Three New Labor[ing] Day Weekend Bracelets

My goal for the holiday weekend was to address the slimness of the bracelet section in my Etsy shop. I managed to create three new bracelets. I stopped getting dressed on Saturday (I think that was also the last time I left the house), only changing my underwear. Once. I think I washed my armpits Sunday. I finally changed out of my pyjamas this morning to go to work. It seemed best.

Here's what I did.

Pewter Salmon Totem Bracelet in Teal Quartz and Carnelian.

Teal-dyed quartz, moss agate, carnelian and faceted red agate are joined with 20 gauge sterling wire, accented with my hand-formed nickel beadcaps, and attached to a pewter salmon totem from Happy Mango Beads. More moss agate and carnelian are attached to the links with jump rings (I couldn't help myself. Those carnelian are like bon bons, and I must have been a testicle in a former life because I'm addicted to dangling). I was pleased with how the toggle clasp turned out, I think wrapping it made it more of an element in the design.

Pewter Salmon Totem Bracelet in Teal Quartz and Carnelian.

Then I recycled a pendant design into a bracelet design.

"Yucatan" Bracelet in Chrysocolla, Turquoise, Brass and Wood

I like to call it "Reinventing My Wheel and Pretending It's New." I don't feel bad because I invented this wheel. I call it "Yucatan," because it makes me think of some artistic Pre-Columbian kingdom. The Maya, I guess that would be. The chrysocolla is like...potato chips. I had to add...just...one...more. Love it with the brass. It's the most unearthly color, I just love it. I got these fat little roundels locally. These are my favorite wood wheels from Beads and Pieces (temporarily out of stock!!! OMG, somebody pass the Xanax and Chardonnay). This is the last brass toggle clasp of this sort that I have and I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it. I think I got it from Dry Gulch Beads but they don't have them anymore. :-( If anyone has found these anywhere else, please let me know. They remind me of old portholes. Or machine parts. There's a little African turquoise roundel on there too, and a couple moss agate.

Finally, I did this vaguely floral number.

These are, I think, commercial lampwork beads from Bead Outlet on Etsy. I've combined them with Rainbow Soochow jade in deep peony colors, a little ivory bone bead from Happy Mango, and more of those OUT OF STOCK wood wheels from B&P. My hammered beadcaps hopefully keep it just this side of frou-frou. I didn't have any suitable antiqued brass charms so I made my own heart charm out of wire. There's some garnets on there, some smaller Soochow jade in bubble gum colors and a little fancy jasper roundel in an antique rose color. I like to think of this as a fusion design--Woodsy Victorian Gipsy. Perhaps a Roma living in the Black Forest in about 1880.

I did some earrings too but I haven't photographed them yet so you'll have to wait. I was hoping to do more but I just couldn't go any faster. Next time I'll skip the underwear change and the pit-washing and maybe I'll get in another pair of earrings.

Harness Your Frog Energy.

"Frog's song calls down the cleansing power of the rain. Frog is a reminder of the sacred power of tears to transform and cleanse away sorrow. Frogs will die if away from moisture for too long, and thus Frog reminds us to refresh ourselves, and allow joy to moisten our lives and our hearts. If you are feeling "muddied" by the world, take a moment to dream, to laugh and cry and renew yourself. Frog also reminds us to cleanse our bodies, our environments and our auric fields. People with Frog energy should learn and utilize methods of psychic cleansing."

Whatever.

I made this today with a pewter frog totem from most fabulous Happy Mango Beads, combined with lampwork from Pat Redinger at Beingbeads, and a stash of moss agate in a couple different sizes I completely forgot I had and obviously never really looked at closely because if I had I would have been OBSESSED with it and ordered 10 more strands and 80% of the stuff in my shop would be made with moss agate. It ranges from translucent, pale iceberg blue (even sometimes approaching periwinkle) through teal blue to vivid viridian and even towards a yellow-green, all of it with a delicate, glassy translucency, and fascinating veining that really does look like moss.

I added some little rice pearls in iris green. I've been meaning to use this totem with some of my blue-green lampwork from Pat and decided today was the day. And it wasn't even something I started two weeks ago and then stared at! I started it late this morning, and finished it the same day. Frigging amazing. I had to periodically LOS-ize more sterling wire, and melt more headpins in my torch, but it went pretty smoothly. My owl totem bracelet was very similar so I kind of knew how to go about it. This time, though, I looped the leather through a jumpring and wrapped it securely with a coil of silver wire, instead of using the crimp ends like I did with the owl bracelet. That was easier than I expected it to be.

I really do like frogs, actually (if I start collecting figurines in my 80s it will definitely be frogs--in fact my favorite is the poison dart frog). And I have been known to periodically sob in the restroom (public or private), after which time I generally do feel better although I look like crap. I had always thought I was just having a breakdown, but it's such a relief to know I was only instinctively cleansing my auric field. Moistening my, ah, life. Getting my Frog energy on.

What is Frog telling you?