Beautiful SOLID 10k Gold Genuine Yellow Citrine Emerald Cut Fashion Ring - Comes Gift Boxed!

Absolutely Beautiful Solid 10k Gold Ring (NOT PLATED). Wonderful Gift Idea for your Loved One!

Price: $229.99

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Jewelry Around the Web

Art Bead Scene
Looking for inspiration for the ABS monthly challenge? Come check out the list of Art Deco sources at ABS.

Barbe Saint John
Barbe reviews some Rings and Things Halloween Beads and is giving some away too!

Beading Arts
Wool roving for a necklace? Cyndi's tutorial is finished!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses her Parisian ribbon collection to make some fabulous beads.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy brought back some beach treasures Lake Huron. She's created a keepsake with them you'll want to see.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie reflects on the politics of the playground for a series of hopscotch themed pendants.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean explores creative jewelry design using inspiration employing wordplay--what do you think?

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew gets interviewed by Ray Hemachandra for a Blogger Profile on Lark Crafts: Jewelry & Beading.

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Penny Pinching Jewelry Tips

After posting a poll about plated wire, while most people agreed that it is less expensive, many were still not ready to use it to make jewelry, even if it meant saving money. I can't say this really surprised me that much; however, it got me thinking about saving money in general when it comes to your jewelry making. Here are some tips I have been using lately to keep my jewelry costs down: Use lower-end metals. For example, I have been using a lot more brass wire, copper wire, and also findings in these two metals. I still use silver and gold-filled, but more sparingly. Recycle previously made jewelry. I have taken apart a lot of jewelry I have made in the past that either didn't sell or I just no longer like that much. That has given me a lot of new supplies to work with. Recycle old jewelry. Before many of made jewelry, we bought a lot of it. I have reused old parts of jewelry I had purchased. For example clasps, pendants, and beads can often be repurposed very easily.Make prototypes with less expensive materials. I just about always made jewelry designs with less expensive materials first, and then once I feel confident, I can break out the good stuff.

These are just a few cost saving ideas, but I have no doubt you may have a few suggestions of your own. Feel free to post them in the comments and share the wealth.

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Recycling Your Jewelry

Many jewelry makers come to a time when they have to do something about accumulated inventory. Even if you don't sell your jewelry, if you have been making it for a while, it does start to add up. There are just so many gifts one can make.

However, styles changes, your skills develop, and your tastes differ from year to year. So, what happens? You eventually end up with lots of jewelry that you no longer like, that may not sell any more, or that just isn't what you want. While not all jewelry can be recycled, a good deal of it can. Recycling your jewelry is a handy way to refresh your finished and unfinished inventory. Since I've been making jewelry for a number of years, I've found a few ways to do this: 

Restock it. By taking bead, wire, or chain jewelry apart, you can restock the components and add them back to your unfinished inventory. 

Bag it. I'm pretty lazy, so sometimes I just get a small bag and toss my unwanted jewelry in it for later. Then as I feel the urge to make jewelry, I'll dig through it and pick out items that may have beads, wire, findings, or other components that I think I can use.

Donate it. By donating your unwanted finished jewelry to a charity, you can help them out and help yourself. Many charities have thrift stores that sell used items or crafts. Obviously, if you used some expensive components for your jewelry, this may not be the best option for you. However, some charities also have other fund-raising activities that may be perfect for your old inventory. 

Discount it. When doing shows, I tossed a lot of my unwanted jewelry items in a basket and marked them way down. Customers loved to dig through it, and I made an amazing number of sales off that basket. (I always made sure that I at least got my money back for the cost of the supplies.) Many of the items had nothing really wrong with them. Some were made of base metal findings that I no longer like to use. Some were items that sold great once, but eventually, the trend ended. 

Auction it. You could take apart the components and sell them in batches using some the numerous on-line auctions. As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." 

Give it. There are other groups (which are not necessarily considered non-profit) that may be interested in the parts and pieces that make up your old jewelry inventory such as scout groups, home schoolers, or just the kids next door. 

Melt it. Of course, this will only work with wire or metal items. However, I keep a bag of left over metal scraps. Some times I actually go back in the bag and find a useful piece such as a jump ring or hook, but I also melt a lot of these scraps down for casting.

So do not worry about ever having too much jewelry around; in fact, is there such a thing as too much jewelry?