|
These 13mm (1/2″) resin roses aren/t precious – they’re just pretty 🙂 And they combine beautifully with antiqued brass, with filigrees, with glass. I’ve purchased a few and I’m going to be trying out a few ideas.  I’ll be listing a few more colors – and playing with some roses / jewel combos. So stay tuned for a bit (or check a little later..) (aren’t they cute?) When in doubt, go for red. I’m serious. A simple teardrop pendant. Sparkling ruby red earring jewels. A gold bracelet with one dramatic red octagon. You see what I mean? It’s always girly, it looks great, it’s wearable for just about everybody. You don’t have to get complicated.  And if you want to get richer and more dramatic – add more color to the red. A hand-linked “chain” of blue agate rounds and green rivoli drops. Deep purple glass rondelles, golden spacers, and red, green and blue clusters. Use your imagination – a surprising number of colors not only go with red – they look fabulous. When in doubt, go for red. Seriously! The surprise of a more golden “smoky topaz” – I got these recently and was just charmed at their pretty color. Most smoky topaz is a deep – well, smoky – brown, which is a fine rich fall color. Then there’s golden topaz, which is usually golden (yeah, duh, I know), it’s the November birthstone, and has a nice sparkle. These “golden smoky topaz” are a meld of the two colors – deeper than golden, and with just a lovely rich tone.  You see what I mean? Just a bit brigher, and cheerier, and well, sparklier. Would love to know what you think of this “new” color! The color known in the jewelry trade as ‘light colorado topaz’ is a wonderful golden tan, not too dark, that is totally reminiscent of champagne. Or the color we think of as “champagne”. Or a rich beautiful sparkling mysterious light lovely topaz. You get the idea I think this is a good color? That would be a Yes 🙂  These are just a few of the shapes I have in my Etsy jewelry supplies shop in this lovely color. It’s so flattering (not too yellow-greenish, not too washed-out beige) and easy to wear. It looks rich (i.e., reference to ‘champagne’ I mentioned earlier). It’s great for bridesmaids – and brides. And if you stretch a bit, it’s even the birthstone color for November (topaz). It’s just a GOOD COLOR. And girls love it 🙂 Just another example of how contrasts make all your elements look better:  You see what I mean? Whether this filigree-style “ornament” or another, the drama of using black with clear jewels adds a little extra something. These clear glass ovals are nicely faceted – the light and sparkle add just enough pizzazz to this combo to make it extra fun for a necklace focal. These were on my worktable – if I was going to make a necklace, I’d use gunmetal chain – or silver – or copper. Contrasts. Play with stuff. Don’t match all your elements – on purpose. It works! I know, I’ve said this before – it’s worth repeating. Mix up your colors. Mix your metals. Mix clay and glass. Mix plastic and metal – why not? (Okay, not if you’re paying real gemstone prices.) But for fun stuff – why not? Here’s another peek at some of the combos I found on my worktable:  The point here is, you don’t have to Match. Copper and silver together? Sure. Brass, copper, silver…. they can all look good. You’re the one who decides. If you like it – it works. If you decide you need those colors – it works. You’re in charge. You like it? It works. I mentioned cushion cut jewels the other day – one of the other major trends I’m seeing lately is stud earrings. Small, pretty earrings that don’t shout out loud – but look great. Like these pretty glass octagons:  Those little jewels can be placed in one-ring, two-ring or no-ring settings. I think people are liking the no-ring, button earring styles lately because they don’t get in the way, they look girly and pretty, and sometimes it’s nice to have a change from big dangle earrings. Which we will talk about later. Because they’re still wonderful. But the little earrings? They’re fun too 🙂 You know, there are beautiful jewelry supplies from all over the world. But I have to say, I think our jewelry manufacturers in the eastern USA (Rhode Island and Massachusetts primarily, I believe) really do make the finest brass filigree in the world. Case in point: these beautiful brass filigree butterfly charms. Look at the detail!  They’re delicate (but not flimsy). They’re perfect as slightly asymetric earrings ‘as is’ – and are wonderful with added jewels or pearls. This is what fun, attractive, and affordable jewelry making is all about – easy and pretty! Just a quick note, I wanted to mention what a good idea it is to combine different materials. Okay, I know this is a thing of mine – I love unmatchy bits and pieces. These earrings are just one example:  Yes, I have those glass jewels available in my jewelry supplies shop, Weekendjewelry1 at Etsy. And if you don’t have any pearls, drop me a note, I probably have some. The thing here is, the addition of a simple handwired pearl takes these pretty glass jewel earrings to a whole new level. Delicate, girly, pretty. And a simple DIY. Ask for help if you need it – pretty soon you’ll have it down pat 🙂 And now we get back to our main love – sparkly glass jewels. These are a few unexpected combinations I put together on my work desk, just to see how they’d fit together:  Any of these could be used “as is”, and they’d be charming. Combining unusual colors and shapes is a fun way to up your game 🙂 And of course you can customize – and get exactly the colors you need for your event or, say, your bridesmaids. Custom colors – just what you want and need – this is a win! |
Jewelry and Accessories
Vintage, Recycled, Upcycled!
|