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Jewelry making has been a popular hobby for a while now. While the art of jewelry making was traditionally restricted to professional craftsmen, many took up the skill as a hobby. The biggest benefits of jewelry making is that it helps you create your own personalized designs that are best suited to your taste. Apart from this, you can also get creative with your jewelry making and come up with unique gifting ideas. Whether its for gifting, building your own jewelry collection or finding an outlet to your hobby, making jewelry is a great way to develop your attention to detail and dexterity.
The market has opened up a great deal to jewelry making, not only as an exclusive craftsman’s job, but also a household hobby. You can find an endless variety of jewelry-making kits suited perfectly for the hobbyist’s pursuits. So much so that decision-making can get a bit confusing. Here are a few things you can do to make the job of choosing the right jewelry making kit a lot easier:
Personal factors
Before we can get into the types of jewelry kits to choose from, it is important to have a fair assessment of where you stand.
· How confident are you? Do you have an experimental attitude and are willing to try new things? If you’re okay with a few failed projects here and there, you can pick up a more challenging kit from the get go. This will help you learn on the job and express yourself to the fullest. On the other hand, if you’re looking to take things easy and build your skillset gradually, you can opt for a simpler jewelry kit made for beginners. Once you get comfortable with this, you can build up to more complex projects.
· What’s your skill and dexterity level? Whether it’s jewelry making or any other craft depending on fine motor movements, your dexterity is crucial. Many are naturally dexterous and have great control from the beginning. Others may require some practice before they can go pro. Have a realistic assessment of how good you are with your hands and make a decision accordingly.
· Do you have any previous experience? Both the above questions are closely related to your previous experience. If you have some previous experience, it’s bound to impact your confidence and skill level. With previous experience, you already have a clear idea of your comfort levels with different types of craft kits. This gives you better objectivity in your decisions. On the other hand, if you have no previous experience, you may be a little lost to start with. In that case, you can always check out jewelry, making videos and evaluate how comfortable you are.
· Are you good with following instructions? Most jewelry kits come with instruction leaflets with suggestions on how to make basic jewelry. If you’re a beginner, this can be the all-important bridge between experimentation and success. It is integral, however, to be able to follow these suggestions well. If you’ve got a logical mindset and can follow instructions to the tee, this should be easy pickings. Conversely, if you find written instruction leaflets hard to follow, you may require some outside help. This could come in the form of another hobbyist’s advice or instructional videos.
· How serious are you about jewelry making? Whether you’re choosing a jewelry making kit for a child or an adult, the level of interest matters a great deal. If you’re looking to casually try your hand on the skill, a basic starter pack with easy-to-execute designs should do the trick. For those looking to get serious with the skill, a more intricate kit that requires higher skill and commitment is a good pick.
· What are you looking to create? Are you specifically into making earrings or do you want to create a set? Is there a specific area of interest or are you looking to do it all? Knowing exactly what you want to create makes decision-making easier. If you are more specific with your requirements, there is no need to go all out with a large kit. On the other hand, if you want the kit to inspire ideas and see where it goes, having a larger kit with more options can be a game-changer.
Knowing what’s out there
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With all the variety doing the rounds, it helps to know what’s out there to take a good call. While beaded and woven jewelry are most common, you can also find jewelry making kits to create leather or resin jewelry.
· Beaded kits
Beaded jewelry kits are the most commonly available ones out there. Apart from beads, these kits include all the tools you would need to execute the perfect piece of jewelry. They usually include needles, thread or strings, and beads. Though most of these jewelry strings are flexible and need no bending, some of these kits that include metallic parts may also include clasps. Similarly, many of these kits also include pliers that are necessary to cut or bend wires.
There are also many of these kits that are designed to sew or weave beads together. They include seed beads and bead looms that can be put together in different combinations for a variety of designs. These kits, however, may not include other tools such as clamps or pliers.
· Weaving kits
Weaving kits are popular types of jewelry making kits that require a little more skill that bead kits. Unlike many other types of jewelry making kits, embroidery and weaving kits do not include too many accessories. These kits rely more on the skill of the user and offer a wider range of options to experiment with. That being said, these kits do come with basic instructions to get started.
· Resin kits
Moving on to more complex styles, resin making kits are on top of the list. These kits include a range of chemicals, making them best suited for adults only. Not only do these kits require a higher degree of skill, but they can also require a great amount of care to ensure the resin sets right.
· Leather kits
Leather making kits are equally less common types of jewelry making kits. They usually include leather pieces that are cut into desired shapes and can be assembled according to instructions. These kits are best suited for hobbyists who enjoy the assembly stage more than the actual designing part.
If you’re the kind of a craftsperson who likes variety, you can always find combination kits that have different types of materials and tools. For example, some kits may include a mix of beads and embroidery threads that can be used to create beaded jewelry with woven elements. Similarly, larger kits could include beads, embroidery threads, resin ornaments, and more.
Again, these kits also come with loads of add-ons that go a long way in lifting the look of your jewelry. Some of them include different types of ornamental stones, metal pendants and parts and so on.
Picking a kit with the right tools
While you may have all the raw material you need to make that perfect jewelry set, it is equally important to have the right set of tools to execute your design. Different materials require different tools so it helps to be aware of what you’re working with. For example, working with metal wires will require pliers for cutting and bending; however, this is not a necessity when working with simple strings and beads. Here’s a list of most commonly used tools:
· Pliers (crimp, flat-nose, or round-nose)
· Wire cutters
· Bead organizers
· Memory wire
· Beading thread or cord
· Ear wires
· Big-eye beading needles
· Clasps
· Crimp beads
· Headpins
· Eye pins
· Tape measure or ruler
· Adhesive
· Scissors
Please note that you may not need all these tools for every jewelry making application. All you need to do is to ensure you have the right tools for the right design.
Putting together your own jewelry making kit
While ready-made kits do make life much easier, they may limit your scope for application at times. If you are looking for a little more flexibility, you can also opt to customize your own jewelry making kit. It is, however, important to be well aware of all the raw material and tools you need to make this happen. It’s also equally important to look into the cost implications of putting together a customized kit. If putting together a hand-picked kit is working out to be costlier than a pre-configured set, you may want to put some more time into searching for the latter at an economical price.
Picking a customized kit can work the other way saving you valuable cash as well. For example, if available kits include create jewelry sets and you’re to create earrings, you don’t want to be spending on other elements. In this case, customizing yourself a kit is a better, cheaper option. Not only will it help you save cash, it will also get the most out of your creativity.
At the end of the day, choosing the right jewelry kit comes down to a combination of all the above-mentioned factors. The decision must take into account your personal taste and requirements. It should also consider the tools and materials you will need to bring your idea to fruition. Doing this right will go a long way in giving your creativity the boost it needs.
