Italian Charms - A Charming Gift For All

Are you having problems choosing the perfect gift for a friend for her 30th birthday bash? Straining your brain thinking of the right gift for your friend's baby shower? Well, you need not worry anymore because there is one gift that is wonderful and practically suitable for everybody. It is called the Italian charms. Do not let the name deceive you. Italian charms have nothing to do with white or black magic charms. It is a handmade jewelry that originates from Italy. The companies that manufacture this type of jewelry includes Zoppini, Gold & Steel, Boxing, Puzzle, Ryry, Patrizia, Talexia and ReFlorence to name a few. The jewelry comes in stainless steel and 18K gold finishes.

Italian charms are elegant and practical. Not only can you assemble the charms yourself and rearrange them whenever you feel like it, it also comes in variety of designs such as the personalized picture charms, alphabet initial charms, love charms, religious charms, birthstones and zodiac sign charms. By buying the charms, you are considered to have made a classy and timeless choice to express yourself. These linked charms are special as they can be assembled to a bracelet and set according to the wearer's unique taste and preferences. You can also add additional charms to the bracelet too.

The charms are customizable according to whatever occasions or celebration. If you would like to give one as a wedding present, you might want to choose alphabet initial charms that combine the initials of the bride and groom. For your spouse, you may want a love charm or one with personalized photo of yourself. You can also have designs that are themes or hobby related. You can find designs that incorporated golf, soccer, badminton, tennis and other sports. For someone who is a big fan of a celebrity, you can also get a charm that has the celebrity's image embedded on it.

Stars charms are quite common and this gift will surely delight the recipient. If you are visiting a sick friend or relative, you may offer him/her the charm bracelet as a get-well gift. Designs that you may want to consider are religious image such as Jesus, Mary or other deities in line with the recipient's belief. If the recipient is a Buddhist, then you may get her Buddhist mantra charms. This will be highly appreciated by the recipient. Arts and hobbies charms are also equally charming because they touch on the passion of the recipient. For a fashionista, there are fashion charms available. Designs that include high heels, trendy bags, bikinis and fashionable dolls images that are beautiful and inspiring. For the working class, there are charms that incorporate professions onto them.

When it comes to charms, you are never short of choices. Animal lovers will love a charm that embeds images of their pets and also images of butterflies, bugs, birds, dogs and cats. There are charms that incorporate designs of travel and holidays related which globetrotters will love. Pictures of the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the London Bridge, USA's Statue of Liberty and Japanese architectural will be a wonderful gift for the frequent travelers. Picture of breathtaking beaches or views are also available for the nature lovers.

Those passionate about gardening will enjoy gifts of charms that have flowers and plants motives on them. Flower charms with many different types of floral patterns are definitely remarkable and are available for you to choose from. Superheroes charms like Harry Potter will delight children and adult fans alike. Wine and champagne lovers will love charms with motives that have food, wine bottles and champagne glasses on them. And as for babies, there are just endless choices to choose from, be it cartoons or Disney authenticated ones.

Whatever the occasion may be, charm bracelets make wonderful and personalized gifts for anyone, regardless their ages and background. Italian charms are a great way to create unforgettable, unique gifts for your precious ones. Even if you do not plan to give them away as presents, you can also wear them yourself and what makes it even more special is that you are free to create your own style and identity.

The author writes about Italian charm gifts for GoldCupJewelry.com, where they offer all kinds of charms, including licensed Disney Italian charms and Sponge Bob Italian charms.

Amethysts Gem Stones; Part One

A three part series on the Amethyst Gem Stones

What is an amethyst gem stone? Amethyst is a violet or purpose variety of quartz. The name comes from the Greek and essentially means, "not drunk".

It was believed that the stone protected it's owner from the intoxicating effects of alcohol and Dionysius, who was the god of intoxication, was angered when he was insulted by a mortal and in a moment of pique vowed to enact revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path. He created tigers to carry out his wish and when a beautiful girl called Amethyst came among the path on her way to pay tribute to the Goddess Diana, Diana quickly changed the tigers into statutes of pure crystal quartz. Filled with remorse for his actions Dionysius wept tears which stained the quarts purple creating the amethysts we know today.

Amethysts can be found in many locations including various areas of the US such as Delaware county, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and Yellowstone national Park for example.

Amethyst is also found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, as well as in Zambia, Namibia and other African countries.

Amethyst from South America tend to be available in larger sizes than the African amethyst but, on the other hand, amethyst from Africa have the reputation for having a better, more saturated color in smaller sizes. Very dark amethysts, mostly in small sizes, are also mined in Australia.

As purple has always been considered a royal color it comes as no surprise that the amethyst gem stone has been so much in demand by royalty throughout history. You can see amethysts featured in the British Crown Jewels. They were also a favorite of Catherine the Great and Egyptian royalty. Amethyst, transparent purple quartz, is probably the most important quartz variety used in jewelry.

Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote that the amethyst was able to dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the intelligence.

Because amethyst was thought to encourage celibacy and symbolize piety, amethyst was very important in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. It was, in particular, considered to be the stone of bishops and they still often wear amethyst rings.

And in Tibet, amethyst is considered to be sacred to Buddha with rosaries often fashioned from it.

End of part one of a three part series on Amethysts Gem Stones. part two may be read at http://allaboutamethysts.org

Permission to use this article is granted provided the link to All About Amethysts is included.

Necklaces, Pendants and Chains

Necklaces and pendants in the sterling silver variety certainly wouldn’t serve much use without chains. Which is why an assortment of sterling silver chains - some can even worn by themselves - to help replace lost or broken sterling silver chains to continue to wear favorite sterling silver necklaces and pendants. Rolled silver and multi-strand necklaces to silk chords to bali chains are all part of the beautiful array of sterling silver jewelry. Humans have created jewelry for generations. There is a vast collection of necklaces, pendants and chains worn for traditional, religious or social purposes. These pieces of jewelry can normally come in many forms, adorned on any clothing or part of the body. Necklaces, pendants and chains can be made from any material - synthetic or organic. Original jewelry was made from wood, stone, bone or animal teeth.

Necklaces, worn around the neck, are usually formed from a metal chain. They are attached to pendants or lockets. Necklaces can be manufactured with cloth, and sometimes contain wood, shells, gems and/or rocks. Necklaces worn high on the neck are called chokers. A number of Christians wear a crucifix or cross which comes in various materials, colors, shapes and sizes. Several others wear the cross simply out of decoration and may not even worship in the Christian religion. According to history, women wore necklaces to draw attention to the cleavage.

Online, a customer can purchase custom-made necklaces, pendants and chains. Gemologists, jewelry designers, jewelry historians and craftsmen share a love for gemstones and fine jewelry. The websites are seriously committed to sharing their knowledge and passion of gemstones and fine necklaces, pendants and chains. Erudite jewelers can make jewelry dreams come true for the fashion plate. Years of experience and skills are behind the online jewelers with suggestions and ideas to create memorable and unique necklaces, pendants and chains.

Some handcrafted jewelry is inspired by African and Asian art, bright colors, geometric shapes and organic gemstones. The use of textures, stones and color is bodacious and dramatic. Necklaces, pendants and chains in designer jewelry allow a great deal of flexibility in designs that feature special free-form items. It’s a fact that art jewelry in America reflects the inner emotional and social feeling of today’s society. Whether we’re talking about necklaces, pendants or chains, the jewelry designs bring quality to fashion from around the world at various prices—from affordable to costly—at competitive wholesale prices. A complete array of fine jewelry with the latest trends is available on most websites.

Josie Lee wears many different necklaces for different occasions. Her diamond necklace by yet her most favorite.

Pendant Lighting Layout - How To

 

Pendant lighting has gained a great deal of popularity for use in kitchens over the last few years. A common place to install them is over an island or peninsula. One of the most frequent questions I see is how high do I hang them and how do I space them out? Both questions can be answered in several ways and as with any home design aspect there is no absolute or right answer. There is however some guidelines to use that can help you make the right decision.

One consideration on the height is with the fixture you choose. If a fixture has an open bottom and it is installed to high, it can become very annoying looking up into the light bulb all the time. By the same token, a fixture that is designed so that the top is not made to be viewed, if installed too low, can be very unappealing. There is an average height you can use as a guide, about 68" - 72" off the floor to the very bottom of the fixture. This puts the fixture at about eye level for the average person. The reason there is no correct answer is in a house where everyone is 6' 4" and taller this height would most likely be too low.

Over a dining room table this same rule can be applied. A little tip or word to the wise. If your fixture is going to be installed before there is actually a table under it put something there in its place. It could be a large box, bench, folding table or a chair. It will save someone a trip to the hospital for stitches after walking into the fixture or a broken fixture.

Spacing the pendants when there is more than one is a matter of a little mathematics. The most common mistake is to just split the space into even sections but that is not entirely correct and I'll explain why. Let's say your island is 60" long and you have two pendants. A common thought would be to split the space into three sections that are even. This would give you each fixture 20" off the ends and 20" between them. A better choice would be 15" off each end and 30" between them. Why is that you ask? Well for one thing you'll see it is more visually appealing. The other reason is the light spread on most pendants is in the shape of a circle. If you can imagine the actual light that falls on the counter area picture two circles of light. To best illuminate the counter we want the edge of the circle to hit the edge of the counter. The other two edges should meet or overlap in the middle.

If you are not sure what it is I am describing take a look at the link below and view the diagrams along with the explanation.

For more info on How to layout Pendant Lighting visit: http://www.forteelectric.com/PendantLayout.html Paul Forte is a licensed electrical contractor with over 25 years of experience in residential lighting. If you would like some lighting ideas for your project contact Paul or visit his website http://forteelectric.com