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I've been swatching these Kuretake watercolors I received for Christmas. The colors are so rich! I'm really looking forward to working with these for wedding cards and calligraphy projects in 2018. xo, Christine

The Magnolia Studs had babies! Several of my best customers requested itty bitty sterling silver stud earrings, so I designed two pairs of mini stud earrings based off of the Magnolia Button Studs. You can find the Magnolia Mini Studs and the Winter Magnolia Mini Studs in my online store. They're tiny, lightweight, and make a great gift! xo, Christine

Birthstone month: DecemberColor: Turquoise ranges from sea foam green to teal blueFamily: TurquoiseMoh's Hardness: 5-6Transparency: Semi-translucent to opaque There are a number of birthstones for December: tanzanite, topaz, and turquoise. Turquoise is a quintessential American gemstone that many people associate with sterling silver Native American jewelry, but it has a broad history that reaches well beyond North America. Some pieces of turquoise jewelry found in Egyptian tombs are among the oldest pieces of jewelry in the world, and the Chinese have been carving turquoise for over 3000 years. Turquoise is a slightly porous, semi-translucent to opaque gemstone that is most...

A miracle head, or illusion head, is a design specifically created to alter how a gemstone appears. A miracle head can be designed to make a stone look larger, or to make a stone look like a different shaped stone. Below is an example of a ring I designed where a round center diamond is set into a larger, cushion-shaped box. This alters how the stone appears to a casual observer.   Often, a miracle head will have a fluted or scalloped design that mimics the facets of the center store in order to create a more believable illusion. The...

Birthstone month: NovemberColor: Citrines range from pale honey yellow to deep brownish or reddish orangeFamily: QuartzMoh's Hardness: 7Transparency: Transparent to semi-transparent Citrine is from the quartz family, which includes other colorful stones such as agate, amethyst, chalcedony, jasper, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and tiger's eye. In fact, since natural citrine is rare, most citrines you see are actually heat-treated amethyst (GIA). Because amethyst and citrine are both from the quartz family, occasionally a bi-colored hybrid gemstone will occur, aptly named ametrine. Ametrine displays a transition in color from amethyst's purple to citrine's yellow. The citrine gemstone is transformed into a...