If you’re a total novice then my jewelry making kits are worth smiling about:-) Most of my kits are so easy to complete that you can get started with just the humble flat nose pliers. Now if you don’t own a pair of flat nose pliers, you can make do for now with any old pliers lying around the house.Attaching Charms on the Chain
Spread a piece of fabric over a flat surface. This will be your working area. - Lay your chain on a straight line and make sure all links are not twisted.
- Collect all your charms (with the jump rings already attached, see below on how to use jump rings properly).
- Play around with the charms to find the best position for each of them (see photo).
When attaching charms, position them so that they will face front when attached to the chain. So for a flattish link chain bracelet (see photo), this means that the charms should be attached to the lower part of the link. There are no hard and fast rules where to attach the charms. As long as you’re happy with the look, then Bob’s your uncle!
For other link chains like the jump ring chain (that are not flat), attach the charms to the lower portion of the link, or to the front of the link. Attaching the charms can twist the chain. So to make sure you keep the charms facing the same direction, reposition the chain after connecting each charm.
Opening and Closing Jump Rings
Jump rings are those little rings that your charms will need to attach them to your chain. Here is how to open and close them using two jeweller’s flat-nosed pliers. Now if you don’t have these type of pliers go ahead and grab any ordinary pair of pliers lying around but be careful not to scratch the rings from the ridges of the pliers. 
- Grasp both sides of the ring with each plier so the split part is in the center.
- Hold the ring with one pair of pliers and use a second pair to open and close it. The ring is opened or closed by moving one hand away from you while you move the other hand toward you. DO NOT, pull the jump ring open at the sides as you will distort and ruin them.
- Open a ring only as wide as you need. You close a ring the same way as you opened it – by sliding the two sides next to each other.
- If you don’t have two sets of pliers then you can use a pair of pliers to hold the ring using your writing hand and push it open or closed by twisting it apart (not pulling apart) with your non writing hand. It’s one of the easiest skills you need to know when creating your charm jewelry. But make sure you do it right so that you do not distort these little beauties.
Mounting Images on Magnifying Cabochons and Prong Settings
Floral Prong Setting with Magnifying Cab
I’ve collected these amazing vintage acrylic magnifying cabochons and matched them with vintage (and new repro) brass settings. Put together they make ethereal and romantic charm pendants…
Materials
- scissors
- craft lacquer (I use Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer but there are great lacquers out there like Diamond Glaze and Dimensional Magic)
- crown prong setting
- acrylic magnifying cabochon
- flat nose pliers
Instructions
- Clean and wipe magnifying cab and add a drop of craft lacquer on the flat surface.
- Carefully set the image on it.
- Press it gently so that the lacquer spreads evenly to cover the whole image and gently remove bubbles. Wipe off excess lacquer with a damp cloth.
- Dry and cure at least 24 hours (lacquer takes a few hours to dry but takes longer to cure).
- NOTE: I’ve used ordinary craft glue (white glue that dries clear) with success but image can look cloudy.
- To mount on prong setting, using a set of pliers, take the crown prong setting and gently pry open the prongs wide enough for the cabochon to fit snugly onto the base. *
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Crown Prong Setting
NOTE: For the simple crown prong setting (see right photo), once cab is in place close all the prongs (using your pliers) leaving one prong left for the jump ring.
