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New jewelry design idea – fabulous earrings (or pendants!)

Woo hoo, I just got in some new montana sapphire (navy blue) cushion cut glass gems in my shop!

The “cushion cut” name refers to the cut of the glass stones – square or rectangular, with rounded/faceted corners. It’s one of the most popular – and versatile – shape stones. The cushion cut shape is a classic and used by itself, makes a lovely smallish pendant. Combined with other shapes and colors, it’s just fabulous!

I do love combining stones and from what my customers tell me they do too. Case in point – the earring design shown in this pic. You could use any colors of course, and you’ll grab some jewels from your worktable and try different ideas – that’s where your creativity comes in. That’s part of the fun 🙂

Do it yourself jewelry – for yourself, for gifts, or that you offer for sale in your own shop – that’s fun too!

Red Glass Gems – favorite jewels in my shop!

I was getting low on the red glass gems in my shop – in these shapes, I mean – they are among the most popular shapes and sizes. Just got a resupply!

The round glass stones are 10mm in diameter – that’s approximately 3/8″. They’re great for small(ish) earrings “as is” – but they pair wonderfully with so many other shapes! For instance the octagons shown here. Which, just for the record, is probably the first or second most popular shape glass stone in my shop. They’re super for pendants, connectors, and earrings. So useful!

If you make jewelry, and especially if you buy supplies online, like so many of us do – I’m sure you’ve noticed that red glass gems can vary a lot in tone, from deep red (almost burgundy) to the bright red in these jewels. Both colors popular and useful. But I love the clear vivid red in these stones. I think you’ll will too!

P.S. And if you’re thinking ahead – do I need to mention Christmas? Yeah, you thought of that already!

Fuschia vintage glass teardrops with sparkling crystal – DIY earrings!

This was a good day! Don’t laugh, I was able to resupply one of the customer faves in my shop – and these stones are genuine vintage, I don’t take that for granted! Not sure how old they are but the packaging they came in has the phone number of the company in New York which originally imported them – from Czechoslovakia, I think.

The phone number does not have an area code. The U.S. adopted area codes in the early 1950s. These stones are true vintage 😉

Plus I love the combination of the deeper fuschia pink and the sparkling faceted crystal. Easy to create – and of course adopt to your own style. I think you’ll love them!

Sapphire blue glass gems – the birthstone color for September

I just got in some new sapphire glass gems – the sheer octagons shown below. I’ve paired them here with sapphire blue teardrops – they’re beautifully coordinated. And I’ve just gotten more stones in, so right now I have some terrific sapphire blue glass gems in my shop.


I tried this earring design idea because (1) the sapphire octagons are new and I wanted to see how they’d look with other shapes and sizes and (2) okay, I’m lazy, the sapphire teardrops were on my worktable! But I really like this combination. The glass stones work well together and paired this way, they’re just a bit unusual.

You’ll do that too – try different shapes and colors with new stones, plus what you have on your worktable. That’s the fun of DIY jewelry!

And as I mentioned above – sapphire blue is the birthstone color for September. If you have a September birthday girl, I bet she’d love some jewelry. Save money – and make her a gift that’s from the heart!

Ruby red glass stones – the birthstone color for July

Of course red is a fabulous color for jewelry anyway – we know that. It’s flattering to most skin tones, it can be casual or dressy, it’s the main color of at least two holidays, and it’s just fun to wear! And…ruby red is the birthstone color for July. So I thought I’d highlight a few of the ruby red glass jewels available in my shop right now.


So if you need a birthday gift for a bestie born in July, you might find some ideas here. Or if you want something to match the red shirt you just bought. Or if you want to subtly point out a few things that would be perfect in your eyes and somebody wants to buy *you* a gift… you get the idea. Get what works for you!

DIY necklace design idea that you can customize!

The pendant shown in this DIY necklace design idea is available right now in my shop – in several colors (so you can pick your favorite!)


Shown “as is” it’s a lovely necklace. You can request that your glass jewels be set in silver plated brass as shown, or in antiqued patina brass, or golden raw brass. Select a complementary necklace chain, and you’ll have a gorgeous necklace!

And a very cool detail – you can choose the color of the tiny stone at the top of the setting. That way you can customize your colors. If this is a necklace you’re making as a gift for your girlfriend, you can choose the two birthstone colors of her daughters. Or just choose her favorites. Or yours. That’s the beauty of DIY jewelry – you can make it just the way you want!

Customize these glass octagons in multi stone settings!

These pretty, delicate earring jewels are available in many colors in my shop – and they can be customized 🙂 You choose the color of the tiny round jewel at the top of the setting!


You can choose your favorite color. Or clear crystal as is shown in many of these choices, because that always adds a bit of extra sparkle 🙂 Or, coordinate the octagon color with your child’s birthstone color! There are a lot of possibilities – and you can choose the ones you like best.

That’s the beauty of custom made DIY jewelry. Well – the fact that you can choose just what you want – and, that you don’t have to spend a lot of money. One more reason to love DIY!

New Glass Jewels – Light Khaki Tan Coordinating Pears and Squares

I love this color! These glass gems are new in my shop and they’re a great neutral. A bit deeper than beige – close to light tan, or khaki tan.


These pear or teardrop shaped glass stones are great for earrings or pendants – and since they are also available in two-ring connector settings, they’re also terrific glass links. Pair them with the coordinated sweet 8x8mm square gems as shown, or add your stashed beads or stones. You’ll figure out the design that works best for you – that’s the beauty of DIY jewelry!

Crystal Bridal Wedding Jewels

You want your wedding jewelry to be special! Very likely the image you have of your bridal earrings will be sparkling crystal. If you have diamond gemstone earrings of course they would be beautiful wedding earrings 🙂 But if you have a smaller budget – like me, like most of us I think – sparkling faceted crystal jewelry is going to be wonderful. And much more affordable!


The earring jewels featured in this pic are beautifully faceted, clear crystal rhinestone (glass) gems. They’re lovely, and not only will they be perfect for bridal earrings, they’re also affordable!

And you will feel – and look – beautiful in them!

More Mother’s Day Gift Ideas!

Yes, this is another idea for Mother’s Day gifts. It’s an easy design idea, doesn’t cost a lot of money, and you can choose your mom’s favorite color 🙂



Think about it for a minute – you can make your mom a pair of earrings, choosing the color she loves, hand-set in prong settings in the metal “color” she wears most – golden brass or silver (or antiqued brass). So you really are designing these earrings *for her*.

And the earrings are simple to make – you can make them as complex as you want to suit your creative style, but pretty teardrops on earwires are also gorgeous! Whichever style idea suits you best, this is a win 🙂

And you’ll make your mom super happy!