Good Lighting For Taking Pictures

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

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.

Gemstone of the week: Jasper

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

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.

Diamond Heart Necklace

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.

Buying Fine Jewelry Online

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.