Gemstone Project: Chronically Illin’

 The person I made this necklace for (and his gf — who I’d like to make one for, too!) works with someone close to me.  The subject is a male hip-hop artist that struggles with some health issues.

Because this was a gift commission, I began by pulling a card in my search for inspirado. I wanted bold colors and a modern, masculine style. Our guy is a New England Patriots fan, so that took care of the color scheme quite nicely! Since I overbought on red seed beads for a khokhloma project I never got around to finishing 😂 I had tons of reds in every shade — I picked the boldest and closest to the Patriots’ colors.

My card was the six of swords. This is a card of air, of a flexible and positive spirit that enjoys wandering to avoid danger *and* also to gain experience and have adventures — not just in the physical world, but also the creative journeys of the soul this movement can bring. This soul is innately intelligent about survival and self-preservation, so they can enjoy many facets of life packed into the time they have on this earth. Basically, he can live many lives in the space of just the one we’re all given! 

The gemstones I picked were: Sapphire (for good mental & tummy health); Buffalo bone (symbolizing the bod in harmony with nature, it imbues all the powers of buffalo — including Taurean bonuses to musical creativity!); Black imperial jasper cubes (to deflect negative energy & return it back to the sender!); Smoky blue dragon vein agate drums (for creativity & fire, powers of dragon including mental prowess, bod health, & an eye for opportunities). In the the very middle of the piece, I added the one yellow Flameheart Carnelian that I have! It’s mostly an orange-y yellow, with a heart of red and white — specifically for health & calmness of the solar plexus [aka tummy] and sacral [intestines/ass/bladder] chakras. Red is a great color for creativity & physical health, blue is for mental strength to stay positive through all.

Also tried real hard to make this (a) masculine, and (b) hip hop.

Also “chronic” is a double meaning, as is “illin” — It’s just so punny I can’t stand it!  I hope he likes it!!

Amber: A Gemstone’s Meaning and Origins

Amber is formed from the petrified sap of conifer trees (such as pine). Sometimes, we will find fossils of ancient life forms within it, such as insects, leaves and wood bits, or the bones of other small animals. Although amber is classified as a gemstone, it is not actually stone. Amber isn’t a mineral or stone. However, it is still considered a gem, and we can loosely call it a gemstone (even if it’s technically a gem resin). And anyway,  it does make fantastic gems for jewelry and crystal work.

Baltic amber is a very special type of this beautiful gem.  While virtually all other ambers of the world are just as beautiful and fascinating, the Baltic variety differs from the rest in its chemical composition; it has high levels of succinic acid, which has healing properties. In fact, another name for Baltic amber is succinite — so called due to the rich succinic acid contained within each piece.

Along the waters of the Baltic Sea were huge prehistoric subtropical forests. This wasn’t just an innocent group of conifer trees — they were super trees, growing to sizes that could only be possible with an unpopulated planet. Millions of years ago, these botanical giants fell and decomposed, trapping their precious, sweet-smelling honey resins in the newly formed ground where it remained, undisturbed for eons until the Baltic folk claimed the amber for their own. 

Legends within this region claim that amber is great for physical and emotional pain. It promotes comfort and healing, as well as a sense of peace and cleansing. Many churches in Eastern Europe came to incorporate the use of Baltic amber incense as an offering to God. 

“ Stop being a perfectionist.”

My Twitter friend, @bigdaddyvinz, has laid down some really useful wisdom this month. Here’s what his eye-opening thread says:

Stop being a perfectionist.

The root of procrastination for most people ain't laziness, it's anxiety.

I know your anxiety will tell you the worst case scenario. It’s a damn liar.

If you're a procrastinator, you will find every excuse not to do what u need to do. But here's an advice: DO IT FIRST, I call it reverse procrastination.

Fill your heart & mind with positive things.

Music helps alot. stand up, put on your favorite songs and watch how you get the job done fast.

Challenge yourself.

Reward yourself after a job well done.

The best way to get something done is to begin.

Don't let procrastination take over your life. Be brave and take risks, your life is happening now.

It might feel like fun but trust me procrastination is the enemy of success.

Give yourself pep talks and encouraging words like:

- I can do this 

- I'm not going to procrastinate today 

- I am capable 

- I am strong enough 

- I am brave 

- I refuse to let negative thoughts control Me

I hope this thread made sense to every procrastinator out there,I hope this thread helps and motivate you stop ❤️

How to Use Your Meditation Stone

It’s really pretty easy! 

Use as a touchstone. You can use it as a grounding focus point when you’re worried or stressed. Touching it, playing with the stone, even memorizing the small pieces can be reassuring when you touch it later. The stone is permanent; its stability helps.

Use to focus your intentions. Each day, begin your morning by touching the stone and setting your intentions for the day. You can also use it regularly for long-term goal setting.

Use for gratitude. At the end of the day, program the stone with love and gratitude for who and what shares your life with you.

Use for comfort and prayer. If you pray, use it to text God. If you don’t, just use it as a touchstone when you need to calm down and self-soothe.

Toughies hold a long time, but if they break... you can restring the beads, make a whole new item, OR give the beads away to make their energies more powerful! Acrylic and wood tend to degrade over time, but some of my seed beads are as old as 200 years & I also work with pieces from ancient times. Your meditation stone has existed for thousands of years — and it should keep for life!

Crystal Skull & Sky Howlite Necklace

As most of you know, I adore working with gemstones! Earlier this week, I made a piece that I’m especially proud of, and was excited to put it into my Etsy shop... until my intuition said this was meant to be a gift! Even so, I put a lot of love and good energy into this piece.

I started with one of those velvety howlite crystal points that I’ve discussed on other occasions. These poor sweet things came to me damaged, the hardware just hanging off, and with some heavy discoloration from some label stickers! I polished some of them up (only a few because these pieces take time), did the best I could with the sticker damage, and redid the color so that it went from turquoise to a lovely pale sky blue.

The heavenly blue of the howlite went so well with my sky blue cats eye bicones that it seemed like a no-brainer!

Howlite is a great crystal to use because it’s a good substitute for turquoise in terms of aesthetics. But it’s got powers all its own, too! It helps to calm anxiety and heal sadness, but it also amps up your psychic ability and helps you think more clearly.

To this, I added one of my new fav beads - a jadelike crystal skull with that great titanium AB shimmer. This piece has also been spiritually charged to give confidence and resilience to the one who wears it.

I finished the piece off with stainless hardware and a traditional bolshoi malenki pattern which makes this piece of Baltic folk art one of my favorite ever!