Beads and More Beads

I'm still making bead jewelry and I just finished a super long multi-gemstone necklace. 

But first I used up some leftover burgundy pearls to make a matching bracelet for the Rose Quartz and Pearl necklace I made earlier.  I had these neat little magnetic clasps and had never used them.  I wasn't sure how well they worked, how much weight they could hold without just popping loose, or how well they would hold together during normal daily activities.  A bracelet seemed like a good experimental project. If it came loose and I lost it while wearing it I wouldn't be devastated. It actually holds very well and makes putting a bracelet on much easier.  But I think I would feel better if there were a safety chain between the two ends so if the magnet came loose the bracelet wouldn't just fall off the wrist. 

I also wanted to try making a necklace that did not have a clasp. I realized that the necklaces I'd been making didn't need to have clasps, they were long enough to slip over a persons head. But I didn't know exactly how to finish a necklace off without a clasp. I had an idea but wasn't sure how 'real jewelry makers' do it so I looked it up on the Internet. That's were I find almost everything because I have no one to ask about almost anything I have questions about.  In this case I know no one who makes jewelry, and why waste a clasp when you don't need one? I found a YouTube video showing a method to do it that was basically exactly what I was thinking so I made this long necklace out of a mixture of random gemstones with some clear and copper colored glass beads. 

It's a fun little casual necklace and even long enough to wrap twice around the neck with no clasp. 

Finally I felt like tackling a longer no clasp Earth Power Bead necklace with the 42+1 gemstones I have.  Because it was going to be so long and I didn't want it to be too bulky I only used the smallest beads I had in each of the 42 types. I have some larger beads (10mm+) in some, but not all, of the gemstones I've collected.  I used four of each type plus a few extras and sorted them by size and color so it is sort of random but also by design in sets of three all separated by copper colored metal beads.

Thanks for reading.

Aileen

The Power of 42

Semi-Precious gemstones.... all in one necklace.  This is the earth power beads project re-imagined as a wearable necklace.  I did some research on the Internet to come up with the information to create a synopsis of the energies said to be contain in these gemstones. The list of gemstones I am using is almost completely determined by cost. For the more expensive of the gemstones in the collection I may only have a very small example included. This list of meanings is not definitive in any way, it is just my summary of information I found from multiple sources on the Internet. Just search for gemstone meanings or properties and you will find links to multiple sources of in depth information on the topic. 

42 (+1) gemstones used:

1.    Aquamarine - calming, soothing, inspires truth, natural justice and intellectual reasoning

2.    Aventurine – good luck, creativity, intelligence, perception

3.    Agate – protection, healing, longevity, energy

4.    Amazonite – clarify and improve thinking

5.    Amethyst - promotes calm, serenity, and spirituality

6.    Blackstone - can be used to create invisibility

7.    Calcite – protecting, grounding and centering stone, brings inner peace, increases intuition

8.    Chrysocolla – sooths nervous tension

9.    Chrysoprase – divine truth, promotes joy, hope, happiness, and healing

10. Coral – protection, general well-being

11.  Feldspar – accomplish goals, find things

12. Rainbow Fluorite – enhances spiritual energy, balances the psyche

13. Garnet – balances natural energy, protection, confidence

14. Goldstone – uplifting, reduces tension

15. Hematite – grounding, reduces stress, soothing

16. Jade – wisdom, peace, harmony, protection

17. Jasper – calms the mind, helps with ills

18. Labradorite - stone of transformation, clears, balances and protect the aura

19. Lapis Lazuli – cleanses spirit, truth, peace, healing

20. Magnesite – relaxing and calming stone, enhances creative and psychic visions

21. Malachite - protection from psychic attack

22. Marble – serenity, clarity, mastery of thought

23. Moonstone - helpful in psychic work

24. Onyx – protection from negativity

25. Opal - awakens and helps understanding of psychic intuition and mysticism

26. Pearl – astral stone, stone of truth, faith, and love, brings wisdom and spiritual guidance

27. Prehnite – stone of prophecy, aids in connecting to higher realms, enhances inner knowledge

28. Pyrite – defensive shield

29. Quartz – healing stone, amplifies psychic energy

30. Rose Quartz – healing, peace, nurturing

31. Rhodonite – fosters ability to remain calm

32. Riverstone – energies aura

33. Sardonyx – relieves anxiety, protection, luck, peace

34. Serpentine - guard against disease and sorcery, helps you to find inner peace

35. Snowflake Obsidian – protection from emotional draining. Black Obsidian – protection against depression, block negativity, create invisibility

36. Sodalite – protection from negative energy

37. Tiger’s Eye – clear thinking, courage, confidence

38. Tiger Iron – protection, clarity, strength

39. Tourmaline - calm, protection, focus, and balance

40. Turquoise – healing, luck, happiness

41. Unakite - promotes balance and emotional stability, grounding stone

42. Vesuvianite – encourages enthusiasm for life and imparts courage to change, helps one find a true path

43. Howlite – attunement stone, absorbs negative energy, calms and soothes

A necklace with a focus on the psychic energy in the gemstones. Opal for psychic intuition, Pearl for wisdom and Quartz for amplifying psychic energy.

Above the small chips and oval beads are Opal, the copper finish potato shapes are freshwater Pearls, and the tube beads are Quartz.

This is A necklace with a focus on peacefulness.  Pearl is for wisdom and guidance, the Rose Quartz is for peace and healing and the Jade is for harmony and peace. 

The small green stones are Jade, the burgundy beads are freshwater Pearls, and the pinkish white beads are Rose Quartz.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen

Stringing Pearls and Other Stuff

I didn't really know I liked pearls until I saw these bumpy colorful freshwater pearls. The way a pearl shines is uniquely different from metals or polished stones. But they have the weight and density of a piece of rock. I'm hooked on them. 

Today I made a simple necklace with pearls and hematite beads. I'll probably just wear them around the house. 

I also finished up an ornament I started in December.  There are several more of these I plan to make but for now I'm putting that project away until next Christmas.

And I'm going ahead and working some more on Christmas quilt projects and just need to sit an do some quilting on a table runner and place mat. 

Finally, I'm still working on some artwork. There is a painted collage that refuses to be completed but I think I'm almost finished it. And the continuing pursuit of the perfect turquoise abstract. Now I'm just painting on heavy fabric.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen

New Year Projects

It takes a couple weeks to be back to normal after Christmas.  Things to put away, shuffling around of projects, deciding what to start on in the new year.  January usually ends up being about finishing up loose ends and doing small projects.

I haven't done much so far but I've made a couple new tarot card bags and worked on some artwork. 

These are the two sides of a lined and quilted 6" x 8" bag.

And these are the two sides of a lined and quilted 51/2" x 81/2" bag.

My main goal was to make a bag for new tarot cards I received for Christmas. 

The cards came with an instruction book but not a correctly sized box for the cards so naturally I had to make a bag for the cards. I tried to pick fabric from my collection with colors similar to the artwork on the cards. 

The cards have beautiful artwork with subdued colors from nature. All the fabric I picked out just happened to be batik. The colors and prints seemed to match the natural theme of the cards.

These two bags are the only projects I've completed this month but I've been playing with some art ideas and collage artwork.

I did some experimenting to find a pen or pencil I can use in an acrylic mixed media artwork that would not smear if painted over with clear acrylic medium.  This is the practice canvas and the two artworks I'm experimenting with. 

And I found some fabric in a color I adore (Moda Basic Grey Grunge Turquoise) and tried to recreate that magical color in artwork. Wouldn't it be fun to paint an entire wall this way? It could be a color therapy wall. Looking at this color just makes me feel good. 

It took a mix of several hues to come close to the same color turquoise.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen