Building an Inexpensive yet Fascinating Jewelry Wardrobe (Without Breaking the Bank)

Jewelry is an important component of great dressing. It can either enhance an outfit or detract from it. Unfortunately, jewelry can also be very expensive to obtain, particularly on a limited budget. Here are a few ideas on enhancing your jewelry wardrobe:

1. Think modular. Go to your favorite online auction site and type in "slide necklace" or "slider necklace." Another good search item is "omega chain." These are necklaces which have connectors or ends that enable you to slip on the pendant, bead(s) or charm(s) of your choice. Pendants are another great item to buy at online auctions. You can also go to your favorite jewelry-making website and purchase multi-strand, ribbon or leather necklaces with the same slip-on features as slide necklaces or omega chains. This is a great option if you don't have a ton of money to spend on bling.

2. Did I mention online auctions? Oh, yeah - above paragraph! It's amazing what you can find online! I know people who have bought necklaces worth hundreds of dollars for about ten or fifteen bucks! Of course, this is all about timing, but I think you're up to it!

3. Take a really simple jewelry class and learn how to string beads. You can learn this easily from a book as well, if you don't have time to attend a class. This will literally save you a ton of money. For the price of some wire-cutters and a wire-crimper, some stringing wire, a few clasps and a strand or two of beads, you can string some great necklaces for a fraction of the cost. To give you a solid dollar figure, I saw an onyx necklace for $150 in a department store that I had duplicated on my own for about $15. You can purchase beads either online or at one of those bead and jewelry fairs that are becoming so popular. If you want a listing of bead shows and fairs, there are numerous beading and jewelry-making magazines on the shelf at your local book stores.

4. Further to making your own, revisit your favorite jewelry-making supply website I mentioned in #1. Really spend some time on it and see what they have available. Many of these sites not only offer pre-made necklaces for very little money, but many jewelry components that are just a step away from pre-made, and require nothing more than a sets of pliers to put together (available for about $15). Again, your radar will be more attuned to what's possible if you either take a simple beading class first or buy a book and teach yourself how to bead a simple necklace. An example of just one of the many great products that jewelry supply places sell: jewelry bails. These are the tiny metal pieces that hold pendants onto the chains or cords that wrap around your neck. You can buy bails in silver and gold-plated or gold-filled that you can glue onto the back of a pendant you have made yourself, either with papier mache, plastic, fimo, sculpey - you name it. The possibilities are endless. Make sure to buy a suitable glue for jewelry, too - there are a number of them available.

5. My absolute favorite jewelry accessory is something the Chinese call a "pearl-shortener." I dare you to again return to your favorite online auction site, type in these words and see what you find. This magical metal ring can convert an extremely long necklace into a dual-strand necklace in a matter of minutes. I bought mine in the San Francisco Chinatown, but you can buy one online for less than $5. (I think that's what I paid for mine.) Just take your long necklace, fasten it, fold it in half, and drape it around your neck . Then link the pearl shortener through both loops of the necklace, thus connecting them. Voila! A double-stranded necklace!

Happy Bling-Hunting!