Searching for inspiration, I tend to look outside first. I feel like there is only green as far as the eye can see. (May have to do some pot gardening to get some color in my landscape.) Is it just me, or what do you think?

However, I do have this beautiful little cactus garden that my mom and aunt created for me when they visited last month. I keep it at the front door and glance at it often. Apparently, the dead plants I had in the house were not to their liking. To each his own. ;)

What I find most interesting about my cactus garden (aside from the fact I am taking care of it as taught and some of the plants are *still* dying) is this one cactus in the middle. It is crowned with a beautiful trio of blooming flowers:

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the flowers look like they were hot-glued onto the cactus. Here I was thinking how beautiful it was to see a cactus bloom…clearly not the case in this situation. (Do cactuses even bloom?)

Regardless, I like the colors and find them inspiring…enough for me to pick out pearls and gemstones to make a new piece or two:

Who knows? Maybe I’ll just grab some wire later tonight and spend an hour making something. I’ve gotten this far so far, right?

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion series by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. If you’re interested in participating in the group, pick up her e-book today! You can start at any time.

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1st picture: cloisonne beads
2nd picture: crystal, rutilated quartz, mixed stone rondelles, fire cherry quartz

1st picture: moss agate, lemon quartz, green dyed chalcedony
2nd picture: keishe pearls, crystal quartz, tourmaline, hessonite, labradorite

1st picture: pink dyed chalcedony, amethyst, labradorite, prasiolite
2st picture: aquamarine, tourmalinated quartz, green tourmalinated quartz, rutilated quartz

quartz

Keep an eye out for new jewelry using these lovelies!

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With my feature in Daily Candy Atlanta, I was able to generate enough funds to purchase some higher quality stones and pearls. Lucky for me, there was a local show here for the day after we returned. I came home with such a huge stash (well, nothing like the Hong Kong trip, but definitely out of the normal for me), I’ve been dying to show them to you.

This first set, in order from top to bottom, is:

* Top-drilled pearls, copper color
* Coin pearls, copper color
* Potato pears, copper color
* Quartz ovals faceted
* Moonstone squares faceted and top-drilled
* A strand of mixed pairs of gems (This was the best find for me – fairly reasonable and I get a great mix of stones to play with.)
* Rutilated quartz faceted ovals (My most expensive purchase, but they were so worth it.)
* Chalcedony coins
* Prasiolite faceted ovals (My second most expensive purchase, again well worth it.)
* Smokey quartz faceted twists
* Smokey quartz rectangles
* Hessonite faceted coins
* Citrine faceted ovals
* Ametrine faceted squares
* Iolite faceted coins

The second set is a ton of rutilated quartz in 4mm and 6mm sizes and a strand of smokey quartz faceted rounds. I never realized that rutilated quartz could come in such a variance of colors until I had a conversation with another shopper at the gem show. We ended up splitting a hank of the faceted rounds. I wish I had purchased more of the 6mm rounds though. They are just too yummy.

If you live in the local area, stop by my booth at the Christmas in Central Park event and get a first hand look at these gems. I’ve already broken up several of the strands (the rutilated quartz and prasiolite ovals), but may not get a chance to post them online until after the show. Definitely worth stopping by to take a look!

An absolutely beautiful pair of earrings, I was fairly sure I wouldn’t be able to find the focal stones from the same supplier I purchased them originally. It has been over a year since I purchased them and the likelihood of finding the same stones was pretty slim.

So, imagine how happy I was to have found the last 2 stones in my stash! (I try to be fairly organized, but there are some things that just get lost in the clutter.) The only other obstacle to making the earrings was that I no longer had the same chain (mainly because the price is so cost prohibitive) – same with the earwires.

Luckily, the customer was open to my using a different chain. (I forgot to ask about the earwires.) After doing some more scouring, I found just enough left over chain from another project that I felt would be a better fit for the earrings.

I’m glad I was asked to recreate them. I definitely think this pair is much prettier than the originals. And if you have anything you want me to recreate from my Gallery pages, just ask!

However, when it comes to stones, I may have a slight addiction. :) Lucky for me, there’s usually no remorse, as I can almost justify most of my purchases. So, very satisfied and justified, I present to you my latest purchase:

Two shades of beautifully faceted Carnelian heart briolettes. Absolutely lovely. I actually purchased them for the third commissioned order I spoke about in my last blog post. The piece is a pair of earrings that will be just like the earrings you see in the picture, except with a Carnelian focal stone. I’m still waiting to hear back from my customer, but I’m super excited to start creating them. I promise to post the final product.

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The first piece is made with natural Chalcedony squares. The variation in shades is so nice with these faceted squares. I paired them with them with sparkly Swarovski bicones in white opal star shine. The crystals have the slightest blue tinge to them, which makes them a perfect match. They are set on sterling silver beading chain and decorated with Bali spacers. The necklace was made to match these earrings.

This second piece is a little less flash, as they were made to match this necklace. (One of my favorites, hands down.) Small yet somewhat rugged, these earrings are made with Swarovski rondelles in light colorado topaz (one of my favorite colors, if you can’t tell), Thai silver beads with a flower imprint, Bali spacers (yes, I mix my silvers) and these fantastic triangle ball headpins…or at least that’s what I’m calling them.

I really hope she likes them all.

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