October Delights!

One very delightful thing about October is that the heat and humidity has finally let up a bit so that I am able to breathe! Respiratory illnesses abound where I live, a small town in the middle of a farming community, probably because of all the chemicals associated with farming (I call this month's chemicals, the cotton defoliants, Agent Orange), but the weather certainly aggravates the symptoms of these illnesses making it very difficult to breathe and an air purifier a must. I have been busy though, and have decided just to inundate you with pictures! So here goes:

Handmade necklace features the largest amethyst nuggets ever!

Unique bracelet (below) would look great with the necklace above. Celebrating my affinity for purple and green, this gemstone bracelet (called Move Over Mondrian) also features wonderful lampwork beads and marquise freshwater pearls.Amethyst earrings are always good to have around. Below is a unique braceletwith orange carnelian, lampwork beads from Lynn Nurge, and gorgeous lapis.

These dangle earrings would look great with the chunky bracelet of blue chalcedony and Sand Opal Swarovski you see below. Below that is another chunky bracelet created from leopardskin jasper and Grey Opal Swarovski crystals.


Finally, a sweet pair of pearl earrings made with those pretty marquise pearls that you saw in the bracelet above (Move Over Mondrian>.



To finish, pink opal earrings, large, elongated lapis earrings with sterling silver wire, and pretty aquamarine earrings topped with sterling butterflies from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.

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Hello from Hilton Head

I just spent a few lovely days in Hilton Head, South Carolina, tagging along while my husband attended a conference there. We got there a day early so I was able to get him out on the ocean in a kayak (my favorite form of transport on the water). Of course, I took my work with me, but there is a difference in working on the balcony of the ninth floor overlooking the ocean and listening to the waves break and working in an airless office with the droning of air conditioners in the background! The picture above shows the balcony and the sunrise over the ocean. The first day my husband awoke me a few minutes after 7:00 to share the sunrise with me - and it was much more beautiful than the picture suggests. It was so lovely that he woke me every morning just to see it (no easy task getting me awake in the morning). I told him that Sunday morning we ought to get up early and watch the sunrise while walking on the beach. I know he thought I would never get up, but I did! Of course that was the only cloudy morning! However, I jumped in the pool for a 7:30 dip, which was heavenly as was the hot coffee when I got out.

The bracelets you see here are some that I made in Hilton Head - a great place to work! Of course, I was limited by the supplies that I could actually take with me, but that, too, was part of the fun - seeing what I could do with the limited quantities I had. The first bracelet that you see (above) is a unique mixture of aquamarine, chrysoprase, chalcedony, carnelian, lemon quartz, and amethyst combined with sterling silver. Below, a double-stranded amethyst bracelet gets its allure from vermeil components; I especially love the little faceted vermeil nuggets from Bali, a favorite that I haven't been able to obtain for a while.

The rest of the bracelets are combinations of gemstones that you don't always see together. Below, pink chalcedony, dark peacock-blue apatite, aquamarine and carnelian are held together by an unusual lampwork bead by James Derrick Reeves in this unique bracelet with sterling silver. The next tiger-eye bracelet also has citrine, including a citrine pendant/charm, more of the peacock blue apatite, and a lampwork bead with the golden brown tones of the tiger-eye as a base and yellow and blue "speckles" accenting it. Finally, the last blue lace agate jewelry piece is a bracelet with a focal pietersite nugget with blue marbling thoughout although the picture is making the whole nugget look more red than brown.

Working in a vacation spot has its perks, the ocean, the great seafood, a wonderful change in scenery, but coming home has its own rewards. Two of them have been sleeping on me or following me around since I returned. One of the little furry ones keeps shutting the bathroom door deliberately, then meowing until I come and let him out. He waits a moment and then does it again. Why don't I just shut the door so that he can't get it open at all and I won't have to get up again and let him out? Because I really, really missed him!!! I missed the other kitty, too, but he's a little less dramatic.
Some of you have been asking where to buy the jewelry you see here. On my website, of course. The CLUNY GREY JEWELRY website!

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blue lace agate jewelry
amethyst bracelet tiger eye jewelry Hilton Head