5 biggest blunders men make when buying jewelry for Mother's Day

*Ladies, since so many of you responded that this article was helpful to your men, I am sharing it again.*

I love it when guys are buying jewelry for their ladies. It's such a sweet and thoughtful notion on their part. I LOVE to help them! Unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out well, so I wanted to share the top five mistakes guys make buying jewelry:

1. Not knowing the details. I have actually had men buy earrings for a gift and not know if the woman had pierced ears. Wow! Major gamble! Find out as much information about your lady as possible. A good start is to find out a ring size, bracelet size, preferred length of necklaces, color preferences, metal preferences and any allergies.

2. Getting her something she doesn't have. This is only a good thing if you have heard her say that she wants a ".....". For example, if she doesn't own any bracelets, there may be a good reason why. Maybe she has a job where it gets in the way or she would have to take it off frequently. Take a quick inventory of her jewelry and get an idea of what she prefers or take notes the next time you are window shopping together.

3. Not considering the "what ifs". Is your jewelry purchase sizable? Can you return or exchange it if she doesn't like it? What if she likes the pendant but wants a different chain? Understand the exchange and return policy on the jewelry BEFORE you purchase it.

4. Buying something that doesn't go with her body type. Believe it or not, how a piece of jewelry is shaped or formed impacts how it looks on a person. For example, round earrings do not look good on a woman with a round face. A small pendant on a short chain isn't particularly flattering to a curvaceous woman with a large bustline. When you're buying the piece, get the person helping you to give suggestions or even the model the jewelry if necessary to help with the decision making process.

5. Buying something that doesn't go with her style. Buy her something she will wear! If she doesn't go to a lot of fancy occasions, she may not get a lot of wear from a big, fancy cocktail ring. Inexpensive earrings may be a better fit for daily wear. If she does a lot of work with her hands, a ring may not hold up to her rough schedule, but a necklace might fit the bill

Mother's Day is coming up and I am happy to help the guys out there get a special gift for the moms in their lives. Contact me at the KMS Designs jewelry website for help getting your special gift.

My mother's day tribute

Mother's Day is the only "official" day to thank all the mother's in our lives for everything they do. On this day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Susan Chastain, for being the "mother" of my jewelry career. I met Susan in the summer of 2001 at a mutual friend's barbecue. We instantly hit off (we both love animals) and I was completely enthralled with the fact that she was a jewelry artist. As luck would have it, she was teaching a class in Gainesville in a couple of weeks and still had some openings. I took the class and was immediately hooked!

The relationship could have stopped there, but instead Susan took me under wing and made me her apprentice. She taught me everything she knew about jewelry, lapidary work and metalsmithing. Her unselfish sharing of knowledge is something I truly treasure. Outside the first class I took from her, she never asked for a dime for all the other lessons she gave me. She has grown to be a dear friend who continues to encourage me about all my jewelry making. I can't ever possibly thank her enough for all she has done for me. Happy Mother's Day to you Susan!