Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 31, 2010

Question:

What is the best way to remove glue residue left from the gilter’s tape?

Answer:

The easiest way to remove the excess residue from any tape is with a cotton swab dipped in denatured alcohol. It will also remove any left over marks from your markers.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 30, 2010

Question:

Lately my liquid Sterling Silver cleaner is not doing its job very well – it fails to remove all the tarnish.  Is it possible that by using the Sunshine (yellow) cleaning cloths (which leave a slight residue to protect against future tarnish) I am actually coating the Silver – thus preventing the liquid cleaner from working properly??

Answer:

It is possible. Try totally strip cleaning your silver by using a paste made of baking soda and water and a soft cloth or toothbrush. Rinse well afterward and when necessary, try your liquid silver cleaner again. If it still does not work, discard it.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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When using the Internet to market and sell your wire jewelry it is important to consider all options, including the photos you take and use in your website.  This article is about leveraging one of the most powerful ways to get your jewelry in front of millions of people.

First, your creative – the photo must be a good representation of your wire jewelry work.  Do not post any photos to the web that do not showcase your work in the best light, literally.  All photos you upload will find its way into the hands of prospective buyers and hence why you only want the great ones “out there.”  You’ve heard recently that posting something to social networking sites by you or someone else can have a negative impact on your reputation; the same holds true for photos associated with your work.

So, go the extra mile to produce beautiful photography of your wire jewelry.  Hire a professional even if you can’t afford one by trading some wire jewelry products or better yet, training on how to make a piece of wire jewelry.  Make sure to inspect the quality of work the photographer can produce before you hire him/her.

After you have digital images that you love then put your web address across the bottom of all of them – creating a specific space for it.  You can certainly be creative by producing a watermark possibly or place a small banner across the bottom of all of your photos.  From a branding perspective it’s always a good idea even on your website to show off your name over and over again.  Just don’t be too obtrusive.

After you’ve done this, make sure all of your website photos have your branding on them.  Next, start uploading your photos in photo sites such as Flickr.com.  Search the web for more photo sites and upload.  Add them to your blog and insert them into articles.

Before you know it, your name (and website address) will be on all of your photos “out there” when people are searching for wire jewelry designs.  If you have the chance, also tag your photos with keywords including your name, your web address, and wire jewelry terminology.

Again, this is just one more way to get found out there on the great worldwide web!

Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 29, 2010

Question:

I use a lot of irregular stones in my work and when I wrap with wire, I guess as to how much wire I will use. I have a tendency to over estimate so I won’t come up short, but sometimes end up with many extra small pieces. Is there a rule of thumb for how much wire should be laid out for a particular project?

Answer:

As I have no idea what style of wrapping you are using for these irregular stones, I can only give you a general formula: measure the distance from top to bottom and multiply by 2, this is how much wire it will take to go around the stone once; depending on the size and shape of the stone, add about ½ inch for the curves and then add for the bail (usually 2 ½ to 3 inches).

Or make it really easy to figure the length needed by wrapping it with a piece of string or dental floss first! (Then measure the length of string and add the above suggestions.)

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 28, 2010

Question:

What kind of media do I use in my new tumbler when working with metal pieces such as jump rings?

Answer:

For working with just metal like jump rings in a tumbler, everyone I spoke with uses mixed stainless steel shot. For the procedure: http://wire-sculpture.com/jewelry-making-blog/1384/tumbling-your-jewelry/

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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