Peppermint candy ornaments – Make yourself!.

For an interesting Christmas ornament, try creating wreaths from those hard peppermint candies sitting in your holiday candy dish. Except for some low-temperature baking, creating these ornaments is a good child-safe project to do on rainy afternoons.

Here's what you'll need in order to make wreath-shaped Christmas ornaments from hard peppermint candies:

A bag of hard peppermint candies (think Starlite Mints, not soft sugar-based varieties), unwrapped.

An ungreased aluminum baking sheet or cookie pan.

An oven capable of maintaining 250 degrees. Preferably, the oven should have an internal light and a clear glass front for easy viewing.

A supply of twine or ribbon.

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Make sure it is set on Bake, not Broil.

2. For an average-sized round wreath, use at least 7 unwrapped peppermint candies. Arrange these mints in a circle on an ungreased aluminum baking sheet or cookie pan. Make sure all of the candies continue to touch each other throughout handling. Place as many circular wreaths as possible on the pan without crowding.

3. Once all of the candies have been arranged in circles, CAREFULLY place the aluminum baking sheet onto the middle rack of the heated oven. If so equipped, turn on the internal light and watch the candies through the glass window. The candy should begin to melt slightly within 5 minutes. Those without glass windows should set a timer for five minutes and check the oven periodically.

4. Once the candies have melted slightly and have appeared to merge together, open the oven door and carefully remove the aluminum baking sheet. Place this sheet on a safe, flat surface suitable for cooling. Do NOT touch the candies until they have had several minutes to cool. Not only could this cause some minor burns, it may cause the wreaths to fall apart. The candies must be given enough time to adhere fully.

5. The cooled candy wreaths can be lifted off the aluminum sheet and placed on wax paper. To finish off the ornament, attach a length of ribbon or twine through the wreath and hang the finished product on the Christmas tree. Although nothing toxic has been added to the candies, they may pick up some contaminants from the tree itself or from exposure to the air. Children should be discouraged from eating the ornaments after they have been used on the tree.

For variation, try making other shapes using the same type of peppermint candies. The individual candies need to touch at least one other mint for stability's sake, but squares and stars could also be formed. Other hard candies such as butterscotch disks or blue mints could also be used in place of the Starlite-styled candies. Lollipops could also be removed from their sticks for even more variety. The trick is to melt the candies slowly, and only to the point of a slight stickiness. Candies with a chocolate
or powdered sugar base will not survive this process, so avoid too much youthful experimentation.

Children may enjoy the feeling of an assembly line, so parents may want to assign each child a specific task (unwrap mints, arrange the wreaths, prepare the ribbons, etc.). These peppermint wreaths also make good fund-raisers for church or school holiday bazaars.

Gold production in Ireland during 17th to 20th century

Although the only record of significant gold production in Ireland is from the Gold Mines River, there are a number of historical references to the working of gold or to its occurrence. Alluvial gold is recorded from the Moyola River in Northern Ireland in1652 and from Avoca, where it was associated with copper ore in 1753). In 1889 a number of minor gold occurrences were recorded by G.A. Kinahan, including localities in Co. Antrim in northeast Ireland, and Co. Cork in southwest Ireland, where gold is found in the gossans of copper lodes. During the early part of this century minor gold occurrences were recorded at several more localities in northwestern and southeastern Ireland. Subsequently, in 1957 at Clontibret, during a re-evaluation of an old antimony mine, high gold values were obtained from a stibnite-arsenopyrite vein. Despite the fact that these many minor occurrences were known, there was no systematic gold exploration undertaken in the country, almost certainly because of the perceived lack of potential for significant gold deposits.

However, the discovery in Northern Ireland of the Curraghinalt gold deposit in 1982 resulted in a wave of gold exploration in the 1980s, with attention largely focused on vein-hosted targets in Dalradian and Lower Palaeozoic terrain. While this work has resulted in a number of significant discoveries, major deposits have so far proved elusive.

In 1795 the existence of alluvial gold in a minor river in Co. Wicklow became generally known. A local gold rush ensued and lasted for six weeks during which some 80kg of gold is estimated to have been recovered from what subsequently became known as the Gold Mines River. The Government then stepped in and dispersed the gold
diggers. Subsequently mining was carried out by the Government (1796 - 1803), again by the local populace (1804 - 39), and by a private company (1860). Significant amounts of gold were extracted during these periods, but since then only very small amounts are nown to have been recovered. The total amount of gold recovered is calculated at some 300kg, although the true figure may be higher. While most of the gold occurs as free particles, grains and nuggets (up to 0.75kg) have been found. Attempts were made to trace the bedrock source of the gold, with no success. The most recently-proposed theory
is that most of the gold is derived from iron-copper mineralization hosted in Ordovician acid volcanics.

Basic Ornaments

Indian women’s are very fond of ornaments. They are many varieties of design and style, both traditional and modern. Each part in India has different style of ornaments. Some of them are traditional symbols. Casual wear were Small and simple. Heavy and rich ornaments are used for occasions. Some types of ornaments are

NOSE RING

It is a traditional one for Hindu married women to wear a nose ring. Gold or silver studs surrounded with stones of different sizes and shapes. It is considered as a symbol of marriage. These days it is also worn by unmarried girls.

BANGLES

India has a large variety of arm ornaments. It is made by different metals like gold, silver, glass and many other materials. A Pair of shell and red coral bangles is a symbol of marriage in Bengal.

ANKLET

Anklet is wear in ankle of both legs. There are few sound comes from the beads attached to it. As the woman walk the sound of the anklet is heard. It is generally made of silver, nowadays gold is also used.

Armbands

Fine Deccani Workmanship can be seen in these armbands. The use of silver outlines for the central diamonds and the deep red and green palette in the floral motifs in enamel on the back is manifest proof of the region.

This pair is made up of three hinged panels with openwork foliate design set with foiled table-cut diamonds.

Besides their spiritual values, jewels are greatly associated with the beauty as it is the woman who has been adorning herself by wearing them from the time immemorial. Their mythical and magical impact continue to hound the human psyche and the symbolic value and power differs from one gemstone to another.

Ornaments

Figure of a boy from between 1900-1920
This inexpensive ornament was one of a pair, Harry and Harriet.



Glass and silver vase from 1904



These door-stops are in the shape of Boer War soldiers