Jewelry Making Resources | Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Gemstones in the Raw: Embracing the Unrefined Beauty of Rough Gemstones

Unearth the unrefined beauty of raw-cut and rough gemstones and explore their design potential in this article.

Stretch Bracelet

Stretch your fashion sense with a moukaite jasper stretch bracelet that’s sure to be a bestseller.

Design Idea PF2Q

View Design

Beading as Meditation

In this article author, designer and instructor Kristal Wick shares her experience of using beading as a form of meditation, emphasizing its calming and transformative effects on her daily life, and providing practical tips for incorporating this beading meditation into a busy schedule.

Look! Beaded Eyeglass Holders

Eyeglass holders can be both fun and functional. Add some beads and they can become a fashion statement. Read this article for ideas on beaded eyeglass holders.

Ask the Experts Copper Q&A

Q: I would like to start using pure copper beads and findings, but I'm not sure about whether or not they can be cleaned at all, and if so, how? What about copper plated items?

Read the Answer

10 Handcrafted Holiday Party Gifts

Hosting a party (or three) this holiday season? Give your guests a handmade gift to make the occasion even more festive and heartfelt.

History of Filigree

Filigree has been part of the jewelry making tradition for almost 4000 years! From the Egyptians to the Persians, through the Renaissance and Art Nouveaue eras, it's got quite the history.

Hypoallergenic Jewelry

Discover how to choose and create hypoallergenic jewelry with skin-safe materials and tips designed to help you avoid irritation while expressing your personal style.

Intro to Leather

Have you never worked with leather before? It can be tough (heh) sometimes but don’t worry, Tammy Honaman is here to guide you like only a jewelry-making expert can.

Natural Beauty

Organic materials come from living things. Knowing their origins and cultivation techniques will allow you to confidently assure your customers that you've considered every detail of your design.

Single-Strand Necklace

Want a quick and stylish necklace? It's as simple as adding a charm to a finished chain. Just use a jump ring or bail to attach your favorite focal point, and voilà – your necklace is ready in no time!

Design Idea PG2V

View Design

Organic Jewelry: Wood and Nut Beads

Current organic jewelry is showing vast influences in fashion trends. Read on to learn why wood and nut beads could be the next big thing.

Opal: Benefits of Synthetic and Manmade Stones

Opal is an uncommon gemstone with an uncommon beauty and fragility, leading it to be recreated in the lab as a stronger composite that withstands more stress.

How to Use a Bead Board

Make your designing life easier with bead boards. Learn the bead board types and how these tools are advantageous to the beginner as well as the high-producing professional.

Make Your Own Beads and Components

Every jewelry artist knows the bliss of taking designs from imagination to creation. Learn about the different products that allow you to create pieces of art.

Fun with French Wire

Looking for a versatile wire that can be used as a junction, spacer or even an abrasion shield in jewelry designs? French wire might be your solution!

Special Effects in Jewelry-Making Materials

The fire of the diamond, the play of colors in an opal, the shimmering asterisk in a star sapphire--these optical effects make gemstone materials even more beautiful. Read this article to learn about these fascinating effects.

Spacecore Jewelry

You'll love the celestial jewelry trend to the moon and back!

Craft Fair Preparation: Ready, Set, Sell!

A craft fair or craft show is a great venue to display your talents, meet customers and make money! Craft fairs are temporary settings to test the waters where you can reach your target audience. It's certainly less of a commitment than acquiring a permanent retail space and then deciding that venue isn't for you. Shows, fairs and bazaars are a wonderful place to interact with customers and other artists.

Learn the Flat Spiral Rope Seed Bead Stitch

Embark on your creative journey with seed beads today by mastering the fundamentals of the flat spiral rope seed bead stitch. Follow along with Rose in this step-by-step video tutorial.

Video Length 13:54

Watch Video

The Unlocked Mysteries of Jade:

Delve into the rich history and cultural significance of jade, highlighting its revered status in Chinese culture, its exceptional toughness, and its various forms, including jadeite and nephrite, as well as its widespread use in jewelry and carvings, with an emphasis on the importance of color, translucency, and texture in determining jade quality.

Bone Carving for Jewelry Designs

An ancient art form, bone carving continues to influence artists today. Do you know where this time-honored tradition derives from and how it's done today? You will now.

Regency Era Jewelry

Learn about the hottest fashions from the Regency era and how to translate them into jewelry designs.

Single-Strand Necklace

This vintage-inspired necklace showcases Czech pearl-coated glass druk beads gracefully suspended from a glass and stainless steel chain, for a classic appeal.

Design Idea QD2H

View Design

Categories

Tags

Learn