A sophisticated black and white necklace

I have featured a very sophisticated necklace for today's post - I just adore it. And really, how can you go wrong with black and white!? I think the lucky new owner of this piece will wear it day in and day out - after all it will go with any colour you can throw at it and will dress up or down for any occasion. The black is onyx - done in a wonderful, tactile matte finish - smooth and velvety. Matched with white quartz in a funky yet complementary cut and a groovy sterling silver clasp reflecting the shapes of the stones. The stones are separated by argentinium sterling silver balls (argentinium is tarnish resistant so will keep its shine with very little (if any) maintenance).

For once I have actually loaded a picture and put it on my site at the same time - so you can check it out in more detail here. Don't forget my free worldwide shipping too!

A bit quiet in the jewellery stakes this week, but there are things percolating on my bench so I'm happy to have things just mosey along ;)

I can't believe my son is going to be into double digits tomorrow! Yes 10 years since my life changed irrevocably and husband and I became a "family". It is great to see the excitement in his eyes when he thinks about his birthday tomorrow and his party on the coming weekend. I think tomorrow will be fun, but I'm not so sure about the party - keeping a keen eye on lots of children whilst they are madly running around is usually pretty exhausting! I was looking at Tonic Gifts recently and Michelle has such wonderful taste in prospective gifts. She is pretty cluey with kids gifts too having categories for babies, children, tweens and teens! I found a great book called 52 Cool Tricks for Kids - which would be perfect for boys around the age of my son.

Australian Summer and Amethyst

We've just been to Sydney and its a long, tiring drive. We made the journey to see my dad while he was there as he lives on the north coast of NSW which is even more of a drive!

We left very early in the morning, just before there was light in the sky and the children thought it a great adventure to see the sky gradually lighten and change colour. By the time we made it to the Blue Mountains, the sun was high in the sky and blazing down from a bright blue sky.

Driving along, with chattering children in the back, and engine noise from both our and others cars, the cicadas in the bush were still loud and a definite reminder of the Australian bush. My husband and I spoke about how that sound reminded us of summer in Australia - hot days in the bush and that constant buzz of cicadas. I just saw this post on the Rainbow Designs blog, and it is so true! We certainly are fortunate to be able to be so close to nature in this big country. Remember my holiday post and the kangaroos in the front yard! ;)

The response to free worldwide shipping has been great and I am so glad I can now more easily share my jewellery, in reality, with the rest of the world. Its a great feeling and makes the additional cost to me very worthwhile!

Today's picture is a very stately, classic necklace. Made with big faceted lilac coloured amethyst and set off with natural lilac freshwater pearls and tiny little Karen Hill Tribe silver faceted balls. Although you can't see it, the silver clasp is in the shape of an adorable ribbon bow. Very feminine!

Amethyst is a beautiful stone and comes in every shade of purple from lilac through to the deep purple favoured by royalty (they're featured in the British Crown Jewels). It is the stone of the Buddha and Catholic Bishops wear rings of amethyst. Some tribal shamans used amethysts as a talisman and object of power. Egyptian solders wore amethyst into battle to retain their courage and the Romans made goblets of amethyst as it was believed to protect against drunkenness.

The Romans had a wonderful myth for explaining the occurrence of this lovely rock. The god Bacchus had been insulted by a mortal and furious, swore that the next mortal that crossed his path would suffer his wrath. A young maiden called Amethysta, who was affiliated with the Goddess Diana was the next mortal he saw and in his anger killed her. Diana took pity on Amethysta and changed her into crystal. Bacchus soon repented his act and wept on the crystal, whereupon his tears turned the crystal purple.

Metaphysically, amethyst is still considered a powerful and protective stone. Among its many attributes are: a natural tranquiliser, helping you feel more focused and in control; enhances acceptance of new ideas; dispels anger and fear; alleviates sadness and grief; opens intuition and enhances psychic gifts; brings intuitive dreams when slept with; tunes metabolism; cleanses the blood and eliminating organs; heals bruises and swellings, poor hearing and skin conditiouns; treats insomnia and brings restful sleep.

Mums children and social networking

*** I have decided to introduce FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on my jewellery. I get so many lovely comments from people overseas and the freight cost really holds them back - so as of NOW, its free shipping to anywhere in the world! :)***

I have been reading through some of the posts on the blog, The Tall Poppy. Anne is funny, entertaining and thoughtful and I particularly love her slightly irreverant sense of humour. I particularly like the following post - The Hazards of Having Children - it really made me smile, even though my children are a bit bigger than the ones targeted in the story.

Speaking of children mine are rapidly wearing me out/down. How am I going to cope when it gets closer to Christmas?? How are yours treating you?

A great source of support is the social network called Posh Mama. This great site is aimed at women all over the world, mostly mothers, who like to look good and keep up to date and not be relegated to the just 'mum' status! Its very supportive, interactive and I have met some really interesting women through it! Lots of different forums to join on all sorts of topics that there is easily a few there you could join in on, and Posh Mama herself (the site's owner) keeps you up to date with all things "posh" and "mama" oriented! You get your own page on the site to share with the world and can even link your blog there (this one is linked to my page!). The community is growing everyday - check it out!

Keeping this Posh Mama mindset, I've selected a piece for today's pic that is very classy and will not lose that timeless appeal. This necklace would look stunning worn with a white shirt, a little black dress or a dress in any of the cream-taupe-brown tones. My supplier described the stones as "Opal Quartz" - I am unsure of the rock that is attached to the quartz, but it is absolutely delicious. The browns/creams/golds are set off by the rock crystal quartz all with an extremely high polish, and I have matched it simply (as it didn't need much enhancement) with small nuggets of pyrite in between. A sterling clasp finishes the piece off.

Have a great day! :)