How to create new Jewels

 I wanted to showcase how I actually come up with some of my creations. Some things are meticulous planned, drawn out, and then created. Other things are on a whim. I see a lovely jeweled scrap, and decide to plan a piece of jewelry around it.

This is an example of what my "scrap" bin looks like. When you start letting everyone around you know that you'll take old, discarded, broken jewelry, you'll start accumulating some really great stuff that you can take apart, dismantle, rearrange, and make something unique out of.

Many of these were cheap jewelry purchases made by myself. Some of the earrings were simply too heavy for me to wear.

These are some of the items I ended up selecting. My plan was to make a bracelet that matches with an existing jewelry set I made about a year ago. I selected one of my "map of California" cabochons, which is simply a map glued underneath a glass flat back marble. I chose some lengths of rhinestones, some brass bird charms, some chain from an ankle bracelet, and some little black and gold charms that were from a pair of vintage earrings. I also knew I'd be using a lot of beads, so I've got my pearls and glass beads out as well.

I cut a piece of felt that is the length of how long I want my bracelet. This one is about 7 inches, which is a standard wrist size. I glued the cabochon and birds down in the middle of the bracelet, since I want those to be the centerpoint of the bracelet. I also took my rhinestone scraps and glued them around the central cabochon. I use E6000 contact cement in clear.

Once the glue was dry, I hand stitched the little black/gold charms and the decorative chain down. Interestingly, I used some nail polish remover and removed some of the black paint from the charms. They were much more interesting when I could see more of their fine detail.

I should have taken some more shots before this, but this is after I have hand stitched all the beads onto the bracelet. I like things to be symmetrical (both horizontally and vertically) on a bracelet, so what I put on one side will go on the other. I did use some glue underneath some of the larger beads, while also sewing them down. Since I am using a sewing needle and thread, I am limited to a certain extent to what beads I use, because they need to fit over the sewing needle itself.

Once the bracelet has everything on it that you like, you're going to trim around the bracelet with scissors, to get rid of the extra felt. I also like to glue another layer of felt on, then trim that too.

I added a lobster claw clasp to the bracelet. These types of bracelets are going to be more fragile than not, and should not be worn if you are to be doing any active or messy activities. That's not to say you can't wear and enjoy it, and if a bead does get lost, it's easy to sew a new one in its place. As with any jewelry piece, your jewels will last much longer if you do not sleep or bathe in them.

Jewelry Sets

I absolutely love matching jewelry sets. Every royal family in the past and present have had matching sets of diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and more. Not only do I collect jewelry, I obviously make it too, and I LOVE to match all my sets together.

These are some beautifully matching sets (or parures) from my own private collection that I have made over the last 4 years.

A set I made from beautifully jeweled stars from a collection of J.Crew jewelry, consisting of a necklace of 5 large stars, and a bracelet consisting of 7 small stars. I disassembled both, and made matching earrings, brooch, necklace and tiara. Just missing a bracelet and a ring, which are probably my least favorite items of jewelry to wear anyways!

My wedding set! Made from titanium coated quartz crystals and large crystal pink teardrops, this set is made up of a tiara, earrings, necklace, brooch, and a bracelet (I didn't make the bracelet).

This is a set I made for an employee art show at my workplace about a year ago. This is an almost complete set consisting of a tiara, brooch, necklace, ring, and earrings. I had a matching bracelet, but I lost it one day on the bus! I think one of my current art projects is to make a new bracelet that matches the set, and maybe a hair comb as well.

My most recent set, inspired by my visit to Oahu and the Big Island of Hawai'i back in August. The set is made from velvet seeds, pearls, urchin spines, and most amazingly, resin cabochons that contain little treasures of things I found on beaches. This set has tiny detail, and it much more toned down compared to the other sets. No dangly earrings or full tiara here. The set includes a hair comb, button earrings, brooch, necklace, 2 rings, and a bracelet.

Brooches and Beyond!

In addition to hair accessories, which I will always love, I have decided to expand my line to include brooches and necklaces. This is what I have come up with in the last couple of weeks:

Necklaces made with faux aurora druzy quartz cabochons, faux pearls, rhinestones, crystals. Everything is hand stitched to felt, and then chain is attached.

A nice Pisces fish brooch, complete with crystals, polymer clay cabochon mokume gane, brass fish charms.

My David Bowie tribute pieces. Here is Ziggy Stardust putting on his makeup.

I used various images of Bowie from the 1970s. I did faux distressed textures, sepia tone, and even some lyrics from Blackstar, typed in my favorite font of all time, Omikron.

This one is a pendant for a necklace, made with elongated mother-of-pearl beads.

This one uses real large pearls and aurora borealis rhinestones.

And some more classical ones, with a pink druzy quartz cabochon.

Moondust Jewels will be going away soon!

Hello Everyone!

For anyone that has purchased items from my store or been a reader of my blog, you know full well that for the last year and a half, I have not really updated my Etsy shop and I haven't done any new posts on here.

I think Moondust Jewels has moved in another direction, and I want some time to get my new look, and my new jewelry style out there. My shop will be closing in a few months' time, and I want to completely get rid of my old stock and replace with all new creations sometime in the future. As to how long my shop will be closed, I am not sure! However long it takes me to make all new works that I am happy with, which could easily be 6 months or more from now.

Please visit my shop and see if there's any items you take a liking to! They are all 50% or more off of my original listed prices. A real steal!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MoondustJewels85

And the rest!

Regal Tiara

These are the final two designs I have completed this summer. I've been neglecting my favorite thing all year because of my job: making art. So, I'm back, and hopefully I can try to update more often and make designs more frequently. The only thing that makes me happier than art are animals.

This tiara is another I made from a necklace I never wore. The necklace was an attractive enough design, but I knew it would look better as a spike style tiara. I attached the necklace to a tiara frame, added a row of purple rhinestones, and wired in a metallic gold pipe cleaner for reinforcement.

Reine d'Argent Tiara

I actually made this tiara a while ago, but couldn't decided if I wanted to list it, then it got put into the back of my mind. As always, an elfin-inspired design, the tiara is very attractive when worn.

Onyx Crystal Tiara

Finally, I wanted to try out petite tiara designs using metal combs and crystals. This is just a start, but it's very simple and elegant, and adds a subtle touch of sparkle to your hair.

Wedding Tiaras

 I like the theme of wedding tiaras because the designs can be so elegant. I don't ever approach a tiara design with the thought in mind that it is meant for a bride. Rather, I think up designs, make it, and if it looks like a bridal tiara, then I market it as that. Simple. That reminds me of Maurice Sendak's interview with Stephen Colbert, where he said that he wrote and illustrated books, and then people told him, "that's for kids," and he was like, "ok!"

I just want to create what makes me happy.

Royal Princess Bridal Tiara

The Royal Princess Bridal Tiara is based from a beautiful vintage necklace that is covered with aurora borealis pale yellow rhinestones. I bought the necklace with a tiara in mind, so I never actually wore it. The trick was how to attach it to a tiara frame. I added pearls to the design, and the final result is so elegant and beautiful, it seems like a perfect bridal tiara.

Pearl and Rose Bandeau

I made this design after finding at a thrift store some creamy-colored ribbon that had little roses sewn onto it. I kept having it in mind as a design for a tiara, and couldn't come up with anything for awhile. I then realized I could make a bandeau or headband style of tiara, and use the ribbon. I added rows of pearls on either side of the ribbon. A very simple headband, but also very elegant.

Silver Pony Cake Hat

This final piece is a work of art! I've been working on the Silver Pony Cake Hat for over a month now. I love My Little Ponies and things spray painted gold or silver, so it is a match made in heaven. I handmade the top hat form out of cardboard, then started attaching My Little Ponies, knock-off My Little Ponies, random costume jewelry, and other findings for variety and texture. The entire thing is spray painted silver and I attached a comb to the bottom so that it stays in your hair. A heavy piece, not to be taken lightly!

Make-Your-Own Tiara Kits

I've had the idea for a while to sell DIY tiara kits, it just took me a while to figure out the logistics of it. I finally found an online supplier of wire tiara combs, and I've decided to use foam for the tiaras. The marketed age group for these tiaras is 5-10 years old.

Each Kit makes 5 tiaras, and includes the following:

Purchase your own Make-Your-Own Tiara Kits

Each kit has 5 bags, with each bag containing:

• 1 hair comb (w/added wire fittings for the foam tiara to fit into)

• 1 piece of foam (choose from pink, yellow, or a mix of pink and yellow)
• 4 stick-on foam glitter stars
• 3 silver star sequins
• 4 round rhinestones
• 1 heart rhinestone
• 1 strip sequins
• 1 stick-on silver Ferido rhinestone
• 2 strips stick-on rhinestones
• 4 sparkly beads

• 1 package of gold glitter is also included with each kit

All you need is:

• Scissors

• Glue (hot glue or school glue will work; you'll just have to wait for the school glue to dry if you choose this option)

++PLEASE HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHEN USING SCISSORS AND HOT GLUE++

Directions:

1. Fold your rectangle of foam in half "hamburger style."

2. Draw out half of your tiara design, making sure that the tall part of the design is on the crease line.

3. Carefully cut out the pattern drawn and unfold the foam.

4. Decorate your tiara - half of the items are self-stick, the other half will need to be glued down.

5. Now to attach the tiara to the comb.

Simply fit the ends of the tiara in between the two wire loops on each side of the comb. Gently pinch the loops together to secure the tiara. You could even add some glue to the backside of the loop and tiara at this point so that the tiara does not comb off the comb.

Secure the tiara to both sides of the comb.

6. You have your own custom made tiara. Congratulations!

Different examples of tiaras that can be made from each bag of tiara goodies. I have included more goodies in each bag than will probably be used on each tiara, but it will allow for more variation and choice in design.

Ruby Red Tiaras

 Red seems to be a hot seller, I think mostly because of Alice in Wonderland's two red queens, The Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, and the Red Queen in Through the Looking Glass. Red is also just a great happy color!

Red Rhinestone Diadem

Not only to I make jewelry, I also love to buy jewelry. On one such visit to a department store, I stumbled across a clearance jewelry section, and found this awesome red rhinestone necklace. I wore it several times, but it was just screaming "tiara" at me, so I finally put my plan into action. I took the necklace apart, which was made up of various rhinestone pendants, and put them back together into a graduated tiara shape. The final tiara looks a lot like the Russian kokoshnik form popular at the turn of the century. To finish off the piece, I added rows of red rhinestones to the top and bottom of the tiara frame.

Ruby Elf Tiara

I found a great sale recently at my favorite supply store, with items up to 90% off. That meant a score for me, since I don't have to worry about breaking the bank on supplies I don't have immediate plans for. One of the items I found was a sparkling red oak leaf sort of craft sprig. I used this as the basis for the tiara, and added red rhinestone beads to the piece. This piece really could be worn anywhere, it's not too large and adds some sparkle into a dreary day.

Red Queen Diadem

This tiara was an experiment of sorts. I tried to make a tall crown shape using glittery red craft twigs. Each one is in a vague heart shape, referencing the Queen of Hearts. I used some black netting behind the twigs to add some mystery and glamor, and a row of black rhinestones is at the base of the tiara.

Woodland Tiaras

Juniper Tiara

Woodland tiaras are always in style, and they are usually simple enough that you can wear them anywhere. Here are some of my new woodland tiara styles.

Ocean Flora Tiara

This one is more of a mermaid tiara than a woodland tiara. The sparkling green and the bright turquoise sequins make it a bit more flashy. It has a very attractive asymmetrical shape to it.

Frosty Woodland Tiara

A simple frosty leaf tiara.

Woodland Winter Faun Tiara

My first woodland faun tiara. I made horns out of glittery white polymer clay, and interspersed frosty winter branches on the tiara. Also asymmetrical in design.

Woodland Queen Tiara

This is more of an elfin queen tiara, with upright glittery velvet leaves and sparkling gold berries.

Bird's Nest Tiara

And this is a super adorable tiara! I've been wanting to use the golden bird for a long time, but couldn't come up with a design for it. For this tiara, I made a nest out of glittery brown twigs and leaves, and juniper branches. I suppose it's really more of a hat or fascinator than a tiara.

Also, you may notice that my portraits look better than they usually do. This is because I employed my husband to take my pics, no selfie shots this round!