A necklace at exactly the right length for the neckline you are wearing makes all the difference. It instantly looks more professional and more polished and looks like you planned the whole thing. But what if you didn’t or what if your plans didn’t work when you got it all together. Here’s an easy way to fix it. more.
To shorten a necklace that is made of chain or beads, try a big safety pin. For a chain necklace, pull both sides up to where you want the pendant to sit, and then put the pointy part through the link of chain on each side and close the safety pin. Remember that the pin itself is an inch long so you will have to take that into account. And yes, your necklace will droop down your back so this is a good solution for something you are wearing under a shirt or jacket and not so good a solution for a tank top or open back. When I am doing this, once I figure out the length, I bring the chain links I want to use around to the front so I can see what I am doing with the safety pin.
For a bead necklace, the pin won’t go through the links but the closed pin will sit in between the beads. Once you figure out how long you want it, slide the beads around to the front so you can see them. Work the end of the pin in between the beads on one side and then make a bit of space in between the beads on the other side to close the pin. It’s a bit trickier than the chain option but does work well as long as the beads, pearls, or necklace parts are big enough so they don’t slide through the closed pin.
Lengthening a necklace is tougher. You could do the saftety pin trick if you need it lengthened just that much. But better if you have a short chain with a clasp at one end. The Anylength chains also work. You need to get something long enough though to lengthen it the amount you need. Put the clasp of the extending chain into the end of the necklace. So instead of the necklace’s clasp, use the chain’s clasp. Now hold the necklace up and figure out where it should fall. Fasten the necklace’s clasp into the appropriate link on the extending chain and there you go.
Again, this may leave some piece of the extending chain drooping down your back. When I have done this for suits where I wanted to lengthen the necklace so it hung properly I have used a chain that has a finished end, like a little ball or pearl or something. I did this on the Anylength chains so it would look nice when it hangs down.
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Sometimes you see some jewelry that speaks to you. It's pretty with lots of colors, but you think....what on earth would I wear this with? Well, here are some ideas and examples based on my own experience with a particular bracelet.
In the 2009 Spring Collection, I created a bracelet duo called Flora and Fauna. At the time I just put together colors that seemed pretty together. I loved that bracelet, so made one for myself. <sly grin>. But what to wear it with? About a month later, I bought a shirt that I loved...with the same colors it turns out. I had the shirt on one day and was trying to figure out what jewelry to wear (I have to wear jewelry you know) and it dawned on me that the Flora bracelet might work. Bingo, it did! And nicely. So now I had an outfit to wear with the bracelet. Excellent.
But then one day when searching for jewelry to wear with an office outfit with similar colors but definitely not the same ones, again I thought about the Flora bracelet. It worked! I got many compliments at the office that day about how well the jewelry matched. Inspired by that occurrence, I tried again and found yet another office outfit that worked with the bracelet with colors in the same family but quite different.
So here are some things to think about. If you like a piece of jewelry for its colors, chances are you already like those colors. And if you like those colors, chances are you probably have some outfits that contain those colors. So go ahead, take a chance, and purchase the piece. I don't think you will be disappointed. When you get it home, hold it up to the outfits in your closet and see what looks interesting. It doesn't have to match. It should complement the colors. You might find some interesting combinations. You never know! |
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Colors for this Spring and Summer are blues, purples, pinks and corals according to the Color Associaion of America. On the runways, we are seeing navy make a re-appearance as well as neutrals and corals. A few designers are showing metallics. Ralph Lauren has some metallic overalls that are just too much!
Seeing ruffles and softer fabrics everywhere. Lots of sheer fabrics, bunched, pleated or ruched (gathers sewn flat) or bunched up on the side. More and more glitter directly on the fabrics in the form of beads, sequins and rhinestones. Sometimes as a border and sometimes in the overall design but on everyday kinds of clothes, not just eveningwear.
Jewelry still appears to be chunky, perhaps getting even bolder than before, despite the lighter, softer fabrics. Perhaps the interest is in the extreme contrast this poses. Etro is showing some verrrrry long earrings that look to be 10 inches long. Very sultry look. And cuff bracelets are still very ‘in’.
Brooches are making a comeback…you know the ones your grandmother wore. People are digging out old ones and updating them with more modern looks. They are appearing solo and as parts of necklaces.
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Some early 2010 trends. Hoop earrings are back. They started making their comeback in 2007 but this year expect to see them all over the place….
Gold is making a comeback. Silver and white gold will start to take a back seat. Keep your eye out for gold earrings…
Color diamonds are becoming huge! Not only are they beautiful but they are expensive. So wearing colored diamonds is another way to say you have arrived…
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Cleaning sterling silver is easy with ordinary household ingredients. You will need baking soda, aluminum foil, a glass dish (I use a pyrex loaf pan) and boiling water.
First, crumple up some tin foil and put it in the bottom of the glass dish. Lay your silver jewelry down making sure that it lies as flat as possible and doesn’t criss cross over itself. It’s OK if it has other gemstones in it as the process won’t harm them. I have done this with pearls even and it’s OK. Sprinkle LOTS of baking soda on top. You want to completely cover the jewelry with the baking soda.
Then, boil some water. Once it’s up to boiling temperature, pour the water over the baking soda. It will fizz and bubble and you will probably smell sulfur…that rotten egg smell. Once the bubbling stops, carefully lift out your jewelry (it’s hot, remember) and wash it off under cold water. The baking soda might make it a bit slippery but just use enough cold water to wash it off. Your silver should be bright and shiny. If not, do it again. It won’t hurt the silver.
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Lemon quartz is a truly beautiful variety of quartz. Mined in Brazil, it is a relative of the amethyst which is quartz in a purple color. Lemon quartz, with its hints of green fire, is well suited to being cut in facets. It sparkles brilliantly and is a favorite among jewelry artists for that reason. While certainly not as pricey as diamonds, it is generally more expensive than amethysts and citrine.
Lemon quartz is said to protect the wearer from evil thoughts. It helps you focus on your creativity, optimism, organization, and well-being.
You can see some beautiful lemon quartz faceted coins in the Electric Lemondrops necklace from the 2009 Fall/Holiday Collection.
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Some random fall trends from the world of fashion....bangle bracelets in silver and gold combined are all still the rage. All the designers are showing them. Small ones, cuff-sized ones, stack them up. Lots of them in combined silver and gold. The fashion magazines and the runways are full of them....the multi-layer necklaces are still being shown with the layers of the necklace in many lengths, materials, and sizes as if you are wearing 8 or more different necklaces. Thick ones and thin ones. Maybe time to raid your closet or make a trip to the second-hand store to pile some up....jewelry pieces from necklaces to bracelets to earrings seem to be getting bolder and more structural in shape, making more of a statement.....and finally GREEN is the color this fall (go figure) from green nail polish from many makeup manufacturers to green jewelry in jade and tsavorite (a green more brilliant than emerald).
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Copper is all the rage right now and what better way to appreciate it but with some vintage copper earrings! The latest addition to the gdesign Vintage Collection is Copper Wave. The necklace started out as a pair of clip-on copper earrings. I removed the clip and used them as the focal points on the necklace.
I already had the black 'bricks' of blackstone and of course, I had to make a copper question mark clasp! The hard part was the glass between the two earrings. I tried many things and finally settled on the large black art glass beads with the flecks of copper in them. I added some copper rings in between to reinforce the copper design. I really like the way this turned out.
You can see Copper Wave, the matching earrings and the rest of the Vintage Collection here.
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Not everyone wants to buy expensive jewelry all the time. Sometimes you just want something small. For a gift. For yourself. I heard many requests like this. 'I love your stuff. Can I just get something small?' I thought about how to offer something that fit with the gdesign philosophy of being unique and high quality. gJoolz seemed like the answer.
I make them from art glass that I have lying around from experiments (those late nights in the studio where I am trying all sorts of things) to beads that never made it into the collection pieces for all sorts of reasons. These are always one of a kind and usually kind of interesting in many ways. Instead of piling them up in storage bins, I pull the most unique ones out and combine them with sterling silver (or sometimes gold-filled wire) and beads and rondelles and make little gems of them.
They are fun for me to make as I can do them spur of the moment and without thought of how I will make more of them. So you frequently can get surprising results.
I hope you enjoy them. I find that people are purchasing them for gifts. So I packaged them in a cute little organza bag and added the famous gdesign pink polishing cloth as an added bonus and to make it truly special.
I am offering them on ArtFire as there are many of them and they have the best shopping cart. Makes it easier to post them for me and for you, easier to buy them. Happy shopping!
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gdesign is one year old as of August 8! What a year this has been! I started the company on 08-08-2008, a lucky number according to the Chinese, with some lottery money I had won. Double lucky! And that was a good idea. This last year has exceeded my expectations!
I found support, great ideas, new things to think about and new contacts everywhere. From the charities I supported to the customers I made jewelry for, it has been a whirlwind of new people and ideas. I welcome them all.
This next year proves to be even better. I am actively expanding the gdesign community. The Birthday Contest will increase the mailing list. I am up on Twitter now. And Facebook. Still learning about those. I am advertising in some local magazines. All designed to increase gdesign's outreach.
This next year will be even better. I have a fantastic fall collection with lots of sparkles coming along, many new marketing ideas, and new shows to attend. Hope to see you at one of them. Here's to year 2!
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Many of you have asked for some simpler choices. How about just some earrings? Easy to wear and not so taxing on the pocketbook. The Elemental Earrings came about because of some new semi-precious gems I just acquired. Really odd things like magnetite that looks like a miniature earth...larimar that has a blue that has to be seen to be believed...carnelian fiery red oranges...and the beautiful clear, polished rock crystal which is one of my personal favorites.
I played around with the sterling silver wire until I came up with designs that evoked those 4 classic elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. There are 2 long ones, Fire and Water, which look great with longer hair. Earth is kind of funky. And for the petite women in the crowd, Air fits the bill, as it's smaller and not so bulky. I think these will be very fun to wear this summer and will go perfectly with T-shirts, tops and shorts. Enjoy!
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The best things happen by accident sometimes. Take the Rock Candy duo for example, the latest addition to the Special Edition Collections. I was trying to make something completely different with the pale blue glass when I accidentally glopped it onto the mandrel....and it glistened! I tried glopping on some more. More sparkles. I was amazed as I thought that only cut glass could sparkle like that. But here was round, curvy glass with highlights and sparkles just like a diamond.
So I tried other colors of glass and they sparkled too. I had to make something with these new beads. And then as I had them on the counter all together I discovered that they looked just like rock candy. You almost wanted to pop them into your mouth. Perfect name for a perfect bracelet. I hope you like wearing it!
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It's been a long time in the making, but I am proud to announce my very first Spring/Summer Collection. This is what I have been working on for over a year. Many of the trios and duos I first made for myself in completely different forms and then I perfected them for you in the Spring/Summer Collection.
The Deep Blue Sea trio came about from my first foray into making glass beads. The bubble beads were designed expressly to go with those beautiful cloisenne fish. The Flora and Fauna first took shape as a gardener's bracelet with pewter charms until I found those wonderful jade leaves and Hill Tribe Silver charms.
The Silver Lining trio came about from a random purchase of a package of assorted glass beads and my observations of stormy, summer skies last year. I thought I could combine the glass and stones to take you from the dark storm clouds to the blue sky afterwards.
I have truly enjoyed bringing this collection to life. I hope you enjoy wearing it.
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2009 is going to be a tough year. Every day we see more headlines about massive layoffs. My heart goes out to those who were employed yesterday and laid off today. But even in these times, we need to be diligent about helping others. Those who depend on our generosity still need help...perhaps even more so in these turbulent times. gdesign has an active program of giving back. See the giving back page.
The most recent contribution was a Hearts in Motion bracelet duo to the 13th Annual New Hampshire Gala for the American Heart Association silent auction. They are doing wonderful work and they deserve your support. If you have a charitable event that you think would benefit from a gdesign donation, please don’t hesitate to contact me at:
info@gdesignontheweb.com
Together, we can hopefully create a better world.
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This isn't the first time I have sold things that I designed. I got started at the tender age of 10 designing mice finger puppets. I saw an article in my mom's Family Circle magazine that described how to make them out of gray felt and discarded toilet paper tubes. I made one and thought it was cute. A friend of my mom's saw it and said I should customize them with the local high school colors and make cheerleaders out of them and...(gasp!) sell them.
I did! And that started my first design venture. I sold them at a local handicraft store in my hometown, called The Henhouse. They were an instant hit and I made all sorts of them in various configurations...a bit like the Vermont Teddy Bears that you can customize nowadays.
I designed more things but the mice were the biggest seller. I learned many things about business and customers and inventory and deadlines back then. All at 10 years old! Served me well my entire life.
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Happy 2009!!! I hope you are anticipating great things in 2009 and that this is your best year ever.
We are all putting 2008 behind us at this point and looking toward the future. This is the time of year that we think about achievements in the past year and what we want to accomplish in the coming year. I have a number of goals I would like to accomplish. The first is to launch my 2009 Spring/Summer collection. I am working on it feverishly now and can't wait to show everyone.
Of course, I have some personal goals...getting healthier and fitter rank right up there. So to help me stay on track, I designed the Follow Your Dreams bracelet duo. It has 2 affirmation rings. The Dream ring reminds me of the things I want to accomplish and the Strength ring helps me stay the course when I am tempted to make unhealthy choices. (ie pick the salad instead of the fries with the burger).
I hope you are looking forward to 2009 and perhaps the New Year, New You bracelet duo will help you realize your dreams.
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Starting in the new year, I will be sending newsletters out monthly. Of course, there will be news about what’s happening at gdesign, new trios and duos available, and events where gdesign will be showing.
There will be a regular section on gemstones and precious metals…where they are mined, how they got their names, what they look like, what they are best used in. For example, did you know that Lapis lazuli has been mined in Afghanistan for 6,500 years, and trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Egyptian burial sites? Later, it was ground into powder and used to make ultramarine blue paint. Who knew?
I want to include tips about wearing jewelry as well…which kinds of necklaces go best with v-neck sweaters, what are the coming trends for spring, what kinds of jewelry are best for larger women, what earrings work best with classic pearls, etc.
And of course there will be a section to answer questions from you! Ask me whatever you want. Hopefully I can answer it. Email info@gdesignontheweb.com to get your question in or to add your name to the list. I would love to hear from you.
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Many of you have said that it's too long to wait until the Spring 2009 collection. How about something now! OK, I hear you and I have some good news.
How about a Hearts in Motion bracelet duo just in time for Valentine's Day? I am working on the design now but I see fine silver and lots and lots of red, dangly hearts in the works.
And, to help you out with that New Year's resolution, the New Year, New You bracelet duo in sterling silver will help to keep you on track to reach those new year's goals.
Check out the what's new page for details!
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gdesign features Spring/Summer and Fall/Holiday collections each year. Each collection has around 9 trios and duos with common themes much like a fashion designer’s collection. I was inspired by Project Runway (I have seen every season!) and liked the idea of a collection that hangs together around a design point of view. The spring collection will be out the first of March. Email me at info@gdesignontheweb.com to get on the sneak preview mailing list.
Of course the flip side of working with collections is that while the world is abuzz with Christmas holidays and reds and greens, I am thinking of summer and sun and blues and aquas. Well, I guess that isn’t all that bad. <grin>
Each collection has limited editions of the trios and duos. The 2009 Spring/Summer collection will feature 3-5 of each trio or duo. I like the idea of unique and exclusive jewelry and limiting the numbers keeps it special so you won’t go to a party or special event and see the same jewelry you are wearing on someone else!
So why the duos and trios? Finding matching earrings or a matching bracelet has always been a pet peeve of mine. If you like jewelry and want to complete an outfit with it, having the complimentary earrings or the matching bracelet makes it so much better. My customers mix and match all the gdesign pieces with others in their own personal collections but when worn together the duos are trios are stunning and complement one another…because I design them that way!
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Welcome to gdesign! After much encouragement from friends, I decided to share my passion for beautiful jewelry with the world. I am focusing on glass, metal and stone because those are the things I love. I get inspiration from the various stones that mother nature has decided to bless us with…lapis, carnelian, jade, turquoise, agate, serpentine, iolite, citrine…what a myriad of colors and textures! Metal wire and beads are perfect complements to the stones and I am working on some original gdesign ways of working with wire. More about that later.
But glass is my true passion. Ever since I set foot in a flameworking studio, I knew the path would lead to more than just a hobby for myself. Making glass beads and pendants is one of the most fun things I have ever done. Seeing the tip of the glass rod glowing at 2000 degrees, working it on the mandrel, and creating a new work of art each time is inspiring every time I do it. I have come up with some interesting things that I hope you like as well.
I would love to hear from you. You can email me anytime at info@gdesignontheweb.com. Feel free to ask questions, tell me your stories, or make suggestions. I will be updating this blog regularly so it will include things from everyone. Look forward to hearing from you!
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