The Art of Creative Jewelry Design

I'm not going to bore you with an in depth analysis of the color wheel. The most important thing to remember are the three general approaches to jewelry design using the color wheel:

1. Monochromatic color schemes

This scheme basically uses different hues and tints of the same color. For example, your necklace would have different variations of the color blue. This color scheme tends to be sophisticated and a bit conservative.

2. Complimentary color schemes

This color scheme uses colors directly across from one another on the color wheel. For example, blue and orange. This adds a note of drama to your design and tends to attract attention.

3. Analogous color schemes

These use colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel which creates a sense of harmony in your jewelry design.

Which scheme is best? It all depends on the look you're trying to create and the message you're trying to send with your jewelry design.

I would advise looking through magazines and cutting out interesting color combinations that catch your eye. Make a scrapbook showing these color schemes so you can refer back to them when you create your jewelry.

Here's a good book on using color in jewelry design:

How to Use Color in Your Jewelry Designs

One thing I've learned through my many years of designing jewelry is you can find creative jewelry design inspiration almost anywhere. It's just a matter of learning to open your eyes and really see what's around you.

Do you walk outdoors for exercise? This is a perfect time to study nature and see what she has to offer in the way of design. You can find inspiration in leaves and nuts that you find lying on the ground or in the shape of a particular plant. One of the my favorite jewelry designs came from finding a small acorn. I had the rough top of the acorn cast in silver and used it as a bead cap.

Other sources of creative jewelry design inspiration are magazines, books, television shows (see what newscasters and celebrities are wearing). How can you alter an existing design a celebrity is wearing to make it more interesting?

Try gathering together a selection of jewelry components and beads, close your eyes, and randomly place them next to one another. Open your eyes. Does anything inspire you?

Think of a particular person in your own life or an actress on television. Close your eyes and imagine what custom jewelry design you would make for them that would express their individuality.

Think of a beautiful word or phrase and try to translate it into a piece of jewelry. For example, design a piece of jewelry around the word "enchantment". I'll be you can come up with something stunning for this one.

Make the environment around you conducive to creativity by sitting next to a large window and playing classical music. Surround yourself with art objects that you love from all time periods. Think of your design room as your refuge from the rest of the world where you can freely express your creative ideas.

Take classes to learn techniques for expressing your creativity. If you don't know how to do a particular jewelry design technique, you can't put your inner vision into practice.

Visit museums, preferably alone, so you can immerse your mind in the experience. Get ideas from arts and craft festivals and from street artists. Stretch your mind and design talents by making collages. This is a great way to remove barriers to creativity.

The point is there are sources of jewelry design creativity all around you. Learn to really SEE these sources and open your mind to them. You'll be rewarded with more jewelry design inspiration than you ever thought possible.

Beads are one of the most inspiring jewelry media you can use. They come in such an array of sizes, shapes, colors, and materials. They can take an ordinary design and transform them into something truly special. Take a peek at this wonderful selection of beads at great prices and then get inspired!