Jewelry-Making Articles

Bling in the New Year

by Kristal Wick, Author, Designer and Instructor, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®

After the holidays, it's a hum-drum-back-to-reality-I-gained-6-pounds-on-fruitcake-and-spent-all-my-money-on-presents reality isn't it? Re-entry is painful and every day feels like a Monday ... or is it just me? This year I decided to prolong the festivities and have a few blingalicious parties with my bauble-loving peeps! Less calories than the traditional cookie swap, everyone feels better and goes home to a blingier life! My motto: "Bling is the new black," are you with me?

Par-Tay

Invite the gals and destash your bling! Detox your closet by collecting the accessories and jewelry you no longer wear and swap it with your pals. How about those clip earrings gramma gave you 17 years ago that you STILL haven't worn; or the fashion rings that no longer fit (no shame, we all have them); or that clunky chunky brooch that you simply HAD to have (got it home and still wonder why). Don't forget purses and scarves. Everyone places their goodies on a central table and take turns "shopping" for new items. Pick names from a hat to see who goes next and each gal gets one swap per item she brings to the party. It's amazing how new jewelry and accessories can change the look of a simple black dress or slacks, voila and you're set for the New Year!

Bling Up Your Tush?

Another fun event I'd like to share with you is my "Bling Up Your Tush" party. Everyone brings their fave jeans to bling up and I supply the hot-fix rhinestones and hot-fix tools. You can take a $10 dollar pair of jeans from Goodwill and turn them into a $100 pair of jeans (go ahead and price those sparkling jeans on the market today). Of course your bling-peeps can bling up their jackets, purses and scarves as well. In keeping with the theme, mix up a batch of "tush" cupcakes for munching. Simply frost and detail with a curved "W" shape to resemble a tush or a pan of hot cross buns! You'll get loads of chuckles and create some FAB fashion statements as you battle those winter blues!

Thank You

To honor the quickly dying fine art of giving thanks and sending actual thank you cards, how about a thank you card swap? Everyone can either make their own thank you cards or buy them and bring 1 or 2 for each person attending the party. Spill out the blingy rhinestones and glue them onto your own cards, and then swap with everyone. You all get a whole new set of thank you cards to send out for the New Year customized with beautiful blingy-goodness!

I hope you enjoy a party or two this winter season. Who knows, you may have a new BFF (your hot-fix heater)!

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