the mcphee shuffle

we had a lovely day at the lake today.

 hazel was having such a great time she did a little dance for us.

we saw a little bear cub on the drive out.  see his little butt?

three wishes. part two

so, you know how i said how much i love this ring?  well, i admit it; i have been wearing it.  i just really love it.  when i made it, i was really thinking about what my three wishes would be.  and while i was wearing it, i found myself absentmindedly rubbing it and thinking about my wishes, focusing on them, putting energy into them.

i know you have no reason to believe me, just my word, but i have to tell you that yesterday, after three days of wearing this ring, major things happened that lead toward all of these wishes coming true!  cross my heart.  i cannot tell you what my wishes are (because then they may NOT come true after all) but i can tell you that...

one of them has to do with this

and one of them has to do with this

and one of them has to do with this.

and so, to further the magic of the three wishes, i made the three wishes necklace,

with prehnite, labradorite, and rainbow moonstone.

three stones

three chains

three wishes

rub that little lamp to your heart's content.

and see if your wishes come true.

the bear and autumn and dreams and wishes

i have not only finally had the opportunity to be out in the shop for good, long periods of time without interruption, but i have also been feeling really inspired lately, which is a good combination.

this weekend i made these pieces.

the bear piece was inspired by the bear tracks i have repeatedly seen up at the boggy draw trail lately when i am riding my bike.  

i hate this photo, because it is clearly taken of a dead bear's foot, but when i really looked at the tracks, i was so surprised to see how human-like they really are.  so i tried to find a photo of an actual 

bear foot. when i first saw the tracks i wondered what someone was doing on the trail barefoot.  then i thought maybe they were wearing those five-finger shoes.  then i realized what they really were.

the intuition necklace,

with turkish dendritic opal and faceted labradorite

there is so much folklore, myth, and power surrounding the bear in many different cultures.  most commonly, bears are said to represent, motherhood, protection, freedom, solitude, and intuition.  because of where i am in my life, i chose to let my encounter point me towards the intuition aspect.

and so i put  quote from  delphine de girardin on the back.

"intuition is the nose of the mind."

i am tempted to say that this will be the first in a series of such pieces, but if i say that i will jinx myself and never make another one like it.  so i won't.

the second spring necklace,

with artisan glass, hessonite garnet, faceted smoky quartz, and brass

this is such a dainty and sweet piece, a reminder of the fleeting beauty of fall.

the hold fast to dreams bracelet,

with a stunning labradorite and kyanite

this is a new design, a "wrap cuff" bracelet, inspired by a mistake i recently made when making some custom wedding jewelry.  it is a cuff design, but continues to wrap around your wrist.  it has some give so that you can tweak it to properly fit your own wrist once it is yours.

the inside has the fabulous langston hughes quote "hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.  (i loved a sweet boy named langston when i was in college...)

two small faceted labradorites adorn the ends.

the blues are fantastic.

and i a made a new three wishes ring,

with ruby, mexican opal and artisan glass

(which i have fallen in love with)

you know the story. the great, big, all powerful, genie appears to you after you rub the lamp, offering you three wishes, anything you want. so what would yours be? what would be the three things you would wish for in all the world? this ring is to represent those wishes, whatever they may be. it is to remind you of the three things you want most in the world, even if they are things you already have. and i guess the really important question is, what will you do about those three wishes if the genie doesn't show up?

here you can see the flash of the opal.  magical.

with aladdin's little lamp there at the bottom

(though junebug said it was a teapot)

did i mention that i love this one?

these are all in the etsy shop now, my friends!

blue moon inspiration

linksthroughspace.blogspot.com

i was very much inspired by the blue moon that occurred last friday night.  after the kids were in bed i rode my bike down to the river and sat and watched it come up over the ridge.  and i think i understand now why there's so much power and wonder associated with it.

the nor cast one longing lingering look behind... necklace,

with an astounding blue labradorite

every once in a while, once in a blue moon, you make a decision that has been needing to be made for a very long time. all of a sudden, perhaps because of the moon, you have a clarity that was never there before, an insight that has long eluded you. and there, right then and there, you decide that things have to be different. you realize now that your very existence depends upon it. you overcome your fear, and you set out on a new path, one that leads away from misery and towards peace. and you don't question yourself, "nor cast one longing lingering look behind.". 

i had just such an experience during the recent blue moon. as i sat and watched it rise over the ridge i had such clarity. this necklace was inspired by that experience. at its center is an absolutely glorious labradorite cab. the blues are indescribable and the feather that goes along the lower part of the stone offers a beautiful division, perhaps before and after? surrounding the labradorite are three small stones, labradorite, moonstone, and prehnite, and many lovely little bits and baubles. the spiral bail is riveted in place.

this is the blue moon ring,

with a fabulous rose cut rainbow moonstone

as usual, i could not capture the amazing blue flash of this stone.

the grow ring,

with gem silica

such an amazing stone, with bits of malachite.

and this is the calm ring,

with utah variscite

variscite is said to bring a sense of calmness. this particular stone makes me think of calmness within chaos. the soft, minty color in the center is surrounded by the darker black and green pattern, representing peace within turbulence, calm within the storm.

these are all in the shop now. 

 have a fantastic weekend!