WIRE FOR JEWERY MAKING
Make your own jewelry and give as a gift, sell or keep it!
It's fun to make your own jewelry. Most of the wire we sell is by Parawire. It's a great wire to use. Easy to bend but will work harden some and holds up pretty well for a plated wire.
Making your own jewelry is easy. We offer some classes here in Yakima area for teaching you how to make some simple items or more complex jewelry using wire and beads or other jewelry findings and no soldering. It's fun and you can make some really great gift ideas.
I've used a huge variety of wire over the years but my favorite is the Parawire. It comes in so many colors and is silver plated to reduce tarnish. I love copper wire as well and it Patinas very nicely to a rich color. 14K Gold Filled wire is also a great alternative for a lasting piece of jewelry that resists any tarnish. It is also called "Rolled Gold" by some because it has a coating of 14K Gold on each side of a sheet then rolled to produce the wire you use.
Most wires now come in Round,Half round and Square. When I started it was very difficult to find anything other than cheap plated round wire and most jewelry tarnished fairly quickly unless nickle silver was used which does cause allergic reactions in some people however if you're like me and can wear it, it's a great wire to work with as well.
Also another alternative is Brass. "Merlins Gold" or "Jewelers Brass" is very close to a gold color however it does tarnish eventually but if it's stored properly it will keep it's nice luster.
Other wires are Sterling Silver, Fine Silver and Argentium Silver. Each of these is made with a different amount of types of metals and the Fine Silver is 99.9% pure. It works pretty easily and won't tarnish. If you use it in a torch it will not firescale but it's more expensive and usually the Sterling Silver wire will work just as well if you are not into using any type of plated materials. It all depends on your wallet and desires. ;)
Earrings, Bracelets, Necklaces, Anklets and more can be made from wire. You can also combine wire componets with stringing techniques and create a totally unique piece of jewelry!
