Recently I was at Michaels I found a Jewelry kit for $5. Over the years I have fallen in and out of love with making jewelry, so I have a tiny bit of knowledge, certainly enough to scrape by. So why not give this a go.
This particular kit(linked here) comes with:
- 1 purple cording (3 ft.)
- 1 bead stringing wire (3 ft.)
- 3 lobster clasps
- 4 toggle clasps
- 6 cord end caps
- 10 crimp beads
- 10 crimp bead covers
- 20 jump rings (4 mm)
- 20 jump rings (6 mm)
- Pliers
- A jewelry tray
That’s a pretty decent amount of pieces for $5. I think the kit is pretty good for any beginner who just wants to dip their toes in the water before committing to buying all the proper tools and supplies. I do recommend buying a second pair of round nose pliers though. Just using the one pair of pliers was a bit frustrating, but not impossible. Also without the round end it was hard to make good circles with the wire.
My only complaint for the kit is it was missing any sort of information explaining the pieces and what they may be used for. I imagine this is a bit intimidating for beginners so I’ve listed them below along with a couple links to help you get started. In fact I wish I wrote this before I used the kit, the final bracelet would have looked a lot cleaner.
Lobster clasps: these are easy to attach and very secure. They are my preferred clasp.
Toggle clasps: its a bar you pull through a ring to secure. These look really cool are easy to put on yourself, but I feel they are less secure than a lobster clasp.
Cord end caps – gives the end of your cord a more professional look.
Crimp beads – help create a loop with the wire and finishes the end of the beaded section
Crimp bead covers – well they cover the crimp bead
Jump rings – they connect pieces together
Below are some links for basic information to get you on your way and keep you inspired:
In addition to the kit, I bought to strings of beads and a string of angel wings. So far I’ve made a bracelet and an anklet and still had a lot of supplies left. It did however leave me wanting a bit more, which I guess is the purpose of a 5 dollar craft kit. If I were to buy another kit, I’d probably go larger, something more like this:
Also, I tend to learn by mistakes so I make them alot, more wire would have been ideal. I wasted a lot of wire trying different beading techniques so I will have to buy more of that.
When done well, jewelry making can look pretty polished, theres a lot that can be done. This anklet turned out okay, but there’s a long way to go. I kept it pretty simple with four beads, just enough to enhance the wing in the middle. Definitely good enough to spark interest and I feel like I’ll be doing a lot more of this during the summer.
The Skillful Meeple 