How should I store my sterling jewelry?

If you want to prevent tarnish when storing your jewelry, there are multiple ways to accomplish that. The method that I use, that is very cheap and easy, is to put the jewelry in a small plastic baggie and insert an anti-tarnish strip (about 1/2" x 1/2" square). The strip will strip away chemicals that tarnish sterling silver!

What happens if you don't use the strip? Well, plastic baggies can actually make your sterling tarnish faster than leaving it out in your jewelry box. Note that it's those warm, humid environments that really tarnish your jewelry quickly! Keep it in the bathroom? I think not...

Where can one buy these strips? Here are two sources:

Fire Mountain Gems (shown above)
Rio Grande

Do the anit-tarnish strips require maintenance? Yes. You will have to replace them about once every 6 to 9 months, depending on the brand. Is it worth it? I think so!

What is Argentium Silver?

Argentium is a relatively new sterling silver Alloy, patented by a company in the UK.

1. Is Argentium still sterling silver? YES! The ratio of silver is still the legally required 0.925 (or 92.5% silver).

2. So what's different? What makes up that last 7.5% of the metal! Standard sterling silver uses a mix of copper and other metals. Argentium, on the other hand, uses Germanium. This means quite a few things for us, creating and wearing the jewelry:

    - Very TARNISH RESISTANT!
    - Easier to maneuver.
    - Slightly lower melting point for soldering.
    - Other benefits as well! Check here for more info.

3. If it is so great, does it cost more? Well, depends on where you search. I've found a few places that have very similar, if not the same, prices for standard sterling and Argentium. Just poke around.

4. Should I buy Argetium for ALL my wire needs? No. The primary reason is because it does not tarnish! That means ANTIQUING the wire is out of the question. Also, it is difficult to find HALF HARD Argentium (stiffer wire) and to find a variety of sizes (or gauges) of wire.

5. Have you found other benefits? YES! When I hammer, there is less clean-up afterwards. With standard sterling, I had to use a Moonshine cloth after hammering and scrub for a bit. Now, I just take the cloth lightly over the surface, and for most hammering, this is perfect! For more intense hammering, I still need to scrub a bit. In general this reduces my creation time, making me able to CREATE MORE JEWELRY.

All in all, this is a great wire. I'm excited to use it more in my jewelry line! Have you used it? Let me know what YOUR experience was like.

Do WHAT with smelly eggs!? PART III.

I tried the copper! AND! Well, I made quite the discovery last night. Here is the Zebra Copper Wire I used.

1. I made the earrings out of copper, but I added sterling ear wires to make sure my ears did not tint green at all.

2. I put the earrings in the bag with the boiled egg.

3. The sterling turned a dark brown, and NOTHING happened to the copper!! Yeah, the earrings look pretty goofy.

Turns out, like it says on the website, that Zebra Wire is:

"Solid copper wire... coated with natural-colored enamel and finished with a glossy lacquer."

The lacquer is added to prevent tarnish! It would ALSO prevent the copper from tinting your ears GREEN! Now I have NO fear of using copper ear wires, and... I need to find myself some UNCOATED copper wire to test for antiquing. My mother gave me some copper wire for electrical work... I'll play with that next!

Do WHAT with smelly eggs!? PART II.

Well now I have it all figured out!!  It takes about 10-15 minutes to boil an egg (depending on whether you put the egg in the water before or after it starts boiling).  I've also discovered that if you do TWO eggs at once, the patina takes less time to apply.  Here's what some of my latest creations look like:

I think they turned out neat!  There are flecks of blue, purple and red in each.  This doesn't happen until the Patina gets very dark, however.  If you want to lighten the patina (you don't have a lot of control over darkening speed in this scenario), then you could use a Moonshine cloth to do so - available online in many locations.

My next feat?  Adding a patina on COPPER jewelry.  If you try this method on either sterling silver or copper, let me know how it goes!

What is the MEANING of these beads?

Most people are aware that beads are supposed to have certain "powers" when you adorn yourself with them.  What might those be?  Here is a short list to give you an idea:

Amethyst: Healing, sobriety and peace.
Apatite: Balance, focus and self-acceptance.
Aventurine: Hope, luck and opportunity.
Carnelian: Energy, creativity and sexual fire.
Copper: Eases emotional turbulence and irritability.
Crazy Lace Agate: Laughter (Crazy Blue, Crazy Pink).
Hematite: Mind enhancement, calm and balance.
Jasper: Protection, nurturing and stability.
Labradorite: Clarity and spiritual awakening.
Onyx: Self-mastery and self-control.
Pearls: Wisdom, purity and femininity.
Pietersite: Vision, internal and external.
Silver: Mirror of the soul and cleansing.

Here are two more websites with good information:  http://www.gemstonegifts.com/ and http://www.symphonyjewels.com/.

I don't know about you, but it looks like I should start wearing a mixture of most of these beads! :)