Fossilized Gastropod with Crystal Druzy

Fossils are fascinating. Whether they are dinosaur bones, ammonites, or some other extinct creature, they fill our imaginations and connect us to an ancient world. A Gastropod is fancy talk for a snail, slug, or mollusk! In fact there are over 15,000 species of gastropod fossils, as old as 500 million years. Fossilized gastropod sounds so much more appealing than fossilized slug... Nonetheless, the fossilized gastropod that I came across was also covered in crystal druzy. It blew my mind that something as icky as a slug could become something as exquisitely beautiful as this druzy fossil that I had come across.

Here is an amazingly informative article all about gastropods. http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/fossils/gastropod.html

So when I first bought this fossil it wasn't drilled. It took me awhile to figure out how I was going to drill it (I'm not much for wire wrapping). Well, I finally figured it out and so I was able to make this pendant necklace.

I kept it simple with 14k gold filled chain and components, a faceted round ruby, and an asymmetrically placed ruby on the chain. I hope you like it!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199905024/druzy-gastropod-ruby-14k-gold-filled?ref=listing-0

Pave Diamond Craze

All the rage these days is the pave diamond set charm and components. I wasn't too sure about them, it seemed like a trend that might fade quickly. I recently went and looked at some components and started offering them in my bead shop at www.loveactuallybeads.etsy.com and I decided to start using them in my jewelry. I have done a 180 about pave set diamonds. They are gorgeous! They are also much more affordable way to have luxury jewelry without having to completely break the bank.

Yes, they obviously cost more than crystals, but they look different too. Believe it or not they have more sparkle than crystals and at the same time they look earthier. Maybe that is just my brain kicking in, but I don't think so. I have thought about it a lot.

Today I present to you, sterling silver pave diamond set spikes with lapis lazuli carved skull earrings. I think they are fantastic and I don't think I could have achieved this look without the pave diamond pieces.

I'm interested in your thoughts.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199671091/rebel-diamond-spike-lapis-skull-sterling