Mad for Toggles

I'm rediscovering my lentil and tablet beads with this front-closure toggle design. It's sort of an easy bail to make! My bail making skills are very rudimentary, and the toggle bar adds interest to the focal.

Toast and Sagebrush Pendant

I made this one with one of my toasty textured tablets by Mary Ann Carroll--it's a very warm looking bead, with its warm toast colors, and its pebbled texture makes me feel warm (makes me think of ostrich hide, and ostriches come from Africa, and Africa is warm...) It also has some sage green mixed in--green like sagebrush, and sagebrush grows in desert climates, which are warm...(Yes, there is a theme here; we got new snow today on the ski hill, so I am thinking of warm places. I do that a lot. All year round in fact.)

Then I did another similar pendant. I really like to squeeze all I can out of a design.

After I finished the pendant below, I thought I should name it, and by golly if it didn't remind me a lot of Monet's "Water Lilies." It was the dollops of sky blue on the dark green background that made me think of lily pads. I went to look at the painting online, and the name seemed apt. I had even gotten some lilac in there too (there's a little spot of violet at the top of the focal).

Water Lilies

The large lentil focal and the bigger roundel are by Karen Hardy. Unfortunately her Etsy shop is empty. :-( The smaller roundel is by BeingBeads (I was thrilled how well they all went together!) The round beads include moss agate, teal-dyed quartz, and Czech glass in lilac. Copper plated pewter charm and freshwater pearls hang from the focal. Monet wasn't Irish, but it works for me. It's all "wet" colors, and Ireland is wet. So one dry pendant and one wet pendant. I try to be inclusive because I'm all about diversity.

Well, I suppose I should go to bed. There's nothing else to do.

Muppets: Bringing the World Together, One Etsy Shop at a Time

"...I take my lead from this immortal style icon--'I find that it is vital to have at least one handbag for each of the ten types of social occasion: Very Formal, Not So Formal, Just a Teensy Bit Formal, Informal But Not That Informal, Every Day, Every Other Day, Day Travel, Night Travel, Theatre and Fling.'"
-Miss Piggy

I recently came across the quote above in an Etsy seller's profile while reviewing her shop on LinkReferral. I immediately wrote my review and told the seller I loved her--she quoted MISS PIGGY (the diva's diva and my junior high style guru--God, why was junior high so hard?), AND she lives in Ireland, so she was double-ultra cool. And thus our little intercontinental friendship was born! Everybody, meet my new friend Rena Roohipour, of Lilycobweb at Etsy! I asked Rena to tell you a little about herself, and share some of her work:

Rena: I design and make crocheted and beaded wearable items and jewelry. I live in South Down, Northern Ireland in a very scenic area. I love music, art and craft. Crochet is something I have studied and developed since I was a child. I love its endless flexibility and sculptural qualities. I'm influenced by Nature and by Romanticism, with an occasional dash of Gothic glamour and a hint of Celtic twilight! I focus on that link between eye and heart and hope that this feeling is reflected in what I make. I love to make beautiful and functional pouches and purses as well as bead and wire jewellery. I occasionally make freeform crochet wallhangings which also incorporate beads and wire. What interests me about crochet is its ability to diffuse light, and still create a strong structure. It's fascinating, and for me, it's like drawing and painting with yarn.


I’m fairly new to selling online, but not new at all to crafts and crochet. I first learned to crochet at the age of eight or nine. I was taught by a neighbour of ours who did beautiful Irish crochet, and I used to marvel at her skill and patience. I gave up handcrafts and anything artistic for a long time. Then, when my eldest daughter went to study music in Boston four years ago, I went to visit her there. On a walk down Newbury Street, I visited the Boston Society for Arts and Crafts Shop. They had a jewellery exhibition there. That was the first place I saw bead and wire crochet jewellery! I couldn’t believe you could crochet wire! I’ve since gone back to yarn and thread, but I still use beads and wire a lot to make my creations. I don’t exclude any material, and I experiment a lot! Crocheting leather is my latest favourite thing!


Creating in the medium of crochet is very satisfying for me. Crochet always amazed me with its possibilities. It’s very sculptural and I love that. In a strange way, it links me to my childhood and my home.

At the moment, I’m obsessed with leaves and flowers and ways to crochet them. I want to do a series of leaf pendants connected with Celtic tree lore. I like to feel a link to nature, and I think that finds its way into my work.


This is one of my personal favorites currently in Rena's shop:


She's called it Pralines and Cream, and it's a "wristlet"--a nifty, whimsical, uber-feminine little purse you can attach to your wrist:

"For someone forever misplacing a purse, this is the perfect solution. Or if you're out 'socialising' (what purse? I had a purse?) this is what will save your dignity!

"A bag you can carry while holding a glass, a plate or loads and loads of shopping bags while answering your cellphone! A godsend!

"The crocheted handbag is designed to hold your keys, phone, money and lots more in a very secure and convenient way. The wristlet features three tiny magnetic clasps that are so easy to open and close on your wrist. Cream, mocha, walnut and caramel all blend deliciously with a cream cotton thread to make a great crocheted fabric. Vintage dark-brown leather buttons make the closure on the pouch and adorn the wristlet. Dark brown leather thonging forms a crocheted border. Very soft to the touch, yet so strong and functional. Perfect for summer evening outings. It has a lovely handsewn faux-suede camel lining."

These are some of my favorites from her sold items gallery:



I especially love her "Orange Lily" wristlet:



These wristlets are just the thing for me--I have left countless personal items in various establishments throughout northwestern Montana. My favorite black "Anna Karenina" faux fur hat, my bank card, my entire wallet, sweaters, coats, sunglasses, doggie bags (the kind with dinner leftovers, not dog poop), etc. Looking forward to seeing more of Rena's creations, and chatting on Facebook! Check her out!