Crystal & Stone Bling

Mystical, charming, stylish and a little flirty describe these new creations in crystals and natural stones. A little out-side-the-box for this designer, we paired a lot of faceted charmed crystals with complimenting pendants, stones and metals to give them all different looks for any personality. We’re working on a few more designs in these styles, so keep checking here and the website for their debut!

Mexican Morodo Agate Pendant Faceted Crystals Silver Set

Black Agate Faceted Smoky Clear Crystals Silver Set

Brown Zebra Pendant Faceted Crystals Silver Set

For these and many other natural stone designs are available to purchase on our website.

Jewelry Fashions & Face Shapes

There are several shapes to our faces and we don't always know how to choose the most flattering jewelry to accent or highlight our features. There are four face shapes; round, oval, square, and heart.

Round: A round face shape should wear jewelry that creates a more slimming, lengthening effect. Chose longer or angular beaded necklaces that draw your attention down and lengthwise; some with a pendant will automatically draw the eye downwards. Also, wear long dangle earrings to also elongate your face.

Oval: If you are lucky enough to have an oval shaped face you can wear almost any type of necklace or earring; mostly because your face is a balanced forehead, chin and proportionate features. Some suggestions would be necklaces with long and short strands; unusual, mixed designs in shapes and textures. For earrings, try bold multiple layer dangle earrings.

Square: Someone with a

square or balanced angular face is most flattered by wearing jewelry that adds or softens the curves of the face. Try to balance a strong chin with necklaces that have round edged beads to narrow your face. If your face is more rectangular than square, you might try to shorter necklaces. Wear round dangle or hoop earrings that will fall to your jawline to accent and flatter your face.

Heart: Or if your face is wider at the forehead and narrow at the chin, you have a heart-shaped face. Suggested jewelry for this type would be one that gives the illusion of width to your jawline. Multi-strand necklaces with horizontal lines will balance out the forehead; with longer single necklaces making the face look narrower. To give a softened look and balance out a point chin, try wearing big, bold round beads in a shorter necklace. For earrings wear something that is just long enough to skim the jawline and moves the eye from side to side to create width.

Whatever your faces shape, you'll find the perfect style for accenting your wardrobe and features. Browse our custom design collection of natural stones to find your style.

Lavender Sea Glass Custom Pendant

I was contacted by a lady who has a beautiful piece of sea glass that she collected on vacation. She really wanted it to be in a pendant and it is the perfect size. This lovely piece of sea glass is a pale shade of lavender and handcrafted in non-tarnish silver wire. It was a little bit of a challenge because it’s so small, but I think this works.

Styles of Chain

I’ve been experimenting with different styles using chain; trying to give the necklace designs more dimension and texture. Here are a couple of new styles using just a few stones and mainly chain as the base.

Boro Lampwork Beads Denim Lapis Crystals Set

CA Palm Wood Jasper Ivoryite Crystals Set

These and other custom styles are available for purchase in our collections.

Single Red Coral

Doing designs in purely one color is often risky; however with the Red Coral design I hit onto something. It was such a hit, that I redesigned the piece and incorporated different chunky coral stones, several types of copper beads and added a bigger Sponge Coral pendant. This piece hit the mark and was sold before it even hit the website!

Coral Lampwork Beads Sponge Coral Pendant Copper Set (SOLD)

For more designs in natural stone and wire, browse our website for available pieces to purchase.

Don’t Forget the Green

Green jewelry, who knew and it comes in a variety of styles; browse our collections for available styles to purchase.

Lime Green Dichroic Glass Wire Pendant (to the right - SOLD)

Raw Brazilian Agate Slice in Shades of Green (to the left)

Green/Blue Dichroic Glass Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Bracelet (to the right)

Green Peridot Chips Blue/Green Turquoise Nuggets Pewter (to the left - SOLD)

Turquoise Hot Color 2010

Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing. Pantone, a company that supplies and tracks color for fashion, home décor and many other industries, named Turquoise as the hottest color for 2010.

“Leatice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, says there is no runner-up to turquoise in her mind because people crave escapism and freshness after a tough year. The shade is on the cusp of blue and green, which makes it both inviting and serene, characteristics associated with blues, and invigorating and luminous, which comes from green, she states.

"Transporting" was a word many used for turquoise, a shade that takes designer Tommy Hilfiger to the beach, especially the Caribbean, St. Tropez, France, or Southern California, which served as the inspiration for his newest collection. In jewelry, he thinks of the American Southwest, or Central or South America. The women in my life wear it on vacation and it looks great with a suntan at the beach," Hilfiger says.

Interior designer Charlotte Moss says she turns to turquoise to liven up a look that otherwise seems stilted or conservative — and it pairs nicely with a wide range of colors more typical to home decor: gray, navy, black and white. "We're looking for things that are that are flexible and more universal, and that is turquoise," she says.

“Pantone's color for 2009 was mimosa yellow, intended to carry a hopeful, optimistic message. Eiseman says the public is shifting gears as the economy shows some improvement: They are ready to fantasize a bit about the beach resort. In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color and is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many - taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy."

Whether envisioned as a tranquil ocean surrounding a tropical island or a protective stone warding off evil spirits, Turquoise is a color that most people respond to positively. It is universally flattering, has appeal for men and women, and translates easily to fashion and interiors. With both warm and cool undertones, Turquoise pairs nicely with any other color in the spectrum. Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.

In fashion, Turquoise makes a statement that can look elegant and dressy in fine silk and gemstones, or casual and fun in cotton and athletic apparel. Because of its versatility, Turquoise is a great accent color in jewelry, purses, shoes, hair accessories and even nail polish for women, and ties, shirts and sportswear for men.

Visit our Southwest Flair collection to purchase custom designs in Turquoise.

*Resources Tamapbay Fashion Features and Pantone Color Institute.