Blog for Beaders

Learn how to make quick and simple earrings that will turn heads and turn colors! These Floral Mood earrings take just minutes to make and are made with cool mirage mood beads that change color by reading your body temperature. We’ll teach you how to make fun dangling earrings in one step! Just choose your favorite mood beads, earwires and head pins to play with. Some mood beads have larger stringing holes so you will need to incorporate small spacer beads like 8/0 Seed Beads so they fit snugly on your head pin. We suggest using spacers in black to complement the rainbow of colors held inside the mood beads.

Step One
Thread one spacer bead, one mood bead and another spacer bead onto one 2-inch head pin. Finish the head pin with a wrapped loop and attach it to your earwire. Repeat this process for the second earring. You can learn how to make a wrapped loop by reading our Handy Tip available in the Learning Center.

That’s it! Go out and show off your fun new jewelry!

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In celebration of our collection on new products, our designers were inspired to come up with their own jewelry ideas. The cool winter months of the upcoming holiday season is what helped inspire these designs, too! Check out these two simple designs you can make with some of our newest products!

Sometimes in the winter months it’s hard to stay happy. The cool weather and shorter days can seem to put us in a sour mood, where we just want to stay inside. This Bee Happy necklace helps lift our spirits during the long season. Its cute focal is made using a Nunn Design large oval bee tag link, stamped with Posh alphabet letter metal stamps and finished with a mini silver-plated toggle clasp with flower accents.

The pendant also features lovely black and yellow Swarovski crystals with wrapped loops made from sterling silver head pins attached to the bee tag link using a spring ring. This makes it easy to interchange color patterns so you can wear this necklace all year long!

Gone away is the blue bird, but this cheerful sight can stay with you for winter with this Fly necklace. The Nunn Design small circle bird charm is decorated using a metal stamping technique with some of our new alphabet letter metal stamps in an Elegant style.

This charm is accented by darling Swarovski crystals, including one of the newest colors—Denim Blue. Two Crystal pendants are attached together to one jump ring and a Denim Blue pendant to another and both jump rings are attached to a closed jump ring. The accent pieces are all threaded onto a royal blue silk ribbon, with everything held in place using silver-filled round beads.

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Learn how to make jewelry that your bridesmaids will be proud to wear again and again! Here’s what I made for my big day back in October. I chose colors that were complementing to an autumn backdrop—chocolate brown and cream—for their dresses.

For the jewelry I wanted to keep it classy but a little more fun, so I went with Swarovski round crystal pearlsin cream and dark brown matched with warm gold jewelry components. Each bridesmaid received a necklace, bracelet and pair of earrings with matching patterns.

You can easily make your own bridesmaid jewelry and present it as your bridal gift to them on the night of your rehearsal! The best part about making your own bridesmaid jewelry is that it can look exactly how you want. Get other great bridal jewelry ideas by visiting our Learning Center, available with free instructions and a list of components.

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Photo Source: The Vancouver Sun.

We’re going to highlight Twilight by bringing you some cool ideas inspired by the upcoming movie. This film includes the epic wedding scene, where Bella and Edward finally profess their undying (…or undead…) love for one another. Much like our anticipation and excitement over Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding jewelry, thousands of fans can’t wait to discover what Bella will wear to match her bridal gown. Our designers were so excited about this movie’s release that they created a replica of her ring and head piece, and we’re going to share it with you! We took advantage of our Pacific Northwest location to give our pieces a real Twilight wedding feel.

Photo Source: style.mtv.com.

We replicated Bella’s headpiece using a Kabela filigree link, Gilders Paste and some Swarovski flatback rhinestones. Then, we glued a simple barrette clip to the back of the filigree. You could attach a piece of white tulle and attach it to the headpiece for a veil and walk down the aisle like a vampire princess!

Photo Source: AceShowbiz.com.

Making Bella’s ring was just as quick and easy as her head piece! We used a silver-plated blank ring, filled it with white DeCoRé clay and decorated it with Crystal Swarovski flatbacks. This ring will sparkle just as bright as Bella’s!

Check out more Twilight-themed jewelry and craft ideas available in our Learning Center, including free step-by-step instructions. You can get ready for the premiere in style!

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A better question to answer first is What the heck is DeCoRé? It’s one of our newest products that’s perfect for designing your own unique jewelry. DeCoRé ™ epoxy clay offers new way to make unique jewelry designs. It will adhere to almost any kind of material including metal, wood and glass. It’s really easy to use and takes little effort to create something beautiful.

So why do we like it so much? Because it’s so simple to use and produces incredible results! Each pack includes two different clays—one is the designated color (A) and the other is a simple white base (B). Mix equal parts of A and B together for approximately 4 minutes in your hands and then mold onto any surface or design it into anything you desire. You can even sprinkle in some tiny Swarovski flatbacks to give it an extra sparkle if you like.
No need to bake—it should not shrink or fade once it’s cured.

Explore new ideas by browsing our great selection of clay colors and DeCoRé ™ jewelry findings like blank rings and pendants. Be sure to read our DeCoRé Handy Tip if you need more help using this product.

Check out what Teri, one of our designers, made using DeCoRé ™ as a base! She incorporated Czech glass beads and other great Artbeads products to create a whimsical forest figurine, set atop the crafting clay. Find out what you can make with this exciting new product!

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Fall is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about your little fashionista’s ideas for formal dance jewelry. Before we preview the homecoming trends for 2011, I thought it might be fun to share some of my past homemade jewelry. I’ve always tried to stay up to date on fashion trends that are classy but will make a statement. Digging through some old boxes I was able to find a picture from the past where I was showing off original jewelry designs made by my mom. Mothers always come in handy when you need custom designs for fancy occasions! See what was trending then and stay tuned to read what’s trending this season soon!

This necklace, bracelet and earring set was made with lovely Swarovski crystals to match the sparkles in my dress. Very fun and surprisingly lightweight! I still wear the necklace with the right outfit from time to time. It doesn’t take much to complement a formal dress!

In need of a quick trick to hold your things? Here’s a cool idea from the Learning Center! Make this rhinestone-embellished purse in a snap and be ready for a night out! It’s stylish and simple.

I hope you find the inspiration you need to make your daughter or granddaughter the perfect fancy jewelry without having to spend a fortune on pre-made sets. She’ll be more impressed knowing she has custom-made jewelry that will help her stand out from the crowd this year.

Happy styling!

-Marissa

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Well, I had time this morning to take a few quick photos of my St. Patrick’s Day earrings! I made these one afternoon while I was playing around with some supplies I had on hand. The design idea came to my mind as I debated what to do with some Swarovski Erinite faceted rounds. I’ve wanted to create a design with them for awhile, but when I first purchased them they turned out a bit large for the project I had planned. I think they worked well in these earrings!

I wanted these earrings to be chandelier earrings, but I didn’t have a chandelier form, so I looked at what I had and decided to try some memory wire because it likes to hold its shape. I also used 6mm Erinite faceted rounds accented with silver-lined crystal delicas and some silver-plated round beads.

I created dangles with the Erinite rounds and seed beads, and threaded them onto the memory wire with the silver-plated round beads.

At the top of the earrings, I fashioned simple loops and connected the ends of the memory wire together. Then, I threaded a jump ring through the loops. The tension of the memory wire kept the loops tight against the jump ring.

These earrings turned out light enough that I can wear them comfortably all day, and I’m looking forward to wearing them on March 17th!

-Katie

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Earlier this week I featured the beautiful bridal jewelry Megan, our launch coordinator here at Artbeads, designed for her spring 2010 wedding. Her elegant pearl and crystal jewelry set complemented her gown perfectly and offered delicate reflections of her green and yellow wedding colors. In addition to her own jewelry designs, Megan also wore sandals that were embellished by our Artbeads designer, Cheri.

Cheri embellished Megan’s strappy, white sandals with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS flatback rhinestones in Jonquil AB. The yellow-green hue of these crystals worked perfectly with Megan’s color scheme while the AB finish added an enchanting, iridescent sheen.

Megan’s Bridal Sandals

For extra bridal bling, Cheri added a cluster of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS pearls and crystals to each sandal.

Swarovski Crystal and Pearl Cluster

Megan’s glamorous bridal sandals prove you don’t have to buy name brand to shine on your big day!

-Sarah

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Many fashion savvy and inventive brides are creating their own jewelry for their special day. This DIY approach not only saves money but ensures that the jewelry will reflect the bride’s personal style and perfectly complement the dress and overall feel of the wedding. Our launch coordinator here at Artbeads.com was married last spring and designed all of her bridal jewelry with beautiful results! Megan’s multi-stranded bracelet and necklace set is timelessly elegant while subtly reflecting her green and yellow wedding color scheme.

Megan with Her Husband James

The bracelet features three delicate strands of freshwater pearls, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystals, yellow jade and pale green seed beads. Rather than using a multi-stranded clasp, Megan opted to connect all three strands to the same clasp so they would slightly overlap each other and lie close together on her wrist. Simply stunning!

Megan’s Bridal Bracelet

The necklace displays the same assortment of beads and is also three strands. Megan chose to finish her necklace with a multi-stranded clasp to allow each strand to drape along her neck separately for a glamorous effect.

Megan’s Bridal Necklace

Custom created bridal jewelry adds to that wow factor of the wedding day and gives brides a truly one-of-a-kind look!

-Sarah

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Sherri, the assistant launch coordinator at Artbeads.com, brought in this captivating Christmas tree design to show us something fun and beautiful that can be done with costume jewelry. All of the pieces in this design once belonged to Sherri’s grandmother, who created this tree when she was done wearing the jewelry.

Sparkling bracelets frame the tree, while brooches, pins and earrings create an eclectic interior. If you look closely, you’ll notice that Christmas lights peak through small holes placed throughout the design, giving it a festive glow when plugged into the wall. This piece has weathered many years, and some of the settings have lost their jewels. To restore it, Sherri plans to reset those spaces with cabochons. She also wants to create a star for the top of the tree that will match the rest of the current design.

Making something like this Christmas tree is a great way to display vintage jewelry that otherwise might never see the light of day. You could easily create a design full of meaning using pieces you remember your own grandmother wearing. To add a steampunk feel to the design, try introducing a few fancy keys and clockwork pieces into the mix.

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