Broken Links - Designs to Love Gallery

Seems the link to my "Designs to Love" Gallery isn't working. I've emailed the administrator, the problem appears to be at their end so hopefully it'll be fixed soon.

http://www.designstolove.com

In the mean time you can still access the site above, go to the "members" tab and search for me by entering bstoopman in the seach function.

Orient - Mixed Media

Thought I'd write a post about my latest painting which was commissioned for a newly renovated apartment decked out in Black, Red and White.

My brief was for something abstract in Black, Red and Foil - both Gold and Silver, other than that I was left to my own devices.

I decided on a series of three or a Triptych as these are known. Each canvas is around 93cm high x 46cm wide also I wanted to include some texture as the paintings are to be hung on smooth white plasterboard wall. I ended up using Matisse Impasto and a palette knife to create the texture which I then proceeded to paint in vibrant red Atelier acrylic. I then decided the red texture needed a little more definition, so the peaks were dry brushed with a little Carbon Black. I like the effect that its created. This particular Atelier paint tends to stay open a lot longer than my usual acrylic paint and as yet, I've not used it to paint anything other than abstract art. So am dying to give a scene a try.... perhaps next week.

I ended up naming the series "Orient", mainly because in its abstract kind of way it reminds me of a Geisha girl, who becomes a blur or whirl by the third piece. In the first of the series you can make out a side on view of the head/hair and the highly decorated Kimono which was created using torn Gold and Silver Foil. There are also some leaves floating on the breeze, on two of the paintings, these were drawn on using an Indian Ink Pitt pen, so indeed, it is a mixed media piece.

The interesting thing with this series is that it could be hung in any direction, ie up or down and moved around within the series to give the owner and its on-lookers a little more to ponder on... who knows what else could be found in there.

I do so hope the customer likes it, because I really enjoyed creating it.

Some very sad news

Am very sad to have to write this post. Yesterday I found Izzy Liz had died out in the garden near the pool, not really sure how it happened, but her little body was limp and lifeless, her eyes shut tight.

I will really miss all her crazy little antics and the fact that she'll now longer be around to sit on the back of my chair when I'm out on the veranda.

RIP Miss Izz, you will always be remembered with great fondness.

Aussie Opal Miners Protect Digs.

Recently out at a place called Mundubbera approx. 390 kms north west of Brisbane, Queensland, there's been a discovery of an outbreak of a very vicious plant - The Hudson Pear. A cactus, bought to Australia from Mexico as a garden plant, is so vicious that it's spikes have been known to cause serious injury and even death when a fella fell into a patch at Lightning Ridge (one of Australia's Opal Mining communities) and had a heart attack. It's spines or spikes are so tough they can penetrate boots and car tyres and need to be removed with a pair pliers.

The Cactus was first reported in New South Wales in the 1960's. According to various sources, it spread from a Cactus nursery but was further assisted by Opal Miners deliberately planting it around their diggings to keep thieves away.

In New South Wales reports estimate that this pest now covers up to 100,000 hectares of land, rendering the land useless. It is capable of spreading easily as new plants can grow from segments of any size. It is also found in Southern and Western Australia and has naturalised in South Africa. Two herbicides are however currently available for treating the Cactus.

Pic courtesy of NSW DPI

Gemstones - Myths and Legends

Many tales surround gemstones. From the earliest times, people have and in some cases still believe that gemstones have mysterious qualities. They were used to ward off drunkiness, cure toothache and headache, blindness and so on.

Apparently in the middle ages, Alchemists assigned curative properties to gemstones, somewhat similar to what we have today in the form of homeopathic medicine. It seems that diseases of the time were given classifications according to four qualities,
ie hot, cold, moist and dry. Stones were then assigned within the classification.

Here are some properties supposedly associated with Gemstones.

Diamond - Thought to bring victory to the wearer, along with superior strength and courage. Associated with thunder and lightning. Also believed to indicate quilt or innocence. The stone of Kings.

Amethyst - Said to prevent drunkeness and have the power to induce dreams or visions.

Aquamarine - Remedy for eye trouble, toothache, sore throat, feelings of weakness. Thought to promote a happy marriage.

Emerald - Reputed to cure blindness and believed to preserve the chasitity of women, also supposed to blind poisonous snakes (lol....better remember that one for next time I'm out bushwalking and a "King Brown" pokes its ugly face out at me - It's long story)

Opal - Cupids stone of hope and love. Supposed to bring good luck, but not in the western world.

Ruby - An antidote for poison. Believed by Hindus to ensure health, wealth and joy.

Sapphire - A symbol of truth, sincerity and faithfulness... Supposed to keep one safe from illness and protect again poisoning.

Turquoise - Used against falling or tripping, also worn as a protection again the "evil eye"

Opal - Australia's National Treasure

Whilst I was visiting the north coast last weekend, I came across a stall at one of the local markets selling opals from Yowah, a small remote opal mining town which is approximately 165 km's from Cunnamulla or just over 1000 km's from Brisbane on the east coast of Australia.

There isn't much at Yowah. It's a popular destination for opal fossickers, they come to fossick and then stay. It's no treechange or seachange, can reach 50 degrees C in the summer and go below zero in winter. They do hold an opal festival and jewellery design competition each year, only stipulation is that designers use Yowah opals in their creation.

If you go to Yowah, you need to bring your own beer, cause there's no pub and no beer, (well at least they warn you) as well, no church if that's were you like to go on Sundays and apparently no law enforcement officers in the town. There is however a caravan park and a nine hole golf course with sand greens and earth fairways, along with numerous opal cutters and retail outlets selling opals.... thought I'd save the best part till last!

Yowah is primarily famous for what are known as "Yowah Nuts".
These nuts are small ironstone boulders which are spherical to ellipsoidal (sort of like a squashed egg shape ) and up to five centimetres across. They might have hollowed centres, be filled with powdery clay or a kernel of opal. Those with a kernel of opal were what I had the opportunity to view. The nuts are found in layers of 150 to 600mm in thickness at depths up to 20m in a ferruginous sandstone.

The stall owner, a gentleman, went to great lengths to explain the attraction of his opals, along with colours, how they're cut and so on.

I had been planning to write a post for a while on Australian opals, but as I've never owned one myself and not being that attracted to them as most that I've seen have been white with hints of fire, ocean and forest and smaller than a shirt button, so they didn't really appeal to me colour wise or size wise. I've always thought of those stones as wishy washy and rather boring.

I was really taken with these Yowah opals though. Yes they appeared to be just polished stones with tiny effervescent spots of colour, that glistened and sparkled like tiny pieces of glitter set into milk chocolate.... but some of these stones where large, and really suited as pendants or an embellishment for a fancy wired cuff. Only problem was I was a little short at the time of the hundreds of dollars of cash I would have needed to purchase the one I really liked.

As you can see by this little specimen, not all Yowah Nut Kernels are actually solid opal. All the same I think this is a very nice specimen would indeed make a great feature as part of a piece of wired jewellery.

to be continued.....

Pic 1. Yowah Nut Kernel
Pic 2. A piece of Yowah Matrix
Pic 3. A Yowah Nut showing that all kernels are not always solid opal

A Colour Wheel of Gem Stones

Here's my list - if you've got some ideas of your own, send me a comment and I'll add them here

Black - Jet, Onyx, Obsidian,
Grey - Labradorite
Brown - Agate, Jasper, Smokey Quartz, Tigereye
Voilet - Amethyst, Jadeite, Tanzanite, Tourmaline,
Blue - Amber, Aquamarine, Fluorspar, Iolite, Jadeite,
Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Sodalite, Spinel, Tanzanite, Topaz, Turquoise,
Green - Adventrine, Amber, Beryl, Chrysocolia, Emerald,
Ernite, Hemimorphite, Jadeite, Malachite, Nephrite, Peridot, Sapphire,
Tourmaline
Yellow - Amber, Citrine, Butter Jade, Jadeite, Topaz,
Tourmaline
Orange - Amber, Carnelian, Fire Opal, Sapphire
Padparadsha)
Red/Pink - Amber, Garnet, Coral, Fire Opal, Kunzite,
Morganite, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel, Tigereye, Topaz,
White - Moonstone, Opal, Pearl,
Clear - Quartz

The Art of Amber....Part 3

Lets talk about fake Amber.
So how do you tell a good fake from the real thing?

Copal resin which is very young compared to real Amber is an aromatic tree resin mainly used as an incense, is often passed off as Amber, it is almost identical and is the most popular fake. However, Glass, Bakelite, Perspex and Celluloid are others.

As we know it is possible to find insects trapped in Amber, this is what makes it fairly valuable. An insect trapped in a drop of Amber resin as it drips down the tree, usually has time to wriggle about before the Amber sets. One would find swirl marks around the moving parts of the trapped creature. This is one way to tell if the Amber is real. In fake Amber there'll be no swirl marks as the dead insect is planted into the resin.

A way to tell Copal and Amber apart is by using a spot of Ether, which will have no effect on the real Amber, but will leave a sticky residue on the Copal.

If you don't have access to Ether as many of us don't and as true Amber floats, just mix a solution of saline two or three teaspoons in a glass of water pop the piece in. If it floats its real, this will only work if the Amber is not set or mounted.

The pic gives an indication of what Copal Resin can look like.

Be my Valentine... no chance

Just checking out the latest Gadgets this morning in the local newspaper and I guess this one is for all those Valentine Day shoppers who are also Computer Nerds.

Frankly, I couldn't imagine receiving a worse gift. What ever happened to Flowers, Chocolate and/or real Gems on Valentines Day?

Apparently, Philips and Swarovski have got together and come up with, or so they think, the ultimate Valentine USB gift. Its a heart shaped pendant combining a fully faceted crystal in silver shade, whilst the other half of the heart which is polished silver metal, is a 1GB USB stick that reveals itself when the crystal and silver halves are split. The USB is capable of storing around 1000 photographs or 250songs, features USB 2.0 transfer speeds of 8Mbps for reading and 3Mbps for writing info. It also comes with the usual password protection software. Cost $300.00

check out http://www.active-crystals.com/

Photograph courtesy of Philips.

Don't you just hate it when.....

You decide to paint and it starts to rain.
You want to try some new interactive acrylic paint, that stays "open" longer and it starts to rain. You have to watch paint dry!

You find your paint bush loosing hair on your wet painting.
You find your paint bush hair as dried on your painting... (it hasn't yet, cause I found it before it got the chance, little sucker!)
Note to self, relegate that brush to the bin!

You get out the box of silver and gold leaf and suddenly an almighty breeze whips up. Oh well I figure it'll add to the fx's. Ever tried playing with gold leaf in a breeze?
Dog is now covered in bits of gold and silver leaf, as is the floor and table.
Everying I touch has turned to Gold. Watch out Midas! As if, I wish!

Jet aka Black Amber

Last year my eight year old Border Collie had to be put to sleep, it was discovered that he had a tumour on his spine after not being able to get up one morning. This post is in memory of my beautiful boy, Jet.

So what is Jet exactly? It measures 2.5-4 on the Mohs scale and is one of the softest semi-precious stones, most other minerals can scratch it. It is way too soft to be facet cut, so the most common form of cut is either 'en cabochon' or made into beads. It was used in Britain long before the Romans arrived and is said to have been found in 4500 year old Bronze Age Barrows in Yorkshire and Scotland.

There's an example in the pic below. These were sold to me as Jet beads and are featured with Ernite. Question is now, are they really Jet? Possibly, but certainly not Victorian Jet.


The interesting thing about Jet is that is was once alive, in the form of a tree.
Originally it come from a weird species of Conifer that had a banded spiked trunk, and cones the size of a football. Today the tree's formal name is "Araucaria".

In Australia, the Hoop and Bunya Pines are of that species. For those of us who have seen the Bunya Pine which mainly grows in South East Queensland, we are in awe of the size of its cones which can grow to the size of a football. However I digress.

It was probably due to something as dramatic as climate change, that these ancient trees died by the forest full. Massive logs and debris built up in swampy areas as these giants crashed to the ground, they were then covered with mud, causing them to fossilise without air, shrinking to a black layer of Jet, probably just a few centimetres thick. Directly above this a layer of limestone formed, which then became covered with silt, shale and clay.

Jet was made famous initially by Queen Victoria. Her Jet came from the Whitby mines in Yorkshire. Whitby Jet is considered the finest in the world although very good quality genuine Jet is found all over Europe and North America, especially Spain, Germany and Pennsylvania.

Now back to Queen Victoria, she chose to wear Jet as her grieving adornment when her prince consort passed away. Black signifies the "absence of light" and known to be the colour of death in the Western world. Due to Queen Victoria, Jet became the height of fashion, everyone wore it, its beads were easy to wear with woman's clothing styles of the day. However, Jets popularity diminished around the 1880's when Victoria took to wearing white stones, such as pearls and diamonds.

I've read recently that you should never loan out your Jet jewellery, as it is said to be so absorptive that its owner can be vulnerable to negative magic if it falls into the wrong hands.

Some interesting facts about Jet

When warmed it attracts lint, it can support innate heat, and this can cause it to spontaneously combust.

Testing for real Jet

You can try the scratch test. Use a porcelain tile and scratch the Jet against the rough back of the tile, it should leave a chocolate brown mark. Coal which is softer will leave a black mark, Glass a white mark and Vulcanite (a primitive form of plastic) a trail of grey. It is said that when manufacturers of fake jet realised this they started to add a brown dye to the surface plastic.

Some facts about Vulcanite from the Plastics Historical Society

Combining natural rubber with sulphur in a furnace, Vulcanite was discovered in the USA in 1839 by Charles Goodyear, patented by Hancock in England in May 1843 and Goodyear in USA in June of the same year.

Various mouldings in Vulcanite were exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The material, most commonly black in colour was used to make combs, buttons, jewellery, fountain pens, pipe stems (both plain and decorative), musical instruments, etc. It was also widely used as an electrical insulator and for chemically resistant linings. A reddish colour was used for denture plates until superseded by celluloid and acrylic. Then in 1930 a reddish material rippled with black was popular for fountain pen and pencil barrels. Since the 1930s however Vulcanite has been based wholly or partly on various synthetic rubbers rather than natural rubber.

An example of Vulcanite


So today the best test for Jet is to heat a needle and hold it to the back of the piece. If its real nothing will happen, plastic will bubble and smell. A more dramatic and of course destructive test is to hold the Jet in a flame where it will give off a greenish flame with sooty smoke, plastic will just melt. Make sure you wear safety glasses and use tongs, because if the Jet you're testing is Glass it will certainly explode.

Ok so now I'm off to test one of my Jet Beads, so which test will I use...humm. I'll let you know the outcome.

Ed.. ok it could be Jet I used the porcelain scratch test and it left a choc brown line, but is might also be dyed plastic. So will try the heat test next.

Noosa style themes

Just finished this painted canvas with a few little bits and pieces I picked up at Noosa on the weekend. The starfish, shells and flowers were a bargain, from the local hardware store. I was a bit annoyed that the two market stalls I really wanted to visit weren't even there. I figured the stallholders stayed away because of the rain, pity cause it had fined up by 8.00am, but then again, by noon it was steaming hot. The temperature was reported as 26 degrees C, I have to dispute that, it was more likely over 30 degrees.

Not sure where I'll hang this one yet, it really wasn't mean't to match the bedroom, but I decided to use up the paint I had left over from the other seaside themed canvas paintings I completed a few days back.



Here's a pic of the newly renovated bedroom, apologies if some of the photos are a little dull, but its been raining cats and dogs here in Brisbane for the last few days, so no sun to help with the lighting.

and another angle

Lets talk about Butter Jade "Butterstone"

This is the next stone in my series on interesting yellow toned semi previous stones. So far I've looked at Amber and Citrine, both extrememly interesting in their own right, but hey, aren't all gemstones interesting?

Butter Jade is not actually Jade, but is another of those stones not unlike Amber in that it is known to contain evidence of the first life on earth in the form of micro fossils - Stromatolites of Blue Green Algae. These fossils predate dinosaurs by 2500 million years and signify the development of life as we know it.

Apparently it is a great stone for carving and there is much evidence of this found in South Africa where it is mainly found. It is a stone that is often Cabbed to, so a great material for those jewellery makers who adore working with seed beads.

Other names for Butter Jade are Butterstone and African Jade.
It is supposed to to bring good luck and is also good for helping accept one’s life path as well as being excellent for self-realization and acceptance. It promotes clear thinking and aids in decision making.

Recently I incorporated some Butter Jade in a piece of Jewellery I made. At the time I wasn't really familiar with the stone, but thought it looked like such a wonderful soft colour. Since doing some research on the stone I have become interested as to why my Jade has white inclusions, surely this can't be blue green algae. If anyone can answer my question I've love to hear from you. I guess its possible that my beads came from a different area to the orignal location.

The pic is of the stones that were sold to me as Butter Jade.

Selling Jewellery

First of all, find your own place in jewellery design, everyone loves original pieces and don't copy others original work, that's a big no no and can get you into lots of trouble and maybe very bad publicity. Word travels fast.

(2) Wear your jewellery, ask your friends to wear it too, get it out there and let everyone see it. Who knows someone might buy a piece off your neck or arm.

(3) Be careful about selling on consignment, make sure you have an agreement in writing with the shop and also make sure you know who covers any losses such as theft, fire, etc which leads to the next item Insurance.

(4) Get yourself some insurance, including personal indemnity and product liability

(5) Keep a portfolio of your work, you never know when you may need to refer back to it. eg. Customers sometimes lose an earring and may want replacements if they love the piece enough. Portfolios are also good for looking back on, to see how your style and ability had changed and improved. All good lessons.

(6) Make sure you price your jewellery accordingly and ensure the customer knows what they're buying. You might include a little swing tag that gives relative info and never never assume the shop you have goods on consignment with knows what they're selling. I once had some-one tell me they couldn't tell the difference between Amethyst and Rose Quartz. If you going down the consignment path, make sure everything is tagged and that the owner knows what she's selling, otherwise you may never get a sale. If she doesn't know what she's selling, how can she sell it? Further if you're doing markets make sure the jewellery reflects prices people are expecting at markets.
I've seen people sitting around at markets with $350 plus jewellery. I don't go to markets to spend that sort of money on jewellery and very few tourists do either.
Markets are for bargains.

(7) Get yourself known. Join beading groups and forums on the Internet. Enter as many competitions as you can afford and read, read and read all you can about materials, semi precious stones, techniques etc. Knowledge is power!
Well if you don't make a fortune you may as well get fame!

(8) Offer gift certificates, but make sure they have a use by date. These are good for people who can't decide or don't know the taste of the person for whom they're buying. Also great for males who are shopping for their mums, sisters and girlfriends.

(9) Carrying on with the taste theme. Don't be put off by something you make, that maybe you're not too sure about because someone makes a nasty remark about it. Not everyone has the same taste and most times the general public wouldn't know an "Arty" piece of Jewellery if they fell over it, let along the value of stones you may have included. If you're not sure, ask another jewellery designer or two for their opinion.

10) Look for good quality materials. The Internet has a wealth of suppliers a heck of a lot cheaper than your local bead store. Give those stores a big miss, unless you're really in a bind. They charge like wounded bulls and this eats into your profits.

11) Make sure you're using genuine materials. Lots of suppliers particularly in South east Asia pass off materials as genuine when they're not. Be particularly careful when buying Swarovski crystals or lampwork. Sometimes gemstones are incorrectly named to, so go do your homework. Invest in some good reference books.

12)OK if all else fails, maybe you could teach jewellery making or write projects for jewellery making magazines.

Stay tuned - Posts for next week

Gosh have so much happening at present. Just trying to get my head around it all.
Tomorrow we're having our Australia Day picnic with friends and family at the beach. Yes I know its a day late, but it is a long weekend. We've having a sausage sizzle along with one of Australia's best known cakes/desserts - Lamingtons and lots of stone and tropical fruits.

Monday will be cleanup day, finish work on the upstairs back veranda, get the top sorted with the sideboard out there. I bought some felt and plan to sew an underlay top for it that can sit under a piece glass. Have all sorts of ideas running around in my head for that. Will post a pic when its finished..

Wednesday is carpet laying day in the bedroom that's been renovated, then hopefully Michael will put together the flat pack 8 draw chest that I bought at Ikea last week.
Our local Bunning are out of the knobs I need for the chest, so looks like ahunting we will go!

Thursday, more chores and grocery shopping and moving furniture

Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be busy with trips to the markets, beach etc.

Upcoming blog posts include:
- Tips for selling your jewellery
- Next stone in the series of Yellow Gems that I plan to feature... its a surprise!
- Some pics of my newly furnished bedroom, oh I so can't wait to move back in.
- China Painting and lots more.

Some more reno projects

Here's a couple more pics of projects I've done around the house in recent times.
The first one is our little courtyard beside the back of the house. I designed the gate/fence and my ever handy husband built it. Since then we've had people stop at the front of the house asking where we got our court yard fence from...lol. I decided to keep my herb pots as its a good sunny position. The only real addition to the area has been a resin Kookaburra to the top of the black frame nearer the fence. It looks so real and even I have have done a double take at times, its a bit of Australiarna in an otherwise Japanese inspired garden



This pic is some handpainted leadlighting I completed on the upstairs bathroom door. The door was a find at one of those old wares recycling places. Michael removed the top two timber ply panels and replaced them with clear glass. I drew the pattern, enlarged it on a photocopier and traced over it with a thick black pen. I stuck the pattern to the back of the glass and then used stick-on lead which had to be rolled on with a special tool. The colours were dropped into the lead using an eyedropper to flood the area. (Of course the door has to lay flat for this to work)
I given the window in the bathroom the same treatment. Its been a few years since this work was done, the colours do tend to fade with time, but they havn't disappeared, they're just way more subtle.

Gone Fishin'

Things have been progressing nicely with the bedroom renovation. The walls and trims are painted, the ceiling, plastered and painted and a white ceiling fan and wide slated blinds have been hung. Just got my carpet quote and am happy with the price, it was the cheapest of three quotes, but also just what we were looking for. It has the look of Sisal, but isn't and is a deep putty colour.

Th pic above is of some of the wall hangings I've made in recent days.

This lamp base was once cream and gold. It's now had Bernie's seaside touch....lol. The scene was inspired by the pic of Pelicans I took on a recent holiday to Nambucca Heads in NSW. You can view the pic in one of my earlier postings. Took me about three and half hours on Sunday to paint while Izzy Liz sat perched on the chair beside me. She seemed enthralled by what I was doing or perhaps she just thought I had something she could maybe eat!
I used Atelier acrylic paints, basically what I normally use for painting scenes on stretched canvas. The main problem I had was that the paint was drying really quickly on the clay lamp base so I had to work fast. I sealed the finished work with a good satin acyclic sealer, which gives it a slight sheen. I've also been hunting for a matching shade, was thinking a cane one would complete the look, but I don't want to have to spray paint one, been there done that, don't want to go there again. Maybe I'll have a bit of search on the Net and see what else I can find that would suit.



These are a couple more hangings I made for the upstairs bathroom, which is decked out in pale blue and white with touches of lemon yellow. The one of the right is actually Cobalt Blue, (same colour as the one in the first pic) not Navy or Black as it seems to look in the pic. I used cheaper acrylic paint for these, just went and chose two colours that I thought matched. The wooden fish were actually strung together and had eye hooks in their mouths which were easily removed. I glued them using 450 stainless adhesive as a glue gun would have been useless. The glue always tends to let go after a while if you bump what ever you've glued. The shells on the first set of hangings have been glued in the same matter. This glue dries clear, is very strong and available from Spotlight here in Australia. All have been sealed with the same satin acrylic sealer as the lamp bases.



Found a few bargains by way of a lemon coloured bath towel set and a new Doona cover at the recent new year sales. The cover has a gorgeous trailing vine and leaf pattern all embroidered in satin thread in colours of Lime green, Lemon and Cobalt Blue. Reminded me of a rain forest on the edge of an ocean somewhere. I shall post a pic of the finished room when the furniture and accessories are in place.

The Art of Amber....Part 2

A few days back I wrote about amber being found in the far north of Queensland, here in Australia. Since then I've been doing a bit of research and found out some very interesting things about amber generally... it truly has me fascinated now. You may recall I was amazed about some of the possible inclusions found in amber, e.g insects and flowers, lizards and even frogs. Apparently mushrooms have also been found in the past as well as hair and feathers. Its seems that these types of inclusions greatly increase the value of the specimen. However, liquid and air bubble inclusions are usually removed by boiling the amber in rapeseed oil, before it is used for jewellery making.

Colour is usually determined by the source tree. Pines are responsible for golden-yellow amber, deciduous trees produce reddish toned amber, whilst green is due to the decomposition of organic material. However after long exposure to air and elements amber changes colour to a mellow brown. So far I've been unable to ascertain what causes some Amber to be blue.

Classification of amber is based on the source. eg. Baltic amber is known as succinite (as it contains succinic acid which biochemically plays a role in producing Citric Acid).

Romanian amber is rumanite, Sicilian amber is simetite and Burmese amber is burmite.

So does that mean Australian amber will be known as austamite? Guess we'll have to wait and find out.

Amber requires a fair amount of care because on the hardness scale it rates around 2-3. Being extremely heat-sensitive, it also needs to be protected from sources that produce heat, including hot water and strong sunlight.

Keep amber away from hairspray and perfume, protect it from bumps and scratches and keep it stored separately from other jewellery. When stringing amber it's best done in the same way as expensive pearls, i.e knotted between each bead.

So how do you tell the fake from the well thing? We've all seen lots of fake amber at weekend markets, this stuff is usually made from glass or plastic. Real amber is warm to the touch and floats in salt water, so that's why its found washed up on beaches.

Citrine - certainly no Lemon

This is the second post in my series about yellow gems. Today I've decided to tackle the Citrine, the rarest gem of the Quartz family.

Citrine is named after the French Citron commonly known as a Lemon. Colours range from lemon yellow to bright orangey brown. It is said to be the most affordable of all the earth-toned gemstones and is the perfect complement to all the warmest tones in your wardrobe. Its sunny colours light up black and contrast with blues and purples.

Natural yellow Citrine is very rare and has been revered for many thousands of years, it was popular amongst the ancient Romans who used it for Intaglio work, whereby a design is etched into the surface of the stone. The stone was particularly popular in the retro jewelry of the 1940s. Its bright yellow color and spectacular size suited the style and bold gold of the era.
It was often set with Ruby, Peridot, and Aquamarine in vibrant brooches, necklaces and bracelets. Many jewelry designers today still love to set Citrine in yellow gold, alone, or with Amethyst, Blue Topaz, or Peridot.

Many Citrines begin their lives as Amethyst and it's difficult to tell a natural Citrine from a heat treated one. After gentle heating, the purple fades and a golden yellow takes its place. Citrine mainly occurs in igneous and metamorphic rocks and a great source of it is the Rio Grande do Sol state in southern Brazil.

Citrine is said to enhance individuality, improve motivation and activate creativity. I wonder if that also applies to those grown in a Lab?
Now where did I put my Citrine ring and necklace. I shall wear them more often and particularly when I'm lacking motivation in future.

Kids, Dogs and Movies

Ask me what I've been up to the last couple of days... Beading? Painting? Photography? Renovating? No, No, No, none of the above.

For the last couple of days I been niece sitting. My 11 year old niece, Samantha, came to stay as her mum has just started a new job. This is not the first time I've been more than happy to baby sit. When Samantha was very little, she often came to stay the night if her mum and dad had to go to a function. She has also visited lots of times during the school holidays, she loves our swimming pool for a start and then of course there's Rem who has had an absolute ball with another little person in the house. I think he really missed her when she went home last night, 'cause at 2.30am this morning I heard him crying at the back door, between chewing on his squeaky toy. Poor little Sweety, I got out of bed and let him in for a while till he was sleepy again. Usually he sleeps a fair bit during the day, but not the last couple of days, he'd be lucky if he had several 10 minute kips. He was way too busy playing hide and seek, get the toy etc etc., so I guess that's why he was crying last night. I expect though that he'll sleep well today.

I forgot how exhausting it was looking after kids. Luckily, I'm not mentally exhausted as well as physically. We're past the stage of negotiating for every little thing like, "If I eat three more spoonfuls of my dinner, can I have three chocolates?" (Jelly Beans, Jelly Snakes, Chips, whatever....) and it use to be like that for everything.

Fancy having to negotiate with a child about when she should have her bath, go to bed, brush her teeth, eat her dinner, what she should eat for dinner, Phew!!... I recall one weekend when this happened constantly, its worse then working for some high flying executive type, and they don't listen either, but that's another story!

We also went to the movies. I'm very lucky, because at the end of my street is the local picture theatre. Decided to see "The Waterhorse" (Legend of the Lock Ness Monster) I really enjoyed this flick, and even had a little cry at the end. Yep I'm a real shook when it comes to movies.

The story is set in the early 1940's and is about a young scottish boy who finds a mysterious looking piece of Flotsam amongst the rocks on the seashore. He takes it home and begins to chip away at the exterior only to expose what looked to me, the most vibrant and amazing coloured Paua shell, the size and shape of a football. That's when all the fun begins. There are some very funny scenes in the movie and along with a few sad ones. (You also knew I'd get to mention some type of jewellery making supply in this post didn't you...lol... ie the Paua shell)

I won't give the movie plot away here. My niece loved the movie, one word of caution, don't go during the school holidays for obvious reasons.

Pic by Bernie - featuring a small piece of Paua Shell