (and many of you are), take a peek at some helpful hints from master instructor and wire artist Dale Cougar Armstrong. We’re thrilled to have her joining us on Jewel School for Beadalon on a regular basis.
Recenly I was contacted by an organization that has been celebrating the caretakers of children with rare diseases through a jewelry making initiative. 7000 Bracelets of Hope invites jewelry makers to create a denim blue-themed bracelet to be presented to a child or a caretaker as a symbol of strength. Being able to make beautiful jewelry that makes a difference for someone else is a wonderful opportunity-- read more about it in the article below.
We’re hosting some of your favorite instructors and artists on Jewel School this month!
- Sunday, April 24 - Brenda Abdoyan of Bajidoo returns with new kits and products
- Thursday, April 28 - Lisa Pavelka returns to rock the resin on Jewel School
- Sunday, May 1- Jackie Truty of Art Clay™ will be here for more metal clay alchemy
Until next time, Jewel Schoolers, happy beading!
Cheers,
Margot Potter, Jewel School Education and Creative Coordinator
A Message from Jeff
Dear Jewel School Customers,
We just completed our first Southern Women’s Show in Nashville. It was a great experience to be in Music City with so many fans of Jewelry Television. What a pleasure to spend some time with you. You came from California to Georgia and all around. It was truly a family reunion!
The weekend was made perfect by the top notch jewelry designers and vendors who joined us. Jackie Truty of Art Clay™ got there early and helped us set up the booth just because she is very nice and loves Jewel School customers. Katie Hacker from Beadalon is a fan favorite and we were so happy she could join us. Brenda Abdoyan wowed the customers with her Bajidoo colors! Art Clay’s Katie Baum wins the endurance award for staying with us all four days! A special thanks to Margot Potter and Kim Prentiss for working long hours, usually in very high heels. I’ve included some photos from our Nashville experience.
It was a Jewel School family affair in Nashville! Left to Right - Jeff Banks, Kim Prentiss and (seated) Margot Potter. We're liking the hat, Jeff!
Art Clay’s Jackie Truity proved she can teach a class anywhere, anytime of the day. She is tireless!
Beadalon’s Katie Hacker makes jewelry making look so easy!
Brenda Abdoyan, brush in hand, explains to a customer the finer points of Bajidoo art
We always learn so much from friendly customers and it really helps me plan more excitement for the future. We are working on our next event and will get you details as soon as we figure out where we will pop-up next. Thank you again for your support!
- Jeff Banks, Divisional Merchandising Manager for Jewel School by JTV
Five Favorite Wire Jewelry Making Tips from Dale Cougar Armstrong for Jewel School by JTV
Learning the joys of wire jewelry making takes effort and patience! Like any new art form, there are a few things you need to know as you work with wire for the first time. Here are five of my favorite tips:
1. Buy good jewelry making tools! One of the main challenges wire jewelry makers have is not using quality tools. Why spend a lot of money on the wire, cabochons and beads needed to create a nice piece of jewelry but skimp on the tools required to properly work the materials and save stress on your hands and wrists? Seriously, in my classes I have seen all types of not-so-good tools used by students struggling to learn a design--often succeeding--but becoming extremely frustrated in the process. I then loan them some of my tools and it is amazing what they can easily accomplish, while having a good time!
2. Work harden soft wire if using it to make a bail. The wire should be twisted first to work harden it, so the bail is firm and stays in place.
3. Create tiny, tight rosettes by using needle-nose chain-nose pliers to make the initial loop. The flat interior of the pliers jaw has the holding power to be used on the very end of any shaped wire, while the round outside has the curve needed to form the loop.
4. Keep your work pure by never using solder, glue or adhesive of any kind! There is always a technique available to make the wire behave in the manner you wish. Your friends will be so impressed when you reveal that the entire piece was made using a few hand tools!
5. Practice, practice, practice! There are many affordable wires available to practice a technique that is new to you. Beadalon copper is a good wire for practice. Perfect each technique before moving on to a finished piece. Hang onto the practice work because often these practice segments can be added to a finished item later!
I wish you all, new inspiration and satisfaction!
- Dale Cougar Armstrong, Jewel School by JTV Jewelry Design Expert
Editor's Note: Learn many more tips and techniques from Dale's book, Wirework: An Illustrated Guide To the Art of Wire Wrapping, sold on jtv.com.
7000 Bracelets for Hope: Making the World Better Through Beading, by Margot Potter for Jewel School
The folks from the Global Genes Project recently contacted Jewel School about their 7000 Bracelets for Hope initiative to help raise awareness of rare diseases. The awareness ribbon for rare diseases is blue denim, a symbol of strength. Blue jeans as well as genes come in "pairs" and the play on words is a perfect fit for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope project. They are collecting denim blue-themed handcrafted bracelets for distribution in December 2011 to children with rare diseases and their caregivers.
This is a terrific opportunity to use beading for good! Let’s channel some of that boundless Jewel Schooler spirit into designing and creating a blue bracelet (it needs to be adjustable to fit a smaller or larger wrist) and mailing it to the address below:
7000 Bracelets for Hope, 24701 La Plaza – Suite 201, Dana Point, CA 92629
Rare diseases affect 250 million people worldwide and a million people in America according to the Global Genes Project website. Sadly, three out of four people affected by a rare disease are children and 95% of the known rare diseases do not have any FDA approved drug treatments. The Global Genes Project strives to unify, support, build awareness and raise funds for assisting those suffering from a rare disease.
I love the idea of making a bracelet for 7000 Bracelets of Hope because it’s all about the power of creativity. You don’t have to write a check: you make a bracelet, designed with love, and send it to someone out there who will feel the love and hopefully feel a little better about the daily struggles. You can read more about this initiative and the Global Genes Project here: 7000 Bracelets
Follow this link for 15 pages of beautiful blue beads from the Jewel School inventory you can use to make your designs! If you do make a bracelet and send a good quality jpeg to Jewel.School@JTV.com, I will share it in a future blog post and you can look for it to appear on a future Jewel School show!
How To Make An ArtClay™ Locket - Design and Article by Christiane Ross, Jewel School Product and Brand Coordinator
A Mother’s Day Gift for My Grandmother Reba
I was spring cleaning last month (a little early) and happened upon a long forgotten photograph of my Grandmother. Seventy years ago she was so pretty with her curling black hair and clever smile. She is still beautiful, but now it is silver hair that softens her well-earned life lines. I rescued the photo and put it in a small frame where it sat on my desk for about a week.
Part of my job includes working with the production of our Jewel School Video On Demand (VOD) educational videos. While checking to see that the latest VOD had been posted, Jackie's Art Clay™ Heirloom kit caught my eye. A few weeks had passed since our certification class with Jackie so I had been itching to try my hand at making a locket in Art Clay™.
Watching a VOD of Jackie on my computer at my Jewel School desk really helped! After cleaning out a space in front of the computer where I could do most of the work and follow along with Jackie, it was time to ramp up the creativity. First, I put a hand towel over my keyboard so I wouldn't get dust in it.
The mold to make the locket was really easy to use. Before letting the top dry, I poked a hole near the center with a small coffee straw as a placeholder for a gemstone since my confidence is growing with Art Clay™ and I’m comfortable setting stones. After the top dried, I tried carving out a lily on it and freely admit it looked much better in my head but I'm not going to be hard on myself for a first try. Selecting a nice round garnet from my collection (one of the joys of working at Jewelry Television is collecting gemstones), I set it in the top by lining the gemstone up over the hole and then then using the syringe clay to draw a bezel for it. The syringe was also great for creating the loops at the top instead of using the eye pins. After all this dried, I went back and carved my Grandmother's name on the back. Next, I carefully moved everything away from my computer and fired each piece.
The locket bottom started to curl up a bit during the firing process but as it got hotter, like magic, it flattened out. I was really nervous with the top piece because the garnet really started to glow while I was firing it. But it didn't explode! I polished the whole thing until it was all shiny and ready for the photo of my beautiful young grandmother.
I scanned the photo of my grandmother and cleaned it up a little bit with my photo editing software before printing it and cutting it to size. To seal it, I just used two pieces of clear tape. Sealing is an important step when using any type of resin because it may make your ink run. I glued the photo to the bottom of the locket then covered it with Lisa Pavelka's Magic glos ™. That stuff is amazing! I cured that with the UV light and that was it. I have a beautiful locket.
The entire process was very meditative for me. As I worked with the clay and sculpted the piece, I was thinking of my Grandmother Reba and the love we share. She was the inspiration for this creation and I was truly able to pour my heart into it. I love the result, funny looking lily and all. Next, I’ll make another one just like it for my Mother. It was so easy and wonderful to make a personal gift and one I know will be so meaningful to my Grandmother.
- Christiane
Jewel School Customer Show and Tell - Shawn Weis
One of the most difficult parts of selling jewelry is trying to figure out the potential value your design may hold for a customer. And it is equally as difficult to keep track of just how many dollars it took to create the piece. Keeping an inventory of items and costs is time consuming, and who has enough of that today? Customer Shawn Weis is using the Jewelry Designer Manager™ Pricing Jewelry Made Easy software to help him with pricing his work. 
Relatively new at selling his designs, Shawn says the software is a very valuable asset for a new merchant. “It is helping me to organize my inventory and it keeps track of the beads used in items and then creates a value for the finished pieces. It’s very easy to use and it helped me in determining how to set a price on a pearl torsade.”
Shawn is in the process of setting up a website after selling several pieces at a tag sale at his home. 
He finds the possibility of selling at craft fairs with row upon row of vendors more intimidating than selling to strangers. He gained a lot of exposure for his work and gained a great deal of his confidence in his talents when he donated this green-blue torsade (a torsade is twisted strand necklace) to a silent auction for his Rotary Conference. “The final bid was $125!” Way to go Shawn!
A jewelry maker for about a year now, Shawn has always been crafty. “My mother was quite artistic and got me involved very young in creating all sorts of interesting things. I began jewelry making by purchasing individual gems stones. They have always fascinated me!” At Jewelry Television, we do understand the fascination with gemstones. They have fascinated collectors for centuries!
Selling is not easy but when you’re putting your creativity on the line to strangers, it can be scary. Shawn agrees. “I find it intimidating to sell to strangers, mainly because I do not have faith that my pieces are valuable.” After selling a few designs, he says the confidence crescendos into profits! His advice is simple but true. “Believe in your abilities and vision and know that your pieces are of value.” That’s good advice, Shawn. Thank you for sharing your experiences with Jewel School.
Editor's Note: Do you make wedding jewelry? We want to know about it! Margot has a terrific project for the bride on her special day, planned for next month. She calls her design Something New, Something Blue because the bride wearing it will have something new and something blue to wear with her gorgeous gown and tiara, of course! If you have some nice images of wedding jewelry you have designed and created, send us your electronic photographs to jewel.school@jtv.com . We will include as many as possible in our May/June bridal issue!
