Beauty and the Beast

Well, I’ll start with the “beast” . . .

Here in New England, we’re in line to be hit by Hurricane Sandy, a huge storm beginning late Sunday and running through Tuesday. They’re calling it a tropical cyclone and it will bring high winds, flooding, and large areas of power outages.

So, we’ve stocked up on water, batteries, and food that doesn’t need to be cooked. We also filled zip-lock bags with water and they’re freezing in our freezer as I type. That tip was new to me, but I think it’s brilliant. It will give us lots of extra ice to help keep things from spoiling in the fridge should we lose electricity.

Wish us luck! And best wishes to everyone in the path of this storm, which meteorologists have dubbed “Frankenstorm” – both for its ferocity and its proximity to Halloween.

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For the “beauty”, here’s a pendant I finished this week. I considered just putting it on a black cord but then decided to make a little necklace to set it off.

The pendant itself is created with a needle and beading thread – utilizing a method called “beadweaving”. I chose a glittering Swarovski rivoli crystal in Tanzanite as the focal point, and surrounded it with a frame of tiny glass seed beads.

Below is a look at the back of the piece to illustrate how the stone actually sits in a basket of seed beads.

I know. I used purple . . . again.

I have no defense.

Is there a support group for purple lovers? 😉

Hugs,

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Ode to Spring Jewelry

Happy Monday, Kids! (or whatever day it is when you visit 🙂 )
Now that we’re officially ensconced in Daylight Saving Time, can Spring be far behind!?!

Whenever I think of Spring, I think of violets. They grow wild around here. When my kids were little – they loved to run in from play and surprise me with violets they had gathered. How I loved seeing the excitement in their faces and those sweet little hands offering up a tiny bouquet.

Hey, Crystal! Is that why you love purple so much?

Hmmm, you know, that hadn’t occurred to me until just this minute – but maybe so!

I currently have a real case of spring fever and it’s spilling over into my jewelry-making. I just finished a necklace – a choker, really. It drapes so nicely – I may not be able to part with it. (I hate when that happens! LOL) It does remind me of a spring bouquet!

Next, I have earrings. The purple tones and the sheen of the pearls could be compared to violets in the morning dew, don’t you think?

And finally . . . we’ve certainly waited patiently enough for the bleak winter landscape to awaken in shades of green! Before we know it, the leaves will be bursting and this next piece, a pendant, showcases lots of spring greens (or was I subconsciously thinking about the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day?).  😉

Do you have Spring fever, too?

Hugs,

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