How to Attach End Caps

Whether you're attaching end caps to leather cord or facing a jewellery mishap like the one below, knowing how to attach end caps to your jewellery will give you an additional way to assemble your jewellery components and expand your jewellery-making repertoire. Today we look at this very simple but secure method for connecting components without loops. On the morning of my daughter's recent wedding, a guest who was staying with us had a jewellery disaster - one of the end caps on her necklace disintegrated and her necklace fell apart. We were about to leave for the church so there wasn't time for a repair but after a quick hunt around the studio, I found something suitable for her to wear. Crisis averted! A couple of days after the wedding, I did a quick and secure repair on the necklace. The problem with this necklace is that some of the "metal" components are not metal at all! They appear to be plastic, painted to look like silver. If you look at the pho...

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Edible Art - Zentangling on Handmade Mint Patties

A while back, I celebrated a milestone birthday. I was in total denial about my age, a feeling I'm sure  that many of you who are reading this can relate to. I mean, I still feel so young, so how can I possibly be that age. Celebrating was the last thing I wanted to do but I knew that if I didn't mark the occasion I would regret it later on. So as a way of coming to terms with it, I decided to throw myself into the decorating by adding my personality to as many of the details for the party as I could. Of all the projects I undertook, this was by far the most ambitious and time consuming but it was also the most satisfying. I created edible art in the form of mint patties by putting my zentangling skills to use for the bonbonnieres. I began with icing fondant which I flavoured with a few drops of concentrated mint essence . I rolled it out to about 5mm thick: thick enough that they would dry out a little but not so thin that the guests would crack their teeth when they...

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How to Clean Glitter and Mica Powder from Silicone Moulds

When the resin bug strikes, you just want to get right into the casting. But if your moulds are grubby, you'll have to clean them first. So here's a really smart tip for keeping your silicone moulds in tip-top shape and always ready to go. When you're working with resin, it's important that all your equipment is clean so that you don't risk ruining your casts with contaminants. Clean cups, clean stir sticks and a clean workspace are all important. But what about your moulds? How do you clean glitter, mica powders and general specks of fluff and dust from silicone? Resin is like glue and anything that is in the mould when you pour the resin in will become part of the resin when you demould it. But cleaning moulds is EASY when you know this trick, even if your moulds looks as dirty as this! The front of this mould is just as bad. Just take a piece of sticky tape and place it on the surface. Rub your finger across the tape..... And then remove it...

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