Happy New Year to all! May 2024 be the best yet for everyone! We’ve decided to leave our December promotion running for the month of January! All pendants, Driftwood or Acorn tops will be remaining at $25.00. I’ve added quite a few of my new Acorn pendants to the website. They are available in quite a few types of gemstones. So far, I’ve made Amethyst, Tiger’s Eye, Aventurine, Peridot, Garnet, Amazonite and Black Tourmaline to name a few. These pendants are very unique. They are made from locally collected Acorn tops which are sorted, drilled and treated. After that process, stone chips are set into the Acorn cap using epoxy. The result is spectacular! Please stay tuned as I’ll be adding more to the website for purchase as they’re available.

We are now offering customization of our pendants as well. Our chains come in silver, gold, black chain and black rope and the hardware comes in silver, gold and black as well. I’m hoping to add rose gold as an option soon. The Acorn pendants feature charms, which can also be customized if you see one you’d rather have. A charm can be added to any driftwood pendant without charge. Just an email is required and we’ll complete your request. If you are looking for a particular gemstone, let us know and we can find it and do a custom setting. As well, just a reminder that delivery within the Niagara Region of Ontario is offered free of charge and of course pick up can be arranged.

Great Lakes Creations is having a major sale for the month of December! All pendants are on for $25.00! Free delivery is offered anywhere within the Niagara Region and of course pick up is free as well! Shipping is offered to anywhere in Canada, for a flat rate fee of $15.00 and includes tracking and insurance. Any pendant that catches your eye, from Rainbow Moonstone to Carnelian to Amethyst to Lapis Lazuli and many more, are now on sale for the month! This is a great time to do some Holiday shopping for friends and family that love crystals!

Should you like to come see us in person, we will be at two shows this month! The first show is the Christmas Market at the Market Square in downtown St.Catharines. This fun event is from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday December 10th! The same sale prices will be on at the market square and some new items we’ve been working hard at creating in our studios! You can get a preview of those on our Facebook page @greatlakescreationsbysusananne. Our second show of December is the Holiday Handmade Market at Club Roma (Gemini Room) in St.Catharines. This holiday themed craft show is on Sunday December 17th between 11am and 5pm.

Please come out if you can, and support your local small businesses and crafters if you can! There will be many wonderful vendors at both these shows! Maybe you can find some unique holiday gifts for your friends and family!

Did you know that not all crystals are safe to be washed in water? Some will disintegrate and some will leach chemicals into water. Some will lose their shine or will even dissolve if left in water too long. Knowing which crystals should be kept away from prolonged contact with water is important knowledge. So, here’s a list of crystals that are not water safe.

Apatite, Desert Rose, Hematite, Opal, Turquoise, Ulexite, Pyrite, Labradorite, Fluorite, Apophyllite, Azurite, Gypsum, Lepidolite, Selenite, Celestite, Halite, Malachite and Tangerine Quartz.

So you want to use crystals in your bath, outside, or in an Elixir? What do you use? Below is a list of Water Infusion Safe Crystals.

Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Smoky Quartz, Jasper, Aventurine, Black Obsidian, Rose Quartz, Rutilated Quartz, Carnelian and Citrine.

It’s important to note that when talking about crystals and water, most crystals will not be affected by water in a short amount of time such as in a rainstorm. Just dry off your crystal when you can.

There are some crystals that are sensitive to sunlight and should not be placed in direct sunlight for a prolonged amount of time. A good example of this is placing crystals in a window sill or outside in the sunlight. The result of direct sunlight for too long will be fading. Here is a list of crystals that are sensitive to direct, prolonged sunlight.

Amethyst, Calcite, Smoky Quartz, Rose Quartz, Celestite, Aquamarine, Aventurine, Quartz, Kunzite, Turquoise, Fluorite, and Citrine.

So you’ve purchased a beautiful crystal to take home to use such as an Amethyst under your pillow to help with sleep, or a Carnelian to help with energy, or a Howlite to calm your nerves, but do you know how to care for that crystal? Do you know how to cleanse and charge your new crystal? Let’s talk about how to best accomplish this so your crystal can do its best job at assisting you.

The first step should be cleansing your new crystal and there are quite a few ways of accomplishing this! For crystals that are water safe, you can place them under running water. While holding them in the stream of water, visualize the water taking any negativity out of your crystal. Do keep in mind that not all crystals are water safe and some will even break down a bit in water. Most crystals that end in “ite” such as Selenite, Vanadinite and Malachite are not recommended to be placed in water. An easy search online will let you know which ones you should keep out of water. You can also smudge them with incense smoke, using an incense with cleansing properties such as sage. Burying them in dirt either in your yard, or even a potted plant for 24 hours is an option as well. They can be passed quickly through a candle flame, but please be careful! A word of caution – Emerald, Moonstone, Sodalite and Unakite do not like heat, so a candle flame is not the best idea for these crystals. Another method is to place them under a full moon overnight as well for cleansing. Sound vibration is yet another way to cleanse your crystals using a drum, a singing bowl, or a bell. Lastly, placing them with Selenite will also do the job. I have a Selenite plate and bowl at home for charging crystals, including pendants with crystals. I leave them on the plate for 24 hours.

Charging your crystals is the next step and there are a few ways to do that, including quite a few from the cleansing stage. One of the most important parts of charging a crystal is to set your intention as to what you would like the stone to work with you to accomplish. For example, if you’re wanting assistance with sleep and are using an Amethyst, then hold the Amethyst in your hand and program the crystal with your intention to sleep better. As you’re holding the Amethyst in your hand, meditate and blow your breath on it. If you’d like to charge it a different way, water both cleanses and charges crystals, as does sunshine (particularly the noon sun) or moonlight (particularly a full moon). You can also use sound vibrations in the form of a drum, singing bowl or a bell. You can place them on top of a quartz crystal as quartz is known for amplifying and will amplify your intentions with the crystal. Just be sure to charge the stone with your intention then place on the quartz cluster. It’s best to try different methods until you feel a connection with the crystal. I always recommend trying different crystals both recommended and not recommended as everyone is different and what helps one person may not have any effect on another person. For example, I’ve tried to work with Opal and have not had great results. For me, it is not a comfortable stone to work with, but for others, it might help them to achieve the results they’re looking for.

I encourage you to try different methods of cleansing and charging until you find one that feels right. I also encourage you to try different crystals as each has a different energy and as every stone is different, so are we. You might find that a different crystal than traditionally recommended works better for you.

It’s almost December and we have some exciting news at Great Lakes Creations! We’ve now been a vendor at four Craft Shows in the Niagara area with some pretty good results! But, changes are on the horizon, so I hope you’ll check back to take a look at our new products we’re creating and give us some feedback.

For the month of December, we’ll be introducing special pricing for all our pendants, including our featured Birthstone jewelry! For the month of December, any pendant is $25! Shipping prices are the same, but if you live in Niagara, delivery is free! Just contact me to set it up.

If you can make it out to a show this month, so far we have two scheduled – the first is the Christmas Market on December 10th at the St.Catharines Market Square from 1pm to 5pm! The second is the Holiday Handmade Market on Sunday December 17th at Club Roma (Gemini Room) from 11am to 5pm. Special December pricing applies at these shows as well.

Another exciting thing happening at Great Lakes Creations is new product development! We’re testing out some new products and will hopefully have them available for review and purchase soon. In addition to some new pendant designs, we’re incorporating our polished stones into driftwood to create unique, hand crafted candle holders! They will be available in chime, pillar and tealight size with a variety of crystals placed in each one. At our shows, we’ve started showcasing pendants with birthstones and for December, we’ve designed unique pendants featuring beautiful Turquoise and Blue Topaz! We are also looking at other ways to use our hand polished crystals in a supportive role, such as creating hand crafted sachets with crystals and herbs with coordinating roles. For example, a pairing of Aventurine and Basil for abundance & good fortune or, Amethyst and Chamomile for anxiety & stress relief. Please stay tuned for future developments and thank you for supporting our small business!

I’ve been working on a new workshop at home for a few weeks and I’m happy to say it’s finally finished! There are a couple things I’ll do in a few months, but at least I have a workable place to do my crafting. The flooring needs to be changed out, but we’ll get to that eventually. The rotary tool flex shafts are an incredible improvement for intricate wood carving and the rotary tool stands are pretty helpful as well. I have lots of table space as there are two six foot tables set up in the room. As for a dust collector system, I have a canister vacuum under the table with the hose extended over the table to the area where I’m doing the woodworking.

It’s a pretty good setup! All my tools and hardware is within easy reach and easily accessible. I’m looking forward to creating more beautiful, unique items in my new workshop.

We had two shows this month, both were a blast! The first was at Stamford Presbyterian Church for a craft show and the second was at Westhills LTC in St.Catharines. The photos above are my table setup for the final show of the month. I’ve added a digital photo frame to show the process of how the pendants are made and how my stones are polished in the tumblers I run at home. There is a lot of work involved in this creating these pendants from the very beginning of beach collecting of driftwood and stone and sourcing non indigenous stones to the area at local suppliers. The polishing process of the stones takes 6-8 weeks of constant tumbling through 5 stages of grit and soap washes in between. The driftwood collected is cut, carved and hand sanded before a stone is fitted into the perfect spot. At that point, a post is screwed into the wood for the jewelry hardware that is yet to be attached, or a hole is drilled. The driftwood is then treated with multiple coats of a clear protectant over a course of 2-3 days. Once fully dry, the jewelry posts are secured with a clear glue. An epoxy is used to affix the stone to the driftwood and it’s left to dry for at least 24 hours. The final stage is attaching the jewelry hardware and chains, then taking photos of the finished product to showcase on my website and Facebook page.

Stay tuned for our December shows and if you’re in the St.Catharines area, stop by!

All pendants shown below will be available at my upcoming craft shows! If you’d like more photos such as close ups, back side of a pendant or anything else, please email me at susananne@greatlakescreations.ca and I’ll send them to you!