Jewelry making supplies « Vintage Glass Jewels

Diamonds – the birthstone for April

Diamonds are the birthstone for April. Now if you’re in the market for real diamonds, more power to you and I wish you the joy of shopping! But if you like the sparkle and clarity of diamonds – on a little lower budget (okay a MUCH lower budget) I think you’ll like crystal or glass diamonds.

Take a peek at some of the crystal “diamond” stones available in my shop right now:

Of course this pic only shows a few of the faceted crystal gems I have available, but I specially wanted to show these because you can customize them. The large crystal in each setting is the diamond-like “clear crystal”. The small round stones at the top of each setting can be changed to the color of your choice. So – personalize or customize these!

Colorful Glass Stones for Jewelry Making

I’ll admit it right up front – one of the things I love most about jewelry making, and having my own jewelry supplies shop, is that I get to play with color. I think a lot of us love to do that! I get to create new jewelry designs, and get to wear fun new jewelry that I designed and made myself – without having to spend a lot of money!

So in this pic I just wanted to show you a few of the vivid, pretty glass gems I have available right now:

And these aren’t even the “important” ones. These aren’t the biggest. They are simply colorful, and fun, and may spark an idea or two (or more!) for your own designs. And have fun making your own jewelry!

Black Diamond and Crystal Pendants or Earring Jewels

The light gray “black diamond” glass gems shown in these earrings are cabochons with interesting, ‘checker’ faceting. They look great in these two jewel settings, combining the black diamond pears and tiny round crystals.

And one of the great attributes of these jewels is that you can customize them – you pick the color of the tiny round stone at the top of the setting. Black diamond (gray) with sparkling crystal, as shown, is great – but what about birthstone colors? Or vivid contrast? There are many colors you can choose from – I think you’ll love them!

Aqua blue glass stones – the March birthstone color!

If you stop to think about it, knowing designated birthstones and birthstone colors can be really handy. Suppose you want to give someone a bit, and you know they love jewelry, and you really don’t want to spend precious – expensive – gemstone money. We all know what that’s like, right?

But knowing the month’s gemstone colors can work. Sometimes it’s not even appropriate to spend big bucks on a gift for a friend, potential girlfriend, cousin, whoever is your giftee. But spending moderate dollars on things that she’ll like, that are a bit personalized – like her birthstone? That’s definitely appropriate.

So we know that the birthstone for March is aquamarine. And the birthstone color… is aqua blue. Here you go – some gorgeous glass gemstones in aqua!

And yes there are more aqua stones in my shop. Go peek!

DIY Earrings with Peridot and Emerald Green Glass Gems

It’s always cool to see how the faceted glass jewels I sell look when made into actual jewelry! The mannequin I use in these pics is close to life size, so you can get an idea of scale.

The emerald green octagon is 10mm x 8mm (that’s approximately 3/8″ x 1/4″). The peridot green teardrop is 13mm x 8mm, a bit over 1/2″ high x 1/4″. You can see the earring has real presence, large enough to be sparkly and “seen”, but not large and heavy. (Love that they’re really not heavy!)

Of course you’ll choose your own beads and stones – or find some in my shop 🙂 And adapt this idea to your own style!

Necklace Design Idea featuring Peach Glass Gems

One of the interesting things about this design idea is that it combines foil-backed glass gems (the 10mm x 10mm diagonal square stone) with a sheer, no-foil-back teardrop shaped pendant.

Really I just wanted to point out that we can do that – we can combine colors that aren’t actually the same. Or textures. Or in this case, sheer and foiled stones. And it works!

That’s the fun of do it yourself jewelry – make it the way YOU want (and save money!)

Vitrail Glass Gems – Vivid Rounds and Octagons

The rainbow vitrail glass gems shown here are terrific when combined to make earrings. They aren’t heavy, but are vivid enough and have enough sparkle to really catch the eye. And they go with so many colors!

Now I know sometimes we want neutrals, or soft pastels. But you know, sometimes you want color that sparkles and is strong and vibrant and… fun!

That’s what you get when you wear rainbow vitrail. Combine the 10mm rivoli faceted rounds, and 14x10mm octagons as shown here. Or wear each shape alone. Or coordinate with other colors.

That’s the fun of rainbow colors!

Crystal and Emerald Glass Gem Earrings – DIY and Save!

These lightweight, delicate-seeming earrings are great for every day – and hey, if you need emerald earrings for a special occasion? These have the fabulous color of precious gemstone emeralds – without the high price tag!

These would be great for May birthstone earrings – but they’d also look good with blue jeans. You know: as jewelry ought to. You’ll love them!

Sapphire Glass Gems for DIY Earrings or Pendants

This sapphire blue, two-stone glass jewel combination is turning out to be a customer favorite! These are sheer rhinestones (glass stones) – with no foil backs. The color is rich enough to shine even without the foil backing – as you can see here:

They are slightly different shades. Note too that the lighter sapphire octagons are handset into silver plated brass settings with closed backs – so the silver shows through and helps to actually lighten the color a bit. If we used patina brass settings, the octagons would appear to be much darker.

Really what I want to show here, is two different shapes, and how wonderfully they combine. And how much fun it is to try different prong settings! You’ll adopt the idea to your own particular style. That’s the fun of DIY jewelry!

P.S. Well, and also that you can save money when you design and make your own jewelry. Now that is *really* fun!

Necklace Design Idea – Happy 2024!

I think this picture illustrates one of my favorite jewelry design ideas. No, it isn’t “faceted teardrops on a pearl necklace” (though that idea right there is pretty terrific.) It’s simpler than that. Gorgeous colors in a pendant, combined with pretty (and inexpensive) glass pearls. Presto: a great looking necklace that you’d be proud to wear anytime.

But the real point(s) are even simpler than that. One, you don’t have to spend hours, and learn difficult and time-consuming skills, to make pretty jewelry. Of course those skills are fabulous, and yes you can use them to make fabulous items. But you don’t need to, if you just want fun and lovely jewelry!

And point two is even better: you don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can of course, and there are wonderful (and costly) gems to be found. But if you’re not rich, you can still make gorgeous jewelry!

It’s that simple. Buy a few quality items. Learn to string beads, and work with jump rings. Or just buy a pretty (and once again, inexpensive) chain. Make the jewelry you love. Don’t spend a fortune.

That’s a great way to start the new year!

Categories

Archives

Diamonds – the birthstone for April

Colorful Glass Stones for Jewelry Making

Black Diamond and Crystal Pendants or Earring Jewels

Aqua blue glass stones – the March birthstone color!

DIY Earrings with Peridot and Emerald Green Glass Gems

Necklace Design Idea featuring Peach Glass Gems

Vitrail Glass Gems – Vivid Rounds and Octagons

Crystal and Emerald Glass Gem Earrings – DIY and Save!

Sapphire Glass Gems for DIY Earrings or Pendants

Necklace Design Idea – Happy 2024!

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