Boulder Opals

"And lo! the beautiful opal - That rare and wondrous gem - Where the Moon and Sun blend into one is the child that was born to them." - Ella Wheeler Cox

I was at Ketner's Mill Country Craft Fair a couple of weeks ago and a lady came by with a stone (it always amazes me when people have these things with them) that blew my mind. It looked like a solid tiger's eye or jasper, but it had a window with shimmering opalescence. She asked if I could wrap it in copper, and I did, and she was so happy with the wrap that she hugged me (she'd apparently been told a price once that was ridiculous, and had put off having anything done with it for a very long time). I'm still kicking myself for not having my camera with me to take a better picture of the finished pendant; it really was amazing. There are some crappy pics I took with my phone on Facebook.

I decided I needed to figure out what that stone was ("opal" was all I had) and get my hands on some for myself, so I found a supplier and spent more than I probably needed to, but I am so excited to get them and wire wrap them in time for Christmas. The pictures above are two of the seven I bought, but still pictures really don't do them justice. The fine veins shimmer and dance with color and iridescence when you move them.

Boulder opal was discovered in Australia in the 1870s. The opalescent veins can be many different colors, and run through ironstone matrix, which means that every one of these is very different. It's hard to cut them into traditional cabochons so they're usually cut kind of free form.

I also got some other beautiful stones from my usual supplier that will be getting some attention shortly. There is a new option on the website to choose a stone and have me wrap it custom for you. I don't know if any of these will make it there, but there are lots of pretty stones available. And, as always, if you've been carrying around a stone (it has to be bigger than about 10 mm for wire wrapping) that means something to you, and you'd like it custom wrapped, contact me.

Ear Cuffs

Ear cuffs have become one of my best-selling items; theyr'e definitely unique. What are they? Basically I take a piece of wire, add embellishments, and bend it so that it can cling to your ear at the narrow part up the side. Most of them require no piercing (except a few like this one that have an earring attached as well). I can make them in a variety of colors out of enameled copper including: burgundy, red, amber, orange, yellow, lime green, bright green, seafoam green, teal, dark green, dark teal, ice blue, peacock blue, royal blue, navy blue, purple, lavender, violet, lilac, eggplant, pink, fuschia, gunmetal, black, silver, gold, copper and antique brass. All of them are coated with an enamel finish so should not bother anyone with nickel allergies.

Check out my gallery of earrings on the web site here: http://youvegotmaille.net/gallery/earrings The cuffs are part way down the page. Let me know what color wire you'd like and any other directives on color scheme, whether you'd like chain embellishments or charms, and I'll whip one up for you for less than $10 (depending on how complicated you want it). Or, if you like to shop in person, you can stop by Fragrant Mushroom Gallery in Sparta and see the ones that are available there for sale. Try something different!

Partnership

We met our friends Yvonne and Randy last year at MidSouth Con and I knew right away we'd get along. They do chainmaille and wire wrapping that's a style similar to mine (but still recognizably different, we think). They like a lot of the same things. A year and a bit later, we're buds. We've done several shows together in the interim and I discovered something: Von is a way better salesperson than I am in person.

So we struck up a partnership of sorts: they are taking some of my jewelry to shows with them, and in charge of customer contact at shows we are both at. I, on the other hand, am taking over their online sales and promotion PR.

So, without further adieu, I present to you Back to Earth Creations. On their website you'll find a variety of jewelry (it also is in the process of being updated). I tend to wire wrap pendants, whereas Von creates these intricate full necklace pieces like the one above . She also has amazing bellydance outfits, and wood burned boxes. I am in charge of their Etsy shop, where I'm in the process of getting lots of goodies listed. Do check them out, and expect to hear more about them on this woefully neglected blog (I have the best of intentions, I really do...), which will shortly reflect the partnership since I'm going to promote both businesses from here. Welcome!

Treasury Crazy

I don't know when Etsy changed their Treasury system so there isn't a mad dash to make one, but I'm having a great time making a few. Here I give you my favorite selection (or one of them, when I can't pick!) from the treasuries I've made over the last few weeks. And a link so you can enjoy the rest of them. Click the title for the treasury, the shop name or picture for the item

"Ornaments to Die For" Treasury:
I love Christmas ornaments, so I've chosen a few of my favorite handmade ones, including this hand painted ornament from Gwydion's Garden.


From my "Geek Out Your Christmas" Treasury comes this fun personalized photograph. It's not my favorite at My Magic Me's shop, so you should definitely check out the other options for a really unique gift there.


In my "Compost and Garden Daydreams" treasury I give you a few items to keep you gardeners over the winter... and growing your compost pile in the meantime! I adore this compost crock from KB Originals, etc.


Steel being one of my favorite materials, I created this "Man (or woman) of Steel" treasury, featuring this adorable yoga pose skeleton by Zed's Zombie Ranch (and there are several other amusing steel skeltons to be found in his shop)
And finally, I celebrate the spirit of Yule in my treasury "The Holly King and the Oak King", featuring this magnificent oak carved out of oak by Treewiz. Do check out the treasury, it was really hard to pick a favorite from this one.


There you have it, five items from five treasuries that I thoroughly enjoyed making. Happy holidays!

A Message of Faith, No Matter What Yours Is

I was inspired by a POEST chat last night to do a little feature on various holy days in December, so for each of the ones I can think of you get an Etsy item. Voila. From each of these days I hope to give you a message of the holiday that you can take with you for whatever celebration you choose.

First, Kwanzaa. For this holiday I give you a listing from which I learned something new. The Sankofa symbol in the Akan language of Ghana symbolizes a word that means "return and take it," meaning that we should take from the past the wisdom of our elders and predecessors. Here's the listing, a cup with this symbol by Dovecote Design:



For Hanukkah I chose a breathtaking papercut by Jewish Papercuts that bears the words in Yiddish (I assume, please excuse my ignorance) Yehi Shalom: May there be peace in your dwelling. May there, indeed, be peace in yours.


There are a lot of people clamoring to "Put Christ back in Christmas" and I hope I will not risk offending anyone when I say this: Put "Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men" back in Christmas. Anyway I adored this Christmas card from Sugar Tree Studio because of the peaceful image of the cardinal in the snowy tree, and the fact that you can add beautiful photos of your family to it, to send to everyone on your card list.


On December 22 the Hopi celebrate Soyaluna, which is a festival celebrating the return of the sun. It is also a time of saying prayers for the new year and wishing each other prosperity and Health. From Desert Rose Art Glass I present to you this lovely Kachina that seemed appropriate:


Solstice celebrations are almost as old as mankind, today celebrated by pagans, wiccans, Asatru, and countless others. From ancient solstice celebrations, and often from Yule in particular, nearly every holiday celebrated this month celebrates light in some manner. The tradition of the Yule log survived into Christmas celebrations and the meaning of burning this log all night long was hope: even in the darkest darkness there is light. Even if you don't have a fireplace you can adapt with this yule log candle holder by Cedar Candle Lights:


The fasting of Ramadan is (in part) to teach Muslims to remember the plight of those less fortunate, and in some places it is not unusual on Eid (the celebration at the end of the fast) to greet total strangers or give gifts to children you don't know. Arabic calligraphy is breathtaking and seems to lend itself to pictures... these earrings by Norouzi represent the word for peace, and resemble a dove:



Whatever your faith, I wish you peace, joy and love this holiday season, and upon all those you love.

The Subtle Forms of Geekery

The past two weekends I took the helm of the USS Grand Caravan and headed into the unknown on an adventure to seek out strange new life and new civilizations. I discovered it. At a Renaissance Faire, and a Sci Fi convention.
I confess it: I am a nerd. The pic above is me at a Renfaire about three years ago, and yes, those are elf ears. What you, the uninitiated, may not know, is that there are subtleties in forms of geekery and, well, levels. As someone who plays roleplaying games two days a week, loves costuming and renfaires, makes chainmaille jewelry, has read the Silmarillion, and has more than a working trivia knowledge of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, I figure I am approximately a level seven geek. (I could make jokes here about my regular bathing and teeth brushing preventing further advancement, but I won't... well I guess I just did...).
Geeks have this funny way of measuring themselves against other nerds. Like, "Dude, I roleplay, but I won't LARP" (live action roleplaying, for those of you not in the know... basically, acting out the spellcasting and such). I dunno, does it make us feel like we still have one foot in the mainstream? I think that's the way most of us like it. We live in another world sometimes (literally), but we like to think we can seamlessly blend with the real one when we want to. And, we go to these events, cons and renfaires, and measure ourselves against the yardstick of the Epic Level Geek.
All of this occurred to me as I listened to a conversation (not the first one I've heard) about the relative merits of one superhero versus another, and about their supposed personal lives. I'm not a comic geek. Russ won't even send me web comics if they have panels, I don't get them. Some sort of mental block. But I guess I need to be standing on the outside of one of these subtleties of geekness to see what all of it looks like to the rest of you.
On the other hand, I suspect there are a whole lot of closet geeks (just past character creation, a n00b, a geekling) out there. Based on the number of people playing World of Warcraft. And the fact that Big Bang Theory seems to be such a huge hit -- could it be you're measuring your level of geekness as you're watching this show, too, the same way those of us who are out of the closet do at cons and faires?
If that's the case, I recommend you give in a little and enjoy it. Oh, I know if you show up at the next Renfaire and I'm standing there in costume, you'll probably do that little mental calculation and figure you're still mostly normal compared to me, and that's cool, cause we all do it (come on nerds, you KNOW you do...). But if we chat about the circlet I'm selling that you're thinking of buying to accessorize your new Renaissance dress, or we discuss the feasibility of time travel, or warp versus hyperdrives, or CG Yoda versus puppet Yoda (we are getting into higher levels here).... well, there's a moment of solidarity there, and it's good. There have been way too many fanboy movies over the past few years for you to deny the little geek in you. We know our own.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new steampunk costume to plan.

Upcoming Exciting Events

We'll be at the following events:

June 5-6
Shakespeare and Friends Renaissance Festival, Rogersville TN

June 11-13
Sci Fi Summer Con, Atlanta GA


Also, besides Fragrant Mushroom Gallery, starting June 19 we'll have items for sale at Solstice Winds, a new metaphysical shop in Cookeville, TN, and A Rare Find, a gift shop also in Cookeville.

Hoping to revamp our website soon, as well. Hope you can make one of the above events or shops, we're excited about the future!