Have you ever spent a lazy afternoon gazing at the clouds on a sunny day…picking out shapes, naming them, dreaming, and having fun? This is the spirit that inspired me to create my CLOUD DREAMS collection.

Finding the Gem

The stones (from Indonesia) are White Plume Agate. I discovered this gem quite by accident. Over the last year I have been purchasing many of my cabochons from 2 Indonesian sellers. Traditionally these sellers send me a gift with each order. The gift is normally another cabochon from one of their collections. The gift acts as a thank you for my order while also giving me ideas for new gems I may want to buy in the future.

This particular gift was a white plume agate gem. The stone cutter adds a blue backing to create this beautiful doublet as they commonly are referred to. 

Creating the Collection

During the next several months I began ordering more of these doublets. I already knew this gem would be the key component in a new collection. The first several pieces are now available for purchase here.

I adore the way the sky comes alive with this process. Each of these designs is handmade in my Arizona Studio and one of a kind.

 Let these designs remind you of lazy days and dreaming.

Follow me on my design journey and become a collector. Not only do my collectors receive first look at my newest designs but the also have the advantage of Collector-only discounts and specials. It’s Free. In addition you Get 15% off your first order.

Here’s How

Shop Here for all my Designs

The post Cloud Dreams; My Newest Collection appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

Yes I confess. I am a gemstone and rock junkie. It started out slowly. I began designing jewelry using copper and sterling. Right away I knew that gemstones were going to be part of the designs. In the beginning I learned about a few basic stones and used them exclusively. Amethyst, malachite, turquoise, tigers eye, sodalite, rhodochrosite and picture jasper adorned most of my earlier designs.

Every year I attend the Tucson Gems Shows, I make it a practice to add at least one new gem to my arsenal. As a result, along came red creek jasper, polychrome jasper, serpentine, jade, druzy quartz, coral (ok not technically a stone but still a staple in many designs), onyx, sardonyx, charoite, amethyst geodes and probably a few more that have slipped my mind! Each time I discover a new gem, I research it to find out more about where they are mined and some of the history and legends behind each gem. As a result, many of these are featured in my YouTube channel.

Fast forward to today and my life with gemstones is exploding! I realize now that even though I knew a little about gems and rocks, I was only taking baby steps in this arena.

Today I continue to add new gems and yes RAW rocks to my collection. Because many of these gems are new to me I continue to learn . It turns out there are endless varieties of gems and rocks because each time another element in added to a gem it is renamed to include either the name of the mine or the person who first discovered it. What can I say? I am HOOKED and never plan to look back. Investing in many gemstone and rock books helps my education. To date my gem and rock collection now includes peridot, blue chalcedony, rainbow solar quartz, Baltic amber, crazy lace agate, leopard jasper, labradorite, iolite, citrine, garnet, ruby zoisite, moonstone, rose quartz, petrified palmwood root, moss agate, carnelian and more. Life is good.

Follow me on my design journey by becoming a collector. My collectors receive first look at my newest designs plus Collector-only discounts and specials. It’s Free. And you Get 15% off your first order.

Here’s How

Shop Here for all my Designs.

The post Confessions of a Gemstone & Rock Junkie appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.