Twice each year, Crystallized Swarovski Elements comes out with new colors and shapes innovations. The Fall/Winter 2010-2011 selection has just been released for your viewing pleasure. If you sign up with Fire Mountain Gems for their newsletter, you’ll know as soon as these are ready for ordering!  Visit this link to see more details about the new collection, and to find links to previous seasons.

Here’s what FMG has to say about the new colors and shapes:
* Cyclamen Opal – a color-play of amethyst purple and baby pink shades with an underlying opalescence
* Greige – a smoky, subtle color …read more

If you live in the U.S. then you’ll soon be celebrating our day of independence – The 4th of July! So, show off your patriotic side with the cell phone charm made of crystals. I purposely worked the design so the crystals sort of spray out like firworks. Cool, ney?

I’m ending my June tribute to pearls with a big BANG and this fabulous crystal and pearl necklace designed by Design by Apple and written by Tammy Honaman, Media Content Manager for Fire Moutain Gem & Beads. It’s called Crystal and Pearl Mystique.

Of course, I had to make a complete set for my prom pal, and I wasn’t sure what she wanted as far as a necklace. Thus, I ended up making one for her that was adjustable. It combines chain sections with pearls, crystals, and hematite hear beads. Plus, it has a sterling heart bead at the end. This can be worn a number of different ways.
Though I orginally made this for someone going to the prom, the design could easily be adapted for a bride as well: Adjustable Prom Queen Necklace project.

Nothing sweeter than pearls, crystals, and little hematite hearts – so that’s what I combined in this bracelet I made for a young friend of mine who was going to attend her high school’s prom: Prom Queen Bracelet.

Beadshop.com has some cool frame charms. Made of sterling silver, they come in three shapes, teardrop, round, and rectangle. I can so imagine a gorgeous gemstone or crystal bead dangling from the center of one of these.

A reader of mine emailed asking if I ever planned to produce jewelry making videos, and I have to admit this is something I’d love to do. I’ve played around a little, but time and resources are tough these days. However, she pointed me to some great web videos available at Auntie’s Beads called the Karla Kam.
Using YouTube.com, they have a number of free videos available on project such as the crystal and wire cross pendant pictured above. So you get a virtual class right there on the Internet. Very Cool!

To go with my little friend’s Prom Queen Earrings, I of course had to make her a matching bracelet and necklace, which is adjustable.
The bracelet includes some of the same supplies, pearls and crystals and hematite hearts, and I strung these on wire and attached them with a wrapped loop. The little heart dangle was just an additional touch.
I wanted to give her some options as to how to wear the necklace, so I made it adjustable. She could wear it as a sort of Y necklace design, as pictured, or she could flip it around and wear it as …read more

I actually made these earrings for a young friend of mine who was going to her high school prom. Heavy, sigh, she’s all grown up now, even has a baby! I know I, at least, did not get any older since I made these Prom Queen Earrings! They are made with sterling silver wire, hematite heart beads, Czech crystals, and pearls.

Soft-Flex has this wonderful free project on their site: Beaded Snowflake Ornament Project. It combines crystals and Artistic Wire. Very cool! The instructions say it takes about an hour to make. So again, depending on how many you want to give away, this would be a very do-able holiday gift.