How to buy a Jewelry gift ring

Jewelry makes a wonderful gift for almost any occasion. However, picking the right jewelry item for another person can have some challenges. So I thought I'd write a few guides to help you out. This will be the first guide with some tips on buying rings as a gift.

Rings are very popular gifts. Whether it's an engagement ring, promise ring or just an everyday ring, it's a fun gift to give and receive. The tricky part about buying a ring as a gift is that you need to know the other person's ring size.

So here are some tips you might find helpful:

Measure the size. If you have access to their jewelry, you can pick up a ring they have and take it to a jewelry store to measure its size. Note that each finger has a different size (even the same finger at each hand doesn't always match) so you need to measure a ring that fits the exact finger you are planning to buy a ring for.

Ask someone who might know. A best friend, mom, sister. Anyone who might know the ring size and can help you out.

Buy an open ring. This is a solution I often offer customers that don't know the ring size they need. An open ring simply adjusts to the finger so you don't need to know the exact size. I have changed several of my designs to an open version so they can be used as gifts.

Re-size later. Go for a popular size and plan to re-size it later. This is the least desired option because it means you are giving a gift that might not fit and will need to be repaired immediately after receiving it. But sometimes it's the only option.

 After you sort out the ring size issue all that's left is to choose a ring that fits the style, occasion and likes of the person for whom its intended. I'll be writing more about these issues in the coming guides so be sure to stop by again.

Hope you found this post helpful. Please feel free to add any comments or questions you might have in the comments area below.

If you know someone who might benefit from this, please share this post (click the share button on the right side)

Back to black

Today is one year since the death of Amy Whinehouse and I was listening to "back to black" on the radio and got a bit inspired to do a small tribute. I had a few items I had allready photographed that were waiting for me to list them in my store, so inspired by the song, I listed a few black jewelry designs today.

I find black to be very practical and versatile color. You can wear a black pair of earrings or bangle with basically every outfit and every color. You can wear it for a casual look or for a more dramatic evening look. You simply can't go wrong with black don't you think?

Sterling silver and Onyx bangle bracelet

Sterling silver and black Agate earrings

Meet my new jewelry model

Photographing jewelry is a difficult task. I often take dozens of pictures until I get the results I want. Over the years I've developed my tricks and accessories to help me get the best results. However, sometimes you just can't express the beauty of a jewelry design unless you see it on a real person.


I have been asking my beautiful sister for some time now to model for me and she finally said yes! It's amazing how different it makes some items look. I just hope everyone can stay focused on the jewelry designs and not on the pretty model :-)
 
Here are some "before and after" pictures. What do you think represents my jewelry better? Let me know in the comments below.
 

Geometric jewelry

Circle ring - geometric jewelry collection



TRiangle neckalce - geometric jewelry collection

  

Squarering - geometric jewelry collection

As far as I can remember, I wasn't a big fan of geometry classes. But when I entered geometry into my jewelry designs, it started to be fun. It all began with my circle ring, one of my most popular designs. It got me thinking, "why only circles? Why not try some squares and triangles in my designs!". So I did and I like it!

So even though there are many more geometric jewelry designs that are still in my studio waiting to be completed, I thought I'd share what I made so far.

Do you like geometric jewelry? Write your favorite shapes in the comments below and I might turn your suggestion into a new design.

Feel free to share this post with your friends.

Gold filled bracelet - one design with various color options

I've written before about making the same design in several colors so that people have several options to choose from. So I've decided to take my own advice and made this 14k gold filled bracelet in 4 different colors. I love how by a simple change of color they get a different character.
What's your favorite?

  

The advantages of buying handmade

One of the great things about buying handmade products is that you are buying from a real person that cares! Unlike factories where you are just another buyer, the small business owner will go the extra mile to make you happy. I know I do this for my buyers. That's because I really want them to be happy with the jewelry they buy from me.

A few weeks ago I had a buyer that wanted to give my infinity ring as a gift to someone. Unfortunately she was unable to get the ring size. Problem. So I suggested that I make a change in the ring and make it open and adjustable. Since I make the ring myself from scratch, it was no problem for me to alter it a little. This way she could give it as a gift without the need to know the exact ring size. She was happy and I was happy too that I could offer a solution.

How to store your jewelry - earrings stand



OutStanding Stands



I've been discovering wonderful things on pinterest. One of these things are cool and clever ways to store your jewelry. The ideas I found are both practical and creative, a winning combination in my book. This is the first post, and more will follow as I discover more storage ideas. Feel free to follow me on pinterest.

So this is a simple kitchen grater that was painted and turned into an earrings stand. Isn't it cool and beautiful? I just love it. What do you think?

If you have cool ways to store your jewelry, write or send me pictures and I'd be happy to share and write about it.

Gold initial necklace, personalised pendant, 14k gold filled

I started listing new items after a long brake. This is the first of many more personalized jewelry to come.

Gold initial necklace. A small gold disc personalised by stamping your desired initials on it. The disc is made of 14k gold filled and hangs on a delicate 14k goldfilled chain.

You can order this pendant is silver as well if you prefer.

So how do you feel about personalized jewelry? What would you like to see in my store? I'm working on the collection so now is your chance to influence how this line will look.

Symbols of love to make your valentine gift perfect

Now that the holiday season is behind us, we are on our way to the next special occasion on the calendar - Valentines day!
So how do you find the perfect gift that will express the way you feel? Jewelry has always been a great idea for a gift but to make it even more perfect, you want to get a jewelry item that has a symbolic meaning, that conveys a message from you to the person receiving it.

To do this you have 2 ways to go. Choose something that carries a special meaning to the person you love. If she loves a specific color, shape etc, pick something accordingly. This will say that you know her, know what she likes and  that you pay attention. What more could a women want?

The second way is to choose a jewelry item with a symbolic message of love and commitment.
There are all kinds of symbols that have become popular forms of expressing feelings:

Hearts
The most common and popular form of expressing love and emotions is through a heart shape. The message of this symbol is very simple - "I give you my heart" or "you have my heart in your hand".

Heart ring

Infinity symbol
When you give someone a jewelry piece decorated with an infinity symbol you want to express your endless love and say to them that you will always be there for them. Now that is a nice message to give or receive isn't it?



Infinity bracelet

 Circle
Circles are also considered to be symbols of infinity and love, simply because they have no beginning and no end. They symbolize a unity, a becoming of one. Another perfect message for loved ones.



Gold circle necklace


Roses and flowers
Flowers are always a wonderful gift to get the women you love. And they are also wonderful as inspiration for jewelry items. The best part about roses in jewelry pieces is that they stay forever.

Rose stud earrings

Bows and ribbons
These are actually symbols of gifts but when they are used to inspire a jewelry design, they can also express your love and your wish to give to the one you love.



Gold bow necklace

I know some people don't like celebrating valentine for various reasons but I personally like having a day to stop our everyday running and express our feelings to those we love. (Read more in my last year's post about Valentine). Remember, the gifts are only the way to express your feelings, not the main event. So don't forget to say and show that you care, with or without gifts.


Personalized gift wrapping

I always find that the way a gift is wrapped is a big part of the fun in receiving a gift. Who doesn't like receiving a beautifully wrapped box and wondering what's inside? All my jewelry are always nicely placed in a pretty gift box ready to give as gifts. But with Christmas just around the corner I discovered many Internet sites displaying great ways to personalize and upgrade your gift wrapping so I thought I'd share some of these ideas here.

 1. Photos - printing a photograph of the Recipient of the gift and placing it on the gift is a super cute and easy way to personalize your wrapping.  

Photowrapping

 2. Drawing your own wrapping paper. Instead of using a standard wrapping paper you can use a simple white paper and let the children draw some cute pictures on it. Or you can make your own drawings on brown paper with a silver pen. You can use stencils if you need some help.

  

Children drawing wrap

  

Hand-drawn gift wrap



 3. Another cool way to add color to your wrapping is using yarn to create a rainbow-like look.

Yarn rainbow wrap

4. If you are a bit more artistic you can weave a nice pattern around your package. It takes a little work but it looks awesome.

Weave-like gift wrap

5. Bows and flower are always a nice embellishment and if they are hand made, even better. Here are some cute ideas for bows and flower you can make yourself to add to your gifts. They are made of simple materials like magazines or cupcake paper.    





1. Cupcake paper flowers




3. handmade

flower



2. handmade

ribbon





I have found all these wonderful ideas while browsing around Pinterest. Feel free to check out my cool gift wrapping board there for more ideas.



Top 5

I was looking at my statistics for the month of November and noticed an interesting fact. It seems all the top 5 items that were most popular in my store this month, were rings! No earrings, necklaces, bangles, just rings. So thought I'd share with you what my top 5 popular jewelry items were:

5. Bubble ring.

4. Black rose ring

3. Square opal ring

2. Set of 3 hammered gold-filled rings

1. Branch ring

Wonder which items will be most popular next month.

Chaos, and my new year's resolution

I know it might be a little too early for a new years resolution, but I have made one anyway! I decided I need to get a bit more organized. Normally I work well in chaos. I always say that chaos has it's own internal order that others just can't see. But a few weeks ago I was visiting a friend's studio and it was so perfectly organized and so stunning that I got really jealous and thought to myself - "I want my studio to look like that too!"

 Of course that's easier said than done. You can't just take a chaos created in years of work and magically turn it into a well organized work place. So it's a work in progress. I've started with installing a new big table, buying new storage drawers from Ikea and now I am in the middle of going through piles of boxes and trying to organize what's inside them in a way that makes sense. In the process I have discovered a lot of supplies I have forgotten I even had, so I guess that's also a bonus!

Since I am doing this while also working on orders, stocking and preparing for the holiday season and life in general, it will take some time until everything is done. But I figured if I write About it, I will feel more obligated to follow it through. Hopefully it won't be too long until I can post some pictures of my new and improved studio. In the mean time, here are some pictures of some new items I've been working on and that are now available in my store. Enjoy!

Black Friday goes international !

It has been a while since I last wrote in my blog. I had a lot of things on my plate and I just didn't get around to it. But I am back now!

I wanted to share some thoughts about black friday. Black Friday is basically an American thing. A few years ago I didn't even know that it existed. As I live in Israel where most people are jewish, Christmas is not celebrated here and there is no shopping frenzy.

But as the world becomes more and more of a small global village, in recent years several shops here in Israel started having black Friday sales and this trend seems to be catching on. After all everyone loves a good sale and you don't even need a special reason for it right?

So far I have seen these sales mainly in electronics stores which is not very helpful since I don't need any new electronic devices right now (I always want new devices but I really don't need any). But who knows if this trend continues to spread, maybe I will also be able to enjoy great sales without having to travel overseas!

I am also having a black Friday-cyber Monday sale in my Etsy store. Use coupon code "cybermonday" when you purchase something from my store and you will get free shipping. No limit on the number of items you can buy, everything ships for free worldwide. Happy holidays and happy shopping!

Variations - same design in different colors

Being a creative person I don't really like repeating myself. I enjoy making new jewelry designs all the time and re-inventing myself. On the other hand, since I became a professional jewelry designer and started selling my designs I understant that I sometimes need to think about things from a buyes' point of view.

One good example for this is offering various color options for the same design. In the past I used to make each jewelry piece in one color only. I picked the gemstones that seemed best for the item and that was it. Then one day it hit me - this was not so smart. If I was a customer looking for a pink ring to fit my outfit and I found a ring I liked but was in the wrong color, what would I do? Most likely I would go on looking somewhere else. So wouldn't it be much smarter to offer the ring in a variety of colors so that anyone who likes it can find a color they like and fits them?

It just seems logical. After all, different people like different colors and why shouldn't they have a choice?

Some artists might see this as a compomise but I think it is just me thinking of my buyers needs. After all if I wanted to make jewelry just for myself I would not be selling them!

What do you think?

Stackable Turquoise flower ring



Set of 3 sterling silver stacking rings - red, pink and purple



Stackable Perinite flower ring



Impulse purchases

A couple of weeks ago we decided it was time to change the sofas in our living room. They were turn and faded and basically looked pretty bad. So I went to an area with many furniture stores of all kinds and started browsing around. End of story is- I did not buy any sofas that day but I did end up buying a gorgeous dinning table!

I find that many times impulse purchases are the best ones I make. Maybe it's because I am not usually a very impulsive buyer. Usually I like to think and look around before I pick something. So when I find something that I love so much that I don't need to look any further, It's got to be great. Or maybe it's just the pleasure of discovering something you were not expecting.

To be honest we were thinking of buying a dinning table sometime in the near future. And when I found this amazing and perfect table, we just decided to do this now rather than later. Nevertheless, I still consider this a rather impulsive purchase as I was not looking to buy a table now but just could not resist it.

I received my dinning table a few days ago and I just love it. So happy I got impulsive and got it. And the sofas? I did find a set I liked eventually but as they were found in a more conventional boring way, they don't get a story of their own, but they do get a picture so that's something too, right?