Summer Art Camp

DreamScapes' Summer Art Camp program is in full swing! We still have openings so feel free to sign up through our website. Kids get to do an exciting array of projects and bring beautiful masterpieces home everyday.
Just $30 for a half day and $60 for a full day. We hope you'll be crafting with us!

Farmers Market!

It's that time of year again on Main Street! The Wauconda Farmers Market starts today and will be held every Thursday from 3 to 7 until October. Come by to get fresh fruits and veggies and to see all the homemade goods for sale. Enjoy the live music and atmosphere. And don't forget to stop by DreamScapes! 

Jewelry of the World: China

Chinese jewelry has always had an incredibly unique design and structure steeped in the cultural heritage of the country. The legendary designs of dragons, phoenix, and other mythological creatures are prominent in Chinese jewelry above many other cultures, and Jade became almost an obsession in China and surrounding countries.

China's jewelry culture extended to both men and women as jewelry was a marker for status, wealth, and rank. Earrings were surprisingly universal and could become quite elaborate. Pins, talismans, and headdresses were also popular.

    

Dragon imagery has been a motif of Chinese jewelry for hundreds of years. Dragons have featured heavily in Chinese mythology and lore. The five clawed dragon became a symbol reserved for the emperor after the legend that, while on his death bed, Emperor Huang-di was either taken away by a dragon or became half man-half dragon. Through this myth, royalty was connected to dragons. In a similar way, the empress was connected to phoenix, often being clothed in phoenix iconography. 

Jade became a craze that lasted hundreds of years in China. Revered for its beauty, durability, and grace, Jade became a talisman in and of itself, believed to give it's wearer similar traits. Jade was fashioned into almost any kind of jewelry as well as statuary, boxes, and tombs. Jade was more valuable than gold. In an effort to make Jade rings, a compound milling machine was created in China. The rest of the world would not develop this technology for hundreds of years. 
  

Unlike most of the world, silver was used more exclusively than gold. Freshwater pearls were also popular in ancient China. Blue was the color reserved for imperial family and would often be the color of the Emperor's headdress. 

Chinese style jewelry still has a mark on the fashion world. It's pastoral designs and flowing figures are a beautiful reminder of the country where such designs originated. 

Gem of the Week: Emerald

Emerald is one of the most well known gems in the world, making up part of the gem trinity (Ruby, Emerald, Diamond). It's deep, true green color has been sought after for thousands of years and is still seen as one of the most valuable gems today. 

  

Emeralds can range from a deep, dark green to a lighter, translucent green. Lighter Emeralds are known as green beryl and are valued less than dark Emeralds. 
Emeralds are part of the Beryl classification of rock. Many other Beryl rocks are used as gemstones like Aquamarine. 

Some of the oldest Emerald mines are in Egypt, India, and Austria. Today's largest producer of Emeralds is Colombia. Emeralds have been found on every inhabited continent. 

Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May, and the stone associated with the star signs Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer. 

Gem of the Week: Ammolite

Ammolite, like amber and pearl, is a gemstone that isn't a stone at all. Ammolite is made from the fossilized shells of ammonites, prehistoric crustaceans. Ammolite has a beautiful iridescent color with a range of warm tones and can be found across the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains.

  

Ammonites were cretaceous creatures that looked rather squid-like. They thrived in the tropical sea that existed over the American Midwest in the Cretaceous period and in through the Mesozoic era. Ammonites were wiped out at the same time as the dinosaurs and, from there, their shells began to fossilize and become Ammolite.

The value of an Ammolite is determined by it's number of primary colors, the chromatic shift throughout the stone (or how the colors play across the stone), and the brightness of color. The best possible Ammonite would have all 3 primary colors plus their blends, a consistent 360 chromatic shift, and bright, uninterrupted colors.

Ammonite is a remarkably delicate gem and is usually thin and soft giving it the ability to both flake and fracture. Jewelers and stone Aficionados usually treat Ammonite with a clear resin or epoxy to ensure that neither damage happens.

Ammonite has gained its popularity through spiritualists' belief that the stone can help the wearer bring balance to their energies. Ammonite was also used by the Blackfeet Native American tribe as a talisman of good fortune.  

Gem of the Week: Sapphire

Sapphires are one of the most popular gemstones worn today. They are primarily used in jewelry and have been since the ancient Greeks. The term Sapphire also includes the stone known as Ruby as they both have the same mineral composite, the only difference being the color. Sapphires have a range of colors depending on the other elements present during formation. The most common are blue, yellow, purple, orange, green, clear, gray, and black. 

  

The value of a sapphire is connected directly to its coloring. Blue Sapphires are ranked according to their hue quality and their secondary hues. Blue Sapphires with a green secondary hue lose their value; where as blue Sapphires with violet or purple secondary hues increase in value. 

Pink Sapphires are Sapphires who's pink-red coloring is too light to be called a Ruby. Pink Sapphires are more valuable the deeper their pink color is. Sapphires with no color are often used to substitute for diamonds in jewelry. Some Sapphires even change color under different light. 

One of the most interesting variations of Sapphire is Star Sapphire. Star Sapphire forms differently than the classic stone. Star Sapphires form with inclusions that follow the crystal structure, these inclusions form a refraction of light that looks like a six-pointed star. The effect is much like a Cat's Eye stone. 

The largest gem quality Star Sapphire is the Black Star of Queensland. 

Gem of the Week: Amber

Amber is a unique gemstone in that it's not a stone at all! Amber is fossilized tree resin from trees that lived millions of years ago. Because of the natural formation, often small insects, plants, or other inclusions are found in Amber perfectly preserved.

   

Amber has many uses besides just jewelry. Amber has been used in ancient medicines and has been a key ingredient in perfumes. Amber has also been used in carvings and as decoration on musical instruments and weaponry.

The ancient Greeks believed that Amber was the tears of the sisters of Phaeton, a son of Helios who was killed. They transformed into Poplar trees out of mourning and there tears formed through their branches as Amber.

Amber exists in many different colors ranging from light yellow to dark orange to almost black. Amber can even come in red, green, and blue, although these colors are very rare and valuable.

Amber has a unique scent, described to be a warm musky earthy scent with a bit of honey. Amber incense was traditionally burnt during Chinese festivals. Today's amber perfumes are made synthetically or enhanced with other scents.