Chainmaille Giveaway

This month I am holding not one but TWO giveaway draws. The winners of each draw will receive one of my colourful chainmaille bracelets. The bracelets are also stretchy. Made with rubber and aluminium rings the bracelets are also incredibly light. I have a choice of several different bracelets in a variety of colours and the winners of the draws will get to choose the one that they want.

Both draws will be held on the 31st July.

So how do you enter into the draws?

Draw One

The first draw can be entered via my Facebook Page, Shazzabeth Creations. There is a post pinned to the top of the page about the draw. You will need to "like" my facebook page and then like/comment on the post about the draw.

Draw Two

The second draw will be held for all my newsletter subscribers. To subscribe to the newsletter you can fill in the below form:

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The newsletter subscription form can also be found on my website and on my facebook page.

GOOD LUCK!

New Zealand Made

Lady Clarissa

by

Bottmbearbot

Orbital

Having just taken a whole bunch of new pictures of some of my jewellery it's great to see how better defined some of my pieces now are in the new pictures. One piece for which this is especially noticeable is my Chrysocolla and Orbital Chainmaille Bracelet.

What I think can now be clearly seen in the new pictures are the orbiting rings. These are the rings that sit around the central chain. In chainmaille "orbiting jump rings", unlike the other jump rings making up a weave, are not actually connected to any other rings.  Rather they are held in place by the connections made between other rings.

As you can now clearly see with this bracelet, the inner chain is a simple 2 by 2 chain. The orbiting rings are then held in place at each join, where the two sets of rings of the inner chain connect. There are two orbiting rings at each join.

These orbiting rings give a really fluid feel to the bracelet that sits very smoothly on the wrist.

Of course the feature of my Chrysocolla and Orbital bracelet are the gorgeous Chrysocolla gemstone beads in their mixture of green and blue colours.

Friday Favourites

Girl, Cat and Candle Going to Bed Silhouette

by

Mountain Brook

Work in Progress - Bi-coloured Quartz Necklace & Earrings (1)

Something a bit different today - a quick snapshot from my camera phone of some work in progress.

I am currently wire wrapping some green and yellow bi-coloured quartz into some sterling silver frames. The quartz gemstones are briolettes. I am making up seven frames and am currently half way through my sixth. Five of the frames will be formed into drops for a necklace and then the two remaining frames will become earring drops. The seven frames are all made at the same time so as to ensure consistency between them.

Once I have finished getting all the frames to the same stage then I will need to decide exactly how I want to complete the top of each frame/drop.

Hopefully in a few days I will be able to share an update on my progress.

A to Z of Gemstones - S is for Sodalite

Sodalite is a mineral composed of sodium aluminium silicate. It gets its name from its sodium content. Sodalite was first discovered in Greenland in 1806 and it was later used as an ornamental stone when large deposits of gem quality material were found in Ontario, Canada.

While the Sodalite used as a gemstone for jewellery is typically a deep blue colour, sodalite can also be grey, yellow, or pink. Sodalite often has white veins or patches running through it and these are composed of calcite. Sodalite can often be mistaken for Lapis Lazuli however Lapis has a higher density and is a rock as opposed to a mineral.

Sodalite is found in Brazil, Greenland, India, Canada, Namibia, Russia and the USA.

Throughout history it was believed that Sodalite improved creativity. This led to a high use among writers and artists. It is also said to be an ideal gemstone for athletes as it is believed to add to endurance and willpower.

Pictured above is my Trizantine Blues Necklace featuring sodalite beads. Below are some more examples of sodalite jewelry from some members of the Jewelry on Etsy team:

 Modern Blue Denim Sodalite Dangle Earrings by Cool Jewelry Design

 Two Strand Sodalite and Pearls Bracelet Set by Donnas Artisan Designs 

Wire Wrapped Sodalite Hoop Earrings by Little Apple NY

Chainmaille Supplies

I have now starting listing some chainmaille supplies on TradeMe. I've started off with brass and copper jump rings with anodised aluminium rings also in the process of being added. Hopefully by next week I will have some sterling silver rings ready to list as well. 

I will also within the next few weeks be starting to make up kits for some weaves for making complete bracelets. 

Other complimentary supplies will also soon be listed including clasps and wire. Tools are already listed. 

The plan will then be to create a website, linked to my jewellery site, for selling supplies and tools. Busy times ahead so watch this space!