It's the letter "O" in the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “O”.

It was hard to decide which “stone” to pick for the letter “O”.  My choices were a volcanic glass, a mineraloid, and a banded variety of chalcedony. 

Since I had already blogged about chalcedony and didn’t want to blog about a mineraloid, I decided to go with the volcanic glass “stone” called obsidian.  It is formed when lava cools rapidly with little crystal growth.  It is commonly found in lava flows known as obsidian flows.

 

It is hard and brittle which breaks with very sharp edges.  Those edges have been used in the past as cutting and piercing tools. 

Pure obsidian is usually dark in color though the colors varies based on what impurities are in it.  Iron and magnesium usually give a dark brown to black color.  Some stones have an inclusion of small white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite producing a blotchy or snowflake pattern thus snowflake obsidian. 

Snowflake obsidian

Obsidian can be found on most continents where there have been volcanic eruptions.  There are several areas in the US where you can hike on obsidian flows such as Medicine Lake Volcano in the Cascades, Inyo Craters in eastern California, and in Yellowstone National Park. 

Obsidian was valued in the Stone Age because like flint it can be broken to make sharp blades or arrowheads.  It was also polished to create early mirrors.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow to see what the letter "P" will be.

Carolyn

The letter is "N" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “N”.

Today’s gemstone is Nephrite jade, an ornamental stone used in carvings, beads and cabochon cut gemstones.  It is one of two different minerals that are called jade.  Nephrite jade is mostly grays and greens and jadeite jade contains blacks, reds, pinks and violet and is more vivid in coloring.  Nephrite can also be a translucent white to light yellow color which is known in China as mutton fat jade or an opaque white to light brown or gray known as chicken bone jade.

Mutton fat jade

Canada is the modern source of stone used for carvings.  It can be mined to depths of 10-20 feet or found in river beds.  It has a very hard and fibrous crystalline structure.  When polished it has a soft oil-like appearance. 

Nephrite was used mostly in pre-1800 China, New Zealand, North American and Southeast Asia.  Its name comes from lapis nephriticus which is derived from a Greek word meaning “kidney stone”.  It was once believed to be a cure for kidney stones. 

Nephrite was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects ranging from decorative items to a burial suit.  Nephrite jade is highly valued in the Maori culture in New Zealand and plays an important part in their culture.  It was used to make weapons and neck pendants which were handed down from father to son as family heirlooms.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to return tomorrow to find out what letter "O" will be.

Carolyn

It's the letter "M" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “M”. 

Its name is derived from the visual effect caused by light falling between flat, thin layers of two different feldspar species and scattering in many directions.  Its name is Moonstone. 

It has been used in jewelry since ancient times where is was believed that it was formed from the light of the moon.  In recent times it became popular in the Art Nouveau period between 1890 and 1910.  Those pieces today can be found in museums and private collections. 

Moonstone comes in shades of gray and peach.  It has an unusual luster and high quality stones may also display cat’s eye.  Moonstone deposits can be found in Australia, Mexico, Europe, Asia and the United States where it is the gemstone of the State of Florida.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back tomorrow and see what stone is going to be the letter "N".

Carolyn

It's the letter "L" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “L”.

The pretty blue stone of Larimar is found in one small area of the Dominican Republic making it extremely rare.  Getting to this gem is difficult because of the mountaintop terrain where it is found.  The volcanic nature of the area and its unique mineral composition is the birthplace of this gemstone.  It is mined by hand up to 300 feet underground in one small area of the island and can eventually be washed downstream due to erosion. 

It was discovered back in 1916 and rediscovered in 1974 by a gentleman who named it after his daughter, Larissa, and the Spanish word mar which means “sea” as he discovered it washed up on a remote beach. 

It is a hard stone that has copper in it causing the blueness of its color palette.  It can be a light to dark blue, green-blue or white.  No two Larimar stones are alike because its various patterns and markings from its volcanic creation and colors contribute to each stone’s individuality. 

Larimar pendants that a friend owns

The most common larimar is a light blue with white marbling throughout.  Its attractive color and its hardness, ability to be polished and the shine of this stone make it an excellent material for jewelry.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to back by tomorrow for the gemstone that starts with the letter "M".

Carolyn

Shibori Ribbon Blog Hop Reveal

Tanya Goodwin of "A Work in Progress" blog is sponsoring the Shibori Ribbon Blog Hop whose reveal is today.  Tanya asked readers of her blog to comment on whether they would be interested in doing a Shibori Ribbon blog hop.  I like doing the different challenges that are offered in a blog hop and as I had never worked with the ribbon, I added my comment.

Tanya picked six of us and sent each of us a piece of the ribbon. She also had four others that already had some ribbon join the challenge.  I received a 9-inch piece that was a deep steel blue with highlights of lime, a pinky-lavender, and aqua.

Shibori is a silk ribbon with accordion like folds running down the length of the ribbon.  You can stretch it (width wise) or scrunch it or both.

My design went through several re-designs as it was not working out how I wanted.  I first tried threading it through chain and that did not go too bad.

But I did not like the way it looked when I put it on with the two links of chain showing.

I went looking  for a tutorial I remembered seeing that I thought was for a bracelet using the ribbon in that way.

I found the tutorial and it was not what I thought it was for.  So I changed the design for my project.

I decided to keep it fairly simple.  I wire-wrapped the ribbon ends and added a bead to make a wrapped loop to add chain to.

One of my bowling teammates has just returned from Arizona and brought me back a cactus pendant that I added to the ribbon to make a necklace.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the other bloghoppers.

Maryanne
Alenka
Monique
Carolyn  you are here
Mary
Catherine
Christine
 Sharyl
Therese
Tanya

Carolyn

The letter "K" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “K”. 

You know there are not many gemstones that start with the letter “K” so I didn’t have a big selection to choose from.  This pictures shows off the beautiful crystals in the gemstone Kyanite.  

Kyanite's name is derived from the Greek word kuanos meaning deep blue.  It is typically a blue silicate mineral found in pegmatites or sedimentary rock.  It can also be gray, white or green in color. 

Kyanite is most notably found in Australia, Brazil, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United States.  Orange kyanite has recently been discovered in Tanzania with the color coming from small amounts of manganese inclusions in the stones. 

It has a variable hardness depending on whether is cut across or lengthwise on a cleavage plane.  It is rarely found in a faceted form but is usually polished smooth or sold in the rough. 

It is used primarily in refractory and ceramic products including porcelain plumbing fixtures and dishware.  It is also used in electronics, electrical insulators and abrasives. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again Monday when the letter is "L".  I have a very pretty gemstone picked out for that day.

Carolyn

Today is the letter "J" for the Blogging from A-Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “J”. 

It’s a very versatile stone and can be found in many shapes, especially if you are a jewelry designer.  It’s an opaque form of chalcedony, quartz, and opal, usually red, brown, green or yellow in color.  It is one of the traditional birthstones for March.  It is derived from the Old French “jaspre” and Latin “iaspidem” meaning “spotted or speckled stone”.  It is Jasper.

Jasper outcropping Romania

Because of the way it would fracture into a smooth round surface like a scallop shell, it was used as a tool by Stone Age man in the form of arrowheads.  It can be highly polished and used for vases, seals, and snuff boxes.  It has been around since the ancient world where it was carved to produce seals, amulets, and carvings.  It was used as bow drills (an ancient way of starting fires) between the 4^th and 5^th millennium BC. 

In ancient times, jasper was believed to be a transparent stone with a distinct green color where it was compared to emeralds and other green objects.  Stones of that time would probably be considered chalcedony or chrysoprase today.  It has been suggested that red jasper was the first stone of the High Priest’s breastplate and yellow jasper was the tenth stone. 

Jasper has many varieties due to the minerals in the stones, such as, iron and nickel.  Jaspers have many names based on the where the stone was found, a description of the stone’s pattern, or they could have fanciful name such as “Forest Fire” or “Rainbow”.  They can also have descriptive names such as “Autumn”, “Dalmatian”, or “Picture” Jasper. 

 

Dalmatian jasper

Picture jasper

Chrysoprase is one variety of jasper that is a very pretty apple green color but can vary to a dark green.  Fine grade examples without flaws can be very expensive.  I have some beads that have a dark brown inclusion in them.  When I was first looking for this stone, I would call it a “mint chocolate chip” color. 

Chrysoprase found in Poland

Thanks for stopping by.  Please be sure to stop by again tomorrow when the letter of the day is "K".

Carolyn