Solstice Style

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

As the days grow shorter, these winter nights grow longer. These extended nights bring about the most crisp, clear skies of the year. When you gaze up at those wide, star-filled Texas skies, you can’t help but imagine a black, outstretched canopy ornamented with glistening crystal or cracked glass beads.

Winter Scene

I guess this may be an analogy only a true beader could appreciate, however it does serve as a very vibrant form of inspiration to create some Solstice inspired handmade jewelry.

In ancient times, the Winter Solstice was a celebration of the sun coming out of the long dark winter months. It was a time for feasting and celebrating, because for the next six months, the days would grow longer – giving off light, and heat which helped sustain life for early cultures.

This dichotomy of light and dark creates a very exciting dynamic for not just celebration, but for jewelry making as well. Using more earthlike, natural stones, you can create necklaces, bracelets and earrings that give a more nature- oriented feel to your collection.

Along with this, make use of the colors of the season. Using black, purple, and blue stones or beads can help represent the night accompanied by a yellow, red or orange stone as your centerpiece. White would also be a good accent color to really contrast the dark.

And of course, seeing as holiday parties are a must, this presents the perfect opportunity to show off how divine you look adorned in your new necklace, bracelet or earrings. Your new collection will have all the benefits of high fashion jewelry, with a low cost price tag, which is something that is especially helpful this time of year.

Happy beading and happy Solstice!

Brazos Collection in China: A New Hope…for quality beads!

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

A short time ago, in a place an international plane flight away…

…there was the Brazos Collection in China! We recently made a trip to the source of our quality beads, the motherland of fashion jewelry components, and our very provider of top-notch beading goodness. This is where we get our beautiful glass beads, crystal beads, cracked glass beads, tiger eye beads, animal print beads, and all other sorts of gorgeous beads that we bring right to our customers’ doorsteps in Texas for serious jewelry making.

We’re going to show you some cool pictures of China so you can relive our initial impression of the country. Who knew such great fashion jewelry beads could come from so far away?







And of course, what beading outing from Brazos Collection would be complete without a look at some of the awe-inspiring beauty reflected in the beads and natural stones of this incredible country:




Have you ever seen so many beads in your life? It’s pretty intense. But this is only the warm-up, the appetizer, if you will. Next post is going to highlight some of the more interesting things that we encountered in China, from street musicians, to beads that look like human skulls! Make sure you tune in to our next post for:

Brazos Collection in China II: The Empire (of Beads) Strikes Back!