I have always wanted to try out traditional jewelry making techniques such as chain mail, riveting and other kinds of cold joins and forging, but time hasn't allowed a lot of play at my work bench recently.  Yesterday,  however I had a serious case of burnout,  and as I lost interest and motivation in my regular collections I decided it was time to put everything away and nourish my muse with some new ideas.  And where better to find new ideas than the internet?

There are hundreds of jewelry classes, tutorials, how-to videos and demonstrations online.  They are usually low cost and in many cases even free.  They are offered by large companies, DIY and craft networks as well as individual artists, sharing their designs and techniques.

As well as being cheap,  online jewelry classes are also great because you can do in your own time in your own home.  There is no need to commit to being in a specific place at a specific time, and you can start and stop as needed.  Video tutorials can be paused as often as you want, and you can hit that rewind button to see a specific step again if you didn't catch it the first time.  Instructions can be printed out for reference and you can bookmark the sites to visit time and again.

Unlike most 'real life' classes,  there is no need to purchase a 'kit' for a class.  Although it's obviously best to have the required tools and supplies to hand to complete a class, it is easy to experiment with the materials you have to hand,  and you can spread purchase over a period of time.

Here are some great places to find online jewelry classes:

Beaducation
A great selection of videos, with some nice easy ones for beginners to learn elements such as basic wire wrapping, soldering and sawing.  Many classes are free and others arewell worth the money.

DIY Network
Some unusual jewelry projects here with a firm emphasis on using non-precious materials.  Good for stretching your imagination and learning new tricks to apply to other mediums.

YouTube
I couldn't mention any kind of video without YouTube coming up, and sure enough there are some great video tutorials to be found with just a quick search.

JewelryLessons
This site is quickly growing has a nice community feel to it.  There are tutorials from some big names,  and you can also upload your own tutorials to earn some extra money.

Wonder How To
A nice compendium of jewelry making videos collected from instructors all over the web.  Includes videos from larger sites such asJewelrySupply and Beaducation, so this is a great place to search for a particular video from one easy spot.

I made my first Byzantine chain last night and I am pretty impressed with the results, so I will be making time in my schedule at least once a month to check out some more jewelry tutorials.   This list is only just scratching the surface so be sure to leave your recommendations in your comments below.