Each month we have been featuring that month’s birthstone. For May, we take a look at the gorgeous green Emerald! According to our Gemstone Meanings and Metaphysical Properties Guide, emerald signifies fertility, hope, love, vitality, balance, intuition, and truth. Dating all the way back to the ancient Egyptians (and Cleopatra in particular), emeralds have been a cherished and highly sought after gemstone. The Romans also prized the emerald as well and linked it to the goddess Venus. Many consider emerald to be the gemstone of spring because of its lush green color and think that in addition ..read more

I have been making a lot of projects with PRESTIGE crystal lately. The crystal colors are so pretty and sparkly, perfect for spring and summer jewelry not to mention bridal jewelry for both the bride and bridesmaids. As I have been designing with the crystal beads and pendants, I have also been using the PRESTIGE pearls as well. Not only are these Austrian beads wonderfully uniform in shape and size, but their holes are all clean and easy to get wire and stringing material through. But above all else, I am drawn to the colors of PRESTIGE crystal pearls. Some of the colors are ones I have ..read more

Stretch bracelets are SO popular right now. We see them literally everywhere and they are a great jewelry making technique that almost anyone can do. You can make fancy stretch bracelets using PRESTIGE crystal beads, personalized ones with letter alphabet beads, Boho-inspired ones with wood beads, or use seed beads, Czech glass beads, or thousands of other beads to create your design.  To get started making stretch bracelets, you will first need a good stretch cord. We have created a whole section dedicated to stretch cords. After you have your stretch cord, you just need to pick out ..read more

Last month we spotlighted March's birthstone of Aquamarine. This month we look at April's birthstone—Diamond! Whenever I think of diamonds I think of Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The glitz, the glamour, the pizazz! Diamonds always seem to hold a special place of honor and prestige in our hearts. I proudly wear my grandmother's diamond wedding ring. It's almost like the diamond holds the memories of generations of my family.  Diamonds are said to represent love, courage, and success, among other things. Some facts are tha ..read more

The sun is out, the air is warming, and our gardens are blooming! Spring is a wonderful time of year and feels like a fresh start after a long, dark winter. This season of renewal is a great time to refresh not only our minds but our jewelry designs as well. If you are looking for inspiration, you need not look any further then outside your front door. It's mid-April and beauty abounds in every direction!  Flowers and gardens offer fantastic design inspiration. You can create floral designs using flower beads, add butterflies to your designs (see last week's blog post) or build entir ..read more

The butterflies are visiting my garden more and more these days. As a little girl they seemed somehow magical and I must admit that as an adult they still do. It's something about how they float around and gently touch down with grace and beauty. They are so fragile yet so strong.  As a design element, butterflies can bring some magic and whimsy to your creations. You can choose to allude to butterflies by incorporating dagger beads with an etched wing design or wing beads. These are more of a subtle nod to butterflies. You can also layer butterfly charms together in a single design ..read more

It's already April! How did that happen? 2024 is whizzing by and the major milestones of the year are coming and going just as quickly. We have already had New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter! Next up is Mother's Day. This year Mother's Day falls on May 12th which gives us about 6 weeks to come up with a gift for mom.  Every family is different but in my family, we try to do homemade gifts as much as possible or gifts that encourage an activity. I think it is all about personalization and making memories. Life is very noisy these days and gifting and receiving ..read more

March's birthstone is the lovely and transcendent aquamarine. This beautiful blue hue is distinctive in its light blue vibrance, sometimes possessing a touch of green. Like many other gemstones, aquamarine is thought to have metaphysical properties. It is said to promote happiness, hope, clarity, and courage among other things. It is also said to represent the sea and the sky, and in ancient times, it was said to protect sailors at sea. For more details about the meanings and metaphysical properties of gemstones, please check out our guide to gemstone meanings. Discover other birthstone g ..read more

We use earring hooks all the time! They are one of the main staples to jewelry making. What's nice about earring hooks, is that you have so many different choices and can really make the earring hook disappear into the design or become the focal of the design. With almost 300 in-stock earring hook styles to choose from, there is really the right hook for every project. Below are our personal 10 favorite earring hooks!  Earring Findings, Long Earring Hooks 25mm, Gold Plated Earring Findings, Ear Wire 21mm Long 20 Gauge Thick Sterling Silver Earring Posts, Stud with Ball 4mm, Gold Plate ..read more

Memory wire is one of those jewelry making techniques that is just plain fun! You don't need to think about tension or perfect how to crimp a crimp bead. You don't need to figure out a clasp to match your design or think about sizing. With memory wire projects, the main focus is on stringing the beads onto the wire and coming up with delightful bead patterns. Even if it's a random bead pattern, it's still so much fun to see it take form. To finish your memory wire, you can just make a simple loop with round nose pliers or glue on an end cap. The focus of memory wire projects really are the bea ..read more