Jewelry Making Designer Blog

A favorite product in the jewelry making world has always been leather cord. Leather cord adds a rustic, weathered and natural element to any jewelry piece. It pairs beautiful with semi-precious stones, and looks fantastic when used in a multi-strand necklace with metal chain.

Much of the jewelry that is trending today mixes the use of leather cord in with metal elements, giving the jewelry piece a softer effect as opposed to those that are entirely metal.

Leather cord is a great material to use when making bracelets and necklaces for men – again, adding that rustic and weathered effect for a more masculine jewelry piece. A great example of using leather cord in a men’s necklace can be found on the Jewelrymaking.net home page.

Leather cord is also an excellent choice for jewelry worn by those with metal allergies. Pair leather cord with a hypoallergenic finding, and the wearer of the jewelry piece won’t have to worry about skin reactions.

The Jewelrymaking.net Design Team recommends using the following leather cord options because of their superior quality and friendly price-points:

• Beadalon Greek Leather cord
• Uncommon Artistry Genuine Leather cord
• Leather Factory Solid Suede Lace

Enjoy exploring the use of this medium in your own jewelry projects – it is easy to work with and creates beautiful results each and every time!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

Locating a retailer that sells unique and beautiful jewelry findings can be tougher than one would imagine.

I recently repaired a bracelet that had a lovely but weak pewter toggle closure on it, and finding something to replace that closure seemingly took forever! The toggle that broke really completed the bracelet, so I couldn’t replace that toggle with just anything – it had to be equally beautiful.

I visited stores and multiple online venues to no avail. Woe to me. Until I stumbled upon the Original Findings store on Artfire.com.  Suddenly a whole world of stunning jewelry findings was at my fingertips. Hooray!

A few examples of lovely findings at Original Findings were:

• antique silver bracelet toggle
• Antique silver earring drops
• Brass ox leaf botanical branches

Artfire.com is home to this shop and many other shops with stunning designs and products to make your jewelry making experience an absolute joy. Pay them a visit!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

In honor of one of Jewelrymaking.net’s favorite events, Earth Day, we’d like to give all of our Designer Blog readers insight into the world of upcycled jewelry making.

Upcycling is the simple act of reusing or repurposing an old product into something new and useful in today’s world. As we know, there are oodles and oodles of gorgeous, unique jewelry designs out there, but what about one-of-a-kind items to incorporate into these unique jewelry pieces?

A few examples of fun upcycled items to consider working into a jewelry project are:

• antique buttons
• screws, nuts and bolts
• bottle caps, corks

A great starting point for familiarizing yourself with the concept of upcycled jewelry making is this fantastic tutorial found on the Olive Bites Blog.

Once you have seen upcycled jewelry making in action, we highly recommend that you give yourself all of the creative ammunition possible by reading up on the subject! A few examples of great books discussing this trend are:

• Jewelry Upcycled!: Techniques and Projects for Reusing Metal, Plastic, Glass, Fiber and Found Objects by Sherri Haab
• Jewelry from Found Objects by Heather Skowood
• Create Colorful Aluminum Jewelry: Upcycle cans into vibrant necklaces, rings, earrings, pins & bracelets by Helen Harle

Enjoy this fun and endlessly creative style of jewelry making – we hope you love it as much as we do!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

Occasionally we need to give our creativity a bit of a “kick-start” – we can simply run out of appealing jewelry design ideas, which is a frustrating place to be.

Never fear! Fantastic resources are at our fingertips and available both online and in print.

A great book to reach for when experiencing a creativity drought is 1000 Jewelry Inspirations: Beads, Baubles, Dangles and Chains by Sandra Salamony. This resource is jam-packed with great ideas and designs that will get your creative wheels spinning in no time. This book can be purchased through retailers like Amazon.com, or at your local book store. When looking at this book, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to explore the myriad of other reading options available in print format – perhaps you’ll learn about a new technique that you have to try, or find information on different jewelry making materials!

As always, thank you for visiting Jewelrymaking.net – may you always be inspired!

Cheers!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

It’s that fun time of year again – time for high schoolers to have a glamorous, fabulous evening with their best friends, dancing the night away in gorgeous dresses, and, of course, gorgeous jewelry!

However, costs can add up when buying a dress and matching accessories. While we might not be able to make our own shoes or clutches, everyone can make their own prom jewelry. Not only is it a fun and economical to create your own jewelry pieces, but you can be sure that what you make will match your dress perfectly!

Already have a style of jewelry, necklace or bracelet in mind? Perfect! Head to your local bead store, or go online and visit a bead & finding retailer. Be sure to visit a few online tutorials or read jewelry making techniques prior to starting your jewelry making process. You will probably pick up some time (and sanity) saving tricks along the way.

Want to make your own jewelry, but have no idea of where to start? No worries! There are fantastic websites and retailers that will give you a great idea of what you might want to make. Click here for a great list of specialty techniques that have been pulled together by Jewelrymaking.net designers to get you started.

Making jewelry is also a pretty speedy process once you have the basic techniques figured out. You should only have to spend a few hours to get each jewelry item looking perfect – leaving you tons of time to handle all of the other details for prom night.

Explore your options and have a great time creating your own jewelry – dazzle friends with your creativity and unique style that no one can match! Make Prom 2012 a glamorous night that you will never forget!

As always, thank you for visiting Jewelrymaking.net – may you always be inspired!

Cheers!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

Just in time to kick off wedding season, we are thrilled to take time to recognize April’s phenomenal birthstone, the diamond!

The diamond is celebrated as the stone of love and commitment, partially due to the fact that it is the one of the most durable, strong stones found in nature. Outside of the diamond’s life as a jewelry centerpiece, diamonds are also used in industrial settings as cutting devices.

In recent years, diamonds have received less-than-favorable attention due to the “blood diamond crimes” that have come to light on an international level. However, reputable retailers throughout the world have varying levels of certification, ensuring that shoppers are purchasing a conflict-free diamond for their jewelry pieces. There are many safeguards in place for those who shop for loose diamonds online, as well. A fantastic site to use as a reference point when shopping for diamonds is http://www.conflictfreediamonds.org/wheretobuy.html .

Diamonds can be found in a variety of colors and forms – white, yellow, black, blue, champagne, chocolate, cognac, rough diamonds (not polished) and a variety of cuts of polished diamonds.

Jewelrymaking.net designers have searched for economical, conflict free outlets for online diamond purchases, and highly recommend GemRockAuctions.com as a source for purchasing high quality diamonds and gemstones. This site auctions stones individually, in “lots” (small groupings) and in bead form. Browse their selection and explore the many options available in the diamond world!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Cheers!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

The design team at Jewelrymaking.net loves connecting jewelry artists with great DIY resources to improve your marketing and branding. As we all know, photographing your creations can be great fun, but also a HUGE pain when images don’t turn out as well as we want them to (especially when they are destined for our websites and marketing pieces!).

Well, help has arrived in the form of a great blog/tutorial by ViaU Photography, demonstrating how to take your own perfect product photos with simple items in your home. Skip the purchase or rental of expensive light kits and photography equipment, and take a moment to read about using household lamps and shipping boxes as ways to perfect the lighting and staging of photos.

ViaU Photography has semi-regular blog entries dedicated to photography tips specifically for jewelry designers and retailers.

For this and other great tips to streamline and energize your jewelry business, stay tuned to the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog!

Thank you for visiting – may you always be inspired!

Shannon and the Jewelrymaking.net Design Team

Some blogs are too cute for words. I was fortunate to find this one through a simple Google search, and now know how incredibly EASY it is to create my own clay jewelry, thanks to happytogethercreates.com. This adorable mom enjoys creating clay masterpieces with her little one! And her masterpieces vary to no end – brooches, earrings, you name it.

The tutorial is easy to follow and has fantastic photos. Note that the materials are very accessible – simply head to your nearest craft store or visit jewelry and craft websites like Artbeads.com or Amazon.com.

Give this great tutorial a try – no doubt you will find endless reasons to keep creating adorable clay floral jewelry pieces for yourself and others!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon, Jewelrymaking.net Designer

One of my favorite ways to gain inspiration when starting new jewelry projects is to peruse Etsy.com. Etsy has a world of virtual stores run by incredibly talented individuals selling their beautiful products. I was searching for some sort of striking new beads to incorporate into a fun long summer necklace. I couldn’t have a more perfect item – paper beads!

The light and fresh colors that artists are using to make these beads is perfect for those sunny, summery outfits. I found one store in particular, named helpsave509children that is selling gorgeous, bright, glossy African Maasai inspired beads. Simply entering a search of ‘paper beads’ in the Etsy site will bring up a list of great results.

Incorporate something different in your projects – check out all that Etsy artists have to offer – you will be thrilled that you did!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon, Jewelrymaking.net Designer

A jewelry technique that I never thought I would start was soldering. It seemed WAY too complex when looking at the tools and supplies needed. I remember my dad soldering items when I was growing up – that hardly seemed like something that I would incorporate into my hobby of jewelry making!

Well, years later, I have learned that soldering is not only a simple skill to learn but a fantastic technique that can make a jewelry project go from frustrating to easy in one simple step. Soldering is a great way to be able to incorporate metal working into your jewelry making, without having to purchase a lot of expensive equipment and training.

Soldering classes are available in many jewelry stores in your metropolitan area, and great tutorials are available online. However, as a beginner, I found Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories: A Crafter’s Guide to Fashioning Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets & More by Lisa Bluhm to be an invaluable guide through the process of soldering. The author breaks down the steps of soldering and gives excellent ideas of how to apply soldering to your different projects. Fun and creative projects are also provided in this book, helping you practice and hone your new skill.

Pick up your copy of this book on Amazon.com today and tackle the world of soldering! Yet another fun technique to add to your list of jewelry making skills. Enjoy!

As always, thank you for visiting the Jewelrymaking.net Designer Blog – may you always be inspired!

Shannon, Jewelrymaking.net designer