Moonstone

Moonstone is certainly an intriguing stone.  Whether it's the opalescent grey moonstone, the white whine with the blue flash of rainbow moonstone or the soothing smooth color of peach moonstone, it's certain to catch the eye and entrance you.
I first became interested in this stone in high school.  I had a strange dream one night about being trapped in a cave made of some kind of opalescent stone with hints of blue.  I wasn't sure what it was but I was fascinated by it.  The following weekend, I found a pendant at a local festival made of the same stone as the cave in my dream!  I was absolutely in love and purchased the stone at once.  I still have that necklace (and matching earrings I purchased later) to this day.
My new found fascination led me to research the stone further.  I discovered that moonstone is supposedly a stone of dreams.  It brings peaceful, restful sleep if placed under a pillow.  It's a stone of divination and psychism.  This is because it is associated with the Moon Goddess.  It is a sacred stone in many religions.
Moonstone is also thought to be a protective stone.  People wear or carry moonstone with them on long journeys, especially over water. 
Moonstone also comes in different color varieties.  Rainbow moonstone is a beautiful white stone that have a shimmer like mother of pearl.  It also has a flash of light blue when the light hits it just right, much like labradorite.   Peach moonstone also has this mother of pearl like shimmer but is a much more smooth shade of peach or light orange.  Grey moonstone has a quality like trapped fog.  It almost seems to swirl in the light.
Whatever your reasons, I hope you will add this stone to your jewelry repetoire.  It is definitely a stone with wearing and working with!

Carnelian!

Another of my best friend's favorite stone, the bright and cheery orange and red of carnelian is definitely enchanting. Orange is the color of happiness and red is the color of passion. This stone truly encompasses both.

Often considered a stone of protection, carnelian is actually a red form of chalcedony. It was worn in ancient Egypt to still anger and jealousy. It also counteracts negative thoughts.

Carnelians are most often worn by those who are a bit more timid to promote courage. It brings out self confidence and can also attract people to you. Its also said to promote sexual impusles. RAWR. ;)

I normally use carnelian in cabachon form. I think this is the best way to see its agate like variations, which I find VERY appealing. I also use small carnelian beads to enhance the look of paler stones, like moonstone.

Metal magic #1

I'd like to blog today about how the metals a designer chooses to use can also effect how a piece of jewelry feels. Gemstones are not the only minerals out there with supposed "magical" properties. Metals do too!

I'd like to talk about my favorite metal to work with, COPPER! I spent a portion of my childhood in the Rocky mountains of MT in a city called Butte. Butte was a mining town... and what did they mine? COPPER! My mother always loved copper so I grew up seeing a lot of it. Its bright orangey color just sparkled to me. When we moved to northern MN, I missed seeing copper everywhere. The only place it was displayed was my mother's kitchen then.

Copper was regarded and linked to gods and goddesses of the sky and/or heavens in many ancient cultures. It was said to be a link to the divine.

Its also a known conductor of electricity. Many people believe that wearing a copper bracelet or other jewelry piece can ease arthritis and other aches and pains. When worn for its healing powers, copper piece are said to be worn on the left side of the body for those who are right handed or on the right side of the body for those who are left handed.

Copper is also supposed to attract love to its wearer.

I use a lot of copper in my jewelry designs. It is a soft, easy metal to work with especially in wire and sheet form. If I am going to be doing a piece in sterling but want to do a mock-up first, I will often do it in copper. There are several examples of my copper pieces pictured here.

Whatever your reasons may be, copper is definitely a metal worth wearing!

Quartz crystal

Today I would like to blog about a stone I have had a long time love affair with: quartz crystal. Let me start with my childhood, since that is where I first was introduced to this LOVELY shiney rock.
I spent part of my childhood in a town called Butte MT (please spare me the jokes about the name). Its nestled in the Rocky Mountains and its a lovely place to be. Butte is/was sort of a dying town but being up in the mountains, there were all sorts of mineral goodies to be found. I used to walk along the railroad tracks, much to my mother's dismay, and pick up shiney clear quartz crystal points on my way home from school. As I got older, my grandparents and aunts and uncles would take us camping up in the National parks. There was an entire park set aside just for the digging and finding of quartz crystals! I was in rock heaven.
We moved away from Butte when I was still in elementary school but we often go back to MT to visit family. And every year I go back I make sure to visit Crystal Park and dig for more shiny rocks. I bring them back to Kansas with me and do my wire wrapping magic on them.

Now, quartz comes in all sizes shapes and colors but the kind I want to focus on today is that clear, terminated variety, the crystal point. Crystals are more highly valued if they have what is known as a termination, or a naturally occuring point. Double terminated crystals have a point at each end and naturally double terminate crystals are very rare. Many companies and stone workers often grind the terminations onto a chunk of quartz crystal to increase its sale value.

Quartz crystals are often called the "Witch's stone" and are said to have many magical properties. It is supposed to clear the mind and allow for true visions. This is perhaps why the sterotypical gypsy fortune teller used a sphere made of clear quartz to looked into people's futures. It has even been used as a milk stone to cause more productive lactating in nursing mothers! Quartz crystals are most often used to balance the mind and body as well as increase psychic abilities.

No matter what your thoughts or beliefs on the quartz crystal are, they are a beautiful stone that I continue to mine myself and wrap.

A stone for longevity

Of course I'm talking about Jade. This gemstone is a favorite of mine. I love the different colors that Jade comes in but none so much as the earth green of Nephrite Jade.

However, Jade comes in many varieties and its often hard to keep them all straight. The colors of each variety also are extremely varied.

African Jade tends to be bright green with naturally occuring lighter veining or spots.

Black Jade is as the title states, jet black.

Peace Jade is a pale grey with white veining and spots that can occur.

Mountain Jade is often dyed and can come in MANY colors, purple, blue and red just to name a few.

Nephrite Jade, my personal favorite, is a semi translucent earthy green color and can have black flecks in it as well.

This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the Jade varieties available on the market today.

Jade has been used not just in jewelry making over the centuries, but also in the making of instruments. When it is carved and struck it produces a tone.

Jade is also said to bring longevity to its wearer. This makes it a sacred stone for the Chinese as well as many other cultures. It is also said to bring healing and feelings of peace and calm.

In leaving you contemplating this lovely gemstone, I will share with you a jewelry piece that I made for myself. It was inspired by the designs I saw in the Lord of the Rings movies. I used sterling silver and allowed it to naturally oxidize. The picture shows it before it fully oxidized. The Jade offers a calming green that perfectly compliments the silver and makes the piece look as though it may have been a long lost relic of middle earth.

Rose Quartz and Amethyst

This is a classic combination in the smie precious gemstone world... and one that I adore. What girl doesn't love the look of pink and purple together? Amethyst and Rose quartz are also said to have special properties all their own.

Amethyst is a beautiful purple colored variety of quartz. Many used to believe that carrying an amethyst stone cured drunkenness. It was also believed to promote a clear mind and increase intelligence. It was also carried as a stone of protection.

Rose Quartz is a heart stone. It is said to heal emotional maladies and promote healing. Its also said to promote inner peace and promote forgiveness.

When the two are combined, as they are in the pieces pictured from my studio, they are said to bring love to its wearer and keep it near. What a lovely thought!