Tips to make your own Valentine's Day jewelry

Romantic sentiments are the standard come Valentine's Day. Dinners at upscale restaurants, floral bouquets and even getaways to exotic locales can all create an air of romance each February. Crafty individuals can express romantic sentiments in other ways, including making homemade jewelry.

A survey from Statista found that 10 percent of Valentine's Day gift shoppers gave jewelry in 2017. Jewelry remains a popular way to express romantic sentiments, and such gifts can be even more meaningful when they're homemade.

Individuals who want to try their hand at making homemade jewelry this Valentine's Day can consider these tips as they try to go the extra mile for that special someone in their lives.

· Purchase a jewelry-making toolkit. Even skilled do-it-yourselfers with a kit full of useful tools can benefit from a toolkit designed specifically for making jewelry. Jewelry toolkits may feature an assortment of pliers, such as round nose and chain nose varieties, that can be useful for different projects or even different components of the same project. Additional tools to look for in a jewelry-making toolkit include wire cutters, clasps and peg boards to bend wire.

· Start with something simple. Stone might be the most expensive component of items sold by licensed jewelers, but those hefty price tags also reflect the labor necessary to produce the beautiful items on display. Making jewelry is a complicated process, but beginners can narrow things down by looking for simple projects like homemade button earrings and ring pendants. Many crafts stores even sell kits for specific projects that include all the materials DIYers will need as well as the tools they'll need to turn those materials into beautiful jewelry.

· Watch online tutorials. Lessons from skilled crafts workers are only a click or two away. The internet offers plenty of tutorial videos that can help DIYers accumulate the right supplies and offer advice on projects that correlate to individuals' skill levels.

· Practice, practice, practice. If the goal is to really impress that special someone in your life, then don't plan to give the first piece you've ever made this Valentine's Day. Though that's an option if you discover you're an especially skilled jeweler, it's best to plan for some trial and error. So leave yourself ample time in advance of Valentine's Day to experiment and learn the craft. This ensures that your sweetheart won't just be excited by the sentiment homemade jewelry conveys, but the jewelry itself as well.

Homemade jewelry is a unique gift that conveys romantic sentiments that are synonymous with Valentine's Day.