2012 FIESTA SAN ANTONIO ! - April 19th - 29th

Fiesta Spirit Seed-Bead Necklace and Earring Set .

Be prepared to shine during Fiesta San Antonio 2012 with a "Fiesta Necklace and Earrings".

33rd Annual Christmas Showcase - Freeman Coliseum !

The weekend of November 19th and 20th is the "Biggest Little Christmas Show" in the area, the

"33rd Annual Freeman Coliseum Christmas Showcase."
.
This show comes just in time for those of you that are in the San Antonio area to join us for your Holiday shopping !!
.
.
November 19th - 20th

-- Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm
-- Sunday: 10:00am-5:00pm
.

The Freeman Christmas Extravaganza ia put on by Showcase Shows who has been producing quality craft and gift shows in Central Texas for the last 32 years. The Showcase public welcomes having a professional company introduce new vendors at each show and look forward to their favorite returning vendors to find what new and innovative items they are introducing. Showcase Shows has been extremely fortunate to develop a loyal customer base that anticipates each show, knowing that they will find exciting treasures brought by some of Texas' finest vendors.

The Jewelry by CnC booth is on the floor of the main building, all the way through the show to the back, under the overhang, last booth on the right (O-04). .

LLANITE - A Uniquely Texas Gemstone !

This set combines Llanite, Kyanite and Peruvian Opal, all unique in their own right.

Finding unique gemstones is always a thrill. Being able to get hold of enough to be able to include in several jewelry pieces is extremely rare. Add to that the ability to get one of these rare, one location only gemstones from near ones home, makes for a real thrill in the making of jewelry.

Llanite is a hypabyssally intruded Rhyolite with phenocrysts of microcline and euhedral Quartz. The quartz crystals are blue hexagonal bipyramids. The unusual blue coloration of the quartz is thought to be due to ilmenite inclusions. It is named after Llano County Texas, the only place where it is found. A dike of Llanite outcrops about 9 miles north of the town of Llano. Many times during grinding and polishing, the Llanite looses it reddish color as seen in the picture of some slabs. Older material was much redder than that currently being found. Sometimes when finishing pieces, pendants will maintain some of the reddish color when held in a specific position in the light. Current diggings into the dike are producing a grayer material, but the blue Quartz flakes still appear.

A Llanite pendant and earring set with highlight Czech Crystals.

The following are some examples of pendants and earrings that have been cut and polished out of Llanite slabs.

We have a very limited amount of Llanite, some of which will be available at the Coker Fest Show this coming weekend in San Antonio..

CRAFT FAIR -- San Antonio

The Ladies First Call "CRAFT FAIR" will be held at the

First Assembly of God Church

Saturday October 29th

9AM until 5PM

The Church is located at 13435 West Ave, San Antonio, TX

Jewelry by CnC will be located in the Assembly Hall

Come and see these new designs by Gayle, plus several others of her Unique, Hand-Made One-of-a-Kind designs

First Assembly of God, San Antonio "Craft Fair"

Ladies First - Craft Fair - A craft fair featuring vendors from all over the area and other craft booths will be in the Family Life Center from 9AM to 5PM on Saturday, October 29th.

The First Assembly of God Church is located at 13435 West Ave, San Antonio, TEXAS 78216, just a short distance south of the intersection of West Ave and Bitters Road, west of US-281 (San Pedro Ave) on the north side of San Antonio.
8

See these and additional gemstone pendants that Gayle incorporates into the designs for her necklace sets.

Some of these pendants will already be incorporated into necklaces, some are available on chains or other necklace materials, a few are set in mounts or have bails attached and some are just cut and polished, so those of you who make your own jewelry can incorporate them into your own designs.

Some of the pendants, such as this Tiger Eye, have been placed in mounts with bails, so thay can be hung on necklace chains or on a string of beads that you have constructed to mate with the pendant.

The ELEGANCE COLLECTION - Pearls, Pearls and more Pearls !

If you like Pearls, this necklace is for you.
A combination of ivory colored freshwater cultured Pearls, various colored glass Pearls and Amethyst round beads are combined in this 24 inch necklace set.
A silver plate Toggle Clasp completes the necklace.
2 inch silver plate French Hook drop earrings match the necklace to complete the set.

Freshwater Cultured Pearls are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusive to China. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires that freshwater pearls be referred to as "freshwater cultured pearls" in commerce. Although the Japanese freshwater pearl industry has nearly ceased to exist, it holds special historic value as the first country to cultivate whole freshwater pearls in Lake Biwa, using the Biwa pearly mussel. The industry attempted a comeback with a mussel hybrid in Lake Kasumigaura in the last decade, but this venture also met with failure, with production ceasing in 2006. The pearl farm in Tennessee also holds special historic value as it is the only freshwater pearl outside of Asia, it continues as a tourist attraction. Today China is the only commercial producer of freshwater pearls, producing 1500 tons using a triangle shell mussel and several hybrids that have shown heterosis from several mussel species.

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry and decorative statues and lapidary displays. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz. It has been shown that this structure may be due to mechanical stresses. Because it has a hardness of seven on the Mohs scale, Amethyst is suitable for use in jewelry. Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and blue. Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly called green Amethyst, which is an actual misnomer and not an acceptable name for the material, the proper terminology being Prasiolite.

Glass Pearls and Czech Crystals are also used in this set.

The ELEGANCE COLLECTION - for Multiple Use Wear !

Go from WORK to a DATE NIGHT with this Lampwork coin necklace.
This 20 inch necklace also contains smoky Quartz beads, mystic topaz Crystals and glass bronze beads.
The necklace is closed oith an ornate pewter oval toggle clasp.

Silver plated French Hook dangle earrings drop 1 1/4 inches.

Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It was also known as flameworking or torchworking, but the modern practice no longer uses oil-fueled lamps. Although the art form has been practiced since ancient Syrian (1 Century B.C.E.) times, it became widely practiced in Murano, Italy in the 14th century. In the mid 19th century lampwork technique was extended to the production of paperweights, primarily in France, where it became a popular art form, still collected today. Lampworking differs from glassblowing in that glassblowing uses a blowpipe to inflate a glass blob known as a gob or gather, whereas lampworking manipulates glass either by the use of tools, gravity, or by blowing directly into the end of a glass tube.

Smoky or smokey quartz is a brown to black variety of Quartz. Like other Quartz gems, it is a silicon dioxide crystal. The smoky colour results from free silicon, formed from the silicon dioxide by natural irradiation.

Crystals are also used in this set.

The AUTUMN COLLECTION - The Big and Bold Look !

A large Dichroic turquoise/copper donut pendant is the strong focal point of this Autumized necklace. The necklace also has two shades of teardrop glass pearls surrounding copper coin beads with mystic topaz and copper AB Crystals.
This 21 inch necklace has an oversized copper circle Toggle clasp. Copper French Hook 2 inch dangle earrings with mystic topaz Crystals and a copper ball complete the set.

Dichroic glass is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides which give the glass dichroic optical properties. The invention of dichroic glass is often erroneously attributed to NASA and its contractors, who developed it for use in dichroic filters. However, Dichroic glass dates back to at least the 4th century AD as seen in the Lycurgus cup. Dichroic glass is an example of thin-film optics.

AB Crystals are also used in this set.

The ELEGANCE COLLECTION - A Graceful Classic Design !

SOLD With a center highlight faceted gemstone of Lepodolite, white potatoe freshwater cultured Pearls, amethyst and light amethyst Swarovski Crystals, this 21 inch necklace presents a graceful and classic look.
The necklace is finished with a silver platted patterned square Toggle Clasp.

The earrings are Sterling Silver circular Shepards Crooks with a 1 1/2 inch pearl and crystal oval dangle.

Lepodolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored phyllosilicate mineral in the mica group that is a secondary source of lithium. It is associated with other lithium-bearing minerals like Spodumene in pegmatite bodies. It is one of the major sources of the rare alkali metals rubidium and caesium. It occurs in granite pegmatites, in some high-temperature quartz veins, greisens and granites. Notable occurrences include Brazil, Russia, United States,Canada and Madagascar.

Freshwater Cultured Pearls are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusive to China. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires that freshwater pearls be referred to as "freshwater cultured pearls" in commerce. Although the Japanese freshwater pearl industry has nearly ceased to exist, it holds special historic value as the first country to cultivate whole freshwater pearls in Lake Biwa, using the Biwa pearly mussel. The industry attempted a comeback with a mussel hybrid in Lake Kasumigaura in the last decade, but this venture also met with failure, with production ceasing in 2006. The pearl farm in Tennessee also holds special historic value as it is the only freshwater pearl outside of Asia, it continues as a tourist attraction. Today China is the only commercial producer of freshwater pearls, producing 1500 tons using a triangle shell mussel and several hybrids that have shown heterosis from several mussel species.

Swarovski Crystals are also used in this set.

SOUTHWESTERN FLAIR - Turquoise with some Tiger Iron and Crystals !

Turquoise can be combined with almost any other gemstone, and still retain that Southwestern look, because the Indians of the Southwest used whatever they could find or trade for to make their jewelry pieces.
Three large Turquoise rondels form the center of this 18 inch necklace. They are highlighted by copper and Czech Crystal faceted beads.
Tiger Iron barrels and rondels, Turquoise beads, copper highlights and Czech Crystals complete the sides of the necklace.

A 2 1/2 inch extender is used with a silver plated S-hook Clasp.
Matching silver plated French Hook earrings complete the set.

Tiger Iron is a composite gemstone of black Hematite, red Jasper and Tiger's Eye. It has rippled wavy bands of color often which resemble a scenic view. It usually has a greenish cast with shades of golden yellow, brown and reds. Marra Mamba is a form of Tiger Iron that was found only in a specific area of Australia near Mount Brockman. It is a very rare type of Tiger Iron that contains shades of green, red, blue and yellow. Since the area has been mined out for many years, very little of the "true" Marra Mamba is available in todays markets. If you want to see some, find a good collector or a museum that might have some.

Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium. It is rare and valuable in its finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times Turquoise, like most other opaque gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the gemstone marketplace. The substance has been known by many names, but the word Turquoise was derived around the 16th century from the French language 'turquie', for a Central Asian material which was a very early imported through Turkey from Persia. Today, Persian and certain southwestern United States Turquoise, especially Sleeping Beauty, commend some of the highest prices paid for this gemstone. Many times on the edges of the Turquoise fields, other minerals and stones become interwined into the Turquoise or Turquoise pieces are encapsulated into the surrounding rock, thus creating unique and interesting patterns.

Czech Crystals are also used in this set.