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BOOM! These colors pop! Let's talk about this dress I found at KROGER in South Gate. It's got this cute floral pattern on the top layer of sheer fabric. There is a nice black liner dress underneath it. I love the length and that the sleeves are sheer too. This dress is so easy to accessorize. I decided to use colorful accessories but you can easily accessorize with black or gray. Bag is Coach from Poshmark. Shoes are red genuine leather from a vintage shop in Chicago. Jewelry is Citrine Tangerine from the Transmutation Collection Phase One.            
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 Welcome to the Transmutation Collection by Citrine Tangerine. This collection was released on the Fall Equinox to honor the change of season. I broke the entire collection into phases, for continuous release and to give each piece a little extra time to be appreciated. This collection is based on the action of personal Transmutation. I invite you to set intentions that manifest through transformative action leading to personal growth. Lets plant some new seeds, nurture our already budding ideas and honor this great seasonal change. Smokey Quartz is the feature stone of this collection for two reasons; its healing energies and its color range. (I made a crystal reading on Smokey Quartz from The Book Of Stones available on Youtube) As you may know, gemstones are millions of years old, holding ancient wisdom and healing properties as well. It is proven that nature heals us and gemstones are an impressive part of nature. Meditations and affirmations are proven to improve our health and have been bonded with crystals for hundreds of years. Their crystal forms are sacred. It’s no wonder we collect and adorn ourselves with them. When I dove into the healing properties of Smokey Quartz, I knew as a collective, we needed more of this stone in our lives. Here’s a short write up from what I read in The Book Of Stones: “Crystal Smokey Quartz Element Earth Chakra Root 1st Keywords Grounding, Transmutation of negative energies, practicality, organization, Manifestation of one’s dreams and inspirations Affirmation I am grounded and centered in my physical body and I work step-by-step to achieve my goals Smokey Quartz is a premier grounding stone. It can help even the spaciest of individuals find their ‘land legs’. It is one of the most powerful grounding and clearing stones. Like the smoke from a sage bundle, the energy of Smokey Quartz cleanses and clears the aura and energetic systems. It enables negative energies to be clarified so they may become usable and healthy once again. Spirit Smokey Quartz is a spiritual grounding stone, helping one to receive and utilize more high frequency energy. It assists one in aligning the physical body with an expanded range of light frequencies and is both purifying and protective. Emotion Smokey Quartz is a wonderful friend for those who resist being embodied. It can help one feel more engaged in the world and capable of creating or changing one’s reality. Physical Smokey Quartz is best used to counter the negative effects of radiation, including sunburn, exposure to radioactive materials, medical radiation therapy, and exposure to focused electromagnetic fields.” You can see it cleanses, purifies, grounds, and removes negative or toxic energy from the aura, clearing the room and transmutes into a productive, organized and uplifting energy. This is a powerful action for a gemstone to assist us with. It literally encourages us to take the higher route. It reminds us of the brighter side and can even take us out of our most depressive mental states. Smokey Quartz coloring ranges from soft gray to deep black. You can also get smokey versions of most quartz variety crystals such as amethyst and citrine. Gray scale is a fantastic way to amplify color in any visual works. I used this to play with colorful gemstones with smokey quartz as their spotlight counter part. Who doesn’t love a vibrant pop of color? Most of the Smokey Quartz beads in this collection are middle gray but the shapes and textures of the beads vary. Some of them are raw chunks, others highly polished, but all are about the same tone of gray. It is my intention to connect you with a powerful and abundant stone that can help us transmute into our best selves by clearing the air of any bad energies. What does transmutation mean? This word was brought to my attention by Smokey Quartz. It has a few contexts but the concept is always the same. Transmutation ‘is the action of changing or the state of being changed into another form.’ In physics this is done by nuclear bombardment or radioactive decay. In history and biology it’s the conversion or transformation of one species into another. There is also reference to transmutation in alchemy. The concept is similar with intention setting, although we are not being bombarded by nuclear physics or changing from one human into another per-say, we have the ability to change and transform our bodies, minds, and paths in life by our actions. We can with a bit practicality, organization, cleansing, and protection, achieve our goals, dreams and aspirations. Smokey Quartz can be the reminder we all need to accomplish gigantic tasks! We can change. We can be leaders. But we have to LEAD by example and not follow in the footsteps of those who predate us. The gemstones can inspire us to go beyond what our human environment has to offer when we tap into their frequencies. Little Falls, NY is a fantastic get away about 30 minutes from Utica. I can't speak on the food there, even though there are a few restaurants there, They do have a couple fabulous shops to check out. Most notably Fall Hill Bead & Gem and a couple fairly large antique shops. If you ever get the chance to check this city out, I hope it's on a day the shops are open! Here are a couple of the views we had in Little Falls, NY.                       Here are a few colorful edits I made of the photos from Little Falls. If you are interested in prints just contact me. <3 I love fall fashion with all my heart! So this styling is dedicated to autumn! I am also celebrating the release of my latest jewelry collection which was a year in the making. The dress is by Made Well. I thrifted it from Poshmark. Shout out to Blackmoore for the outdoor backdrop setup.  I like to get my clothing second hand or custom made but Some times find cute things in the most random places. The socks were a gift from years ago. They are my favorite frilly socks to wear. Some how I have two pair. That’s how cute they are. The shoes are from Akira Chicago in Andersonville. The heart sunglasses are from Five Below.   I like to keep my makeup simple so I only have on a few essentials. Mascara and lip by Honest Beauty. Eye liner by Haus Labs. My belt is from one of my great grandparents. Necklace and Heart rings from Phase Two of the Transmutation Collection by Citrine Tangerine. Silver rings by Glenn Lehrer.  Feels so good to dress up and take a few pics! If I go to long without seeing myself, I get kinda down  Paint palette brooch is from an antique shop in central NY. The back says Spain. The pendant on the necklace Is from the same antique shop in Little Falls, NY. now that I think about it! 😂🧡 Wrap bracelets are my everyday jewelry, these normally never leave my wrist. One of my bracelets, made by me, features sunstone, Rhodochrosite, citrine, labradorite, and one faceted moldavite. The other was made by my partner Craig. Another featured jewelry piece, Compassion Rings, is one of my daily wears. It's made with brass wire and soft pink Rhodochrosite heart shaped beads. Rhodochrosite is an essential gemstone to wear on a daily basis. It’s known to reduce stress and anxiety while encouraging us to heal ourselves with pure love.  Shout out to Melania for always being a fashion inspiration and taking these fire photos with my new camera! We’ve been popping back and fourth with cameras for years now and I always feel the best when we work together. You’re an icon!   Oh yea.. and if you noticed my nails in that close up from before, let me put you on! I used essie holographic nail polish color ‘you’re a gem’ (1569). It dries so fast! I can’t believe it! I typically do 2 coats then add a top coat. The top coat I’ve been using is by Sally Hansen. Mega Strength Ultra Shine Top Coat. It works pretty great and also dries quite fast!  A sweet home away from home; Utica, NY. Craig and I went on a short excursion to New York state to mine for crystals direct from the source. Last year we spent a little time in Utica and decided this year to stay for a week. Our comfortable airbnb had fantastic natural light and luscious green plants. You can see the location we stayed in gave me a lot of photographic inspiration. The city of Utica is small but there is quite a bit to do in the area if you take the time to look around. We stayed in a friendly neighborhood near historical Utica Psychiatric Center aka New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica. The asylum was opened in 1843 and was the first state run facility for the mentally ill. The building is MASSIVE but was supposed to be much larger according to the original plans. When you stand outside of this structure you are certain to be amazed by its size and the plainness of the concrete. Usually when you see Greek Revival in architecture, you expect embellishments, statues, and fabulous details splattered across the exterior. Not here. This place is award winning in minimalist details. Which sets the precedent for the style of Utica, there is next to no fashion here. It’s surprising considering the first director of the asylum believed labor was essential for curing mental illness and had hospital residents gardening, writing, and doing needle works. I’d expect to see more gardens, literature, and paintings throughout the city. But with a new mega hospital being built bringing together three smaller local hospitals, it appears residents may not be a fan of the funding pumped into the medical industry by the the state. Which is also forcing residents to pay for such a massive build. (#Nohospitaldowntown) I can see why there is not more art or local business around. Beyond the hospitals there is a lively coffee spot that is adored by locals. Utica Coffee Roasting Company seems to be the most hip location between the older downtown and newer commercial side of Utica. When the doors are open, you can bet there is a small crowd of people there, drinking coffee, conversing or getting work done. They have an awesome selection of locally roasted coffees and the staff is always cheerful. Our favorite spot to drink coffee is outside on the patio right next to the building. Free parking and great vibes! There is also a surprising amount of well made international cuisine here. We ate Chinese, Indian and Italian while in Utica. All our food was scrumptious. I’d say our favorite spot to eat is Chinese food by Beijing House. We recommend the Crab Rangoon, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and any of their fried rice. Their Lo Mein and Chow Mein are also legit. Minar Indian Cuisine is also highly recommended by both Craig and myself. If you’re looking for American food and/or brunch we recommend finding your way to Top Of The Morning. This spot is only open until the early afternoon so ‘Wake The Hell Up!’ with Utica Coffee Roasting Company then head over to Top of The Morning Cafe well before 2pm because they are busy. So maybe coffee, brunch, and early starts aren’t your thing. You should go to Woodland Farm Brewery. It’s just outside of Utica on a secluded plot of land. Their location has yummy bar food, Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating as well as delicious alcoholic beverages. Their home made beers are what I recommend. The real reason we travel to Central New York, is to hand pick quartz crystals for our jewelry making. After attending the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference, I’ve been more conscious about where my gemstones and beads come from. Craig and I discovered that there is a rare quartz variety that comes from this region of the US. Last year we trekked out to see if we, as noobs, could actually mine for them with our own two hands. Turns out we could. This is our second trip that we hope to make annual. Who knowns though, we could end up in a different state next year looking for other mineral varieties. This time around we checked out two different mining locations and returned to a small bead and crystal shop in little falls. (I’ll get to that spot in the next blog post! More about the stones!) The most well known name for this quartz variety is ‘Herkimer Diamonds’. While these are Quartz minerals are not Diamonds, some argue that ‘ Herkimer Diamonds’ are more beautiful and more rare than real diamonds. This quartz variety is rare because of its crystal clear coloring and its double terminated crystal forms. What does this mean? The gemstones in their finest quality are so clear, you can see right through them and it is said they actually enhance your vision. The double termination means there are points on both sides of the crystal! (most crystals are pulled off the wall of their matrix, so there is one point.) The formations of ‘Herkimer Diamonds’ are quite striking when you find them. You really do need to see it to believe it. |
AuthorI never know what to say to describe myself. Hi, My name is Citrine, I love to paint and make jewelry. I live by optimism and gratitude. Generosity is inherent in the artist lifestyle and I stand by that principle. My foundation is self exploration, self portraits, and photography. It is my pleasure to inspire you and create a sense of joy that is felt by all. This is what I think about and the places I go. ArchivesCategories |
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