New Earrings and a New Keyboard!

My online activities have been limited for the past 8 days because my keyboard broke. No, it didn't break all by itself. Jet was under my desk, the cable got stuck on his head somehow, he got spooked and ran. The keyboard suffered.

I went directly to amazon (On my iPad because without a keyboard, going anywhere online is difficult. Couldn't believe amazon.com WAS NOT in my browser history!) and ordered a new, wireless one. It is a dream!! And it wasn't even expensive.

In the meantime, making listings on etsy was tricky business. I had to create the listing on my iPad and save it to draft mode. Then, I would go to my computer and add the photos to the listing. Tedious to say the least. What I learned is that it IS possible, just very inconvenient.

Anyway, here are a couple of pairs of earrings I listed in the past week.

Iolite Briolettes with faceted labradorites alongside.

 

Garnet Briolettes topped with garnet cubes.

Rubies dangling from links of peach moonstone and citrine.

 

Green Rutilated Quartz and textured circles.

 

You can click on any of the captions or the photos to go directly to the listings in my etsy shop!

 

 

Tucson Gem Purchases IV

 This is my final gemstone-sharing post. There are plenty more stones, but I didn't photograph them before cutting the strands. You will see them in finished products over the next few months.

For now, here are some cushion cut peridot briolettes. I am partial to this shape and will usually buy whatever gemstone I can get with it. Below that strand is the Major Splurge of this gem buying trip. These are gorgeous pink tourmaline that will make some very special earrings and necklaces.

Here are lovely green turquoise heart shaped brios that look suspiciously like some gaspeite I have. I'm pretty sure it is turquoise, as you just don't see gaspeite much, especially in briolette form. The middle strand is something I had not seen before. I was told it is blue opal from South Africa. Again, I am skeptical, but it is quite pretty, so I bought it anyway.  The bottom strand are some teeny tiny pyrite briolettes. Yum.

This last photo, top to bottom: moss aquamarine pear briolettes, amethysts (a staple gemstone, if you ask me!) and carnelian cube beads.

That's it for now, fellow gem lovers!

Tucson Gem Purchases III

And yes, there are more gems photos to share with you.

Here are some really pretty faceted garnets, intriguing moss amethyst (these brios are much smaller than any moss amethysts I've had in the past and I like this size much better) and gorgeous pear shaped emerald briolettes.

This next photo is of 3 strands of green rutilated quartz. It may have another name when it's green, but if so, I do not know it. This type of stone is so hard to "make pairs" with. That's why I bought all 3 strands that the vendor had. The chance of making pairs is much greater when you have more specimens to work with. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I have 3 more photos to share, but will save them for my next post. Thanks for tuning in!

Tucson Gem Show Purchases II

One of the most fun things we did while on our Arizona odyssey was to visit the relatively new Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale. When I say that it was the most wonderful museum I have visited in a very long time, I am not exaggerating. We spent over 5 hours there and could have spent 2 days! If you find yourselves anywhere near the place, it is a must see.

Now, back to gemstones!  These fabulous marquis shaped labradorite briolettes have amazing flash and are a really nice size at 27 -29 mm long. The strand (only one) had one broken stone, which netted me a very nice discount.

On a much brighter note, this collection features 2 strands of chalcedony embracing a strand of nicely faceted citrines. The vendor that had these stones had the most extensive selection of chalcedony I've ever seen. They dye it in the rough and then cut into stones. Sounds impressive, but for all I know, that's the way all chalcedony is handled. However it's done, I usually care most about the pretty factor.

More to come in the next few days ... thanks for sticking with me!

Tucson Gem Show Purchases I

Our fabulous tour of Arizona ended with 5 days in Tucson for the Gem Shows. In all honesty, that was a bit too much time given the budget I have. I spent a little more than I should have, but that's ok. It was great fun as usual.

Now it's time to share some of the gemmy goodness I found there.

Top to bottom: faceted black spinel, bronzite (or bronze agate -- couldn't really understand what the guy said) and the exact moonstone briolettes I was looking for!

Next up: smooth carnelian, marquis shaped little amethysts, beautifully faceted citrines

And: sweet little lapis cubes ( I really like this shape) and lapis blocks, drilled across the top, to be used as pendants

I have more photos that I plan to spread out over several blog posts, so stay tuned!

Tucson Gem Purchases

I had a wonderful time shopping for gems at the Tucson shows this year.  I found myself being more selective, which resulted in higher quality gemstones. I also managed to spend a lot less money than usual.  This is a very good thing!

Apparently, I was on a lapis kick during this trip.  Here are: teardrops, cushion cut briolettes, rondelles, pear briolettes.  Actually, if I had to summarize my purchases in one word, it would be BLUE.  Sure, I bought other colors as well, but blue was predominant.

Above are blue chalcedony, aqua chalcedony, Swiss blue topaz and kyanite.  See what I mean about the blue-ness of my trip?

Gorgeous turquoise teardrops (the vendor, Mike -- yes, we are on a first name basis after 10 years! -- told me that David Yurman bought these same turquoise stones.  I'm in very good company indeed!), green chalcedony, chrome diopside, smooth kyanite.

Amethyst (can't resist a gorgeous cut like these long faceted teardrop briolettes), green onyx rondelles, super smooth black spinel, garnets.

Sapphire rondelles, honey quartz, labradorite flat nuggets, olive green quartz.

Now I need to get busy creating more jewelry.  These stones will provide the inspiration and Rio Grande will provide the wire and findings!

Gemstones from Tucson - Part III

While I still have many strands of gemstones, I'll finish this series of posts with only 2 additional photos.  Wouldn't want to bore you to tears.

From top to bottom: moss aquamarine, hot pink chalcedony (a bit too hot for me), black spinel and minty green chalcedony.

From top to bottom: deliciously smooth turquoise briolettes, green onyx teardrops and moss amethyst.  I bought 2 strands of the moss amethyst.  That patterning in that particular stone is so inconsistent, I thought I might have a better chance of making more pairs if I bought 2 strands.

Gemstones from Tucson - Part I

As promised here are some of my purchases from the recent Tucson gem shows.  We spent 5 days there, which was about 1 1/2 days too many for my budget.  I ended up buying the same exact cut of one stone twice, simply because we were there too long.  C'est la vie.

Chrysophrase (or is it chrysoprase?), rubies and lovely little glossy lapis briolettes.

Green Quartz (that's the one I bought twice -- love that marquis cut!), amethyst and rose quartz.

More to follow ... in another day or so.  Thanks for sticking with me!

Making Pairs

Those of you that work with gemstones know what I mean when I say, "I'm making pairs".  For those of you that don't work with gemstones, here's the scoop.

Gemstones are generally sold by the strand.  With pretty little tassels on each end.  These tassels can be quite the distraction, so I try to ignore them.  See what I mean?

When purchasing said strands of beads, I try to examine the beads for uniformity of color, shape and size.  Inevitably, my inspection is far from perfect.  In all fairness to me (the inspector), it is difficult, if not impossible, to look at each and every bead on a strand.  This beautiful strand of peridot is a perfect example. There are too many beads for a complete inspection.

Once the strand is home in my studio, I cut it and start to make pairs for earrings.  Unless of course the strand is too gorgeous to cut right away.  In that case I let it remain "a strand" for maybe a few months before cutting it. I have a strand of multi-colored, graduated sapphires from Tucson, uncut.  And it will remain uncut until I wake up with an amazing design idea someday.  It will be worth waiting for.  But I digress.

Making pairs starts out kind of fun.  I use small snippets of wire to view the prospective pairs, placing the beads on the wire.  This helps determine if two beads are the same length.  It continues to amaze me that a strand which looked so uniform before being cut, can be so varied once it is actually cut.  And somewhat disappointing.  My friend Carol says I'm being too picky.  Until she tried it.  She got bored after making 2 pairs.  She nearly threw those labradorite briolettes back in their compartment and demanded that I make necklaces only.  Sheesh.

Here's what my work table looks like after several hours of pair-making.

See the little bowl in the upper left hand corner?  That's for the silver scrap that eventually gets sent in for credit.  Credit is good.

Notice that I have no room left to work.  This is tricky business.  As I use the pairs for earrings, I move the pairs further away from the actual work area.  When the first row is empty of pairs, I feel like I've made some progress.

I know what I'll be doing for the next few days.  Turning those pairs into earrings.

Tucson Gem Show Purchases . Part III

The saga continues with more gemmy photos.  Are you drooling yet?  I know that I am indeed drooling and I can't wait to actually start working with some of these gorgeous gems.

Here are some tiny peridot brios, long marquis shaped smoky quartz (I have a serious weakness for this shape), chubby marquis shaped whisky quartz and rose quartz.

Now for some cardamom cut (at least that's what he called it!) fluorite, big fat deep blue sapphire brios and more cardamom cut green amethysts.

Last one for today: rose quartz and amethyst chubby, but shorter marquis cut brios.

I think I have one more day of photos.  I hope I haven't bored you!

Tucson Shopping List

As I prepare for my annual trek to the Tucson Bead/Gem/Rock/Mineral Shows, I'm reminded of those times I went without a shopping list. I spent far too much money. I remember one time when I purchased the same item twice in one day. True, they were gorgeous lemon quartz briolettes, but I really didn't need so many of them.

I'm determined to be more thoughtful about my purchases and use my shopping list as a guide. It's so easy to get caught up in the frenzy while surrounded by an obscene selection of gemstones and pearls. The sheer beauty of a table mounded high with the luster of pearls can be overwhelming.

Here's my list:

1. Tiny white keshi pearls: I just love to use these in my cluster earrings and pendants. The brightness of the white pops and begs the eye to look closer.

2. Tanzanite rondelles: I looked for these last year, but couldn't find them at a price I was willing to pay. They may remain on my list and out of my suitcase if the same thing happens this year. The blue-purple coloring of this stone is unmatchable.

3. Citrine rondelles, large and small: I have purchased many of these in the past, but I seem to run out towards the end of every year. I'm not a huge fan of yellow, but it is the complement of violet. Is that a good enough reason to use so much of it?

4. Iolite: The medium blue (denim?) of iolite is perfect for everyday jewelry and I use tons of it. I'll be looking for rondelles and interesting briolettes.

5. Prehnite: I hope to see more of this pale green and sort of milky stone. The green is soft and easy to wear and my customers have really taken a liking to it. I'll be on the lookout for interesting briolettes.

6. Apatite rondelles: I buy some of these every year, and at the end of the year, I'm always left with a pile of them that won't fit on 26 ga wire. I will not, I repeat, not use 28 ga wire. It's not sturdy enough for me. Even 26 ga feels a little iffy to me sometimes. Ideally, I will find some that fit on 24 ga. A girl can dream, can't she?

7. Sterling silver chain: The best prices and selection can be found in Tucson, sometimes at the smaller shows.

8. Whatever else looks good -- you knew that was coming, didn't you?


Here's what I will not buy:

Multitudinous amounts of pearls - if you could see my current inventory, you would understand this.

Bali Silver - if you could see my current inventory, you would understand this.

Vintage Glass Beads - if you could see my current inventory, you would understand this.

These self-imposed guidelines are just that, guidelines. I maintain the authority to add anything to that list at any time. So there.

Cascading Gemstones

These earrings are a design that I never tire of. I always use a different combination of small gemstones, so no two pairs are exactly the same.

In this pair, I used amethysts, garnets, citrine, iolite and tourmaline in several colors. All of the shapes are different, giving these earrings textural interest.

To see the earrings from a different angle, please visit my etsy shop.

Cascading Lilac Quartz

My new line of oxidized and mostly asymmetrical necklaces is providing me with plenty of opportunity to use some of my lovely finds from the Tucson gem shows. Here, I feature lilac quartz in 2 shapes -- flat faceted rectangles and faceted briolettes. Accompanying them are some freshwater pearls in a complementary shade of lavender.

Available for sale in my etsy shop.

Clusters!

I recently created a series of pendants using some of my larger beads. Finding new ways to use these larger components has been a challenge for me. Here are the latest creations in this voyage of discovery.

I love the minty blue-green of amazonite. This large bead is top-drilled and is softly faceted. The cluster above is made up of freshwater pearls, Peruvian opals, apatite rounds and white cupped keshi pearls.
The deep pink stone is a sapphire --- yes, they come in many colors besides blue. I have topped it with golden freshwater pearls, garnets, smooth ruby rondelles and citrine rondelles. The red and gold color combination has a regal feel.

Tucson -- Part II

As promised, here's another batch of pictures from my bead buying trip to Tucson. The first photo contains my most extravagant purchase: faceted cubes of London Blue Topaz. There are also some beautiful gray quartz, garnet and pink amethyst briolettes.

The next two photos show a portion of my freshwater pearl purchases. I love coin shaped pearls and faceted pearls. Look at those lovely deep burgundy faceted pearls. They look like ripe berries. I can envision them with some garnets and lots of silver beads. Tomorrow I'll post a few more pictures -- chains and some silver. Stay tuned!

Back From Tucson!

We just returned from a 5 day whirlwind visit to the annual gem shows in Tucson. I spent most of the day yesterday sorting and cataloging my purchases. I managed to get through the gemstones and some of the silver. Today I will tackle the pearls -- my most serious weakness.

These photos are just the tip of the iceberg! Check out the gorgeous plump labradorite briolettes and the faceted cubes of pink amethyst, champagne quartz, garnets, green amethyst (prasiolite) and deep purple amethyst.

The last photo is a collection of different shapes of smoky quartz that I found on our last day in Tucson. I can't wait to play with those!

While in Tucson I ran into (almost literally!) to one of my etsyBEAD friends, Donna. What a thrill to meet an online buddy in person. I also got together with another etsyBEAD friend, Jenni. It was great to meet these talented jewelry designers in person.