Congratulations Ann from Wisconson – the lucky winner of our holiday November Jewelry Drawing winner. The prize for November was a handcrafted Crystal Gold Heart Keychain Charm.
Thanks to all of your for your entries in our summer month drawing. Sign up for the December Jewelry Drawing or Join our newsletter to receive information about new beaded jewelry designs.
With the economy in a slump, many people don’t have the cash that they used to in order to buy the jewelry that they need and want. Even though you may not have the same jewelry budget that you used to have, it doesn’t mean that you can’t accessorize and have jewelry that is fashionable and that accentuates your outfits.
Handmade jewelry has made a comeback and has become very popular these days. In fact, open up any fashion magazine as of late and you will see some form of handmade jewelry being worn by today’s top models and fashion icons. Most of this type of jewelry utilizes beads as the main element of the piece. This makes this type of jewelry very fun to wear as beads can be purchased in all shapes and sizes to create some very interesting jewelry pieces. Instead of paying thousands of dollars on expensive jewelry pieces, the average person can buy everything they need to make a fantastic jewelry piece from their local craft store for under 20 dollars. This price break alone has made jewelry handmade products extremely popular.
Not only is the price affordable nice with this type of jewelry, but the customization possibilities are also a huge draw. Have you ever wanted a certain jewelry piece that matched your outfit, but was unable to find something? This is very common, but this doesn’t have to be the case any longer. With handmade jewelry, you can create exactly what you want to match that unique outfit, or other accessories that may be difficult to match with. Many people who get into creating jewelry handmade often will create pieces completely specific to one outfit, and with the prices of this type of beaded jewelry being affordable, you could literally create a piece of jewelry for every outfit you own.
While it is cheap to make jewelry yourself, many people are finding that hand made jewelry sells for quite a bit in the local and online jewelry markets. While anyone can get beads for cheap, the creativity and combination that people create are what drives the masses to buy this type of jewelry. Many stay at home moms have been able to establish a pretty decent income driving business on the side creating handmade jewelry.
As you can see, handmade jewelry is extremely fashionable and is family budget approved. Have some fun and create that perfect piece of jewelry that you have always wanted. If you aren’t the creating type, look in local stores and online for the perfect piece that someone else has created. Regardless, jewelry handmade is here to stay and is definitely fashionable.
Congratulations Anna from Connecticut – the lucky winner of our May Jewelry Drawing winner. The prize for May was a handcrafted blue heart purse charm key chain.
Thanks to all of your for your entries in our summer month drawing. Join our newsletter to receive information about June’s drawing.
Indigo Heart Blue Flower Purse Charm Keychain
How to Choose a Piece of Handmade Jewelry
- by Kristie Leong M.D. -
When you choose a piece of handmade artisan jewelry, you are purchasing a piece of work directly from the artist’s hands. This gives it special meaning and value. Much thought and design knowledge has gone into creating your special handmade jewelry piece. Here are some guidelines to help you make the best selection:
1. Are you buying handmade jewelry for yourself or as a gift?
Handmade jewelry makes a very special gift. It shows you’ve taken the time to find a piece of jewelry not found in a department store or produced on the mass market. This will be reflected in the beautiful craftsmanship that the individual artist adds to the piece. There’s also the option of having a custom design created by the artisan for a special, one-of-a-kind gift.. When you buy handmade jewelry, you’re getting the highest quality components and design because the artist has complete control over each phase of the process. You’ll have a unique design that you can wear with pride knowing that it won’t be seen on everyone else in town.
2. Do you like a classical look or do you lean more towards a funky, eclectic style?
If you prefer the classics, you may want to consider purchasing a simple, single stranded necklace with matching bracelet and earrings, possibly in a solid color. This kind of look never goes out of style and looks elegant with almost everything you wear. If you lean towards the funky, eclectic look, consider wearing a larger, chunkier necklace or layering several smaller necklaces for a unique and offbeat look. Who says the earrings have to match the necklace? You can choose necklace and earring combination that suits your own unique personality. The sky’s the limit!
3. What is your basic body build? Are you tall or short, petite or big boned?
If you have a petite build you may find more delicate pieces are appropriate so that you aren’t overpowered by your jewelry. A petite woman can look quite dramatic in a large necklace if it’s worn with a solid colored outfit and is the focal point of her look. In a case like this, you might want to choose a smaller, more delicate pair of earrings to avoid looking overdone. If you’re tall or larger boned, the sky’s the limit! You’ll find big and dramatic pieces to be quite flattering and you can easily pull off the layered look. Although the above is a general guideline, there are no hard and fast rules. Jewelry is all about expressing yourself the way YOU see fit!
4. What is your basic skin tone and hair color?
Again, there are no hard and fast rules here at all. Sterling silver can be particularly flattering if you have dark hair or grey undertones. Blondes tend to look stunning in gold, goldtone, and brass shades. Copper shades are just made for the rare redheads of the world, although copper looks great with almost any hair color!
Jewelry is fantastic for drawing the eye to your most flattering features and pulling the eyes away from your less desirable ones. If you have an overly round shape, a round earring shape will only accent it. Why not try an interesting drop style to draw the eye downward. If you have a long, narrow face, you might want to avoid the drop style earring and go for a shorter button type. Do you love your hands? Accent them with a beautiful handmade bracelet! Likewise a nice manicured hand can be accented with a handful of artisan rings.
As you can see, handmade jewelry can change the way you look and feel. Use these guidelines to help you select pieces that are right for you. The result will be a stunning collection of artisan jewelry that you’ll treasure for many years to come.
What Mood are You?
written for SWCreations by Lisa A. Vella
In the 1970’s a new and interesting kind of jewelry became one of the biggest fads of the decade to hit the market. It was the first piece of jewelry that could supposedly tell what mood its wearer was in. This piece of jewelry was the mood ring—it was fun, it was fresh, and it was totally cool if you owned one! Today, mood jewelry comes in more than just the original form of mood rings. There are now necklaces, earrings, toe rings, and most recently, beads to become bracelets. Regardless of form, however, mood jewelry has an interesting history.
It is a bit uncertain as to who actually invented the mood ring. One story says that in the 1960’s a man named Marvin Wernick invented it. He had supposedly gotten the idea while watching a doctor friend of his apply a thermotropic strip to a child’s forehead during an emergency. The strip changed color according to how hot the strip became. After giving it some thought, Wernick, a jewelry designer by trade, realized that he could turn this into a fun invention for ordinary use. It wasn’t long before the mood ring came about.
Still others attribute the arrival of the mood ring to a man named Joshua Reynolds, who was also the inventor of the Thighmaster.
Apart from who invented it, it still works the same. The stone of the ring itself is either a hollow piece of glass filled with liquid thermotropic crystals, or a clear glass stone that sits on a sheet of liquid crystals. These crystals reflect different wavelengths of light based on the body temperature of the person who is wearing it. The stone then changes color according to the body temperature.
So how can you tell the mood by a person’s body temperature? People’s body temperatures tend to vary based on what mood they are in. For example, if a person feels stressed their body temperatures often drop. If that person is wearing the mood ring, it would typically be represented by the ring changing from the neutral green to black. When one is very happy, or even in love, body temperature rises, and the ring should change from the neutral green to dark blue or purple.
Whether mood jewelry actually works or not remains to be seen. There are a few different variables that can render them inaccurate. For one thing, individual companies calibrate the temperature of their rings slightly differently, so sometimes the colors are not completely universal. Another thing to keep in mind is that not everyone’s body temperature is the same in certain situations, like extreme stress or when in love. The following is a list of colors and their general meanings:
- Brown: Anxious, nervous, fearful
- Black: Stressed, tense or feeling harried
- Grey: Extremely nervous or anxious, scared
- Amber: Slightly nervous or anxious
- Green: Neutral reading, normal, not under great stress
- Blue-green: Emotionally charged, somewhat relaxed
- Blue: Relaxed, At ease, calm, lovable
- Dark Blue/Purple: Very happy, in love, passionate, romantic
Regardless of who invented it or how accurate they are, mood jewelry is still great fun to both own and wear. It is attractive, stylish and comes in many different forms. So why don’t you try it out for yourself, test out the accuracy—see what mood you are in! After all, that is part of the fun of owning mood jewelry.