First Jewelry Project

Beginner's First Jewelry Project

Beginner's Instructions in how to choose your first jewelry making project:

For a Beginner, one of the most intimidating steps in jewelry making is to actually begin making a jewelry item. The obvious first question is what does a beginner need to know to begin. In the following paragraphs we will try to show where to go to learn the basic skills that are necessary in working with jewelry wire and beads and will identify some resources to visit to learn how to perform these skills. Perhaps even more important than showing you where to go to learn the skills, we will actually suggest what you should choose as your first jewelry project. The reason we make this suggestion for a first project is that we have talked to too many people who found a jewelry project that they wanted to make and commenced by trying to make that project without understanding whether the project was suitable for a beginner or not.

Now let's try to answer the obvious question -- What makes a project suitable for a beginner?

Instructions are detailed explaining every step in the process.
Where skills are required, the instructions include a link to a description of how to perform that skill.
Where appropriate, videos are referenced to help understand the techniques used.
Instructions include a picture for every step in the project.
In general, we assume that any project that requires wrapping wire around itself, is not suitable for beginners. Wrapping wire is a jewelry making skill that is better left to advanced beginners who have successfully completed several jewelry making projects.

Before we actually recommend a jewelry making project for beginners, let's discuss how we organize our free jewelry making instructions. For every jewelry making project that we describe on our web site we start with several introductory paragraphs like these. The introductory paragraphs include some general discussion, a picture of the finished jewelry item like the picture above-right, and three sections that list the Jewelry Making Supplies, Jewelry Tools and Jewelry Making Skills necessary to complete that project. After these three paragraphs, we begin our step-by-step instructions for making that jewelry item. The Jewelry Supplies, Jewelry Making Tools and Jewelry Making Skills paragraphs below are those associated with our recommended beginners first jewelry project.

The first jewelry projects that we recommend for beginners is our Infinity Jewelry Wire & Beads Earrings and our Queen of Clubs Earrings projects shown above. At the bottom of this web page we will provide a link to our instructions for making these earrings.

Jewelry Making Supplies Required:

• 6 Inches of 20 Gauge inexpensive practice wire

• Two six milometer beads

• Two three milometer beads

• Ear wire findings (one pair)

Jewelry Making Tools Required:

• Ruler

• Flush Cutter

• Round Nose Pliers

• Bent Chain Nose Pliers (2)

• Any WigJig Jewelry Making Tool

• 20 Minutes of free time

Step 1: Before making any jewelry item, please view the WigJig Basics Video below.

Step 2: Assemble the jewelry making supplies and jewelry tools required.

Step 3: Review the instructions for the jewelry making skills required.

Step 4: When you have completed all of the above you are ready to make the earrings. We use these projects for our recommended first project because these earrings are easy and quick to make. This helps to ensure that your first jewelry making project will be successful. It will also leave you with earrings that you can wear or use as gifts.