Moonstones have held my interest since I received my first ring from a high school boyfriend while visiting Main Street in downtown Bethlehem. I marveled at the rainbow reflecting back at me whenever the sun or light caught the stone’s surface. The dreamy, ethereal stone channels the feminine energy of the celestial body for which it is named — the moon. Just as she has the power to push and pull the tides of our great oceans, a moonstone can help remind us to go with the flow of everyday life. Think of it as a daily reminder of the night sky giving way to day and the steady and reliable cycle of darkness giving way to light. Channel its healing powers with daily meditation, a practice to help clear your mind and center your spirit.

Or just marvel at the beautiful rainbows as the light catches your stone. . .

I received my first turquoise jewelry from my Grandma after she took a trip to Arizona and visited a Hopi Native American reservation with my Grandpa. Every since that time I have marveled at the unique beauty of the stone. For thousands of years, Turquoise has been used in jewelry design, crossing cultures among the Ancient Egyptians, Persians and Chinese, Aztecs and Incas of South America, and Native North Americans. Turquoise was sacred in its adornment as a symbol for power, wisdom, luck, and protection.

Turquoise varies so widely in color and form that I like to believe that no two stones are alike. One of a kind. I prefer to set each stone simply in sterling silver to accentuate the unique pattern and beautiful blue green color.

The sparkle of the sea and the clear blue of a winter sky — that is what I think of when I stare at the clean beauty of the aquamarine. It is calming, soothing, and cleansing, and is thought to inspire truth, trust and letting go. In ancient lore, Aquamarine was believed to be the treasure of mermaids, and was used by sailors as a talisman of good luck, fearlessness and protection. It was also considered a stone of eternal youth and happiness. Today, some believe it opens the channels of clear and heartfelt communication.

My Mamaw loved purple. It was her favorite color and I think of her and my PopPop each time I work with a beautiful purple amethyst. I have a raw one sitting on my living room bookshelf from them and I am always mesmerized by the deep, complex hue that sparkles in the stone.

Purple Amethyst has been highly esteemed throughout the ages for its stunning beauty and legendary powers to stimulate, and soothe, the mind and emotions. It is a semi-precious stone in modern day classification, but to the ancients it was a “Gem of Fire,” a Precious Stone worth, at times in history, as much as a Diamond.

Amethyst is a remarkable stone of spirituality and contentment, known for its metaphysical abilities to still the mind and inspire an enhanced meditative state. Its inherent high frequency purifies the aura of any negative energy or attachments, and creates a protective shield of Light around the body, allowing one to remain clear and centered while opening to spiritual direction.

I also love to work with green amethysts, otherwise known as Prasiolite. These beautiful stones are produced when heat is applied to certain types of amethysts which contain iron compounds. This specific property helps the stone turn green instead of the usual orange, brown or yellow color. The practice of heat-treating stones is common in the gemological industry and it does not compromise the value of the resulting colored stone. It is still a natural gemstone — one that I really love.

I strive to pursue my curiosity when I create. Some times it’s the unique beauty of a stone. The way nature paints colors with the formations within the walls of the stone. Other times it’s the precious moment of finding the shell or stone — the memory of walking on the beach with my daughter searching for treasures together.

It helps to have such amazing inspiration during my creative process. Each design is unique — new each time. Each process becomes a story of its own. I pause, respond to what has caught my attention. Is it a color? Is it a shape? Is it the memory of the wind in our hair? I pick it up in my mind, unfold it and see where it leads my hands, my heart and my mind.

When I first saw a Simbricite formed in a section of fossil Ammonite my jaw dropped and I was left in awe of its unique beauty. I had never seen anything like it before. The beautiful, rich amber color drew me in but when I learned that it was not only a stone, but actually a fossil that took more than 80 million years to form I was mesmerized.

In my hands I held a stunning echo of the past.

Simbricite — with varying shades of translucent brown, orange, yellow and gold — is an agatized material that fills in chambers of the Ammonite fossil with a complex mix of iron & magnesium rich calcite, aragonite, pyrite, marl, chabazite and quartz.

The gold veins of pyrite that form within the stone were originally the bones of the ammonite. During the Jurassic period, these ammonites died in a sea that contained heavy concentrations of iron. This iron reacted with sulfur in the water and formed the iron pyrite which replaced the ammonite cell by cell. The outer shell sometimes remains but the chambers themselves were replaced by the beautiful sparkle of pyrite.

Simply set to accentuate the stunning and dramatic beauty of the stone.

Robert Frost has been one of my favorite poets ever since elementary school. In the third grade we had to memorize a poem and recite it in front of class and I chose “The Road Not Taken” and to this day can still recite the poem by memory.

When I work with Dendritic Agates I think of Robert Frost and his poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” These subtle and yet complex stones remind me of trees standing tall during a winter snow storm — the dark branches contrasting beautifully against the white backdrop of the landscape in the stone.

Sometimes called the Tree Agate, these mesmerizing stones are usually white or transparent and have tree or fern-like inclusions, called dendrites, in black or dark brown. Though they appear organic due to their natural fern-like structure, the dendrites are actually traces of iron or manganese from neighboring rock that crystallize after seeping through fine surface fractures in the agate.

Agate is known as the Stone of Plentitude. It brings abundance and fullness to all areas of life. Specifically, Dendritic Agate is believed to help facilitate communication with nature. It is associated with the protection of the earth, rain, abundance, healing, restoration and creativity. It is also said to improve self-esteem and emotional balance.

Personally, I like wearing a quiet winter storm around my neck where “The only other sound’s the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake.”