I'm on Ezine!

An article I submitted was accepted and published on EzineArticles recently! I'm really pleased about it, and will submit more quality stuff on a regular basis (was planning to do it on a daily basis, but once or twice a week may be more practical for me). Happy reading, and please let me know what other articles or subjects you'd like to read more of. Thanks!

Crystals & Gemstones: Magical and Healing Properties

Do gemstones have "powers"? Can they influence our moods and health? From ancient times, countless magical and medicinal properties have been attributed to gemstones.Today, an increase trend in alternative methods such as acupuncture and gemstones are spreading across the globe. To a certain degree, there have been some success by using gemstones, more so because of how positive thought of their healing properties contribute to the cure of the illness.

So many virtues are attributed to each stone that you might conclude that any stone can cure any disease. It appears however, that in many cases of duplicated healing powers, either the color or the stone's constitution has indicated it's appropriateness for a particular disease. The following are some examples...

Anaemia - Coral
Asthma - Cat's eye, tiger's eye
Bleeding - Haematite
Blood disease - amethyst
Bowel cramp - cat's eye
Burns - amethyst
Childbirth - Agate, pearl, peridot
Circulation problem - coral
Color blindness - Amethyst
Depression - Garnet
Drunkenness - Amethyst
Eyesight - agate, cat's eye (for night driving), peridot, tiger's eye
Fever - carnelian, haematite
Fractures - tiger's eye
Haemorrhage - Haemetite
Hair problems - agate
Hearing problems - agate
Heart troubles - agate, garnet, peridot
Inflammation - carnelian, garnet
Insomnia - amethyst, haematite
Laryngitis - azurite
Menstrual disorder - coral
Poisoning - agate
Rheumatism - carnelian
Scalds - amethyst
Sores - carnelian
Stress - agate, amethyst, peridot
Throat trouble - tiger's eye, turquoise, azurite

Not all the stones were listed for each illness, but there are actually various other gemstones not mentioned.

Reference: Topstones, 1999, The Magic of Gemstones, Topstones (Pty) Ltd, South Africa.

Note: Healing information listed here should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.

How to fix an uncomfortable necklace

If you have a necklace which pokes you in the neck because of a jutting wire at the clasp, then it should be fairly easy to fix. The following steps are also suitable to adjust the length of a beaded necklace or bracelet to a length that you prefer. Here's how I did it...

Things you need:
Crimping pliers or needle-nose pliers
Replacement clasp (if you want a new design)
Crimp beads
Wire cutter
Beading wire

1. 
   
    If you can, see whether it's possible to cut the jutting end of the wire with a wire cutter. Be careful not to cut through the part holding the beads itself! If you do try that and it doesn't work, you'll have to rebead the necklace with a new strand of beading wire. The most popular would be Tigertail.
   
2. 
   
   Measure the length of the beading wire against the necklace. Add an additional 10cm (approx.) then cut the wire. If you don't add the 10cm, then it will be very difficult to restring the beads back to the original length.
   
3. 
   
   String a crimp bead and a clasp to one end of the wire, approximately 5cm and loop back into the crimp bead. Pull the end of the wire to make the loop smaller, say less than 1cm but enough room for the clasp to move freely. There's nothing more awkward than a clasp that is fixed until there's no wiggle room.
   
4. 
   
   Crimp the bead with the need-nose or crimping pliers. Crimping pliers always give a nicer and more professional finish to the crimp bead, or alternatively using a crimp cover does the trick of concealing it.
   
5. 
   
   Cut through one end of the old necklace and if the holes in the beads allow, restring the new beading wire through a few beads at a time so that you don't have to remember the order of the beads.
   
6. 
   
   At the other end of the wire once restringing is completed, slide a crimp bead and the matching clasp following instructions in step 3.
   
   
   

Voila! For less than 15 minutes of your time, you now have a renewed piece of necklace that literally won't be a pain in the neck!

Savvy USJ

Some of my pieces are also available in a lovely boutique called Savvy in USJ, do drop by to take a look at the jewelry and lovely clothes for sale. The store is run by a mother of 2 adorable boys, so it's child and mother friendly store :) Happy shopping!

No. 35 Level 1, Jalan USJ 10/1,
Taipan Triangle,
UEP Subang,
47620 Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03 - 56378669

(Opposite Ambank, Above Restoran A. Hassan)

http://savvyusj.blogspot.com/

Cat's Eyes

The first gemstone I bought for myself was a set of cat's eye (or tiger's eye) necklace and earring more than a decade ago. This has become one of my favorite stones because of the way the different layers of colors reveal itself as the gem is turned. It is said to represent happiness and serenity, not to mention improve your luck. Its 'magical' properties include stimulating intuition, enhancing awareness and treating eye disorders particularly increasing responsiveness during night-driving.

I thought handwoven Japanese seed beads and cat's eye would go very well. So I made 2 sets of earrings. For now.

What's its name?

I looked at the turquoise and garnets, thinking, 'wouldn't it be a nice match?' It starting coming together and I loved the final outcome, a little quirky... a little eclectic... but it became one of my favorites.

For the life of me though, I couldn't figure out what to call it. Then over tea with my friend Sheela last week, she suggested 'rainforest' because of the vibrant colors and leaf charms. And I thought, 'perfect'. Rainforest it is.

Flower Power

One day I ran out of creative ideas. So I started practicing making daisies with copper and gold wires. They each came out differently, but pretty nonetheless. I wasn't sure what I would use them for... maybe attach them to a hairband or it could be a new set of earrings. So I continued making them. I had sketched a heart design I spied on a postcard... and that manifested into one made of copper wires. I put it all aside and noticed something....