Rings & Things Blogger Challenge - Christmas baubles!

Am at home sick today with a bad head cold and sore throat. I am coming out of my self induced medicated coma and watching it rain outside. There is only so many hours a person can sleep a day. I am at that restless state. I sat at my work table trying to find something to do to keep me busy and to take my mind off of being sick.

I began to clean and organize, yet again. During my cleaning I saw the Christmassy lampwork beads from Rings & Things Blog Partner package. I have two more shows before Christmas so why not make something with these.

These little guys put me way out of my comfort zone. I am not a 'themed' creator. It is really difficult for me to use an item in a piece that is so limited in its use - season wise. I almost feel like a sell out creating what I have. Sometimes I guess you just have to go with what is obvious.















Here is what I used.

40-099-24-7 - Chain, Footage, Oval Curb, 10.5mm (Antiqued Copper Plated) *
28-333-59 - Christmas Tree Glass Bead (Limited Stock)(Green/Red/White)*
28-333-72 - Christmas Teddy Bear Glass Bead (Limited Stock)(Brown)*
28-333-73 - Christmas Penguin Glass Bead (Limited Stock)(Black/White)*
28-333-69 - Christmas Stocking Glass Bead (Limited Stock)(Green/Red)*
Random plastic beads from my inventory

I used head pins and created charms out of each of the beads. I added copper spacers to some and seed beads to others to keep the head of the pin from going thru the large hole. It adds a bit to the bead as well. I attached each with a jump ring to the chain. Using the jump ring as opposed to wrapping them directly to the chain links gives the charms more motion, and isn't that what you want with a charm bracelet?













Here's what I used.

28-333-67-211 - Gingerbread Man Glass Bead (Limited Stock)(Red)*
Leather
Lampwork bead from a repurposed bracelet
metal clip

The holes in these beads are big, making them very versatile with what you can string them on. This would be a cute zipper pull or back pack decoration for the holiday season.

These little lampwork cuties come on a strand of approx 15 - 17 beads and cost approx .50 each. How can you not use these for all of your holiday needs. Not only can you use them in jewelry/accessory designs as I have, but with the large hole, you can use them to decorate nearly everything. Try running ribbon through the hole and tying them to the packages!














This I made for myself. I love this little bottle. It is the cutest. I wanted to do something with it that would keep it with me all the time. Keychain! I filled the bottle with orange seed beads. Orange being the color of creativity. Then paired it up with magnesite, carnelian and citrine to round out the purpose I need this keychain for.

56-999-05-042 - Octagon Glass Bottle (Clear)*
Magnesite, 15x20mm Nugget Bead *

Magnesite brings a deep peace to meditation and relaxation. Magnesite can be very helpful in the practice of unconditional love in situations where relationships with other people are difficult because of their behavior or addictions. It helps you to feel centered, standing by, allowing the other person to be who they are without requiring them to change or be affected in anyway by their difficulties.

Carnelian is a stone of creativity, individuality and courage. It also brings a relief from anger, jealousy and fear. In addition it can help with manifestation of one’s desires, and brings good luck.

Citrine is known as a “success” stone because it is said in folklore to promote success and abundance, especially in business and commerce. Its lore also says that it enhances mental clarity, confidence, happiness and will power. Citrine is purported to bring good fortune, sometimes in very unexpected ways.

There is still time to order these little gems for your holiday needs. What would you do with them?

*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Rings & Things were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program. These items are for review or design purposes. Find out more about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

Turquoise for Decembers birthstone

I have always been drawn to a more hand crafted style of jewelry, which is why I think I have always stayed away from the traditional birthstones, and the traditional settings. Growing up, I remember traditionally, blue topaz as the birthstone of December. Until I started researching for this post. I had intended on writing about turquoise being the non-traditional birthstone for December, but the more I read, the more it appears that turquoise has been considered the traditional birthstone for some time now. When I discovered that there are in fact non-traditional birthstones, it was very exciting to me. It allowed me to wear my "birthstone", and be the unique individual that I am and not look like my jewelry had been stamped out of a catalog.

It is said that turquoise gets it name because it was brought to Europe by way of Turkey. It was considered by ancients to be a sacred stone, protecting the wearer from evil. It was also one of the first stones used in jewelry. Turquoise is the stone of communication and great friendship. Giving a gift of turquoise is the sign of a true friend.

You will see turquoise sold in many different ways - natural, stabilized, enhanced, and reconstituted(pressed) - natural being the most expensive.

Stabilized turquoise: Turquoise can be very porous and fragile depending on the source. This involves soaking the rough material in an artificial resin or impregnating it with wax, to improve its color, to harden its surface for cutting or to maintain its appearance and strength over time. American turquoise is very porous and quite crumbly to work with, so it is nearly always stabilized or coated in some way.

Enhanced turquoise:Means just that - the color of the turquoise has been enhanced. Oil, paraffin or copper salt are used to improve color and luster,most times only leaving temporary results. One way to check for enhancement is to look inside the holes of beads or scratch the turquoise with a sharp point the interior of the bead or scratch mark will be a lighter color than the exterior.

Reconstructed or pressed turquoise: (very common)Turquoise powder and small chips are bonded with liquid plastic resin, dyed and then baked. Once the material is solid, it is cut in the same way as natural turquoise and can be dyed to various colors, including the expensive dark blues and sky blues. One way to tell for sure is by heating a small piece of turquoise. It will produce the sharp odor of burnt plastic.

Unless you are looking for the just the 'turquoise color' - don't be fooled by imposters. You will see dyed howlite, dyed magnesite, and dyed resin being passed off as turquoise. There is a heft and 'glassy' feel to howlite. The veins in howlite can be too regular as well. Magnesite can be a tough one to distinguish from turquoise. It can be light weight like turquoise and 'waxy' as well. The one quick way to know is the price. If you are getting big chunks or slabs of 'turquoise' and it is below 20 bucks - most likely it isn't. Turquoise is sold by the gram by most vendors who have the real thing.

Two great places to get turquoise on line is Rings & Things and Art Beads. They tell you exactly what you are getting, and they are priced just right.

Here are some great examples from Rings & Things

Bead, Gemstone, 8-12mm Nugget (Chinese Turquoise)*

Bead, Gemstone, Nugget, Medium (Turquoise) *





A great selection from Art Beads -

Irregular Stabilized Chinese Turquoise Heishi Beads *



Irregular Stabilized Turquoise Flat Pear Drops *



So many ways to showcase turquoise -

Accented with bali style spacers and crystals on sterling













Like a strand of turquoise pearls.













Classically strung with coral














As a focal for a pendant















Have fun with your designs. It is not your mothers turquoise anymore. No more set in heavy silver, or on thick wrist bands. Let your imagination run!!


*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Rings & Things and Art Beads were not provided as a promotional gift or for review. These are only examples of items that can be purchased online to give the readers a source for their beading needs. Permission was given by Rings & Things and Art Beads to use their images in this post.

Cubic Zirconias from ArtBeads

I got a beautiful selection of cubic zirconia beads from Art Beads over the weekend. Rich and warm in color, these are truly amazing.













CZ-BOR-OV9 - 7x9mm Burnt Orange CZ Oval *
CZ-BOR-REC10 - 8x10mm Burnt Orange CZ Rectangle *
CZ-CRY-CN6 - 6mm Crystal CZ Coin *
CZ-YEL6 - 6mm Yellow CZ Round Bead *



I had never worked with CZ's before and did a bit of research on them to share with you.

What is a cubic zirconia? Cubic zirconia is a man-made, synthetic stone used as an inexpensive alternative to a diamond or other colored gemstone.

Is a CZ the same as Zircon? No. Zircon is not to be confused with cubic zirconia. Zircon is a natural occurring gem, not man made. It is a zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4) and cubic zirconia (or CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2).

Cubic zirconia beads are delicate, and it is advise the utmost care be taken when working with them. To keep their polish at an optimum, it is best to treat them gently taking care of possible wear and tear when a piece is being worn by teaming it with non abrasive beads to prevent scratching. I did notice there are a few small nicks on the beads that I have, and I am guessing it is from rolling about with the other beads in the packaging. A nice soft cotton cloth for polishing finished designs is a good way to bring up their shine and when possible the use of cotton gloves when working with them will also prevent dulling their finish.

When I think of a CZ, I immediately think of a diamond. I did not know they came in so many different colors. Metal oxides are added to the CZ manufacturing process to create the different colors. Here are a few examples of what metals are used to create different colors.

Cerium: yellow, orange. red
Chromium: green
Neodymium: purple
Erbium: pink
Titanium: golden brown

These beads are heavier than Swarovski or Czech glass beads, and more expensive. Depending on what you are wanting to make, you can use the CZ's as an accent or have an exquisite piece of just CZ's, the choices are endless!

Thank you Art Beads for giving me the chance to work with such beautiful beads!

*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Art Beads were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.

Saturday's show

Saturday finally came, and I was beside myself with anticipation - check that - worry. After hearing that I had a 10x10 space, I knew I would not have enuff inventory to fill it. In my panic, I cranked out a few new pieces to make myself feel better about all that empty real estate I was going to be looking at all day.

Rousted James out of bed (he was surprisingly pleasent) and off we went. It wasn't that far away, only an hour, but I am glad we had extra time - we got lost. One of my biggest concerns was that doors open to vendors at 8 - doors open to public at 9. That gives me an hour to set up. Found my spot, right next to a baked goods booth (oh the irony) and "oh happy day!", they had provided a table and two chairs!!! I was grateful to have the help, and flustered because he had no idea how to set it up and was always in my way. I stood in my chair and made an announcement to all the other vendors in the room I would rent him out for the morning. Everyone cheered and laffed, cept him :)

Now how do I want to set it up? I chose setting up the table along one side of the area instead of in the middle to open up the booth and hopefully make people feel more welcome. This proved to be a good choice with the table next to me being crowded all day. There was a lot of overflow into my area of people visiting and shopping the yummy desserts.



On the end of the table, I hung (hanged?) DISPLAYED! two signs. One with my name and my town (shows I am local), and the second touting the give away I am doing. I was excited about the give away. I offer the give aways to my FaceBook fans and to my blog readers, but I wanted to extend it to my shoppers as well. I had the necklace and the issue of Bead Trends it was published in displayed on the table with a little tent telling customers they could 'Win This!' If they signed up for my email list they got one entry, bought something, they got three more entries added to their name for a possible total of four. It was a smashing success!

I used half of the table cloth to cover my small table, and the other half draped across the chair to hold my earring board. I put one of my signs against the wall to show some of my pieces that have been published in Bead Trends and then had several of the magazines displayed under the earring board so customers could browse them if they wanted to.






As it happened - I had more than enuff to cover both tables! I honestly could have set up another table if I had had another cloth to cover it. This opens up a whole new world for me and the size of the shows I can do. I was very excited.

Over all it was a great success. My formula for a good show, is that I make three times my booth rent in sales. This show, I did over five times my booth rent!!!!

During the down times I do have to find ways to entertain myself. This show was no different. The ladies had provided each of the vendors with a little goodie bag of water, Nabs, and some Chicklets.

You know exactly what I did!