Caring for your handmade wood and acrylic jewellery requires some attention and care. Here are some tips to help you keep your jewellery looking its best:

Wood:
As you know, I mostly use wood in my jewellery, and as you can guess water and wood are not friends.  Now I do seal my jewellery with resin and/or varnish of some kind. This will help protect your pieces of course, but please don't wear your jewellery and this goes for any jewellery in water, so no showering or swimming whilst wearing it.

Brass & tarnishing, what to do ?
Brass is typically made from recycled materials and can be recycled again and again, one of the reason why I like using it !  Most of the brass I use in my pieces are encased in the resin so they will be fine, for those pieces that are not, read on below.

Raw brass can develop a patina/tarnish over time, now remember this is a natural discolouration.  I actually like the look of the brass when it goes like this, but if you prefer the shiny look, there are a few options to help restore the lustre of the metal. 

Polishing cloths work a treat, & old traditional cleaning methods using lemon, vinegar or baking soda will work well. I would recommend keeping your brass pieces in a dry, preferably airtight place.  

To remove a heavier tarnish, try using some brasso and always follow the manufacturer's instructions for your polish.

If you find your brass pieces are dirty rather than tarnished, then give them a wash in some warm soapy water.  Then you can clean them with a soft cloth.  Use a soft toothbrush for any extra dirty areas.