Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Turquoise ... blue and green

Turquoise, one of my favourite semiprecious stones, has been prized for thousands of years. It appears that the stone first found it's way to Europe, from Turkey. Thus the name 'turquoise' was derived.

Turquoise is available in a number of finishes. Some of these are a result of human intervention (e.g re-constituted turquoise) and some are natural. While I like the earthy turquoise stones, sometimes a splash of brighter colour is a great addition to a piece of jewelery. The Turquoise Guide (http://www.turquoiseguide.com) reports that this 'reconstituting' method involves grinding turquoise 'trash', mixing it with a powder, pouring it into a mold and drying it. The resulting material is cut into slabs, and then used for making jewelery (or whatever else the buyer wishes to do with it). This material is of lower value than other turquoise. The Turquoise Guide reports that natural turquoise is hard to aquire, and very expensive.

I am currently making a bracelet, in which several different turquoise types are used. These are mixed with lapis lazuli (because with this bracelet I am taking a tilt at the old 'blue and green should never be seen' mantra... the natural world is rich in the blue and green mix, and I find it very pleasing to the eye).  Finally, here are some pics... turquoise, aventurine, African jade, lapis lazuli, faceted opalite, blue fresh water pearl and a few beautiful, aqua coloured, faceted Czech crystal cathedral beads.  Blue and green are beautiful together!






Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Gift for a Friend

This simple necklace features a beautifully multi-coloured agate bead framed with antique copper beads, wire wrapped with oxidised copper to a fine, copper chain. The piece clasps with hand forged, hammered hook and rings.  The reds in this bead are amazing!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Simply Beaded



These are simply beaded, using some of my favourite semiprecious beads, enhanced with Czech glass, three simple necklaces. These are designed to sit neatly with a t-shirt neckline, thus can be worn either inside a collar or on a more casual day!  Find them at Natural Candy on Etsy.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012






Ocean Blossom
This amazing bead came from Beadoire, a little shop in Bayside, Brisbane. There, glass artist Maureen Nugent, creates her gorgeous selection of beads.  This one, like a splash of water catching the sun, hangs from silver plated chain on a handmade paddle pin. Tiny, bright lapis beads repeat the deep blues of Maureen's bead.

Visit Beadoire at http://www.beadoire.com/

Find this necklace listed for sale in my Etsy store at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/90269508/silver-necklace-long-ocean-blossom

Monday, January 16, 2012


Jasper, a stone that's available in an astonishing range of colours (from naturals to forest greens to bright, oceanic blues and the captivatingly named 'dragon blood' jasper which contains patches of bright red) is the bead of choice on these sterling silver/silver plated pieces. Matched with sterling silver and Czech crystal these are eye catching indeed.

SOPA to wait

According to posters in the Etsy world, U.S president Barack Obama has signalled that he will veto both the SOPA and PIPA bills. This means that for the moment we users of the digital world, will not be saddled with responsibility for any (even inadvertent) breaching of copyright law.  Shutdowns have been planned all over the Net world, and these include such major players as Wikipedia. I don't know whether or not they will go ahead but to my mind it might be wise to continue watchful and be ready to take action where possible.

Well done, activists and freedom lovers everywhere!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Summer Cherry


These are the last of my stock of faceted, agate beads, in a necklace and matching earrings. I have used oxidised copper chain and findings for these beads. I like the rich colour of copper with the glowing translucence of red agate.  These are available for sale in my Etsy shop today.