The Beauty of Druzy

by Judy Larson

Druzies add a touch of sparkle and glam to any design.

There are some fabulous sets of druzy stones on the wirejewelry website. The stones come in a variety of shapes-round, oval, teardrop, and square as well as more organic shapes. Sometimes the stones are all combined in the same colorway, and sometimes the sets contain a variety of colors. Every time I search through them, more ideas pop in my head! Hint: Search "druzy set", not "druzy sets".

Judy Larson's The Beauty of Druzy - , Stones, , the beauty of druzies

My first purchase was the set of 6 pink druzy on the left because I wanted the stone on the top right of the card to make a pendant. They were all so pretty and good small pendant sizes that they have now all been made into pendants and gifted away to friends. I purchased the set of 6 on the right for the center stone in the bottom row because looks like a slice of watermelon. It is now a charm on a bracelet for my granddaughter. The hint of sparkle makes all these stones so fun to work with!

Generally, I purchase a set for one, two, or three stones. The price is so reasonable that if I don't like a few stones, I can experiment on them. I like most of the stones on the two cards on the right, but the stones on bottom row on the center card are pretty much duds. There is very little color in them and they look a bit "dirty" because they have little sparkle. They won't be duds when I am done with them!

Check out the stones on the card on the left. I considered the green, the two deep gold, and the two turquoise stones duds because their color was so washed out. Enter alcohol inks. I flooded the crystalline face of each one, waited a minute for the ink to set, and then dabbed away the excess with a tissue. The process was repeated until I was happy with the color. They were then baked at 225 degrees for half an hour. After they cooled naturally, I soaked them for a few minutes in denatured alcohol where only a bit of the color came off. They were then gently washed in soap and water, rinsed and dried. I can't wait to start making bracelet links with these stones!

Materials

20x19mm Polished Druzy

DRY-8649

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $18.00
Gold Club Price: $13.50

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24x20mm Polished Druzy

DRY-8636

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $24.00
Gold Club Price: $18.00

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25x23mm Polished Druzy

DRY-8439

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $24.00
Gold Club Price: $18.00

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Tools

No tools listed

Category: Stones
Technique(s): General Education

Reviews

Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!