Whimsy Wednesday! Legends!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope your week has been fabulous so far!

This post is all about Legends and I'm excited to show you what is ahead!

Title: Grounding Tiger Spirit

Ingredients: Hematite, Fimo Tigers, Czech glass, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

Hematite is a natural stone that is thought to offer protection and grounding to the wearer as well as helping with focus and concentration.

Tigers are legend all their own! They, too, are often seen as protectors and royalty (Buddhist Saints have been known to ride tigers).

I chose the glass beads to bring out the colour of each Tiger's eyes. This also gives an eerie and ethereal quality to otherwise very concrete and solid materials.

The second creation I have to share is...

Working Title: Raven Royalty or Morgan LeFaye

Ingredients: Czech glass, metal, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.

  Morgan LeFay has long been associated with Morrigan, Ravens, the battlefield, death, rebirth, lust and so forth. You can read more about the legends here.

I've had these glass beads in my collection for a long time now and this designed fell into place. I love the progression from the ethereal 'true red', chased with gold to the darker crimson and fluttering feathers!

There is a bit of th 1920's flapper in those dangling feathers...an inspiration of which I think Ms. LeFaye would approve!

Where is the whimsy in these two creations, you ask?

Surely a purple tiger is made of whimsy!

As to our ravens and fay? Whimsy comes in all colours - from grand and charming to thoughtful and ebon!

So! There you have it!

The fini of this Whimsy Wednesday!

See you Friday!

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Flashy!

Hello Hello!

Welcome to Fini Friday!

I usually use these posts to show you either creations that are still growing or creations that have been languishing and have been (finally!) completed.  Today I'm going to show you creations on both ends of the spectrum!

Let's start with the completed creation!

You might remember this Fini Friday back in September, where I showcased a cat, sunstone and kyanite necklace that I was restringing.  I was not impressed with the crimps I had on-hand and so progress was stalled while more of my usual crimps were obtained.  They have been acquired and the necklace is finished!

Title: SunCat

Ingredients: Jasper, Sunstone, Lapis Lazuli, Kyanite, Bali silver, Sterling silver, lead-free pewter, steel cable.

The first photo is of the entire design and the second is a close-up of the wonderful cats, intriguing and flashy sunstone and gorgeous lapis lazuli! 

There are so many legends and meanings associated with the stones used in this creation, I'll just take you on a quick tour through them!

Sunstone: Thought to bring luck, increase optimism, strength and vitality, and to help harness the healing power of the Sun. 

Lapis Lazuli: Used as both a cosmetic and medicine through the ages, Lapis has been used as an aphrodisiac, to strengthen the skeleton, increase Divine awareness, cure insomnia and improve sleep as well as to ward off negative energy. 

Kyanite: Thought to never retain negative energy, Kyanite also helps to improve communication and intuition, clarity of thought, and help manifest dreams into action. Legend says it helps nurture optimism and open the mind to lighter, brighter and better ideas and perspectives. 

Jasper: Legend says that Jasper is protective, grounding, healing and stabilizing. It is thought to align all the chakras and balance yin yang energies. 

Silver: Though not a stone, Silver is thought to nurture intuitive knowing. All in all, a very positive creation, wouldn't you say? 

The next and last photo are three USB Flash Drives(part of the Flash Drive collection) that I've finished the embellishment and will continue to grow into completion as necklaces and etc.

I believe two out of the three flash drives will be necklaces and yet the drive to the farthest right may end up remaining a pendant.

The green colour that you see is alcohol ink that I dripped strategically onto and into the resin after painting it on the drives.  I absolutely love the effect!  The center drive arrived with that nifty swirl pattern and so I accented it with Swarovski crystal rhinestones and a subtle gold glitter pigment in the resin!  I'm quite pleased with how these turned out!

 More on the designs embedded in the resin and their meanings when the creations are complete!

You may see these at my next show! 

When is that, you ask?

Why, I've conveniently provided details about that very subject just below!
Take a look!

My next and final show of 2012 (it is so weird to type that!) is the 20th Annual Women's Art Festival! Come join us at the Midtown YWCA in Minneapolis, MN (USA)!

Saturday, Dec. 15th only!

10am to 5pm.

There will be live music all day, an on-site coffee shop and art of all kinds and for all budgets!

And with that, have a fabulous weekend! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Myths & Legends!

Hello Everyone and welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!
I hope everyone's day is as warm and sunny as mine has been!!
I've seen dragonflies and bumblebees and all sorts of outside creatures appreciating the warmer temps and excellent sunshine!

I've taken inspiration from ancient myths and legends lately and this is what I have to show you today!
The first pair of earrings was inspired by the labyrinth charm and hand-felted wool ball that you'll see shortly. As I was gathering materials for other creations, my eye fell on these two items and it recalled to mind the myth of Theseus slaying the Minotaur in the labyrinth and finding his way out of the cleverly confusing maze by following a ball of yarn that a love-struck Ariadne had given him along with the secrets of the maze. (You can learn more about the legend here). And now you see the connection with the brilliant Swarovski heart. I chose the mysterious blue for many reasons, not the least of which is that many a Greek (as well as other legends) revolve or involve the sea. And, continuing to expand this inspiration to mythology in general, I included an ancient-looking gold coin. It is told in many of the legends how the hero bought their way out of a hopeless situation with gold or put themselves in harm's way for it! However, there is much more here than meets the eye as the title popped to mind immediately. We must consider Ariadne's point of view as well as others whose stories are not included in the legends. And so these earrings are about:
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Heart
Ingredients: Swarovski crystal, hand-felted wool ball (England), copper wire, lead-free pewter, metal, sterling silver earwires.



The whimsy is in the design for this second pair of earrings as well.. I had a lot of fun playing with wire-wrapping the cobalt drops because, while they are luscious, how could you leave them unadorned?!
Title: Untitled as yet...(Edited for title: Trace Elements)
Ingredients: Glass, copper wire, lead-free pewter, silver-plated surgical steel earwires.



To me, these are intense and ancient and galactic and just plain awesome!
Look for them in my Etsy shoppe within a few days...pending a title for the second pair! (Editied for time... These will be up in my Etsy shoppe on Monday (if they are still seeking their people) as they are coming to the show with me this weekend!)
See you on Friday!!!