Essential Resources

5 Tips to Make Budget-Friendly Jewelry

Learn 5 practical tips for making beautiful, budget-friendly gemstone jewelry—perfect for designers who want to create accessible pieces their customers will love.

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How to Create Jump Ring Jewelry

Discover fresh, modern ways to create stylish jewelry using versatile jump rings in this inspiring how-to video.

Video Length 12:28

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Tarnish Prevention & Removal Tips

Discover how to prevent tarnish and safely clean precious metal, plated and patinated jewelry in this helpful guide.

Moonstone, Pink/Peach

Discover the history, meaning and unique beauty of pink and peach moonstone—from its ancient associations with love and intuition to its gentle shimmer and design potential in modern jewelry-making.

Turquoise, African

Explore the vibrant, grounding beauty of African "Turquoise"—a jasper celebrated for its turquoise-like patterns and transformative energy.

Jasper, Dragon Blood

Dragon blood jasper, thought by some to impart courage to its wearer, may help you face the "dragons" in your life.

Symbols in Jewelry from Every Continent

From ancient amulets to modern designs, jewelry carries history in every piece. Explore how a selection of global symbols shapes the jewelry we wear today.

Hidden Gems: Designing with Rhinestones

Explore the beauty and versatility of rhinestones as a stylish and creative choice for jewelry designs, offering a brilliant alternative to faceted gems.

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Quartz, Rutilated

Discover rutilated quartz, a stunning quartz variety with golden or silver rutile inclusions, known for its energy-amplifying and clarity-enhancing properties.

Agate, Red

Discover the rich history and symbolism of lustrous, warm red agate, and find inspiring design ideas to incorporate this timeless gem into your creations.

Hidden Gems: Designing with Cubic Zirconia

Discover the versatility of cubic zirconia (CZ) as a stylish, practical choice for jewelry design, offering endless creative possibilities and rivaling the look of gemstones like amethyst, garnet and citrine.

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Jasper, Sesame

Discover the intriguing history and unique beauty of sesame jasper, a stone with striking speckles and earthy tones—perfect for bold, natural jewelry designs.

Wire Pliers

Banding, mandrel and other specialty pliers can make wireworking faster, smoother and more efficient. Read on to see how each pair has its own purpose.

White Out! Embracing the White Trend in Jewelry

Explore the timeless elegance and versatility of the white trend in jewelry, offering endless design possibilities for DIY jewelry makers, from minimalist to bold statement pieces.

Hematite

Hematite is more than just a striking stone. Learn about its rich history, from cave paintings to medicine, its geological properties and its healing powers.

PANTONE® 2025 Color of the Year: Mocha Mousse

Discover Pantone's 2025 color choice, a warm and inviting brown hue that delights with its rich, nurturing qualities, evoking the essence of chocolate and coffee.

Embrace the Future with WGSN and Coloro's Colors of the Year

In collaboration with Coloro, a leader in color technology, WGSN has announced the Colors of the Year for 2025 and 2026.

Create Quick and Easy Jewelry Gifts with Almost Instant Jewelry®

Watch the video to see how you can easily create meaningful gifts with Almost Instant Jewelry ® settings.

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Topaz, White

Sparkling white topaz is used equally well as a centerpiece or accent in jewelry designs. Read on to learn more about this beautiful and adaptable gemstone.

Obsidian, Rainbow

Rainbow obsidian is a subtle gemstone, only showing its colors in bright light. Learn more about the history and properties of this volcanic glass.

Opal, Dendritic

Dendritic opal has the luminous allure of common opal with the tree-like inclusions of moss agate and is believed to promote spiritual growth.

The Meditative Art of Bead Mosaics: A Path to Creativity and Calm

Learn how bead mosaics are more than just an art form, they’re an experience for both the mind and body, providing peace and relaxation.

Angels Among Us

Create angelic jewelry full of meaning. Discover how a simple design can offer hope, comfort and love with Kristal Wick's inspiring Awareness Angel Earrings.

Honoring Frank Schofield

Learn how Chris’ family creatively honored the passing of her son-in-law through Eternal Reefs.

Breast Cancer Awareness

Jewelry designers and beading artists can raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. Here are five popular ways to pitch in.

Obsidian, Black

Discover the history and properties of black obsidian, from ancient tools to modern jewelry. Learn how this volcanic glass has shaped cultures and design

Jet Black Jewels

Explore the current trend of black gemstones in jewelry for a jet-black jeweled look.

Make Gifts with Resin & Molds

When thinking of gift giving, what better show your love with handmade personal gifts. And because you can make several items with resin, you can go easy on your pocketbook!

Video Length 10:29

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How to Be Inspired By (but not copy) Jewelry

Here’s a helpful guide and examples for jewelry makers on finding design inspiration without copying.

6 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid When Using Resin

Join Elaine to learn about 6 rookie mistakes to avoid when using resin, including accurate measuring, thorough mixing and more.

Video Length 3:36

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Garnet, Tsavorite

Explore the captivating journey of tsavorite—from its geological origins and rich metaphysical symbolism to its exquisite use in modern jewelry design.

4 Tools to Save Your Hands and Eyesight

Discover 4 must-have tools to save your hands and eyesight in DIY jewelry making.

Video Length 4:28

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Commedia Dell'arte

Discover how Commedia dell'Arte and Carnevale shape today's fashion. Infuse this historic flair into your jewelry designs!

How to Create a Wire Woven Pendant Using the "Baby" Jewel Loom®

Enhance your jewelry-making skills with this step-by-step tutorial on using the Beadalon® “Baby” Jewel Loom® to create a charming necklace.

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Fine Silver

Fine silver is a high-purity form of silver, consisting of 99.9% pure silver, often denoted as .999 or 999. This means it contains only a minimal amount of impurities, typically 0.1% or less. Fine silver is known for its lustrous white appearance and high reflectivity, making it a popular choice for high-quality jewelry, coins and investment-grade bullion.

Brick Stitch

A popular bead weaving technique in jewelry making, brick stitch involves adding beads in an offset pattern to create a flat, tightly woven fabric. This stitch resembles the layout of bricks in a wall, where each bead is positioned between two beads in the previous row. Brick stitch is versatile and can be used to create intricate patterns, shapes, and designs in bracelets, earrings, pendants and other beaded jewelry pieces. It is known for its durability and the ability to form both geometric and freeform designs.

Matching Gemstones to Eye Color

Match your eye color with gemstones: aquamarine for blue, jade for green, and topaz for brown. Explore our curated or full collection to create your perfect piece.

Tension (or Stop) Bead

A tension bead (or stopper bead) holds your work in place. To make one, string a bead larger than those you are working with, then pass through the bead one or more times, making sure not to split your thread. The bead will be able to slide along but will still provide tension to work against when you're beading the first two rows.

Stringing

A technique in which beads are gathered on a strand. Beading wire, needle and thread and other materials are used for stringing.

Learn the Dot Stitch

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

Video Length 4:55

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The History of Glass Beads

Discover the history of glass bead making, with roots in Ancient Rome and evolving through innovative techniques spurred by the advent of industrialization.

Tubular Herringbone Stitch

Begin with a foundation row of ladder stitch. Join the ends together to form a tube. String 2 beads. Pass down through the next bead and up through the bead after it. Repeat around the tube. At the end of the round, pass through the first beads of the previous and current rounds to step up to the new round.

Netting (Single Thread)

Begin by stringing a base row of 13 beads. String 5 beads and go back through the fifth bead from the end of the base row. String another 5 beads, skip 3 beads of the base row, and go back through the next. Repeat to the end of the row, passing through the fifth, fourth, and third beads of those just strung and exiting from the third. Turn the work over and go back across the same way.

How-To: Single Strand Slider Bracelet

Join Caitlyn of Busy Beader as Elaine shows how to make a slide-clasp knot closure for stylish bracelets.

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Pass Through vs. Pass Back Through

Pass through means to move your needle in the same direction that the beads have been strung. Pass back through means to move your needle in the opposite direction.

Flat Herringbone Stitch

Begin with a foundation row of even-count ladder stitch. String 2 beads, pass down through the second to last bead in the ladder, and up through the next bead. String 2 beads, pass down the next bead and then up through the following. Repeat to the end of the row. To end the row, pass back through the last bead strung. To begin the next row, string 2 beads and pass down through the second to last bead of the previous row. Repeat, stringing 2 beads per stitch and passing down then up through two beads of the previous row. The 2-bead stitch will cause the beads to angle-up in each row, like a herringbone fabric.

Tubular Peyote Stitch

String an even number of beads and make a foundation circle by passing through them two more times, exiting from the first bead strung. String 1 bead and pass through the third bead of the foundation circle. String 1 bead and pass through the fifth bead of the foundation circle. Continue adding 1 bead at a time, skipping over 1 bead of the first round, until you have added half the number of beads of the first round. Exit from the first bead of the second round. String1 bead, pass through the second bead added in the second round and pull thread tight. String 1 bead and pass through the third bead added in the second round. Continue around, filling in the ''spaces'' 1 bead at a time. Exit from the first bead added in each round.

Ladder Stitch

Using two needles, one threaded on each end of the thread, pass one needle through one or more beads from left to right and pass the other needle through the same beads from right to left. Continue adding beads by crisscrossing both needles through one bead at a time. Use this stitch to make strings of beads or as the foundation for brick stitch. For a single-needle ladder, string 2 beads and pass through them again. String 1 bead. Pass through the last stitched bead and the one just strung. Repeat, adding one bead at a time and working in a figure-eight pattern.

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