Daily Blogs : Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Pearls

Gemstones and Fashion Inspiration for Spring!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT

From Jennifer: Spring is in full swing here in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York, and that means it's time to freshen up my jewelry-making projects with some new gemstones! Whether you love to use gemstones as beads for jewelry stringing projects, or you're like me and prefer to use glorious gemstone cabochons in your bead embroidery and bead-weaving projects, here's some great inspiration and information from Jewelry Making Daily's Tammy Jones and our friends at Pantone with suggestions for gemstones that you can use to match the Spring 2013 Pantone color forecast! Enjoy!


	Tammy Jones is the online editor for Jewelry Making Daily

Each year Pantone identifies the top ten fashionable colors of the year, as shown in clothing, fabrics, home décor, purses and other accessories, including our favorite, jewelry. Even if fashion and trends aren't your thing, if you're a jewelry maker or jewelry designer, you need to know these colors. Why? Because they're the colors that almost everyone else will be using when they design their clothing and accessories--or wearing when they buy their clothing and accessories--so you'll want your jewelry designs to play along.

Naturally, you should design to your heart's vision, but whether you add color to your jewelry through gemstones, enamels, fibers, or some other way, these are the colors to watch for Spring 2013 and the gems that match them. (Photos courtesy of Pantone.com.)

		Grayed Jade: This one is easy, it does look like jade--but shades of chalcedony and larimar could also work, along with faceted apatite and fluorite. Aquamarine in this slightly greenish shade is my favorite color for that gem.

		Tender Shoots: For this springy green, peridot comes to mind right away, along with grossular, tsavorite, and demantoid garnets.

		Emerald: Even though it's called emerald, this color looks a little more blue-green than emerald-green to me. Chrome diopside is another rich green option, but apatite and tourmaline will give you that hint of blue.

		Dusk Blue: Lovely sapphire and spinel as well as topaz and aquamarine could serve as this color in your gemstone creations, along with certain shades of chalcedony and larimar.

		Monaco Blue: This blue could also be served with sapphire and spinel, as well as lapis lazuli, iolite, sodalite, and possibly even very fine tanzanite.

		African Violet: Kunzite, fluorite, and amethyst have just the lovely shades of purple to match this color.

		Nectarine: Fire opals, as well as spessartite, mandarin, and hessonite garnets, match up with this juicy color, along with citrine.

		Lemon Zest: Lemon quartz is a good match for this one, along with yellow sapphire, tourmaline, chrysoberyl, yellow beryl, and topaz. Also look for Mali garnet, some citrine, and some members of the grossular garnet family.

		Poppy Red: Even though rubies are a little more blue-red than this red, rubies certain fall in this area, as do spinel. Pyrope and other garnets can be this color, as can dark fire opals.

		Linen: This pretty color immediately makes me think of pearls (surprised? ha!), but rose quartz and morganite might be a better match.

Want to stay up-to-date on what's new in the world of gemstones and lapidary? Check out Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine! Each issue is full of the latest and greatest in gemstones, from gemstone beads to gemstone cabochons, mineral specimens and everything in between. Subscribe to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine and don't miss out on what the art jewelry world is doing with gemstones now!

What's your favorite gemstone for spring? Have you made any great new gemstone bead discoveries lately, or found a great new source for gemstone beads? Leave a comment here on the Beading Daily blog with your gemstone bead and cabochon picks!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

How to Choose Gemstone Cabochons for Jewelry Making

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:00:00 GMT


	Lexi Erickson is a contributing author to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist.

From Jennifer: I love buying gemstones, particularly gemstone cabochons. When I look at a beautiful gemstone cabochon, I feel as though the wonderful natural colors and patterns are just asking for me to turn it into a piece of spectacular beaded jewelry. Over the years, I've collected a king's ransom in gemstone cabochons, but I'm always on the lookout for new beauties to add to my collection. If you're like me, you'll be thrilled to read Lexi Erickson's tips for selecting gemstone cabochons for jewelry-making! Enjoy!


Don't pass up the bizarre and unusual, such as cut cue balls, pottery shards that have been shaped, and reflectors from a 1930s kid's tricycle--those should be fun!

Do you suffer from sleepless nights because of your jewelry-making addiction? Are you still awake at 3 a.m. because your mind can't stop designing something elegant for that gorgeous new triangular Rain Forest jasper you just bought? If so, you are a true jewelry artist, and welcome to my world.

Here it is, 2:37 a.m., and I know that in three days we will be having the Rocky Mountain Bead Society 2012 Bead Bazaar here in Denver, and I'm already eagerly anticipating seeing Gary Wilson, one of my favorite cab cutters. I will be there standing in line when the doors open at 10 a.m. There will be eager enthusiasm among many who will sprint toward the booth of their favorite bead or cab seller. I'm guessing that the anticipation of these doors opening is something akin to the 4 a.m. Black Friday sales that I'm always too sleepy to attend (and I don't need anything that badly), as several hundred women head to one spot or the other during the opening minutes of a bead and jewelry show. Does this sound familiar? Of course, it's all good natured--and I haven't heard of any tramplings or deaths--but still, we have an urgency in our steps to be the first to see what new faceted gem and cabochon treasures await.

If you are in the blush of your first months of jewelry-making ecstasy, you may just rush to buy the prettiest color cabochon . . . but as an old timer in this business--well, maybe not that old--I'd like to share a few tips about buying cabochons for your jewelry.

One of the first things you must realize when choosing a stone is, not all stones are created equal. Just because someone is a stonecutter does not mean that his stones are easy to design around. I've learned this the hard way. There are several cutters that are my favorite because of the ease of designing with their stones. While a stone may be pretty, it may not work well with your style or designs. I still have a blue agate I bought twenty-five years ago because it was pretty, but it doesn't go with my style, so there it sits, in my Riker box of pretty stones, which I will never use.

How to Choose a Cabochon

1. When you are choosing a cabochon that will be used with a bezel, check the shape and make sure that the bottom is flat, otherwise it will rock back and forth on the backplate of your piece. Mabe pearls are especially guilty of this. A perfectly flat bottom will make it much easier to work with.

2. Check the sides of the stone. Notice if the sides are straight up and down, or if they are angled toward the top of the stone. Stones angled with a smaller bottom and larger toward the top will not fit well into a bezel. Stones with the straight sides will probably need to be set into a bezel with a bit of glue to hold them. Stones wider at the bottom and gradually narrower at the top will be easier to set. Faceted stones will need special treatment of a step bezel or special setting techniques requiring some expertise and special tools.

3. When you find a stone that screams "PICK ME PICK ME!" first check out the angle of the sides. A well-cut stone will have the same angle all around the stone. A poorly cut stone will have different angles on each side, and though you may not notice it now, your bezel will fold down differently on the sides, and it will look like a poorly set stone, when really it's a poorly cut stone. So hold a stone at eye-level and check the angles around the stone.


	The popular Sonoran Sunrise, cut by two different cutters. The stone on the left is a $5 stone; the side angles are different and the face has a wrong angle cut. The color is muddied. The stone on the right is a $20 stone and is beautifully cut.

4. Check the front of the stone to make sure it's level across the face of the cab. Again, a poorly cut stone will catch a reflection of an angle, which may mar the beauty of the face of the cab. The polish, or the recent excursion into matte stones (my favorite) should be an even finish all across the face of the stone.

5. A well-cut stone will have a tiny, almost indiscernible 45-degree angle cut all along the bottom edge of the stone. This is there for a very important reason. When you have a snug bezel, and you go to pop the stone into the bezel, you can accidently chip the edge of a stone without that little cut on the bezel as you snap it into place (I call it the "snap heard around the world"). That snap may result in a crack appearing on the face of your stone and the cracking of your stone all the way through. Disaster!

6. Don't pass up a stone because of its highly irregular edges. One of my favorite pieces is a petrified tree fern with a very rough top edge. I set it with prongs, as to not block the delicacy of that rough edge. So buy that unusual cut and give your creativity a nudge. A sharply pointed stone may need greater caution and some expertise in setting.

7. You will probably be given a small tray or plate to put your treasures in while you shop at a certain booth. Always keep that tray in your hand, because if you put it down, someone will start high-grading (shopping in) your tray. Trust me on this one; it's happened more than once to my tray.

8. If you see something you absolutely cannot live without, buy it now. Don't put it back and think, "I'll come back later to get this," because I can almost guarantee it will be gone. If you liked it that much, so will someone else.

As you work with stones, you may develop a specific color palette, and that's natural and okay. I love Chinese writing stone, matte red jaspers, petrified palm wood (both the black and the tan), serpentine, and dino bone. The only blue I buy is turquoise. Confession: I'm colorblind (yes, one of .002% of the women in the world), and I can't match colors very well. I use browns and greens (which I sometimes call "breen" because I can't see exactly what color it is). I stick with earth tones. I also wear a lot of khaki and green or black for the same reason. (People ask me if I make jewelry to go with my clothes. No, I buy clothes to go with my jewelry.) These earth tones have become my trademark, as much as my "ancient-contemporary" design sensibility. It may take a while, but look at your stone collection now and you may start to see patterns in your own buying.


These are some I just couldn't let get away, even though the shapes may present challenges to set, and they are pretty large.

When I get home from my excursion, I immediately catalog my stones. I group them according to whom I have purchased them from. This may seem strange to those of you who put all your blacks together, greens together, etc. But as an archaeologist, I learned to group pot shards according to their pueblo, which showed a characteristic style. So now, I group all my stones according to cutter, and each has his own characteristic style. That way, if I need another particular shape or stone, I know who I got it from. I also keep a sketchbook (or it can be done on a computer) of when I purchased it, who from, the name of the stone, price, and the outline of the stone.

And no, I don't have an exact design in mind when I buy a stone. I may have an idea, but the exact piece is rarely in my mind, though it has happened a few times. I buy stones I like.

So Saturday morning as I start out to the gem show, my husband will say, "You really don't need any more stones. You have a lot in your inventory," and I gently explain to him, "Dear, I must buy some for my inventory. What I have is my collection."

So go pick out the best, the pick of the litter, for yourself, and happy hunting. --Lexi

If you want to learn more about working with cabochons and the gorgeous gemstones and materials that they can be made from, you'll want to make sure you subscribe to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine and see all of Lexi's great tips and insight! You'll also find great jewelry-making projects, information on the latest and greatest in jewelry-making tools and books, and expert advice from some of the most trusted names in jewelry-making.

Do you have a tip for buying gemstone cabochons? Leave a comment here and share it with us here on the Beading Daily blog!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Alternative (and Affordable!) Gemstones for Your Jewelry-Making Projects!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:00:00 GMT

Karla Rosenbusch is the associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine

From Jennifer: I love making beaded jewelry with gemstone beads, mainly because of the huge variety of gemstone beads available! Today, Karla Rosenbusch of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine shares with us some of her favorite new gemstones. These stones aren't just gorgeous, they're also affordable!

Well, I admit it. I'm a stone addict. Yes, that sounds really bad, but what I mean is that I love gemstones. And when it comes to the stones I select for my jewelry, the rarer and more esoteric, the better. I love to browse the booths at gem and mineral shows, looking for little-known "alternative" gemstones for my jewelry designs. I particularly like "earthy" stones such as jaspers, agates, and feldspars, and I'm always looking for new ones to use.


	Peruvian Blue Opal. This necklace combines Peruvian blue opal with freshwater pearls and features a delightful ceramic dragonfly pendant.

As I've spent time hunting for new stones for jewelry, I've discovered that you don't have to spend a lot of money on them. Many of the stones I select are very inexpensive, but the jewelry you can make from them is exquisite.

Below are some of my favorite lesser known—and lower priced—stones.

African Opals
When most people think of opal, they usually think of the stunning milky stone with sparkling pops of color. But there are many other forms of opal. I'm a huge fan of African blue opal, a great earthy stone that features blues, tans, browns, and whites. You can also find wonderful African yellow opal, which is more brown and white than the blue variety.

Peruvian Blue Opal
Another opal variety that I've recently started using more and more is Peruvian blue opal. This stone has an incredible sky-blue color and blends well with any number of other stones. This gemstone is quickly moving up my list of favorites.


Jaspers. I love the color combination of using apple jasper and turtle shell jasper together.

Jasper


	Mookaite. The pendant of this necklace uses one of my favorite jaspers, mookaite from Australia.

One of the most common stone classifications, the name "jasper" covers an amazingly wide range of stones. But this most basic of gemstones can be incredibly beautiful. Recently, I added two new jaspers to my repertoire, apple jasper and turtle shell jasper. Apple jasper is a delightful red, while turtle shell jasper is mottled red, brown, and white. I love to use these together for a jasper celebration.

One of the loveliest "jaspers" I've ever found is not actually jasper. It's called Red Creek jasper although sellers suspect that it's actually a marble. It's also not red; although it can display some lovely red highlights, Red Creek jasper is primarily green and brown. It's actually named after the only location in which it's found, China's Red Creek.

Mookaite
One of the more rare jaspers that I just love to use is mookaite. Yes, the name sounds a little odd, but it comes from the Mooka Creek in Western Australia. It's a red, gold, and cream stone that's a real eye-catcher.


Bamboo Agate. This necklace uses large bamboo agates with smaller ocean jaspers for a multistone piece.

Agate


	Unakite. I particularly love this piece's unakite heart pendant.

Another common earthy stone with myriad varieties is agate. My special favorites are the lovely fire agate and the more earthy bamboo agate with its brown, white, black, and tan color combinations. You'll find these two stones—as well as a range of other agates—all through my jewelry. They work great with just about any other earthy stone.

Other Gemstones
There are many, many other inexpensive gemstones that I love to use in my jewelry. I'm a huge fan of unakite, a green and red stone that is actually a form of granite. If I want to use a less expensive form of onyx, banded onyx with brown, black, and tan stripes is a great alternative stone. I also love the vivid blue-green color of amazonite.


	Aventurine. For a great color contrast, I used pink aventurine with vivid green malachite.

Aventurine
But my very favorite inexpensive alternative stone is aventurine. I'm one of this stone's greatest advocates, and I love to urge people to try it out in their jewelry designs. It comes in green and "pink" forms—although I prefer to call pink aventurine "salmon." That's actually a more accurate description. If you look at any of my jewelry, you'll find aventurine popping up everywhere, either as the primary stone or a great "background" stone that I use to show off the focal stone of the piece.


African Blue Opal. For a mixed-media jewelry set, I used African blue opals and bronze metal clay beads.

Designing With Alternative Gemstones
One of the best ways I've found to use inexpensive earthy stones is to combine them with other unusual stones. I love to mix and match the colors and sizes of my stones to come up with an amazing variety of looks. Unakite with aventurine, Peruvian blue opal with jade, Red Creek jasper with bamboo agate-the possibilities are endless. I also love to mix stones with other jewelry media. One of my favorite necklace-and-bracelet sets combines African blue opal with bronze metal clay beads. I get tons of compliments every time I wear that set.

As I play with my favorite stones, I like to keep my designs simple to show off the gemstones to their best advantage. The best way I've found to do that is by stringing them. I'm especially fond of stringing stones with gold or silver spacer beads or with freshwater pearls to create fabulous necklaces and bracelets. It's really an inexpensive way to get an expensive look.

If you want to learn more about your favorite gemstones and how they make their journey from rock slab to polished gemstone cabochon, you won't want to miss a single issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. Each issue is full of inspiring and informative articles about your favorite stones and new ideas and techniques for turning them into stunning finished jewelry. Subscribe to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine today and read more about your favorite gemstones! And if you're the kind of person who takes your magazines with you wherever you go, now you can get a digital subscription to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine and have your issues delivered right to your laptop, desktop or tablet computer!

What are you favorite gemstone beads? Share your favorites here on the blog!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Helen’s 10 Ideas for Textured Metal Treasures

Kristal Wick — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:44:00 GMT

Kristal Wick
is the editor of
Beading Daily

One of my fave additions to my personal jewelry making has been metals and wire. I love adding textured metals to my fabric beads for loads of fun and unusual textures. So I'm always looking for a few new tricks to keep up my sleeve for new jewelry designs. New techniques, materials, etc.

Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist's resident goldsmith, Helen Driggs, has just launched a new double-disk DVD set Metalsmith Essentials: Basic Fabrication. She has more than a few secrets and tricks to share. I can't wait to work on some new ideas I learned from Helen and plan on texturing metal this weekend!

Texturing metal is one of the quickest and easiest ways of introducing metalwork into your current jewelry making. I find it very satisfying on so many levels (give me a hammer to pound after a stressful day in the office, and I’m a happy camper). You don’t have to be a metalsmith to create some super simple metal pieces for YOUR jewelry. You can apply textures to metal blanks from your bead or craft store. Helen even shows you how to use inexpensive tools from your toolbox such as a nail! This metal working is much easier than it looks, trust me-I’ve done it!

Once you texture your metal, what to do next, you may ask. Here are some suggestions from Helen herself (and a few ideas for each tip from me):

1. Saw it out into a cool shape.

2. Use a disc cutter to make circles out of it.

Kristal: For smaller circles, file the edges then attach to a bracelet with strong glue. For larger circles, go to step 3.

3. Drill it and make a pendant.

Kristal: Add some bling then string on a simple chain.

4. Rivet something else on it.

Kristal: I find myself searching through those steampunk parts and found objects for unique things to rivet.

5. Solder it to something else.

Kristal: The possibilities are endless . . . I am thinking a flower shaped ring with layers of metal adorned with pearls and crystals (of course).

6. Dome a circle of it in a dapping block or on a stake.

Kristal: Glue it to a ring base.

7. Cut an opening in it.

8. Create a bend or twist in it.

9. Cut identical shapes in different textures for links.

Kristal: Make a long chain necklace by connecting the links with simple jump rings.

10. Combine two textures on one sheet and go back to number one.

I think I'll start with custom dog tags for my pups. They've chewed the plastic tags I got from the store, so I'm going to outsmart Thing 1 and Thing 2 (my nickname for them), and make metal tags; texture one side, and stamp our phone number on the other side. Join me in exploring Helen's Metalsmith Essentials and make your own creations!

Come bead with me!

Creatively,

Rarity, Beauty, Durability: Gemstone Truths or Myths?

Michelle Mach — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:54:00 GMT

Ask anyone in the jewelry trade what makes a good gem and the standard answer is "rarity, beauty, and durability." The problem is that many people take these ideas to mythic proportions and believe that all gems have to be all three of these things. Here's why they do not....(read more)