Guest Author - Debbie Witenski
By adding semiprecious stones to any of your jewelry, you can make your piece pop! Marlene Blessing is editor-in-chief of Beadwork magazine and she also co-hosts the show on PBS called Beads, Baubles, and Jewels. And Jamie Hogsett is a talented jewelry designer and author of Stringing Style, she also teaches classes in several states. She offers amazing designs that will wow the modern jeweler. These two talented women join together to create this Fashion forward book: "Create Jewelry Stones: Stunning Designs to Make and Wear".
Before they get into the projects, you first learn stone basics; what are the differences, what are the basic kinds, where they are found, how they're valued, way's to improve the stones and the scale of hardness. And then a really great guide to the common semiprecious stones. They give you information and photos of 27 different stones. They are beautiful!
Create Jewelry Stones is set up in three main sections of projects.
The first section is "Classics". There are 10 different beautifully crafted projects. It starts out with "Temple in the Clouds", It is made of imperial Jasper, which has been cut into cloud shapes. The peach moonstone ovals just bring this lariat together. And those hand made borosilicate glass beads are just beautiful against jasper. It brings out the greens.
The next nine are just as beautiful, but my favorite would have to be, "Ring of Sapphires" with brilliant yellow sapphire briolettes, which are stitched together to form little rings and strung with carnelian pebbles, finished with the cutest box clasp. This bracelet will definitely catch the eye.
The second section is for Special Occasion Jewelry. Whatever the occasion may be, you'll surely find what you need here.
There are 9 different projects here that are very stunning. The first one called, "Un, deux, trois", can be worn in three different ways. So you actually get 11 beautiful projects int this section. If I could only pick one piece in this section, it would have to be, "Heavenly Lotus". The name says it all. It is just heavenly.
In the last section, "Fashion-forward", it is full of dramatic, expressive pieces that are sure to inspire you.
The very first pieces is stunning with, carnelian teardrops, amethyst pebbles, serpentine pebbles, and the amazing focal piece, an oval faceted borosilicate. Finished with a simple hook and clasp. I just adore this one. There are six projects that are equally impressive. The "Amethyst d' Amore" and the "Captures Carnelian" are a couple of the others I really like.
In the very last part of this book, they refresh your memory on basic techniques and findings.
This book definitely was an inspiration.
