Candy's Jewelry Box

Coral Jewelry

2012-01-24T05:50:00.000-08:00

Coral or Precious Coral as it's sometimes called is not an actual stone as some may think, it's actually the skeletal branches of a marine coral species. That means the beautiful polished "stone" that many of us have in our jewelry box was actually a living breathing organism at one time, thriving and multiplying in earths vast and beautiful oceans. In my mind this makes coral just as special and unique as a luminous pearl. The skeleton of marine coral is naturally a pink or red hue however it can also range in hues of orange, brown and white. Precious coral is usually sold in it's natural hue not dyed only cut and polished. Non precious coral beads are usually a less rare species of coral or dyed stones that are found more commonly around the world like chalcedony and is usually the type of coral most people own. This season is the time to bring out those coral pieces especially if they are an orangery hue as orange is all the rave this season.

The above beaded necklace was made with coral barrel beads, Swarovski crystal bicone beads, clear seed beads, spacer beads, coral pendant,

Costume Jewelry: Rhinestone Rings

2011-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Rings have always been a staple in my collection, I love them big and flashy as well as small and conservative. I tend to buy more costume rings than precious metal rings because they are a lot cheaper which means you can add more to your collection. Flea markets are a great place to buy costume jewelry and rhinestone rings are always a popular selection, you can usually find nice size rhinestone rings of all colors and styles for under 5 dollars. I know many women think costume jewelry is cheaply made therefore it doesn't last long and not worth the money but that is not always the case. I've had costume jewelry pieces that have lasted for years and still as pretty as the day I bought them, its all about taking care of your jewelry no matter how cheap or expensive it is. Learning proper storing techniques will also increase the life of your jewelry and keep it looking sparkly. Also picking the best days for wearing your jewelry will help keep it like new. If its a very hot day silver tone jewelry especially rings are not your best bet, when you sweat it will cause the material to break down and eventually turn your finger green this is also true on rainy days or days when you want to go swimming. There are many ways to increase the life of your costume jewelry so you can keep them looking like new for years to come.

Glass and Crystal Beaded Bracelet

2011-05-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

I love working with glass and crystal I would guess the majority of my pieces of jewelry feature glass, crystal or both. Summer in my opinion is the best time of year to wear crystal or glass because once the jewelry catches a ray of sunlight it will sparkle and be very dazzling grabbing the attention of those around you. I guess you can say I love "bling" and anything that has a little sparkle or glitter so most of my beaded jewelry will reflect that. If one were to raid my bead collection they would be amazed at how many glass beads I own, foil lined glass beads dominate my glass collection followed by faceted and bicone crystal beads.
A lot of cheap costume jewelry that I have bought over the years are made with cheap plastic feeling fake glass beads that look nice but feel horrible so when I started recreating vintage style costume jewelry I wanted to keep the same look but use real glass and crystal beads and the results turned out to be very popular. Above is a picture of a bracelet I made with blue foil lined glass beads, light sapphire Swarovski crystal beads clear glass beads and foil lined seed beads.

Beaded Jewelry: Quartz

2011-05-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on earth it comes in many different varities, agate, rose quartz, amethyst, jasper, aventurine and onyx are a few popular varieties of Quartz. A lot of the beaded jewelry that I make and wear contain some type of quartz mineral. I love all types of gemstone jewelry but rose quartz is usually my go to stone, I like to wear pink all year long so I find alot of my beaded jewelry consist of rose quartz with some type of crystal bead or glass bead accent. One of my favorite pairs of dangle earrings that I made were rose quartz with pink glass pearl beads and pink rose Swarovski crystal bicones (pictured above) I wore these a lot last summer.

Good Lighting For Taking Pictures

2010-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

I have found that during the winter months my beaded jewelry pictures don't come out as vibrant and colorful because artificial light doesn't come close to natural sun light. During the late spring and summer months I find that I spend a lot of time beside my window trying to take advantage of the huge amount of light that comes through. Late mornings are usually the best for me because of where my room and window sit and I love every single ray. If your taking pictures of your beaded jewelry in the winter months one thing that helps me is of course putting my camera on macro mode and going to the room with the most light. My kitchen has a good light source and even though it's not as good as the sun I still manage to take nice pictures so I'm still happy. Now if only this snow will melt. The earrings above were made with aventurine stone, smokey topaz glass barrel beads, gold glass pearls and topaz Swarovski crystal bicone beads.

Costume Jewelry

2010-02-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

I think every women owns at least one piece of costume jewelry, it may even be a colorful rhinestone bracelet. Costume jewelry is so popular because its usually very affordable and often trendy. Vintage costume jewelry is considered treasure to jewelry collectors and often come at a hefty price. I've seen signed vintage pieces selling for well over 1,000 dollars and in antique world that's some what cheap. Many costume jewelry pieces are made with materials like lucite, glass, crystal, enamel and rhinestones. If you want a little edge to your outfit try adding a long triple wrapped strand of faux pearls. The necklace above was made with hematite round beads, howlite round beads, clear seed beads and white glass pearls.

Beaded Jewelry: Glass beads

2010-02-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Glass beads come in a range of different colors and sizes from faceted to foil lined, glass beads have been popular among beaded jewelry designers for many years. Whats not to love about them? They can add sparkle to anything they are strung on and for that reason they not only make great accents but also dazzling focal beads. Lamp work and foil lined beads are also very popular they can turn a dull bracelet into something unique and interesting. If your trying to make your beaded jewelry pieces pop try adding a few glass beads I'm sure you will be very pleased with the end result. The bracelet above was made with round jade stone, green foil lined glass button beads, round emerald green Swarovski crystal beads and opal Swarovski crystal bicone beads.

Gemstone of the week: Jasper

2010-02-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

Jasper is an opaque form of chalcedony that ranges in color from light to dark red to brown, green even blue. Jasper has been a popular stone for centuries and is even mentioned in the bible. the easily polished stone was used in ancient times for things likes tools, pottery and jewelry. Jasper is believed to be a protective stone guarding the wearer of negative energy. I would say green jasper is my favorite of the colors and I love the way they look dangling from my ears. No matter what kind of stone it is beaded jewelry will always be fun. The earrings above were made with round green jasper stone beads, round spacer beads and olivine Swarovski crystal bicone beads.

Monthly Birthstone: Amethyst

2010-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

Amethyst is a violet color quartz mineral that is commonly used as a birthstone for the month of February. Amethyst was used in ancient Greece as a prevention for drunkenness, The Greeks would go so far as to make cups out of the purple stone in hopes it would prevent them from becoming intoxicated. Amethyst was once as sought after as rubies, sapphire,emeralds and even diamonds. However an abundance of deposits have been found all over the world greatly decreasing the value of the stone. There are very rare forms of amethyst that are widely sought after like Deep Russian Amethyst, these types of amethyst are usually found among gem collectors who are lucky enough to find or buy the deposit. Whether your a collector, jewelry maker or someone who is lucky enough to have this beautiful mineral as your birthstone we can all agree that amethyst is a stone that will be popular for years to come.

Handmade Beaded Jewelry

2010-02-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

I started making handmade beaded jewelry two years ago and I really enjoy it. I love picking out new gemstones, crystal and pretty glass beads and the best part is when I get my package in the mail, it's almost like my own little treasure. The stones are the best mainly because every stone is different and unique and look beautiful on a necklace strand. Some of my favorite stones are citrine, amazonite, and Agate. I love citrine because it has a beautiful luster almost like tiny little specs of copper are shimmering throughout. amazonite is a very pretty stone the cool blue colored stone makes me feel like I'm on vacation on a white sandy beach gazing at crystal blue water, its a very relaxing stone. Agate is probably my favorite stone of all because it can range in a number of different colors tan, deep reds and oranges even different shades of blue. I have plenty pieces of beaded jewelry featuring these stones among others, if your looking for stunning pieces of beaded jewelry of all kinds you came to the right place! The earrings above were made with oval amazonite stones, blue glass barrel beads and light sapphire Swarovski bicone beads.

Diamond Heart Necklace

2009-01-02T04:47:00.000-08:00

Diamond heart necklaces have always been a classic piece, they are the perfect gift for Mothers day or even Valentines day. Candy's Jewelry Box has a beautiful collection of quality heart shaped necklaces.

Garnet Jewelry

2008-12-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Garnet is traditionally the gemstone for the month of January, Garnet stones come in a range of colors however the deep reddish stones are the most popular. Garnet is said to be a stone of Love, Passion and Romance bringing the wearer both energy and positive thoughts.

Buying Fine Jewelry Online

2008-12-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Buying fine jewelry online can be a wonderful experience, there are hundreds of reputable sites online that offer quality pieces at prices you may not find locally. If you research and do site comparisons I'm sure you will have a great time shopping for jewelry online.

There are a few thing you want to know when shopping for jewelry online and locally, I usually like to start at the four c's and that's carats, clarity, color and cut. In case you don't know what these terms are here is their definition.

Carat: Diamonds are weighed in carats usually the higher the carat weight the rarer the stone and higher the price tag. Gemstones are also weighed in carats but the price of a gemstone doesn't always go by carat but also by the type of Gemstone. For example a 1 carat Emerald would more then likely be more expensive then a 2 carat Citrine Stone that's because an Emerald is more rare then Citrine which is a quartz and quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on earth.

Clarity: The clarity of a Diamond or Gemstone can rage from flawless to inclusions noticeable to the naked eye. A flawless Diamond will carry a higher price tag then one with even minor inclusions because they are more rare.

FL = Flawless -- no internal or external inclusions of any kind visible under 10x magnification to a trained eye, the most rare and expensive of all clarity grades

IF = Internally Flawless -- no internal inclusions visible under 10x magnification to a trained eye, but there may be some tiny external irregularities in the finish

VVS-1 = Very Very Slightly Included 1 -- usually just one tiny inclusion visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification

VVS-2 = Very Very Slightly Included 2 -- tiny inclusions visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification

VS-1 = Very Slightly Included 1 -- very small inclusions visible with 10x magnification

VS-2 = Very Slightly Included 2 -- several very small inclusions visible with 10x magnification

SI-1 = Slightly Included 1 -- small inclusions visible with 10x magnification

SI-2 = Slightly Included 2 -- several small inclusions visible with 10x magnification

SI-3 = Slightly Included 3 -- inclusions that may be visible to the naked eye for a trained observed

I-1 = Included 1 -- flaws that are visible to the naked eye

I-2 = Included 2 -- many flaws clearly visible to the naked eye that also decrease the brilliance

I-3 = Included 3 -- many flaws clearly visible to the naked eye which decrease the brilliance and compromise the structure of the diamond, making it more easily cracked or chipped

Color: Diamonds are found in practically ever color of the rainbow however white Diamonds are still the most sought after. The color of a stone can rage from "D" completely colorless to "Z" a yellowish tint. This is another factor in the cost of a Diamond.

Cut: The cut of a Diamond tells you how reflective the stone is. A good cut Diamond will allow the ideal amount of light to reflected through the Diamond giving it brilliance.