http://www.cheldodge.net/blog The Blog of Zbella / Lava Jewelry Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:13:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Please take a moment to fill in this poll. I'm interested in what your favorite gemstones are. What gemstones have always been your favorite? What gemstones are your latest favorites? Please feel free to leave comments below, especially if you answer "None of the Above." Poll Answers http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/07/02/your-favorite-gemstones/ Lava Jewelry is fully stocked on July’s gorgeous birthstones: ruby and carnelian. I have tons of styles available in both stones, and remember that I love to do custom work, so please contact me if you’d like something different in ruby or carnelian for a July birthday. Ruby is one of ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/06/30/julys-birthstones-at-lava-jewelry-3/ As a jewelry-maker, I have the unique privilege of working with some really tiny tools. I wanted to share a picture of one of my tools with my blog readers. It is a drill bit that I use in jewelry-making (see photo below). Yes, indeed, I have to do some ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/06/27/tiny-tools-of-the-trade/ I went to Yosemite over the weekend with a couple of friends. I have spent a lot of time at Yosemite in the past, doing geology. Two of my professors at San Jose State had a grant studying the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite in the park. (Feel free to ask me ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/06/24/yosemite/ I hit 1000 sales in my Etsy shop this week! Woo hoo! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my wonderful customers. Seriously, I must have the best customers in all of Etsyland. You've been an absolute delight, collaborating to make custom jewelry for you, and providing ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/06/11/1000-sales/ June's birthstones include moonstone and pearls. Lava Jewelry has beautiful pearl and moonstone jewelry for those June birthdays. Because pearls are not a stone, and volumes and volumes could be written on pearls, I'm going to focus on moonstone today. Moonstone is a form of a mineral called adularia, which is ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/06/10/junes-birthstones-at-lava-jewelry/ I had been wanting to learn to etch copper for quite some time, then recently I ran across a tutorial written by Etsy seller Copperheart that made it seem so easy. Check out her tutorial here! So now, I'm happily etching every piece of copper, brass, and nickel silver I can ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/05/05/copper-and-brass-etching/ The Spring Beading Challenge has now officially ended. Come see all of the amazing entries on our Flickr page! Get the Flickr Slideshow widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Linda Chandler will be judging the entries, and announcing the winners later this month. I plan to create a treasury of ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/05/02/spring-beading-challenge-comes-to-a-close/ Emerald is May's beautiful and precious green birthstone. Yes, indeed, Lava Jewelry has emerald in stock for those May birthdays! Emerald is the green variety of the mineral beryl. Emerald is one of the five precious gemstones, along with diamond, sapphire, ruby, and tanzanite. (As I write this, I ponder ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/05/01/mays-birthstone-at-lava-jewelry/ This gorgeous necklace is going to be awarded to one of the winners of the Spring Beading Challenge! This work of art was created by Linda Chandler, our contest judge. "The charm is PMC, I have chat lingo on the other side...AYTMTB...(and you telling this because). I love to say that... The ... http://www.cheldodge.net/blog/2008/04/16/spring-beading-challenge-update/