A Tale of Two Turquoises

When I first decided to buy a jewllery making starter box two years ago, I started off by using glass beads. Nothing wrong with glass beads, but I moved on to semi-precious gems as my confidence to make items that wouldn’t fall apart grew.

I’ve taken an interest in where my gems come from, whether they have been coloured or heat treated and whether they are genuine. And genuine they have to be for me to say that to the people who buy my pieces.

Take these two bracelets. One is hand made (by me) – genuine turquoise stone bought from a reputable supplier; the other I bought from a local shop with a tag on it stating ‘Turquoise. Healing. £1.99.’  Can you guess which one is which? When I started out I couldn’t – but now I read up on a particular gem before I buy to try and make as sure as possible that it is what it says it is.

I’m far from being an expert, mind you! Gemologists are the people who can really confirm a true gemstone by using a number of techniques  e.g. heating, which shows up the presence of oils or dyes.

The turquoise on the left is for real. The veining is quite heavy in places and highly irregular. The colour isn’t ‘bright’ blue like the one on the right which is not genuine turquoise. In fact it’s Howlite which, in its natural state, is white and has been dyed to look like turquoise. How do I know? The veining is a very pale grey and the colour is bright blue. The colour of natural turquoise is similar to the American Robin’s egg which is generally a softer blue/green hue.

Why am I telling you all this? Because when you buy so called ‘fashion jewellery’ for £1.99, you really do get what you pay for – nothing wrong buying ‘fashion jewellery’, just be aware it may well not be what you think it is.

Let’s Party!

 

Well, I’ve given in! A client and good friend of mine has finally persuaded me to have a jewellery party at her home. I wasn’t really fussed on doing it because a) I’m a bit shy about what I make b) I didn’t have the time and c) I wasn’t sure whether it would be a success.

I didn’t really fancy standing around while people muse through my offerings then go home empty handed because they didn’t like anything (how embarrassing would THAT be!!), so I thought it’d be fun to have an interactive session. Everyone gets a chance to make a bracelet (if they want to, it’s not compulsory) by choosing their own combination of beads.

I’ll have to price it according to the cost of the beads – some are far more expensive than others, so I think there’ll have to be two options – one at £10 and the other set at £15.

Now, I’m thinking I’ll have to design and print up some leaflets/invites for her so that everyone knows about it. Hmm…branding…did I say this was just a hobby?

Pearls for the Girls!

One of my most favourite gems to work with are pearls – gems of the sea I call them, even though most are freshwater cultured these days. Pearls are historically produced by saltwater oysters, while freshwater pearls are produced by various forms of mussels. I use freshwater ones in my jewellery as they are easily available and inexpensive – but they still look good.

  

I love collecting and wearing pearls. Some people regard them as being old fashioned; I prefer to say they are timeless. Only a short while ago, a young friend of mine who is a fashion designer in New York and currently in Paris, was drooling over my collection. Admiring my keshi pearl bracelet, I made her one to take away with on her travels.

 

                                                               Biwa                                                          Keshi

Most pearls marketed in the past century are cultured in Japanese and southern seas from Akoya and Pinctada oysters (among others). Shell bead nuclei and mantle tissues are introduced into the gonads of these invertebrates, where the defence mechanisms surround the object with a nacreous secretion, forming a pearl.

Natural pearls contain no such artificial nuclei, but are solid or near solid nacre. There is a common misconception, that pearls are formed around grains of sand, but experimentation and physical analysis of natural pearls indicate the largest volume of these pearls are formed around either foreign soft tissues of other species such as crabs and other parasites, bits of shell or injuries and fractures.

   

                                              nugget                                                                             dyed

Cultured pearls may only have thin lustrous coating, which can crack or fall away from drilling or wear. They can also be grown in different shapes, sizes and coloured with dye.

Sunlight, heat, and chemicals (such as cosmetics and deodorants) can reduce the quality of pearls over time. However, natural oils in sweat and skin can in some cases, keep pearls moist and shiny, while others can erode from continuous contact. It is recommended to clean your pearls in a lukewarm soapy (non-detergent) solution, rinse well and lightly press dried on a soft cloth.

Above all, wear your pearls with love!

Boxing Clever

A few months ago, I was struggling to find a good sized gift box to decorate…and I’d run out of time. Not being an avid shopper (I have to be in the mood!) I usually try and use materials from my stash of vintage papers, linens, lace and beads to make something different. So I thought it would be a good idea to make one myself.

The internet is a fantastic resource for finding projects, and I came across this one,http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-box.html which is very easy to follow. You don’t have to stick to the sizes – they can be bigger or smaller according to what you want to put in them. There’s no cutting or sticking – but you can glue or use double sided tape to stick down the flaps inside the box if you prefer.

I used vintage paper, but you can use newspaper, wall paper, thin card – just make sure it’s not too flimsy or it won’t hold its shape very well and is easily crushed.

I wanted something pretty and feminine to present the Christmas bauble I’d made (see my earlier blog) so I decided to make the box again…it seems that many of my gifts will now be presented this way for Christmas…it’s addictive!

            

Losing it!

Don’t you just hate it when you lose something? My pet hate is losing ONE earring. You see, I have a funny ear lobe –  it must have been pierced at an angle and the earring inevitably works its way out after a while. So, I was really annoyed the other day when I lost a carnelian and sterling silver earring I’d made while shopping in the supermarket. That’ll be a find for someone – even if it is only one 😦 

Oh I know I can make another one – but that’s not the point. I’d forgotten to to slip on the little plastic stoppers that have since become an essential piece of kit. Oh well…

I particularly like carnelian – it reminds me of autumn walks when berries and seedheads come into their own.

    

 

Carnelian is also said to be a gemstone that gives energy, protects against bad vibrations, guards against poverty and calms the temper. It’s also associated with the zodiac sign of Virgo (that’s mine!).

Anyway, back to losing earrings. I keep them all (yes, I’ve lost many) in my little ‘lost’ box in the vain hope that they’ll turn up one day, knowing damn well that they won’t! What to do with them all? Well, I suppose I could start a trend and wear mismatched earrings – it’d be a talking point I suppose, or people would think I’m a bit eccentric. The ones I keep have been shop bought, and most hold some rather lovely memories of holidays or visits to places I might not visit again. 

Christmas Tinkles

Each Christmas, I like to make some handmade gifts for family and friends. Jewellery is an obvious choice, but there’s one friend who’s received so much jewellery as a gift from me, I can’t remember what I’ve given her. So, this year, I’ve decided to make a decoration for the tree instead – she happens to LOVE decorating her house and garden with all sorts of lights.

I bought a box of basic heart decorations for about £3, and I’m going to decorate one with a diamante or pearl bling brooch.

     

Can’t decide which one though…come back later to see what I chose.

…Well, here it is – it just had to be the heart!

   

Sea Treasure

 

Walking along any beach I can’t resist hunting for shells and glass or pick up a few nice pebbles.  Gems of the sea I call them, and each one finds its way into my pocket or my old fishing bag until I get home and then kept in glass jars.  I’ve quite a collection now, and I wonder what I’m going to do with it all. I’ve seen some really good wire wrapped sea glass jewellery, so I might have a go at it.

 

Above is a tiny part of my collection – all the pale aqua coloured glass and bits of pottery I find along a river beach near me, but the brighter green, yellow blue & brown were found on my favourite beach at Ogmore. It’s difficult to spot the glass amongst all the pebbles  – even the bright ones just seem to merge in with the shingle.

Shells are another of my beach fetishes – some have been collected in Mallorca, and some at Ogmore beach. I love the way their colours reflect the different shades of the sea, sky and sand.

Even in winter we walk the beach under a low sun, all dressed up in our wellies and heavy coats – sometimes I think I prefer it.

Tinkles, Sparklies and Assemblies

Tinkles, Sparklies and Assemblies

I love Christmas – it’s a time meet up with family, dress up the house and part with all gifts I’ve made. I don’t generally decide on a ‘theme’ or particular colour as I like to keep things simple – white and silver are predominant though, with maybe a hint of red here and there. Hearts and birds are favourite decorations I choose, and this year I’ve found a foam bird for £2 covered in silver glitter at the supermarket. It looked a bit plain, so I thought I’d ‘bling’ it up with some diamante wings and a tin foil beak – here he is.

 

Talking about diamante and bling, I can’t decide whether to keep my Christmas jewellery gifts simple, or use my collection of diamante and create some assemblage pieces – I’ve collected so much maybe it’s time to start using them and turn into something wearable. My neices are off to see the Northern Lights in January, so I’m making some pendants for Christmas so they can be worn over knitwear – I doubt they’ll be glammed up in the cold! Here’s some of the things I’ll probably use.

 

So what is ‘assemblage’ jewellery? I only discovered it recently while browsing the net for ideas. Some of it I find quite bizzare – dolls heads, door hinges…but it’s meant to be wearable art, so anything goes as long as you can put it together and it looks ‘right’. Deryn Mentock is at the forefront – check out her blog: http://somethingsublime.typepad.com/

I like the way she mixes different metals together, which means if you have any old bits of chain hanging about (like me) then you can use them up to make something different.

I’ve also been asked to make some jewellery gifts for a friend, which I’ve completed but not nearly happy about, so I might re-work the mother of pearl necklace as it doesn’t sit very well when being worn – no good just looking nice!

 

 

 

Got the Blues?

     

Blue almost seems an unnatural colour – but it exists in nature as you can see here in the lavender blue of the Scabious flower and blue chalcedony gemstone. It’s my favourite colour and such a forgiving hue to wear. It reminds me of long warm summers, bees buzzing in the garden and a gentle, light breeze moving through the flowers – as if touching each one of them.

Chalcedony is a variety of quartz and colour ranges from pale blue thorough to white or even pale grey, brown and black. Its healing properties are said to invoke calm and balance in the body. Store your chalcedony in a drawer or box if you’re not wearing it or the blue will fade over time if it’s continually exposed to the light.

The chalcedony I bought is fairly transparent – grouped together the gemstone beads reflect each other’s blue hue (see above), making them look quite intense. Place them on a white background, however, and the intensity is lost as it reflects the white underneath.

I made a bracelet for a good friend of mine earlier this year – as a’ thank you’ for helping me at one of the RHS flower shows – she liked it so much I’ve now made another for her to give to another friend for Christmas. It’s not exactly like hers – most of my pieces are ‘ooak’s (trendspeak for one of a kind!).

  

The photo of the Iris was taken in 2010 in my garden…it hasn’t flowered since boo hoo!! 😦

Unlike the chalcedony – it needs sun!!!

Creating a Wedding Guest Book

You don’t just have to wear jewellery – it can be incorporated into other items like handbag charms (more on those in a future blog), packaging or special items like guest books for weddings.

I made this one a year ago. It wasn’t expensive to buy the blank book and the cover was just plain white thick card – perfect for my project. As I’m a garden designer, I like to use flowers, twigs or other natural finds in the garden in some of my creations, but I’ll also use paper or silk flowers if they’re more practical.

  

Of course, using semi-precious gems and real pearls are not really practical either – so imitation decorations are glued to the surface creating the first border. Next, I used some Christmas ribbon I’d bought ages ago and glued the overlapped edges over the cover and placed more card inside to hide them.  I then printed out the words ‘Guest Book’ on stiff card and placed it on a piece of raised card underneath to give some height and interest. The finishing touches were the fabric roses and diamante brooch.