Wire Wrapping Tutorials and Helpful Hints

How to Use Silver Wire and Findings on Any Budget: Denise Peck, editor of Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine, wrote a nice article on substituting craft wire for sterling silver wire. As I was reading the article, I was surprised to see two of my pieces of jewelry – Geometric Bracelet and Peridot Chandelier Earrings.

The Geometric Bracelet was the first tutorial I ever wrote for Step By Step Wire Jewelry.

Geometric Bracelet, Jewels By Jules

The Peridot Chandelier Earrings were published in Denise’s once-a-year magazine, Easy Wire 2008.

Peridot Chandelier Earrings

Thanks, Denise, for including two of my projects in your article and for the great idea of using craft wire! I love to use copper wire and Parawire craft wire has so many great colors to chose from that can really liven up a project!

Laurie LeBlanc-Rickaby awarded me the Premio Meme Award. Laurie takes amazing photography. This is my favorite. Thanks, Laurie!

Creature Comforts

The award rules are simple: I list 7 facts about myself then pass the award to 7 people.

1. I have two tattoos on my left arm – a skull and SCORPIONS.

2. You guessed it – I love rock and roll.

3. When I was a teenager, I dreamt of being an artist, wishing I could sketch and paint – not a chance!

4. I work from home and do not own any dress clothes.

5. I will do just about anything to get someone to laugh, especially my kids.

6. By trade I own a medical transcription business.

7. Laugh at life or it will swallow you whole.

I am happily passing the Premio Meme Award to some of favorite artisans:

Theresa, Studio 618

Bill, Purified Art

Jesse, Jesse Janes

Anastasia, Blueberry Cream

Maria, Silk From Brazil

Zian, Zeddess Arts

Arriel, Ari Designs Studio

Creative Jewelry magazine

I received my Beading Daily’s daily newsletter and today they announced that Creative Jewelry, an annual special issue magazine, is looking for jewelry from artisans, How to Sell Your Projects to Creative Jewelry. This is a great opportunity for exposure! I am a freelance writer for Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine and SBSW also includes a picture of you and a paragraph about you when your projects are published. Hopefully Creative Jewelry is set up the same way! To give you an idea, here is the bio that I send in with my projects to SBSW:

Jodi L. Bombardier: Jodi is a self-taught jewelry designer of 8 years who discovered wire wrapping in 2005 and knew that she had found her niche. Her jewelry is currently sold in stores in Arizona and Utah. She is a contributing designer to Interweave’s “Wire Style” book. Jodi’s business, Jewels By Jules, is named after her daughter, Jules. Please visit her websites at Jewels By Jules and Jewels By Jules Artfire for more jewelry designs and her blog at Online Wire Wrapping Instructions for helpful hints and tips, free and low cost tutorials. Jodi can be emailed at Jodi@Jewels-By-Jules.com.

REALLY GREAT EXPOSURE! Good luck to all!! I would love to know if your project gets accepted!!

Michelle Mach, Editor of Beading Daily, emailed me last week and informed me that an upcoming newsletter would be about Wire Style, a wire wrapping book that I co-authored. She said she specifically wanted to mention two of her favorite projects in the book and realized they were both mine – Grapevine and Encrusted Cuff!! She told me that before she designed her own jewelry, she always had trouble finding bracelets that fit her well and she has always been drawn to cuff style bracelets. She asked me if there is a reason I am drawn to this style of design – yes, there is LOL!! I hope you’ll read the article, Free Project: Modern Wire and Crystal Bracelet.

Wire Style Grapevine Cuff

Following my friend Theresa of Studio 618 who blogged “10 Things About Me”, I thought I would do the same!

On vacation

1. Mom of two girls and one boy ages 26, 11, and 9 (finally got my boy!).

2. And then I got more boys – Grandma of three boys ages 10, 7, and 3.

3. I own a medical transcription service.

4. My jewelry business, Jewels By Jules, is named after my 11-year-old.

5. Giving up coffee is NOT an option!

6. Heavy metal is my music of choice and I watch very little TV with one exception (see #10). My favorite group for the past 30 years has been The Scorpions and I have seen them 10 times in concert.

7. One of my great grandmothers was a Cherokee Indian.

8. I was a certified scuba diver when I was 12 years old.

9. I love the beach and hope to one day live near one.

10. I count the days down until football starts and go through football withdrawal when the Super Bowl is over. Nothing like watching a bunch of overgrown boys running around in tights, chasing a little ball…….

I met Monica Milla online at Twitter and she invited me to be part of her retail jewelry and accessories store. I feel very privileged to be amongst all the very talented artisans on Monica’s site! Currently on MOCAShop are several of my Hilltribe line bracelets and woven wire rings. MOCAShop carries very unique items – I hope you will take a look! Below is the press release for MOCAShop’s opening in May 2008:

Fashion Forward Accessory Designers Showcased on new website, MOCAShop

MOCAShop, a high end fashion accessory website launched today showcasing over 20 cutting edge accessory designers featured collectively only in this online destination.

Weston, FL May 19, 2008 – New e-commerce site, MOCAShop.com, provides an online destination for fashion forward women who bask in their individuality and appreciate high end accessories and unique statement pieces.

A never before seen ensemble of luxury accessory designers has been assembled in an easy to use website featuring handmade necklaces, earrings, bracelets, handbags, and more.

“MOCAShop.com is a high end online retailer dedicated to unique, organic often one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories. With women across the globe asserting their individuality and expressing it through fashion, jewelry and accessories remain the primary item they purchase on a continuous basis” says owner Monica Milla.

Designers featured include award winning Belle Brooke Barer, MIO Studio, Kathy Frey, Alison Antrobus, Randi Chervitz, Nilufer Tarzi Kuran, Sarah Wilson, Bruno Veluire and more. Each piece featured includes a detailed description of the merchandise and often of the design process. ‘The items we showcase are works of art. Explaining the design process is integral to the purchase as it establishes a connection with the buyer. Our clients appreciate that an artist handmade a stunning object to express their individuality’ explains Ms. Milla.

The products are finished with an array of materials including ebony, wood, sterling silver, recycled materials, 14K gold and other unique elements. The inventory’s price range is between $50 and $5000. Products can be found by price range, by designer, or by category, offering ease of use and rapid transactions under a secure system.

‘We select designers and items as if we were going to invite each one to dinner and wear each thing ourselves. This allows us to be selective and engaged in our offerings and ultimately provide merchandise we want others to covet as much as we do’ says Ms. Milla.

The global fashion jewelry industry accounts for over $146 billion as of 2006 according to industry analysts. The U.S. accounts for 31% of the industry followed by the Middle East and China. MOCAShop’s internet presence allows its inventory to be accessible worldwide.

In October, Jewels By Jules was called and asked to make jewelry for a fundraiser to be held in Toms River, New Jersey on November 22, 2008. After talking with a representative of the fundraiser and sharing pictures and ideas for bracelets and cost, a leather cord bracelet was selected for this wonderful event. Jodi, owner of Jewels By Jules, made 45 Greek leather cord bracelets, all hand twisted and wire wrapped, with each bracelet having a Swarovski crystal heart pendant. All bracelets were made at wholesale cost for materials, and Jodi donated her time when making the bracelets.

In addition to the donated bracelets, Jewels By Jules will take orders for bracelets through November 30, 2008 at a cost of $35 each with $5 being donated to the Food Pantry (shipping cost is included in this price).

A representative for the fundraiser contributed this information regarding the upcoming event:

“At North Dover Elementary School, in Toms River, NJ their yearly fund raiser, to be held on November 22, will be giving back to several local charitable organizations. Each year approximately 450 people attend the PTO organized event to help raise monies for the school purchasing items to benefit the students.

This year everyone attending will be bringing a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Food Pantry at the House of House. The Food Pantry’s volunteers take care of collecting and making up packages that are given out to the clients of the House of Hope who are in need of help. In thanks for their donation a specially designed leather bracelet bearing an orange, symbolic for hunger relief, Swarovski crystal heart will be given out to 45 lucky winners.

In addition a portion of the events proceeds will also be donated to “Oceans of Love” a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to helping Ocean County children with cancer and their families and “Autism Speaks” an organization who is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.”

New website: Jewelry Lessons by Eni Oken & Friends is an interactive website designed for jewelers of all disciplines and all levels. Eni Oken is a renowned wire artist. Eni has two websites, with Jewelry Lessons being her second site and Eni Oken’s Jewelry being her original site. Eni is an extraordinarily talented wire wrapper. I found Eni’s site a few years ago and have purchased tutorials from her. About a year ago, she announced her idea of creating her new website, Jewelry Lessons. After a lot of hard work, Eni went live with the site at the end of August. I was thrilled when Eni invited me to be a teacher on her new site – what an honor!

On Jewelry Lessons, you will find free tutorials and low cost tutorials, a question/answer section, a gallery for posting pictures of jewelry, resources, tips, and articles. Membership is free and once a member, you are able to post on the site.

This site will be a huge success because of its key ingredients: Being able to interact with all site members, posting on the site, and the camaraderie that is quickly establishing with the members! Currently, there are primarily wire wrappers as members but we are hoping to change that very quickly as this is a site for all disciplines, not just wire wrappers. If you haven’t been to the site, please visit! There truly is something for everyone, from novice to advanced levels of jewelry artistry.

Eni sums up her vision for the site quite nicely in a Founder’s Article, excerpt below:

“JewelryLessons.com promotes four key concepts:

LEARN. SHARE. TEACH. EARN.

The web is a wonderful place to find information. By creating a specialized community where users share a single objective, information is organized and easier to find. This is a site specifically designed for jewelry makers where you will find information, share knowledge, and earn money by doing so.”

Eni writes about all the benefits and perks of the site in her article About Jewelry Lessons Website. I am very proud and feel very privileged to be part of this wonderful site, in the company of many very talented artists!

Wire Style: 50 Unique Jewelry Designs I was invited by Denise Peck, Editor of Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine, to participate in the collaboration of a wire wrapping book! I was going through a rough spot in my life when this invitation was extended – couldn’t have happened at a better time! I am very excited to announce the release of this book and look forward to more in the future – maybe next time it will be my own! But how exciting to be included with six other talented designers to come up with a versatile book with easy to advanced projects.

I met Denise a few years ago. She is a delight to work with and has been an inspiration to me. I am always amazed at the hours she puts in and how diverse she is in her work – she does it all, from attending bead shows, editing magazines, publishing books, and yes, she even has time to make beautiful jewelry, too. She has many pairs of earrings in our book – I dubbed her the Earring Queen!

Along with the 50 projects, the book also has a section describing gauges and types of wire along with measuring tools, techniques commonly used for wire wrapping such as simple and wrapped loops, and tools of the trade. This is a great section for new wire wrappers as there are pictures of everything and well written step by step instructions for the techniques used in the book.

In the back of the book are pictures and mini biographies of all contributing artists. A good friend of mine dabbles in photography and she took my picture which turned out really well. Actually, it is the picture on my About Jodi page. And if you want the long version of my biography, you will find it here on the blog, too.

Also listed in the back of the book is a list of suppliers, both wholesalers and retailers. This is a handy list for unique items, such as the peacock toggle I used on one my necklaces which was purchased from Rishashay.

At the time you place your order with Jewels by Jules, request your free gift wrapping on your handcrafted wire wrapped jewelry and trendy purses. Red foil wrapping paper available as pictured. Last day of shipment for Christmas orders is December 21, 2006.