Turquoise Necklaces

I love turquoise .. working with it and wearing it. Here are a couple of necklaces I've made in the past couple of weeks. These are all made with turquoise from the Kingman mine, which I got at this years Tucson Gem Show.

The first one is made with 8mm rondell beads, called Boulder Turquoise. This is turquoise that comes from the edges of the turquoise veins, and includes a lot of the "mother" rock. Most of it is pretty copperish looking. A few years ago, when I started buying boulder turquoise, the vendor told me they used to just throw this stuff in the tailings of the mine. Now they charge an arm and a leg for it! Go figure!

This necklace is 17 1/2 inches long. You can find it in my jewelry shop here:
Boulder Turquoise Necklace

Another pic of the Boulder Turquoise Necklace

Another boulder turquoise necklace, this time made with heishi beads. Heishi is such a classic Southwestern look. And with boulder turquoise, is very organic looking! These heishi beads are about 5mm.  I added some Bali sterling silver spacer beads at the back of the necklace, along with a sturdy sterling silver lobster claw. I think the Bali beads add a real nice touch.

This necklace is 16 inches long. You can find it in my jewelry shop here:
Boulder Turquoise Heishi Necklace

Here's another pic of the Boulder Turquoise Heishi Necklace, this time with one of my favorite props, my coyote helper. :)

And, another heishi bead necklace. These heishi beads are about 4mm, and are blue blue blue!

This one has nice smooth sterling silver beads for the back of the necklace, because I find that those little heishi beads like to grab onto the hair in the back. Makes it a bit more comfortable. This necklace is 17 1/2 inches long. You can find it in my jewelry shop here:
Turquoise Heishi Necklace

Here's another pic of the Turquoise Heishi Necklace

Next in the jewelry department, I'll be making some pearl necklaces. :)

Beer Soaps, Honey Soaps, Rainbows

And we have summer already in Tucson. 93 degrees yesterday, the same today. I'll probably have to turn on the AC later this afternoon. tsk

How about some soapy pictures? :) I'll start with a pretty and colorful soap. This is Citrus Mint 5 Layer.

You can find it on my website, and in my Etsy shop.

Before The Cure

A batch of Dark Desert w/ Agave Nectar,  and a batch of Amber Romance, just poured into molds.

And here they are going through the cutting process.

The Dark Desert soap has powdered Chaparral leaves added, along with some agave nectar. For scent, an essential oil blend of sage, lemon, rosemary, spruce, and patchouli. The Amber Romance is a layered soap, the bottom colored with yellow oxide and gold mica. Scented with a fragrance oil.

Another beer soap, this one made with Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Scented with a little bit of Chocolate Serendipity fragrance oil. Yowzer!!!!! Talk about chocolate overload!

The Cure is Over! 

A couple of beer soaps, ready to go!

Raspberry Wheat Beer Soap. Made with Shock Top Raspberry Wheat beer, scented with a little bit of Black Raspberry Vanilla fragrance oil. On my website, and in my Etsy Shop.

 Torpedo Cedarwood Beer Soap. Made with Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale, scented with Cedarwood essential oil and Fir Needle essential oil. Very masculine! Very nice! On my website, and in my Etsy Shop.

Preparing For Mother's Day

I have put together a Mother's Day Gift Set. Roses and Chocolate.

It consists of a full bar of Fresh Cut Rose and a full bar of Creamy Peppermint w/ Chocolate Swirl, tied together with a red ribbon. Two all natural, unsweetened, unflavored cocoa butter lip balms in a white organza bag. A small note card. All tucked neatly into a 4" x 4" x 2" Kraft box with a "Happy Mother's Day" decal.

You can find this gift set on my website, and in my Etsy shop.

Threesomes

I have put together a couple of threesome listings in my Etsy shop. First, a trio of Honey Soaps! I thought this would be a good set of soaps for a bee keeper, or a honey lover. I included a full bar of Oatmeal & Honey, Honey Orange & Clove, and Creamy Honey Lemon.

AND, a trio of Beer Soaps! What could be more fun!

And that has been my soaping adventures for the last couple of weeks. :)

I'll finish with this picture I took last week during a cold rain. I took this from my patio, it looks like I could have walked behind my neighbor's house and gathered up a pot of gold!