Getting Off The Learning Treadmill

When we’re at school and university it’s like we think we’ll feel relieved once the barrage of information and learning stops, that life will be so much more pleasant once we can stop learning all the time.

Ha, what an idiot I was to think such a thing! Not only does the pace of learning pick up once you start working (at least that’s how it was for me) but every so often you find that picking up a new skill enhances your life so much that you just keep wanting to learn more stuff!

Anyway, getting back to the point, working with my hands to create jewellery is a skill that I really enjoy and am grateful for (obviously I still have a ways to go). It lets me make little gifts like these moss agate earrings for my mum. I made a necklace using these beautiful little briolettes and micro-faceted rondelles a while back and I always meant to make her matching earrings. Well here they are. They’re a beautiful colour green and I hope she’ll like them. I like sending gifts that are not expected, a bit like happy unbirthday gifts.

So here we are with a spanky new theme, customised with a new logo which reflects that it’s me (Tree) who makes all the jewellery. As of right this moment we’re having some technical difficulties, but with a little patience and some help from the nice small business website people, the site will start behaving itself better!

Citrine Necklace “Laura” with Dragonfly, originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com.

Ah more Spring things! This time, it’s lilac’s best friend- pale yellow.

Citrine shows up in all shades of yellow from the palest and most see-through to deepest amber.

Actually this faceted nugget reminds of the Jurassic Park gemstone that they find near the start of the film, well here I have teamed it with a little dangling dragonfly- much more stylish!

Oh it’s lovely to see all the spring flowers and feel the warmth of spring coming… With that in mind I made a couple of pieces this morning with Light Amethyst.
This is the necklace, it uses a large (20mm x 17mm) faceted pendant and little amethyst heishi beads.
Because I used one of my gorgeous toggle clasps, it is designed so that the clasp and pendant are worn to the front.
I also added a little dragonfly charm.
I’ll be adding it into my shop later and it’s going to be a one-off

Platinum Pearl Earrings, originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com.

Well my goodness it’s that time of year again!

In case the weather wasn’t enough to tell you then TV certainy will. One of my favourite shows “Bones” just had their Christmas episode and the main character, Dr Temperance Brennan was wearing some lovely drop earrings. She wore them a few episodes ago so I set about making my ownn version.

Here they finally are, and I used the new Swarovski “Platinum” pearls- they have a gorgeous soft sheen that’s not quite golden, but not silver either- lovely! So say hello to “Temperance”…

Fuchsia & Black Bracelet, originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com.

Ah the 80′s! Back in the 80′s fuchsia was one of those bold signature colours. This jewellery blends that shade of shocking pink with deep burgundy Garnet and black Onyx to bring it up to date and make it altogether subtler, but still on-trend.

I kept it simple and just alternated a pink with black and used some of my faceted black onyx beads. Swarovski crystals finish the ends and I’m currently in love with hammered hoops so there’s one of those in there too!

Just because the 80′s in back in vogue doesn’t mean you have to make the same fashion mistakes…!

More
details. Available from 8 Nov 2009.

Citrine Bracelet “Melina”, originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com.

Most people associate Topaz with Novemebr, but Citrine is also a traditional gem for this month. This is probably because the two gems are very often mistaken for each other, but I’m just guessing.

If you know someone who has a birthday this month then consider a Citrine gift- it’s a very pretty gem and ranges in colour from very pale and watery yellow through to darker amber hues.

Just lovely, and just the thing to add a touch of colour to your outfit!

Garnet is a gemstone that has been in use since ancient times, indeed it is among the stones mentioned in the surviving literature of all ancient languages.

Properties of Garnet

Garnet is actually the name given to a family of silicate minerals whose members are:

• Almandite
• Andradite
• Gossular
• Pyrope
• Spessartine
• Uvarovite

Its hardness is rated as being between 6.5 to 8.5 (it has roughly the same hardness as quartz at 7 Mohs).

Garnets occur in almost all colours:

Almandite– Deep red to reddish-brown, occasionally with a violet or brown hue

Andradite– Red, green, yellow, brown, black; rarely clear

Grossular– Clear, white, green, yellow, pink, brown, orange and orange-red

Spessartine– Brown, orange, and pink

Pyrope– Deep red to nearly black; rose-red to violet, blue (as pyrope-spessartine)

Uvarovite– Emerald-green

Industrial Uses of Garnets

Garnets are used as an abrasive in industrial applications, the harder varieties of almandite are crushed and mounted on paper and called garnet paper.

Gemstone Uses of Garnets

The characteristic deep red shade has made it extremely popular and has been appearing in jewellery since ancient times through to modern day.

The most popular dark red variety is pyrope because of its attractive deep red colour and because it is normally free of inclusions ready for gemstone use in jewellery. It is also less expensive than almandite.

Garnets often appears as a doublet. A doublet is a composite stone i.e. a stone that has been fused or cemented together with another stone. In the case of garnets, usually an almandite garnet upper layer is fused to coloured or clear glass and then faceted. This is to make the most of the more expensive, durable stone.

Garnet Traditional Associations

Garnet is the birthstone for January, as this excerpt from a poem of unknown author attests:

By her who in January was born

No gem save garnets shall be worn

They will ensure her constancy

True friendship and fidelity

It is also the stone for Aquarius the Water Bearer in the Astrological table.

There is another list which associates stones with the day of the week a person was born on. Garnet appears in this list for the day Tuesday.

The twelve tribes of Israel each had a gemstone associated with them, and garnet was for Levi. Garnet was also associated with the angel Ambriel.

Garnets Superstition

In the past gems were invested with supernatural qualities, for garnets some believed that they averted plague and that they were a defence against thunder.

These superstitions have been updated and are commonly called “mystical properties” however there seems to be as many different properties as there are written sources e.g. from car sickness prevention to curing food poisoning.

Garnet jewellery makes a gorgeous gift and just as in earlier times, is a beautiful way to demonstrate affection for a loved one.

But then, autumn/fall colours are sooo pretty! The cool thing about left-overs in jewellery making is that after a little while you end up with a sizeable collection that you actually do something with and here’s an example.
This one-off necklace features a variety of lampwork, gemstone and other assorted beads. Jewellery like this is great for playing with as there are so many different shapes, sizes and textures. Boring meetings, speeches and waiting rooms can all be made more bearable if you have such a necklace!
Click here for details.

Today was an unusually hot day. It’s October and here in the north of Spain October is usually lovely but today felt just like summer, so after coming back from the beach where I found some frosty beach glass, I made this long length necklace.
It uses frosted glass and smooth, watery rose quartz. I finished it with a little Sterling star charm.
Who says we only get to wear pretty pastels in spring?

Click here for more details.