Opal. Opals are said to assist in spiritual journeys, as well as stimulating change and manifesting your ideas. For Dragons, who are believed to live in great balance with their spirituality, these are powerful gemstones for spiritual exploration.
Opal beads are hard to come by, but you'll be able to find a variation called Mountain Opal which is actually a vein of opal that has been cut with the surrounding "parent" rock. Opal cabochons, both artificially created and natural, can be purchased from some gemstone dealers.
Sapphire. Sapphires come in many different colors, including green, orange, pink white and yellow, but blue sapphires are said to help one use their full creative potential!
Since sapphire beads can be more expensive than other gemstones, you can always buy just a few of them and then enhance them with your favorite deep blue seed bead.
Amber. Amber is fossilized tree sap or resin, so it's not technically considered to be a gemstone or a crystal. Like sapphires and opals, it comes in a wide range of colors including green, golden, honey (a beautiful opaque light yellow), red and black. The red amber is believed to offer peace and promote self-love and acceptance. I've heard of amber being referred to as the "human" gemstone, because it is naturally warm to the touch. When worn directly against the skin, amber is said to be able to transform negative human energies into positive energies.
Amber comes in a variety of beads and cabochons, some of which have been carved with beautifully intricate designs. Be aware when purchasing amber that the pieces with real inclusions (like bits of bugs and leaves) are very rare and hard to come by, and should be priced higher than other pieces of amber. If you find a piece of amber with inclusions at a price so low that it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't genuine!
Jennifer from Beading Daily
Watch for some designs using some of these beautiful gemstones in the near future at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsBloom
