Search ScrapFriends:


Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon Sign up for our Newsletter

Nunn Design Product Review
Patera Jewelry Findings Kit

April's
Review		 Catherine'
Review		 Karen's
Review		 Tammy's
Review		 Stephanie's
Review



Review by April

Nunn Design's product line consists of high quality metal embellishments, Patera Jewelry findings, a variety of gifts like hair jewelry, stick pins, and bookmarks, as well as wedding accessories. All of the metal embellishments have a very clean and classic appearance, and are beautifully designed. Each embellishment, including all of the jewelry pieces, can be used for all types of decoration, including scrapbook pages! The Patera Findings collection specifically, includes a variety of pendants, slides, toggles, links, jump rings, coin mounts, and ribbon ends. I was very excited about the opportunity to review the Patera Jewelry Kits!

Nunn Design sent me three beautiful Patera Jewelry Findings kits for this review and they included:

I have been wanting to make a little artist charm bracelet for a while now, and the Patera Bracelet Kit provided me with the perfect opportunity! I painted each of the square links in bright fun colors, and the paint worked great on the metal links. I printed out the words on patterned paper, and then adhered them inside the links. I decorated the rest of the link with glitter glue and glitter pens, and then filled them with diamond glaze. After drying, I attached the links to the toggle set and jump rings, and then added the silver charms.

Title: Artist Bracelet
Products used:
Patterned Paper (Fancy Pants)
Patera Findings (Nunn Design: Bracelet Kit )
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Pens (Sakura Gelly Roll)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers)
Charms (Watch Us)
Adhesive (JudiKins Diamond Glaze)

For my necklace project, I printed out, "Live 2 Create" on patterned paper, added a glitter pen outline, then adhered it inside the deep pendant. I filled the empty spaces with glitter glue and coated the whole thing with diamond glaze. To add a little more color, I used a purple permanent marker to color the pendant frame.

Title: Live 2 Create Bracelet
Products used:
Patterned Paper (Fancy Pants)
Patera Findings (Nunn Design: Necklace Kit )
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Marker (Bic Mark it)
Pens (Sakura Gelly Roll)
Adhesive (JudiKins Diamond Glaze)

I thought the gold key chain pendant was beautiful, but I wanted to add some color, so I applied alcohol ink to the pendant and key ring. I decorated the patterned paper with paint, rub-ons and a rhinestone. I filled the pendant with diamond glaze, which dried beautifully!

Title: I Love Crayons Key Chain
Products used:
Patterned Paper (Creative Imaginations)
Patera Findings (Nunn Design: Key Ring Kit)
Alcohol Ink (Ranger)
Rub-ons (Scenic Route, Flair Designs, 7gypsies)
Rhinestone (Heidi Swapp)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers)
Adhesive (JudiKins Diamond Glaze)

Even though I love to make jewelry, it's not really something I do all time, so I was thrilled to be included in this review. I really enjoyed working with Nunn Design Patera Jewelry Kits, and look forward to making more. All three jewelry projects were fun, quick, and easy to make, and I love the fact that Nunn Design has made it so easy for everyone to create beautiful personalized jewelry. Besides jewelry, these pieces and several others by Nunn Design, could easily be decorated and used on cards, altered projects, and scrapbook layouts. If you have never attempted creating your own jewelry, or metal page embellishments, these kits would be the perfect ones to start with!




Review by Catherine

In the past, I have known Nunn Design as a company who creates metal embellishments and frames to use in scrapbooks. I wasn’t aware, until recently, that they also create products for jewelry making. The Patera line of products is intended for use as jewelry findings, and includes a wide range of pendants, slides, and links. Given my love for jewelry making, I guess that it is no surprise that I jumped at the chance to review these products.

For this review, I received three different Patera Findings Jewelry Kits. The Patera Necklace Kit includes one large pendant in silver, one ball chain, and one small tube of Diamond Glaze. The Key Ring Kit includes one large gold-toned pendant, a large gold split ring, and one small tube of Diamond Glaze. The Patera Link Bracelet Kit consists of seven silver bracelet links, jump rings, silver toned toggle and clasp, and a small tube of Diamond Glaze. Each kit comes in it’s own sealed cellophane bag, and I also got a sheet of instructions for assembling the Patera kits

The Patera Pendants are basically blank “frames” for any type of jewelry project. One could create a clay insert, pour resin into it, or create a collage project and seal it with Diamond Glaze. The possibilities are basically limitless. For my Necklace Kit project, I wanted to create a necklace for my niece to wear for Valentine’s Day. I had a few brads shaped like candy hearts left over from a package and decided that layering a couple of these into the silver pendant would make a nice Valentine themed piece.

Title: Valentine’s Necklace
Products used: Patera Jewelry Kit (Nunn Design)
Patterned Paper (Scenic Route - Loveland)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze – Included in Patera Jewelry Kit)

For the Key Ring Kit, I decided to print out a picture of my family and seal it under glass, as described in the Patera Jewelry instructions. After measuring the interior of the pendant included in the kit, it was an easy thing to print out my picture and place it inside the pendant. I cut a piece of Ranger Memory Glass the size of the pendant and used Diamond Glaze to adhere it into the pendant. One thing that I am a bit disappointed in is that the Diamond Glaze that I used made the photo bleed slightly. In the future, I think that I would use another type of sealant.

Title: Key Ring
Products used: Patera Jewelry Kit (Nunn Design)
Memory Glass (Ranger)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze – Included in Patera Jewelry Kit)

For the final project, I decided to go a slightly different direction than was intended for the kit. Instead of making a link style bracelet, I decided to make a charm style bracelet. I placed images into the bracelet links and sealed them. I then hung beads onto the bottoms of the links. I place the charms that I created, along with more beads, onto the bracelet for a finished piece.

Title: Bracelet
Products used: Patera Jewelry Kit (Nunn Design)
Memory Glass (Ranger)
Beads (Hobby Lobby)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze – Included in Patera Jewelry Kit)

Overall, I am very satisfied with the finished results of all three of the Nunn Design Jewelry Kits. I really like the Pendants that were included in the kits, and will be getting more to try out other techniques in the future. If you love creating unique jewelry for yourself, then you must try the Nunn Design Patera Jewelry Kits. Having everything one needs right there in one little package definitely makes it easier to tackle a jewelry project.




Review by Karen

One of the things that I really love about writing reviews is that I get to work with products that I probably wouldn’t work with otherwise. The reviews are a way for me to grow as an artist. This review fits under the heading products that I would not have searched out, but as I was working with my Patera Findings my thoughts began to change. If you’ll indulge me, I’ll like to walk through my experience with Nunn Design’s Patera Findings.

When my kit arrived, I found three different Patera Finding packages, each being a different product. There was a necklace, bracelet, and key chain. In each of the kits there is a sample size of Diamond Glaze as well as the parts for the jewelry. For example, in the necklace kit there is the pendant and a length of ball chain.

The key chain is really what sparked my interest at first. I have a vintage photograph of a child in goggles. It reminded me of the photographs of the early 1900’s when people who rode in cars wore goggles. The combination of this photograph and the key chain left me with the idea of creating a guardian angel. The key chain itself is heavy and the image area is nice and deep. Since the package came with a sample size of the Diamond Glaze, I decided to use this as what I was going to seal my pieces with. The sample did not contain enough to cover the entire image so I used a bottle that I have had on hand for a while.

To say that I had a rough start is an understatement, after letting my piece dry for over 24 hours it still was not clear. I chalk this up to using my bottle of Diamond Glaze that was old. To remove my mess, I simply slid the blade of my exact knife around the edges of the pendant. It was very easy to remove. Once the old was out, I replaced the image and used clear embossing power to seal the image. This worked much better. Once I knew what products to use, I flew through assembling my other jewelry pieces.

Title: Guardian Angel Key Ring
Products used:
Key Ring Patera Findings (Nunn Design)
Embossing Powder UTEE (Ranger)
Glitter Stickles (Ranger)

For the necklace and bracelet pieces, I started by stamping images onto white cardstock. I added some glitter to make the flowers shine a bit. Then I cut them to fit the pieces. Once in the pieces, I used the clear embossing powder to cover the images and seal them. In designing these two pieces, I really envisioned them to be worn as a set.

Title: Little Bird and flowers necklace
Products used:
Jewelry findings Patera Findings (Nunn Design)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday)
Inks (Ranger)
Glitter Stickles (Ranger)
Embossing Powder UTEE (Ranger)

Title: Flower Bracelet
Products used:
Jewelry findings Patera Findings (Nunn Design)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday)
Inks (Ranger)
Glitter Stickles (Ranger)
Embossing Powder UTEE (Ranger)

In thinking about why a scrapper would want to work with jewelry pieces, I realized how wonderful these kits would be for making gifts. Key rings with pictures of the family for Father’s Day gifts. Bracelet and necklace sets for the new grandma. Or Christmas gifts for teachers and friends. Just about anyone would love receiving a one of a kind piece that was created just for them.

I had more fun working with these products! I’ve never made jewelry before, but I can’t wait to make some more. I mentioned my troubles only so that you could see that there are other options available for sealing than the Diamond Glaze. I really like the look of the embossing powder, and that I could “reheat” it to remove imperfections or to make the layer thicker. Being a beginner at jewelry making, I wasn’t sure how I would feel working with the Patera Findings. In the end, I have three beautiful pieces that I am very proud to say that I made, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on more!




Review by Tammy

Making jewelry is one area of crafting that I have never attempted since I do not wear it myself. I am usually in awe of the handcrafted beaded projects that I see at craft fairs, but I never really understood what it takes to create these beautiful handcrafted pieces of art until I created my very own key chain, bracelet and pendant. It was way too cool!

For this review I received three separate packages of Patera Jewelry Findings:

Each package contained one sample size tube of Diamond Glaze along with all the jewelry findings needed to complete each project. Also included with my Patera jewelry packages was a 4-page instruction & idea manual which I found very informative and helpful.

The manual covers 4 different techniques:

I have a picture of my two boys together while my youngest son was in the hospital. It is my favorite picture of the two of them together and every time I see this picture it makes me smile. Since I am not one that carries pictures of my children in my purse, the key chain would be the perfect project to start with.

After reading the Amazing Glaze instructions I decided that this was the perfect technique for my key chain. I did not have some of the specific items that were listed in the instructions (toaster oven for the heat source – I used a melting pot and I used UTEE instead of Amazing Glaze). I decided that a test on an extra picture using the products that I had on hand was the right approach to make sure my project was successful. I used the UTEE on my picture and heated it using my Melting Pot. The test results proved to work exactly like the instructions said, so it was on to my "real" project.

I adhered my picture with the Diamond Glaze to the inside well of the key chain using only a small amount of the adhesive but I did make sure that the picture was secured around all of the edges. Once the adhesive was dry I filled the well with UTEE and placed it in the Melting Pot on 300 degrees. Within seconds the UTEE was melted and my project complete. I couldn't believe how simple this project was to complete.

Title: Key Chain
Products used: Jewelry Findings (Patera by Nunn Design)
UTEE (Ranger)
Melting Pot (Ranger)
Diamond Glaze (Judikins)

After realizing how simple it was to create beautiful jewelry I decided to make the bracelet as a project for my mother-in-law. This needed to be a special project so I intermixed photos of our family with decorative paper. To do this, I used the same technique on the photos as in the key chain project. For the decorative paper links I used the Clear Beaded Pendant technique. This also proved to be very easy resulting in a beautiful marble glass texture that provided a touch of shimmer and elegance to the bracelet. To assemble the bracelet I used a pair of needle nose pliers to secure each round link to the finished squares. Adding some colored beads to each link created a special touch to the finished bracelet.

The bracelet turned out so pretty that I knew I wanted to make the pendant to match. I used the Clear Beaded Pendant Technique as was demonstrated in the instruction manual but before adding the beads or the adhesive I adhered some blue gems to the paper to add an bit of sparkle. A finishing touch to the pendant was done by adding some extra beads from the bracelet project, then attaching it to the ball chain that was included in the kit.

Once the bracelet and matching pendent were finished I decided to add them to a card to make the gift complete.

Title: Card and Gift
Products used: Cardstock (Paper Studio)
Patterned Paper (Paper Studio)
Brads (Misc)
Flowers (Prima)
Jewelry Findings (Patera by Nunn Design)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze by Judikins)
Beads (Bead Treasures)
Gemstones (Paper Studio)
Micro Beads (Hobby Lobby)
UTEE (Ranger)
Rubber Stamps (The Angel Company)
Ink (VersaMark)
Embossing Powder (Stampendous)

I am not a jewelry maker of any recognizable experience level; in fact, this was my first time working with jewelry of any kind. I have seen cheap costume jewelry that would bend and break rather quickly but I found that the Patera Jewelry by Nunn Designs was made of a quality sturdy material which should allow all of the pieces to last for a long time. I also liked the fact that the metal withstood the heat temperatures that it was exposed to and the depth of each pendant was sufficient to hold plenty of beads, glaze, or charms to provide a beautiful finished project. The possibilities are limitless for these pendants to be used in more than just jewelry making. As you can see on the card, the square pendent made a cute center embellishment for the flowers that would also look perfect on a scrapbook page. As a scrapbook artist, my photos are normally kept within the pages of a book. The Patera Jewelry by Nunn Design has allowed me to display my photos in a creative way and keep those favorite photos close at hand. If you look closely enough, I think you will find that the Patera Jewelry by Nunn Design will add a touch of style and elegance to any project you include it in.




Review by Stephanie

When I found out I was getting some jewelry kits from Nunn Design, I was a little uneasy. Although, I have been crafting since I was a child, I had never really worked with jewelry pieces. My uneasiness disappeared, however, once I saw the assortment of products I was given. My kits included a Patera key ring kit, a large Pendant rectangle with a ball chain kit and a Patera Link Bracelet kit.

My first project was a card which incorporated the Pendant and ball chain. I first attached the pattern paper to the card front. I then punched a scalloped circle from the front and inked the edges. I created a pocket for the interior of the card which will hold the Pendant chain once the card is completed. For the Pendant I selected a snowman family stamp. After cutting the image to the right size, I used markers to color in parts of the image. I adhered the image to the pendant and then used diamond glaze as a finish. I added a small snowflake to the lower right corner of the Pendant. The diamond glaze worked as an adhesive for the snowflake, nicely holding it in place. I then adhered the pocket page to the card, leaving enough room to allow the Pendant to dangle in place through the "window". This allows the recipient to remove the Pendant without damaging the card.

Title: Snowman Pendant Card
Products used:
Pendant with chain (Nunn Design)
Pattern Paper (Provocraft)
Stamp(Hampton Arts)
Ink (StazOn)
Markers (Marvy Uchida)
Punch (Marvy Uchida)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze, Judikins )
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second project I chose to use the Key Ring. Since the area was small, I searched for one of those tiny photos you usually get in a photo shoot. After adhering the photo, I used diamond glaze as a finish. I added a very small flower and a tiny chipboard heart to the lower right corner. Again, the diamond glaze worked as an adhesive, nicely holding the flower and heart in place. Once dry, I added ribbon around the edge of the picture.

Title: Key Ring
Products used:
Key Ring (Nunn Design)
Flower (Prima)
Chipboard Heart (Maya Road)
Ribbon (Michaels)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze, Judikins )

For my final project I created a 1 page layout. I wanted to do something different with the Bracelet so I used it as the title and accent piece on my layout. After selecting the papers and the stamps I wanted to use, I tried using the Bracelet links in different ways to find the best way to showcase it. I decided to cut small blocks of pattern paper for each link and then added letters until I had spelled out 'friends'. I tied ribbon between each link and then placed it on my layout, allowing the Bracelet to follow the curve of the paper I was using. I attached the Bracelet at each end with a paper tagger. Adding pop dots under each link provided some more dimension.

Title:Friends
Products used:
Bracelet (Nunn Design)
Patterned Paper (Making Memories)
Ribbon (Tie One On)
Stickers (Making Memories)
Paper Tagger (Around the Block)
Brads (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Diamond Glaze, Judikins
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I really enjoyed working with Nunn Design jewelry kits. These products took me out of my comfort zone and had me thinking of different ways I could incorporate my scrap supplies into jewelry. Thanks Nunn for letting me create with your products this month.





For more information visit Nunn Design



Scrapbookingtop50 Counter

Home | How-To's | Classes | Quotes/Titles | Reviews | Review Team | Contact Us | Our Forum | Our Gallery | Shop