Gemstone Monday

If you've been following my blog or facebook, your aware of the recent jewelry giveaway that happened over at String Bean Studios. I gave away a pair of Turquoise earrings to a lucky winner that will announced tomorrow on Keri's blog. So, for Gemstone Monday...lets stay in the spirit and talk about Turquoise!

Turquoise has such a diverse look. Some stones have more markings than others. There are also different hues of Turquoise. The blue colour is created by copper,

the green by iron and a certain amount of chrome. Often, the material has veins or blotches running through it, which are brown, light grey or black depending on where it was found.

In recent times, turquoise, like most other gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market. The most well known deposits of turquoise are in the USA, Mexico, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan and China. The most beautiful turquoises, in a splendid light blue, come from deposits in the north of Iran.

Turquoise is one of the birthstones for the month of December.

I personally LOVE this gemstone. I've always been a earthy kind of girl, and to me this stone is the epitome of earthy loving hippy. I often create jewelry using this stone and find much inspiration from turquoise. Here is just one sample of how I have used turquoise in my jewelry designs.

Tribal Turquoise Teardrops

Ocean Project

Today is the perfect day to be working on my next project, Seashell Barettes! The sun is shining in Buffalo today reminding me that spring is right around the corner and alas the hot summer sun will be blazing in no time! Seashell Barrettes are perfect for your spring/summer wardrobe. The story behind this project goes back to my Honeymoon. We were in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in a resort that was right on the beach. Everyday for a week we got to see the tide come in and go back out, watch the sunset and sunrise over the sea and take long walks up and down the sandy shore. What started as picking up a few shells during a walk, turned into carrying arms full back to our resort room. Gorgeous shimmering shells! The ocean is a huge inspiration to my work as alot of my work is featured in a beach town boutique in Hull, Ma. These seashell barrettes were hand picked from the shores, hand drilled, wire wrapped onto French style hair clips and loaded with sparkling crystals, gemstones and fresh water pearls. I've made 1 so far and it sold and I've had many people asking about it. So, today I've designed a whole collection of these barrettes to be available through my Etsy store soon.

Here's a look at other ocean inspired jewelry I've made

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66419720/paua-shell-pendant

I'm looking forward to showing you this collection soon. Its going to be fun making these barrettes while thinking thoughts of the ocean and the beach. Peaceful, calm, salty air, tropical sounds and sights

“I have always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in my face, the gentle roar of the waves all combine to create a sense of peace and calm.”

--Anonymous

Gemstone Monday

Monday monday. Its a rainy monday here is Buffalo and while the rain is washing away the snow it is unveiling the earth below us. The ground; grass, pebbles, hunks of earthen soil clumped together. But dig a little deeper than just the ground into the earth below our feet and we discover one of my biggest inspirations to jewelry creations. Gemstones! Rocks! Beautiful, raw, organic, natural stones. A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone, or jewel) is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Here are some that may be familiar to you; Turquoise (my favorite), Amber, Quartz, Amethyst, Moonstone, Tigers eye and Amazonite to name a few. There are so many beautiful gemstones that God has created and it seems that more are discovered as time goes on.
Ok! So, today's our first gemstone Monday and I'm featuring the famous Amethyst! That rich, royal, velvety purple color that so many adore! If your birthday is in February you get the honor of wearing this gorgeous gem as your birthstone. Amethyst is found in many different areas of the world including Brazil, Uruguay, South Korea, Austria, Russia, US and Canada. The largest mining field in North America is actually very close to us East coasters...is found in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

So how has Amethyst inspired Jewelry by Bean? Although I appreciate this gemstone and reckognize its beauty, I have to admit it is not my "go-to" gemstone. I gravitate towards more warm colors and earthen colors. However, I do create pieces with this gemstone because its important for me to make things that everyone will love. I came across a gorgeous strand of amethyst last summer while in Northern California. It reminded me of rock candy with distinct irregular cuts so I jumped on that find. When shopping for supplies and gemstones in particular, I look for rarities and unique pieces. This strand made the cut! Here is just one beautiful piece I've created from that luscious strand of "rock candy".

www.etsy.com/listing/57496042/amethyst-earrings
So what do you love about Amethyst? What gemstone would you like to hear more about?