The Art of Mourning Jewelry

About a week ago my stepfather ended up in the hospital after a heart attack. He had to have emergency surgery and all that. My family of course went into what I thought of as the "death fear" mode. It was interesting to see and hear people's reaction to the "fact" that we're all impermanent. But I won't get into that here....that's a whole other blog

Well my step dad survived the heart attack and surgery. When I spoke to him we had an interesting convo. After asking him how's he's doing and all that...he replied " You can put away your outfit for the funeral...jewels and all.

Hairwork Mourning Bracelet

Seems my stepfather knows me. See, I understand death is a part of life, just as much as birth. While everyone was wondering about their own mortality...I was wondering what to wear. This thought reminded me of the custom of mourning jewelry.

During the Georgian and Victorian Periods, works of art and jewelry were created out of hair and other materials to commemorate the loss of loved ones. These mourning pieces served as an eternal memorial and reminder of the lost loved one.

While there are many compaies making jewelry to celebrate life very few make jewelry to remember a dead loved one. But there is a good amount of info about the history behind this type of jewelry. Doing a quick search I found

• Jenny Vorwalker, another jewelry maker who also blogged about mourning jewelry
• Morbid Outlook has an article on Victorian Mourning Fashion which includes jewelry.
• Victorian Hairwork Society, shows you many different types of jewelry made from hair

I also found the website Things Gone By which has a mourning jewelry museum and the Art of Mourning website which is dedicated to mourning, memorial and sentimental jewellery, funeralia and art.

How wonderful that during the saddest moments of our life, we can still be creative and make beautiful jewelry. There's definitely a lesson for me to learn from that.

J'Adore Tien Blog Award

How sweet of Jamee (Jonara Blu Maui) to give me this blog award =). I feel very special since Jamee took time away from making such incredible jewelry to pass along this award to me and others =)

Now the rule is I'm supposed to say 5 things I love. Hmm. Lets see:

1. I love my son.
2. I love cookies.
3. I love having my own personal mixture of Buddhism and Christianity.
4. I love the feeling I get from working with gemstone.
5. I love hiking in the mountains where I can hear the sounds of nature.

and now I'm passing the award on to 10 of my favorite blogs:

1. Woven Gems
2. Made By Amber
3. Luciana Podschun
4. Gammiebrat
5. Bangles & Clay
6. Inside the artisan
7. Jewelry by Szarka
8. kerin rose
9. Namaste
10. YellowGoat

Entry for EAOC August Theme

So as I now try...once again...to turn my attention back to jewelry I decided to keep up with the challenges/themes for some of the etsy teams I'm part. First up Etsy Artists of Color August Theme

EAOC August Theme: The challenge/ theme is to create and/or showcase all of our animal-inspired designs.

Batik Bead Tube Earrings

Hmm, I can't say I do alot of prints or jewelry with a pattern look since I'm currently on a gemstone and metal focus. Yet, I do have quite a few beads that I have yet to use soooooo...I made these earrings for the EAOC challenge/theme. They're made using Mudcloth Batik Bone Beads from Kenya, Africa with Sterling Silver finds.

Some Batik Bead Info ~

Mudcloth beads are made of bone and are created in Africa using a "batik" technique. Wax is painted onto the bead to create a design, then the remaining surface is darkened with a vegetable dye. Once the dye is set, the wax is removed. The resulting graphic is reminiscent of the African "bogolanfini" fabric known as mudcloth.

Oddly enough when I look at these beads they remind me of a cow. LOL. Thus, I feel I meet the EAOC August Theme for an animal-inspired design. What do you think?

The Connection of Myspace and Self Promotion

Like everyone else I have a myspace business profile that I made when myspace was considered the new hot spot to promote yourself. I started building a community there and promoting my brand but it's alot of work finding and marketing to the right kind of people on that site. Not impossible but alot of work

While hanging on on myspace for some reason I decided to turn my attention somewhere else...perhaps there was some new hot site that lanched and of course I wanted to try it out. Whatever the case my presence there as business has been lacking. But every now and then someone surfs over and makes contact.

A few weeks back I received a myspace email asking me if I wanted to donate some jewelry for the Southern Maine Pagan Pride Day in exchange for being advertised at the event. First thing is I'm not familiar with this event which is out of state. At first I was like...umm, I don't even know you but you want me to send you my jewelry? I mean this was the women's first email to me. I felt like...at least exchange a few emails with me before you ask for my jewelry.

But then I thought...why not...I can make and send something on faith for help this women out. If it turns out to be a scam...well it's her karma but if it's legit then we both benefit. Promoting my business hasn't exactly been on the top of my list lately. LOL. Maybe this can be a way to do some alternate forms of promoting.

So within the next couple of day I'll make a few simple earrings, bring out some business cards and then send everything out on faith and see what happens

Shopping for Diamonds Has Never Been Easier

The purchase of diamonds and diamond jewelry is one that most involve research to ensure that you are not a victim of fraud or misrepresentation. There are online jewelry retailers who pride themselves on exemplary service and quality items as well as safe purchasing procedures.

One such company is Abazias, who are one of the leaders in online diamond sales. Their selection of engagement rings and loose diamonds in unrivaled and using their sophisticated search software is a breeze. They offer free shipping and a custom ring builder for you to get the perfect ring the first time. Rather than searching multiple websites for settings and loose diamonds, you can find everything you need at Abazias.com.

There are thousands of designs for setting available out there in the marketplace. It is wise to narrow down your choices, first by metal type. Platinum, white gold and yellow gold are the most popular choices. Once you know what metal type you like, you can then consider what you would like the ring to look like. If you want side stones, you can disregard basic styles and look at settings where side stones are present to accentuate your center diamond.

At online retailers such as Abazias, you can easy separate the settings that you want from the many others available. After deciding on the diamond cut you favor, you can also search for settings that will accommodate your choice. Purchasing is a breeze as all of the transactions take place online, but if you have any questions, you can speak to a diamond jewelry expert at Abazias to help you make a choice. You have a generous return period as well. There are times when you buy a ring and it just does not look right on the finger. At Abazias, you can return or exchange the ring for any reason within their generous 10-day return period.

{This is a sponsored post.}

Merry Go Round - What Inspires

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! Each month a group of creative folks get together, pick a topic and then blog about it at the same time...give or take a time zone =).

This month's topic is to answer the question..."What inspires us: a peak into journals, pinboards, folders or wherever we keep our little snippets of inspiring stuff...?.

So even though I knew this topic was coming I wasn't very please to share. LOL. Not that I didn't want to share but in order to share I had to brave the inspiration box. The inspiration box started out as a inspiration folder that grew into an inspiration binder that...well grew into a box over the years. So what's in there that inspires me you wonder?

It's a combo of a binder and bits and pieces of things I find interesting like fabric, magazine ads, jewelry sketches, etc. Inspiration for me doesn't come from just jewelry, beading or fashion magazines. Anything I find interesting that can be re-made into a jewelry design goes in there. I also write little notes on the pages so I remember what inspired me and how I want to experiment with the idea.

But as I look at my box I fear it's outgrown it's current size. LOL. I've been trying to prune it and remove ideas that I've completed or that I'm not inspired by anymore. Still there's still lots in there to be inspired by...

Sadly this is my last contribution for the Merry-Go-Round project. But the other members are still sharing and blogging so please make a note of their links and go take a visit.

Agathe @ Le Bar du Vent

Andreanna @ Glamasaurus

Charlotte @ Fancy Picnic

Fabienne @ Easterya

Jenny @ Jenny Karlsson Design

Lily @ Lily Pang Art

Marian @ Florcita

Ruth @ Birdland Creations

Sara @ Sara's Texture Crafts

Wendren @ Wren

Ladybugs and Fireflies Necklace Inspired by Artbeads

Making jewelry is not as easy as some people try to tell you...some people feel as long as you have some beads and other jewelry supplies then your all set. Well not for me at this stage of my life. I've been struggling to make this necklace using the Stoneware Porcelain Pendants for days now. So, what's the issue?

Some might say a creative block but that's never it...it's usually about time management. I had to stop and start this necklace a few times because other things demanded time but I'm proud to say I kept going when I could sneak time for it and finally...here it is!

I decided to name this necklace Ladybugs and Fireflies...even though there isn't any fireflies in the pendant. But I felt the carnelian chip beads seem very firefly-ish to me in color and form. As for the pendant instead of metal or gemstone I chose one of Stoneware Porcelain Pendants for the symbolism of the ladybug.

Wanna know some cool ladybugs legends?

- Nearly ALL cultures believe that a Ladybug is lucky! Killing one is said to bring sadness and misfortune.
- In some Asian cultures, it is believed that the Ladybug understands human language, and has been blessed by God, Himself.
- In France, if a Ladybug landed on you, whatever ailment you had would fly away with the Ladybug!

And my personal favorite

- People in Switzerland told their young children that they were brought to them, as babies, by Ladybugs!

To me jewelry is more then just precious metal and gemstones to look pretty with. I feel jewelry should also have a symbolic connection with the wearer. One purpose of wearing jewelry is to adorn but people also wear jewelry to protect and bless the wearer. I hope my ladybug blesses the person who's spirit leads them to it.

So that's what I did with my Stoneware Rectangle Pendant - Spring Blooms and Ladybug. What do you think?