Welcome to Atelier LJ,

Our blog sharing craft projects like jewellery, beading, sewing, dolls, toys, puppets, masks, hats, glass decoration, needle arts, paper crafts, creative ideas for kids, etc.

Thematic Series

Creating Crocheted Jewellery
Playing Make Believe
Coming soon: "My Improvised Poufs" and "Cloth Toys"

Demos and Tutorials

Crochet Basics
Macrame Basics
Coming soon: "Sewing Basics"

Archive for the ‘Materials’ Category

Us on TVI (a portuguese tv channel) - Youpie!!!

Thursday, August 9th, 2007

 

Sorry, for the moment this content is not available in English.

 



Crochet basics : instructions and video tutorials to make chain stitch (with yarn and wire)

Monday, March 5th, 2007

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Recycle your heart

Friday, February 9th, 2007

The Craftzine card contest for Valentine’s Day

Yesterday, here on the blog we posted these photos of the Valentine’s Day card we’ve made to participate on the Craftzine contest: “Recycle Your Heart”. The basic rule was to make a Valentine card using recycled materials.

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What about beads?

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

Beads come in as many materials, shapes, colours and prices as you can imagine! If you don’t have any jewellery suppliers where you live, you certainly won’t have any difficulty finding beads’ sellers on the Internet. They are everywhere!!

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What’s the best wire to start with?

Monday, January 15th, 2007

The one feeling like yarn

In my humble opinion (but I’m far from knowing everything about wire!) the best wire to start crocheting jewellery is the one that looks and feels a little bit like yarn, so it won’t feel very different from traditional crochet and those skills can be gradually adapted to the new material. Therefore, the smaller the gauge is and the more malleable the metal feels, easier the task becomes. Then, as we practice and gain experience, we can move on to harder metals and larger gauges, knowing that they won’t bend as easily and that they’ll break more frequently.

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Where do I buy the wire to make crocheted jewellery?

Thursday, January 11th, 2007

I simply order online

I buy most of the wire for my crocheted jewellery at http://www.wires.co.uk/ , a division of Scientific Wire Company ( http://www.scientificwire.com/ ). Sometimes, I use my local suppliers for larger gauges which are more common and easier to find. But when I want smaller gauges (usually 0,2 mm) and I need to be sure I’m buying nickel-free wire, I simply order online.

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Wire hunting…

Monday, January 8th, 2007

The first thing you’ll need is wire!

The first thing you’ll need to try wire crocheting is wire, of course! Lots of wire! In my case, I soon discovered that my husband’s electronics leftovers were far from enough…wire crocheting eats up wire and it is so addicting that we find ourselves wanting to try all kinds of wire in as many different colours and gauges as possible with a never ending assortment of beads. So, believe me, we get hooked by the hook!

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Once upon a time, a wire crotchetier was born…

Sunday, January 7th, 2007

Wire crocheted jewellery…Crochet under a new light!

The first craft I will be sharing is one of my favourites: wire crocheted jewellery. Amazingly it’s one of my most recent craft learnings, since until about two years ago I had never tried beading or jewellery making. So, this is a very recent but overwhelming passion. It allows me to use the most diverse techniques and materials to obtain quite unexpected results. Within this craft, I’m always learning and discovering something new that completely opens the doors to imagination, sensitivity and creativity.

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