Jump Ring Circus

In my newly found artistic bone (located somewhat near the funny bone) I've had to learn what all the little bits and pieces of jewellery making, known as findings, (this much I sussed out quickly...after I looked in a dictionary) are called.  Here's a few of the ones I've come across so far, and what they're used for.

First, we have chain.  Now chain isn't just chain much to my surprise!  It can be twisted, linked, belcher, double linked and so on. (Thank goodness for the dictionary and Google!), which you can buy in lengths such as a metre, or already prettied up into a necklace or bracelet length complete with the doing up bit known as a clasp.  Oh, in case you're wondering, the belcher chain doesn't actually burp the national anthem, I listened.

You can also purchase various types and hardnesses of metal with which to make your own chain, however being in the affordable category of jewellery, I've given that one a miss.  I'm also getting on in years and believe I might not finish constructing a single necklace chain from scratch before I move on to the great jewellery store in the sky.

Clasps seem to have an infinite variety of styles - toggles, lobsters, parrots (which I think might be the same as a lobster, but that could be entirely wrong so don't quote me in case the parrots or lobsters get miffed and attack me), magnetic, screw and so on and so on and so on.

Then you have connectors.  This one I worked out all by myself - they connect things (oh, go me!).  But that's the end of the simple bit, there are oodles of types of connectors as well.  I think it would be safe to say that if you imagined something you wanted to connect one bit of jewellery to another, there would already be a connector made exactly that way.

And then there are jump rings.

Jump rings are those tiny little circles of metal joining beads and charms, connectors and clasps, onto things.  They come open or closed which is exactly as it sounds - open ones have a break in the ring, closed ones don't, and they come in all different sizes.

I bought 3mm open jump rings (not knowing any better at the time and having to start somewhere).  3mm looks quite largish on the ruler, but the reality is that 3mm is TINY!  And jump rings, well,  jump!

Me on a good jump ring day

An open jump ring needs to be held between two pairs of pliers and twisted sideways to open them far enough to slip the whatever into the opening, then moved sideways back until it's closed neatly again.  Certainly sounds simple.  Until you put two pairs of plier ends onto a 3mm wide piece of metal that's about a poomteenth of a millimetre thick.  Then trust me you need to be an octopus, and a particularly dextrous octopus at that, to open, hold, slip something on and close again smoothly.

Here's a riddle for you.  If you have two hands (which I do) and each is holding a pair of pliers (which they are) which are in turn holding a 3mm jump ring, where is the spare hand that slips the pieces over the jump ring?

Not being an octopus, I've had to resort to other measures.  I've found that teeth don't work to hold any of this stuff, and neither does the man of the house who has sausage fingers (now that was a mistake - live and learn!). Throwing the piece in the air and hoping it lands in the right spot over the jump ring didn't work all that well either.

In the meantime, the second your attention wavers on the pliers in one of your hands the damn jump ring thinks it's the main event in a circus and jumps right out of them.  And bounces...and bounces...and bounces around the room.  Being only 3mm wide and a poomteenth thick they are nearly impossible to find if you don't locate them by sound before the bouncing ceases.  (If anyone knows an out of work lion tamer with chair and whip, please get in touch - I have a job for them).

As I wasn't fast enough for sound location, I tried various measures to recover the escapees.  Firstly, the 'find the lego block in the middle of the night' method i.e walk around in bare feet and you're sure to stand on one.  Didn't work.

Then I tried the 'crawl around on your hands and knees peering myopically at the dark corners' method.  I got sore knees and squinty eyes, but didn't find any jump rings.

Then I even resorted to sweeping the floor.  Hallelujah!  Found one.  Yes - one. 

So the jewellery making's on hold for a bit while I bring in the search and rescue dogs to find the remaining 299 jump rings that have to be on the floor somewhere.  Unfortunately for you all, hearing about my dexterity in making a little loop in the end of a connector pin is going to have to wait.  Sorry, but learning to live with a little disappointment every now and then is a good character building exercise.