Dark. Lush. Detailed. I’ve taken the plumpest smooth black tourmalinated (tourmalated) quartz I had in my collection and wrapped it with oxidized sterling silver and tiny seed pearls. These briolettes are so packed with desired rutiles that they appear black unless light is shining through them. And they’re large! They’re almost an inch on their own.
Add to them the hand-fabricated earring wires that have been hammered into a flattened-nail design, and you have the perfect little bit of gothic beauty for any outfit. All metal is oxidized sterling silver for easy care and that lovely antiqued finish we love at M. Augusta Woodland.
Measures 1 ½” from top to bottom.
Add these to the Ophelia Necklace available in my shop for the perfect combination.
Yesterday I soaked the peat pellet for a couple of hours. It was pretty amusing to me, because it started off at a height of around 1/4″ and it grew to 2″. I’m clearly easily amused.
The seeds have been implanted into the peat pellet. Now all we can do is hope and pray that they actually sprout. You’ll hear back about this when they finally do.
Win a pair of my Marilyn Earrings by entering my summer giveaway!
Ways to Enter (And yes, you can enter more than once):
1. Blog – Go to my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite piece then go to my blog and leave a comment telling me which one it is.
2. Sign up for my newsletter – Don’t worry, I won’t spam the crap out of you.
3. Become a fan of mine on Facebook
4. Follow me on Twitter
5. Tweet about this giveaway – Be sure to put @msmeganne in there so I can be sure to keep track of you.
6. Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to my blog. – Either leave a comment on my blog about it or email me at Meganne(at)maugustawoodland(dot)com to show me your blog.
This contest runs until August 1st and is open to both domestic and international folks. Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you via email. The winner will be chosen at random and will have 48 hours to confirm after being contacted before another winner is picked.
This little baggy in my fridge is where my bonsai seeds have gone. I’ll ake them out in a week. This is done to stratify them. I’m excited!
fnzpchmqj7
Just wanted to share my blooming orchid with you.
For Christmas Andy got me this little mini-bonsai kit, because I developed a small obsession with the thought of having a bonsai garden. I’ve been scared to plant the seeds, because I don’t exactly have a green thumb. It’s not black either, though. So maybe it’s a sickly yellow thumb. Anyway, I decided that maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to keep it alive. And so we come to the great bonsai adventure of 2009.
First we have to soak the seeds…
So that is what we’re doing in this picture. These jack pine seeds will soak for twenty-four hours. After that I’ll show you the next step.
I think I might have driven a few people mad with this necklace. It took me over two weeks to get it finished, because I kept watching The Tudors while making it. Hence, I’d get sucked into whatever Henry VIII was doing and completely forget what I was doing.
I started off knowing that I wanted to put lepidochrosite in quartz with rubies. The colors matched perfectly, so I wasn’t going to be able to rest until I did it. Around five hours later, 32 inches of rubies, a few pearls and one filigree clasp later, I’ve got the Catherine of Aragon Necklace finally done. Huzzah!
Available at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26883057
I’m so excited that this year is the first year I’ve actually felt up to the challenge of growing a lot of plants in the summer. I’ve got a great spot on my balcony for it, too, which makes things even better. I thought I’d share some pictures of my humble container garden with you.
I’m so thrilled because even the begonia that I nearly killed over the winter has come back with a vengence.
Then there are my cucumber and cherry tomato plants. I can’t wait to harvest my first grown vegetables!
My marigolds (some of my favorite flowers), zinnia, a random coleus, and… I’m horrible with remembering what the fourth plant in this mix is called. Eep!
More coleus in my favorite white pot. I love the purples…
An herb garden my mother potted up for me:
There are, of course, more, but the pictures aren’t as exciting. I’ll spare you the details of the jade, palm, and mother-in-law’s tongue for now.
Boudicca Earrings
Originally uploaded by maugustawoodland
Even warrior queens need fancy jewels sometimes…
The Boudicca earrings feature pretty apple-green chrysophrase under clusters of shaded purple amethyst. These one-of-a-kind earrings include my signature sterling silver filigree, which is 100% handmade by my own two hands.
My filigree starts off as wires that are twisted and turned. Each piece is soldered together one curve and swirl at a time, so the process takes a very delicate hand, patience, and stubborn determination. You can be sure that no two pieces are exactly alike as these are not cast!
All metal is sterling silver with an oxidized satin finish, and all components are hand-made.
Measure 2” from top to bottom.
Available at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23895497
I went to my mailbox yesterday to find it stuffed with five to six envelopes full of beads. What a happy Monday!
This is lipidocrosite in quartz. Recently I’ve developed this minor obsession with all things in quartz, which is a step beyond my general obsession with quartz. This strand is neat, because it’s filled with sparkly ruby red bits on the ends of just a few of the beads. I can’t wait to make a necklace out of it, but it’s going to take a few more strands of rubies and a lot of silver to do so. (Did you know I’m having a sale?)
From left to right: Prasiolite (Green Amethyst), ruby, spinel, tourmaline, labradorite, prehnite, citrine, amethyst, and black spinel. Mm. I can’t wait to start clustering with these!
Then we have the briolettes, which are going to make some fantastic earrings! Included are: whiskey quartz, white topaz, swiss blue topaz, chrysoprase, pink amethyst, and london blue topaz. I have some rainbow moonstone, green rutilated quartz, black tourmalated quartz, prehnite, and labradorite coming soon! I’m sure you’ll see pictures of those, too.
Dark. Lush. Detailed. I’ve taken the plumpest smooth black tourmalinated (tourmalated) quartz I had in my collection and wrapped it with oxidized sterling silver and tiny seed pearls. These briolettes are so packed with desired rutiles that they appear black unless light is shining through them. And they’re large! They’re almost an inch on their own.
