More Southwestern Dreams

Introducing...

Cactus Pear One-of-a-Kind Earrings 

and 

Nevada Fields Limited Edition Earrings

These earrings are both a touch Southwestern, yet not your traditional turquoise and silver earrings.  Read all about them on Etsy here and here!

I imagine Frida Kahlo may have worn these...

Thinking of Nevada wildflowers...

Treasury Item! Green Empress Bracelet: Green Cinnabar, Natural Seeds, Coral, and Pyrite

Lately, I've been in love with making bracelets.

The Green Empress Bracelet draws on the Empress collection's aim to make the wearer of each piece feel beautiful, creative, and courageous (read about the first one here and the second one here).  I love how the natural materials in this bracelet come together to create a distinct and elegant piece.

This one-of-a-kind bracelet features six green cinnabar beads, which are carved with an Asian design, three natural seeds, which have been coated to protect their striking beauty, a large white coral globe, and three pyrite rondelles I've polished to a nice luminosity.  Two TierraCast Turkish-style gold rondelles frame the largest of the seeds, which is a lovely shade of golden mustard.  There are other hints of gold in this bracelet including the three textured brass discs nestled between the coral globe and chunky seed. 

For those who enjoy stone lore, Pyrite, also known as Fool's Gold, is grounding, encourages positivity and the release of old emotional baggage.  It is also a protective and enhances one's "intelligence, mental stability, logic, analysis, creativity, memory, and psychic development" (source here).  Pyrite is associated with the sun signs Gemini and Virgo.  Coral is known for its ability to bring internal peace, settle emotions, and aids intuition, visualization, and the circulatory and nervous systems (source here).  Coral is associated with the sun sign Libra.

This bracelet is 8 1/4" long and will fit up to a 6 1/2" wrist (6 3/4" is a tight squeeze) .  Please  note that the coral is white with a spongey surface.  If dirt gets into the crevices of the coral globe, you can clean the globe by gently blotting with water and very mild soap (if necessary).

Buy this bracelet here on Etsy!

Update 7/28/11: This is the second Bohemian Earth item featured in an Etsy treasury! See the treasury here!

Mint Tea I & II: Green Turquoise & Silver Leaves

Mint Tea I and II are the same design, but one pair has a heavier matrix than the other, making them both one-of-a-kind finished pieces.  I love the way the light plays on the wood surface while showcasing the beautiful turquoise and silver pairing.

The turquoise in Mint Tea I has a heavier matrix.

With a hint of sunlight...

These earrings are elegant, bohemian, and contemporary all at once.  They feature light green turquoise stones and silver leaf drops, and they remind me of how I feel when I enjoy cool mint tea on a warm summer morning.  They also have a slight southwestern flair.  Mint I and II are lightweight, 2 ½" long, and hang on silver-over-brass french hook wires.

The turquoise in Mint Tea II has a lighter, more diffuse matrix.

  

In soft morning light...

Please note that the turquoise is somewhat lighter and softer in person than the images above portray.  The image below best represents the true shade. 

Mint Tea I on left & Mint Tea II on right

Buy Mint Tea I here on Etsy!
Buy Mint Tea II here on Etsy!

*SOLD* Green Empress Necklace: Mosaic Turquoise, Cinnabar, & Hematite

Clasp detail.

This necklace is the second in my Empress collection, a collection composed of pieces that make the wearer feel beautiful, creative, and courageous (read about the first one here).

 
I love the color green and the mosaic turquoise that composes this necklace has a beautiful range of green, from light to dark, with a hint of blue turquoise.  The focal piece of the necklace is an asymmetrically positioned black cinnabar bead with a small hematite rondelle on each side.  Hematite also terminates each end of this necklace that closes with a Tibetan silver lucky fish clasp. 

I like adding hematite to jewelry because of its well known grounding and balancing properties.  In our busy world, it's easy to become distracted from what really matters in our lives.  In addition to the properties mentioned above, hematite is also a wonderful stone for teachers and others for whom public speaking is a daily activity, as it imparts courage, self-control, and at the same time, relieves stress.  Read more about hematite here: http://gemstone-dictionary.com/hematite.php

This necklace drapes beautifully and is of moderate weight.  It measures 19" and its largest bead, the cinnabar, is an inch in diameter.  The clasp is new and secure, so the spring mechanism may seem stiff when you first use it.  After time, it will loosen while remaining secure.

Buy this necklace here on Etsy!