How to Make Beautiful Jewelry

Making beautiful jewelry with a creative eye.

Beautiful jewelry is subjective, but if you make your designs using beads with a high degree of sparkle, your jewelry is sure to please. Select a combination of semiprecious beads and faceted crystals to create beautiful jewelry strands. Onyx, jade, quartz, turquoise and amethyst are examples of attractive semiprecious beads you can use to make jewelry. Polished semiprecious beads are available from specialty bead stores, craft stores and online jewelry suppliers.

Things You'll Need

• Soft monofilament line
• Tape measure
• Scissors
• Two 2-inch eye pins
• Jeweler’s glue
• 4mm faceted crystal beads
• Flat briolette top-drilled amethyst beads
• 2 bead cones
• Round nose pliers
• Side wire cutters
• Jump ring
• Clasp

Instructions

1. Cut a length of soft monofilament line 6 inches longer than the desired length of the jewelry, without the clasp. For example, if you're creating a 20 inch long necklace with a 1 inch long clasp cut a length of monofilament 25 inches long.

2. Tie the soft monofilament line around the metal circle on the eye pin, 3 inches from one end of the line. A double overhand knot is sufficient.

3. Thread 10 4mm faceted crystal beads over the open end of the monofilament, to the eye pin. Clear, AB or white crystal beads will work in this design, as will lavender, pink or deep purple. Make sure that the first few beads cover the main monofilament line and the tail line from the knot.

4. Thread one flat briolette top-drilled amethyst bead over the end of the line to the crystal beads. Any type or style of semi-precious bead will work with this design, as long as it is top drilled. Top drilled beads have horizontal holes through the top of the bead. This allows the bead to drop below the jewelry strand.

5. Thread three 4mm faceted crystal beads onto the line. Slide the beads to meet the amethyst bead. Slide another amethyst bead behind the crystals. Repeat this pattern, three crystals followed by a semi-precious bead, until the jewelry strand is complete. Remember to stop adding beads 3 inches from the end of the line.

6. Tie the open end of the line to the metal circle on the remaining eye pin in a double overhand knot. Cover both knots in the jewelry design with jeweler’s glue. Let the glue dry.

7. Thread the wide end of the jewelry cone over the straight end of the eye pin to the metal circle on the eye pin. The cone will cover the knot and several 4mm beads at the end of the strand.

8. Hold the eye pin as it exits the cone with round nose pliers. Bend the eye pin at a 90 degree angle. Hold the angle steady with the pliers as you press the end of the eye pin down on top of the pliers to make a loop. Wrap the eye pin wire around the base of the loop at the top of the cone. Cut the excess wire with side wire cutters.

9. Repeat Steps 7 and 8 to add a cone to the opposite end of the jewelry strand.

10. Open two jump rings with round nose pliers. Connect the clasp to the loop in the eye pin on each end of the strand with a jump ring. Close the jump rings.

References

• Making Jewelry: How to Use Bead Cones

Resources

• Fusion Beads: Simple Loop Technique