Voluntary Teaching and Jewellery Making with Children

One of our Customers Laura Cassidy from www.lauracassidydesign.com who specialises in Millinery and Jewellery Making has just returned from Cambodia where she was part of a voluntary teaching project run by the SCOOP Foundation. She spent 4 weeks teaching the pupils (whose ages ranged up to 19 years) English and various Arts and Crafts which included Jewellery Making . The children only have access to notepads and pencils so she had to supply her own resources for what ever projects she had in mind to teach the children.

Laura approached us with her dilemma and we were very touched and taken by what she was about to do. The whole trip including the flight tickets was funded by Laura, so when she asked for help we were more than happy to supply some Beads, Elastic , basic Jewellery Findings and Jewellery Making Tools for her to take with her.

Here's a email from Laura to us after she had returned.

I returned from Cambodia last week and I have just sent you a link to my photographs of the children and teenagers making jewellery with the tools and resources you kindly donated. 

The projects were amazing and the children, teenagers, volunteers and local teachers were delighted with the resources. We made simple bracelets with the younger children in the school and used the pliers and findings with the teenagers. The photographs speak from themselves in showing you how engaged and delighted the students were.

The school stemmed from an orphanage that is now called a children centre with additional classrooms. I brought the tools and resources here after completing the projects in the school. I worked with the small group of children and teenagers who live at the centre. The older students were then teaching and helping the younger ones. The jewellery they made is now displayed in a cabinet and on sale to volunteers and visitors to the centre. An American charity who is also involved in fundraising are going to take some of the jewellery back to America to sell them there.

All in all it was an amazing trip and an amazing experience to teach the children and watch them create. This could not have been possible without your donations.

Many thanks again,

Laura Cassidy

Here are a few of the images Laura sent to us - they just go to show what an amazing thing Laura and the SCOOP Foundation are doing. 

The smiles on the children's faces speak for themselves and just goes to show how much fun making jewellery can be.  

The ''Scoop Foundation'' is a Dublin based charity and has the mission statement

'Turning new ideas into new schools…Our mission is to support local grass root organisations who share our desire to build schools and to create opportunities for children living in the poorest and more corrupt parts of the world. Every child has the right to a home. Every child has the right to an education. Not one child should be left behind….'

They are continually looking for volunteers to help with various teaching projects in India and Cambodia.

Jewellery Making Basics

Making your own jewellery is not as difficult as most people seem to assume. Once you have a grasp on the basic techniques envolved in making Jewellery then thats when the fun starts. You'll be able to make your own Earrings, Necklaces, Pendants and Bracelets.

For most jewellers, making jewellery started off as a bit of fun which eventually led to them turning it into a business - either full time or just part time to supplement their existing income.

Tools required :
Round Nose Pliers
Flat Nose Pliers
Wire Cutters

How to open and close a jumpring

Grip the jumpring with flat nose pliers and twist it open with your other hand.  Never pull apart to open as this will distort the shape and the jumpring won’t close properly.
Attach the open jumpring to another jumpring, chain or jewellery finding and twist back to close.

How to form a loop using a Headpin






1. Thread beads onto a Headpin.  Using Flat Nose Pliers  bend the excess pin to form a right angle.






2. Trim the end using cutters to leave approximately a 1cm length.  Then grip the end with round nose pliers and roll the pliers back to create a loop.

3. You may need to release the Headpin and continue the rolling action to complete the loop.

How to form a wrapped loop using a Headpin





1. Thread beads onto a Headpin.  Using Flat Nose Pliers  bend the excess pin to form a right angle.






2. Use Round Nose Pliers to grasp the Headpin near the bend and wrap the tail of the pin all the way around to form a loop.







3. Hold the loop in place and wrap the remaining wire around 2-3 times to cover the gap between the loop and bead.  Cut away any excess wire and gently flatten the end.

What is Silver Filled Jewellery?

The simplest way of explaining the definition of Silver Filled Jewellery is to first explain the definition of Gold Filled.

Gold Filled (alternatively known as 'Rolled Gold') is basically a base metal with a solid layer of Gold bonded to its surface.  The gold content in the component is 1/20th by weight of 12 karat gold. Gold fill items do not tarnish and offer a much cheaper option to 9ct.Gold.

Gold Filled items have a 50,000 to 100,000 times thicker layer of Gold than normal Gold Plated items giving most Gold Filled Jewellery the same look and feel as 14 Karat Gold jewellery.

Gold Filled was mainly created to reduce the costs for Jewellery without sacrificing the perceived value or beauty and to still retain the durability and long term wear.

So, as with Gold - the necessity for a cheaper alternative with the same perceived qualities arose for Sterling Silver due to its ever increasing price.

Silver Filled was created to bridge the gap between Sterling Silver and Silver Plated. It is created in the same way as Gold Filled - A solid layer of Sterling Silver bonded to the surface of a base metal. This layer, as with the Gold Filled is hundreds of times thicker then Silver Plating.

Silver Filled jewellery is mainly found in two qualities, one will have at least 1/20 (5%) Sterling Silver by weight and the other will have 1/10 (10%) Sterling Silver by weight of the item. International Craft carry the thicker coating 1/10 Silver Filled components.  The thicker coating of .925 silver better serves making quality jewellery. Silver Filled wire has almost the same properties as Sterling Silver and is as easy to manipulate and does not flake or chip as with Silver Plated. 

As mentioned earlier, Sterling Silver prices have risen to record highs, so for most jewellery designers this has caused enormous problems with the value of their designs and are now opting for Silver Fillled Findings because they looks just like Sterling Silver Findings and are a fraction of the cost ( 25 - 50% cheaper ) giving their designs a higher perceived value.