Petoskey Stone Treasures

In this part of Northern Michigan you can find a special fossil on the shores of Lake Michigan.  THey are called Petoskey Stones and they are our state stone.  They are very pretty.  Being a soft stone, they look like a dull gray rock when you find them on the shoreline.  When you wet them in the lake you get an idea of what you have.  If it is a good one, you take it home, shape it the way you want by cutting it, etc.  Then to shine it up, you use various types of sandpaper until you get it the way that you want it.  Ofthen a paste polish of some kind is used to finish it.  I have found and polished many.  I usually do a wire wrapping to hang them on a necklace as a pendant.  I have also bought some that are already finished with a hole punched in them, then added them to a necklace in my own unique way.  Here are a few examples of my work.  (above and below)

Here is what wikipedia says about Petoskey Stones:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petoskey_stone

We in Northern Michigan love 'em!