Christmas in July Special

I know it is hard to think about Christmas in the middle of summer. Here in our area we have had extreme high temperatures and with several major forest fires in the distance, we are almost wishing it was winter!  But if you are making items for  Christmas gifts or to sell at your Christmas shows, now is the time to start if you haven't already.

We are having a limited time special to go along with your creating.  With a minimum purchase from any of our supplies in our online store, you will receive a credit to use towards any of our tutorials.  The amounts that you will receive are based on your total purchase which is listed below:

Purchase $50* total from our supplies section:

Receive a $10 credit to use towards

any of our tutorials!

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Purchase $75* total from our supplies section:

  Receive a $15 credit to use towards

any of our tutorials!

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Purchase $100* total from our supplies section:

  Receive a $25 credit to use towards
any of our tutorials!

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* (Order total is after any discounts
or coupon codes that have been applied)

-- No coupon code is needed -- 
Special applies to anything in our Supplies Section

** That includes all jewelry making supplies
and even buffing pads! **

A coupon code to be applied towards
any tutorials of your choice will be sent directly
to the shipping e-mail address that is provided
after your order has been processed.
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We are now stocked up on lots of supplies and have put together some new kits in our Snap Supply Section!  We have also brought back our Snowflakes in a Snap tutorial but in a special package so you can start making your own snowflake designs early this year!

We have other new kits listed including one for rings, earrings and much more!  See all our snap supplies in our snap supply section in our online store.

Snap Base Ring Starter Kit

Snap Base Earring Starter Kit

So shop early while we have lots of inventory and get a head start this year with some extra savings!

Shop Now

Make Your Own Interchangeable Snap Bracelet

We have these cool bracelet clasps in our DIY Snap Supply section of our online store that have a snap for interchanging.

I suddenly realized I never did a tutorial on how to make your own bracelet with these and even though it is quite simple I thought I would give you a mini tutorial here with a special bonus offer!

These clasps come as a two piece set.  The main part with a snap base for interchanging your art snaps and a slider that keeps the bracelet closed while wearing.

To create your own bracelet, you will need some cord that is 6 mm thick and 14"-16" long, depending on your wrist size.  15" (36 mm) is good for an average size wrist.  I have a small wrist and so my cord length is 14" (34 mm) and you can cut it 16" (38 mm) or longer for a larger size wrist.

Fold your cord in half and slide on the slider piece.  Slide it up towards the folded loop making sure that the ends are even.

If your cord has a seam, make sure the seam is to the back or bottom of your bracelet so it is hidden.

All that is left now is to glue the ends of your cord into the snap base.  I like to use a gel type super glue.  The Loctite brand is exceptional as it is quick drying and holds really well!  So add some glue directly to the inside of the snap base end as shown (rather than on the cord as it is less messy this way).  Insert your cord ends and hold for a few seconds until it is secure.  Note:  Because this glue is fast drying it is good to make sure your cord ends are already straight and lined up ready to insert before adding the glue.

Once the glue is dry, your bracelet is now ready to wear!

A - open the loop by pulling back the slider
B - place the loop over the snap base and fit it in the groove
C - Push the slider up to hold it in place
D - Snap in your art design and wear!

We also have Necklace magnetic front closure clasps with a snap that take the same size cord and you can create a matching set.  My tutorial to create the necklace is here.

And for a limited time, we have a special bonus offer.  Purchase some of the snap base clasps and receive some cord at no extra charge to make your own bracelets or necklace.  This cord is a super soft Ultra-suede in black with a copper brown heart pattern.  You will see the bonus packs in our DIY Snap supply section in our online store.

Displaying our Larger Size Snaps and Other Items

We are always asked how we display our work for selling in stores or for shows.  Many are surprised when we tell them we make all our own cards and print them on our computer.  We find this method the best as we can make them in any size or shape and as many or few at a time.  Now we create even more complicated ones that are cut out with our Silhouette Cameo machine.

But you don't need a fancy machine to make your own cards and this is our latest method used for selling and displaying our interchangeable art snaps.  These ideas not only work for snaps but can also be applied to other pieces such as brooches, earrings and even buttons!

You can see a previous post here where we showed how we display our snaps using the display cards that are available in our online store in the DIY Snap Supply section.

These cards work really well for the regular size snaps and when selling them in groups of three or in pairs but what to do about those irregular shape or larger size ones?  We have found several ways we like to keep them organized in our studio and displaying in shows.  A simple way of organizing is using jewelry trays with dividers.  You can fit quite a few snaps in a tray and additional trays can be stacked.  This looks really nice when putting them out at a show and doesn't take a lot of time with packing and unpacking.

But since we started selling our decorative snaps to several stores, we had to come up with another way to not only display, but also for merchandising.

For this purpose, we designed some simple cards just by using the Word program on our pc computer and then printing out on a heavy card stock.  The simplest way for this is to create a "Table" with squares in the size you want.  Here I fit 8 to a sheet and made them longer so they can fold in half with the fold at the top.

After cutting them out, they are folded in half.  We punch a hole at the top for hanging (optional).  We then punch a hole in the center for inserting the snap.  This hole has to be the right size or the snap will fall out if it is too large.  After a lot of searching, we finally found a hole punch in the correct size (3/16") to fit the snap.

Punch the hole through both thicknesses so the snap is more secure on the card when hanging.

Another cool thing is how the card can turn into a mini stand for display as well!

Here are some extra large snaps we made on larger size cards.  We made them the same way, but with only 4 cards to a page.  They show off nicely when standing up.

You will notice that our cards are very simple and plain looking and for a good reason.  We feel the card is only a background or support for the art piece which is what we really want to show off.  A busy pattern on a card can be very distracting and not show your pieces off very well.

You can also store or display your carded items in trays (or drawer dividers shown here) which is also quick and easy for packing and putting out at shows.

And if you aren't into making your own cards and want something already made, we have some new cards available in our online store in the DIY Snap Supplies section.  These cards are a soft plastic with a plush velvet background and a center hole ready to hang.  Snap jewelry is printed in silver on the front of the card and you can always add a sticker with your name on the very bottom or on the back.  The cards are 1-1/2" wide and the larger snaps on the cards shown below are 1-1/8" and fit quite nicely on them.

If you are still considering adding a snap to some of your clay designs to make them interchangeable, our half price offer is still on for a few more days and ends on Friday, June 30th.  Receive both Part 1 and Part 2 of my Snap Decisions tutorial for only $10!  Plus receive your own personal coupon code (no expiry date) to use later for 20% off your snap supply order!

Creating your pieces in a snap are so much fun and versatile!  Just think of all the possibilities you can do with them!

Snap Variation for Magnetic Pendants

I purchased Helen Breil's latest tutorial, "Magnetic Pendants" as I was looking for inspiration on pendant shapes and texture ideas.  I had an idea in mind of doing a snap variation in place of the magnets and this is one of the first pieces I created.

After making the focal snap pendant I put together several snap base chain necklaces for interchanging.  One has a long chain tassel shown here:

And here is the simpler pendant necklace style:

The snap necklace bases shown here are available in our online store.  We have also created a special category of snap base necklace styles that interchange with our larger decorative snaps.

You can also create your own interchangeable necklace with the snap base components in our DIY snap supply section.  All the findings and chain used are stainless steel but you can use other preferred metal types or colors.  Click on the photos below to see the items in our online store for more information.

Start with a snap base connector which is available with a single or double loop.

Add a bail or one of our clip on clasps to the top with several jump rings:

Tip:  If the necklace chain is too thick to fit into the clip, you can insert a jump ring in the center for attaching the pendant.  This also keeps the pendant in place while wearing and the clasp stays at the back of your neck where it belongs. 

Add a chain tassel to the bottom of a double loop connector with jump rings.

You can make yourself several snap necklace base styles for interchanging your decorative snap pendants.

Almost any clay design you make can be mounted on a snap to create a wide range of necklaces.  Here are a few more samples using the CaBezel Molds available at Shades of Clay.  I will be sharing a free tutorial here with you next on how to add a snap to your CaBezel shapes for interchanging.

Special for Father's Day

Father's Day is just around the corner and if you are looking for something special for him we have some unique jewelry in our men's section of our online shop.  We have cuff links, tie clips and leather necklaces all with an interchangeable snap base.  You just need the basic pieces and add a selection of decorative snaps to create several looks.

And now until midnight, June 9 (next Friday) take 20% off any items purchased from our Men's Snap Collection.  Enter the coupon code shown in the photo below:

And if you would prefer to make your own Father's Day gift or would like to start making your own interchangeable snaps from clay, we have another deal.  All of our Snap Decisions tutorials are half price for the entire month of June. 

Plus when you purchase your tutorial, you will receive your very own coupon code for 20% off your first order of Snap bulk supplies!

This offer is through our online store only.  The good news is that any of our tutorials purchased will be sent directly to your e-mail address as a PDF file which means if you are from Europe you will not have to pay any extra tax.