Real Gold Dipped Leaves

It’s a sad thing when you purchase a particular bead/component for a jewelry design and end up not doing anything with it for nearly a year. Where does the time go?! What is so fantastic about the new pieces I’ve posted is that they come directly from nature. That’s right. Picked right off the tree (okay, well, maybe the ground?). And what better way to celebrate the peak of the fall season than to be adorned by these lovelies.

This necklace and earrings are designed with real oak leaves that have been hand-dipped and electroformed with 24kt gold. Accenting these leaves are genuine Swarovski crystal copper set against the warmth of gold.




Find both of these stunning fall leaf jewelry pieces on the Crystal Allure Designs website.

----------------------
So how’d they do that?

Electroformed Genuine Leaves

The art of electroforming leaves - A real leaf is pressed flat and dried. Once dried, the leaf’s pulp is removed in a light acid bath, resulting in a fragile leaf skeleton. The leaf is dried once more and then hand painted with a copper based paint, which allows it to be electroformed. The leaf is next submerged in an electrolytic solution and with the magic of the positive/negative charges from electricity, over a 3 day period, metal deposits onto the copper based surface. If the leaf has fine veining then a filigree leaf will result. If a leaf has little veining then the electroformed surface will be solid. Prolong electroforming will also result in a more solid form. The final metallic leaf finish is dependent on the electrolytic solution used.

How to care for your leaf jewelry

Leaves should be cleaned carefully with a warm cloth and not with abrasives to maintain its longevity. Each leaf is unique and special, capturing a part of nature, resulting in a beautiful piece of wearable art.

Contest For November

Newsletter subscribers -where are you?! Sadly, the September newsletter winner did not claim their prize of a lovely pair of earrings fashioned after purple grape bunches. That’s too bad, I love giving away beautiful jewelry.

Well, this next contest comes at a perfect time. Just in time for holiday parties. Our November newsletter subscriber prize is a pair of sterling silver and sparkling genuine Swarovski crystal earrings in black and white. What a fantastic accent to any upcoming holiday party.


The winner is: claudia_dunn and she/he will have one week to claim their prize.

Good Luck!

Moss Agate

I’ve posted a new moss agate and crystal necklace and earrings. This necklace design was strung using moss agate gemstones complemented by sterling bali and Swarovski crystals. Each moss agate oval is uniquely different through a natural process that creates bands and patterns within the gemstone.



Find this gemstone beaded necklace and more on the Crystal Allure Designs website.

--------------------------
Moss Agate is a chalcedony (pronounced kal-sed-on-ee) that is formed in the sedimentary process whereby viscous silicic acid has been penetrated with iron silicate solutions without becoming mixed (essentially weathered volcanic rocks). This creates streaked moss green inclusions. It is a semi-precious gemstone, which despite its name does not contain organic matter.

Moss agate is one of the more modest members of the crystal world. It lacks the glitter of lapis lazuli, the radiance of clear quartz, or the chatoyance of tiger’s eye. However, this multi shaded green variety of agate looks similar to moss when viewed from a distance and if you examine a moss agate closely (and especially if you hold it up to the light) you may discover a world within it.

When used in jewelry moss agate is believed to bring the wearer health, friends and riches.

Moss Agate folklore:
The metaphysical properties of moss agate are primarily its strong connection with nature. Moss agate is a stabilizing stone that is said to refresh the soul and reveal the beauty of nature all around one. Healers use it to reduce sensitivity to weather as well as pollution in the environment.

Midwives use moss agate to lesson pain during child birthing and to assure a good delivery. It is considered to be a stone of new beginnings and abundance.

Healing properties of moss agate:

~Speeds up recovery
~Anti-inflammatory
~Cleanses circulatory system
~Relieves depression
~Reduces skin infections

Frosted Glass Leaf & Crystal Earrings (NEW)

I’ve just posted some new leaf earrings that are seasonally simple and elegant. This design uses a delicate frosted glass leaf that has been wire-wrapped with a genuine Swarovski crystal using 14kt goldfill metal. The 14kt goldfill hoop earwires balance out and finish this exquisite design.


Find these beaded earrings and more on the Crystal Allure Designs website.

----------------------------------------
Frosted Glass Technique:

“Frosting” is a glass-finishing technique. The Illustrated Glass Dictionary at glassonline.com defines frosting as follows: ”The process of giving a glass surface a matte finish, thus reducing transparency. Frosting is done through a variety of methods. It may involve treating the glass by pouring hydrofluoric acid on it or exposing it to the acid’s fumes. Frosting also may be achieved by sandblasting, through a special glue application and subsequent removal, or by mechanical etching with a grinding wheel.”

Frosted finishes can vary greatly. Some have a coarse, sandpaper feel, while others have a soft feel and the look of clouded glass. The 19th-century term for glass with a frosted or matte finish was satin glass. Frosting or “satinizing” may be applied to opaque as well as transparent glass.

In the jewelry design above, by incorporating the shimmer of a genuine Swarovski crystal it complements the original state of the frosted leaf -as shimmering glass.