Stone Souls- Lapis Lazuli

The next stone featured in my Stone Souls series is Lapis Lazuli.


Blue Empress www.ravenworksstudio.com

Lapis Lazuli is a stone with a very colorful history. It's rich blue color has always made it an attractive stone to feature in jewelry, and has been used in such since prehistoric times. Later on, it's vivid blues were used as a paint, and to color cloth.

Lapis is a highly spiritual stone, and is used often in meditations or any any activities that connect to spirituality or the divine. This is also a stone that promotes peace and serenity. This makes it a good stone to foster harmony and friendship in all relations.

In terms of healing the body, Lapis is most often said to help boost the immune system, to help with conditions of the throat and provide aid with insomnia.

First Boston Show Down

My best friend and I did our first Boston South End Open Market for this season this past Sunday. It was great to be back in Boston, and despite the crazy heat and humidity, the crowd was steady.

We were really surprised to discover that the number of vendors was almost half of what it was last year. I'm not sure why the number was paired down so much, but it didn't seem to deter the people walking through.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the day, we were hit with a hurricane-like storm, that threw thunder and lightning around our heads, and drenched us and all of our jewelry, while we frantically bailed water from the top of our tent to keep it from collapsing. Our neighbor's tent did end up collapsing, and several vendors had merchandise ruined by the rain.

Despite the tragic end to our day, we're looking forward to our next trip to Boston on August 3rd. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for no rain.

Stone Souls- Amber

Even though Amber is not a stone, I still think it's a predominant jewelry element with a lot of great metaphysical properties. With that said, I bring you Amber as the next instalment in my "Stone Souls" series:


"Suspended" www.ravenworksstudio.com

Amber is resinated tree sap, which usually contains small bugs, or bits of plants, preserved eternally in the honey colored material. Amber is pretty easy to find, and is used often in jewelry design. The warm earthy colors, go well with both silver an gold.

Because Amber is derived directly from trees, it is a "stone" that has strong connections to the earth, and gives it powerful grounding properties. Amber is also a powerful cleanser and healer, absorbing negative energies and transmuting it into positive healing energy. This applies to mental health as well, as its warm energy promotes stability and a positive demeanor.

For healing, Amber works best with the throat in particular, as well as ailments dealing with the stomach, spleen, kidneys, bladder, liver, gallbladder and joints.

Stone Souls- Snowflake Obsidian

The second stone I'd like to highlight in my "Stone Souls" series is Snowflake Obsidian:


"As The Fallen Snow" Pendant www.ravenworksstudio.com


Snowflake Obsidian is another well known, and well used stone, and is easily obtained all over the world.

Metaphysically, Snowflake Obsidian falls under the sign of Sagittarius. It is a stone of purity that balances the mind body and spirit. Snowflake Obsidian steers the wearer away from bad frames of mind, and stressful mental patterns. It also helps the wearer to recognize the value of their mistakes. Snowflake Obsidian is also calming and soothing.

For healing purposes, Snowflake Obsidian works best with the skeletal and circulatory systems.

Stone Souls- Amethyst

Lately I've become very interested in individual stones and there mataphysical meanings the more and more I work with them. Stones have a lot of influence of their wearer, and I wanted to be able to share my findings.

The first stone I'd like to explore is: Amethyst


www.ravenworksstudio.com

AMETHYST-

Amethyst is a very common stone used in jewelry making. It comes in several lovely shades of purple, and is mined in several different countries. It's a beautiful and an affordable stone, which makes it appealing to both jewelry makers and jewelry buyers.

Metaphysically speaking, Amethyst is a very "mental" stone, both stimulating, and calming as needed by the wearer. It is especially good at protecting its wearer from negative energy, and has even been said to have a sobering effect, which makes it useful if you are trying to overcome any type of addiction.

Amethyst is also a very spiritual stone, connecting one to the more divine energies. In this vein, it also helps the wearer to remember and interpret their dreams, and to have more intense visualization. Placed under your pillow, it can aid with insomnia or nightmares.

New Website!

I've just created a new website for my fine jewelry work. I'm so excited I can't stand it! Please take a look at www.ravenworksstudio.com

While I've enjoyed using Etsy, I just don't think it's the right forum for my fine jewelry work now that it's really come to the next level. Plus, between the Etsy fees, and the PayPal fees, it just makes sense to put more high end work on a separate site.

So, after waiting and eon for my loving sister to create me a website, I decided to bite the bullet and create my own site through www.ArtSpan.com. It was really easy, and I love the way it's turned out. The fees are reasonable, and so far, so good.

I will continue to keep my "craftier" items on Etsy, because I do love the community, and the site in general. But, for the finer silver work, it's my own site from now on. Don't forget to visit! www.ravenworksstudio.com

Summer Show Dates Confirmed

Summer may seem far away, but I've already been lining up some great craft show dates. I'm happy to say I've now had confirmation on seval dates for some great shows.

OLD PORT FESTIVAL- Portland, ME- June 1st
RavenWorks will have a booth at the Old Port Fesival this year, in the section reserved especially for Maine crafters. This is the first year they're doing this, so we're very excited to be participating in promoting Maine crafters. If you're going to be in the area, please come visit us from 11am-5pm.

South End Open Market- Boston, MA
RavenWorks was a vendor at the Boston South End Open Market, and enjoyed it so much we've signed up to do several spots there again this year. We will be at the Market on July 20, August 3, August 17, September 7, and Semptember 21. The market hours are 8 am- 4 pm. Hope to see you there!