Without going broke!
Cultivate organic shapes! “Baroque” just means irregular shapes, not perfectly round — like a natural pearl.
Sophisticate your jewelry!
Baroque crystal pearls by CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements.
We’ve got them in two sizes and ten mellow hues. You get them by the hundreds, at cents per pearl.
Faux was never so go!
*PS: not to be confused with the excellent Swarovski baroque crystal pendants 🙂
With new CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements colors:
And with some new inspirations in R&T’s Design Gallery!
They’ve been showing up in magazines a lot…
Shimmering & delicate:
Striped mother of pearl beads are in the magazines.
What’s red, or white, and striped all over?
Are they in your jewelry yet? 🙂
4 shapes, many shades…you won’t be overlooked.
Very vogue Vintaj®…
We’ve fallen in love with Vintaj. It’s not just that this is a well-known name you can trust. It also has to do with the strikingly high quality of these “natural brass” findings. And the ingenious, carefully worked-out designs…
I just have to focus in on a big favorite of mine. (Out of dozens of Vintaj items we’ve added!) There are a number of filigree beads they make that open up like petals, and close again if you want. Imagine the different ways you could use this and similar beads:
Surf the link at the top of this article to be treated to more great brass than a marching band.
And by the way, we’re adding exclusive designs using Vintaj items in our Design Gallery, so a search there will be rewarding too.
Have a Vintaj favorite? Let us know!
Technique sheets: learn all the hottest jewelry craft tips. They’re now right in our online store!
Print them right out there, as high-quality PDFs — Or, click to add any technique sheet to your order for free.
Basic technique sheets now offered include these fun fliers:
ITS™ Image Transfer Solution
Gluing to metal
Metal stamping
Epoxy resin
Stamping on resin
And that’s just a sampling. Check ’em all out! Grow your business with a new skill or two.
Let us know if you have a request for guidance in the form of other technique sheets…
Washers may be a new term to some of you…but check out how useful these are!
Your basic washer bead
When you hear about washers in connection with jewelry making, it doesn’t usually mean those flat, round donuts of metal that the hardware store can sell you.
‘Washers’ usually means heishi beads. Rings & Things’ enjoyable Bead Shapes Glossary gives this definition:
heishi: a type of disk bead that is usually flat, but sometimes slightly puffed. Traditionally, this shape was achieved by drilling flat chips, stringing them and then grinding the strand against stone to gradually wear the edges into smooth, flat-edged circles. Pronounced hee-shee, this shape is also known as a wafer, wheel or spacer.
A couple of examples of washers…
Tim Holtz ‘Idea-Ology’ washer pack
Copper trade bead washers
So, now you’ll recognize a washer if you see one. (You could even use a Chinese coin, couldn’t you?)
Well now, what are these washers good for?
Cold connections! Riveted metal jewelry. Steampunk designs.
How do you use washers?
They’re a bestseller, but you can only get them here: our featured finding is exclusive, adjustable, sterling ring blanks!
Only at R&T, only the best!
As a wise colleague says, “Don’t settle for gumball-machine quality rings.” While these ring blanks are affordable, they make for a pro look, resulting in upscale jewelry of your own making.
Four of these R&T-exclusive ring forms have gluing pads that are textured for the securest possible bond with your baubles. In contrast, the bezel cup styles shown here are tailor-made for adding cutout images and for “resin-ating”.
Eager for more options? While you’re with us, also check out new styles of silver-plated rings and our full line of finger ring blanks.
Some ideas for using R&T’s ring blanks:
Get a great look easily. Glue a glass cabochon or other handmade bauble onto your ring blank:
“Blue On Blue” Ring
Bezel-cup ring blanks make wonderful showcases for your handmade glass, cutout images (paper), and cast resin designs, among other things:
“The Grass is Always Greener” Ring
Get all medieval with a gemstone–it doesn’t take any sorcery:
“Saxon Shield” Ring
You might enjoy checking out the rest of our Rings & Things exclusives…
Two great inspirations! You may have seen these in recent magazines…
Here’s a pair of creations by R&T jewelry designer Mollie Valente and graphic designer Selina Shehan:
Click for fullsize version!
The ad above features a necklace called (click the title to view a guide to making one) Cross my Heart. Below is another of Mollie’s necklaces, As the Crow Flies.
Click to see the big version
Did you know? Rings & Things ads often feature jewelry from our Design Gallery, where you can learn how to make each design — and shop for the components “with a click”.
Coming to a mailbox near you:
The Spring 2010 supplement, from Rings & Things!
Click to browse…and shop!
Not only is the “Spring supp” pretty, it’s packed with great new stuff!
Just randomly picking neat things I see in the supp, we bring you banded agate slabs, red creek jasper, shell pearls, donut holders, BeadAligners, a snazzy zebra-striped tool set, and (pause to breathe) tons of neat new designs showcasing our new items!
Plus, we’ve put an electronic version online. Use your mouse to “flip” through the pages, and click right on each item that you want. It gets added to your R&T shopping cart, just like that.
Do check it out — and come back here to tell me what you think!
It’s 40 pages of fun shopping for beads and jewelry-making supplies. Don’t miss it!
