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Here’s another quick, easy necklace design idea. Take one pretty pendant – and add an ornament. Voila: a terrific concept that you can adapt to endless designs.
For instance:
In one design, I’ve shown a circular ornament, almost modern in design, paired with a very traditional ruby glass teardrop pendant. In the other, a vintage sapphire heart jewel is added to an asymetrical silver flower charm.
You see what I mean – incorporating an extra ornament, a small cluster or charm, adds dimension and texture. It doesn’t have to be complex. It just has to be fun or pretty or interesting. You choose. It’s your design.
P.S. What was I thinking? I almost forgot to mention that of course you can get these lovely pendants, and many other pretties, in my Etsy jewelry supplies shop 🙂
So I was putting together a pair of earrings that feature two of my favorite design elements: vintage glass rhinestone jewels, and chains. More importantly, chains of more than one style and more than one metal. I love the look – maybe a little messy, casual, easy to wear 🙂
These earrings have sapphire blue rhinestone pear jewels in silver settings, with silver, copper, and golden chains in deliberately un-matched styles. I added small yellow-green teardrops – just to give a little tangy color to the mix.
Then I tried an experiment – take a look at the earring, with small crystal rhinestone rounds added asymetrically.
Sapphire Vintage Glass Pear Jewel Earrings
It’s a nice way to give a little extra sparkle – and suppose you were to use small jewels in, oh, peridot green, emerald, aqua…. or pink and orange.
Try it! Take this sort of design and run with it. Play with textures and colors – there is no “wrong” way to do it – and you’ll be surprised at how many designs you can create with this basic concept. Make it yours!
This necklace design shows one way to add just a little extra pizzazz – and highlights the idea of repeating a motif or design element:
The crystal rhinestone pear jewel as a design element is repeated three times here. The central two-jewel “duo” pendant measures just a smidge over one inch long and is the focal of this necklace. Yes, it’s available here in my Etsy shop – all these jewels are (of course I used my own stuff for the example here)!
I repeated the “crystal teardrop” element in two similar-but-not-identical shapes. It doesn’t have to be teardrops. Try the same idea with round beads or crystals, in ascending size to the central, larger pendant.
It adds an extra bit of design excitement 🙂
This idea isn’t original with me – it probably started back in the Stone Age. Take the idea – run with it – make it your own!
“Jewels, stones, rhinestones” – those are all words used “in the trade” (how’s that for an old-fashioned term!) to describe the glass jewels that sparkle so beautifully in affordable costume and fashion jewelry. Truly, you don’t need gemstones to have beautiful baubles!
Case in point: some beautiful Light Siam Red jewels I have in my shop right now. Most of these are vintage style, but they’re actually new jewels. The look – classic (and classy!)
Think how gorgeous these’ll be with black, or black and white, or red, or navy, or used as a “new neutral” with turquoise or emerald! Yes, contrasts can be fantastic. The beauty of these glass jewels is that you really can play with new ideas – not spend a fortune – and look like a million bucks 🙂
You know that wonderful color known as vitrail? It’s also called “rainbow” and I just got some lovely little round jewels to go with the vitrail rhinestones in my Etsy jewelry supplies shop.
They’re “rivoli” jewels – that means the faceting comes to a gentle point rather than a flat “table” on the top. And no two are exactly alike – they shimmer with blue, green, tans, purples, and a bit of pink – every time you move.
They’re just gorgeous!
I love peridot green – so these vintage rhinestone two-jewel charms are high on my favorites list. It’s such a happy color!
Sometimes I’m just in the mood for vivid – pale and pretty sometimes doesn’t cut it. On those days? Deep ruby. Vivid orange.
Peridot green. Love it 🙂
P.S. And yes, genuine peridot gemstones are lovely. But clear, beautiful, well faceted gemstones, not even talking anywhere near this size? Add a lot of zeroes. Say $500. And this pair, even in the settings, costs $3.99 in my shop. Yeah. I don’t love the “natural” gemstones all THAT much more. I don’t suppose Cartier ande Tiffany’s are terribly threatened by Do It Yourself jewelry goodness but – come on. The planet I live on? These glass gems are just fine 🙂
This is a simple one – I just got in a new packet of vintage style rhinestone jewels. They’re new, not vintage – I think of them as “classic” style but new out of the box. And this is probably not a “classic” color.
These are ORANGE. I mean, vivid, bright, happy, and did I mention bright? Hyacinth tangerine orange. Love, love, love!
You just can’t be indifferent to these jewels. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re right THERE.
And yes they’re available in my Etsy shop 🙂
I’ve found some wonderful new settings for my vintage rhinestone jewels – in golden brass, vintage patina brass, and silver. They make gorgeous multi-stone jewels for your DIY jewelry! Here are just a few sample colors:
They measure just a smidge over 1″ high, so they’re a great size for earrings and pendants too – not too heavy to wear but plenty big enough to be noticed 🙂 And I’ve got lots of colors yet to photograph – vintage glass jewels in emerald green, rose pink, sparkling crystal and more. And the sparkly little rhinestones can be varied too – there are some wonderful combos possible!
Make your own earrings to match that perfect dress – or for your bridesmaids – or your mum for Mother’s Day. Do it – you’ll love the earrings (and she will too!)
P.S. Just an added bonus: the settings are all made in America and they’re brass, which is nickel and lead free – these are gentle and easy on the skin.
Just a peek at some new vintage glass jewels, beads, and rhinestones that are available in my Etsy jewelry supplies shop. I’ve just been able to resupply some of my favorites… and a few new ones 🙂
And… just for the record: if there’s ever a stone, or setting, or jewel, that you’re trying to find – and can’t? Come over there and send me a note – I’ll try my hardest to help you find one!
The fashion biz – or maybe the entire retail biz – can be funny. Here’s another example of how color names are a little tricky. All these jewels are called “aqua”:
And there are even more color variations in the “aqua” jewels in my Etsy shop – I just picked a few examples that I’d photographed on a white background.
From aqua green – to deep turquoise – to light blue – in the jewelry biz, they can all be called “aqua”.
Confusing? Sometimes!
P.S. And you’ll notice my title says “Vintage glass beads or jewels”. It’s funny how we get used to certain phrases…. jewels or stones have no holes, so they’re not “beads”. But we’re used to using “beads” in our jewelry – it’s funny how many people just prefer that term. So sometimes I’m just going to go with the flow – vintage glass beads. Or jewels 🙂
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Jewelry and Accessories
Vintage, Recycled, Upcycled!
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