When I began making polymer clay products, I started with mostly miniatures. Miniature food, sculptures, etc. As I started looking for functional uses for my pieces, I began teaching myself how to piece together jewelry (necklaces, in particular). The basics to making jewelry by hand is fairly simple, but it can take time and practice. This guide is aimed to help you avoid the mistakes I made when starting out. I will also go step-by-step, explaining how you would piece together a necklace. How to use jump-rings Jump-rings are essential to making jewelry. So what are they? They are bits of wire, shaped in a circle with an opening for stretching it. These come in a variety of sizes and colors, and should be bought to match whatever chains/other materials you are using. To open them, what I do is take my skinniest pliers, close them, and stick the metal tips through the center of the jump-ring. Gently allow the pliers to extend open, extending the jump-ring. This will allow yo