Music as a calming influence

I love to spend time at the jewelry bench. In fact it is my FAVORITE way to spend my time. Yes I do love the outdoors as well. Hiking when the weather permits is invigorating and fun. However, my time at the bench is precious. How do I keep my concentration? Music! I love music that is strictly instrumental. Often songs are distracting when I am contemplating a new design or soldering a tricky join with the torch.

Classical Music is the Best

For me the best most relaxing music is classical. I have always been a lover of Mozart, Hayden and JS Bach. Now with the advantage of a terrific classical music station KBACH I can enjoy these favorites and find new favorites as well. Did you know there are LOTS of BACH composers? JS Bach had lots of children and several of them became composers too. Who knew?

For our wedding my husband and I chose the Pachelbel Canon performed by a string quartet. Every time I hear this Canon it brings back those happy memories.

I put together this short video so you can see me in action. Often I am even keeping time with the beat while working!

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Most of us are familiar with this vibrant and gorgeous purple gem. Those lucky folk who are born in February get to call it their birthstone. I bet though there are lots of fascinating facts about amethyst that you do NOT know! I am here to share some of these tidbits with you now.

Where does the purple color come from and Where is it found?

Amethyst is a variety of quartz. The purple color comes from the iron in the stone. The more iron it contains, the deeper the purple color is. This gem is mined in many locations around the globe. Right here in Arizona is one of the premier mines called the 4 Peaks Mine. The finest and deepest colored amethyst is also found in Uruguay and Brazil.

How did amethyst get it’s name?

The name comes from the Greek ‘amethustos’ meaning not drunk. It was believed that if you drank from a vessel made of amethyst.. or wore amethyst.. you were immune to drunkenness’. Oh how I wish this was really true!!

Is this gem durable? How large can an amethyst geode be?

The answer is YES, this gem is quite durable and hard. It registers 7.5 on the mohs scale. To put this in perspective let me tell you that a diamond is the hardest gem and it registers 10 on the mohs scale. All quartz such as amethyst are 7.5 and considered quite hard. Keep in mind though that amethyst geodes like the one pictured in this blog have lots of fragile and pointy sections. These will break off quite easily depending upon their size.

The largest amethyst geode weights 28,660 pounds and is 9 feet 10″ long, 5 feet 10″wide and 7 feet 2″ high. It is displayed in Shandong Tianyu Museum of Natural History in Shandong, China.

Now you know so much more about amethyst! I will close with this famous quote.

“Amethyst dissipates evil thoughts and quickens the intelligence” Leonardo Da Vinci.

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The post Did you Know this about Amethyst? appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

yes I am nearing the finish line for the designs I started a few weeks ago. The Holidays got in the way of having them done in a more timely fashion. Then again isnt that what holidays are all about? Celebrating with family and friends.

The 3 designs shown here are the first three out of the gate. I have a few more rings to show you in the image below. For now I want to salivate over these new creations. Palmwood root (Petrified palm wood) is my newest find. From first glance I wanted to own these gems! And of course I wanted to design new and unique jewelry using them. The earrings show off the amazing cream color and black combo so well. Wouldnt you like to OWN a pair? As a reminder my work is primarily all one of a kind designs. While there will be more earrings available, none of them will be exactly like these. I love the idea of knowing that when you purchase from me, you know that you are also unique and have the only design of it’s kind. The pendant to the right features my Rainbow Solar quartz gem (part of the ‘Chasing a Rainbow’) collection. It is complemented by an amethyst druzy quartz gem.

Moving right along, these are 3 of the finished rings from my December project. The one on the left is antiqued sterling silver with a opalized petrified wood gem. Yes this one is new for me too. What can I say…I just keep finding gems that call out to me! the ring in the center is Rose Quartz. A favorite for many people. the rich translucent pink is hard to surpass. I will be designing more using this gem! Finally the pinky finger features Baltic amber. I am just starting my journey using this gem. It has intrigued me for some time. I have also purchased some amber with moss agate. Wait until you see those!

Yes I do have more designs to finish. Part of the issue is that I keep adding more ideas and designs to the original project. cannot seem to help myself!

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Not really. I know it has that chaotic vibe but actually I have a feel for everything and where it has been placed on the bench. Currently I am doing some soldering so I need the soldering board. In my case I use the bottom board for protection of the wooden bench. I have learned over the years that you just cannot be TOO careful when working with fire! Thankfully I have not burned any holes in the wood yet, but I feel safer with this added protection. I put the circular board on top. This one absorbs the heat. Plus it swivels.

I have several Third hands. (these are the black based tools you see in the photo) They are used to hold the pieces that I am soldering. Since I am usually working on several pieces simultaneously, I need a few of these. Then of course there is the solder pick, tongs, solder and torch. these are essential for soldering. Lest we forget, I need the water for quenching the soldered designs and the pickle to clean the jewelry.

So what is all the rest of the paraphernalia on my bench? Since I am prone to doing several things at once, I keep my shears, my tweezers and a file handy. Off to the left you can glimpse some of my polishing tools These are used daily.

OK that covers the bulk of my bench chaos. I mentioned that I tend to work on several projects at once .. So the next projects are usually in the bench too. Right now I have a few gemstones ready for bezeling, plus a few gemstones that I want to design with once I am finished with my current designs.

So maybe I does sound chaotic? But to me this is just a day in the life of a jewelry designer!

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As you can see I made some progress since the last blog! In that episode I had just selected the designs I wanted to work with, including several new gemstones.

So I skipped as step before showing you this video. Basically that step showed the first soldering done. This one shows the soldered designs attached to their backing plus I have indicated a few of the components I am using for the ring shanks or pendants. If you read the first blog, you will have seen other gems that are not shown here. I had to dumb down my work so I could complete it in a reasonable time. As you may have guessed, I have a tendency to see a bigger picture than i have the time or energy for! I guess in the long run this is not a horrible habit. But I do have to ‘pin my ears back’ as my father used to call it. To take smaller bites and achieve more.

this also means there will have to be a follow-up blog to show the other gems. Rose Quartz, Druzy quartz, serpentine, Moonstone and Amethyst geodes will become finished designs too. Just not this week!

I am especially excited about this new gem discovery shown here. It’s called petrified palmwood root. I adore the black and caramel inclusions in this gem!

The next steps include final cleanup (some still need filing and shining). shaping and sizing the ring shanks, soldering the back of the silver and attaching to the ring shank and of course, final cleanup, polish and setting the stones.

Lots of individual work goes into each design. and I love every minute of the process!

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The post Moving into phase 3 of my new designs appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

Howlite is a gemstone that is not always recognized for it’s beauty. This gorgeous white gemstone features veins of black and silver. It is sometimes referred to as the sacred buffalo. It has a similar structure as turquoise and as a result it is often dyed blue and sold off as turquoise! What a shame. Not only is howlite beautiful in it’s natural state but coloring it blue is a fraudulent way to sell turquoise.

Howlite was first discovered in Nova Scotia and Originally named for Henry How, a 19th century mineralogist. He was the first to make this discovery. Today it is mined in many countries including Turkey, Mexico, Russia and yes here in the USA. I purchase both the cabochons and the beads to use in my jewelry. Currently I have beads shaped like hearts. This creates a wonderful pair of earrings!

I love it because of the many design elements I create with it. The rich whites and black inclusions allows me to combine it with other gems. It’s color blends well with reds, oranges and black. Shown here is a pair of sterling earrings featuring rich black onyx.

Howlite also has a spiritual meaning.

A stone of infinite patience is what this gem is known for. It brings new ideas into focus and as a result it aids in achieving our ambitions. Howlite is also a gem that can help us stay calm.

Want to know more about this gem? Here’s a video with more fascinating facts.

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These 4 metals are my raw materials! (along with my gemstones of course). When I first began my jewelry designing journey, I worked exclusively with Copper and sterling silver. We were trained on copper since it’s value was much less than silver, yet it reacts very similar to silver when heated or textured. I fused silver to copper as an experiment and fell in love with the process and the result.

As you can see from this example, the vibrancy of the copper melds so well with the richness of silver. I still use this technique often in the creation of my jewelry designs. As I gained confidence working with silver, I created more and more one of a kind pieces. Many are considered heirloom designs.

This design highlights my love of texturing and especially my love of gemstones. This druzy quartz is pure white. I fell in love with it the minute I saw it. It really is a gorgeous piece of art. My journey took me inevitably to gold. First I experimented with Gold Fill. I created many designs combining gold with silver. Another Stunning combination.

This year my journey continues with the addition of steel. Yes I said steel! I am mesmerized by the brilliance of 18k gold on steel that has been blackened. Truly statement jewelry at it’s finest. I have spent hours getting up to speed in working with this new metal. It requires many changes to my routine. Now I feel more comfortable with the process. You will see LOTS more designs in the near future.

I invite you to 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.

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The post A Tale of Four Metals appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

• The ring finger on our left hand has traditionally been considered the place for a wedding ring. Did you know that other fingers have significance as well?

• Signet Rings are worn on the left pinky finger. Known as the ‘gentleman’s ring’, the signet ring is traditionally seen as a symbol of family heritage. Signet rings are worn by men and women from all walks of life who wish to exhibit style, or a sentimental connection with something or someone.

• Birthstone rings are meant to be worn on the first finger of the right hand. (I did not know this) Fascinating isn’t it?

• lastly we have the thumb ring. Did you know that rings worn here were originally meant to protect the person from injuries from arrows! Thankfully this is not something that we have to worry about today.

I love designing rings for any finger. Each time I create a new design, I have to wear it to try it out. Needless to say I have quite a collection. You can purchase my rings here.

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Creating a new jewelry design is so energizing for me. I love looking at the finished piece and envision others admiring it and (of course) buying it. However, getting a photo that expresses the beauty of the design is challenging. So I enlisted the help of professional jewelry photographer Doug Baldwin. He exceeded my expectations. The photos reflect the beauty of my designs. I am excited to share these with you now, knowing these are a true representative of my work.

Would you like to see more of my designs? Here is the link to all of the Cuffs

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