Create Jewelry: Stones: Stunning Designs to Make and Wear

Proving that it doesn't take a professional designer to create gorgeous gemstone jewelry, this guide explains how adding turquoise, amethyst, jasper, onyx, or any other semiprecious stone can bring stunning results to handmade jewelry. From elegant and dressy to sassy and flirty, 23 projects are presented, ranging in difficulty from easy stringing to seed bead weaving techniques. Innovative designs combine with intriguing anecdotes, history, and tips about these multifaceted beads, resulting in a unique way of creating and thinking about stone design for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Projects are divided into classic, special occasion, and fashion-forward categories, and beautiful photographs are accompanied by step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions.

Marlene Blessing is a former contributing editor to SPA magazine and a former senior features editor for The Seattle Weekly. She was also the editorial director for Beadwork, Step by Step Beads and Stringing magazines. She lives in Longmont, Colorado. Jamie Hogsett is the editor of Stringing magazine, the special projects editor of Beadwork magazine and the author of Stringing Style. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.