How to Clean and Care for Beaded Jewelry

How to Clean and Care for Beaded Jewelry

Jan 20, 2022 | JEWELRY MAKING SUPPLIES

Jewelry isn’t just something you wear. Especially not when you create unique pieces via custom jewelry making supplies. Precious jewelry pieces become a part of who we are as we use them to accentuate our features and provide insight into ourselves, such as our favorite colors, animals, and themes. With such a role, your precious pieces of jewelry deserve to be well cared for. After all, the better you maintain your pieces, the longer you will get to enjoy them. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite tips for cleaning and caring for our beaded jewelry pieces.

How to Clean and Care for Beaded  Jewelry

  • Take regular care of your beaded jewelry- There are many ways to clean your beaded jewelry and we will discuss a few ways in the next pointers but you can avoid these cleaning tips and tricks by taking care of your jewelry on a day-to-day basis. Take off your jewelry before sleeping and give a quick wipe down to remove any settled dust or junk between the beads. Invest in a velvet-lined jewelry box that will protect your jewelry and limit the oxygen that gets to the beads.
  • Use toothpaste on silver but never gold or gems. As you browse online DIY tips for cleaning and caring for jewelry, you are apt to find toothpaste recommended as a good cheap cleaning material. Be cautious with this advice. A small dab of the most basic of toothpaste is great at removing the tarnish and gunk on some types of jewelry, most notably for any type of silver piece and some stone beads. Sterling silver beads and findings are thus a good choice for this technique. However, the same slight abrasive nature of toothpaste that makes it great for cleaning off tarnish makes it not so great at cleaning less hard pieces, such as softer gemstones or delicate cloisonne beads. For our customers who buy gold-filled beads online from us,  we recommend not to use toothpaste as it risks scratching and causing discoloration.
  • Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to apply mild soap and water or a jewelry-specific cleaning agent. In the end, the best technique to clean your beaded jewelry is going to be the boring technique. The technique doesn’t rely on tricks or finding odd items in your pantry to use. Rather, be patient and use a very mild soap and water mixture to clean your jewelry of any gunk and tarnishing. A soft-bristled toothbrush is best for applying this mixture and getting in angles and divots. Use a soft cloth rag as a final wipe-down.

When in Doubt, Take to a Professional

If the mild soap and water mixture isn’t getting your pieces properly sparkling, then you might want to consider taking them to a professional. An expert jeweler has the tools and know-how to get your pieces beautifully cleaned. And when it comes to making more pieces, don’t forget to visit our site for the best wholesale beads and jewelry supplies.

Beaded Jewelry Making Ideas for Beginners

Beaded Jewelry Making Ideas for Beginners

Jan 6, 2022 | Jewelry Making, JEWELRY MAKING SUPPLIES

Beading is one of the best starter crafts a person can get into — for many reasons. First, getting into bead making as a hobby is relatively inexpensive thanks to the ability to shop around and buy jewelry making supplies online at good prices. This makes it possible to start making beautiful pieces without a big initial investment. The other reason why bead jewelry making is so great for newcomers to jewelry making, in general, is because of how much you can customize your pieces to be exactly what you want them to be.

So, now that you have decided you want to get into bead jewelry making, let’s take a look at some other key ideas that will help you hit the ground running:

Starting Ideas for Bead Jewelry Making for Beginners

  • Wire-wrapped beaded chain necklace or choker. The basic wire necklace or choker is one of the best pieces of jewelry that a beginner can make. Here, you start with a piece of wire and your favorite alphabet letter beads or sterling silver beads and start putting the beads on that wire in your own desired pattern. You can also use a spinning beader to make the process go faster (although that makes it harder to personalize the pattern).
  • Earrings with beaded tassels. Earrings are a wonderful beginner project because of how small they are. This is one that won’t require a ton of beading tools and supplies or your time, making it possible to really experiment with different looks and methods.
  • A beaded circle necklace pendant. A beaded circle necklace pendant is one of those things that you can do really simply, or go all out extravagant. As such, this type of jewelry piece is ideal for beginners as you can experiment and slowly hone your skills with each new rendition. A good place to start is with a simple wire circle on which you thread your favorite stone beads.
  • Beaded ladder stitch bracelet. This one will require a bit more time and patience than most of the other beded jewelry on this list, but the finished look is well worth your effort! This is a chunky beaded bracelet that features multiple thin weaves of beads in which the maker creates a repeating pattern. It has a fantastic end look that really accentuated many different fashion styles, and so it is also a good choice for gift-giving.

Visit Our Online Store for More Information & Supplies

Are you eager for more top bead making ideas? Or maybe you need some new beading tools and supplies in order to get started? In either case and more, our team at Crystal Findings is here to help. Visit our website today for more jewelry-making tips and to get the best prices on new beads and beading equipment.