Peridot is the traditional birthstone for August, and a lovely birthday gift for your August born Leo and Virgo friends!⠀ ⠀ Across time and culture, peridot has been linked to the sun and nature. In Ancient Egypt, peridot was known as “the gem of the sun”. It was believed to drive away nightmares and darkness, bringing happiness and energy to the owner. In Hawaiian folklore, it is said that peridot symbolizes tears of the fire goddess Pele.
I’ve just added a small collection of jewelry items. Many of them feature rainbows or moon phase motifs, so I’m calling it my “Rainbows and Moonbeams” collection. Though to be fair, there are a handful of pieces that don’t really fall into either category.
This will be my last shop update for the year, and my last shipping date for 2019 will be 12/23 (meaning that you should have your order in by 12/22 if you hope for me to get it out in the mail the next day). After that, I’ll be doing a bit of traveling to spend the holidays with family. The shops will remain open while I’m on the road, but if you order after 12/22, it will not ship until I return in early January of 2020.
A lovely customer sent this photo of her wearing a pair of my vintage bone paisley earrings. She is so radiant, my work look beautiful by proximity. Thank you, happy customer photos make my day!
Today’s shop update is a celebration of spring! It’s an explosion of colorful butterflies, birds, flowers, and jewels. Like most artisans my work tends to mirror my interests, and this collection is no exception. My garden is my happy place, and these pieces are a clear reflection of the fact that it’s finally warming up enough for me to get back out there to start planting again. For my east coast friends who are still slogging through snow and ice, perhaps these creations can serve as a symbol of hope – it may not feel like it at the moment, but spring is coming!
These earrings have a super springy vibe, with those leafy dangles and blossom-like stones. Apparently, they’re also all about the letter “A” – with amethyst, amazonite and African turquoise accents.
Upon returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, I promptly came down with an epic flu. Two weeks later, I am finally moving and functioning again – albeit slowly. Last night I managed to list most of the goodies that I’d been working on before we left.
This includes a variety of handcrafted wooden hair sticks in natural hardwoods and colorful laminates. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to learn that I really enjoy woodworking! These hair sticks reflect some of my simpler early efforts, though I hope to offer a much wider variety in the year ahead. I’ve been experimenting with different types of wood, different lengths, and of course, different shapes. I think that these will make a great addition to my existing line of hair accessories.
But before I get ahead of myself by talking about what I hope to make next, let me tell you a little more about today’s offering: these are small to medium sized hair stick pairs, measure between 5.5″ and 5.75″ long. The shape is a graceful wave that slides easily into a small bun or half up.
The laminated birch options include 3 color variations: burgundy/grey/violet striped, autumn stripes, and summer stripes. The natural hardwoods include walnut, paduk, and cherry. All have been hand sanded down to 600 grit, and finished with a blend of mineral oil and beeswax so the rich color comes through without being too shiny or shellacked.
I’m excited about this new direction, and eager to hear your feedback!
Also included in this update are a handful of my jeweled leather feather pendants. There’s a beautiful mixed media barn owl feather pendant necklace with faceted Botswana agate teardrops and a large copper circle, a barred feather in rich earth tones with dark titanium quartz crystal and semiprecious stones, and six of my classic leather peacock feathers.
Each peacock feather is unique, and they range from about 3″ long on up to 4.5″. Some are low key with simple wire work spirals, while others are more ornate with faceted cobalt beads and Swarovski crystal dangles. For the neckline, you have your choice of an antique copper chain, a glass bead and Swarovski crystal necklace, or a hand dyed ribbon neckline. As always, a portion of every peacock feather sale will be donated to cancer research, in memory of my friend who inspired this series.
These little feather pendants are simple and affordable, but they’re definitely statement pieces! Every time I wear one, it sparks conversation (and compliments). They are striking worn alone, and you can also layer them for a more dramatic look.
There are more semiprecious stone briolettes and quartz crystals, along with some blue jays (in three sizes!), green oak leaves, peacock feathers, red rose vines, and owl feathers.
It’s a small sampling, to be sure. If I’m up to it, I may trickle in a few more pieces before the weekend – but I’m not going to push myself. I hope you’ll enjoy these offerings, and thanks so much for your support this season and always!
These leather rose barrettes , shawl pins, and monarch wing earrings were inspired by my desire to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Before they were completed, disaster touched down in Florida and Puerto Rico as well. Thus, 50% of the proceeds from these pieces will be donated to the American Red Cross.
leather monarch butterfly wing earrings with glass flowers
Those of you who follow my blog (all two of you) may remember way back when I used to do this thing called “Wednesday Inspiration”. It served two purposes: one was to celebrate and promote other artists that I admire, and the other was to give myself a writing prompt in hopes that it would get me to blog more regularly. So every Wednesday (or every other Wednesday… or as often as I could find the time) I would share images and links from artist friends and strangers who inspire me to be more creative.
“Waiting on the Eastern Glow” earrings
I’m bringing that back – in part because I’m trying to post more often, and partially because I realize that I fret and complain too much about copycats and jackasses. While the latter concerns are real and should not be swept under the rug completely, there is GOOD stuff happening in the creative community too. I’d like to make a greater effort to celebrate that. My motivation for this is summed up nicely by this quote: “Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate”.
So without further ado, today I’m sharing a few pieces by Mermaiden Creations. My friend Julie creates work that”is the stuffs of fairy tales and legends; curious offerings of nature, weird beauty, wild and fey-inspired organically imperfect designs”. She moves fluidly from jewelry design to millinery work, to hair accessories and home decor.
“Midnight Moon”labradorite ring
Her work is imaginative, dreamlike, organic, untamed… and skillfully crafted. I own a few pieces of her jewelry and one of her scarves, so when I attest to the quality of her work, I am speaking from affection and experience. I’ve showcased a small handful of my favorite pieces here, but I encourage you to visit her Etsy shop or to follow her on facebook in order to see more of her beautiful work!
Nov 6th – iolite and blue titanium quartz earrings
For the past few days my NaSeBeMo projects have been small, but I’m still feeling pretty good about it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I do have quite a few custom orders in the queue right now, and those have to take priority. With that being said, the fact that I am getting in any beading time at all is really good. In fact, I’m finding that my desire to bead is motivating me to try and finish up these orders a bit faster so that I can have more time to play with beads!
The 6th was pretty busy, so I just made the mate to an earring, and added some dangles to the hair stick from the other night. On the 7th I gave myself permission to take a night off, since I’d had painful dental work AND the early signs of a migraine — not a fun combo.
Nov 8th – branch fringe earrings with blue quartz points
On the 8th, I created these branch fringe earrings with more titanium quartz (yeah, I’m on a little kick here) and on the 9th I started a matching bracelet. I’ll post pictures of that one when I complete it.
Thus far, the majority of my projects have been small ones, but I’m enjoying the process. It’s been quite some time since I made an effort to bead every day, and I’ve really missed it. I’m hoping that these little efforts will grow to be a steady practice again.
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