If you're new to jewellery making, it's easy to feel intimidated by the array of tools available. It can be a daunting feeling trying to work out which tools you need and what are they all used for. After all, you've never made jewellery before! But there's no need to buy every tool available - you only need to make a small investment to get started and then you can add to it as you go along. Here's my selection of basic tools you'll need as you start out on your jewellery making journey. Chain nose pliers This is my number one "must have" pair of pliers in your tool kit. They have a flat surface on the inner side of each jaw giving you good purchase when you grip things with them. Look for pliers that have a fine tapered point so that you can get into tight spots easily. They should also have a spring mechanism to minimise the amount of effort you need to exert when you use them and they should fit your hand size - i.e. not too large and not too smal......

I've been teaching jewellery-making techniques for many years now and one of the things students find most difficult to accomplish is well-formed, secure crimps. The crimping technique takes practice to perfect but once you've got the knack, your jewellery will be strong and will be able to withstand the tug test. Whilst at CHA in January, I came across Xuron who manufacturer jewellery-making tools and they were were kind enough to give me a pair of their crimping pliers to test out. Now this is not just an ordinary crimping tool: Xuron 4 In 1 Crimper Tool crimps 1mm, 2mm and 3mm crimp tubes and in addition, it is also has a chain nose tip to get into very tight spaces. So let's test it out and see how well it performs. The first thing you'll notice is that the crimping station (the notch closest to the handle) is shaped like a "V". This "V" is the feature that sets the 4 in 1 Crimper Tool apart from standard crimping pliers. To use the tool, strin......

My book deadline is inching closer every day and it's time to begin photography of the step-by-steps. I've done the test photos to make sure the lighting is good and I've got all the settings right on my camera and my publisher has approved them. But it's amazing what detail the macro lens picks up. Apart from my hands being under the microscope (I see a manicure in the very near future!), so are my tools. And it's quite apparent that I have loved them almost to death. Take a look at my nylon jaw pliers to see what I mean.... Luckily, just like my hands and nails, my nylon jaw pliers too can have a makeover! Here's how you do it. Just undo the screw with a screwdriver Replace the old nylon sleeve with a new one .....  and screw it back in with a bit of pressure so that the screw penetrates the nylon. And that's all there is to it - brand new pliers to straighten out all my kinked wire! Want to see this in action? Watch the video below: Now, next makeover o......

Before I left for CHA, I promised to post about all the cool stuff I saw. I had a technical hitch whilst I was there and I wasn't able to get many photos from the show floor and since returning home I've been working long into the night to meet some upcoming deadlines. So, it has had to wait until now to tell you all about CHA. There were a couple of cool tools for tying bows. The first one is the Bow-it-All from Zutter which was being demonstrated by it's inventor, Stacy Nicholas. I watched closely as she created a very full bow from a continuous length of ribbon by firstly wrapping the ribbon around the outside pegs of the tool and then the inside pegs, then the outside and then the inside again. She had a nifty little technique for tying it off so that the bow never came undone which I didn't catch on camera but check out the video in the link below to see how it's done. With this easy to use tool, she quickly created a beautiful 6 loop bow for me.   There are a ......

My very thoughtful husband surprised me with this great gift when I returned home from CHA. When you look from front on you can see it's a Dremel accessory kit. Looks pretty impressive doesn't it - 200 pieces for cutting, cleaning, grinding, sanding and carving? Only problem is, I don't have a Dremel! But turn the package sideways.......... and guess what? Now I DO have a Dremel! Turns out, the accessory pack was a bonus buy if you bought the Dremel. Lucky, lucky me?!! And now, I'm off to see what it can do! I'll be back soon...... if they can drag me away from the tool shed! '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...

One of the tools I find most helpful when I'm cutting strips of Friendly Plastic is a steel ruler. It's invaluable for cutting strips for techniques like Fracture and Fusion where straight lines are essential for creating a great looking mosaic. But sometimes, I find the ruler will slip across the slick surface of the plastic, which apart from being dangerous whilst cutting, can also leave you with unsightly slice marks across the middle of the strip. Not only is it wasteful but it's just plain frustrating. To help overcome this, I use a cork-backed ruler which greatly reduces the amount of slipping and sliding of the ruler across the Friendly Plastic. The cork increases the grip making it much easier to cut. Most of my students don't have one so here's my solution - a DIY version and it's super easy and very inexpensive. I made up a bunch of these for class use and they work a treat. So here's what we're trying to achieve: turning the bottom ruler into ......