The entry of the royal Sahara jasper cabochon by Gary Scherer of Kentucky has been awarded the Shop Friend Contest Winner for January 2008. This designer freeform cabochon is quite unique and very beautiful and is only one cab of several he sent pictures of!  The cab center design is made from royal Sahara jasper, and it is framed with a red jasper.  Gary wrote the following: "I started making these cabs about one month ago and have posted them on The Rock Tumbling board of which I am a member.  I was told the cab is unique and I should enter them in your contest. I do not have the capability to slab any rocks other than what my small workforce saw can cut.  I have had friends from the Rock Tumbling board, donate many, many, larger slabs to me and I then trim the pieces to make the cabs.  Every stone that is worked into my cabs are cut and glued together.  At times, it can take quite a long time to get everything the way I want it. How this started was I was watching a woodworking show on TV and they were glueing different types of wood together.  I thought if it could be done with wood, it could be done with rocks.  I tried many types of glue before I found an epoxy that once dried, the rocks did not come apart." Congratulations Gary! You are off to a fantastic start with your cabochon designs!  Thanks for showing us a new way to make beautiful cabochons!