In my last post, we took a look at the humble but mighty jump ring. It really is the "glue" that holds your jewellery together. The step by step photos and instructions show you how to open and close jump rings and talks about the magical "click" you hear when a correctly tensioned jump ring closes. But no matter how good the photos are at showing you how to do it, you will never be able to hear that click. To remedy that, I've uploaded a short YouTube video so that not only can you see the process but you can also hear that magical "click". Check it out below. So if you want your jewellery to be strong and secure, just follow this simple tip and you'll have jewellery that never falls apart again! 'Til next time..... If you can't get enough of My Tutorials and you want even more inspiration,  click here to find my books and printable pdfs...

If you've ever experienced that dreadful moment when your store bought jewellery has fallen apart and beads have scattered across the floor, then today's post is just for you. Let's take a look at the humble jump ring and how a simple trick will help you make (or repair!) jewellery so that it doesn't fall apart. But firstly, what's the most common reason that jewellery falls apart? Well, it's often a poorly closed jump ring! Jump rings hold your jewellery together so it makes sense to pay special attention to them. When you purchase round jump rings, they need to be, well...... round!  Mis-shapen jump rings will not close tightly and therefore won't make your jewellery secure. So you need to find a good supplier.  And you might need to pay a little more for them. I usually use Beadalon jump rings because I've found them to be consistently round-shaped. Another option is to make your own. You can see how to do that here . How to Open and Close Jump Rings......

Did you know that jump rings don't always have to be round? Sometimes, a round jump ring just won't go through the hole of a bead. Take these gorgeous Czech glass leaves. I really love to dangle them as charms but with their holes drilled from side to side you can't use a head pin to hang them. So here's the solution - use a triangle jump ring. Making your own triangle jump rings is really easy with a couple of very basic tools: flush cutters for cutting the wire and wide, flat nosed pliers to form the jump rings. Flat nosed pliers give you really sharp bends and I find the width of the plier jaws gives me consistently sized triangles. You'll need some wire such as 22 gauge or heavier but ultimately, the diameter of the hole in the bead will determine what size wire you need to use. I find it easier to form triangle jump rings on the spool of wire and then cut them off after they've been formed. Start by creating the left hand base prong. Hold the end of the wi......