Birthstones: November - Topaz

The birthstone of November, Topaz takes its name from the Sanskrit word “tapas” meaning fire.  It can be colourless, blue, green, sherry-yellow, port red, and very rarely, pink.

The yellow colour is the one that represents the birthstone.

Due to its fiery colour, it has been likened to the sun, and has been associated with sun gods in a few traditions - however the powers attributed to it are also said to be connected to the phases of the moon – being strongest at the full moon.

It is said to promote courage, drive away sadness and strengthen intellect.  It was believed that in the presence of poisoned food or drink, it would lose its colour, warning the owner of the danger.

There is some confusion to where the gem has cropped up in legend – as other yellow gems and peridot were sometimes also referred to as “topaz”.

Some say that the sun god Ra gave it its colour.

Blue topaz is often colourless topaz that has been treated to give it its blue hue; although it does occur as blue naturally, most natural blue stones will be much paler.

It’s another expensive stone, so glass or the secondary birthstone of citrine will be a more affordable representation in your jewellery making!

Tutorial - Pacman necklace

This is the first tutorial I ever took photos for - before I had a desk!  So sorry about the lack of consistency in the pictures - I made this necklace sitting on the floor!
It just goes to show you can jewellery make anywhere. :D

I gave this necklace a Pacman theme, but you can do any theme you like-  the basic steps work for anything.  You can see another couple of examples below using this technique.

You will need:

Stringing material (The first picture shows tiger tail, but I ended up using plastic)
Assorted Beads
2x Crimp beads
2x Jump rings
Clasp

Tools:

Beading tray
Flat nose pliers
Scissors or wire cutters (to trim your stringing material)

 

Step 1:  Arrange your design on the beading tray, making sure that it's an even length.

 I put in the small beads first, and then my focal beads afterwards to make sure that they were evenly spaced.

Step 2:  String your beads onto your stringing material.

Step 3:  Attach your clasp to one of the jump rings.  On the end of your design, string a crimp bead, then the jump ring with the clasp.

Step 4:  Gently bend the stringing material into a loop, and feed it back through the crimp bead.

Step 5: Using your flat nose pliers, squash the crimp bead flat to secure the stringing material.

Step 6:  Trim the end of your stringing material, if it needs it, and then feed the loose end back down the beads.

Step 7:  Repeat the crimp and loop at the other end of the necklace, making sure to push your beads up tightly so they are neat.  Finally add a jump ring to the opposite loop for the clasp to hook onto.

All done!

You can use this technique to make all sorts of strung necklaces, just by varying the beads.