Elaina James

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my handcrafted jewellery collection, with my Elaina James Jewellery store opening on Etsy next week. My designs are available in customised colours and lengths, and I'm always up for a challenge if you have a specific style or idea in mind... I also make handcrafted clay charms, with a range of book, graduation, wedding, skating, and other charms available. Here's a quick example of some of my designs:

Visit my online shop at Etsy  Or view full product catalog below (and contact me to place an order): Earrings Necklaces Seasonal Jewellery & Accessories Wedding Jewellery & Gifts           Graduation Gifts Flag Jewellery & Accessories Skating Jewellery & Accessories               Ballet Shoe Jewellery & Accessories      Scarves                         Repair Kits

This tutorial provides a general introduction to using air-dry clay.  However, it is important to ensure that you follow the directions on the packet of whichever brand of clay you purchase. Air-dry clay is often available in a variety of colours, which can be used as they are, or blended together.  It is also available in white, often in larger blocks than the other colours, which can be painted using acrylic paint once it has dried. Air-dry clay can be used to create jewellery, accessories and even to decorate handmade cards.   Several of the earrings, necklaces, key chains and mobile phone charms available on Elaina James Jeweller have been made using either  Makins  or  Eberhard Faber  air-dry clays. To make your own clay mobile phone charm First decide what charm you would like to make, such as a flower, butterfly, Christmas tree or ice skate etc. and draw a picture the size that you want.  However, bear in mind that y...

The trick to opening jump ringsis to open the ring sideways, this is easier if you have two pairs of pliers and can grip the ring either side of the opening. Gently pull one side towards you whilst holding the other side still. Remember not to open the jump ring more than you need, as you don't want to distort the shape.

Materials 2 Headpins 2 Earwires 6 Coloured Beads 8 Seed Beads Tools Wire Cutters Round nose pliers Needle Files (optional) Instructions Thread the beads onto a headpin in the following order; seed bead, coloured bead, seed bead, coloured bead and then another seed bead. Hold the beads in place with your thumb and forefinger, and bend the headpin 90 degrees at the top of the beads. Leave 8mm of wire after the beads and then cut off the excess using the wire cutters. You can carefully file the rough edge of the wire using a needle file if you have one. Position the round nose pliers at the end of the wire and then, holding the beads in place between your thumb and forefinger, roll the wire away from you to form a loop. Use the round nose pliers to ensure that the loop is even and that the end of the wire is neatly tucked in against the top of the bead, so that there are no rough edges exposed. Use the round...

There are many different theories on how to look after your jewellery, however not all methods are successful.  I therefore decided to share the tips and advice that I have picked up over the years and tell you the methods that I use myself (though I can not guarantee they will work for everyone). There are two main factors in caring for your jewellery: Storage: My top tip for storing earrings is to always remove the rubber stoppers, otherwise your earring may tarnish rather rapidly. Anti tarnish strips have been highly recommend to me and I have recently added then to my own jewellery box (though it is too soon to say how successful they will be).  If you do use anti tarnish strips make sure they don’t come into contact with your jewellery and that you change then every 3 to 6 months. Another tip is to store jewellery in an air tight, low humidity environment. And finally avoid storing jewellery in paper or cardboard, as apparently this can increase the rate of...

a post inserted into a pierce part of the body must have a nickel release rate of less than 0.2ug/cm2/week jewellery in direct and prolonged contact with the skin must have a nickel release rate of less than 0.5ug/cm2/week