Adding Hearts to Your Designs

by Judy Larson

Mother Nature supplies us with heart-shaped rocks, but not very often. It can take years to collect enough small ones to assemble into a bracelet. Make a single, special stone heart into a pendant.

Except for the heart rocks found on beach walks, I did not think hearts were something I used a lot or gravitated to in jewelry designs. When consolidating some of my template sketches, I realized I used hearts more often than I thought. When searching through my archives, I found things I did not even remember!

Instructions

My most often used hearts are at the top of the photo. Since I used these shapes and sizes often, I made rows of multiples below. Print two pages, one to keep as an original to copy from later, and one to cut apart. Print out a page-they fit on a sheet of typing paper-and use what you need, and there will be more left for later.

Store original templates in a plastic sleeve. A small resealable snack bag will hold the sections cut from the second printed page.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart shaped pebbles

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart shaped pebble

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart templates

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, storing templates

Hearts do not always have to be hand-made, as with the artisan looking heart charms added to these bracelets.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart charms

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart charm

However, your own personal touch and an artisan feel can be added by using your own hand-crafted hearts.

A personal hidden message, initials, or a date can be engraved on a plain heart soldered to the back of a piece. I love the hidden hearts on the back of the earrings.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, hearts on the backs of bezels

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, bezeled stone bracelet

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, hearts on backs of bezels

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, stone earrings

A message of faith was added to this cross given to our pastor to commemorate her first year serving our congregation.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, stone cross

All the small hearts on these bracelet links can be interpreted as a message of love.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, heart bracelet

You can never go wrong with the simplicity of a single heart on a chain or it can be highly embellished for a Victorian look.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, wire hearts

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, fancy bezel

Silver scraps from a few projects can easily be melted down and recycled into a nugget heart focal charm, as well as be used to make the links in a bracelet.

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, scrap silver bracelet

On beach walks after Hurriacne Ian, my daughter found many shells with heart-shaped holes in them. I molded a few of the shells and incorporated the heart-shaped hole into the design when making this two-sided metal clay pendant for her.

How will you use hearts?

Judy Larson's Adding Hearts to Your Designs - , Wire Jewelry Design, Design, silver shell pendant

Materials

24 Gauge Dead Soft Argentium Silver Sheet - 6 Inches

H19-24SM6

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1 Inch
Price: $38.38
Gold Club Price: $28.79

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Tools

Basic Soldering Kit

G15-4

G15-4
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $58.95
Gold Club Price: $44.21

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Category: Design
Technique(s): Design

Reviews

Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!