Tangled Tuesday - Hoarding Butterflies #etsygifts #etsyjewelry #beading

Today I want to give a shout-out to one of my artistic friends! 

If you like beautiful beaded earrings, necklaces and chains, please hop over and check out Hoarding Butterflies on Etsy. She uses beading as therapy for anxiety, which is awesome! Art is a wonderful tool for that. ❤️

She shared her two of her favorite pieces to showcase in my blog.

The one above is inspired by Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Shadow and Bone was recently adapted into a show via Netflix. One of the main characters, Alina, is a sun summoner.

The second is butterfly inspired & the colors are gorgeous. I can see this necklace looking fabulous  with a lavender or white summer dress, or even jeans and a t-shirt. 

Check out some of her other pieces - there are a lot to choose from. My personal favorite are these green heart earrings you can find right HERE. In fact, I think I’ll treat myself right now.😉

If you have a special occasion to buy for (or want to treat yourself) 

Hoarding Butterflies is the perfect choice for a unique, one of a kind gift!

Thoughtful Thursday - Rite of Spring

Ah, spring! The time when all the trees in our neighborhood pop like popcorn. The time when the chill in the air becomes tinged with the most melancholy of breezes. The time my favorite oak struggles to make a comeback from icy vestiges of winter--and the Magnolia tree we planted in memory of our dog Oberon, blooms.

I always do something special to mark the seasons. The "something special" changes from year-to-year, but marking the season in a reverent way is important to me. This Spring Equinox weekend, I decided to have a go at making myself a resin ring. I've never made resin jewelry before (I'm not crafty) but saw this via Faerie Magazine. Cool, isn't it? I thought it was a ring when I first saw the picture, but turns out it was a bracelet--and one I couldn't afford. The design stuck with me, but the price...maybe I could make it? I did some research, bought a silicone ring mold, resin and release spray, and...they sat on my counter top for the next few weeks. Enter Spring Equinox weekend. Perfect timing! I gathered some greenery from the base of my oak tree, mixed it with the resin, poured the mess into a silicone ring mold--and voila!

My Rite of Spring ring.

It was very difficult to get the tiny bits of plant matter into the tiny mold. Unfortunately, it turned out cloudy! I read that if your materials are damp (my plant matter wasn't dried or sealed) it can react with the resin. I will definitely be trying this again--next time, with just moss and clover because the dandelion doesn't work for me. Perhaps I'll get it right by the Summer Solstice.


Follow up: Spring Ring #2

Tangled Tuesday-Sometimes, I Make Stuff...but not these

Photo courtesy of  The Kitschy Cuocake

I bought myself a pair of Ouija earrings for Christmas. As you may or may not know, I collect Ouija things and had been scouring the internet trying to find earrings in a particular glass bead style. I discovered a shop on Etsy by the name of The Kitschy Cupcake. She makes some cute things-you should definitely check her shop out. The earrings pictured are exactly what I bought--I love them!

So, sometimes a little light goes on in my writerly head. I started to wonder how difficult it would be to make earrings like this. Turns out, it's not! I learned the style is called glass cabochon and went from there. You can find simple video tutorials, if you are so inclined.

If you don't have the time or inclination, please check out Etsy. They boast some awesome shops and most likely, you'll be getting one-of-a-kinds. My earrings were a deal at $8.00