Learn To Do The African Helix Stitch

Check this out. I would love to learn to do this. I am going to give it a try, as soon as I get a few extra minutes to play around with it. Very cool indeed.

10K YG Vintage Ring Setting, Make Over

This ring setting, is a vintage 10K YG setting, approximately 50 yrs old. I acquired this because it had two Citrine, and two round Diamonds in it. The owner asked me to remove those stones, and make two pairs of earrings. One for her, and the Diamonds were to be put away for her grandaughter. She gave me the setting, after the stones were removed, as payment for my work. I placed a Peridot, and a cherry Red Garnet in the setting. Peridot is my birthstone, and the Garnet represents my husband and son, who are Rubies. My daughter is an Emerald, so the green has symbolism for her as well. The two round stones, are Pink Tourmalines. This ring is a little big for me, but it looks quite good, on the finger pictured. It is very dirty, and needs to be cleaned, but what a lovely end piece.

Handmade Cell Phone Cases

My mom makes these lovely cases. They can be for a cell phone, cigarettes, money, credit cards whatever. I have one that I use for trips, for cash, credit cards, and my cell phone. She hand sews the case, then hand beads the cabachons to the case. The two pictured are a maltese dog, and a mother horse, and her colt. These would make lovely gifts for Valentines Day, Easter or Mothers Day. They are available for sale in my Etsy store, or you can purchase here on my blog, save 5 dollars and get free shipping. If you are interested you can contact me here, or at darien04@gmail.com Incidentally I have had mine for 3 yrs, and it is still in perfect condition.

Free Wire Wrapping Tutorial, Make Your Own Jewelry

Check out this short video, with wire wrapping instructions. I will be adding some of these every few days, or so.

Blue Diamond and Pink Sapphire Band Ring

This ring is Blue Diamonds, and a pink color change Sapphire gemstone. The blue diamonds are 2mm rounds, and the sapphire is a 2.5mm round. They are set in 10k yellow gold band ring. It is a size 4 1/2. I showed it with my white gold diamond wedding band, to see how it looked. I actually very much like it with my Emerald solitaire that is yellow gold, not pictured yet. Because the blue diamonds also can have a green hue to them, it looks lovely with the Emerald. This lovely ring will stay in my personal collection, and interchange with my traditional wedding set. I love colored gemstones, and blue diamonds are my favorite. Though they are very expensive. Each blue diamond cost 5 dollars each, even at this small size. Imagine a 1ct with nice color, and clarity would cost, jeesh.

Emerald and Green Sapphire Ring

This sterling silver green Sapphire semi mount, was purchased from one of my favorite Ebay suppliers. He does not stamp all his settings 925, but I own several of his settings, and they have never tarnished. I hand set the lovely 3.5mm round Emerald into the setting. The surrounding stones, are mint green Sapphires. It is a size 5, and I must say I love it, definitely one of my favorites. It will be available for sale in my Etsy store, or you can buy it here, and get free shipping, and 5 dollars off of list price. Emerald is the birthstone for May, and is a very durable gemstone.

My Sister's Earrings

My sister asked me to make her a pair of Blue Topaz earrings. These are those earrings. I just did them yesterday, and will be shipping them off to her soon. Blue Topaz is her husband's birthstone, and that is what she requested. They are 4mm rounds, set in sterling silver. She wanted studs so she could wear them to work. I will be making more of these, and they will be available for sale, in my Etsy store for 14.99 per pair.

SS Green Labradorite/Andesine Ring

I have blogged about Green Labradorite/Andesine before. You can check my archives to see the full detailed article. I bought two of these lovely gemstones, a while back. I have set them both in rings, the second one I have not taken a picture of yet. It has a very unique color, and some have color change properties to them. It is not a natural gemstone, in that it is bulk diffused to get this color. The green is more rare than the red. I do not have any red, or at least not to my knowledge. I do have some cherry red gemstones, that I got in a parcel, but they could be Madagascan Garnet. This is a sterling silver filagree design ring. It is a size 7.25 It is available for sale. If you are interested please contact me for details. Of note the Yellow variety of Labradorite is the natural form that this gemstone comes out of the ground in. If you do not yet own any Yellow Labradorite, I recommend getting some.

February Contest Win This Silver Cross With Blue Pearl

Okay ready for a Contest? This is the first one I have had in a while. This will be added to the top of the blog, to remind you to enter. It will be awarded to my top Entrecard dropper, in the month of February. If there is more than one top dropper, their names will be put in a hat, and one name drawn. This lovely pendant is silver, with a Freshwater Blue Pearl, that I wire wrapped to it, using very thing sterling silver wire. Just in time for Easter. You will need to supply a chain for it. Sign up to follow my blog, so you can not forget to drop on my Entrecard. If you do not have Entrecard, you have plenty of time to sign up, and get your site approved before the contest begins. Contest officially starts on Feb 1st at midnight, and will end on Feb 28th at midnight. Winner will be announced on March 1st. Only USA droppers are eligible to win. I will not ship internationally. Good luck, and dont forget to make your drops.

Teal Topaz With Pink Inlaid Mother Of Pearl

I bought the pink inlaid Mother Of Pearl semi mount, from Jewelry Television. It is sterling silver, with a half bezel mount. I will not by the bezel setting again, I just do not like the way the stones get set in there. I have used back set bezel settings, and they were okay. They are also nice if you have a delicate stone you do not want to ding. Anyway I do love the pink inlaid mother of pearl, just not the half bezel setting. It did come out quite lovely though, when finished.

Topaz does not come out of the ground this color. It is either heat treated, or irradiated to achieve the desired color. White Topaz is very abundant, thank goodness, as that is what is used to get all the wonderful colors that Topaz comes in. This ring is not for sale, it will be staying in my collection. However I do have other loose gemstones in this variety, so be sure to watch for more if you love this color. I also have a pair of earrings in Teal Topaz that are available for sale. To see them you can see the archives, or click on my Etsy mini, at the bottom of the page, or just ask me.

More Amethyst, February Birthstone Jewelry

This lovely sterling silver ring is an Amethyst, and Pink Sapphire gemstone ring. The Amethyst is a 8mmx4mm marquis cut gemstone, surrounded by round Pink Sapphires. I bought the semi mount, and hand set the Amethyst into the semi mount. Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February. Amethyst is a very durable gemstone, and can be worn for everyday wear. This lovely ring is available for sale in my Etsy Store for 49.99 or you can purchase it here through my blog for 44.99 with free S/H to USA buyers only. If you are interested you can visit my Etsy store, or contace me at darien04@gmail.com for more info.

SS Amethyst and Yellow Sapphire Pendant

This lovely pendant, is dainty, and perfect for all Amethyst lovers. I made this using a sterling silver semi mount, with round Yellow Sapphires. I then set the Amethyst bead onto the peg setting,and voila you have a lovely pendant. Amethyst is the birthstone for February. The Amethyst bead is a 4mm round, and the Yellow Sapphires are app 1.5mm rounds. This lovely pendant is available for sale for 24.99 with free S/H to USA members only. The chain is not included. If you are interested please contact me, for details. This is not available for sale to any child 12 or under, so please be aware of that.

My Bead Pen Is Finally Finished

Oh my goodness I had a hard time getting a great shot of this pen. I do not know why, but any way here it is, please forgive the Publishers Clearing house junk mail, in the shot. I have had this pen for a while, and while it was not difficult to assemble the pen, I did have a hard time finding beads for it. I finally found these lovely hand crafted beads, custom made for me by Breathtaking Beadzz I have never been a huge bead fan, until I discovered beaders on Etsy. I have never seen so many creative designs for beads. The pen can be purchased at Art Beads You should check out both of these websites, and see all of their awesome products. Art Beads offers a free learning center, with tons of information, and instructions for jewelry, and crafters. Be sure to check it out. This lovely pen, is available for sale for 49.99 in my Etsy shop, or you can buy it here through my blog, for 45.99 and free shipping. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

SS Teal Topaz Earrings With CZ Accents

These lovely earrings are Teal Topaz with Diamond CZ accents. They are sterling silver, leverback design.

Topaz comes in so many interesting colors, and varieties. At least 95% of Topaz is treated using White Topaz, and Irradiation, Heat, or Bulk Diffusion to get such interesting, and splendid colors. These were created using snap tite earring settings. Snap tite settings are the easiest way to set gemstones, and I have a tutorial available in the archives explaining it. They are very often not the most durable settings though, especially when in ring form. I have never really found a snap tite ring, that I liked, the prongs are extremely flimsy. However there are ones being made now that have Sterling Silver as the main element, with the Head of the ring being White Gold thereby making it stronger. I have not tried any of these to verify this.

Each earring has a 7mmx5mm oval Teal Topaz with round CZ accents. These will be listed in my Etsy store for 34.99. You can also purchase them here for 29.99, and free shipping. The price difference is due to fees charged by Etsy. Save some money, and buy through my blog. Just contact me for info, free shipping is to USA only. All my products are not marketed for anyone under the age of 12. A release must be signed stating product is not being purchased for any child under 12.

New Lead Law Will Effect Small Business

Okay let me first say, I think I am a little behind on this because I just heard about it a couple of days ago. All the reading I do, and this somehow slipped past me. If you have no idea what I am talking about, there is a new law that goes into effect Feb 10th 2009. The basics of the law is that all manufactures, both buyers and sellers, of products geared towards children under the age of 12 must meet new lead testing standards. The cost of said test is 300-400 dollars, per product. This includes clothing, accessories, and toys. I did not even know clothing contained lead.

I have been doing some research for the past few days, because of course I had questions. First off it says that resellers, thrift stores, and consignment stores do not need to test their current or future inventory. However they can not sell products known to contain lead, or items that have been recalled by manufacturers.

Second the law does say that this law should not put a financial strain on small business, and crafters because they should not be able to buy supplies that contain lead. In other words, the people that crafters buy their supplies from should not be selling supplies that do not meet the new laws guidelines.

As someone who makes jewelry, not that I think anyone under 12 has ever received my items, I was still concerned. So I looked up if gemstones, and or precious metals contain lead. The basic answer was no. However some hand crafted beads, and glass based products can contain lead. Here is the the law that I found concerning this: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia09/brief/leadlimits.pdf

Even though it seems that I do not use any of the products that would be banned, I am still nervous. Since I buy my settings, from crafters who make the settings, who is ultimately responsible? The crafter that makes the settings, or me the seller that buys and uses them. I find the law to be very vague in this respect, and also how will they be monitoring all of this. I dont see how it is possible to police the whole industry.

Also what about coin sellers. I can only assume that there are some children who collect coins. I assume this will effect them as well, but maybe not as they did not make the coins.

I am at a quandry as what to do, but for now I will be adding a disclaimer to this blog, and my Etsy store stating that none of my products are available for sale to anyone who is purchasing them for a child 12 or under. I will also be adding this to my invoice, and the buyer must agree in writing which will be saved for my records. This may be extreme, but I do not intend to stop making jewelry, because big business wants to put small business, out of business.

Red Jasper, or Red Agate Wire Wrapped Pendant

This is either a Red Jasper, or Red Agate gemstone. I think it is Jasper, but am not sure. Whatever it is, it is quite lovely. I used the cage technique, to wire wrap the gemstone. I have posted the link for the tutorial for the cage technique, it is available in the archives. It is one of the easier wire wrapping techniques to learn, especially for odd shaped stones, such as this one. I used colored, soft and very pliable craft wire, and the results are lovely. Wire wrapping is still very new to me, and I continue to learn.

Color Change Diaspore Ring

I have blogged about this gemstone before, you can find it in my archives. I really did not like the original setting I had it in, so I removed it and just set it aside. I think the main problem with the stone, is that it was sold to me as an 8mmx6mm oval stone. It is more like an 8mmx7.5mm making it almost round, not oval. Because it is not a standard calibrated size, it makes it more difficult to find a setting for it. I could have taken it to a jeweler and had a custom setting made. That could have cost hundreds of dollars, so I just waited knowing I would find something appropriate eventually. I tried round settings, and it just would not sit correctly. Finally this one, which is actually for a square cut stone, fit it perfectly. It allows a lot more light to pass through the stone, than the previous setting I used. Therefore the beauty of the stone can be better seen. As you can see it has a lovely Kiwi Green color, and under incandescent light changes to a lovely pinkish color, sometimes yellow. It is a natural gemstone mainly found in Turkey, and is sold under the trade name of Zultanite. It has a hardness of about 6 1/2 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, making it durable but care must be taken when wearing it. It is definitely a gemstone worthy of any collector, or jewelry lover.

3rd Year Wedding Anniversary Gemstone

This year will be my 3rd Wedding Anniversary. I wanted to know which gemstone represents that Anniversary, and it is two of my favorites. Pearls, and Jade. I love both Pearls, and Jade especially grey Pearls, and pink Jade. I will be looking to see if I can find something I love to make myself a piece of jewelry for my Anniversary. My husband does not ever buy me jewelry, I always make my own. Except for my wedding band, though I am looking to make a new one of those too. The two items pictured are both Freshwater green Pearls. One is a cuff style bracelet, which will adjust for most wrist sizes. The other is a cute pair of leverback style earrings. These are both available for sale in my Etsy store, or you can purchase them here, and get free shipping and handling, to USA buyers.

Huge Orange Fire Murano Glass Pendant With Chain

This lovely necklace is a 40mm Murano Glass bead, you can buy one here http://www.artbeads.com/mrg-006.html

I used a copper colored very flexible craft wire to make the bead into a pendant. then I added a fancy scroll gold tone jumpring and attached it to the 20 inch goldtone chain. This is substantial and lovely. I was going to add pearls to the links of the chain, but I didn't like the way it looked, so I left it as it is now. This lovely necklace will be available for sale in my Etsy store for 74.99, or you can purchase it here through my blog, and get free S/H, plus 10% off. This applys to USA buyers only, that pay with paypal. I do not currently ship internationally. If you are interested please feel free to contact me.

I Really Need To Get Going

I have been so busy the last 3 weeks, I have not been able to make any new pieces.

I finally found the beads I want to buy for my Beadpen. I got the bead pen here http://search.artbeads.com/?gallery_view=&lcr=1&view=&q=bead+pen&x=15&y=17

It took me a while because I wanted a certain kind. I now have to order them, as they will be specially made. The cost is a little bit more than I wanted, meaning I will have to sell it at a higher price, than I intended. But they will make a lovely gift for someone.

I still have not received all my ring supplies, but they should be here soon. I got some really interesting semi mounts coming, and I can not wait to start creating, and sharing them with all of you.

I should have some time later today, to start creating. Have a great Monday, everyone.

Hot Pink Tourmaline Ring

Tourmaline is the official USA gemstone, and one of my favorite family of gemstones. It is almost always natural in color, with no enhancements. It comes in a whole range of colors, including this lovely Hot Pink color. It has a hardness of 7-71/2 on the Moh's hardness scale. It is known to have inclusions, and is often accepted in the trade, especially in the more rare varieties. This ring is a size 6 1/2, sterling silver featuring a 3mm round Hot Pink Tourmaline gemstone, flanked on either side by two 3mm round White Topaz gemstones. Each stone weighs approximately 10 points, giving it an approximate carat weight of 1/3 of a carat, or 30 points. This would make a lovely wedding band. It sits low, and will not catch if you work in a very active profession. I have two of them, and they would make great ring guards as well. If you are interested you can purchase through my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16276222 for 29.99 for one ring. Or you can buy through this blog, and get free S/H to USA customers only. Any questions, please feel free to ask me.

Hey All You January Babies

First of all no matter what date you were born on in January, Happy Birthday. My mom's birthday is January 5th. I am making her a matching pair or Magnesite(White Buffalo Turqoise) earrings. I made her the necklace, for Christmas and she loved it.

Garnet is the birthstone for January babies. My mom has tons of Garnet jewelry, which is why I did not make a Garnet piece for her.

The most popular form of Garnet is the Red Garnet, and most affordable. Depending on what hue of red you like, it can be very dark red like brick colored, or a more cherry red which comes from Madagascar. There are several other red stones, that you could use in replace of Garnet, if you like the more exotic type stones. Such as Red Spinel, Red Labradorite, Hessonite Garnet, Red Diamond, or even a Ruby if you love Rubies.

There are more exotic colors of Garnet that can also be substituted for the traditional red color. Most of these are rare, and very expensive to purchase. There is Mandarin Garnet which is the orange variety of garnet, shown in the pear shape stone. Most material found now is included, and color is not always great. Tsavorite Garnet which is a lovely green color. It is shown it in the picture with the oval stone. It can be darker, which is more valuable, though they are all valuable. Rhodolite Garnet which is sometimes referred to as the Raspberry Garnet. In top quality it is a lovely pink/raspberry color, and can bring in high prices. It is shown in the picture with the oval stone. Demantoid Garnet, though similar in color to Tsavorite it has more brilliance and fire, and can be confused with a diamond. It is very expensive, and hard to get in good quality. I do own one, but do not have a picture of it. It is small, and I cherish it.

Garnets come in all colors except blue, and are natural with no know treatments, or enhancements to them.

Most of these pieces are available for sale. You can see my scrolling template on my sidebar, or you can visit my Etsy store. If you live in the USA, and purchase through my blog, S/H is free, and I do combine shipping, paypal, layaway, and tracking numbers. I no longer am shipping internationally, at least not right now. If you would like to ask about a piece, please feel free to email me, or drop me a comment here.

My Top Entrecard Droppers For December

It is that time again, where I say thank you to all my Entrecard droppers. These are the top 10 droppers for December. Please take a minute and visit each of these great blogs.

http://glue4families.today.com
http://joytoy-challenges.blogspot.com
http://cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.blogspot....
http://paperkraft.blogspot.com
http://www.basketballdaily.today.com
http://california.today.com/
http://sandiegobackroads.today.com/
http://www.stevenhumour.com
http://beadedtail.blogspot.com/
http://shopperista.com

This is the website that I got the most clicks from advertising my widget on their blog:
http://spottedcowsoaps.blogspot.com with 20 clicks to my blog in 24 hrs.

If you do not have Entrecard, you should get it. It is a great way to get new readers, comments, and traffic to your blog.

Happy New Year 2009

Happy New Year, 2009 May all your dreams come true.





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