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Golden smoky topaz glass jewels

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.

golden smoky topaz teardrop pendant

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!

Light colorado topaz jewels

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 🙂

light colorado topaz glass jewels in my online jewelry shop Weekendjewelry1 on Etsy

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 🙂

The beauty of contrasts – DIY jewelry design

Just another example of how contrasts make all your elements look better:

black filigree ornament and clear crystal glass jewel

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!

Jewelry design – mixed metals. Mixed colors.

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:

mixed jewel colors and mixed metals - DIY earring ideas

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.

Stud earring jewels – these are back!

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:

aqua stud earring jewels in my jewelry supplies shop

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 🙂

Golden brass butterfly charms – made in the USA

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!

golden brass filigree butterfly charms

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!

Glass jewel and pearl earrings DIY

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:

pink glass jewel and pearl earrings

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 🙂

Glass earring jewels….more colors :-)

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:

colorful glass jewel combinations from my jewelry supplies shop

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!

Glass jewel set stones colors

One of the advantages of making your own jewelry (or, having a jewelry supply shop!) is that you can make exactly the jewelry you want. You can choose the color – or combinations – or shapes, sizes, metal colors. It’s like a smorgasbord all for you, and you get to choose the goodies. For instance, if I wanted to make some earrings to go with the totally adorable vintage sundress I posted about a few days ago, any of these lovely set stone combos would be great.

glass jewel set stones in many colors

And aside from saving money (which come on, is usually pretty important) the beauty of DIY is that: you can get what you want. That’s worth repeating.

You can get WHAT YOU WANT. Go for it.

Triple rhinestone jewels – choose your color

I recently added another color combination to my collection of “triples” – glass earring (or pendant) dangle beads that actually have three rhinestone jewels. I’m already getting a super response to this emerald, aqua, and crystal combination:

emerald green, aqua blue, and crystal rhinestone triple jewels in golden raw brass settings

A little added perk to these “triple” listings is that I can offer a “choose your color” option – there are several color variations (and of course you can always let me know what colors *you* want and I’ll create a combo just for you 🙂

I’ve said it before: it’s all personal. If you can get just the colors you want, well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Yeah. Thought so.