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DIY jewelry design with a brass flower and aqua glass pendant!

Yes, this is a traditional jewelry design, a pendant linked on a chain. Simple and gorgeous. The details here? The brass flower component is linked to a sheer aqua, faceted glass pear or teardrop shaped rhinestone pendant.





The design is classic – and the pieces are affordable. Of course you can choose other elements, or do what I did – look at the pretty components scattered on your worktable, and try a few new combinations! The most important idea here is that you can create lovely jewelry without a lot of fuss, or having to spend a lot of money. Use your favorite colors – or the ones your customer chooses. Add a few of your own special elements. You’ll love it!

DIY Earring Design Idea – flowers and crystals!

I just wanted to share this pretty earring design idea – it’s easy, and the pretty brass flower links take it to a new level of design.





Play with your favorite colors and shapes – this design idea would work with so many different charms and stones. Do it yourself – make pretty jewelry, and save money too. Yes, this is a win!

Amethyst Vintage Glass Stones – BOGO sale!

These are some of my favorite glass jewels – sheer amethyst purple 12mm x 10mm ovals. The color is great, and you know I love vintage stones. No extra carbon footprint that hurts our planet! But I’m selfish too – these are just beautiful.





At 12x10mm (approx. 1/2″ x 3/8″) they are great for an oval pendant – and earring components. And from today through midnight on Monday, March 12, 2023, when you buy one pair of these vintage jewels, you can get a second pair free! (Or send me a note and request another pair of gems, equal or lesser value. I’ll dicker!)

Beautiful vintage gems. A great component for jewelry gifts or for sale. You’ll love them!

Crystal Clear Glass Stones for DIY Jewelry Designs

Crystal clear jewels are always in style. That’s the important basic! They look great year-round, any time of day. Wear them to work for just a bit of sparkle. Wear them for your wedding for more sparkle – that doesn’t have to compete with your gown. Sparkling crystal clear glass jewels always look good!





I have many more shapes and sizes of sparkling crystal gems in my shop right now. Whether you want to make a fabulous pendant, or some tiny earrings, or anywhere in between – crystal shines! Make exactly what you want, for gifts, for customers, for prom, for your wedding. You’ll love them!

P.S. Just a reminder that crystal (okay, diamond) is the birthstone for April. Gorgeous faceted clear crystal glass stones are a lot more affordable than diamond, and seriously the glass jewels are sparkling and fabulous. Just saying!

Customize these multi stone settings for earrings and pendants

I’m featuring a pic of these black diamond and crystal earrings today to show that even fairly small, neutral glass stones can have real design impact! These multi-stone settings have 10x8mm octagons and 4mm round stones.




And these can be customized all kinds of ways! The jewels I show here are neutral – black diamond, or gray – combined with sparkling crystal. I do have many colors available in my shop that fit these settings – making it easy to use your favorite colors, or the colors that match your bridesmaid dresses, or any kind of customization you choose.

The mannequin I use is close to “life size”, so the pic gives a pretty good idea of the size of these earrings. Imagine making them in your fave colors, or your mom’s, or your customer’s. You get the idea!

Clear Glass Beads and Gems

This time I wanted to focus on clear glass jewels. Totally clear, transparent – not the “crystal clear” that has a foil backing (yes those are lovely, but not this post!) No, I mean faceted, transparent glass. There are obvious advantages – clear glass beads go with everything. But more important, even clear glass earrings can have sparkle! Case in point:





And no, I didn’t artificially add sparkle and contrast to the pics. My lighting was the usual (for me) – a fairly bright overcast day, filtered through translucent plastic at one window. Hey, it (mostly) works. And the clear glass will sparkle sometimes, sometimes not. Just like all faceted glass gems 🙂

The great thing about clear glass gems: yes they go with everything. Which makes it smart to use them when making DIY jewelry. Whether you make and sell jewelry, or make jewelry for yourself and for gifts: you know that clear glass will work!

P.S. Clear glass is also great for bridal jewelry if you don’t want loud flash, or to compete with your gown. Something to keep in mind!

Aqua, black diamond, and vintage white glass jewels – DIY earring design idea!

I’m really happy with this new earring design idea. The earrings would be long(ish), but the jewels are not massive and the earrings are not heavy (I tried on a pair!) And the combination of aqua 10mm rivoli rounds, black diamond 8x8mm diamonds, and the vintage white 18x12mm teardrops, makes these really interesting and attractive.





At least I think so! Let me know what you think 🙂 And of course, this design idea would be easy to adapt to your favorite colors. Use the beads and jewels scattered on your work bench, try new ideas, and create a fabulous, custom-made pair of earrings!

Amethyst Glass Jewels for your jewelry designs

The birthstone color for February is amethyst – so I wanted to show you guys some of the rich amethyst glass stones I’ve got in my shop right now. A couple of these are vintage resupply (yay!) but honestly, I’m pretty fond of each of these. And more that you’ll see if you peek in my shop!





Amethyst is actually one of the most popular colors anyway. What can I say, people love purple! And it’s not really limited to one season. Amethyst is gorgeous for romantic holidays like Valentine’s Day of course (hey, not everything needs to be red!) but it looks good all year round. Great with a tan. Great with winter pales, and winter whites, and blacks.

What can I say, amethyst looks good all the time!

Red and Gold Earring Jewels

It’s just a coincidence that red and gold are the team colors of the Kansas City Chiefs. No, actually, it is! A customer asked to see a couple design ideas using red and gold, and I couldn’t help think of it, since there is a major football playoff this weekend. I’m not going into details. I couldn’t resist mentioning the team colors, but I’m not trying to just trade off on the Chiefs.





And you probably noticed, the top set of jewels – the red vintage glass ovals – are in patina brass settings, when the other jewels are in golden brass settings. I didn’t even realize it till I took the pic, and I was going to change it.

Then I thought, it’s a fine way to show that Stuff Happens, and the jewelry can still look good. We don’t have to be matchy all the time. Go with what you’ve got!

Birthstone Colors 2023 – Part One – Gift Ideas

I love to feature “birthstone colors”, especially if they are stones I have just found or resourced. And it’s always handy to remember what the birthstone gemstones, or gemstone colors, are for any particular month. How many times have we tried to think of an appropriate gift? A little extra info really helps!





Just for reference – or in case the print is too small on the pic. Birthstone colors listed here:

January – Garnet

February – Amethyst

March – Aquamarine

April – Diamond (Crystal)

May – Emerald

June – Alexandrite or Pearl

I know there have been times I’ve wanted to think of something special (without breaking the bank) when I bought (or made) a gift for my sister or my girlfriends. Knowing their birthdays – at least the birthday months – can help you choose a gift!