All That Glitters is Not Gold: the Gemstone and Metal Blog Hop

The lovely Lisa Lodge, of A Grateful Artist, has created a fun blog hop with plenty of eye candy.  This one's theme is Gemstones and Metal.  Lisa sent me a bag of gemstones and metal for my creations.  The gemstones were yellow turquoise; the metal was brass.  (The brass, alas, gave me hives, so I'm working in sterling silver here.)

Yellow turquoise, it seems to me, is an oxymoron.  Turquoise is a lovely glowing radiant color.

It is not yellow-y greenish gray.

And while there is such a thing as turquoise with a yellow cast, as in the bottom row on this bracelet...

...these stones are not turquoise.

According to Beadaholique, "The trade name "yellow turquoise" describes this stone that is a... mixture of serpentine, jasper and quartz. It often is found in the same mines as traditional blue/green turquoise, hence the name. From China. 

I also checked in with Szarka Carter, of Magpie Gemstones, who suggested said stones are jasper.  And there's nothing wrong with jasper.  It's a good honest stone, with some lovely healing properties.  Some of my favorite charms are made of jasper, in one form or another.

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=cornerstoregoddess%20jasper

In Vogue Jewelry did a spirited rant on the topic of yellow turquoise. Check it out.

Yellow Turquoise is yet another stone by a false name, like "evening emerald" (peridot), "Indian jade" (jasper), or "Canadian lapis" (sodalite).

Some noted sellers do not even admit to it being anything but, well, yellow turquoise.  In fact, ArtBeads says "Yellow turquoise, or Chinese turquoise as it is sometimes called, is sweeping the beading world! Its popularity is beginning to rival the more traditional blue turquoise."

Um, no.

Besides, yellow turquoise makes as much sense as green ruby or black garnet or orange sapphire.

Oxymorons.

It bothers me that sellers would sell this to innocent trusting jewelry artists as a form of turquoise.  At least with pyrite, we call it fool's gold... the stuff that fooled the miners long ago.  In tribute to them, I put some "yellow turquoise" together with pyrite.  This is a Charm of Deception.

To quote Gilbert & Sullivan:

Buttercup

Things are seldom what they seem,

Skim milk masquerades as cream;

Highlows pass as patent leathers;

Jackdaws strut in peacock's feathers.

Captain. (puzzled)

Very true,

So they do.

Buttercup.

Black sheep dwell in every fold;

All that glitters is not gold;

Storks turn out to be but logs;

Bulls are but inflated frogs.

Using my "yellow turquoise," I created the charms above ans the necklace below.  

I call the collection Oxymoron Jewelery.

Any questions??

To see what the other jewelry artists created with their gemstones and metal,
follow the yellow turquoise road.  ;-)

http://gratefulartist.blogspot.com/

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Kim Dworak, Cianci Blue

Marybeth Rich, A Few Words from within the Pines

Karen Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Margaret Pelech, Big Margaret

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware (May be delayed a few days)

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Cassi Renee Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things (May be delayed a few days)

Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Judy Campbell, Macmillanmarie Jewellery Design

Nan Smith, Handmade Jewelry Nanmade

Marde Lowe, FanciMarDesigns

Linda Anderson, From the Bead Board

Leithleach Alainn Seodra, Alainn Jewelry

Lisa E. Prewitt Knappenberger, LiRaysa Designs

Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

The Monster Under the Bed

MONSTERS

by Shel Silverstein 

"There are hungry monsters under my bed,

Growlin' at me 'cause they haven't been fed."

That's what Harry McGilly said.

His father just smiled and said,

"Ho-ho-ho, fraidy-cat Harry,

Monsters are just imaginary."

But Harry McGilly cried out all night,

"There are hungry monsters—I know I'm right."

So just to prove that Harry was silly,

Under the bed crawled Mr. McGilly.

Harry heard a "chomp," he heard a "slurp,"

He heard a "gulp," he heard a "burp."

And now little Harry sleeps sound in his bed,

'Cause there are no monsters, as father said.

(And if there are—well—they've been fed.)

The monster daylights as a bookmark.  He can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/194633067/little-monster-bookmark-ehag?

A 15-Beader Hop (A 15-Beader Hop)

(to be sung to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island Theme Song")

(except for the part where I name the beaders of the beadie islands)

Just sit right back and you'll take a trip, 

A trip on an ocean hop

That started from my own Bead Cave 

And goes until you stop. 

The host is a mighty beading babe, 

With published works and such. 

She favors ocean themes and so

This hop shows Lisa's touch. 

The beads arrived by US mail, 

In color green and teal, 

With findings, fish and anchor beads

To make the beaders squeal.  (Make the beaders squeal.)

The blog set out on the shores of the uncharted blogosphere,

With Jewel School Friends,

And Wanderware, 

Spun Sugar Beadworks, The Charmed Life,

Texas Pepper Jams,

Carolyn's Creations,

Catherine's Musings, Chat 2 Jill

Shaiha's Ramblings and Ema K Designs,

Bead Recipes, Eclectic Endeavours,
Kayz  Kreationz and Raindrop Creations

Here on Lisa's Blog Hop! 

So this is the tale of beading babes,

We string and wrap and weave,

We hope you like our beadie things

Because we'll never leave. 

Please join us for this beadie hop, 

And see what we create, 

From 15 crazy beading babes, 

In our most recent spate.

The Witch's 12 Black Cats

The Witch's Twelve Black Cats

It was Mother's Day and the witch's familiars didn't know what to get her. Black roses? A set of potholders for her cauldron? The new "Fifty Ways to Prepare Toad" cookbook?


The pondered and discussed and argued far into the night..., which is when they heard a sound. A tiny meow. In fact, a LOT of tiny meows. 

There, beneath a craggy old oak, someone had left a basket of kittens. And not just any kittens. Twelve beautiful kitties, ranging from dark smoke to jet black.

And the familiars knew that a dozen black cats is better than a dozen roses any day of the week.

Between them they carried the kittens home (after stopping at the7-666 for some kitten formula and baby food). 

The witch was, of course, delighted, and, with the help of her familiars, raised the kittens until they were the finest bouquet of black cats ever seen.

This evil princess-length necklace is 31" inches in length. There are twelve black cats of Czech pressed glass, strung amongst Swarovski pearls and snowflake obsidian rounds. 

Strung on Beadalon and closing with a sterling lobster clasp, the necklace is approximately 31" (78.74 cm) in length.













Available on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/cornerstoregoddess

Waiter! There's a Bead in My Soup!

 

My partner * sent me fine bead soupery

With bead clasps made with super loopery.

The beads were so pretty

'Twould be a great pity

To hide them with too much beaucoup-pery.

I wrapped and I strung and I fiddled

Made sure that the focal was middled.

What I found quite tricky,

(It's where  it got sticky:)

For sari silk, holes are soooo littled.

So here are my bead soup creations,

Divine in their fine colorations.

My partner and Lori

In all of their glory

Deserve thanks and appreciation.

 

 

* My partner for this 8th Bead Soup is the suprememly talented Elisabeth Auld, of http://www.beadsforbusygals.com/. She not only makes jewelry; she creates gorgeous lampwork beads, as you can see.

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Now go forth and do some blog hoppery
To see treasures silver and coppery

With baubles and beadies

And even bead seedies

There's so much to see, it's non-stoppery.

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http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

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