DIY: bridal (or not) jewelery

I love Etsy.

I love it for many reasons, but today, I'm referring specifically to my love of their Supplies category. Every supply you could ever want for any project can be found there. Or, at least, I have yet to think of something that I can't find there.

This has allowed me to become much craftier than I was in the past. Given the limited resources in a small town, the best choices I had for jewelery supplies was Wal-Mart or Michaels (which we only got in our city within the last 4 years). Other than that, I was forced to buy pre-made jewelery from the mall (which was never very original or unique) or from independent boutiques (which ended up costing an arm and a leg).

Then I found Etsy. *Swoon*. It has allowed me to create an endless amount of entirely unique pieces of jewelery and I love that. I have a ridiculous amount of earrings now and my necklace collection is quickly rising.

So when it came to wedding jewelery, Etsy was an obvious choice. I've been making wedding jewelery for almost the entirety of our engagement and although I still have yet to make a final decision, I have tons of options.

I think a lot of people hesitate to make their own jewelery as they think it'll either look homemade, that it won't be as nice as stuff they could buy, or that it won't last. But I'm here to tell you, that's bull.

Case in point, my options for wedding jewelery, which were all made by me usually for under $10 and within 1 or 2 hours.


The supplies for everything above were found on Etsy. And in prep for this post, I looked into my Etsy transaction history to discover that the total cost for everything I made works out to around $25. And I still have left overs from most of these projects since I purchased more beads/wire/chain than I needed.

I was never much of a jewelery worker. My DIY projects mainly consisted of felt, fabric or painting. But since Etsy came along, I've been able to save a ridiculous amount of money on accessories. Tutorials for practically any kind of jewelery making are available online like one my favorites for wire wrapping briolettes which I used in the creation of the necklace and the pearl earrings.

Seriously, try it. If you can't find what you want for the wedding or otherwise, try making it before you pick something else. I know it's cliche, but if I can do it, so can you. No joke.


In case you're a serious go-getter, I've included links to some of my favorite supply stores on Etsy below. Check them out, you'll be amazed at the difference between the cost of the supplies and what most people charge for complete pieces.

SilverCityBeads - reasonably priced an great quality wire
FabBeads - tons of silver, bronze, and pewter findings
Beadsupplies - colorful cabochons and other findings
beadoutlet - beads of every color, size, shape
EverLuxe - modern and pretty white/yellow gold plated findings (shop where the branch from my necklace and earrings posts came from)
Beadaholique - tons of Swarovski stuff and a little bit of the best