Hello fellow beaders,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am having a peyote pattern sale at my artfire studio: JRPDesigns
My patterns are on sale for $2, this is a great deal since I normally sell them for $6. So you are getting over 60% off. I’m only running the sale for three days. You have until May 22 12 pm CST. The price will go up then.
Here are a few of the patterns that I have for sale. Visit my studio to check out other great peyote patterns.
Happy Beading!
Have you ever wondered how the tradition of birthstones came about? A birthstone is gemstone worn for a person’s birth month. The modern tradition of wearing birthstones began in 15th century Poland. Back then people owned a set of 12 stones, one for each month. It was believed that wearing the stone for each particular month made the stones more powerful. They did not wear one stone all year but wore a different one for each of the 12 months. The tradition of wearing birthstones has been around for centuries and several lists exist from different cultures. There are even designated birthstones for the days of the week. The Hindus believe that birthstones should be worn for promoting good health and their stones designations for each month are slightly different than the modern birthstones I have listed below. I personally like the idea of wearing a different stone each month instead of just the one for my birth month.
Modern Birthstones Days of Week Birthstones
January Garnet Monday Pearl or Crystal
February Amethyst Tuesday Ruby or Emerald
March Aquamarine Wednesday Amethyst or Iodestone
April Diamond Thursday Sapphire or Carnelian
May Emerald Friday Emerald or Cat’s eye
June Pearl, Moonstone Saturday Turquoise or Diamond
July Ruby Sunday Topaz or Diamond
August Peridot
September Sapphire
October Opal or tourmaline
November Topaz or Citrine
December Turquoise, or zircon
Swarovski created their own birthstone chart. These sparkly crystals are often used in jewelry design from earrings to necklaces to rings and bracelets. The chart believe shows Swarovski’s designated birthstone chart for their crystals.
I recently created a bracelet that can be personalized to hold a person’s birthstone crystal as the center focal stone. The Swarovski crystal in the center is a light amethyst for the month of June. The bracelet is simple and light weight making it a great gift for a June birthday or a recent graduate. I love creating personalized jewelry using Swarovski crystals, which add the bling factor without the high cost of gemstones.
JRPDesigns at Artfire
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/9283729
Tubular herringbone is a great technique that I use to create jewelry. It’s a versatile stitch that can be used to make just about anything; earrings, necklaces, or bracelets. I recently made three different bracelets just play with the herringbone stitch.
1. The first is a wrap bracelet in black, white, and red that matches scottie dog button that I used a clasp. The bracelet is adorable and can wrap around your wrist twice. I really like the bracelet and have it for sale in my artfire studio. However, I am tempted to keep it for myself.
2. The second bracelet involves using infinity symbol finding as the focal point of the bracelet and then using tubular herringbone as the two connecting sides. I used gray size 11 seed beads and hematite colored clasp to finish this piece. It’s a simple design that can be worn with a t-shirt and jeans.
3. The third is a cute bracelet made using pink beads in several shades and a pink lampwork bead as the focal and the clasp. I purchased the lampwork bead from a local artist in Missouri. The bracelet is different from what I’ve normally seen with beadwork. My goal was to showcase the lampwork bead but still keep the design simple. The bracelet makes a statement without being ostentatious.
All three bracelets are great pieces to wear during the summer when its hot and you don’t want to wear heavy clunky jewelry. All three add a touch of color and fun but are lightweight and simple. I encourage you to visit my studio: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/JRPDesigns and check out the bracelets. I’ll be adding more designs as I continue exploring tubular herringbone.
jrpdesigns 