So Looking through the internet for a good source on gemstones for birth signs, I found nothing concrete, and no two places were the same.

I am putting together a loose guide based on the well known Birthstones by month. Obviously if a stone speaks to you and it isn't in your sign, claim it as your own! This is just a simple guide based on color and lots of frustrating research. I also wanted to include stones that were less expensive. So you will see Emerald as well as Aventurine and Diamond as well as Clear Quartz.


Sun Sign Birthstone

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Ruby, Agate, Garnet, Amethyst, Tourmaline, Topaz


Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Garnet, Carnelian, Amethyst, Tourmaline


Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) Amethyst, Tourmaline, Aventurine, Bloodstone, Aquamarine


Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19) Diamond, Jasper, Quartz, Moonstone, Tourmaline, Flourite


Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20) Turquoise, Emerald, Aventurine, Jasper, Diamond, Quartz, Flourite


Gemini (May 21-Jun. 20) Agate, Chrysoprase, Aventurine, Pearl, Emerald, Moonstone


Cancer (Jun. 21-Jul. 22) Moonstone, Pearl, Ruby Moonstone, Agate, Chalcedony


Leo (Jul. 23-Aug. 22) Tourmaline, Peridot, Onyx, Agate, Lapis, Soladite, Jade, Aventurine


Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) Jasper, Jade, Sapphire, Sardonyx, soladite, lapis lazuli, agate


Libra (Sep. 23-Oct. 22) Opal, Tourmaline, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire Chrsolite, Sardonyx


Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Opal, Citrine, Yellow Topaz, Tourmaline


Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Sapphire, Turquoise, Topaz, Pearl, Citrine


I hope this helps!

Garnet is a lovely choice for any month, but those born in January get to call it their own...

Garnet is a powerfully energizing and regenerating stone. It revitalizes, purifies, and balances energy, bringing serenity or passion as appropriate.

That said, Here's my most recent necklace:

Garnet and Opalite (Opalite is a man made stone) 2 strand necklace.

So, Whenever I go on vacation, I really mean to go on vacation. But it never fails that wherever I go, I find beads. Now in some places, they are just the same beads I can buy at home, in which case, I stop and play with them and move on. All the while my travel companions are sighing loudly and saying "oh no, not more beads..."

But sometimes I find beads from that specific country.


Then I am in trouble.

Especially if I feel a connection to that country in any way. (Authors note- to this date, I have not been in a country where I do not feel a connection)

Recently I visited Peru, An absolutely gorgeous country with so much history and the Andes! By very definition, the mountains are full of rocks.

When I am walking around a market, I wonder sometimes where the sign is on my body that says I am a jeweler, because people will come out of nowhere ans show me beads...

The ruins of Machu Picchu are made with the stone in the mountain, White Granite and Serpentine

So at the base of Machu Picchu in the town of Aguas Calientes, he shops are full of necklaces for sale made of serpentine.

Ok, I know, it is a lot about the fire, but, have you seen the news?

I have, I live here, I have been in all of the areas affected, and I still cannot comprehend the extensiveness of it.

I sit here in the safe cocoon of my home and try desperately to fathom what 500,000 people displaced means. I think I count as one of that number, as we were given a voluntary evacuation notice yesterday, that wasn't lifted until earlier tonight.

I stare out at the post apocalyptic skies and the ash covered ground and realize those ashes may have once been something important to another human being. How does one deal with that realization?

As I try to not fear for my home and my safe place, I know that a huge number of people, people I may know, may have passed on the street, shared dinner at a restaurant with, are without their own safe place tonight. They may not know until days from now if they even still have a home.

The winds, fueled by the desert winds called the Santa Anas, are hot and dry and fast. I have said before it is literally like walking out into a huge blow dryer. They seem to have slowed down today, regardless, you are looking at miles and miles of brush and palm trees that haven't seen moisture in weeks.

Because of this, there are firefighters that haven't stopped working for over 40 hours. 40 hours!?! I am not talking 40 hours of hanging out at home either, this is hot, dangerous and physically challenging. I want to go volunteer to give them hugs or back rubs or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Those of you who know me, know I have some sort of reverse fetish about touching people I don't know, I HATE IT. I am in awe of their ability to think beyond themselves and go into heat and smoke and danger for a complete stranger.

But do you realize these men and women are going into burning homes and taking pictures and mementos out and putting them on the lawn in an attempt to save something for the family whose home was destroyed?

There are hundreds of families that will go home to nothing but a pile of rubble, and find a stack of family pictures that they didn't have time to grab on the way out, on their lawn.

What about this; out of over 100,000 acres burned, less than 1000 structures have been destroyed. That includes barns, garages and commercial buildings. This amazes me, someone is doing something right.

I go outside for only a few minutes at a time, the air is hard to breathe and the sky is unsettling. That once comforting campfire smell has taken on a new memory for me, and it can no longer be comforting, as I know it is not just wood, but homes and lives that I smell burning.

When it is not you that is affected it is really hard to quantify the news reports. I am scared, but how would I feel if I was one of those people that had to leave at 4am in the pitch black with no electricity and embers landing on their cars on the way out of the neighborhood.

Aged Celtic knots etched into copper then enameled in blue and green.

entry for the October EJA giveaway contest.

Every few months, the Eclectic Jewelry Artisans hold a jewelry design competition with a theme. Our theme this time is "Reflection" and this is my entry.

To vote for my earrings, please visit:
www.EclecticJewelryArtisans.com

Click on Mailing List and enter your choice for the best "Reflection" in the note. (IgnisDesigns)

***When you vote, you will be entered into our free giveaway drawing!!!***

It is up and posted! The gorgeous creation that I made with my EJA Team member June of http://MandalaJewels.Etsy.com

We got together and talked, I would make some lampwork beads and she would assemble the pieces adding her own flair and beads.
I made these beads and sent them to her with some Thai silver findings. She said she had some coral that would go nicely.

The final piece is available here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7142783

A collaboration between Me (Ignis Designs), Lampwork Diva and Bracken Designs

Collaboration! What happens when artists get together?



I am finishing up a collaboration project with two other artists, Cindy Gimbrone andLaura Bracken,we will all three be working with beads from Cindy and Enamels byME! The final pieces will be posted tomorrow.

In the mean time, here is a sneak peek at the beads we all started with.

Let me tell you about my very first artist collaboration project.

I had a rough start with collaborating as an artist. I remember being in probably 1st grade, maybe kindergarten, and having my very first art collaboration. Being from the Sesame Street generation, my FAVORITE word was co-operation. So when my teacher told us we'd be co operating during our art project I was very excited.

Then it began...

We were to draw snowmen. We sat at a circle of tables and each had our own colors and paper. She had us draw the head of the snowman...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!!!! I had plans for that snowman, I got the special color of blue to draw his coat. I was not happy, but I still wanted to do this co operating thing.. so I stayed quiet.

Then we drew the body on the snowman head we got from the kid before us. The kid before me wasn't so good at circles, so I had to be a little creative to make the body look right...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

NOT AGAIN!!! I had just spent a bunch of time on that one... This time, I was not able to keep quiet. As most people who know first graders I went from quiet to hissy fit.. no in between.

I was NOT going to share my work with other kids and I definitely did not want other kids touching my work. I felt betrayed by my teacher, betrayed by the kids next to me and betrayed by Sesame Street. This co operating thing was NOT fun.

After learning the hard lessons from Mrs Seeweepegaham, lets see how well I do this time. :)

finally got a treasury on etsy.com ! It takes a little skill and a lot of patience.

I was able to showcase some of my favorite pieces by several jewelry designers.

http://www.Ahna.Etsy.com
http://www.JJBoz10.Etsy.com
http://www.peldyn.etsy.com
http://www.ntroske.etsy.com
http://www.BrokenTeepeeDesign.etsy.com
http://www.AncaNY.etsy.com
http://www.gypsydesignjewelry.Etsy.com
http://www.Baxtershouse.Etsy.com
http://www.sojourncuriosities.Etsy.com
http://www.deliasdelight.Etsy.com
http://www.CercaTrova.Etsy.com
http://www.studiobijou.Etsy.com
http://www.Dichroicdazzle.Etsy.com
http://www.GibsonWireCreations.Etsy.com
http://www.asilomarworks.Etsy.com
http://www.BeadJewelryShopgirl.Etsy.com

This month I am the featured artist for Eclectic Jewelry Artisans (EJA)
www.eclecticjewelryartisans.com/

Store Name: Ignis Designs

E-mail: Bridgette@IgnisDesigns.com

Describe your style:
Very eclectic. I love color and I love learning new techniques, I combine them and come up with my jewelry. I also make jewelry boxes and cards. I learn by doing, so I will take a class to learn the basics then take those basics and experiment until I get what I want.

What is the first piece of jewelry you made that you felt ecstatic about?
The first piece I have ever felt ecstatic about was a fine silver cloisonné pendant. It is a night scene with a tree in the moonlight. The pendant was dark blue, brown and green with a yellow moon. I finished it off with glass beads from all over the planet in blues and greens. The colors were just beautiful. I gave it to my mom for mother’s day.

Where do you draw your inspiration?
From nature, although it isn’t instantly obvious when you see my work. I’ll look around and see color combinations and recreate them in my jewelry. Think about it this way, if you were to draw a leaf up close, you wouldn’t just use brown or green.. There is orange, purple, black, blue and yellow along with the green and brown.

How long have you been creating jewelry?
For at least 15 years. I have been enameling for 2 years and doing lampwork for just over 6 months. It is my stress relief, because these two take total concentration on the task at hand, it is my few hours where I cannot possibly be thinking of anything else, be it the laundry, work or anything else.

What is your favorite piece and why?
My favorite piece is almost always my newest piece. It is a Necklace made with colorful tourmaline chips and 4 of my lampwork beads. The lampwork beads are bright pink with fine silver accents and dark purple with fine silver and copper accents. The necklace is finished off with a sterling silver ginkgo leaf pendant and an over-sized sterling clasp. The ginkgo leaf looks like a whale tale which I love.

The Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) would like to announce our Sunday Street Team Trivia Challenge! On August 26th at 4pm PST (7pm EST, 10pm UK), CGGE members will host our FIRST Sunday Street Team Trivia Contest.

This is a fun trivia contest featuring questions written by CGGE members about the CGGE team and members, it’s kind of a meet and greet, AND you will have the chance to win some AWESOME prizes!

We will be giving out a total of 3 glass prize packages!

The first place winner will receive a fused glass slider pendant donated by lisahammer,a stained glass butterfly donated by creationsinglass
AND a fused glass bubble sushi dish donated by glassprimitif

---

WHOA! If that is not enough,
the second place winner will receive a stunning pendant donated by Smokeylady54 http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6137282

AND the third place winner will receive another stunning pendant donated by Aardvart http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6130707 .Here are the details for this contest:
1. August 26th, 4pm PST (7pm EST, 10pm UK) , in the Etsy Promotions & Critiques forums
2. To play, you must be an Etsy member, signup here: http://www.etsy.com
3. CGGE members are not allowed to participate, but we welcome you to join in and chat in the thread while the contestants are searching for the answers!
Trivia Game Instructions: It’s easy! We will be posing a series of questions to the thread every few minutes. The first person to respond with a correct answer to the thread will receive 4 points, the second person will receive 3 points, the third person will receive 2 points and any other people responding with a correct answer will receive 1 point. At the end of the game, I will tally up the points and announce the top three winners. PLEASE REMEMBER TO POST YOUR ANSWERS IN THE THREAD TO GET YOUR POINTS COUNTED.

The Wire Competition by EJA – Your Chance to Vote and Win!

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite wire project by the artisans of EJA and your chance to win a free gift bag that will include hand made jewelry and other goodies!!

Just visit http://eeja.org/wire_com/wired.html and fill out the form. On July 25th, we will draw a lucky e-mail address from those that have voted. One vote per person. Voting on an item will sign you up for our newsletter that will inform you of future sales and other prize drawings.

Thank you,
Team EJA

EEJA.org

COOL Blue treasury by another EJA member.

So I have made it a few times to the front page of Etsy.com. It is always exciting to log onto a public website and see your art first thing. Here I am, bottom left corner with my fellow members of EJA. ww.eeja.org

So my cousin Becca was married on May 5th at the Beautiful Lake Chelan, in central Washington. The wedding was small and simple.

Lake Chelan




My cousin Beth handled the decorations and the theme was a subtle but beautiful "Sea"





a lovely evening for all, we spent the latter part of the evening hanging out in my mom's hotel room just catching up.



My sister caught the bouquet, and the garter hit her fiance Brian in the face. It was fitting since they were getting married the next month.