Jewelry Center

Bridal Sets are a Must have for the Big Day of a Bride

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:37:58 +0000

Because a lot of money goes into the execution of a wedding, a bride does not always have money to burn in regards to her bridal jewelry. Therefore, something affordable is the way to go. If diamonds are a favorite but there is no money for them, why not consider cubic zirconia bridal set? Bridal cubic zirconia set is great when you want to go for the sparkle but not have to pay too much to get it.

You also have the choice of crystal bridal jewelry sets. Crystals are sparkly and work great for bridal hair jewelry pieces. As an accessory, bridal hair sets during the wedding is appropriate, especially if the hair will be worn up. Handmade bridal jewelry is another pragmatic alternative too. You can buy silver or gold wire along with some Swarovski beads and create something cheap, yet elegant in a flash.

Bridal costume sets of jewelry are yet another option. Costume sets of jewelry often resemble the “real deal” only at a fraction of the price. When it comes to money or lack thereof, you can become rather creative. There are certain bridal traditions such as buying bridal party sets as part of the attendant gifts. The party sets typically matches the dresses and can hopefully also be worn at another time. You may also see pearl bridal sets on both the bride and the attendants. It’s all a matter of preference and how something fits into the overall scheme of things.

The bridal jewelry set is an important part of tradition as well. Bridal sets are typically purchased with the overall dress design in mind. For instance, if the dress is of an old-fashioned design, a pearl bridal jewelry set consisting of a necklace and earrings might be appropriate. If it was a more modern type of wedding dress, the bridal jewelry might be a ring by Tacori using tanzanite.

No matter what is selected for bridal set, the rule of thumb is to make it match the dress. If it does not match the dress, you would have one unhappy bride. If possible, carry a picture of the dress with you all the time so when you get a free few minutes to shop, you will have the picture to match your bridal jewelry set.

Just Spend Your Money for What It’s Worth

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:51:47 +0000

The quality of a fake watch will always be hidden and thus makes it hard for the customer to realize that the watch is not genuine. The pictures or photographs presented online are blurred and cannot be seen from all angles thus mispresentation of the entire product. The fake watches always have a very low price so as to fetch many customers. The fake watches are not usually well described thus the customers are not able to get required information about the watches. It is important to spend your money for what it’s worth.

An individual social status can be enhanced by an accessory such as replica submariner. Tag heuer replica watches are among the time piece accessories that can heighten your and style which can be worn with any outfit. The replica can improve your status in the society by just wearing it on your wrist. With the excellent design, superior quality Tiger wood endorsed the watch and he clearly set the mark about the watch even on the golf course. The time piece is valued for its durability, style, perfect design and accuracy. The replica can be purchased through online stores.

Cartier replica is a time piece accessory presenting luxury and status. The replica comes with variety of models to ensure satisfaction of every taste and preference whether its size, color, shape or design. Like any other replica, the watch is similar to the original genuine model and it’s made in a way that preserves the authentic design and high quality. The watches can be purchased from online stores at considerable discounts for wholesale. You can order goods directly through online wholesale website without having to register.

Jewelry :More Bronze Wire for Jewelry Making

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:32:34 +0000

With the craziness in the metals markets of late, we jewelry crafters have really been scrambling for affordable metals. The options are fairly limited. There’s copper and brass. Nickel silver is off many designers’ lists because of the nasty dermatitis it can cause. Annealed steel

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With the craziness in the metals markets of late, we jewelry crafters have really been scrambling for affordable metals. The options are fairly limited. There’s copper and brass. Nickel silver is off many designers’ lists because of the nasty dermatitis it can cause. Annealed steel is doable, but very prone to rusting (although I do have an update on that coming soon). Stainless steel is stiff and hard to work with, and aluminum wire is awfully “industrial,” except when colored . . . in which case it tends to scratch and chip from pliers.

But here’s another option: bronze.

Turquoise Paisley Wrap Earrings

Until recently bronze wire was pretty hard to find. At least, I found it so. Then while reviewing a draft of my upcoming book (More Teach Yourself Visually Jewelry Making), my tech editor Marti pointed out that bronze wire has become much easier to procure. (This is probably because of the popularity of bronze clay, and the fact that you can fuse bronze wire with your bronze clay.)

So, what exactly is bronze? According to Wikipedia “Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive.” The tin seems to be what sets true bronze apart from bronze-like metals, such as red brass — which is also called “jeweler’s bronze” (not bronze).

Phosphor bronze wire from Wickwire Jewelry

Tip: When looking for true bronze, look for wire labeled “phosphor bronze” or “tin bronze.” Avoid “bronze” that contains zinc (unless you’re looking for brass).

I purchased my first true bronze wire recently from Wickwire Jewelry. Read more about it in the product description here.

What impresses me the most about this bronze wire is its beautiful color: a soft, pinkish gold. Definitely not brown like copper or yellow like brass. I love it so much, in fact, that it’s playing a star role in my next project book in the Visual series.

Volcanic Hoops

Keep in mind that bronze will oxidize naturally over time. Its patina has a gorgeous antiqued look, but if you want to maintain the raw bronze color, you’ll need to polish it from time to time (like you would with silver).

Wickwire currently stocks dead soft, true bronze wire in a super wide range of gauges — 14, 16, 18, 20, 24 and 26 gauge. Here are some other vendors currently carrying bronze wire:

Metal Clay Supply — 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 gauge — dead soft

Cool Tools — 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 gauge — dead soft

The Ring Lord — 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 20, 21, 24, 26 — some dead soft, some half hard, some 3/4 hard, and some hard

Are you using true bronze wire in any projects? How do you like it?

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The Jewelry :New Loom Beading Tutorial Series

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:32:34 +0000

We’re diving into loom beading over on About.com Beadwork this month. If you’ve never tried loom beading, or if it’s something you’d like to revisit, hop over and give it a try!
The series begins with the very basics: Types of Bead Looms and The Parts of a Bead Loom.
Next, grab a

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We’re diving into loom beading over on About.com Beadwork this month. If you’ve never tried loom beading, or if it’s something you’d like to revisit, hop over and give it a try!

The series begins with the very basics: Types of Bead Looms and The Parts of a Bead Loom.

Next, grab a loom — either a wire frame or wood frame model is fine — and give simple warping and beading a try.

Coming soon: Winding longer beadwork on your loom, weaving-in warp threads, beading with a shedding device, and even no-warps beading. Be sure to sign up for the Beadwork Newsletter for updates.

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The Jewelry :Secret Snowflake Challenge Blog Hop Reveal

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:32:34 +0000

It’s time for the blog hop reveal in Michelle Mach’s latest design challenge! The theme was Secret Snowflake, and the goody bags were something special. They included gorgeous embossed note cards, gift boxes with ribbon, a slew of wintery blue and silver beads and components, and

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It’s time for the blog hop reveal in Michelle Mach’s latest design challenge! The theme was Secret Snowflake, and the goody bags were something special. They included gorgeous embossed note cards, gift boxes with ribbon, a slew of wintery blue and silver beads and components, and three glassy porcelain discs from Chinook Jewelry.

Logic and reason would dictate that I use the Chinook porcelain as focal pieces in my design. I mean, take a closer look at these beauties:

But somehow I managed to get weird again and make my design without them. (Go ahead and get on my case about it, but just remember: I let my haters be my motivators.)

(OK not my quote, but still.)

So, anyway, somehow I found myself completely consumed by the colors and textures of the other components, even though they weren’t quite as expressive by themselves as the porcelain certainly is.

I got to work with some bead embroidery. Rather than drawing out a pattern, I used the silver tone wavy metal ring as a base to bead within and around. Since it was so thin, I didn’t want to use glue to tack it down. Instead, I stitched it to the backing with some gossamer non-woven monofilament that I picked up somewhere, sometime, in the past. (The stuff is literally hair-thin, and I’ve never used it for anything before.) I then glued down some vintage plastic pearl beads that look a lot like little cabs. Here’s what that initial phase looked like:

From there, it was all about filling in the design with beadwork, taking a very freeform approach. I did decide, however, that I wanted a flowy vintage look with the dagger beads in the upper left and an icy trail of fringe flowing down from the lower right of the ring.

I used a regular size 12 beading needle and size D Nymo for the stitching, Lacy’s Stiff Stuff for the underbacking, covered the back with soft tan ultrasuede, and affixed a pin back . . . and my Secret Snowflake Brooch was born ~~

Enough about my design! It’s time to continue the Hop and go visit these awesome designers as they launch their reveals Sunday morning:

Interested in learning some bead embroidery techniques? Check out my review of Dimensional Bead Embroidery over on About.com.

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Jewelry :Easy Mold Making for Resin and Metal Clay – Putty!