My name is Cassie, and I'm addicted to gemstones

gemstone rainbow, originally uploaded by shop clementine.

I might have a small gemstone addiction.

I love holding them, I love working with them, I love buying them. I really love buying them. Heaven help me!

Last Friday, I made a daytrip down to Manhattan (four hours there--thanks, I-95!--3 hours back) and went to just a few of my favorite supply stores. I got metal, findings, and lots and lots of gemstones. Pictured is about 1/3 of my loot. Look at the color! The sparkle! ***happy sigh***

I bought enough that I might be able to put some briolette sets into my LuluBeads etsy shop. Contact me if you're dying to get your hands on some of these. There's Amethyst (green and purple), Chrysoprase, Ametrine, Labradorite, Rutilated Quartz, Golden Rutile, Labradorite, Fluorite, Kyanite....the list goes on. Wheeeeeee! I'm dizzy at the thought.

White Out!

Ozzie would stay like this all day if I let him. He loves to sit on the porch and watch the snow fall.

Hooray for organization

organized supplies 1, originally uploaded by shop clementine.

One giant mess down, two to go!

The gift of a new flat screen tv (living in the wood armoire there) spurred a flurry of cleaning up in my work/live area. Introducing: shelves left forgotten in the garage! And new plastic stacking containers for holding massive amounts of beads! Yay!

Now I have to tackle these demons:

Work desk/computer/printer

The flame and chemical desk, aka the jeweler's bench, in the basement

New Look

I'm addicted to making banners and avatars for my Etsy shop. It's an unfortunate addiction, because it means I'll never know if consistency in your shop's look increases sales. But I love playing around with fonts and colors, and I can't imagine keeping one look for too long.

I made a new one yesterday to showcase my current bestseller, the Snow Blossom Earrings. The ten inches of snow we got over the course of the day clearly influenced my work!

Of course, I'll probably change it again in a few months. 'Cuz I'm fickle like that.

Calling all Mensa members!

Apparently, this blog is for you. Because it's for geniuses. Is that the right way to pluralize "genius?" Clearly, I'm not a Mensa member. But my blog is.

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All I can see is the frost on my window

I hit the road at 6:30am yesterday to make the trek to Rhinebeck, NY for a craft show. It was 14 degrees outside. Ain't no way I was gonna scrape that windshield.


But the moon was bright and gorgeous over the Berkshire hills and I had to get a picture. At the show, I chatted with Winnie from Lucid Studios. "I got up at 5:30." "Me too! Wasn't the moon gorgeous?" Aaah, the little things that crafters get to bond over. Like the moon through the windshield.

Happy Thanksgiving

What a wonderful way to celebrate a holiday for giving thanks: my Golden Harvest earrings made the front page of Etsy.com today. I'm so soo so excited and thankful for everything Etsy has brought into my life.

Showdown!

Grudge match: Tess vs Squirrel hogging the bird feeder. Tess is sure she'd be looking at pretty, mouth-watering birdies if that damned rodent wasn't all over the feeder. She's ready to defend her territory. Only problem is that darned window in the way.

Change in the weather, change in the view

I awoke this morning to our first dusting of snow here in the foothills of the Berkshires. It will be gone by this afternoon (you can already see it's melted beyond the shadow cast by the house) but it's a harbinger of things to come. It seems so harmless when it's hardly a millimeter deep. But oh, just wait.


One of the great things about snow, though, is that it opens up a whole vision of what goes on in the animal world when you're not watching. I love finding tiny tracks in the snow. Here are some kitty prints next to the tiniest little paw prints I've ever seen. Field mouse, perhaps? They're so cute when they're not laying nests in your car's engine block.

Booth Display Ideas for Jewelers

Rena at Jewelry Display Ideas is collecting a great online library of booth display photos and ideas. It's a great resource for anyone looking for a little inspiration and how-to on booth displays. She got in touch with me to chat about my booth—and the results can be seen on the website. Now my booth is famous! wooooot :)

Get your holiday on.

Creature Comforts has put together an awesome Indie Holidays Guide, featuring an incredible array of great artists, including Clementine Jewelry. Make sure to check it out for superb gift ideas—and don't forget to buy handmade this season.

Wanna See Something Cute?

Yesterday, I was a little stressed out. I had an order for 10 jewelry pieces to fill, seven of which were made-to-order, which means I had to create them from scratch. And I had a meeting at 5pm to prepare for. I was elbow-deep in Liver of Sulfur (peeeee-ew!) in the bathroom with the fan going, sensing my brain cells softly calling "we're dyyyyying!" Then I noticed Lulu outside, spread haunch to head in a pile of leaves.


Clearly, I dropped everything and ran outside for a kitty photoshoot.

Golden Opulence

I love a good combination of tough and feminine. There's something so chic about the interplay between chunky chains and a sweet, faceted gemstone.

When I posted my first Golden Opulence bracelet, it got a lot of attention. It was featured on Another Shade of Grey and when Franki at Life in a Venti Cup saw it, she bought it and featured it on her excellent blog. I was quite tickled (also pleased as punch, happy as a clam)!

Luckily, I had this bracelet in mind when I went to the gem show a few weeks ago. There, I found a stunning strand of Copper Rutile. Swoooon! I gulped back my fear and paid more than I usually would for a single gem strand. But it was worth it.

The Golden Opulence bracelet will be a limited edition run featuring vintage brass chains and a single nugget of Copper Rutile. Each bracelet will be unique, as no two Rutile gems are ever the same.

Shall. We. Play. A. Game?

Don't you love these games where you get to fill in all sorts of information about yourself in the name of entertainment (and, let's just go ahead and say it, narcissism)? Yeah, me too.

This is one I stole from my bud Tonya at Happy Dash (who stole it from One Good Bumblebee)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Keiko Volvo

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Mud Pie Thin Mint

3. YOUR FLY Guy/Girl NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
C-Gra

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Cerulean Dolphin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Sara New Rochelle

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Graca

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Purple Old Fashioned

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Bertil George

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Sugar Blossom Red Hot

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Sheridan Nels

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Mislak Miami

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Halloween Orchid

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Strawberry Fleecie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Peanut Butter Japanese Maple

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Metalwork Lightning Tour

If I Were a Shoe....

From the annals of Odd: a pair of shoes that share my name.

There's also a female bodybuilder that shares my name. She's not as cute as these shoes.