Cleaning and caring for your jewelry is so important, but it’s also an easy chore to let fall by the wayside so if you’re anything like me you often go to pull our the best accessories for your look, only to find that they’re much overdue for some serious TLC. Enter, the 30min quick fix for tarnished silver! This DIY baking soda and water recipe is ready to rescue even your most tarnished pieces and while it may be too quick to make them just like new, it certainly goes a long way fast and brings back tons of sparkle and lustre!

Today, I’m working on some of my go-to summer favourites which are very prone to tarnish since they’re often worn on sunscreen covered skin, exposed to the elements, sweat, water and basically just all the things that make summer, well, summer!

This pile of favourites include the Reyna Necklace, Sona Spike Necklace, and a couple of styles from my personal collection

Here’s my favourite at home, under an hour, and effortless cleaning technique.

1-2 tablespoons of baking soda, a drop of dish soap, and enough warm water to submerge the pieces. Mix the ingredients, drop your silver pieces in and then wait! Or might I suggest relaxing with a face mask? Maybe spend 30 min soaking up some sunshine with a cool beverage? Give your plants a much needed spritz? After all, it’s summer now and they’re probably thirsty! Whatever you choose to do with it, after 45min just pull your jewels out and give them a good rinse. And thats it! No scrubbing, no chemicals, just sparkling silver!

For a more thorough roundup of options for cleaning you accessories, including options that are safe for other materials (DO NOT put your pearls in this solution, they’re delicate and need extra special attention and care) check out my previous blog post HERE

A few tricks to breath new life into your brass, silver, and gold jewelry!

Jewelry is such an intimate item, and wearing your favourite pieces day in and day out can add tarnish to even the most glittering gems. Here are a few tricks to put some shine back into your most dearly loved jewelry.

First rule, don't underestimate the power of a little soap and water! Warm water and grease cutting dish soap can go a long way to adding some luster back to your beloved jewels. My advice is to fill a small bowl with warm to hot water (this way you avoid the risk of losing something you love down the drain.) Add a few drops of dish soap. For rings and more solid pieces give them a gentle rub between your fingers, for more delicate pieces and fine chains let them soak for 10-15 minutes before rinsing them off and drying them. 

For more heavily tarnished pieces a little extra elbow grease may be needed and there are plenty of DIY solutions made with ingredients you have at home!

DIY tricks to keeping your jewelry clean with common household products

The Baking Soda bath: mix 2 parts baking soda with one part warm water creating a thick paste. Then, drop in your tarnished jewelry and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse off your jewelry and gently pat until it's completely dry. This method is very gentle meaning it's appropriate for any jewelry (other than pearls which are extremely delicate and porous and should only be gently patted with warm water on a soft cloth)

When cleaning Brass or Copper my personal favourite household remedy is a toothpaste bath! Mix 1 part toothpaste with 1 part warm water, submerge your tarnished jewelry and let it sit for 30min - 1hr. At this point you can rinse it thoroughly with warm water until clean, or for a more thorough polishing, give it a bit of a scrub with a gentle toothbrush. Even the trickiest to polish chains will look better after this refresher!

My favourite cleaner for tarnished silver is also the most unlikely. This tasty household condiment isn't just ideal for backyard BBQs, it's also highly effective at cleaning Sterling Silver. Have you guessed yet? It's Ketchup! You read that right, ketchup may just be the hardest working condiment in your fridge. To make your silver jewelry sparkle like new just fill a small bowl with ketchup and completely submerge your tarnished silver. Let it sit for 10-20. minutes depending on the amount of tarnish and then rinse your jewelry with warm water while rubbing the piece between your fingers (I recommend doing so over a bowl so you don't risk losing anything down the drain). If it needs a little extra work you can brush it very softly with a gentle brush however, be careful as rough abrasives will leave lines on your delicate silver. 

If all else fails then the best line of defence is jewelry polishing cloths. They are relatively inexpensive, can last a long time if used carefully, and are amazing at cleaning and polishing up any pure metal jewelry. These cloths are infused with professional grade polishing compound made to remove tarnish and add lustre with little effort. 

All Dolorous jewelry is made with solid Brass or Silver (with the exception of a small selection of Rose Gold Plated styles) and can be cleaned using the recommended methods listed above. Also, don't forget, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and sometime a little tarnish can add a unique beauty to some styles of jewelry. Theres no harm in a little tarnish if you like how it looks!

Sometimes the most productive time in the studio is when you spend it doing something your not supposed to be. Oh the beauty of procrastination.

Yesterday I did some extremely efficient procrastination, and came out with these fun lovelies! They are leather and rhinestone friendship bracelets, amazing for stacking, and I'm totally addicted. I think I want to make a million. For the first three I settled for peach, forest green, and a gray that gets darker towards the center. I love them. I seriously want to make colours for every possible outfit

I know its tons of pictures, I just REALLY love these bracelets (^-^)