Congratulations to Nicole, who was the winner of the newsletter earring giveaway for last month.
Next month’s giveaway is a pair of celadon Czech glass earrings. Make sure you’re signed up to receive my newsletter so you are in the draw!
July 2016 Newsletter Giveaway Prize Winner
The newsletter earring giveaway for last month was won by Hazel – congratulations to her.
Next month’s giveaway is a pair of red Czech glass earrings. Make sure you’re signed up to receive my newsletter so you are in the draw!
KickArts Contemporary Arts Cairns
I’m very excited to tell you that I have been invited to stock some of my work in the lovely shop at KickArts Contemporary Arts in Cairns, here in Queensland.
A little bit about the fabulous galleries and shop from the KickArts website:
“Located in the central business district of Cairns, in the Centre of Contemporary Arts, KickArts is a key destination for local and tourist visitors alike who wish to experience the vibrant contemporary visual culture of Tropical North Queensland. KickArts is dedicated to facilitating, presenting and promoting contemporary arts and extending the experience and cultural life of northern Australians and more than 2.2 million annual visitors to Cairns.
Delivering a dynamic and diverse exhibition program, KickArts welcomes more than 45,000 visitors annually. The KickArts Shop animates the Centre on a daily basis and is a focal point for viewing unique, high quality works of art, craft and design from Australian and international artists.”
The gorgeous staff at KickArts have chosen my Spirals and my Ceramics collections to showcase in the shop. If you are in the beautiful Cairns, lucky you! Make sure to stop in at the Centre of Contemporary Arts at 96 Abbott Street.
Pantone – 2016 Autumn Colours
Pantone’s Autumn colours for 2016. are here. I love the idea of classifying and naming every colour in the world, and I also love to show you which stones in my gemstone collection match the latest in fashion choices!
If you see a gemstone you like the look of, and you’d like me to create you a custom piece, let me know.
Meanwhile, how cute are these Pantone board books? Gorgeous!
June 2016 Newsletter Giveaway Prize Winner
Congratulations to Susan, who won my newsletter earring giveaway for last month. Susan chose these triangle earrings from my black Czech glass earring selection.
Next month’s giveaway is a pair of grey Czech glass earrings. Make sure you’re signed up to receive my newsletter – every subscriber gets a chance every month. Have a great July!
Style – Rings
In part one of a series of tips about the basics of jewellery wearing I looked at necklaces. Today I’m going to talk about my favourite pieces of jewellery – rings.
A ring is traditionally a circular, decorative or symbolic ornament worn on fingers, toes, arm or neck – however today’s understood meaning of the word ‘ring’ is one that is worn on the finger. Rings can be made of many materials, but are commonly made from metal. They can be plain, or ornate; simple, or set with many stones. They are made in many different styles, but I’ll be focusing on bezel set gemstone rings as that is what I make!
First, let’s identify some of the basic parts of a ring. It’s good to know these terms, so that when discussing your ring, we’re on the same page:
Next, sizing. When you’re trying to determine the right ring size for you, it is best to have your finger measured professionally by a jeweller. If all else fails, you can use my guide to ring sizing.
When deciding what material your ring should be made from, sterling silver is a good choice – as well as being beautiful, it is usually hypoallergenic, so you avoid allergic reactions and green skin (problems usually brought about by the nickel in inferior quality metal).
Check out this good Wiki article on ring styles which shows many different kinds of rings – I’d never heard of some of these, so I found it very interesting!
Although I am happy to make any size ring, my preference is for large statement pieces. Sometimes people say to me that they can’t wear big rings because they have small hands – I say not so! I’m only 5’2″, and have little hands, and I love wearing a big rock! I don’t find large rings impede my hand, either – as fingers only bend inwards, the ring sits on top of the hand and allows you to do most things as usual. Ring size is really a matter of comfort and personal preference of course. Tell me, what’s your favourite ring?
As always, I am happy to create you a made to measure silver ring from any of the gemstones in my collection. If you’re interested, you can contact me about that here! Meanwhile, enjoy a browse through my custom gallery.
May 2016 Newsletter Giveaway Prize Winners
It was The Silver Forge’s 4th anniversary last month, and the winners of my anniversary giveaways were Luella, Mandy, Cori and Emma. They won a pair of earrings of their choice from those pictured below. I ‘m always so glad to do a giveaway, it brightens my day! 
The winner of the monthly newsletter giveaway for last month was Nari. A pair of these brown earrings are coming her way!
It was a lovely coincidence that three of these winners are fellow handcrafters. Mandy is co-owner at Ditto Crafts, who offer a variety of practical handmade gifts and accessories for all ages.
Lettuce Cactus by Ditto Crafts
Hexo Design is Cori’s label, and although Cori is taking some time out at present, we have almost enough of her fabulous shorts here at my place to last us for a little while!
Roar Shorts by Hexo Designs
Nari creates under the name Nari Design Pot, and her felt fabric jewellery is the cutest!
Snow Mountain Brooch by Nari Design Pot
Next month’s giveaway is a pair of black Czech glass earrings. Make sure you’re signed up to receive my newsletter, and you’ll automatically be in every draw!
Gemstone of the Month – Carnelian
Carnelian is a brownish red to orange, translucent to opaque variety of chalcedony. Carnelian is probably named after the the kornel cherry because of its colour. It is sometimes known as cornelian.
Carnelian has been used for decorative purposes by humans for thousands of years. Wikipedia tells us: “The bow drill was used to drill holes into carnelian in Mehrgarh between 4th-5th millennium BC. Carnelian was recovered from Bronze Age Minoan layers at Knossos on Crete in a form that demonstrated its use in decorative arts; this use dates to approximately 1800 BC. Carnelian was used widely during Roman times to make engraved gems for signet or seal rings for imprinting a seal with wax on correspondence or other important documents. Hot wax does not stick to carnelian. Sard was used for Assyrian cylinder seals, Egyptian and Phoenician scarabs, and early Greek and Etruscan gems. The Hebrew odem (translated sardius), the first stone in the High Priest’s breastplate, was a red stone, probably sard but perhaps red jasper.”
Carnelian is thought to aid with concentration, and by keeping one focused on the here and now and not on past experiences. Carnelian is believed to be calming and grounding, and encourages initiative and determination.
Carnelian is understood to improve circulation, aid with problems of the liver, bladder, kidneys and spleen and with male impotency, and to increase appetite. It is believed to help with PMS as well as sexual anxiety.
Carnelian is thought to prevent accidents, and to protect the home from theft, fire and storm damage.
Carnelian is beautiful – the range of colour from reddish brown through to almost yellow is so vibrant!
I have some gorgeous carnelian available in my gemstone collection. If you find a stone that appeals to you and you’d like to have it set in a ring or a pendant, let me know – I’d love to create something beautiful for you.
Enormous Cream and Fuchsia Oval Agate Cabochon
The agate oval gemstone cabochon shown here is 45mm long. It is available to be handcrafted into a custom made ring or pendant for you.
Agate is traditionally believed to help you to discern truth, improve memory and concentration, increase stamina, prevent insomnia and ensure pleasant dreams, enhance personal courage, protect you against danger, and provide a calming influence.
This cabochon has been dyed. You can read more about gemstone treatments here. In order to keep your stone looking good, it is recommended that you do not get it wet or expose it to sunlight for prolonged periods. Your piece can be cleaned using a soft silver polishing cloth.
the silver forge’s fourth anniversary
The Silver Forge is turning four this month. I can hardly believe it! It has been a beautiful, quirky and interesting journey so far; and one that I am only making thanks to the support from each and every one of you.
Silversmithing is wonderful – but to be creating pieces that bring joy to other people is a whole new level of fabulous. Thank you all so very much for being part of this little indie enterprise – to everyone who visits this website, browses, emails me, buys things; everyone who likes my FaceBook page, likes my posts, comments on them, shares them; everyone who follows me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media; everyone who subscribes to my newsletter, new release update email, and blog updates; everyone who comes to me with their custom piece requests; everyone who makes donations to my worthy causes, and for all the other forms of love and support you’ve shown; I appreciate each and every one of you.
This month, I’ll be drawing four names from among my lovely newsletter subscribers – one for each year this business has been happening. The prize will be a pair of earrings – winner’s choice from the nine pairs pictured above! Which pair will you chose if you win? All you have to do is to be signed up to receive my monthly newsletter ~ and you can do that here if you’re not already subscribed!
Here’s to a fabulous month, and a really wonderful year. Thanks again, everyone!