Today I'm going to talk about just a few things that you can do with a small budget and create beautiful handcrafted jewelry.
Smaller Projects are Better
The first and probably most obvious suggestion is to simply design and create smaller jewelry designs. No, I'm not suggesting you create children's handmade jewelry; only that you scale down the types of projects you're doing. For example, you can create a beautiful pair of earrings that can compliment any outfit that you have in your closet.
The amount of supplies that you would need to create an ornate pair of earrings is significantly less than you would use for any bracelet or necklace piece you would create.
Mix up the Precious Metals
Any time the conversation of how to make jewelry that will stand out the most, inevitably the debate over which type of chain is better to create new jewelry designs with will begin. It should come as no surprise that silver and gold chains are the top two in the list of chains, however you should know that there is a myriad of other metal chains that are just as beautiful when complementing the handmade jewellery AND are significantly cheaper.
Some of the other types of metals that can be put to good use in your jewelry designs are:
1. Gunmetal - Gunmetal is a type of bronze, essentially a mix of copper and tin. It is a relatively inexpensive metal and can be perfect for some jewelry design.
2. Copper - Copper has been used for countless centuries as a staple of jewelry and decorative design. It is a unique metal since a lot of alloys are typically grayish or silver in color. What better way to add color to handcrafted jewelry?
3. Brass - Brass is yet another alloy that is a mix of copper and zinc. The unique properties of this metal vary depending on the ratio of zinc and copper, creating a fabulous metal for jewelry design.
4. Plated Gold - If you truly MUST have gold in your handcrafted jewelry, then perhaps a plated gold chain will help to ease the pain of an expensive gold chain. Plated gold is an item that is primarily a chain that is made from another metal typically copper or sometimes silver; but is then given a small deposit of gold on its exterior.
Draw Attention Using the Central Pieces
Another simple tip to creating budget friendly jewelry designs is to create your handmade jewellery with beautiful central pieces complementing them with the less dramatic beads or pieces such as seed beads in beaded jewelry. One really cool example that I can give is that of lampwork beads which are very beautiful and dominant beads.
Use the Expensive Jewelry Making Supplies, Only Less
Sometimes a jewelry design just needs to utilize pure silver or gold. In situations like this its dependant on your creativity to find a way to minimize how much needs to be used. As someone who likes solving problems and working on sudoku, I find it a fun challenge to try and make a piece work without having to use too much of the precious metals and to date have had great success at doing so.
Sead Beads - The Little Engine That Could in Beaded Jewelry
In learning how to make jewelry with beads, you will find out that the seed bead is a tremendously versatile jewelry making supply that is also very friendly on the budget conscious beader. In a project, you may choose to just use nothing but one color to minimize the extra beads in small amounts; or simply use different colors to add a depth and personality to a piece of beaded jewelry.
Jewellery making is a wonderful past time that can bring years of joy and visual pleasure in your life. Since almost no one can escape hard economic times it becomes important to begin integrating a bit of economic savvy in your jewelry design habits. Learning how to make jewelry on a budget can be done with great success and have jewelry pieces that are fabulous and beautiful as well and not break the bank.
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