How Do I Choose the Right Jewelry? - Chain Types

The use of chain in jewelry design has always been an important element.  One of the most common uses of chain is as a foundation for holding a pendant.  From the single diamond to an intricately woven wire pendant, chain has graced the necks of many women and men throughout the ages.  In more recent years, chain has become more popular and has, as a result, taken on new dimensions.  Here are some samples of the types of chain available on the market.


Cable chain:  also known as link chain, this chain consists of the same size round or oval links. This is one of the most popular styles for displaying a pendant or gemstone.

Ball chain:  also known as bead chain, resembles round beads evenly spaced along a piece of chain with a small space in between each bead.


Rolo chain:  this chain consists of round links usually the same size and connected together.

Figaro chain:  this chain has flattened links of several sizes, laid out in a repeating pattern.  Usually the pattern is 2 or 3 short links then a longer link.

Curb chain:  also known as gourmette chain, this chain closely resembles cable chain, but the links are usually lying flat.

Chain comes in many metal finishes and colors.  Fine silver, sterling silver, gold and silver plate are the standbys. But newer types of metals and finishes are being used too.  As the price of silver and gold increased,  additional types of chain were created for use in jewelry making: silver filled, gold filled, nickel, aluminum, steel and rhodium.

The chain category also includes more elaborate chain types, often combining forms of chain with other elements. For example, cup chain  includes a crystal or pearl in a setting that has been attached to chain in the form of a link.
Silver silk capture chain consists of fine wire knitted around tiny ball chain, capturing the light that reflects off the ball chain and adding strength to the knitted wire.

iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry incorporates many different chain styles and colors into their custom jewelry pieces.  Below are two examples of how we do this.

 Hundreds of tiny copper plated leaves dangling from antique copper plated chain serve as the backdrop for pearls and Swarovski crystals in our Copper Pearly Waterfall Necklace.  


 In our Copper Leaf Necklace, large copper oval links joined together with smaller round links provide the chain base for a copper leaf and boro glass.

To see more ways that iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry uses chain in their necklaces, bracelets and earring designs, please visit our shop at Etsy or our website at www.ikandies.com.

How do I find the right piece of jewelry? - Choosing a Necklace

There are several things to consider when choosing the right jewelry to wear with a specific outfit.  What is the predominate color of the outfit?  What is the occasion?  What is the season of the year? What type of "look" do you want to achieve?

 When selecting a necklace, not only do you think about color, occasion and season but also to be  considered is the neckline.  For example,  if wearing a V neck,  your necklace should match the "V" shape created by the neckline.  For a scooped neckline, almost any style will do.

The length of the necklace varies depending on the neckline style. Here is a brief description of necklace styles and a diagram showing where they would hang on the average woman:

• 12 inch - fits around the base of the neck, is usually worn for formal occasions and is referred to as a Collar Necklace
• 16 inch necklace is slightly longer than a collar, often has a pendant attached and is referred to as a Choker Necklace
• 18 inch necklace is the most popular necklace length choice, looks great for everyday wear, often has charms or pendants attached and is  referred to as Princess Necklace
• 24 inch - falls around the bust line and is often referred to as Matinee Necklace because it's a good choice for evening wear
• 28-30 inch - often worn for formal wear, can be doubled around the neck and is referred to as an Opera Necklace



iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry offers a range of necklace styles and lengths.  Be sure to check them out at www.ikandies.com!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Tool - Quick Start Peyote Card

iKandies was able to attend Beadfest Philliadelphia this year and we had a ball!  Checking out all the vendors' offerings, attending classes, looking at new products - it was a busy three days. While browsing the show floor, iKandies was drawn to a demonstration of Deb Moffett-Hall's Quick Start Peyote Cards.   If you've ever worked with Peyote stitch you know why this would catch our eyes.

Several weeks prior to the show we started to make Fusion Bead's "Harlequin Bracelet" but had difficulty getting it going.  It's that pesky Peyote stitch! The Quick Start Peyote Card eliminates the confusion that we often have while stringing the first three rows.

The cards come in several sizes that match the size seed bead to be used - 15, 11, 8, and 6.  iKandies purchased the Combo pack so we could try it out with any size seed bead.

The cards are made of "durable laminated material".  They look like they would hold up well, but we were also told we could use them as templates and make new cards should we need them.

Our first attempt at using the card with size 11 beads went well.  As the beads are strung, they fall into small "slots" that are formed when the cards are folded.  This keeps the beads evenly spaced and makes for quick "pickup" when adding the next row.    Detailed directions and diagrams are provided and they are easy to follow.  Instructions are given for even count and odd count peyote.

iKandies can see where this will be a huge help in getting this bracelet project off the ground. We'll post the finished project and the rest of our review at a future date.

iKandies has a new website!

New iKandies.com website has launched!

iKandies has just released a new website!  It's still located at www.ikandies.com, only the webhost has changed.  What's new about this website?

Using Duda's Responsive Web Design, iKandies has created a website to look and react correctly on any device used to access it, whether it be a desktop, a tablet or a smartphone. Responsive web design does more than show the same content on a different sized screen. It adds functionality and removes unnecessary content based on the viewing device.

Why are we excited about the new website?  More and more people are "going mobile" by using smartphones and tablets.  Not only are they handy to carry but also easy to use.  Our responsive site makes a user's mobile website experience much easier!  



Here's a sample of how the pages may look depending on your device.    On the Smartphone view on the left, the menu is shifted to the upper right corner and content is lined up vertically to fit within the screen.

The Tablet view on the right more closely resembles the view seen when navigating the site with a desktop computer. 


Whether you choose to view the site with a desktop computer, Smartphone or Tablet, the same functionality exists for all devices.


The site is also platform friendly. This means that it is viewable on an Windows, Apple or Android device.

Try it out today.  Click on the link - iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry - to view our new website and let us know what you think!

iKandies Plays With Patinas

According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, a patina is defined as "a thin usually green layer that forms naturally on the metals copper and bronze when they are exposed to the air for a long time".  iKandies LOVES that look, especially on copper.  But, who wants to wait for a result that may take "a long time" to develop?  And what if we want a surface color other than green? So, iKandies has found other ways to color our metal that do not involve the use of chemicals.

In this experiment, iKandies applied a micro torch to copper washers. In just a few minutes the washers glowed various colors of red and orange, and a few washers reached the purple stage.

 In this experiment, iKandies used a heat gun to apply steady heat to a piece of copper.  Light shades of orange and red began to appear.  But in order to achieve these colors, the torch had to be held steady, concentrating on one spot and for 5- 7 minutes.

In our final experiment, we buried copper, nickle and brass leaf shapes in crushed salt and vinegar potato chips to which a few tablespoons of white vinegar had been added.  After waiting about 1 hour shades of blue and green began to appear on the metals.  This picture shows the results of leaving the metal buried in the chips over night.



iKandies was very happy with the test results.  Here's the jewelry piece we created using the copper washers.  What do you think?

These Boots Were Made For More Than Dancin !

A recent search by iKandies on Pinterest for interesting shoe designs resulted in this page of Shoe Decorating Designs http://www.pinterest.com/linzifer/shoe-decorating-ideas/.  Some of these are quite unusual  You can decide if you like them or not, but regardless of your decision, we're sure you'll agree adding "eye candy" to shoes and boots is definitely the "in" thing to do!

iKandies noticed the trend and decided to add a few Boot Bracelets to our line of jewelry to test the waters.  We're happy to report that they've been a popular item: not only showing up at the top of our Search list on our iKandies Etsy Site site, but we've also sold several of our designs.  Although they may be simple designs, they're very flexible because they can be worn on any number of boot styles. 

Our designs range from simple copper chain

 

..to more ornate chain with charms

 ... to a leather buckled strap with Swarovski crystal accents

We'll soon be enlarging our boot bracelet offerings by adding a few fun designs. So no matter what your preference, you're sure to find something to make those ordinary boots do more than dance!

iKandies Does Hot Glass

A few years ago at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, iKandies took a lampworking class in which they attempted to make glass beads.  iKandies has always been fascinated with glass and thought this would be a fun way to experiment with it. We learned about the properties of glass, torches, marvers, glass rods, safety...  We found out this art is much harder than it appears!  Although our beads weren't that great, and we haven't attempted to make any more, this class has given us a much greater appreciation for the skills and talent of the glass bead makers we meet!

Recently iKandies had the opportunity to try our hand at glass blowing.  Akron Glass works held a class where we learned some of the basic techniques and had a chance to get the feel of what is involved in this art craft while we made a glass pumpkin with instructor Jack Baker.

Jack walked us through the basic steps - quite a lot involved in making this pumpkin!  He described the procedures and tools, then let us pick glass colors we could use for the body and the stem.

 

 You don't realize how hot these ovens can be until you get real close to them! Here we are heating up the pipe to prepare it for our instructor, Jack, to gather hot glass from the oven.


Jack has now added several layers of glass, including the colors we have chosen, and reheated it.  The oven behind him is where he gathers the molten glass.  The temperature is around 21000 degrees! We are using Jacks (the tool in my hand) to carve a line at what will be the bottom of my pumpkin so that it can be broken off the pipe.


All the layers of glass have been added and we're setting it in the pumpkin mold.

It takes a lot of air to help coax this pumpkin into shape, but here's the final product.  We keep the top hot with a blow torch while Jack prepares the stem.  After he adds it, the pumpkin goes into the kiln for overnight baking.


And here's the final product!



Kriss' Pumpkin!

Watch this YouTube video showing some of the steps involved in making our glass pumpkin, demonstrated by Debi and our instructor, Jack: