Is your jewellery a snoozefest? Do you drift off while you’re making it because it’s so boring? Have no fear, texture and patina are here to save you from a life of criminally dull jewellery! These are two of [ … ] Read More
Opal and Pink Tourmaline- October
When I started reading about these two gemstones, I discovered that they both have associations with rainbows. In Australian aboriginal legend, when the Creator came down from Heaven on a rainbow, the stones that his foot touched started to [ … ] Read More
The Stones of Australia
One of my friends announced to me recently that she is going on vacation to Australia for three months. Crikey! Going on walkabout for three months! She’ll be a fair dinkum sheila by the time she gets back ! [ … ] Read More
Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli – September
On clear days, there is a certain time just after sunset where the sky is shaded in the most exquisite blues, all the way from the barest whisper of blue to deep midnight blue. (I hear a song in [ … ] Read More
Fall Colour 2017- Pantone
Hard to believe, but summer’s almost over. I know, I can hear you out there, but don’t blame me. Time marches on, and with it comes Pantone’s colours for fall. Whatever you may think about the coming season, one [ … ] Read More
Peridot-August
Peridot is one of those stones that we take for granted. It’s not expensive, it’s easily obtained and I have known August babies who think their birthstone is unattractive. “Why could’t I have been born in May or September?”, [ … ] Read More
Pickle, pickle, who’s got the pickle?
When I say pickle, what is the first thing that springs to mind? Lovely, crunchy dills and onions or a crockpot of simmering sodium bisulfate? If it’s the latter, you are most certainly a jeweller! Even if it’s not [ … ] Read More
Ruby, Carnelian and Onyx-Oh my, July
How many birthstones does one month need? Apparently if you’re July, quite a few! I used to think that ruby was the only stone for July, but once I started digging around, I found a few more. Fortunately, the [ … ] Read More
PMC3-Precious Metal Clay (Pretty Magical Clay)
First of all, PMC3 is not the android from Star Wars. Although they are both shiny, that is where the similarity ends. C3PO could be obnoxious and stubborn,(although he had a good heart) whereas PMC3 can be shaped and [ … ] Read More
Moonstone and Pearl-June
When I think of June, I think of the song, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”, which is appropriate for a month that has both moonstone and pearl as its birthstones. Both stones have a long history of [ … ] Read More
Emerald and Agate-May
For May babies,(and everyone else!) there are two lovely stones-emerald and agate. Beautiful, green emeralds have been used in jewelry for thousands of years. They were considered to be a stone of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and [ … ] Read More