Join Me In July for A 30 Day Art Challenge 2016

So, there are several different types of Art:  Painting, Drawing, Music, Writing, Crochet, Knitting, Jewelry Making, Photography etc.  Below I have compiled a 30 Day Art Challenge of things I would like to do, or specific things   I  really want to improve on.  I won't be doing this until July, because then we will be done homeschooling, but you can start anytime.  I may use any of the artistic ways I mentioned above.  I will be posting my items, here on this blog.  If you have a blog, and would like to feature each other, message me in the comments, and a way to get a hold of you.  I finished up some new art projects today, that I am working on perfecting, but until July I will not be doing anymore new painting projects.  Here is my perfect 30 day art challenge:

Day 1:  Clouds
Day 2:  Dragonflies
Day 3:  Lightning Bugs
Day 4:  Freedom
Day 5:  Flowers in a vase
Day 6:  Ladybugs and zentangle flower
Day 7:  The Wild
Day 8:  Violence      This one will be a real challenge for me
Day 9:  Someplace you would love to visit
Day 10:  Fear
Day 11:  Change the world and be happy
Day 12:  Upcycling
Day 13:  Dreams
Day 14:  Two tone palette    This one will also be a real challenge for me
Day 15:  Holy being
Day 16:  Hot
Day 17:  Cold
Day 18:  Rain
Day 19:  Snow
Day 20:  Cityscape
Day 21:  Music
Day 22:  Superhero
Day 23:  Quotes
Day 24:  Fantasy/Dragons/Fairy/Mermaid
Day 25:  Gothic        Another challenging one for me
Day 26:  Dancer or Gymnast
Day 27:  Broken
Day 28:  Education
Day 29:  Historical Event
Day 30:  Trees
Day 31:  Relax and breathe

Happy Memorial Day Red White and Blue Items on Etsy Teamsp

This is week 2 of my new series of blog posts, featuring members of Team Support and Promote.  Any member of Teamsp can participate.  If you would like to join Teamsp, there is a banner on the left hand side of this blog, just click it to go sign up. .

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, in the USA, so I chose the theme of red, white and blue items.  Each picture below, is a different Etsy shop.  I will give a very brief description of each item, and then you click the provided link to visit the shop that goes with each item.

First up from MspdesignsUSA is this adorable hen and chicks PDF applique pattern. 

 Next from, Shelleyscrochetole, is this lovely crochet red, white and blue baby blanket.

Next from CorvusDesign, is this beautiful leather wrap bracelet, with red white and blue tiles. 

Next from, Sportyracks, is this wooden wall hat rack, or coat rack.  These can be personalized.  Who doesn't love baseball?

This beautiful pendant comes from, Whittywirejewelry, and is stunning.  It is dichroic glass and wire wrapped. 

Last but not least from, Missy69, that's me, is this beautiful acrylic abstract painting of red, white and blue roses. 


Be sure and check out all these featured handmade items.  Don't forget to come back next week to see what amazing items get featured. 

Amber an Organic Gemstone

I love Amber!  I think I have said that about every gemstone I have featured, lol.  Amber is an organic gemstone, because it is formed from once living matter.  It is really an awesome thing.  Amber is formed when a specific kind of tree sap, hardens and once living creatures are trapped in the resin, and then fossilize over many many years.  They say Baltic Amber is the number one source, but actually Russia has the largest source of Amber.  Baltic Amber is favored because of its lovely orange hues.  Amber is very light, and has a very low density.  Because of its low density it can float in salt water, but sink in fresh water.  This is one of the ways to identify Amber.  There is faux Amber in the jewelry market.  Enhancements of Amber, are not common, but do occur.  Watch the very cool video below, to help you identify Amber.  If you do a search on this blog, for the living gemstone, you will see a video series I posted a while ago, that talks a lot about Amber, and why it is the living gemstone.    The ring shown at the bottom, is not Amber, but it is a vintage Amber colored glass bead, with leaf inclusions, that I wire wrapped into a ring. It is a nice piece for anyone who loves unique jewelry.  You can see it by clicking  this link 

Handmade Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is the third Sunday in June.  Check out some cool handmade gift ideas for Dad.  Click the link to visit each shop, to check out pricing and other shop details.

First up is this lovely leather wrap bracelet, for men, with Indian head button closure.  Click the link to visit CorvusDesign shop.

Next up from Shelleys Crochet Ole, is this awesome Dad throw pillow. Dad will love this in his man cave.

Third up from, Whitty Wire Jewelry, is this lovely silver wrap ring, for men or women. I think a more modern Dad would be very comfortable wearing this.

Last but least, from my shop, Missy69, is this set of four wood burned fish coasters. Great for a hunting camp, or man cave. 

You can check out all these awesome items by clicking the highlighted links.

Alexandrite Color Change Gemstone

I have probably blogged about Alexandrite before, it is one of my all time favorite gemstones, but it is next in alphabetical order of gemstones, so here we go again. I will try to add something different.  I actually wore an Alexandrite ring for years, that I made, and one day the stone just fell out and I could not find it.  I was heart broken.  I do have another, but it is quite small, and I have not found a setting I like to put it in.

Alexandrite is a color changing gemstone.  What does that mean?  It means in one light it is green, and in another light source it is red to purplish.  The newest location is Africa, but also comes from Brazil, and even USA.   It is amazing.  Alexandrite, is of course more expensive the more color change you get.  It is a naturally occurring gemstone, with no enhancements.  Most famous source is Russia, and was a stone named after Czar Alexander of Russia, hence the name Alexandrite.  It is a very durable gemstone, with a hardness of 8.5 out of 10, on the Moh's Hardness Scale.  If you can get one, and not break the bank, do it.  You won't be sorry.  There is synthetic Alexandrite, and Alexandrite simulated stones.  The best way to tell, if you are not sure, is the fakes are usually very large, with beautiful vibrant color, and 100% color change.  A genuine natural Alexandrite most likey will not be bigger than a carat, unless it came from an estate.  Alexandrite is a member of the Chrysoberyl family of gemstones.

Check out the video below showing the color change.  Please note I am not affiliated with the seller, I am just sharing the video showing the beautiful color change.

About Agates Chalcedony Family of Gemstones

When I first started this blog, it was meant to be informational to help me, and others learn about gemstones.  I love gemstones, and have been collecting, and making jewelry with them for years.  But, somehow life got busy, and I got away from the more informational type posts.  While I will still share new creations, I make, I will be doing an A-Z listing of gemstones, and info about them.  There are a lot, lol, so mark my blog if you are interested in reading on.

First up are Agates, which actually are a member of the Chalcedony family of gemstones.  Gemstones are kind of like animal classifications.  There are groups, and subgroups, for each gemstone.  It can get confusing.  If I have a jewelry piece created, I will share it, or an image of a loose stone.  If not I will try to find a video.  I love my Gemstones of the World book, and I really need an updated version.

Agates are very common gemstones, found world wide, and are often made into beautiful carvings.  It is very often banded, with curved bands, a distinguishing identifier from other Chalcedony.  They have a hardness of 6.5-7, which means you need to be a little gentle with them, when placing in jewelry, and then wearing.  Agates are also often died, due their porous make up, and they come in some of the most beautiful colors, vivid and bright.  Agates are found close to where volcanic masses are, and if  you get to see petrified agates, that is an awesome process where the agate replaces the petrified wood.  Very cool!  There are varieties of Agates, but most will have the agate name to it.  Like, Dendritic Agate, Crazy Lace Agate, Blue Lace Agate, Fire Agate, etc.

Below are a couple of videos about Agates.  The first one is how to identify Agates, and these are in their rough form, which means no cutting or polishing has taken place.

This second one is even more cool. This last one just shows some beautiful Agates after they have been harvested, cut and polished. I love Agates!

Learn To Make Leather Wrap Bracelets

Just a quick post with a few videos on how to make leather wrap bracelets. I do not follow the technique completely, as there are things I don't particularly like, but it will give you an ideas of how to do it, if you want to try. I definitely want to get good enough to try the bracelet in the second video. It might take a while,  lol. 



 

Learning Some New Techniques

Hello, to all my readers! I know it has been a bit since I posted, again, but life has been crazy these past 10 days. Now my air conditioner is on the fritz. Trust me if you have ever been to Florida, then you know it is already plenty hot in May. I am hoping that is getting fixed today, but we have had so many curve balls, who knows. We have been having fun too, with Mother's Day, my daughter's birthday, and lots of her friends had birthdays all the same week. I have had no time to do anything crafty, until yesterday.

 Yesterday, I had a whole day to catch up on a lot of things, including learning some new jewelry making techniques. Those of you who read regularly know that I am always wanting to learn new techniques, and perfect old ones. I feel pretty comfortable with my wire wrapping rings technique, I could do a little fancier but you know, it is wire. I also know that a lot of people are doing the wrap bracelets, but I always wanted to learn to do them myself, so I did.  There were a couple of things about the technique that I didn't care for, so I am doing my own sort of way.   I love bracelets, and anklets, by far my favorite jewelry choice. I don't care for wire wrapped bracelets, and just beads, not so much either. So, I did some leather wrap bracelets, and a hemp chord braided bracelet. Both are new techniques and ideas. One thing I do like is you use a button for the closure, which makes the bracelet so easy to get on and off, and there are some really awesome buttons out there. My mom collects buttons, and she gave me a few vintage buttons. Now that I sort of know what I am doing I will be on the hunt for buttons. Anyway the leather wrap bracelet below, has a patriotic red white and blue theme, with a very cool resin support our troops cabochon for the button closure. I made the resin piece over a year ago, and could not decide what to do with it. Check this bracelet out, plus my new clearance section, in my Etsy store. 

The Birthstone for May: Emeralds

I love so many gemstones, but I truly love Emeralds. I love the brighter green hues, more than the darker hues. I do not currently have any Emerald left in my loose gemstone collection, but I hope to start accumulating some again, soon. Emerald is the birthstone for May, and my daughter's birthstone. The short video below gives you a small bit of info about Emeralds. I probably have others I have shared over the years. You can just search for Emeralds on my search bar, and they will come up.  The video below was created by Kay Jewelers. 

Clearance Sale in My Etsy Shop Missy69

I have placed four beautiful resin pendant/necklace sets on clearance. Just in time for Mother's Day. Don't forget that my shop accepts Etsy gift cards, so you could always let Mom pick her own gift with that option. The piece shown below has a real blue topaz in it, and is white resin with a touch of glitter, for glitz. The chain comes with it. There are three others, with flowers, purple glitter, and earrings. All are priced to sell, and only one of each kind. I truly make one of a kind jewelry, lol. Head on over to my Etsy shop, now, and save your favorites, or purchase a gift card for Mom.