Sapphires for September

Thank you for helping us bring smiles to the faces of some sick children through the wonderful Post Pals scheme. We were so happy to see all the lovely cards you made.

Thank you also too The Ribbon Girl for offering such a gorgeous prize to one lucky darer this week.

Asia will be along soon to announce the name of the winner, so please check back later to see if it's You!

Another Thank You message goes to our wonderful Guest Designers Ania and Julia, who have shared their inspiring crafting with us over the last few weeks - thank you both, it's been a real treat to have you with us and we hope you'll continue to join in with our dares each week!

As it's the first Friday of September, we're looking at the birthstone for for this month which is the

Sapphire.
Sapphires are also the traditional gemstone for the 45th Wedding Anniversary and we'd like you to use the Sapphire as your inspiration for your DCM card this week

Here are a few bits of Sapphire info that might spark off some ideas:

* The word Sapphire derives from the Greek word for blue, "sapphirus"
* They have been associated with Priests, who considered them symbolic of purity, and Kings, who thought them symbolic of wisdom
*Sapphires were mined as early as the 7th Century BC in India and what is now Sri Lanka. Today they are found in Sri Lanka, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Kashmir, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Madagascar, and the US
* It was believed that a venomous snake put in a vessel made of sapphire would quickly die. Sapphires therefore earned the reputation as an excellent all-purpose medicine and were ingested as an antidote to poison. Sapphires were sometimes ground into powders as a remedy for everything from colic to rheumatism and mental illness. They were also believed to be able to stop bleeding and cure disorders of the eye.
* Egyptians associated the clear sapphire with the eye of Horas -- the all-seeing, all-knowing "eye in the sky" -- while the gemstone was used by the Greeks to to tap into the subconscious mind by stimulating the opening of the "third eye."
* Sapphires represent sincerity and faithfulness and therefore were a popular marriage gift
* Clear sapphires, like diamonds, are the guardians of love. When exchanged with a loved one, sapphires are believed to enhance feelings for one another and attune the two psyches. Sapphires have the power to banish envy and jealousy, and are said to promote chastity in virgins and fidelity in marriage.

* Fancy sapphires come in various colours such as yellow, orange, lavender and other pastel shades, but the most prized is the pink sapphire or more precisely the pink-orange sapphire due to its rarity.

Please come back and leave a link so that we can pop along and see your creations

Here's what the team have been making this week

Nat:
Kathy

Keryn

Lythan


Jo

Rein   

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