skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Haven't seen my friends in Jakarta for some time. We all arrived in Indonesia at the same time and they've been fast friends since. I thought 'twould be nice to send them some of my little creations.I made a Tree of Life for one of them which I featured in an earlier blog entry. Made three more: two for friends and one for a friend's sister.A pair of Nest Earrings for one simple lady.These Nests are made with Pearls, Copper & Silver. Together it gives its wearer a greater sense of personal integrity while facilitation quick wits and improving communication skills. Pearls give purity and promote faith, charity, and integrity, truth and loyalty. Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence. Copper is said to benefit mental agility. A pair of Dreamcatcher Earrings for her sister.This Dreamcatcher uses New Jade, Peridot, Aventurine, Silver & Green Wire. Together it gives its wearer a sense of calm and love for all.Jade is a stone of fidelity and generosity. Peridot is a stone of compassion. Aventurine gives a sense of calm and balance and enhances happiness. Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence. Green stimulates healing resulting in greater self-love, and thus, love for others. A Dreamcatcher Pendant for one girly girl.This Dreamcatcher uses Silver, Cherry Quartz, Rose Quartz and Purple Wire. Together it promotes harmony, encourages unconditional love and opens communication with the environment. Cherry quartz promotes harmony. Rose quartz is a stone of unconditional love. Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence. Purple is the color for strength, spirituality, passion and meditation. I made Earring Cards for the earrings. Barb Macey's "How To Make Your Own Earring Cards" was a great help.I'm sending them out today. I hope they like them. *smile*
This dreamcatcher uses pearls, silver and blue jewelry wire. Together they promote healing, calm and harmony. Pearls give purity and promote faith, charity, and integrity, truth and loyalty. Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence. A balance of the color blue brings intuition, inspiration, sincerity, peace, joy, tranquility, faith in oneself and trust in others.
Stephen King has been playing a major role in my mind nowadays. I've been reading his books and watching a few of his movies. I must say his newest one, Duma Key, is quite impressive. The book swallowed me whole and ate up one whole day this past week. My infatuation for his work re-kindled (I've been into him since I watched and read Firestarter when I was 6.) and had to watch Dreamcatcher.
And when I wasn't going through my King files and books and movies, I was wondering what to do with the glass beads I bought. Came up with nil on the beads but Dreamcatcher stirred my imagination and got my fingers itching. I was looking forlornly at my newest purchases and wondering if the glass beads needed elastic thread instead of the wires I'm so used to working with when my eyes were caught by the colorful jewelry wires I bought with the glass. Hmmm.
Dreamcatcher for Spirituality
I researched on how to make Dreamcatchers and then started making some of my own. Who wouldn't want extra protection against nightmares of the daily variety? I ended making these yesterday afternoon.
This dreamcatcher uses peridot, jade, aventurine, silver and green jewelry wire. Together they promote wellness in affairs of the heart. Peridot enhances the healing and harmony of relationships of all kinds, but particularly marriage. Jade is a stone of fidelity and generosity, it can also attract all kinds of love. Aventurine helps one to see alternatives and potentials in all situations, giving a positive outlook, courage and inner strength. Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence. Green stimulates healing resulting in greater self-love, and thus, love for others.
Dreamcatchers are very interesting things, I think. The legend states that the web catches the good and the bad goes through the hole. I think that's a good thing to have around one's person. We all need something extra to protect us from our daily nightmares.
Went to a bead shop yesterday. A glass bead shop. I rarely work with glass so to go and purchase glass beads was quite a step for me. NOT a big step, but a step nonetheless.So off I went and had a look around and ended up buying some beads. They were just too colorful to ignore. And The Big Ben Shop has quite a selection to choose from.And since I was going off my usual track (semi-precious beads), I was going to go ahead and play with other materials. Went to another store and got me some colorful jewelry wires to use with my beads.I still don't know what I'm going to end up with BUT I have started playing. I'll post projects as I make them, ofcourse. Hopefully, I do these beads some justice.
ps
I have one other kind of bead I bought which I didn't feature here. I bought them especially for someone. Or, rather, to make something for someone special.
This is a book I've had on my shelf for at least two years now. It was quite difficult to find it in Bali as we don't have too many bookstores for English books but I spent a lot of time scanning the titles on each bookshelf in each bookshop over and over again until I found it. (My mom who knew of my search decided to look for it, too. She found a copy and sent it to me but I already found my own. I told her she could keep the copy she has and read it. It's a beautiful read.)What I like most about the book is that it provides hobbyists information on the histories of the different gemstones we use in our art. It broadens the mind to beyond the little beads and pieces we use and extends the appreciation of each piece backward in time and broadens its geographical feel. All that in an entertaining read, too!As much as Finlay will give you tours through gemstones using the Moh classification in cutting her chapters, through different localities and countries where stories of the gemstones originated from, through gemstone folklore and recent developments: it never becomes an encyclopedic-too-detached-too-objective read. She keeps you interested in her choice of anecdotes and the clear and precise way in which she writes.I've read the book at least five times. Each time I get to remember more and more of the information she compiled in the book. I think it was on helluva research she made. She has loads of interesting information in those pages. It's definitely a must-read for handcrafters of jewelry. It makes one appreciate each stone, each bead... we are made more aware of the history that comes with them.*Veronica Howell has another review of this book which I think will give more information to those who are interested. I suggest you read her review, too.
I made a few gifts this morning. I was invited out for lunch by a mother of two of my students. (I teach when I'm not twisting and bending and wrapping wires.) Her two beautiful girls were coming along, too.
I thought I'd make them pendants.
I made the same piece for the two little girls. You know how sisters are sometimes. I made "Eggs in a Nest" pendants on pink leather necklaces for them. I used silver as my main wire for the nest and embelished it with a bit of copper; for eggs, I used pearls.
For their Mom, I made a Tree of Life with Eggs in a Nest. I used silver (20-gauge for the frame and 26-gauge for the tree and branches), rutilated quartz for the leaves, copper and silver wire (28-gauge) for the nest, and pearls for the eggs.
You will notice that the pendants for the children have three eggs. It's not merely for design. They come from a brood of 4. I thought it would be nice to make the three eggs signify their sibling. They're the fourth egg all hatched and in the world. The mother has four eggs in the nest on her pendant. She is the mother tree making sure that all the four eggs in her shelter are safe and protected.
I carefully chose the stones for the energies they exuded:
Pearls are calming and centering. They give purity and promote faith, charity, and integrity, truth and loyalty.
Rutilated quartz is reputed to diminish fears, depression and issues with decision-making.
Silver is mystically considered to improve speech, bring eloquence.
Copper is said to facilitate mental agility, and quick wit.
