What is the MEANING of these beads?

Most people are aware that beads are supposed to have certain "powers" when you adorn yourself with them.  What might those be?  Here is a short list to give you an idea:

Amethyst: Healing, sobriety and peace.
Apatite: Balance, focus and self-acceptance.
Aventurine: Hope, luck and opportunity.
Carnelian: Energy, creativity and sexual fire.
Copper: Eases emotional turbulence and irritability.
Crazy Lace Agate: Laughter (Crazy Blue, Crazy Pink).
Hematite: Mind enhancement, calm and balance.
Jasper: Protection, nurturing and stability.
Labradorite: Clarity and spiritual awakening.
Onyx: Self-mastery and self-control.
Pearls: Wisdom, purity and femininity.
Pietersite: Vision, internal and external.
Silver: Mirror of the soul and cleansing.

Here are two more websites with good information:  http://www.gemstonegifts.com/ and http://www.symphonyjewels.com/.

I don't know about you, but it looks like I should start wearing a mixture of most of these beads! :)

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How do I harden sterling?

As I created ear wires and longer sterling designs like below, I found that the dead-soft sterling silver wire I was using was too darn soft to maintain its shape well over time. That bothered me terribly since quality is of utmost importance to me!

So what can I do to make it “harder”? Well… I researched a few options that I alluded to previously in my “How To Make Ear Wires” posting:

1. Hardening the Metal: If you are at all familiar with the world of manufacturing, you might have heard about “heat treating” metal to change its hardness. “Age Hardening” is what you can do to increase the hardness. This website has good information in the section, “How can I put age hardening to use in my shop?” BUT! Cook my metal for an hour and a half? Not possible for me! I suppose if I had a kiln that would be reasonable, but, as fate would have it, no such luck. Notice, too, the note about not being able to solder after the metal is hardened – this will return your sterling back to its original, soft state. Sounds… too complicated for me.

2. Bending the Metal: Yeah, yeah. Bending the sterling wire makes it harder too – called “work hardening.” In order to do this, though, you have to ruin your shape! I don’t like this idea very much… I’ll just keep it in the back of my mind as a “good-to-know” item…

3. Hammering the Metal: As you hammer metal with your designated jewelry hammer, you are actually stiffening the metal! Try hammering a piece of wire, then bending it. More difficult, eh? That’s what we want in this scenario. I, therefore, hammer my ear wires (when it matches the design) in order to maintain the original shape of the wire.

4. Buying Harder Metal: Okay – not ALL designs look good with a hammered ear wire or with hammered wire dangles. There are different levels of hardness for sterling silver; for the earrings shown above, I used “half-hard” wire. This works really well! I also use half-hard for any ear wires that should not be hammered. Why not use half-hard all the time then? Well, it’s just not as easy for my little fingers to maneuver! I’d say have BOTH types on hand for the best results.

Summary:
- Don’t bother hardening the metal with heat.
- Bend to harden if you want to… I don’t want to.
- Hammer dead-soft wire when possible to solidify the design.
- Buy half-hard wire for designs that should not be hammered.

If you disagree with anything in this posting, please feel free to comment! I love to learn. :)

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I can bend metal!

Want to learn how to wrap a neat wire link?  Check out this video that shows you how to make a scroll:

I like to use a nylon jaw pliers instead of the flat-nose pliers because you will leave no marks on the wire.  Also, I like to leave some space between the wire as you bend it for dramatic effect, but that does take a bit of practice.

Now the challenge! Start by figuring out how to make this one:

Then, but only if you're gutsy, try this one:

Can’t figure it out? Send me a message and I’ll help you out! Hehe. We all have to suffer just a little bit for great art! Plus, I felt great when I figured that last one out on my own. :)

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