quality of Life?

While buzzing through your daily obligations, what do you consider a quality life? The journey from cradle to grave is a varied experience. We start out helpless and many times at the end of the journey we see our elders helpless again. Quality of life , so much to cherish in the ability to walk outside and smell the flowers, to be able to walk the dogs at dawn with the stars still twinkling with a faint pink tinged eastern horizon. Quality of life , the ability to help others, to have time to listen to your kids , to hold sacred the relationships in life. Quality of life, what do you cherish?

Picture : Saucy the dog , super girl , ever loyal buddy on hikes

Picture: Tetons Captured by the world reknown Ansel Adams. Always a source of wonder.

http://www.mountaindreamers.etsy.com

Creation

Everywhere you look you can see something in the process of creation. One of the things I really like about making jewelry is the process , the losing of self , surrendering to the flow of the moment , a type of meditation involving color and form.

Midnight and moonbeams earrings in sterling , spectrolite, moonstone and mystic topaz at

http://www.mountaindreamers.etsy.com/

I often think of women thru the ages creating their own adornments for weddings and other ceremonies , sitting around a communal fire , sharing the day's hopes and dreams. Creating , working with their hands, connecting us to our sisters past , present and future. Celebrate the creativity that thrives within you.

Gratitude

Pictures 1. unripened blackberries 2 . Butterfly bush in purple 3. Delicate Raspberries 4 . Blueberry ensemble

It is berry time!!!! This is my favorite time for right now because the berries are ripening . It is beyond me how anyone markets raspberries as they are so fragile. Wandering and grazing in the yard I am filled with gratitude that Mother Earth makes such a wonderful setting to grow and nurture such an array of fruiting plants. The blueberry is a favorite because they are a display of blues to purples that change dailey in their journey to ripeness. In the spring the leaves have an ethereal quality that shimmers in the morning dew. So today the focus is on Gratitude , that we have enough sun , rain and fertile soil. I will hold that gratitude and radiate it into this weekend's creations.

http://www.mountaindreamers.1000markets.com/

Lightning shows

Recently we had a series of Severe Lightning and Thunder Storms. We are lucky in the Mountains as the rugged terrain slows down the fury of these storms. We have been blessed by the rain from these boiling grey clouds, while ducking the staggering light shows that comes with cold air colliding with moist warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. Last night we had five hours of continuous lightning that lit up the sky. Storms can be a source of damage but they are also a powerful display of Nature's awesome energy. With definite respect we watch their spectacular displays.

photo courtesy of http://www.bigfoto.com/

New Perspective

Today is a time to renew , put aside the marketing , the perfecting, the photographing, primping and crimping and making the creations to be just so. When we set aside our daily busy "ness" we have the oportunity to return with more energy and ideas. One of my favorite ways to increase my energy is to hike, to stand in nature, just be as Nature intended. Cool greens, the sound of water trickling over rocks, new plants and blooms. The beautiful cycle of life.

indiesmiles coupon sale

Hi Everyone!! Time for the iCraft boot camp coupon sale, for the uninitiated, we are a group of international sellers working out of the great Canadian website for talented handmade artisans.

Please visit icraft at http://icraft.ca/ , you can access my shop at http://icraft.ca/mountaindreamers for organic semiprecious jewelry .

We are presently running our coupon sale on http://indiesmiles.com/directory/

I am offering free domestic and international shipping, please check out our coupon sale for other great discounts. Cheers , Laura

Inspiration

This is a great time of the year, watching all the baby leaves and flowers popping. The Creative juices are flowing and it brings to mind the Spiral . A symbol of the divine feminine, the renewal and cycling of life from birth, growth, death and rebirth. It appears in ancient art throughout the world as a reminder to stay flexible, to retain the spark of life and to question everything. The spiral is found in many world cultures. We find the spiral in Celtic art, Native American petroglyphs, the spiritual texts of the Hindu, Aboriginal art in Australia and one of my favorites the Nazca Earthworks. The spiral is found in so many places in Nature. We see it in the magnificent galaxies, as well as the humble snail . Next time you wander through the forrest appreciate the spirals of the ferns as they reach for the sunlight. I have been inspired by the spiral to include it in my latest work.http://icraft.ca/product-15135.php?forced=creator Inspiration comes in many forms, from the actual creative process to communicating our ideas and creations to others. One of the websites that I have found to be very easy to use is http://icraft.ca/ We are presently working to increase awareness of selling online especially for independent artists. Look us up ! http://icraft.ca/mountaindreamers

spiral galaxy courtesy of NASA/JPL

Turquoise: The Shaman Stone

Turquoise is one of my favorite stones ( is there really such a thing , they are all so fun) . It is a beautiful stone in shades from light greens to dark blue. It is a secondary mineral found near copper veins with the chemical formula of CuAl6 ( PO4) 4 (OH) 8 - 4 ( H2O) It has a hardness of 5-6 between apatite and orthoclase. Turquoise was named afer it's origal source in Turkey as it traveled back to Europe.

Turquoise can also be a challenge to purchase as there are many choices, and not all are genuine turquoise. 95 % of genuine turquoise is stablelized to enhance the hardness of the stone. Only 5 % of turquoise is what we would call natural where it is mined , tumbled and ready to use for jewelry. This type of turquoise is fairly expensive and can be hundreds of dollars for a strand. There is plenty of stablelized genuine turquoise that has had a plastic resin to enhance the hardness for long wear. Even with stablelization, turquoise can change color over time from lotions, body oils and other chemicals it contacts. Turquoise is mined in the USA ( Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico) China, Peru, Mexico, Iran, Tibet, Siberia, Australia, Africa,and Europe ( Turkey) . The stone forms when water passes thru Copper and other minerals to form the blue colored stone. Some turquoise has been dyed as well as stablelized.

There are the turquoise substitutes, howelite, magnesite, and dolomite which are white stones with a natural dark matrix that absorb dyes well to give the appearence of turquoise.

African turquoise is a nice stone but is a jasper by origin and not a genuine turquoise stone

Chinese turquoise from the Hubei and Anhui areas are stablelized with a parrafin wax treatment that only affects the outter layers. Other treatments can also include dyeing.

Simulated Block turquoise has small bits of rock , dyes and plastic resin. Block turquoise has no rock , it is only plastic and dyes and is made in large loaf size batches.

Lime turquoise is a magnesite from China that has been dyed green, it is harder than the natural turquoise from the Hubei mines.

Mexican Turquoise is similar to that found in Arizona in the Globe mine. Sonora is home to the Pino Chueco mine, this turquoise has been stablelized and some is sold under the Nazcori name.

Mojave or Apple Green turquoise is blue turquoise that is dyed a vibrant Apple green, it can be scraps of turquoise that is bound in resin and dyed.

Yellow turquoise is usually a hard howlite or jasper that has been dyed , from China , Soft yellow turquoise from China's Hubei province has been stablelized and dyed a deep yellow

When selecting a stone , of course find stones that appeal to your taste, but try to get as much information about the origin and processing so you can accurately label your product for resale. Genuine turquoise dealers will give you a certificate in writing stating the value of your purchase.

Metaphysical properties: Turquoise is the stone of the Shaman, it opens all chakras, and allows us to feel at home in both the spiritual and physical worlds, it increases the flow of love and comunication, it opens particularly the 5th or throat chakra and aids with opening the 4th chakra ( heart). It helps with improving the immune system and will detox poisons , alcohol , and radiation.

Enjoy your life ! Enhance it with wearable art! More Later , Laura


You can find my designs at :

http://www.mountaindreamers.etsy.com/
http://www.mountaindreamers.1000markets.com/
http://www.mountaindreamers.artfire.com/
http://icraft.ca/mountaindreamers