My favorite Chakra pendant

This one is my favorite Chakra pendant...

It's the one that I'm wearing right now.. :-)

It's a Root Chakra.. (I've been needing a bit of grounding energy as I've been all over the board these days and getting run down).

New hand made Chakra Jewelry

I'm so happy! I've finally been able to upload the new hand made Chakra jewelry that I created this summer. I just love these pieces! I've added sterling silver Chakra charms to these amazing gems! I'm considering selling sets of them (7 per set) as I have a few that I wear myself and they really do feel just divine. I thought I'd share :-)

A way to stop Ants

Ak!

I may have written a while back about the ant problem we've been having in our new home. It's been a battle all summer long trying to get them away from the house. A few weeks ago when Rob was taking the concrete tiles from the front of the house (he's building a proper stone walkway) we found this HUGE nest right against the foundation.

Well! After a summer of lemon juice and cucumber peels on my counter (that actually worked by the way) I said ENOUGH and had him spray some serious poison into the nest.

The ants went away for a while (or so it seemed). Yesterday I was outside having an afternoon cup of Java on the front porch... and what did I see? Those pesky ants on my block foundation again! A few months ago it was suggested to me by one of my neighbors, that I try using Chalk. Apparently if you use chalk (just regular old sidewalk chalk), the ants wont cross the line. (I don't use poisons by the way and Rob is not available, so I thought I'd give it another whirl).

I was AMAZED! I ran a chalk line to test and the ants would not cross! Here's a photo just so you can really see it for yourself. The ants just walk around all confused and wont cross the chalk line!

Now they don't stop the ants from "eventually" getting to their nest but they do slow down the process quite a bit. There is no way that I can go all the way around my brick house every day putting hop scotch lines everywhere. There is, of course, the issue of the ants that are in the nest trying to get out.

For the moment, I feel vindicated just slowing the little buggers down.

I thought this might help someone else with an ant problem.

Blah! Blown up Rock Tumbler

ARGGGGGGGG......

I just checked one of our rock tumblers in the shop out back... arg arg arg... we've got an old Thumblers Tumbler that we usually use for tumbling rough rocks (when the other tumblers are full).. yesterday I noticed that it was leaking a bit from the sides where the rubber ring sits.. which at that point was nothing new.

But this morning?

The lid has this HUGE hold in the center with the edges torn open. Almost as if something blew up inside the tumbler barrel itself and left a huge 1 inch gap in the center of the lid. It's odd because there is nothing that this part of the tumbler touches.

Arg.. inside this tumbler was a wonderful batch of white Quartz (from our area - Nepewassi Lake). So it's going to be sitting and waiting for some time until the other tumblers are free.

On the good side of things? It looks as if my rain barrels are going to get filled as its starting to cloud over. Our gardens will like that.

Found a cave on our property.. neat rocks

Oh shoot! I forgot to mention this yesterday when I was writing.

When Rob and I were clearing some of the yard? We found something really neat nestled in the side of a small hill on the eastern corner of the property. It was buried until a pile of busted wood, branches and piles and piles of old leaves.... but... after some careful removal? We found the opening of something really interesting!

A cave! Or at least something "like" a cave! There was snow in the hole around the opening just before Rob left to go back to work out of town, so I promised that I would not go poking around there without him home. We're not sure if there is a hole in front of the cave/hole opening or not since it's still all covered with "stuff".

But I did manage to get a few pictures! There are some really neat pink rocks that are filled with Garnets and Mica just outside of the hole that were buried under the grass. The rock in the photograph shows how weathered it is, but the pink is shining through. When I peeked inside of the tiny opening that is not covered with fallen stuff? I could see more pink rock with sparkling quartz and mica. It looks as if the hole might have been blocked off and it might not go any deeper into the side of the hill, but I wont know for another week (oh the waiting is awful!)..

I'll keep you posted with pictures once I get to investigate more.

Wicked Stones on Twitter - Something free maybe?

Good morning all!

I thought I'd post this link to our Wicked Stones Twitter Page. Recently I've started using Twitter and it's kind of fun to post quick updates on what's going on in our workshop, studio and even the occasional ramblings of a caffeine deprived woman (LOL!).

I think I might be posting something kind of cool there by the end of the week (May 1)... something... interesting... something that's simply MAD and crazy involving free things from our website...

Check it out if you'd like.

Inukshuk tuturial gone missing

For anyone who has been bouncing back to our Blog to view the free tutorial on how to make your own gemstone Inukshuk? I do apologize..

Rob (my partner) had a chat with me on his last trip home and asked me to remove the link to the page. He has some new ideas he wants to try out and wanted to use some of the stones that he'd previously used for the Inukshuks. It's been interesting, watching him boil the gemstones in a vat in the Rock Lab and turn these little statues into something else. (Yes, you read that right, he's boiling stones and not for "stone soup". :-)

E600 is a very strong glue and even with the boiling? It's still going to take some serious grinding to get some of the residue off the gemstones before he can move forward.

He's bought himself a grinder and he's been learning how to make some really pretty cabs and sculpted gemstone pieces.

So what's next?

I'm trying to twist his arm to let me pick out a rock saw and a few other tools.

I'm such a bad influence :-)

Sunshine! At last

Finally! We have sunshine and the snow around the studio is starting to melt away! I can hardly believe that it's almost the end of April and there are still soft blankets of white snow behind our sheds and in the forest out back. 

We started last week to muck the back of the yard out - for anyone wondering? The term "yard" is used loosely! *I'm laughing away here*.. A rake just does not do the trick and heavy equipment should be used in this case. 

There is an area several hundred feet square that we're cleaning right now and it's full of old branches, leaves, grass clippings and other "mysterious" items we keep finding in the pile. Our neighbor came over and told us about a huge fire that the second previous owner had in the pile.. so really, I'm not looking forward to what's at the bottom! 

But it's something we need to do as this area is simply beautiful! It's gorgeous sweeping rocks covered in green soft moss surrounded by pines, birches and cedars. It amazes me that no one (until now) has seen the potential beauty hiding just behind the sheds. 

Beyond that? Is a massive gravel pit that has been long since dug out and all that is left is huge massive boulders rising out of the trees.. We've been trying to get this done quickly as the black flies and mosquitoes are soon to be out.. plus all those other stinging bugs! 

I've been working hard to get things ready for this years outdoor festival that I just LOVE LOVE LOVE doing! Haweater is coming up in just a few short months and with that? Means a lot of new goodies. Down to business for a bit, I've added a link to one of the pages on our website that has some beautiful Celtic and Pagan gemstone and sterling silver jewelry. 

 I've finally found a pretty good source for the Sterling and am able to get some of the goodies done that I've been dreaming of making. Well, I guess I'm going to publish this and get back to work. It has simply been ages that I've been writing here and I miss doing it. Here's hoping that the new found sunshine and miles of forest don't keep me away for too long.

Snow Blues and Sudbury Celtic Fair

I'm giggling away here... there is still snow outside our studio windows and it's very cold out! Winter just does not seem to walk to go away this year.

Often as I'm working away making treasures, I'm thinking of far away places that I could dig my toes into the sand and have someone tanned and smiling bringing cold Margarita's and snacks.. aaahhhh.... (WAKE UP VIKKI!).. :-)

It's been a long few months of unpacking, reorganizing and getting things in our business running back up to speed again. I know, how dullllll and borrring to be reading that we've not gone on any rock hunting trips or did anything really cool this winter.

Rob DID just get back from a 12 hour drive from Thunder Bay 2 nights ago and he's got some photos loaded up on his camera from our Agate searching bay.. I think I'll load them up this weekend and post a few (He did mention that there is still far too much ice and snow to get to the water).

This weekend we've got our local Celtic Fair going on at the Navy Hall in Sudbury. If you're from the area? Drop in and check them out (It's on Regent Street near outdoor skating rink at the top of the hill). We're not going to be bringing any of our goodies this year as most of our displays are still in limbo after our move. But we'll be there helping out.

Well, my coffee cup is empty and I've got a day of paperwork in front of me (WHO HO! LOL!).. (not whohooo - but someone has to shuffle those papers around the desk and make it all look good. :-).

Note from later on.

Augh.. we didn't end up setting up our goodies at this years Celtic Fair. Both Rob and I were pretty distraught to find our displays had been damaged during the winter and spring months in the back of the shed. But on the flip side of things (since I love to look at the glass more than half full).. we're planning out new and better displays! Yippee!! I've had some ideas in my head for a while - all I have to do is chain Rob down to a workspace and take the rake and shovel out of his hands for a few weeks and they might get done on time for Haweater! :-)

I'd like to also take a minute and thank everyone who dropped into this years Celtic Fair. Rob and I volunteered (instead of vending) and simply had a fabulous time with all the great musical talents and of course, all the wonderful people who were there. Another fantastic event! Don't miss next years.. it's REALLY worth while to check it out.

Moved and photographing jewelry

I'm going to actually have to sit down and write here more often! :-)

Well we've finally moved!! It's been a very long summer of finalizing all the house details, packing boxes, living around boxes, moving boxes and then unpacking boxes. (Okay so I'm not fully unpacked yet - but it's coming along.) For the first time EVER, Wicked Stones (aka the crazy people who run the accounting/web work side of the show) FINALLY have their own office space!! Doors can be closed so that the evil cats don't show up to muck about in the paperwork. Now THAT'S a good change!!

On top of everything else, we popped into Henry's Photography Store (they just opened in Sudbury recently) and found a kit with a light tent and photo lamps. Yes, it was expensive but SHOOT! You would not believe how fast that part of the creation process is now! For years it's been a struggle to get good photographs of the jewelry on our site (http://wickedstones.com) but now? It's truly as simple as point, click, and edit the size of the photo. One day I should sit down and write a long posting about the horrors it's been trying to find the correct light bulbs and accessories for taking photographs.. arg... For anyone who is looking for the right tools to take pictures of their product, I'd seriously consider spending the extra money for a real kit from a place like this. I am kicking myself pretty hard in the rear for all the time lost over these past years. Ah well, lesson learned.

And for those of you who I've been talking to about new products on the horizon? The Rock Lab is being organized and we should have it running by mid winter! Finally! A space for all the tumblers and the new Rock Saw to live!! (Okay so we've not purchased the saw yet or the grinders, but those are on our list for things to pick up.) As it's only been a month since we've moved in, we're still moving boxes in and out of the shop outside. Sorry, no sneak previews yet on what's coming...

Well, the snow is coming down and I see myself heading out shortly to shovel our way out of the drive....

Fall Samhain Halloween specials

I welcome you to take a tour around our website: wickedstones.com as I've just posted new items for our Samhain Halloween Fall Sale.

There are going to be tons of gemstone treasures and even some beautiful sterling silver jewelry up for grabs this fall season.

You can even use a discount coupon that can be found on our website.

Enjoy!