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Fall color trends: new crystal color combinations for jewelry designers

October 14, 2011

The fashion world is always on fast forward. While we are living in fall 2011 (at least last time I checked!), designers are already planning for fall 2012. Hence the debut of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS fall/winter 2012/13 crystal colors – *antique pink and denim blue – in fall 2011!

love, love, love

I am actually pretty fond of the 2011 fall Pantone color scheme and its nature-driven hues. “Designers take a painterly approach to fall 2011 by artfully combining bright colors with staple neutrals, reminiscent of how an artist would construct a stunning work of art,” states Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

So, although *antique pink and denim blue were designed with next year’s trends in mind, I’m happy to see they coordinate beautifully with the current fashion color trends. Because, really, who can wait until next year to start making jewelry with pretty new crystal colors?

Both *antique pink (a clear crystal with colored coating) and denim blue have a pleasing depth and smokiness that allows them to either blend or pop with a huge variety of color palettes. They also work with both warm and cool hues. And, both look amazing with Vintaj natural brass and antiqued brass plate filigrees!

Behold the rainbow:

*Antique pink with warm browns

Denim blue with more warm browns

Yummy warm browns (Pantone calls them “Nougat” and “Coffee Liqeur”) are big this fall. Both of the above pictures include crystal/golden shadow, light colorado topaz, light topaz and sand opal. The denim blue crystal mix also has light smoked topaz, mocca and smokey quartz.

Red, red and denim blue

Berry-licious antique pink and with reds

Garnet and siam crystals are featured in both pictures. The denim mix also features dark red coral, light siam and padparadscha (aka Pantone’s “Honeysuckle”). The berry mix uses burgundy and ruby crystals with dusky *antique pink.

A spectrum of pinks and purples

I lined up the “tone on tone” color blend option from SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS to help show where *antique pink falls in their color palette. From left to right, we’ve got rose, light rose, vintage rose, *antique pink, cyclamen opal and light amethyst crystal beads. As you can see, *antique pink has a hint of purple and a smidge of grey to tone down its rosiness.

Denim blue with purple crystals

Denim blue with purple crystals

Denim blue looks great with purple crystals, such as violet, light violet, cyclamen opal, Provence lavender and tanzanite. It’s more vivid, but still pairs nicely with Pantone’s “Quarry” blue and purple-y gray “Orchid Hush.”

Pink pops next to denim blue crystals

Pink pops next to denim blue crystals

Or, go for more contrast by pairing denim blue with light rose, rose, vintage rose, light amethyst, Indian pink and fuchsia.

Sunshine-y bright mix of crystals

Sunshine-y bright mix of crystals

Denim blue with jonquil, light topaz, lime and sunflower (or in Pantone terms, “Bamboo”) crystals is like a burst of sunshine – especially in comparison with the dreary gray sky outside my window!

cool grey and denim blue crystal beads

Cool grays with denim blue

Yet even gray looks less dreary with a shot of blue. Above is a neutral mix of *moonlight, *silver shade, light grey opal, greige and *satin beads.

antique pink crystal beads with gray

Antique pink crystal heart with cool grays

Meanwhile, *antique pink with those same grays and pure jet black makes a decidedly romantic and elegant statement. When the greige crystal color debuted a few seasons ago, I honestly thought Swarovski made up the word by combining “grey” and beige” (hey, they have a lot of power!). I’ve since learned greige is an actual word that describes raw, undyed fabric. I was perhaps a bit underwhelmed by greige (and sand opal and light grey opal, to be honest) when they were unveiled, but I’ve since come to appreciate how well they compliment other more vibrant colors.

Whether you are a slave to fashion or completely oblivious to its fickle ways, it is always nice to have more color options to choose from. These are just a few of the many, many color options using SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Hope you’ve enjoyed the crystal eye candy – next week I’ll share some color combos featuring the new petrol crystal pearls on our Facebook page! ~ Cindy

Affordable designer font stamps!

August 29, 2011

Fun fonts add more personality to stamped jewelry – even to stamped dog jewelry!

When stamped metal jewelry first became popular, most artists were limited to the basic block letters that were available in the market. But, wow, how things have changed! There are now many fonts available – fancy script fonts, playful lowercase fonts, swirly decorative fonts. How is a jewelry-maker to choose?

Well, one consideration is price. Our new font sets cost less than HALF the price of similar font sets on the market! Made by EuroTool, our quality stamp sets are available in five new fonts.

The letter ‘K’ on a brass heart with a crystal drop on antiqued ball chain. Simple and sweet!


Monogram – 6mm high ornate script capital letters. Perfect for initialing and monogramming charms and tags.

The next four fonts are available in both uppercase and lowercase, so you can stamp with proper capitalization even!

I used uppercase Verona on this pendant.

Verona – a curly serif font with bubbly personality.

I like how the letters aren’t quite the same size in the Siena font – makes it look much more natural.

Siena – an easy to read sans-serif font that looks like very neat handwriting.

All uppercase Highland letters on this dog tag.

Highlands – clean handwriting with a italic slant. Sans serif.

Aras – a whimsical, playful font. It reminds me of the ever-popular Comic Sans font, but with serifs.

Metal stamps make impressions in sheet metal. When you hammer, the stamp displaces metal. The thicker the metal, the less you will notice the movement of metal: all you’ll see is the indent left by your stamp. On thin pieces, you’ll likely see a shadow of the stamping on the backside, and the edges might get kind of wonky. Sterling silver, brass, copper and even aluminum can be personalized with metal stamps. 24 gauge or thicker is best, but 26 gauge works too, as long as you don’t get too close to the edges.

Want to get started with metal stamping, but don’t know where to start? Check out both our metal stamping tool kit and our metal stamping blanks assortment. The kit includes basic uppercase block letters. For maximum enjoyment, add a set of the above font stamps and/or a few design stamps! For step-by-step instructions on how to make a stamped charm from sheet metal, check out our free Metal Stamping 101 page or our free technique sheet here.

I messed up almost immediately on my test piece, but it makes me think the letter ‘D’ could make a great decorative border!

One last tip: be sure to keep your stamps organized. These artistic fonts are especially easy to mess up (is that an ‘a’ or an upside down ‘g’ ??). Since the stamps will arrive alphabetized, take a moment to write the letter for each one on the side that faces you while you stamp. A fine-tipped Sharpie works great! ~ Cindy

Editor’s note: That was 2011, and I’m updating this in 2018 to fix old links … we have even MORE fonts and 100’s of design stamps now! See our full line of metal stamps (letters, number, punctuation and design stamps), stamping blanks, and metal stamping tools & accessories. ~ Polly

Torch-enameled components from C-Koop Beads!

August 16, 2011

Stackable enameled copper flowers from C-Koop Beads.

Fun, colorful enameled jewelry components are popping everywhere! I attribute the trend to talented artists whose business smarts have led them to develop enticing product lines of individual beads, gears and charms for designers to turn into finished jewelry. Just one or two enameled elements easily take a piece from ‘pretty’ to ‘pretty amazing.’

One such enamel artist is C-Koop Beads, aka Sara Lukkonen. Sara began making and selling enameled beads back in the 70’s. When she picked up the torch again in the 90’s (in her chicken coop of a studio!) her business expanded by leaps and bounds. Here are just a few of the components she creates:

So many colors of adorable little rings.

Three sizes of flat and domed disks.

Clasps, connectors, pendants and big-hole beads too!

If you are interested in doing your own enamel work, check out this how-to video from Enamel and Tiffany. It shows the entire torch-enameling process, plus does a great job of making it clear what types of tools and work space you will need. While the video focuses on beads, the process is similar for making other components. Check out our new selection of 18-gauge copper shapes – they are perfect for both torch enameling and etching!

While I know I would love enameling, I don’t have time or space for yet another addiction right now, so I opted to layer a couple of C-Koop flowers on a bracelet instead – yay for instant gratification! ~ Cindy

Black leather bolo cord made this triple-wrap bracelet super quick and easy to make! A 6mm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS rondelle fit perfectly inside the purple enamel bead cap for a tiny bit of sparkle.

Copper and brass bracelet design challenge results

August 8, 2011

So simple, yet so fun! 6″ long, 1/4 and 1/2″ wide strips to make all kinds of jewelry with.

In July, we sent ten of our blog partners sample packs of our new 24-gauge metal bracelet strips. With summer in full swing, it isn’t surprising that not everyone completed projects (at least not yet) … but the WOW, those who did really brought their A-game!

Textured, layered and beaded cuff bracelets by Helena.

Helena Fritz hammered, riveted and even bead-weaved her way to an armful of gorgeous bangle bracelets – her lovely blog has more photos. Helena specializes in beadwork, which makes her first attempt at metalwork even more impressive.

Carole shows her polymer prowess.

Carole Carlson stepped out of her comfort zone and into the world of polymer clay with these fun bracelets. She found that the copper was easier to work with than the brass, which makes sense since it is a softer metal. Check out her blog for more info.

Just one of the bright and bold bracelets Carolyn created.

Carolyn Fiene also used polymer clay, but she preferred the brass as a base. Even though it is harder to form, she felt is held its shape better. Link to her blog showing other designs that combine chain and bezel cups with polymer coming soon.

Layers of “ruffled” metal dress up Jan’s brass cuff.

Jan O’Banion made several great designs by layering different elements onto the bracelets. She used recycled tins to make flowers on the “Trashy Tinsel” bracelet above. Visit her blog to get a peek inside her creative world.

1/2″ wide copper forms the base of this lampwork glass ring by Lubica.

Lubica Vinicenko used the strips as the base of some truly elaborate rings. You can see more pictures at her blog.

As you can see, these metal “bracelet” strips are extremely versatile and fun to experiment with. Am I the only one surprised to see polymer clay and seed beads combined with sheet metal?

The back of my layered stamped bracelet. I curved short strips with my wood dapping set to make the matching earrings.

I’ve been having a blast stamping and texturing them. You can see the front of – and how I made – the “Earth Laughs in Flowers” bracelet in our design gallery. Texturing metal with
brass texture sheets is great stress relief, I must say!

Although July is already behind us, we’re always happy to see and share what you create. Be sure to send us some photos of what you make with these metal strips! ~ Cindy

PS – Molly Alexander posted her etching and mixed metal results to a photostream on Flickr – be sure to check them out!

SuperClear Resin for jewelry is super exciting!

July 22, 2011

Links updated 8/2017

SuperClear Resin, molded with shiny Alumilite powder and seed bead mixes. I think I’ll turn these into bobby pins.

I have a love/hate relationship with epoxy resin. I love it when it works, and hate, hate, HATE it when it doesn’t. Through trial and more errors than I like to remember, I get good results almost always with EasyCast Resin. However, it isn’t exactly easy – the epoxy must be the right temperature. Air bubbles form and must be dealt with…then a few hours later more air bubbles might form. I’ve heard tragic stories of resin staying tacky forever rather than hardening like it should. All in all, working with resin is kind of stressful – especially if you’ve gone through a lot of expense or effort to craft special resin bezels.

Super clear bottle cap pendant on a hand-knotted hemp cord – with no bubbles!

That’s why our design team is truly super excited about new SuperClear Resin by Resin Obsession. Cindy at Resin Obsession is just that – obsessed with resin. She specifically formulated SuperClear Resin to be easy to use for jewelry making:

SuperClear Resin forms very few bubbles.

*To dissipate bubbles in any jewelry resin, either blow through a straw (gently!) or wave a match (not too close or the resin might discolor) over the surface. The carbon dioxide is what pops the bubbles.

SuperClear Resin cures quickly: 6-8 hours at room temp or in just one hour at 150 degrees F!

*EasyCast takes 24 hours to fully cure. I always check mine a couple of hours after I’ve poured to make sure air bubbles haven’t multiplied behind my back. With SuperClear, there were hardly any bubbles from the beginning, and no new ones formed later.

SuperClear Resin mixes in a 2:1 ratio. Just fold the 2 components together for 2 minutes, let it “rest” for 5 minutes and then pour.

SuperClear Resin is super clear.

*I love accurate advertising.

SuperClear Resin is a good value.

*It is slightly more expensive than EasyCast, but less expensive than other clear jewelry resins. When you consider the time you’ll save, SuperClear Resin’s price looks even better.

SuperClear resin can be tinted with dyes too!

And finally, the best news of all for our international customers… SuperClear Resin can be shipped internationally! *Yay!!!!

One last thing: SuperClear Resin is compatible with all of our opaque and translucent resin dyes, metallic Alumilite powders, resin molds and related resin products.

~Cindy

Make hemp friendship bracelets and more with a Kumihimo braiding disk

July 15, 2011

Colorful hemp bracelets are fun for kids of all ages to make … by “all ages” I mean 8 to oh, 80.

I’ve been intrigued by Kumihimo braiding disks for a while now. Kumihimo (a Japanese form of braid making) is an easy way to make intricate multiple strand braids. Braiding bracelets is the perfect summer-time activity, as anyone who has been to summer camp can attest.

I used the “Spring” Hemptique assortment and round Kumihimo disk. Any type of thread or cord could be used. There is also a square disk available to make flat braids.

Most Kumihimo braids use 8 or 16 warps (each warp could be made up of multiple strands). I decided to try the 8-warp braid first. Since I was using 4 colors of hemp cord, I divided each color into two equal lengths and knotted them all together at one end (just a basic overhand knot). A basic rule of thumb is to have 3″ of each cord for each 1″ of braid length. If you are mixing different types of cord I would suggest estimating a bit higher.

Feed the knotted end through the center of the disk to get started.

Place one cord (or “warp”) next to each of the four dots on the board.

And start braiding! Bottom left cord goes to top left. Then top right cord goes to bottom right.

Now, the instructions told me to rotate the board 90 degrees so that I was always working from top to bottom, but I found it much easier to hold the board in one position and just apply the pattern. As long as you don’t cross the warps (ex. taking a left strand from the bottom and placing it on the upper right) it is really hard to mess this up. You’ll probably do it slightly differently than I did. What is really important is to keep your cords bundled into “no-tangle bobbins” – NOT all loose and tangly like in the photo above.

Keep the cord bundled up tightly to save yourself a headache.

The braid travels around the disk as you work, but you don’t need to pay attention to the numbers. And that’s all there is to it! For a project that requires no tools and no counting, the results are impressive! For a traditional friendship bracelet like the ones Jaci made, simply knot the ends together, preferably on your BFF’s wrist, so that it must be worn until it disintegrates.

Just tie a knot and trim the ends when you’ve braided a long enough piece.

I got on a roll, so I kept going and made my braid into a necklace. In the next blog I will show you how to finish braids like these, or any type of cord, really, with glue-on bullet ends. Have a great weekend! ~ Cindy

www.rings-things.com

How to pick the best metal hole punching tool for jewelry

July 12, 2011

A new hole punching plier just crossed my desk, and honestly, I was a bit taken aback. We already carry several hole punch pliers, as well as a screw-action metal punch, so why did we need another one? Hopefully this blog will answer that question and help you decide which tool is right for you.

Sometimes holes can be more about form than function!

It wasn’t that long ago (maybe 2-3 years?) that it was really hard to find a simple hand tool to punch clean holes in metal. Luckily we now have several options. Here are the main factors to consider when choosing the best punch for your needs:

  1. Hole size/shape – what size wire and/or jump rings need to fit? The smallest (1.25mm) fits regular jump rings just fine, but there have been times where I’ve needed a slightly bigger hole.
  2. Gauge – how thick of a piece of metal can you punch? All of the tools are designed for soft metal (such as sterling silver, copper, brass and aluminum). They can also be used on steel bottle caps, but doing so will wear out the punches more quickly. Remember, the bigger the gauge number, the thinner the metal (ex. 24 gauge is thinner than 20 gauge).
  3. Reach – how far from the edge of the piece you can punch a hole? It’s not really an issue if you are punching holes near the edge (most common), but if you plan to say, wire-wrap a stone onto the middle of a large metal sheet for a pendant, you might need to punch holes far from the edge.

Just look at those clean holes – and no power tools required!

EuroPunch pliers are available in 1.25mm and 1.8mm round, plus 1.5mm square and 1×1.7mm oval. Each pair of EuroPunch pliers reach about 0.5″ from the edge of your piece, and can punch through soft metal up to 18 gauge.

The BeadSmith punching pliers make 1.5mm round holes up to 3/4″ from the edge in soft metals up to 20 gauge.

Turn it to the right to punch the hole….turn it back to the left to release it. Easy!

The screw-action tool punches both 1.6mm (1/16″) and 2.3mm (3/32″) round holes, so it is really two tools in one. It is rated for soft metals up to 24 gauge. (We’ve successfully punched through pennies, which are close to 14 gauge, with this tool, but doing so will wear out the punch more quickly (just replace the punch, not the whole tool!). The screw-action tool reaches just a bit further than half an inch.

Speaking of replacing the punch…here is how you know it is time: the punch won’t quite punch all the way, leaving a little sharp piece you need to file off. You can buy replacement punches for any of the hole punch tools for just a few bucks.

Ragged holes like these means it is time to change the punch on your tool.

It honestly doesn’t take much pressure to punch a hole with any of these tools, but if you have difficulty squeezing firmly, the screw-action tool might be the best choice. I think the pliers are a little quicker to use, though. The BeadSmith punch pliers also feature a “gauge guard” – a screw that you can adjust to keep the pliers from punching too deeply and marring the surface around the hole. It is a nifty feature, but one you have to remember to use! If you forget to adjust the gauge guard, you will probably mar your metal a bit from time to time.

A thin piece of plastic prevents the pliers from leaving a mark around the hole.

BUT – here is a tip to keep your metal pristine no matter which hole punch you use:
Cut a little piece of plastic from the package the tool comes in, and punch through it. Then leave that little scrap on the punch (See image above). It effectively cushions your metal from the punch and removes all worry of marring your metal. If you forget, just buff the mark with some steel wool and it should disappear quite easily.

Happy punching! ~ Cindy

2018 Editor’s note: Links in the comments below have all been updated! (some of them broke when we upgraded our website)

Silver filled jewelry: what exactly is it?

July 6, 2011
silver filled earrings

Earrings made with silver filled head pins and ear wires.

If you use sterling silver in your jewelry, you have felt the pain of rising silver prices. Although the market always fluctuates up and down a tad unpredictably, it feels like it has only gone UP lately. Because it has!

Many jewelry designers have been forced to switch materials or to use less sterling silver in their designs to compensate for the increased costs. However, the quality and look of sterling are popular for good reason. Hence the rise of affordable new silver filled wire, beads and jewelry findings on the market!

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