Summer’s Lease Hath All Too Short A Date…
I liked Shakespeare very much when we read it in school, and I liked the poems, or "sonnets" as they're called. Sonnet number 18 is engraved indelibly in my memory for some reason. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date,Anyhow, I was thinking that summer seems to be slipping away when I felt the leaves falling from the trees yesterday evening. Made me think that I was too late to make any more "Summer"-type jewellery and ...
The Sweetest Thing – Cupcakes Jewellery
OK so when you're making jewellery it's best to stick to a theme or a style or a certain discipline. But then when a spied these cute-as-a-button little beads I just had to abandon all that and use them! Funny thing is, I'm not a fan of junk food! But hey, it can't do you any harm when worn like this. So if you're a cupcake fiend then might I suggest you get your daily fix from twiddling these cute beads instead of eating real ones :-)
Moss Agate Earrings for My Mummy
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 ...
New Website Design
Out with the old, as they say. Well, I was getting a bit bored with that very dark theme. It was originally to match my packagaing- lovely, fine corrugated black boxes, but I think that might be a bit like cart-before-horse, at least that how I feel about it now. 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 ...
Citrine Necklace “Laura” with Dragonfly
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!
Amethyst Necklace “Laura” Sterling Silver
Amethyst Necklace "Laura", originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com. 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
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
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 ...
Citrine Bracelet, November’s birthstone
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 Bracelet | All About Garnet
Garnet Bracelet, originally uploaded by www.virtudej.com. 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-- ...
Autumn Lampwork Necklace
// Oct 28th, 2009
Rose Quartz “Love the Beach” Necklace
// Oct 28th, 2009 Green Amethyst Jewellery
// Jul 19th, 2009 Emerald Jewellery | Green and Black Jewellery
// Jul 15th, 2009 New Website in Spanish
// May 25th, 2009 Rock Crystal Jewellery | Latest Jewellery
// Apr 7th, 2009 V&A Jewellery Exhibition
// Apr 6th, 2009 April Birthdays | April Birthstone | Opal Jewellery
// Apr 3rd, 2009