Linda, Try a local antique store or show. I haven't been able to do any "antiquing" lately, but I remember several vendors at the last show having shoe boxes full of the crown pop bottle caps. Hope this helps! Deb - AZ Bead Depot

Cheryl, Try your LBS for the Beadsmith wire. I carry the silver and gold (German) wire in sizes from 14 ga to 26 ga. We teach our wire wrap classes with it so beginners aren't nervous about messing up the "good stuff" (sterling and gold filled) and it holds the shine and color wonderfully. A few of the other wires ...

auntieal wrote:  "   I wish the term turquoise could be limited to only the real deal. Just recently I saw something called crazy horse turquoise on a website for sale, but clearly it was magnesite. The posting gave no other info, so the use of the word turquoise is clearly misleading. " The term turquoise is SUPPOSED to ...

Hey Kym! ::jeweler's wife again:: We just got the most FANTASTIC jewelry cleaner I've ever seen. It's an ionic cleaner. It uses an electro-chemical process to un-tarnish silver jewelry and it can be used on sensitive stones! DH Mike and I spent 2 days cleaning a lot of sterling findings, sterling jewelry with soft stones like ...

  I forgot to mention, you can also look up bead shops on www.guidetobeadwork.com. They have listings by state, zip code or store name. Guide to Beadwork does suggest that you call ahead to find out store hours, etc. If possible, they note where stores are reported to be closed or if information has changed or is no longer accurate. Have ...

Nathan's correct about the differences between sterling and the silver plated/copper core wire. If you are making things for yourself or are a beginner and you are concerned about the cost, you probably want to use the silver plated (aka "German") wire. If you are making something special or are selling your jewelry and are using ...

If you are going through the Phoenix area, consider stopping by to see us at AZ Bead Depot. We're only 1000 sq ft, but we've got a lot of stuff in that 1000 sq ft. Swarovski, semi-precious stone, Czech, Delicas, seed beads, lampwork, chain, findings including a large selection of copper. I've had vendors tell me that we've got more ...

Kym, Here's your report:  I tried the Hagerty's "Jewel Clean" with some sterling silver earrings and a sterling, marcasite and "crystal" ring. Some of the tarnish went away, but not all of it - even after a few minutes of scrubbing with the brush that's included. The inside of the ring under the stones ...

Kim, ::putting on my jeweler's wife hat:: Tarnish is a chemical reaction between the silver and the pollutants in the air. One way to reduce/prevent tarnish is to store your sterling items in anti-tarnish paper or with non-tarnish strips. My grandmother used a piece of chalk in her jewelry box and I've heard that some people use the ...

I'm also a left handed LBS owner. Fortunately - or unfortunately, as you may see it - I'm somewhat ambidextrous. At a very young age, I decided to learn how to do things right handed rather than deal with the struggles of right handers trying to teach me "backwards". I never did get the hang of left handed scissors. :-D Doing a ...