Eni Oken's Jewelry Journal

New features at JewelryLessons.com!

2009-07-19T15:53:00.001-07:00

We just released a series of much requested new features!

1) Write a tutorial review: this feature allows users who have bought a tutorial to write a personal review about it, while showing their star ratings explicitly. It is available at all tutorial description pages.

Tutorial Review Guidelines

2) Favorites list: registered users can add tutorials or gallery projects to their favorites list. Available in the new Tool box.

3) New TOOL Box: streamlines utilities such as Add to Favorites, Share and Bookmark, etc. Available at all tutorial and gallery project description pages.

4) Link to download free and your paid tutorials: find the link to download all free tutorials and also the ones you bought inside the new Tool box (as well as in your Downloads area). Available only to users who have bought tutorials.

5) “Request a Tutorial” voting: fun new feature available in the Gallery Tool box. Request a tutorial of your favorite designs by adding a vote to the counter. Only one vote per user per gallery entry is allowed. Only registered users can vote.

6) Add images to articles: you can now upload and insert images into articles!

IMPORTANT: Although we have tested these features extensively, on occasion, minor glitches may occur. Contact us if you run into any problems!

Enjoy!
Eni Oken

Robin's egg bracelet

2009-07-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite designs -- tutorial by Tadaogirl -- it's just so easy to make and fast! The result is a very classy design.

Barbara Berk Interview

2009-07-03T19:24:00.001-07:00

As part of our ongoing Interview your favorite artist event, we have just posted the interview to Barbara Berk. To read the entire fascinating interview, go here: Barbara Berk interview.

Unisex Woven Band ring

2009-06-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

While browsing some of the older tutorials I ran into this gorgeous unisex woven band by the dutchessofwire. A great design for a hip dad on Father's day! Unisex Woven Band ring.

Pat Capo's Channel ring tutorial

2009-05-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Pat Capo is one great teacher: her tutorials are nothing short of thorough. She has just released the advanced Faceted Stone Channel Set ring tutorial which shows how to set three faceted stones in a row. Gorgeous....

Chainmaille Flower tutorial

2009-05-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

This great tutorial by Sfbeads shows how to make fun flowers with a chainmaille pattern of rings. The effect is VERY ornamental...
Check it out.... Flower Bracelet at JewelryLessons.com

Cool homemade sander

2009-05-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

A brand new tutorial posted by Kerie (MajorMal) shows how to make a homemade sander to finish off polymer clay pieces. Kerie does not claim to have invented this tool, but generously shares the tutorial on how to make one for free.
Check it out.... PolyClay Sander at JewelryLessons.com

JL's Rewards program: Points for purchases

2009-05-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

JewelryLessons.com has new an upgraded Rewards Program -- not only those who contribute to the site with content earn points, but also those who purchase tutorials. This much requested feature allows loyal and supporting students to receive points which they can use to pay for tutorials and other benefits.
It's just our way of saying "thank you dear students, for supporting our site and our Teachers!".
Find more information about the updated Rewards program at Jewelrylessons.com.

US Father's day coming up

2009-05-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

With Mother's day long gone, it's time to think of new ideas for Father's day. This month, running from Mid May until June 15th, JL's Expressions monthly theme is "For Him".

We have a new format for Expressions too: as an encouragement for students to learn a new technique, all participants now must post their pieces based on a JL tutorial.

Read the instructions to the new theme of the month here:
JewelryLessons's Expressions Monthly Event: FOR HIM.

For ideas on how to create jewelry for men, read this article: Creating jewelry for men. The article contains a list of the tutorials which can be adapted for this Expressions event.

Interview with Florence and Gwen

2009-05-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

The interview with Gwen Fisher and Florence Turnour has been posted at JewelryLessons.com! Read the fascinating mix of mathematics and beading lived by these two artists, who work together at BeAdInfinitum.com.
Interview with Florence and Gwen at Jewelrylessons.com.

Let's interview Barbara Berk

2009-04-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

As part of our "Interview your Favorite Artist" ongoing event, we now can post questions to Barbara Berk, which is a wire wrapper using classic all time weaves in her beautifully organic pieces.
Post the questions here: Interview Barbara Berk!

Interview with Iza Malczyk posted

2009-04-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

The interview with Iza Malczyk, wire wrapper extraordinaire, part of our "Interview your Favorite Artist" ongoing event has been posted: read the whole interview here!

Two great new tutorials!

2009-04-11T09:37:00.001-07:00

I've been waiting for these two designs to come out: they are so much fun!

Irena's Hoop Earrings with Stones shows how to make these fabulous filigree-like hoops.

Kristin's Wire Flowers are just so much fun, you want to make a dozen of them right away!
You can find both Tutorials at JewelryLessons.com.

Be Cleopatra's Jeweler!

2009-03-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

Jodi and Franchezka, the hosts of JewelryLessons.com's Expressions monthly themed event, invite you to become the Jeweler for one of the most celebrated personalities of ancient history: Cleopatra. Learn a little about her life and work on a themed piece of jewelry during the month of April, 2009. Click here for more information: Be one of Cleopatra's Jewelers!

Learn how to make French Flowers

2009-03-30T18:35:00.001-07:00

French flowers have long been a favorite technique of mine. You can learn how to make these very impressive flowers in no time using two tutorials by Albina: the first one is FREE and shows how to make the basic leaf; the second shows how to assemble the basic brooch. It's easier than it seems! Click on the images to see the tutorial descriptions.

BeadCulture tutorials at JL.com!

2009-03-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Great news for you seed bead lovers: JewelryLessons.com has partnered with Beadculture.com and is now going to start offering their wonderful tutorials here.
The best part are the high quality illustrations, which really show a closeup of how to do the work. The first two to be released are: Ring Bracelet (top pic) and the Netted Rope.

Hurry, hurry, Hippie theme for March's Expressions ending soon!

2009-03-27T08:59:00.001-07:00

The first themed event JL Expressions Hippie is coming to an end (ends March 31, 2009), so please all participants post their pictures at the gallery under the category "JL.com's Expressions". Starting in April we will have a brand new theme, so hurry!
To see what others have posted, click here: March 2009: Hippie. Some REALLY fun entries!
To read more about JL.com's Expressions monthly event, click here.

Interview your favorite artist!

2009-03-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Haven't you ever wanted to interview your favorite jewelry artist? Now you can get a chance to choose the artist and ask the questions, at JewelryLessons.com. We are going to plan and conduct some "group interviews" -- participate!
Click here to see how to participate: Interview your favorite artist!

Redeem your points!

2009-03-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Redeem your points at Jewelrylessons.com for benefits -- amount of points required have been REDUCED: becoming a Featured Artist for a week costs only 100 points; featuring a tutorial on the home page for a week costs also only 100 points and finally, becoming the Artist of the Month costs only 250 points. These values are lower only during the months of March and April, but you can choose to be featured at ANY OPEN DATE.

To redeem your points, simply go to My Profile/Redeem points. Check mark the appropriate benefit and choose the date. Redeem my points at JewelryLessons.com (you must be a registered member for this link to work).

Story Teller Link Swap

2009-03-16T10:30:00.001-07:00

Bobbi Maw developed the beautiful "Story Teller link bracelet", where each square link has a different interior, reminding her of a special person or story. Now, Bobbi is hosting the Story Teller Link Swap at Jewelrylessons.com. Participants of the swap create 4 links each and will receive in turn 4 links from different artists so they can make their own Story Teller bracelets. For more details on the swap, click here: Story Teller Link Swap, hosted by Bobbi Maw.

Flower Power -- Jewelry Tutorials!

2009-03-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because I want spring to come soon, maybe I'm inspired by the new monthly challenge Expressions, hosted at Jewelrylessons.com by Jodi and Franchezka, which has the theme "hippie" for March: here are four different tutorials dabbling in the "flower power" theme.
Enjoy!

Flower Child Tutorial, by Linda Rosa

Briolette Flower Tutorial, by Eni Oken

Flower Power Earrings Tutorial by April Whited

Beaded Flower Tutorial by Eni Oken

JewelryLessons.com's Expressions

2009-02-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

JewelryLessons.com's Expressions is a monthly themed event, run by recently assigned masters Jodi Bombardier and Franchezka Westwood. Each month, members are encouraged to participate in this inspirational and fun challenge, by creating a piece of jewelry based on a theme. The first event happens during the month of March 2009 and the theme is "hippie!".
Check out the full details of this event: JL.com's Expressions: a Monthly Themed Challenge.

Ads on JewelryLessons.com

2009-02-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

Although I have always been against the littering of websites by advertisement, the reality of today's economy inevitably knocks on all doors: ads support websites and the financial cost it takes to maintain them. So, I am opening the site for advertisement situations. Hopefully these ads will be placed in locations where they will not be too obtrusive for users, but still very valuable for advertisers.

The first series of ads is from Project Wonderful, where advertisers can bid (yes, like an auction!) for the ad spots. This initial block of ads is placed at the footer of the site and present in almost every single page of JewelryLessons.com (we are talking thousands of actual pages and currently 50 thousand visitors per month).

Although the footer does not seem like prime real-estate, remember this: when members COMMENT on gallery, questions, tips and tutorials of this site, they are required to scroll down to post comments, so they WILL see the ads. When non-registered visitors READ those comments, they tend to read the entire thread and WILL see the ads as well.

If you are interested in becoming an advertiser, there is a small link below the ads which will take you to Project Wonderful site. (This is also an excellent tip if you are interested in offering advertisement on your own blog or site). Here is a direct link to bid on these spots: JewelryLessons.com ads.

Thanks!
Eni Oken

"Make me a Jewel" on Facebook

2009-02-19T11:23:00.001-08:00

Enjoy the latest fun JewelryLessons.com gadget on Facebook: now you can send virtual work-in-progress jewels to your Facebook friends. This is a virtual gift application where you can show how much you love a friend by sending them a picture of a jewel being constructed. All gifts will show images of jewelry being made by the loving hands of JewelryLessons.com artisans.

(For those not familiar with the Facebook applications, these are fun VIRTUAL gifts you can send to your friends).
To send your friend a virtual jewel, go to: JewelryLessons.com's Facebook "Make me a Jewel".

Eni Oken: Live Interview

2009-02-16T09:22:00.001-08:00

The interview yesterday at Jewelry Connection was SO MUCH fun! If you missed it, then check out this link here: Eni Oken Live Interview. It lasted about 113 minutes. We covered a little bit of artistic background, a little bit about JewelryLessons.com and also a lot on techniques and how individual pieces were constructed. If the sound is a little low, just raise the volume of your speakers.
Also, check out this video compiled by Mona Hair, used during the Interview yesterday:
Featured Artist at Jewelry Connection: Eni Oken.