Red Creek Jasper

This jasper is mined in China. It is also known by the names of Cherry Creek or Picasso Jasper. 

Metaphysically it is believed to bring balance and relaxation and, like all jaspers, it is a stone of protection and grounding. 

This one has sold.

As a healing stone, red creek jasper helps with sense of smell and promotes physical energy.

 Mystically it helps to bring balance to your life and aids in relaxation, 

as well as eases emotional stresses. 

 This stone is thought to be lucky for actors.  

It gives one the courage to speak out and be independent.

  

As always, this information is provided for curiosity only and is not meant to be medical advice. 

 

Kambaba Jasper

The one on the left has sold.

This is such a cool stone! Kambaba Jasper (also called crocodile jasper) is a rare fossilized jasper from Madagascar. It is a stromatolite jasper, which means that it is composed of fossilized algae. Stromatolites, colonial structures created by cyanobacteria (commonly called blue-green algae) are among the oldest fossils on earth, being found in rocks over 3 billion years old. Once the dominant life form on the planet, Stromatolites are now found in only a few places, such as Madagascar. Cyanobacteria form these mound-like structures by growing through sediment, binding the particles together resulting in successive layers which, over very long time periods, may harden to form rocks. These structures may be from fractions of an inch to several feet in diameter. 

Both are sold

Cyanobacteria were likely responsible for the creation of earth's oxygen atmosphere. They were the dominant life form on Earth for over 2 billion years. Today they are nearly extinct, living a precarious existence in only a few localities worldwide. Fossil stromatolites constitute our earliest and most pervasive record of life on Earth. Although many stromatolites are fossils, there are a number of locations on the modern-day Earth where Stromatolites are still forming.

This stone calms emotions and brings balance and relaxation, and like all jaspers, it is a stone of protection and grounding. It promotes rational thinking and teaches the wearer to have empathy with the feelings of others. It aids in the ability to deal with difficult situations and helps turn thoughts into actions. It also works on stimulating creativity whilst encouraging self discipline to complete endeavors or projects which have lost their original excitement. In a healing capacity it aids the circulation and digestion and detoxifies the blood.

Both are sold

Tempest Stone – Stone of Change

Pietersite is not only beautiful by very powerful. It is found in Henan Province, China, and Namibia, South Africa. It is a variety of Quartz, composed naturally of Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye and Jasper, and is characterized by an incredible chatoyancy (cat's eye effect or optical reflectance effect) and brilliance of life within the stone. The most common Pietersite is gold but it is also rarely seen in red and even rarer is blue. 

Its highly charged energy is almost tangible. Just as lightning clears the air and makes all things new, Pietersite discharges negative energies and emotional turmoil, and cleanses the aura, restoring it to calm.

Pietersite is a powerful protection stone, especially against the elements. It calms nervous people and animals during storms, protects when driving in bad weather, and guards homes and businesses against storm damage. It also acts as a shield against the adverse effects of technology, particularly if you work long hours with a computer or live near a mobile phone mast

Healing ability: Stimulates the physical body, providing energy and strength, and is a nervous-system stone, useful for stimulating and strengthening the nerves and brain. It eases headaches, nervous diseases, breathing difficulties, stomach pain and dizziness. It also stimulates the pituitary gland, balancing the endocrine system and the production of hormones governing metabolism, blood pressure, growth, sex, and body temperature. Thought to ease eye infections, Pietersite is also reported by some users to improve long-distance focus and night vision

Mystical power: Helps us to weather rough and stormy periods of our life and to build new order out of chaos. Aligns energy centers while providing grounding. Dispels illusion and assisting in recognition of the beauty of the soul. Promotes loyalty to self and to the ultimate experience of life. Allows one to see beyond the horizon, helping to support human courage, tenacity, and dauntless effort to both create and maintain beauty. oosts self-esteem when worn consistently. It is especially empowering for creative people who lack confidence in their abilities.

An important tool in bringing pent-up, internalized feelings and conflicts to the surface, allowing the unsaid and unexamined to erupt in an emotional outpouring that not only clears the air, but begins the process of healing. An excellent ally for those who are stuck or unable to make progress. Helps to clear stagnant energies, habits and life patterns, and reveals new directions for one's life. It also lends the will to take action toward those new goals. It brings one to the source of their own inner guidance, and assists one in recognizing the truth or falsehood of others' words or actions. It promotes speaking out and exploring anything that may hinder access to one's own truth.

** This information is provided for curiosity only and is in no way meant to be medical advice.

Recent Work - Flower Jade

Sold

 Flower Jade is a type of Jadeite. The variety of Jade known as Jadeite comes in a variety of colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, lilac, pink, black, white, and brown. 

Historically, Jadeite has been treasured in China as the royal gemstone, Yu, for 5,000 years. Mined in Japan, Myanmar, Guatemala and USA.  

Flower jade is thought to enhance confidence and self-assuredness.

 It helps one gain knowledge from dreams, and assists in getting in touch with one’s spiritual side. 

(Note: Stone trivia is provided for curiosity only.)

Wow I Know that Person!

The last 10 years as I have focused full time on my craft I have made a whole new circle of artists friends and acquaintances. It has been fun to share in their accomplishments and successes. Some are small steps on the road to larger successes, like landing new wholesale accounts, awards, new designs, or having their best show of the year.

And then there are those really large ones that make you go wow, I know that person! The last month there have been several that I thought would be fun to share...... 

Susanna Tam, a fellow jeweler, was recently featured in this blog: http://everylifeisamemoir.com/
The author does a beautiful job of describing Susana's work. My favorite part of the description is "stylishly refined, powerfully feminine, exquisitely crafted".  Wouldn't we all like our work to be described that way! You an see more at Susanna's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SuStudioJewelry

 


Another fellow jeweler, Margaret Aden of Original Sin, had her work featured as part of gift bags that were presented by the The Artisan Group to 2015 Emmy Nominees. The Artist Group is an exclusive premier marketing organization on a mission to introduce Hollywood to the best in handcrafted products. Membership in this exclusive group is by invitation only.



Andrea Adams of Beadmask creates the most amazing leather masks and crowns. She just shared pictures on her Facebok page of Olympic medalist figure skater Nicole Bobek, performing in a custom version of her Drusilla bat crown. How cool is that!!!



Congratulations to each of these artist for the recognition of their amazing work! 

Stocking Up - Stone Pendants

My goodness I can not believe how long it has been since I did a blog post. Time to make up for that! I have started to rebuild my stock after the summer season so that I will have plenty to choose from for the reminder of my shows this year. Two new items this year that have been hot sellers are stone pendants and double drilled stone earrings.

Stone pendants came about after last winter when I had several folks ask if they could purchase the pendant off of an existing necklace. Unfortunately for these customers I design my necklaces in such a way that the pendant is an integral part of the necklace and not removable. So I experimented with making pendants on their own.

I have a small selection of silver plated chain or leather cord that I can provide, but most folks have necklaces of their own to hang these beauties from. The perfect solution if you do not want to invest in a whole necklace or want the option of varying the length. I try to select stones that have a lot of character and will really stand out.

Here are some recent examples:

 Turritella agate and freshwater pearl with pewter

  Turritella agate and freshwater pearl with copper

 Feldspar, two with smokey topaz, and pewter or gold plated brass

 Pietersite with agate and copper

 Chocolate jasper with copper

Green opal with copper or red creek jasper with pewter

August Birthstone: Peridot

Peridot with moonstone or amethyst.

 Peridot is a symbol of fame, dignity, and protection.It is the traditional birthstone for July. 23 - Aug. 22  and is a gift for the 16^th wedding anniversary

Peridot with an ocean jasper pendant

Healing ability: Increases strength & physical vitality. Protects against nervousness and aids in healing hurt feelings. It helps liver & adrenal function. Thought to protect lungs, sinuses, and wrists from illness and injury.
 

Peridot with ocean jasper pendants. The two on the right have sold.

Mystical power: Helps dreams become reality. It is believed to attract love. Calms a raging anger. Dispels negative emotions, and promotes sleep when worn to bed. Legend has it that pirates favored it to protect them against evil. Brings the wearer success, peace, and good luck.

Close up of ocean jasper pendants

Lapis Lazuli

The name of this stone comes from 'lapis', the Latin word for stone, and 'azula', which is Arabic for blue. This opaque, deep blue gemstone has a grand past. It was among the first gemstones to be worn as jewelry and worked on. At excavations in the ancient centers of culture, archaeologists have again and again found among the grave furnishings decorative chains and figures made of lapis lazuli – clear indications that the deep blue stone was already popular thousands of years ago among the people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome.

The golden sarcophagus of King Tutankhamen was richly inlaid with lapis lazuli, as were other burial ornaments of Egyptian kings and queens. It was used extensively in scarabs, pendants and other jewelry, and ground into powder for dyes, eye shadow and medicinal elixirs

Another of its earliest uses was as a pigment for paint. It was ground up into a powder and mixed with binding-agents to produce the intense, but expensive, ultramarine color favored by many early Masters such as Michelangelo. Many pictures of the Madonna, for example, were created using this paint. Unlike all other blue pigments, which tend to pale in the light, it loses none of its radiance. Today the blue pigment obtained from lapis lazuli is mainly used in restoration work and by collectors of historical paints.

The highest quality lapis lazui is found in Afghanistan. It is also found in Russia, Chilean Andes, Italy, Mongolia, the USA, Canada, Myanmar and Pakistan

Lapis lazuli is regarded as a stone of friendship and truth. It is said to encourage harmony in relationships and help its wearer to be authentic and give his or her opinion openly.

This stone is a powerful crystal for activating the higher mind and enhancing intellectual ability. It stimulates the desire for knowledge, truth and understanding, and aids the process of learning. It is excellent for enhancing memory. 

 Both have sold

 Healing : Lapis lazuli is beneficial to the throat, larynx, and vocal chords, and helps regulate the endocrine and thyroid glands. It enhances circulation and improves cardiac rhythm. It reduces vertigo and lowers blood pressure, and is thought to alleviate insomnia . Lapis lazuli is also thought to relieve general pain and inflammations, and is especially effective against migraine headaches. It aids the nervous system and brain disorders, and is believed to help with attention-deficit, autism and Asperger's syndrome. 

Mystical: Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest spiritual stones known to man, used by healers, priests and royalty, for power, wisdom and to stimulate psychic abilities and inner vision. It represents universal truth. It quickly releases stress, allowing for peace and serenity. It permits tapping into personal and spiritual power. 

The one on the right has sold