Jewelry Making
There is no better way to flaunt our creativity than bejeweling ourselves. As Clarice so elegantly put it, "it's our ability to accessorize that separates us from the animals."
Well, take that one step further and when you delve into jewelry making you'll find that you can create the accessories that exactly fit your taste. It's exciting and fun to piece together a few simple jewels and charms and assemble them into a piece that makes a statement so you!
Jewelry making is a way to use your favorite colors (in beautiful crystals for example) and the icons that mean something to you (is it a tiger, butterfly, dragonfly...).
There are lots of great ideas here but we have to start at the beginning so if you are new to this craft then check out this article on Basic Jewelry Making. It covers how to connect the basic pieces and then you can grow from there!
Who needs all that expensive stuff - unless of course he's buying it for you, honey! Once you see how you can make your own for so little, you'll be a jewelry making fool. I promise!
A cabochon is a polished gem which is not faceted. It’s mounted in a frame. Putting the gems aside (that’s way over our budget) and using the frame can open up a world of making custom pendants. This is one of the easiest projects I can share with you.
Don’t fret if the ones pictured here are too ornate for your style. Cabochon frames come in many different forms. Just scroll down and take a peek at the Skull in a square silver cabochon frame. The possibilities here are endless.
Sometimes there is beauty in things all around us that we just don’t notice. Unleashing that beauty is so rewarding. After all, diamonds and rubies are natural elements that have been polished or cut to capture their value. Of course, that takes a lot of money and a skill gemologist but why can’t you bring out the beauty in shells. They have wonderful colors and patterns but sometimes just the earthiness of them is gorgeous.
Also, making jewelry out of shells can make a walk on the beach even more exciting!
Expanding on the last idea of finding natural gems to create jewelry, using sea glass paired with hardware store wire, crystals and ornaments present an endless number of options. Not to mention that every piece of sea glass is different so each pendant that you create if unique. Plus sea glass is so beautiful. It has the transparency of glass that’s opaque enough to create mystery.
If you don’t live near a beach where you can find sea glass, than make your own with a rock tumbler. It takes a while to get the glass prepared but you have more control over the colors and shapes then the luck of the draw at the beach. And with a little patience, what falls out of your tumbler can be a gold mine for creating Tumbled Glass Jewelry.
Glass is beautiful! I also work with Stained Glass. So I just happened to have some scraps lying around and threw them into the tumbler too. Check out these pieces of Tumbled Stained Glass Jewelry. Don’t pass this over because you think that stained glass is hard to come by. It’s not. If you can’t find it locally it’s available on-line and they’ll ship it to you. Remember we are talking about small pieces.
Then one day I dropped one of my favorite vintage blue willow china plates. When I got over it I threw it into the tumbler too and made some Tumbled China Jewelry.
I was in the local craft supply store the other day and came across some shiny iridescent glass tiles and made some Glass Tile Jewelry.
Earlier I mentioned that it’s exciting to walk along the beach and find a shell that you can already imagine shining from a chain. One day I was walking along the Mississippi River (I live close) and found some wonderful shards of Slate. These pieces are part of our history in New Orleans. So I used the same process of design as the few above and created some River Slate Jewelry. Maybe there is some history near you that beckons to be immortalized.
I love history! Anything to do with history! So when I went to a Renaissance Festival and didn’t find one craftsman who made genuine looking renaissance jewelry I was on a mission.
First I researched in pictures and studied what elements were used for the jewelry of that time period. Along the way I noticed how that jewelry was put together in a very different way than we do now.
Of course I had to find a way to duplicate the gems and stones on a peasant’s budget because of course we are talking about crafting costume jewelry here, right? Well, that took a lot of experimenting and I won’t bore you with all the wasted efforts. Here is the final result of how I came up with Making Renaissance Jewelry.
A traditional gift is a bottle of wine. Why not dress it up before you take it out? Here are some cute ideas for Making Wine Bottle Jewelry. And NO it doesn't have to be expensive!! It's the thought that counts right and can't you think of at least a few people who would get some good use from a bottle of wine?
I like to have a few of these made so that when a last minute occasion comes up I'm ready and can pair the perfect jewelry with the right bottle. Well, it's gotta be a match, Darlin'!
Here’s a scary thought…make jewelry for Halloween! We dress up right? And when we “dress up” we usually have matching jewelry, right? OK! OK! I know you don’t want to go and spend a lot of money on jewelry to only wear one day a year so here are some great ideas for Making Halloween Jewelry that won’t break the bank.
Another fabulous benefit of making your own jewelry is that you can custom design a piece for every day or any event. Take Halloween for example. You wouldn't buy expensive jewelry but would like something fun. Well, it's easy to make this cute Mummy Necklace. Check it out and make a Mummy!
If I sparked your interest in jewelry for the holidays then don't miss this article and photos that I just added for Making Bottle Cap Skull Cameo Earrings! Yeah! That's right! Bottle Caps! And if you like the idea of using (or should I say recycling) old items you need to see the Day-of-the-Dead Skull Halloween Earrings I made from Vase Filler Gems!
Let's just say Mummies, Skulls or Pumpkins aren't your ideal symbol for Halloween! Well, Zombies are cool! You could even say they're cold! Haha!! Ok, just check out how Making a Bottle Cap Black Zombie Choker!
Now you’ve got allthis jewelry and if you’re like me it’s driving you nuts bundled in a pile or a box in the closet. Don’t panic. Here’s an easy, quick and fantastic idea for organizing all those baubles. Read this article on Making A Jewelry Frame.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed this project. Try some of the other ideas here at Designs From Penny!
Well, take care, keep in touch and keep creating! Penny