How to Wear Diamonds Everyday

I rarely go to formal functions but I love beautiful, classic jewelry and I want to enjoy it on a regular basis. So when Anjolee sent me these gorgeous earrings to try out I knew just what to do – create a Southwestern Glam look of course! I love colorful jewelry and have quite a few beaded pieces from my travels to New Mexico and Arizona in addition to some amazing turquoise that I've inherited. But I never want to wear all of it at once. Diamond earrings are great way to balance a heavy, colorful necklace and colorful beads.

Edgy Glam Jewelry from Rings & Tings

Rounding out this week's theme of Edgy Glam, I have some super cool jewelry pieces and a fun manicure to share with you. A few weeks ago, the lovely folks over at Rings & Tings offered to let me try out some of their jewelry pieces. They have a great selection of affordable, fashion-forward jewelry and fashion pieces so of course was delighted to oblige. I chose three pieces: the wave ring set, the crescent bib necklace and the black check earrings. I love all of the items and have been making good use of wearing them out.

Mini DIY Tutorial – Tassel Jewelry 3 Ways

When you get started on something, do you ever find that you just can't stop doing more and more? That's what happened for me with tassels this week. I had a stash of new wooden beads to play with that paired quite well with my tassels. As the focal point of these necklaces, the humble tassel can be quite a showstopper.

Moodboard – Tassel Necklaces

I love natural looking jewelry especially pieces made out of wood or thread. So these tassel necklace are right up my alley. Enjoy!

Clockwise from top left:
Carved Wood Tassel Necklace // Boho Tassel Necklace // Leather Braided Necklace // Beaded Tassel and Feather Necklace // Beaded Layering Necklace // Tubes Tassel Necklace // Beaded Tassel Necklace // Leather Studded Tassel Necklace

Related:

Moodboard posts
Fashion posts
Inspiration posts
Jewelry posts
Jewelry on Pinterest

Summer Style on Pinterest

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DIY Tutorial – Gold Tube Bead Necklace

These days, I'm seeing large dramatic beads everywhere. So when I saw these at the bead store, I just had to snap them up. This necklace is really simple to make and shows off the gold bead perfectly. Choose any color or combination of seed beads for a variety of looks. You'll be able to match practically any outfit you own.

DIY Tutorial Braided Fabric Bracelet

Whether you pile them on or wear one at time, these casual braided bracelets are a great addition to your spring wardrobe. They take an hour or less to make and you can use any fabric you want (as long as it will be comfortable on the skin) making this project a great way to use up fabric scraps. So let's get started!

The hardware was fairly easy to find at the jewelry supply store and should be available online as well. Different sized end caps will determine the thickness of the braid. I double stacked some of my fabric to make it fill the endcap.

DIY Painted Wooden Bead Necklaces

There are lots of painted wood necklaces out there on the interwebs these days and I couldn't resist joining in on the fun.

Painting the beads is really easy. All you need is:

Beads

Sandpaper

Painters Tape

Paint

Brush

Tape off the area where you don't want paint and give it a rub with the sandpaper. Then do a coat or two of paint. Let dry and remove the tape.

To make your necklace, put the beads on string. Easy, peasy.

Book Review – Mastering the Art of Beading

Mastering the Art of Beading by Genevieve A. Sterbenz is a huge reference book on all things related to jewelry making. I've had the book for a few weeks now and its a great reference guide. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about beading and jewelry making.

DIY Wooden Bead Necklace

I'm on a necklace making streak these days. I love the color combination of these beads, the dark wood circle set off by little rows of red and white wooden beads and opaque yellow seed beads.

The necklace was very easy to make. I used waxed thread and started in the middle of the necklace, doing one side at a time. The end is finished with clamshell knot covers, jump rings and a clasp.

I bought all of the beads in downtown LA. I went pretty crazy over the wooden beads and now have a whole box full of them. Have you ever worked with wooden beads? What colors do you like to wear in jewelry?

DIY Beaded Bar Necklaces Tutorial

Geometric necklaces like these are very popular these days (check out my pinterest board if you need evidence). These necklaces are very easy to make and chic as well. Here's a brief tutorial on how to make them for yourself. I hope you enjoy!

Moodboard – Necklaces

1. Free People Vintage Blue and Yellow Beaded Necklace
2. Toast Three Strand Beaded Necklace
3. Love Mert Jewelry "Remnants from my Father's Woodshop"Double Facet Petrol Necklace
4. Would Be Wooden Bead Necklace from Claire's
5. Ampay Necklace from Anthropologie
6. Botanical Hues Necklace from Ruche

DIY Wooden Bead Necklaces

 
I made these wooden bead necklaces over the weekend. I varied the same beads throughout the three necklaces so that I can wear them together or alone. I love the striped beads. Aren't they gorgeous? And there's something about wooden beads that makes them so attractive to me. Have you made any jewelry lately?

Friday Faves – August 10

This week's Friday Faves is brought to you by ...drumroll... GEOMETRY. How can you not appreciate the beauty of geometry? Simple shapes are the beginning of everything and when used simply they can be quite inspiring. Today's font is Yumo from My Fonts (currently on sale for $15). This blocky, distressed, geometric font is perfect for headlines. Or, maybe you're designing something with a vintage eighties look? It's Yumo to the rescue! Need more font inspiration? Follow #FontFriday on Twitter.

1. Gold Leaf Geometric Necklace from Poppytalk
2. Beaded Diamond Pendant from How Did You Make This?
3. DIY Chevron Necklace from Dismount Creative
4. Tubular Geometric Necklace from Stylehive

Need more DIY jewelry inspiration? Check out my DIY Fashion Accessories pinboard.

Accessories & Embellishment Month – August 2012

This month I'm going to be focusing on accessories and embellishment. I'm really excited about this theme. I've been waiting for a while to do some jewelry projects. And that's just the beginning! Stay tuned!

Sea Blue Bead and Chain Necklace

This necklace was an extended work in progress. It started with a short chain and a couple of strings of seed beads, teal and clear. Then I added a strip of lavender leather. Still, I was bored by it and started playing around with separating the strings to make a longer necklace.
To complete it, I added a few big beads on the lavender leather, a long string of seed beads all the way around and finally one more chain. It's a little funky and I haven't worn it yet. Maybe I'll debut it this weekend.

New things

I ventured downtown to the Fashion District this weekend and picked up some new fabrics and beads.

Thursday Thriftday - August 4

Gold Leaf Bracelet
Purchased Glendale Goodwill, about $4

Thursday Thriftday - July 28

Gold Flower Pin
Purchased Glendale Goodwill, about $3

White Braided Bead Necklace

I made this necklace using a tutorial by Eighteenth Century Agrarian Business. I followed the tutorial exactly and it turned out great. The tutorial was very easy to follow and very well done. I love the necklace and would make it again in a heartbeat were it not so wonderfully distinctive.

Tutorial - Turn a Necklace into a Twisted Bracelet

How to turn almost any old necklace into a twisted bracelet.
With clasp fastened on your necklace, stretch it out to make 2 parallel lines.
Twist it up by putting a finger at each end and giving it a twirl.
Fold in half.Twist some more, keeping a loop at each end.
Run a chain (or single strand beaded necklace with clasp) through the loops. Slide the twisted necklace around your wrist, wrap the chain around until snug and fasten.