January's Birthstone - Garnet

Happy New Year! A brand new year- 2009. Now it will take me 3 months to start getting the date right.

I thought today would be a good day to continue my mini series on gemstones with this month's birthstone- Garnet. You can see the first in the series here. When I'm finished, I will release a little pdf that you can print out and keep with you for future reference.


Garnet receives its name from the latin word " granatus" meaning seed. Garnet is a 7-7.5 on the MOh's hardness scale. It is found worldwide in such places as Australia, Africa, India, and the United States. Garnets come in a variety of colors from reds to orange to lime green. Some names for other varieties of garnets are Almandine, Andradite, Grossular, Imperial, Mandarin, Spessartite, Tsavorite, and Demantoid.

Not only is Garnet the birthstone of January babies, but it is the zodiac birthstone for Capricorns. As a birthstone, it is said to be a guiding and protective gem. It is said to be a cleanser of the body's engeries and heals and intensifies relationships. Garnets are also believed to regenerate the body, remove inhibitions and taboos, and sharpen perceptions of yourself. Garnets are also given at the 2nd and/or 6th wedding anniversaries.

Garnet jewelry has been dated back to the Bronze Age. Early Egyptians used garnets in their jewelry as amulets and buried their dead with garnet jewelry to protect them and light the path for their next journey.

A couple of cool things I bet you didn't know about garnets. A garnet was said to have illuminated Noah's Ark. It is said he used garnets to illuminate the interior and paths of the Ark. A Garnet is also believed to be one of the 12 stones that adorned the breastplate of the high priest Aaron. Those stones were chosen to represent the 12 tribes of Israel then later became our 12 birthstones. It has also been said that King Solomon wore Garnet during battle. Last but not least, Garnets were said to have been used in Asia as bullets or placed in bullets because they had more of a destructive power.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at Garnets and have learned a something new. Come see me tomorrow because it's Phriday Photo Phiesta and have I got an interesting photo for you.

An Apology and Something New

My apologies for not keeping up with my blogging as well as I should. I thought summer vacation was when you were supposed to take it easy. I haven't even been making all that much for my shop.

The CREST trunk show is drawing near. I'm both excited and a little scared. It's very cool going to the Labs to have a quick peek around, but I have never been away from home without at least a friend. I feel like a little kid. lol. You can check out what the Labs say about the trunk show here. There seems to be a discrepancy in the time, but what can you do?

By now you are probably wondering about the earrings in the picture. These are my brand new earrings created for the challenge. This week's challenge was to create something inspired by the wedding of the princess of Brunei. THere were lots of great pics to get inspired by, but for some reason, these were what called to me. They are soldered spheres with garnet rondelles at the top and bottom. More garnets hang from the inside of the sphere. They can be found in my shop.

Etsyversary!

It's my Etsyversary today! One full year on Etsy selling my jewelry full time. Thanks to all the friends I've made that help me through the slow times, and thank you to all the people who think my jewelry is worthy enough of being bought.

While things, if you really think about it, have not changed much on Etsy, I would like to think I have evolved a little. I've found a niche for myself, I guess. In the very least, I am certainly enjoying making the designs I make, and love each and every piece. I enjoy "going to work", and seriously, isn't that the best part of it all?!

Speaking of evolution, that was the theme of this week's challenge. The idea was created by Haikubird, and I never even thought about it being my Etsyversary. The theme of how we have evolved as crafters/designers/artists or whatever you want to call ourselves really worked well for me this week. The first picture you see is one of my earlier pieces from Etsy. I apologize for how small it is. It was the only I could find. The second pic is of my latest piece for the challenge. I reworked the first piece to create the second to show who I am now. Even the pic shows that. I changed the simple garnet bracelet, with which I was never happy, to this pair of earrings. I hammered the copper discs and created the copper chain dangles(such a pain!) for the small garnet discs and a pair of flashy moonstone briolettes. These earrings are how I would've used the garnets now. I hope you can see and enjoy the evolution. These earrings can be found in my shop. Remember today is the last day of my sale! Just mention anniversary at checkout to receive 25% off.

Oh, my gosh! I think a bird just flew down my chimney right this very minute while I am sitting here and typing this! I'm not kidding.

Creative Challenge

I have finally finished another Creative Challenge piece. This week's challenge was to create something that was inspired by a location in your town whether it be your backyard, a store, a park, or whatever.

I love doing the challenges even if I do create them. It ensures that I will create at least one piece a week. Plus, it makes me think outside of the box. Everyone who participates is absolutely wonderful. I adore each and everyone of them. It gives me a reason to look forward to Mondays, and we all know we need one.

My piece this week is a bracelet(and no, I don't always so bracelets) inspired by a river not too far from my house and a little storefront in the center of my town. I secretly dream that this precious little store, formerly a hotel, will be mine one day. I seriously doubt it every will be at the exorbitant costs that brick and mortars are going for in my teeny little town. Anyway. The aluminium rings and the aluminium rectangles were inspired by this store. They have a feel of art deco as does my dream store. The garnet, iolite, and prehnite rondelles are inspired by the colors that surround the river I go by everyday. I am seriously contemplating creating a necklace to match I love it that much. I will be listing this bracelet in just a little in my shop.

Why don't you lovely readers try this challenge? or let me see the places that inspire you in your daily life.