I recently designed this pendant project as a last minute gift idea with mom in mind. However, it can be used for just about any kind of quick gift to show some one you care: Rose Quartz “Love” Pendant.

I’ve finally gotten a few paper clay jewelry experiments finished, and I think the results are promising. I’m not 100% happy with the results yet. I think I still have that learning curve thing going on; therefore, my finished pieces are a little rougher than I’d like them to be - nothing at this point do I feel is polished looking enough to sell or even give as a gift.
Pictured is an example of what I’m talking about, my Painted Paper Clay Pendant project. This is what I came up with after playing around with rubber stamps and using one to …read more

 
This is another tip related to Tip #1 about designing a jewelry gift.
Consider treatments and how the piece will be worn early on in the design process. For example, since this pendant or charm is brass, I know it will eventually start to get a patina on it. Personally, I don’t mind this when it happens because I like how it looks, but if I were to give this to someone, they may feel differently seeing it shiny one day and dark a few months later. So, I decided to patina it up front.
I used a product called Silver Black …read more

Here’s my first tip for designing a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry for a special person on your gift list: start wit a component. This could a charm, pendant, bead, piece of chain, whatever, but look for something that represents that person to you somehow.
For example, the brass pendant pictured is from Guyot Brothers, and I don’t know how clear it is on your monitor, but it says “August” on it. One of my sisters was born in August, so I immediately thought of her when I saw this. I plan to use it in a jewelry piece for her that …read more

Some of the cool jewelry you’ll find in my next book, Making Designer Mixed-Media and Memory Jewelry: Fun and Experimental Techniques and Materials for the Home Studio, is the use of old jewelry as components for creating new jewelry. This is a wonderful form of recycling, and it can be fun to take an old brooch your grandmother might have worn and turn it into a pendant for a necklace (just as an example).
I recently happened to come across an on-line article about this, and while unfortunately, they give no pictures of the finished product, the author does give some …read more

I ordered these metal keys from John M. on his etsy site. I’m not 100% sure what I plan to do with them, maybe wrap some wire on the ends and use them as pendants on a necklace, a chain perhaps?
But, I just had to have them. I love finding unusual jewelry components like these.

 
Remember that butterfly pendant I posted about awhile ago? Here it is, and you can find instructions for making this first version here. But wait, there’s more coming.

The Manolo is running a cool Carnivale of Couture, hosted this week by The Bargain Queen, and here’s the topic:

What is your best-ever bargain? Where did you find it, how much was it and why is it your favourite?

Here’s one of my favorite bargains, not surprisingly to some of you…..pearl beads! I found these square pearls beads as well as some coin-shaped pearls for $8 a strand at one of the G&LW shows I went.
Shaped pearls like this are great because you can use one bead and make a pendant or two and make a pair of earrings. One bead …read more

 
I’m working on a new project right now incorporating this beautiful sterling butterfly pendant from the Soft Flex Company. The item number is BBB-10391 and it retails for $11.76 each.
 

 
If you look on the back, you’ll see what I really think is extra cool about this pendant – there are three loops – one in the middle and two on either side of the wings. This way, you have more jewelry design options.
The necklace I’m working on right now includes this as the focal piece and then 4mm AB red crystal beads and 4mm white pearl beads.