Do you enjoy making jewelry at home? It’s a fun project that anyone can do, and it’ll help you create unique pieces to match your personality. But, sometimes, it’s challenging to think of new and fun designs, ultimately causing an artist’s block.
Luckily, there are plenty of jewelry-making ideas available to kickstart your creative brainstorming!
Keep reading to look at some ideas and try them out for your next jewelry-related project!
Necklace Making Ideas
1. Crystal Necklace
You can find plenty of beautiful crystals out there to make into jewelry. And they each have different meanings. There’s a crystal for whatever you need, whether you’re looking for positivity, wealth, luck, peace, or something else. This is why people often call them healing crystals.
But even if you aren’t necessarily looking for something, crystals can make gorgeous additions to your jewelry collection. Making a crystal necklace is easy, as you’ll only need crystal shards, craft wire, and a jewelry chain kit. The result of this jewelry-making idea is simple yet beautiful. And it’ll add an Earthy, natural feeling to all your outfits.
Who knows? Maybe the good energy that emits from your chosen crystal will work!
2. Cage Pendant Necklace
Do you have something you want to display within a piece of jewelry? Maybe it’s a beautiful bead, an essential oil-covered lava bead, or even a crystal. A cage pendant necklace is the perfect way to keep your special piece safe while displaying it!
This jewelry-making idea uses simple beading cages to create unique and stunning pendants. Your selected piece will sit inside the cage and gently dangle from a chain or other necklace material.
One of the best parts of this necklace is that you can interchange the pieces inside the cage. All you need to do is gently stretch it open to get your pieces in or out!
3. Simple Charm Necklace
Necklaces don’t always need to be bold or use large pendants. Maybe you don’t want to draw attention away from your outfit, or you just like minimalist pieces. So, a simple and easy jewelry-making idea would be to make a charm necklace!
These types of necklaces use a single charm and a chain material of your choice. They’ll offer an elegant, dainty look that will pair well with whatever you’re wearing.
A charm necklace is also the perfect piece to layer with other necklaces you may have. Try pairing it with beaded necklaces, plain chains, or even another charm necklace!
4. Cowrie Shell Necklace
Do you love the beach and the happy vibes that come along with it? Then a cowrie shell necklace might be the jewelry-making idea for you!
Cowrie shells can help you create a beachy and casual necklace that’ll make the perfect summertime accessory. Or you can wear it all year long for some happy beach vibes!
These types of shells are either protectively coated or synthetically made for jewelry purposes. But cowries are real sea creatures! They’re tropical snails that live in varying water depths in places like Hawaii and Australia.
The shells come in many colors and patterns, which is why they make beautiful jewelry additions.
5. Minimalist Beaded Necklace
A minimalist beaded necklace is another choice if you like simplicity. These use tiny seed beads to create thin pieces of jewelry that can be everyday staple pieces. It’s a jewelry-making idea that will offer a dainty look and is another excellent option for layering.
You can use all one color or pick a color combination that catches your eye. It might even be fun to make multiple necklaces at once to have something for every outfit.
The process isn’t time-consuming, as you’re just stringing beads. So, you can easily get a few done within an hour!
Bracelet Making Ideas
6. Friendship Bracelet
You’re probably familiar with friendship bracelets from your childhood, as they’re popular among kids. But you don’t need to be a kid to make them. And they don’t necessarily need to be for friendship!
You can still make beautiful, intricate designs with a grown-up vibe. And luckily, your materials list is short, as all you need is embroidery floss!
Friendship bracelets are a jewelry-making idea that can be a little time-consuming to make. But you’ll love the final result.
There are plenty of designs to try out and an endless color palette. Just pick some colors that you like and start knotting a bracelet together!
Some color options could be neutrals, pastels, or multiple shades of one color. Chevron, striped, or a twisted style are cool designs to try!
7. Beaded Charm Bracelet
Creating a beaded charm bracelet is a nice way to incorporate expressive charms without going overboard.
Charm bracelets can often be noisy and get caught on materials. This is due to the multiple protruding beads they have. But a quieter and more minimalist way to make these bracelets is with a single charm and round beads.
The combination of a charm and beads will create a trendy and beautiful design that you can wear with anything. And the creation process is a breeze! All you need to do is string half your beads, add a charm, and string the other half of beads. Try to pick a unique charm that speaks to you to make it special.
This jewelry-making idea might even be an excellent personalized gift idea for loved ones!
8. Minimalist String Bracelet
If you’re more of a minimalist when it comes to jewelry, a string bracelet is probably more your style. They often use soft materials and display a small charm, whether it be your initial or just something you like.
Satin cord is often a great choice for this jewelry-making idea. It won’t irritate your skin and has a pretty sheen.
A bracelet like this will take minutes, and you won’t need hardware to close it. Tie it in a knot, and you’ll be on your way! This effortless closure will allow you to easily adjust the tightness of your bracelet.
9. Crystal Bracelet
If you don’t want a crystal necklace, what about a crystal bracelet? You can use crystal beads like agate, amethyst, hematite, and more to make the perfect bracelet!
Find out what each crystal represents and adapt your bracelet based on those meanings. You can use a single type of crystal or combine a bunch of them for the ultimate positivity combination.
Even if you don’t necessarily believe in crystals, you can choose beads solely on their beauty. This jewelry-making idea is easy, and the results are stunning.
10. Braided Bracelet
A braided bracelet can make a nice casual, everyday accessory. Braiding is a fun thing to do, and it’s easy to learn if you don’t know how to do it. So, it’s a good jewelry-making idea for beginning jewelry makers and professionals alike.
These jewelry pieces aren’t limited to one type of material, so your design options are endless. But, if you want something strong and durable, using some paracord is the best way to go. It’s waterproof due to its use of nylon, so you can wear it in any weather and any situation.
11. Chunky Beaded Bracelet
Making a chunky beaded bracelet is the perfect way to add a funky flair to your jewelry-making. Using uneven rock-like beads helps to create pretty, Earthy bracelets due to the beads’ naturally chunky designs. These types of beads almost look like shiny pieces of gravel!
Keep in mind that you might want to use elastic string for this type of jewelry-making idea. While the beads have a smooth texture, you don’t want them pressing into your skin. Using elastic string will allow the bracelet to stay snug without irritating your skin.
Earring Making Ideas
12. Macrame Earrings
You might be familiar with macrame relating to hanging plants and wall art designs. But you can also use this technique when making jewelry!
Macrame earrings are the best way to do this due to their dangling nature. They’ll use small pieces of knotted cotton rope to make wearable boho-chic pieces. Your design options are endless with this technique!
Cotton rope comes in many colors, with white or cream being the most popular options. This is due to cotton’s natural color. But there are stunning dyed options if you want a pop of color for this jewelry-making idea.
13. Beaded Hoop Earrings
Some hoop earrings can help dress up any outfit, but they can be a little plain. So, adding some colorful wooden beads is a great way to improve their look!
Beaded hoop earrings are an excellent jewelry-making idea that allows you to create some pretty patterns. Just add your wooden beads to the earring hoops and wear these beauties to your next outing!
The wooden texture will look nice with anything and will create stunningly unique jewelry pieces. Try playing with different-sized beads and colors for the ultimate eye-catching look!
Wooden beaded earrings are good options for those who hate the feeling of heavy earrings. Hoops filled with metal or crystal earrings can put quite a bit of strain on your ears. So, wood is a great alternative that will save your ears from any tugging without sacrificing beauty.
14. Dream Catcher Earrings
Native Americans created the original dream catcher to keep bad dreams away. They’re often used as wall or door decorations in bedrooms for this reason. But you can also make tiny jewelry versions as small homages to this protection symbol!
Dream catcher earrings use embroidery floss, beads, and feathers like normal dream catchers. Their design is just on a much smaller scale, meaning you’ll need patience and precision.
The finished product will be an intricately woven hoop design with dangling beaded feathers. They’re an eye-catching and bold jewelry-making idea.
15. Beaded Dangling Earrings
If flashy or hooped earrings aren’t your style, a pair of beaded dangling earrings is a cute option.
All you’ll need is some earring hooks, beading wire, jump rings from a jewelry-making kit, and pretty beads! You can even add a small charm at the end for some added flair if the beads seem plain.
These earrings are perfect for everyday use, as they’re small and light on the ear. And they offer a combination of simplicity and beauty that you’ll love. A jewelry-making idea like this offers a sleek and modern look.
16. Simple Charm Earrings
Do you enjoy creating and wearing minimalist jewelry? Try using a single charm on each earring!
Charm earrings are as minimalist as you can get, as they only use small charms, jump rings, and earring hooks. They take minutes to make and offer a small accessory for those who aren’t fond of large, attention-grabbing jewelry pieces.
Charm earrings can also pair well with other minimalist pieces like a charm necklace or a string bracelet.
This jewelry-making idea will never go out of style, as it doesn’t rely on specific trends. So, you can expect them to look good with almost any clothing as the years go on.
Try These Jewelry-Making Ideas!
Jewelry pieces are expressive accessories that can be fun to make and wear. Whether you want to create necklaces, bracelets, or earrings, there are plenty of designs for everyone’s style. Hopefully, these jewelry-making ideas gave you some inspiration for your next project!
Do you need somewhere to put all of your jewelry-making supplies? Check out The Best Jewelers Bench for Jewelry Crafters for some ideas!
Ashley Masiello is a crafting fanatic, video editor, artist, general freelance writer, and a writer for That Sweet Tea Life. She has a bachelor’s degree in film/media and two minors in writing and art.
She loves to try out crafts, projects, and recipes in her free time. And she enjoys sharing fun and interesting artistic knowledge with others. Whether you like scrapbooking or cooking, there’s a fun learning process for everything!
Ashely can be reached at [email protected]