Today is the first day of Winter! Do you like to decorate your house with the seasons? Quartz crystals and mineral specimens can mirror the sparkle of winter (without the chill factor!), and they are currently a popular design trend. Natural stones elegantly bridge the look of rustic and refined. The...
Ubiquitous and beautiful, Quartz crystals are one of Mother Earth’s finest creations. It’s the second most abundant mineral. The name comes from the German word “quarz” (Slavic origin); some sources say it originally came from the Saxon word Querkluftertz, meaning “cross-vein ore”. Quartz has been used for thousands of years as stone tools, jewelry, carvings,...
When I was a little girl, I frequently made trips with my grandparents to buy plaster molds and slip (liquid clay) for the ceramic business they owned. I loved these travels to the mountains of Pennsylvania, and I usually came back with pockets full of stones that I collected outside when the adults were...