Gemstones in the Raw

Looking to add to your gemstone collection of raw material or want something new to add in those photographs? New listings in my Etsy shop for gemstone material in the raw. These particular pieces are chunky small sizes and come from Arkansas and Arizona. The chunky bunch consists of Petrified Wood, Green Fluorite, clear crystal Quartz, and a sandy/peachy/pink crystal Quartz. The single teal piece below is Chalcopyrite from Arizona. Each piece has been identified and categorized by a Registered Gemologist here in San Antonio, Texas. For any questions, please contact us.

Visit my Etsy shop; we’ll be adding more loose raw gemstone materials and loose faceted gemstones for purchase.

Turquoise Gemstones

Turquoise is another of my favorite gemstones to design in my jewelry collection. Discovered by Crusaders in Turkey, for which is it named, it has long been considered a holy stone by American Indians. It is believed to have magical powers to provide protection against harm. Later discovered in Egyptian and Greek tombs, Turquoise was considered a protective stone in antiquity; to protect both horse and rider on long journeys. In the Middle Ages it was thought to give women a sense of happiness, contentment and guarantee success and power to men.
Mystical powers of Turquoise symbolize beauty, virtuous and loyalty; linked to Aquarius as a star sign. It can be found in Arizona, Mexico, Tibet, Myanmar, China, and Israel. Turquoise colors range from light blue of a robin’s egg to deep matrix greens. Today the traditional gemstone properties of Turquoise are spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, and romantic spontaneity.

Visit my Etsy shop for more designs in Turquoise. And if you prefer a custom piece, please contact us!

MAUstudio Anniverisary Blog Giveaway

Timeless Designs is one of 20 shops that are participanting in the MAUstudio 3rd Anniverary Blog Giveaway! Come check out MAUstudio for their 3rd Anniversary and blog giveaway. She will be giving away items from all the shops that are participating!
Visit and post a comment for each shop, giving you 20 chances to win. The shops are a variety of artists from Etsy, DaWanda, and their own websites. Check everyone out and get a chance to win some pretty great prizes!



These two lovely earrings are from Timeless Designs and are part of the giveaway!

Chocolate & Cherries – New Design

This brand new design created this week, is a little classy and a little sassy. Made from a combination of natural gemstones in Chocolate Jasper and Cherry Quartz; each Jasper stone has been accented with pewter filigree end-caps and I’ve captured the Cherry Quartz in silver toned wire cages. Between each section are triangle shaped seed beads in a pink lined color. This fun classic is 23” (58cm) long with matching earrings dangling at 1” (2.5cm). This is a one-of-a-kind piece and if you are interested in purchasing please contact me.



Check out my online Etsy shop for more designs available for purchase.

Published in Handbook to Handmade Vol. 7

Handbook to Handmade Vol. 7 is a coffee table book featuring 35 Etsy artists from around the world. Each artist chosen has a different flair for the arts; jewelry, paintings, clothing, yarns, totes and much more.

My 2 page layout includes 3 designs and details about Timeless Designs and a spot on the front cover. Only 12 artists are chosen for the front cover and I was honored to have my Turquoise & Silver Links necklace grace the left bottom corner. The book is produced several times a year with each new edition featuring the best 35 Etsy artists.
Come on by our booth at some of the shows this Fall to see the book and 3 featured jewelry designs!

Coils, Spirals, & Links Oh MY!

I took a wire class last March and found that my jewelry making passion was in wire. It has become almost as addicting as my passion for silver jewelry! My instructor told the class that if you can push a string into any type of a position, then you can ‘push and pull’ wire into any design as well. There are the more traditional forms of wire work done by wire wrapping a cabochon gemstone pendant…several can be seen in my Etsy shop. I do enjoy wire wrapping, however I’ve found that wire sculpture is more my style and passion.
I call it wire sculpture because you are literally sculpting the wire into any design. Working with the wire to create any design in any direction is much more ‘free form’ for me. It lets me mold the wire into anything my imagination can create. Whenever possible, I try to incorporate wire into my designs, whether via a simple link or a more in-depth spiral design. And I don’t limit it to just necklaces; I also use the wire sculpture in earrings and pendants.

You can learn to work with wire by taking a class at your local craft/hobby store, buying a book or by visiting one of these sites: Wire WigJig or Wire Sculpture. As for me, I’ll be back in class as soon as I can learning much more advanced techniques from my favorite instructor!


For jewelry designs in wire, visit my Etsy shop!
Note: Etsy prices are shown in USD.

Tourmaline & Garnet

Tourmaline is a great gemstone because the colors are that of the rainbow; pink, black, yellow, and green just to name a few. Tourmaline’s traditional properties are for energizing, soul-searching, and release.

In this new piece available in my Etsy shop, I’ve matched Tourmaline gemstone chips with red Garnet and pewter spacer beads. The traditional properties of Garnet are for health, removing negativity, awareness, commitment, regeneration, order and insight.

So that leads to the question, what do they mean when mixed together? Maybe a lot of good luck in one’s life……

Opals, Not Just in Australia

Deep in the Andes Mountains of Peru there is a great mine find….Pink and Blue Peruvian Opal. Pure Peruvian Opal is rare and accounts for less than 10% of the opals produced in the Andes. The Blue Peruvian Opal gets its color from rich copper, just like that of Turquoise and Chrysocolla gemstones. The Peruvian Opal colors range from milky or pure light pinks to pale greens and intense blues. Some beads or pendants cuts may have a filigree pattern of manganese dendrites. The rarest and most sought after of course is the most intense and translucent of blue or pink.
I fell in love with this gemstone when I found it at the Tucson International Gem Show this past February. It is the most beautiful of all gemstones that I have come across. Ancient Romans associated opal with hope and good luck.
Pink Opal healing properties are said to of peace and tranquility, especially noted for its energies in healing emotions. It is also known as the gemstone of hope, great achievement and is said to be the stone of love, but only to faithful lovers.

From Studio Creative Desk to Finished Jewelry Designs

Many ask ‘How do you create these designs?’ Well, many designs come from the inspiration of the stones themselves. Here is a picture from my studio design desk, where I design all the jewelry. You can see that it is a mass of ribbon cord, wire, tools, a design board, stones, and much more. This particular set of stones I’m working with was hand-picked and purchased at the Tucson International Gem Show this past February. They are an array of gemstone pendants from Green Seraphine, Pink Peruvian Opal, Blue Peruvian Opal, Icy Opalite, Agates, and Jaspers.
I create and design whatever comes to mind as I shape and mold the wire with the gemstone pendants. Sometimes the designs are just wire and sometimes I add accents in other stones, crystals, or metal beads. These particular gemstone pendants are then hung from coordinating ribbon cords, ranging from 16” (41cm) to 22” (56cm). Each pendant bail is made large enough to remove and wear on another style necklace or put one your own pendants on the ribbon cord. You are actually getting a multi-functional necklace with these designs.



Once completed, I then photograph with different backgrounds and props; download to the computer and crop; list into my inventory and then put in my Etsy shop, available for purchase!

Another Pulse Check on Fall Color Trends 2008

I let my fingers do the research through the Net and magazines for more Fall 2008 color trends in jewelry.
So far, the colors are still staying in Earthy tones, with a splash of red, orange, yellow and gray, for spice. Other hot colors that I saw emerging are tropical shades of blue, turquoise, purple, chocolate, and pinks. Interesting choices, as these are usually traditional spring to summer trends. Though turquoise is always a good standby and goes with just about any season. Of course, the basic black is always ever still present, so better dry-clean that ‘little black dress’!

Jewelry fashions ran the range from bold and chunky to simple and classic; so pretty much anything goes this season. Though what I did see was more of the natural gemstones verses the almighty precious gems; more inline with those earthy color tones.
Natural stones that I saw the most….onyx, agates, jaspers, corals, turquoise, smoky quartz, and rose quartz, and lots of crystals and glass; all accented in silver, gold, copper, or brass metals.

So whatever that occasion you’re looking to highlight your wardrobe, remember you can’t go wrong from big, bold and chunky or simple, classy, and stylish – you’ll always be in style this year!
For more jewelry designs, visit my Etsy store.

Box of Jewels

I love creating with dichroic pendants and here I’ve designed a box full of precious jewels! Each bracelet has a custom one-of-a-kind fused dichroic glass pendant. The pendants have been designed with varying colors and sizes of Swarvoski crystals, which are capped in pewter, among sterling silver spacers and toggles. The bracelets average in size from 7” to 7.5” and are available for purchase, just contact us!

Featured Artist from Etsy

Wondering through Etsy I came across a great artist, Craftsbycarer, or Carrie from WI. She started crafting after an accident left her with little use of her hands and in a lot of pain. It helped with her rehab and she doesn’t think about the pain when she is busy crafting. She uses her 5 senses because it helps her to compensate for some nerve damage and loss; Carrie really relies on all her 5 senses on a daily basis.

Her need to create things is because it makes people happy when they see her finished items and it makes them smile. She loves working with cotton and the color dark blue, but her favorite word is hunny, because it drives her husband crazy!
Her most ambitious project at the moment is to complete more hooded scarves for her etsy shop. However, when not crafting she can be found reading; a big passion, she reads every chance she gets.
Visit her Etsy shop for a great selection of Fall Aprons, totes and toys!

Cleaning & Caring Gemstone Jewelry

Caring for your gemstone jewelry is an essential necessity for any jewelry owner, as gemstones are a durable material, and they do require care, so that when handed down as heirlooms in the years to come, they are just as brilliantly remarkable as they are to you now, to be cherished forever.

Most transparent and hard gemstones can endure being cared for by simply cleaning the jewelry with mild nonabrasive hand detergent and a soft bristled toothbrush; then dried with a soft clean cloth. It is wise to place a soft washcloth in the sink covering the drain, as doing so will aid in preventing any gemstones from becoming chipped or falling down the drain while you are cleaning your jewelry.

Some would suggest using ultrasonic cleaners, while this may be the fastest method for cleaning your jewelry; it is also the quickest way to damage your gemstones. Be very careful when using an ultrasonic cleaner, make sure that your gemstones can withstand such cleaning before using this type of method.

Here are some suggestions for cleaning and caring for your gemstone jewelry.

·Use 2 cleaning bowls. One that has warm water plus the cleaning liquid and one that has only warm water to rinse. Note: If you are using sinks, place a soft washcloth over the drains, this will help to keep stones from going down the drains and also help to prevent possible chipping.
·Use lukewarm water, never use hot water.
·Use a mild dishwashing liquid or mild jewelry cleaning solution. One that is safe for your specific jewelry gemstones and metals.
·Several soft, clean, dry cloths (1-for cleaning and 1-drying)
·Small, unused soft bristled toothbrush

Fill your sink with warm water, add a little drop of mild dishwashing liquid and swish around to make bubbles. Carefully, place a few pieces at a time in the sink allowing them to soak a few minutes (don’t overload the sink as this may cause jewelry to hit against each other causing chips, cracks and/or damage). Then take each piece out and carefully clean with the soft bristled toothbrush. Caution, you only need to use a toothbrush if you have a piece of jewelry that has tiny cracks, holes, and small places where dust and dirt can get in; otherwise, there is really no need to use a toothbrush. Rinse in a separate sink that only contains warm water. Place the jewelry on a soft cloth and carefully dry your jewelry pieces.

Cleaning your jewelry doesn’t have to be done often, but several times a year to protect your gemstones. It is also wise to have a jeweler check any gemstones that have been put in settings at least once a year. This is to make sure that the prongs are secure and your gems are safe. When in doubt, ask a professional jeweler about the care and cleaning of your new gemstone jewelry.

Balance to Mind, Body, & Soul

Bring balance to ones life through the use of gems and crystals has been both legend and history. People from all cultures and continents have practiced harnessing the balancing of the spiritual and healing powers of gems and crystals; dating back as far as the legendary lost city of Atlantis, through the ancient Mayan and Indian civilizations, and reaching into Far Eastern and Native American. For centuries these cultures have used gems and crystals for religious, physical, and spiritual healing purposes. Today, meditation and fitness mixed with the use of the energy points is said to promote health, happiness, and well being within a person’s life. Is it legend or truth…..try it and you decide.

Here is a small listing of the properties within the gemstones I use in my jewelry:


·Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents.
·Aventurine: Healing, money, mental agility, visual acuity, peace, opening heart, motivation, leadership.
·Carnelian: Precision, analytical capabilities, physical energy, verbal skill, peace, spirituality.
·Coral: Diplomacy, quieting emotions, visualization.
·Crystal Quartz: Intensifying energy, spiritual development, healing, raising consciousness
·Dumortierite: Self-reliance, stamina, patience, recognition of potential, understanding, communication of ideas.
·Fossil Stone: Accomplishments, improvement of one’s environment, communication, innovation. ·Hematite: Mental attunement, memory, calming, balance, focusing energy and emotions, peace, inner happiness, transforming negativity.
·Howlite: Awareness, calm, emotional expression, observation, patience, eliminating negativity.
·Jaspers: Protection, nurturing, joy, awareness; balancing of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies.
·Labradorite: Alignment, spiritual connection, transformation, clarity, peace, progression, discernment.
·Lapis Lazuli: Wisdom, intuition, awareness, objectivity, clarity, creativity, expanded consciousness, dreams, purity, courage, serenity.
·Mother of Pearl: Mental clarity, intuition, sensitivity, imagination, adaptability, cooperation.
·Onyx: Self-control, decision making, intuition, recognition of personal strengths.
·Opal: Creativity, spontaneity, relationships, memory, happy dreams and changes.
·Pearl: Purity, faith, charity, innocence, integrity, focus, wisdom, spirituality, sincerity, fertility.
·Rhodonite: Peace, generosity, attention to details.
·Smoky Quartz: Dissolving emotional blockage, clearing the mind, cooperation, personal pride, joy in living, attentiveness to the moment, protection.
·Sodalite: Wisdom, logic, calmness, healing, stress reduction, companionship, self-esteem.
·Sunstone: Alleviating fears, energizing, cleansing.
·Tiger Eye: Practicality, peacefulness, clarity, intelligence, intuition, new experiences, financial stability, calmness, releasing inhibitions.
·Tiger Iron: Artistic endeavors, beauty, vitality.
·Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.

Featured Artist from BNR on Etsy

Looking for awesome pottery? Look no further than the great shop of PotteryPeddler from our etsy BNR.

PotteryPeedler, a/k/a Norine, hails from the beaches of Pembroke Pines, Florida which lies between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, on the east coast of south Florida.
Nornie got started when she first admired the pottery work of the local potters. She signed up for an adult education class and was drawn to the feel of the clay, the process and the results. She enjoys starting with a ball of clay, molding, forming and manipulating it until it becomes a functional piece of art. Favorite materials to work with are clay and stoneware clay.

So, why the need to make things, we asked her….”At my day job I do not produce a tangible product; the sense of accomplishment is difficult to share and fleeting; even a job well done, needs to be done again tomorrow. With pottery, the results are tangible, and permanent; sometimes more permanent than I would like. A finish a bowl, pot or cup can be used again and again.”

She doesn’t really have a favorite word, but while thinking about our interview question, she remembered something from the great (in TD’s opinion) George Carlin about the versatility of a “4 letter word” …I’ll let y’all use your imagination with that! However, her favorite colors are earth tones, with a huge love for the combination of blues and browns.
How are the five senses good to her; Touch – obviously important to FEEL the clay; Sight – to admire your finished project; Taste – this one gets me in trouble – too many favorite foods! Smell – helps me control the previous sense – taste! Hearing lets me know when someone appreciates my work.
At the moment her most ambition project is a special order of Cali Lilly Plant spikes for a wedding favor. The Bride is not sure how many are needed yet, but between 75 and 120! Good thing she has until February to get them all done, but that’s a tall order! And then there’s her most non-creative pet addiction Starbucks; “I know it can be an expensive addiction, but I found a way to justify my daily fix. I limit myself to one regular coffee or an ice tea a day – no frills, no extras and no sweet treats. I justify it by sitting outside in the sun while– absorbing my daily dose of vitamin D.” And I’ll agree to that…passing her the Sunscreen!

When not at Starbucks you can find at….
PotteryPeddler Etsy shop
BNR to see her latest promotional sale

Etsy BNR Featured Artist

On Etsy, we have promotionals/sales/offers with lots of shops called a BNR, which means Buy-N-Replace. Once a shop buys something from someone on the list, they are replaced! Here is one of the artist from the BNR that I am participating with.
FlyingVDesigns
I’ve met some really talented people on Etsy and FlyingVDesigns is one of these them. From a working cattle ranch in New Mexico comes FlyingVDesigns or April, a stay at home mom with 2 children and a wonderful husband. Her hobby started with pencil drawing and oil painting at age 10, and at age 12 she sold her first painting! Now she loves to try anything and is always adding new things to her resume of crafting talent.
Inspiration comes from her favorite word Fabulous, because she believes everything is wonderful and really enjoys making things. She enjoys working with all materials and fabrics, currently working with muslin to add a primitive line to her Etsy shop.
How do the five senses help her? They come in handy for her candles and tarts and soon when she adds a Bath and Body line, maybe she’ll add Chocolate flavored as that is her pet addiction!
When asked what her most ambitious project right now is….her Bath and Body line and in the future she want to take on the challenge of making saddles! Now that’s pretty ambitious!

Where to find her…..
FlyingVDesigns Etsy Shop
BNR – See for her latest promotion!

Wire Links & Gemstone Beads into Jewelry

Purple and Pink mixed with Black and Silver. This is a favorite necklace set of mine in my Etsy shop, available for purchase.

The links are made of two different kinds of wire; the black wires are 20 gauge and the non-tarnish silver are 18 gauge wires. They are both scrolled into an open type “S” style link, all done by hand. I then connected those using stainless steel oval jumprings, giving them flexible movement. Each scroll link has a purple marbled Jasper gemstone bead; which has been cut as an oblong tube, giving dimension to the shape of the necklace. Additional “S” links were hand scrolled in non-tarnish silver wire and accented with nice dark round Rhodonite gemstone beads.


Completing the set are dangle earrings highlighted in non-tarnish silver wire and featuring a Rhodonite bead. This makes a lovely gift for anyone and comes in a silver giftbox. Interested in just the earrings or just the necklace? Contact Timeless Designs for seperate piece pricing.
Drop by my Etsy shop to see this and other wire designs.

Online Shopping, Promoting and Passion

Looking around the internet there are many online places for people to buy and sell. I took some time to research and got several recommendations for Etsy. After much thought, I opened my Timeless Designs Etsy shop in April 2008, with only a handful of items. I made my first sales in June and July and continue to list many designs. My shop currently holds about 40-45 items ranging from necklaces and sets to earrings and bracelets. I strive to make designs that are high quality, yet inexpensive enough for anyone to own.
This year I traveled to Tucson to the Colored Gem Show and JOGS shows. THAT was a mistake, sort of ! Talk about a kid in a candy store….it was like having access to every gemstone, finding, and jewelry related item you could image and some you couldn’t. I found stones that I have never heard of; met dealers/wholesalers that had cuts and stones from all over the world. Buying at the Tucson show gives me the ability to pick out every single stone, finding, crystal, and packaging by sight personally…knowing that I will get the best quality that I can for my designs and customers.
I have a passion for designing and love working and learning about all the different gems. It is like discovering whole new world’s everyday! All my work is custom, striving for the one-of-a-kind pieces. If you don’t see what you are looking for or just want something different, please contact Timeless Designs and we’ll work to design something just for you!



We've been featured on another Etsy Artists Blog!
http://designsbycori.blogspot.com/2008/08/timeless-designs.html