SPOTLIGHT ON ... ARTICLE
November 2005
Hand Crafted Jewelry for Holiday Gifts.
Wtitten by Jessica L. Rosenfeld
What am I going to give my family for the holidays?! I'm sure there are many of you out there asking yourselves this very question. I know I used to be at a loss when it came to the gift-giving season. Not only was money an issue, but time. Who has time to go out into the Christmas-time shopping abyss? Find a parking spot, fight for space in the narrow aisles, fight for popular items with equally frustrated shoppers. UGH! After several years of that extremely non-festive experience, it came to me: why don't I just make jewelry for my family members? It was like a light bulb went on over my head!
Receiving hand crafted jewelry is such a personal gift. It shows your loved one that someone cared enough about them to personalize something that no one else in the world has - just for them. Last year, I called my brothers and asked them what colors their wives liked and/or wore a lot. I whipped them up some beautiful matching necklace and bracelet sets, each designed for their specific likes and preferences, and wrapped them up in gorgeous wrapping. They were thrilled. The personal touch, they said, was what they appreciated the most.
Making jewelry as gifts can also be very economical - you can purchase larger quantities of supplies, allowing you to often times get better discounts. For instance, Soft Flex® Company offers a 50% discount to wholesale customers buying a minimum of $50 worth of beads. You can sure make a whole lot of gifts with that many beads! Don't be afraid to use some of the same beads or clasps in several of your friends and family members designs. Each design is as unique as the person wearing it.
For some fun Holiday inspired ideas, see a small selection of our products below:
Soft Flex Wire, Color Red - .019 Diameter, 30' Spool
Soft Flex Wire, Color Green - .019 Diameter, 30' Spool
Soft Flex® Wire is brought to you by state of the art, micro-wire technology. Soft Flex® Wire is constructed of either 21 or 49 micro woven, stainless steel wires, braided together and then nylon coated. This micro-wire technology gives you the most flexible and knottable stainless steel in the world. It is hypoallergenic, and since Soft Flex® Wire is marine quality, it can be worn in and out of salt and fresh water. The purpose of our product is to eliminate the frustrating task of re-stringing your designs due to cutting and breakage. We recommend you consider the abrasion level of the beads you are stringing in order to determine the appropriate diameter of Soft Flex Wire you will need. The thicker the wire, the better resistance to breakage it will have. .019 was designed for use with small to medium glass beads, Austrian crystals, silver, pewter, 80% of freshwater pearls and seed beads. Recommended when you are designing with a variety of materials.
22 Gauge Red Artistic Wire
22 Gauge Green Artistic Wire
Artistic Wire is the highest quality, permanently colored copper wire available from the wire industry to date. No other offers the resistance to scratching, peeling and marring. This is due to the special enameling process used to coat the wire to produce the 30 plus colors we offer. After the enamel is applied, the wire is clear coated to prevent tarnishing. Artistic Wire is available in an ever-growing selection of gauges 10 (very thick)to 34 (very thin). 20 and 22 gauge are a good place to start with either wire wrapping or with the Wig Jigs. As your hands become more accustomed to wire working, you will be able to use thicker gauges."
