Materials | Plastic

~ Lemon & Rose Necklace ~

I don't usually incorporate plastic beads or findings into my designs because they most often look exactly as they are: Cheap. That being said, frosted Lucite goes beautifully with my elegantly styled jewelry. Lucite is is made out of resin, which makes it technically a plastic. Hmmm...

~ Flower Earrings in Team Colors ~

My source for the Lucite beads I use says this about Lucite:

 "Technically known as thermoplastic acrylic resin originally developed in the '30s, Lucite is a wonderfully lightweight yet durable material with timeless appeal."

So far I have only used the flower beads shapes, but Lucite comes in a wide variety of styles.

Materials | Wires & Cord

~ Wirework hoop earrings ~

Today I want to take a look at the different parts that hold my designs together.

Beading Wire: Small, flexible wire that is used for most strung designs {see picture below} It usually has beautiful drape so that the jewelry hangs elegantly.

~ Milk & Honey Necklace ~
{can also be worn as a wrap bracelet}

Wire: Generally made out of silver or gold, this wire can be bent, shaped and formed while beading wire can't. I use Artistic Wire rather than gold or silver, partly because of price and partly because it won't tarnish.

~ Quirky Blossom Brooch ~

 Non-tarnish Artistic Wire is a permanently colored copper wire (with the exception of the Non-Tarnish Brass, which is brass) which has an exclusive enamel coating which is made to resist tarnish, chipping and peeling.

~ Handmade hook & eye clasps ~

While the wire is available in a wide variety of colors {from hot pink to amethyst purple}I have stuck with the metal colors of brass {gold}, silver and antique brass.

 Silk String: A material that I have only used in a few designs, the silk string that I use is pure silk that is hand sewn and hand painted with colorfast dyes that won't fade.

What type of strung material do you prefer?

Materials | Glass

~ Mixed white glass ~

Out of all the different kinds of glass beads available, I tend to use Czech glass the most. I really like the fire polished {softly faceted} beads, pressed glass flowers, leaves and other unusual shapes.

~ Mixed pink glass ~

Usually available in several different shades of each color and tons of shapes and finishes, they can add simple class to a design or delightful whimsy depending on the shape used.

Another of my favorite glass bead types is made by the Czech Republic: Fire Polished Glass. Just like the pressed glass, they are made in a wide variety of colors, but have a smaller style range.

How do Fire Polished Glass differ from crystals?
They are sharply faceted like crystals and then reheated {Fire Polished} to soften the facets for a smooth finished that is more gentle to skin and stringing material.

~ yellow beads are fire polished
while the teal beads are crystals ~

Next up: Lampwork {also called Flamework} Beads
 These lovely beads are made by hand using glass rods and a flame torch. Different colors of rods, add ins {gold and silver leaf, stringers} are all combined to make unique beads.

~ Emerald Blues Necklace ~

Being the avid book reader and learner; as I was gathering information on jewelry making, I got several books that explained how to make glass beads. The amount of preparation, work and skill that goes into this kind of bead is amazing. The bead used in the above necklace is also hollow & very lightweight.

While crystals do actually fall into this category of glass beads, it seemed best to give them a separate post which you can find here.

Seed Beads: Small beads used as spacers or to add interest if in a unique shape. Seed beads can be found in just about every shape (square, triangle, domed...) & with extra holes for two-stranded designs or intricate beadwork.

~ Garnet Multi-strand Necklace ~

So far I mostly used regular seed beads with a smattering of the fun peanut shape because I do mostly wirework & seed beads tend to get lost unless they're oversized.

~ earrings with peanut seed beads ~

Materials | Crystals

~ blue & creamy white crystals ~

I love to use Swarovski {Sworr-off-skee} crystals in my designs, the amount of sparkle that even the tiniest crystal has is astonishing & they're available in so many different colors, shapes, sizes and finishes. So let's take a look at these lovely beads:

~ black n white & pink crystals ~

Your basic Crystal: one color, facets and a whole lot of sparkle!

You also can get different coatings on your crystals; the coating affects how light is reflected and can change the color slightly. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow appearance.

~ Simple clear crystal drops with an AB coating ~

Swarovski also makes crystal pearls. They have combined a crystal core with their pearl coating to give a flawless surface and lovely curves.

~ peach pearls with earthy toned crystals ~

Why use them instead of natural pearls? {Most of the time I actually don't, I like the quirks & unique variety of freshwater pearls too much} Crystal pearls are uniform since they're man-made, have a large variety of sizes, colors and about 3-4 different shapes to choose from. They also are scratch resistant, perfume and make-up resistant {so it doesn't matter whether you remember to put your jewelry on after your make-up} and usually cost less than would actual pearls of a similar quality.

~ Simple earrings with deep purple pearls ~