Nature's Jewels

from the Fire Mountain Gems and BeadsĀ® collection
Color inspiration images created by Kristal Wick

Nature has inspired artists for centuries and continues to be a source of inspiration. And while a hike up a mountain to a sweeping vista or a trip to some gorgeous tropical island can certainly be a catalyst for creativity, sometimes inspiration is as close as the local park, hiking trails or your own backyard.

Taking Inspiration from Nature

Whether it's flowers, leaves or wildlife, nature's beauty is breathtaking as well as surprising. Consider the color combinations found in sunsets, flowers and other plant life, insects and even fruits and vegetables. Take the beauty of nature home with you and let it inspire your creativity. Capture the subtle shades and intriguing shapes on your camera and form jewelry design palettes.

Nature's Jewels

Fall foliage is a luscious combination of reds, oranges, golds and yellows with splashes of green and brown. Make spectacular jewelry by incorporating different shades of this color palette into your pieces. Add chain for a different texture or a reflective element. Finish your masterpiece with gold- and copper-toned accents to give the overall look the varying shades of nature's colors.

Use antiqued copper ear wires and copper head pins to accentuate Crystal Passions® and Czech glass beads in autumnal hues. Add a dash of earthiness or represent branches with seed beads in the brown family. Elevate your designs by adding gemstones such as amber, turquoise, quartzes of all sorts, tigereye and many more.

Nature's Jewels Nature's Jewels

Play with a diversity of greens for visual interest and depth of color. After all, even a whole field of grass isn't all one shade of green. Mix in pinks, blues, soft yellows and lavenders for pops of contrasting color, like a meadow full of wildflowers.

Nature's Jewels

Nature's Jewels

Add an element of surprise that pushes the design over the top, invoking interest. A touch of green in a blue-and-purple design brings a fresh element to the color scheme. Similarly, copper-toned accents or pops of burnt orange or brick red make blue and purple stand out. If you break the colors apart, they may not seem to go well, yet once pulled together, the outcome is stunning.

But there's more to inspiration than color.

Bringing Nature into Your Designs

Mimic the look of leaves and branches with crystal beads on eye pins threaded through each other for fabulous earrings. This adds lot of movement when wearing them, like leaves blowing in the wind.

Nature's Jewels

Consider adding components to your jewelry that represent dewdrops, either as subtle accents or in dramatic, sparkling clusters.

Nature's Jewels

Pay attention to the various textures in nature, such as tree bark, branches, acorns, stones, the ripples in a stream or the soft, fluffy seeds of dandelions, thistles and milkweed.

Nature's Jewels

Experiment with different clays to replicate tree bark and inspiring textures. Explore the many types of glass and crystal beads, from smooth druks and faceted beads in nature-inspired colors to pressed glass beads in leaf and flower shapes. Add an organic element to your designs with natural materials such as bone, shell, horn and wood.

Nature's Jewels

Flower-shaped charms and beads add a nice touch, especially to spring and summer designs. Preserve pressed flowers in resin for bouquets that will never wilt. And, of course, leaf-shaped components are always on theme for fall-inspired designs.

Nature's Jewels

The beauty of nature is full of unexpected surprises when you dissect different themes and color combos. Pull out some of your favorite photos or take some new ones and select individual components to duplicate each element.

Design with ... Additional Resources ...