Coconut Wood

I like the way this turned out.  Coconut wood is extremely lite.  I purchased two pounds in black, cream and tan because I'm looking forward to experimenting with silk - maybe knotted, sterling silver oval beads, maybe leather .. the possibilities are endless.  Let me know your thoughts.   

This set was purchased in August, 2010.



Black coconut wood choker with silver plated leverbacks

Hematite

This is a sexy, shiny, and sleek stone.  It's a solid stone that's stunning whether dressed up or casual.

Hematite with silver plate

Hematite, black onyx and silver

Natural and African Opals

Natural Opals with 14k gold

I love these natural opals.  From a pale green, to a creamy yellow, to a soft orange.  Lovely!

Check out these African Opals.  I decided to go with a trio here, and opted for a toggle bracelet for easy closure. 

African Opals with gold and toggle bracelet

African Opals with black onyx and gold

More African Opals - two sets here.  Both with black onyx (which pops). 






All in all, I fell madly in love with Opals and will always keep an eye out for bigger beads.  I bet a 16mm African opal would be stunning with black onyx em ...

Turquoise

What more can I say about the rich shades of gold, browns or black that marble their way through the robins egg blue, or serpertine greens or yellows.  Its a natural stone that's stunning in perfectly smooth shades of blue or marbled in its bold, smooth, chunky, or bulky state other than I love it! 



Rich brown marbling with gold



Combination black marbling thru nuggets and rounds with sterling silver highlights



Chunky green nuggets with rich bronze and bronze finishings



Chrysocolla

The beads that started my infatuation ...

These big, bold 16mm Chrysocalla beads literally fell into my hands and so I combined them with 14k gold spacer beads between every two, for a natural drap of 18 inches.  14k gold lever backs earrings with matching spacer beads make this set worthy of the Smithsonian.



Chrysocolla & 14K Gold