Tuesday, July 26, 2011

MY NEW FAVORITE GEMSTONE!


The Uniquely All-American Gem ...
Oregon Sunstone!



Oregon Sunstone is found only in the remote South Central Grasslands

Collectors and jewelry lovers from all over the world are fast becoming aware of this uniquely American gemstone.  This is really, really unusual material. There's nothing like it available anywhere else in the world, and I can't get enough of the unique metallic glitter that comes from the patterns of copper inside of this gem.

And don't get me started on how transparent it is!

Oregon Sunstone and Silver Double Strand Bracelet

Peachy-pink, pale with a lot of schiller, this bracelet has a beautiful soft ethereal look to it.  It's gorgeous . . . it glows! It's next to impossible to capture the beauty of this gemstone with a camera ...
 
Unique to Sunstone from Oregon is the schiller phenomenon, caused by the millions of microscopic copper bits found in each stone. The schiller phenomenon makes the Sunstone appear to glow as if it had it's own internal light source, and creates a beautiful shimmer effect inside the stone.  These gems, also known as 'Red Labradorite', formed in lava flows that cover much of southeastern Oregon. Inside the lava flow is a matrix where the colored sunstones are found.

Spectacular stones in rare Dichroic Green, Reds and Pinks (Sold)

These stones are, when cut, some of the most beautiful gems around!

They are only found in one area of Oregon that is very remote. Colors of the stone vary from clear, champagne, yellow, light pink, salmon, orange, and red to blue-green. Intense red and blue-green are the colors that are most rare. Sometimes, when viewed from different angles, as many as three colors will show within one stone.  It's a luminous gemstone with fine grained coppery shiller which allows for transparency in the stone yet still produces the phenomenon of aventurescence or "glitter".   Some are bichroic and dichroic color-change stones - which produce different colors under different lights and at different angles.

 
See this bracelet at jQ jewelry designs on Etsy

Oregon Sunstone  is not enhanced in any way like many other gemstones. There is no use of chemicals, irradiation, heat-treating, or oiling of any kind. What you get is exactly as the stone exists in nature, simply beautiful. 

Sunstone is the official Oregon State Gemstone. It is also an ancient gem and has been discovered in Viking burial mounds. The Vikings thought it was a talisman for navigation.


Petite nuggets paired with large sterling silver earwires

In the rugged high desert of south central Oregon, embedded in ancient volcanic lava under the sage brush and grass . . .


 
 
. . . lies Oregon Sunstone
 
 
 




 



I love working with nuggets drilled in both directions, and this is the finest Oregon Sunstone
I've had the pleasure of seeing ... all the gorgeous rare colors. It's unlikely I'll be working with the strand you see above anytime soon ۞ bargain-priced at only $795!!!



I'm always on the lookout for interesting material While this example is not top of the line, I
love the speckled stones. Very unique and I've never run across anything like it before.


Oregon Sunstone ... An All-American Beauty









Tuesday, July 19, 2011

IT WAS A REAL PEACH OF A PARTY!!!






No ... seriously, it really was! This past Sunday, Bruce and I went to a little wingding for a good friend of ours who was having one of those Big birthdays!

This guy has been crazy about peaches since he was just a little kid. In fact he just completed a cholesterol lowering diet where he ate oatmeal with peaches on top for six months. SIX months!!!
 
So his wife figured she'd whip him up a peachy birthday bash out in the country at a Pick-Your-Own Peach Farm. It was a wonderful day, we all relaxed after she put us to work picking our own juicy party favors ... a basket of the freshest, most aromatic  peaches ever!


Belgian Peche Beer

 
Next she served us up ice cold bottles of something called Lambic Belgian Peche, which translates into a pretty darn good peach beer. We had a nice meal and finished everything off with an amazing cheesecake. Yes, of course it was peach!


After that we took a tour around the place. Only one couple had been to a peach orchard before. They grew up in the South. The rest of us were all transplants.
So assuming you've probably never been to a Peach Party, come along for a quick tour of your own . . .


The original peach stand is right off the road. Reminded me of Route 66 back in the day.




Our own basket wasn't quite so full, but looked just as delicious!


These were picked pretty clean before we arrived. Never knew peach trees were so low & bushy



Mother Nature's perfect peach ... almost looks artificial!


Rustic-looking building used for Weddings, parties, etc.


Rear deck area is where we had our Peach Party Ѽ




The Farm also lets you pick your own blueberries and blackberries.











▼▼▼ ---------------------▼▼▼

All I want to know is why somebody would put pepper on their Oatmeal and peaches???








Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Baby, It's Hot Outside!




♨ Is your temperature setting stuck on broil?


Oh man, it’s been a hot summer so far!  The heat is everywhere - even places in the US that normally don’t get very warm in the summer have experienced temperatures in the in the upper 90s that feel as hot as triple digits because of the humidity.


Sweltering heat for 10 days in a row, but not record-breaking ... yet!

Only been 22 days since the first day of Summer, I'm already looking forward to getting it over with! I'm Hot and Sticky and getting a little bitchy about it ...

Yesterday I was enjoying a leisurely look around Pinterest and ran across a person who had filled one of her Boards with photos of her daughter's wedding. One in particular caught my eye. It was a photograph taken at the reception of the cake table, but instead of the beautifully decorated confection we're used to seeing, it was an absolutely stunning rendition of a wedding cake sculpted in ice!

Well, one thing led to another and I found myself in the wonderful world of Google Images where I discovered a sure-fire way to cool down ... if only for a few moments. 

But BEWARE! Viewing may lead to the need for a coat, hat and mittens even on a day as hot as this!!!


Doesn't this just take the Cake?


Beautiful ice carving of a Geisha in Japan

Detailed ice sculpture of Cinderella's carriage 

When Dinosaurs ruled the Earth created in ice and snow

A cool skateboard in every sense of the word ...

Snowy Polar Bear
























































































































'Melting Men' ice sculptures by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo

Absolutely massive sculpture of King Kong complete with bi-plane!!!




And Last, but certainly not Least ...


None other than the Beloved Vanilla Ice


"Yo, V.I.P. let’s kick it… Ice, Ice Baby"

If you recognize the 1990 Vanilla Ice blockbuster hit, don’t be embarrassed. If you hummed the little tagline jingle in your head after you read the title, then be VERY embarrassed ツ


Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Promo Frenzy Team WINS the HandmadeTop 10 Contest!


The Promotional Frenzy Team has been declared the winner of the very first Top 10 Etsy Team Challenge!!!




The Contest was designed to give Etsy Teams more exposure as well as a chance to win an advertising package worth $450. The Top 10 Team Contest was sponsored by Tim Adams, the Etsy seller who created the well know website, Handmadeology.

As a proud member and one of the Leaders of the Promo Frenzy Team, I'd like to give Props to the Fire Divas Team for giving us more than a few worries in the Facebook 'Like' category - you guys did a great job! 


Now enough talk, already ... 

Sometimes a picture really IS worth a thousand words!



ENJOY GUYS! YOU EARNED IT!!!


Way to go!!! You know, I'm pretty sure I heard Galla say if we win, nobody gets on the Naughty List for six whole months!

 
Where do you go to buy 112 jewel-encrusted Crowns?

 
Dude ... couldn't you find a BIGGER sign? This thing weighs a ton!
 

. . . and I heard they all get a Mercedes-Benz AND a trip to the Caymans.
 
Hey! All these guys except me are wearing a Fan Button :((





























































































































































































Look y'all ... that one over there next to the champagne fountain is my mommyღ  Well, if there's a fountain, why is she drinking out of that bottle?




Let's start a Wave and light some candles. Okay, but after that were gonna sing Kumbaya, aren't we???

I heard those poor ladies all turned into Robots! No dummy, they turned into robot-VOTERS!!!
 
Everybunny loves the Promo Frenzy Team!

We WON!!!! But, you know ... I thought that Contest would never end!






GO TEAM !!!





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