Burro Creek Agate/Jasper

Burro Creek Agate/Jasper

I love Burro Creek Agate and Jasper! This stone is by lapidary artist Alva Roth and is local to our area. Burro Creek is a wilderness area located between Kingman and Prescott, Arizona.  

Kingman Arizona is about 1 1/2 hours away from where I live and one day I'd like to visit Burro Creek.

When I do I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you here!

Sonora Sunrise & Copper Wire Woven Necklace

Sonora Sunrise & Copper Necklace

Today I have a Sonora Sunrise Pendant to share.

Sometimes it's called Sonora Sunset and is comprised mostly of Chrysocolla and Cuprite with a little Tenorite, it's a minor ore of copper. The blue/green is Chrysocolla, red is Cuprite, the black is Tenorite. It can also have a mixture of Chalcotricite that is orangey red and the black can be iron. This mineral is mined in Sonora, Mexico.

Javanese Jasper Heart

A Javanese Jasper Heart pendant, I've been wearing this one!

Cold Forging Jasper

Today's share is a cold forged Jasper necklace. I've hand forged a heavy gauge copper wire to make a bail and hold this beautiful cabochon securely. The pendant is quite large measuring almost 3" long by 1 1/2" wide.

Chrysocolla Heart Necklace

Since Valentine's Day is only a day away...

This beautiful Chrysocolla Heart cabochon by lapidary artist Ron Smith has been wire woven into an elegant antiqued copper frame for this unique and one of a kind necklace. This pendants size and beauty make it a real show stopper.

The pendant itself measures 2 1/8" in length by 1 1/2" in width and comes with a 24" solid copper antiqued chain that has a lobster claw closure. The copper has been antiqued and polished to bring out the beauty of the metal then treated to protect and maintain the finish.

Rhodonite Necklace

Can you believe this beautiful pink stone is naturally occurring?!

This natural Rhodonite cabochon has been wire woven into an elegant antiqued copper frame for this unique and one of a kind necklace. This pendants size and beauty make it a real show stopper.

The pendant itself measures almost 4" in length by 1 5/8" in width and comes on a matching Rhodonite and Copper chain that's 24" long and has a lobster claw closure. The copper has been antiqued and polished to bring out the beauty of the metal then treated to protect and maintain the finish.

I picked this cabochon up at our La Paz County Swap Meet last season, it was pricey but it was so beautiful I had to add it to my collection.

Rhyolite Necklace

I love green and I love Rhyolite! This pendant has been wire woven using a very simple design to show off the lovely patterns in the stone.

Chrysocolla Necklace

I have a Chrysocolla Cabochon by lapidary artist Nyssa Unger that I've wrapped in antiqued copper for this one of a kind necklace. 

Chrysocolla generally appears in clusters like grapes or in a crust. More often than not they are inter-grown with Opal, Quartz, Malachite, Azurite and/or Turquoise. In ancient lore, the Egyptians called Chrysocolla the "Wise Stone of Conciliation" and reassurance throughout the world. As legend reports, those who wore this stone generally came up with clever compromises in all types of situations.

Cold Forging

I learned a new Cold Forging technique/skill a few months ago and used it to create this pendant. The stone is a Highlight Opal from Chihuahua, Mexico and was an unusual shape for me.  

I think this type of cold forging is a neat way to create a pendant out of an unusual shaped stone and I'll keep my eyes open for others to work with.

Royston Turquoise Necklace

I've had this Royston Turquoise cabochon for quite some time. I haven't been sure how I wanted to make it up into jewelry till now. I've created a copper frame for it to rest in, then antiqued the copper, polished it and treated the copper to protect and maintain the finish.  

I love the way turquoise looks in copper jewelry. I lived most of my life in an area where there is a lot of Turquoise and Silver jewelry so it's a nice change.

Royston Turquoise comes from the Royston mining district located near Tonapah, Nevada. Royston Turquoise originally consisted of four old Turquoise claims: Bunker Hill, Easter Blue, Oscar Wehrend, and Royal Blue. The colors of Royston Turquoise often run together in the same rock which creates some of the most spectacular Turquoise stones on earth.

Chevron Amethyst Slice

I was going through some of my stash of stones recently and came across this slice of Chevron Amethyst. It has a hold drilled from side to side and I hadn't had any good ideas about how to make it into a pendant until I saw it again.

It was fun to sit down with this and experiment and have it turn into a piece of jewelry.

Malachite & Copper Necklace

I have a Malachite necklace to share today. Last week my focus was to make pendants, I'm working on increasing my stock for a shows and other events.

Malachite is one of my favorite stones, I love the deep green color and all the beautiful patterns it can have.

Etched Copper Cuff Bracelets

I had a special order for an etched DragonFly bracelet recently. Since I needed to break out the etching solution I thought I'd make up a nice supply to have on hand.

Polychrome Jasper Heart Necklace

Looking back through some of my older photos...

I'd been working on hearts to take with me for the shows I had in Colorado this past summer. 

This beauty is a Polychrome Jasper by Lapidary Artist Jerry Howard. I wrapped it in antiqued copper and added an 18" copper mesh chain.  It sold quickly.

Deer Antler Display

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of a small business? I was getting ready for a big show in Boulder City, NV last October.

My oldest son was over for dinner and saw the antlers and asked about them so I shared my vision. He replied with, "do you want to make it?" ... so that's what we did that evening.

I love the way it turned out and I have  better photos with the display full of necklaces at other events I've been at now.

We made a huge mess out of my kitchen with all the dust from the dremmel tool.  But we made some great memories working together on a fun project so it was worth it!

Behind The Scenes

Here we are behind the scenes again. My oldest son is installing a new bed cover for my truck so when I travel everything is secure in the bed. 

I've been using a cargo net for the last year so this will be a nice change. Everything fits!

Thankful

I've been working on the last minute details for upcoming events and shows. Making rings have been a priority the last few days. My daughter is my hand model for these Turquoise rings.

As my kids have gotten older they've become a big part of the behind the scenes of my small business. They are great packers and organizers, help me stay relevant & give brutally honest opinions. 

October through April of last year they were tireless "roadies" helping me set up and tear down for every Saturday & Sunday Swap Meet in Parker and Lake Havasu City, Az. 

I'm truly grateful to have them with me, my oldest has a family of his own and is close by. The younger kids have "real jobs" now so this season has been different and I'm very OK with that, life is always changing and moving forward.

Honey Onyx - Kingman, Arizona

Honey Onyx 

I have a necklace to share today I made using Honey Onyx from Kingman, Az.  

I met a couple at the Kingman Cancer Care Arts & Crafts Fair last November, she's a wire jewelry artist and he's a lapidary artist.  I realized after talking with them that I'd met him at a Gem & Mineral Show in Lake Havasu City, Az a few years before and purchased some of his stones.  

It was fun getting to know them over the weekend and I learned they go out and collect interesting rocks from different places in Arizona.  When they get home he cuts and polishes them into beautiful cabochons.  This is one of their finds from Kingman, Az.     

Etching Copper Bracelets

I've been working on etching copper bracelets this week and thought it might be fun to show you some of the process.  Pictured above are stamped bracelet blanks ready to go into the etching solution.

At this stage they've  gone through the etching process and have been cleaned up and shaped into cuff bracelets.  

They are almost finished here, they've been antiqued and polished and now need to be treated on the top side with ProtectaClear.  A metal sealer that will preserve the finish I've given them.  I leave them bare copper on the under side because some people use them for pain relief.

Not sure if you noticed but this is one of the finished bracelets from the first photo.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Sodalite Pendant and Earrings Set

I love these rich blue Sodalite cabochon and earring stones!

I've had the earrings made up for awhile and have been looking for just the right Sodalite cabochon to make a matching wire woven necklace. This is it =)

In the spirit of learning and practicing new weaves comes the pendant that compliments the earrings beautifully and I'll sell them as a set.

I might end up wearing these...  they actually sold in my shop a couple of hours after I put them up for sale...

Mohave Purple Turquoise and Copper Wire Weave Necklace

This is a Mohave Purple Turquoise wire woven pendant with matching Mohave Purple Turquoise stone beads. I'm always learning new techniques and weaves, I really like this one!

Mohave Purple Turquoise comes from Colbaugh Processing, the direct mine source for Kingman Turquoise. And, I'm happy to say I live about an hour and a half away.

They have a great promo video, for more info click the link in their name.

London Bridge Swap Meet

Highlights from the weekend...

At the London Bridge Swap Meet this past weekend I had an unusual visitor, a lady came by with a Bearded Dragon.  I asked about it and we had quite a conversation, she asked if I wanted to pet it and I did.  We have some unusual pets at home too.

Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite Earrings

Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite

More Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite today! I found a couple of matched earring stone sets to go with the pendant I posted the other day. I also have a beautiful heart shaped stone from this material that I haven't made up yet...