The Lily Collection Copper and Aventurine Necklace 3

Lily reached for her good luck necklace; it made her think of China and the daughter that she knew was waiting there for her. Fondling the coins, it seemed to soothe the wait, and the red beads that intermingled with the luminous stones reminded her of an ancient saying: "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." She sighed, but was comforted knowing that she too, would eventually meet her daughter. Looking east into the rising sun, she knew it would be a good day.

This is the third necklace in the Lily Collection, and is now available in my Etsy shop...just click on my links to the left of this post!

Dragonfly Treasury

I was very excited to discover that my Julia Copper Dragonfly pendant has been featured on a very pretty dragonfly treasury. The treasury was created by slvrlily, you can find her very interesting and fun shop on Etsy right here slvrlily.etsy.com

I love dragonflies, and can hardly wait to see them zooming around this summer. Maybe this treasury will flatter them enough to encourage them to arrive sooner!

Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=46448

Hope Collection Part 2

I've had a couple of days off and was able to complete (and photograph) a bit more of the Hope Collection (see earlier post for more information about this ). These pieces are for sale in my Etsy shop, but I'll be donating some to the Cancer Foundation's Relay For Life. Here is a sneak preview of one more piece...I love the orange glass flower in the middle, and I think that this may be my favorite piece! And I couldn't help but include a pic of the little gift boxes that they come in-the boxes are so cute!

Stay tuned for more photos!

The Hope Collection

Many of our lives, or the lives of those we love, have been touched by illness. In particular, cancer has sounded its deafening roar throughout my own immediate and extended family.

My latest Etsy collection honours those friends and family who have lost their courageous battles, as well as celebrates the survivors among us. Each piece literally tells the story of the joyous life we live, the precious love we are surrounded with, the faith that keeps us going, and our hopes for a cure.

My mom will be participating in the Cancer Foundation's "Relay For Life" fundraiser on June 6, and every member of her team will be receiving one of 5 styles of a pendant to commemorate the event.

Please join me in wishing them success in their fundraiser, and in their cause to find a cure!

Lily Collection #2 in the Series

Sorry I haven't written in so long! It seems that there is so much to do in the spring, and less hours to do it. (Why is that?)

I have a number of interesting pieces on the go right now, and have just added this one to my shop. Here is a small taste of "Lily's" story part 2:

Allison had been Lily’s closest friend for years. She was the opposite of herself in many ways, yet they always seemed to get along, despite differing viewpoints. Or maybe that was why they got on so well. She handed Ally the box she had brought with her. “Open it, I couldn’t wait until your birthday to give it to you-I was so excited!” Ally peeled apart the layers of wrapping and gasped "Lily! This is gorgeous-it looks like a Chinese antique! Where in the world did you get it?""Oh, I unearthed it one day...it has the symbol for prosperity on it, and the shiny droplets at the bottom represent prosperity raining down on the wearer...it seemed so perfect for you right now with all of the changes in your life, I had to get it for you!"

During these refreshing, sunny days of spring, may showers of prosperity rain down on you and yours!

The Lily Collection

This is the first piece in my asian-inspired Lily Collection. The chain itself is made from hand-coiled copper and hand-wrapped aventurine beads, in graduated sizes. (Aventurine has been used as a lucky talisman , and legends say that it is an all-purpose healer, used to reduce stress, develop confidence, imagination and improve prosperity. A legend from ancient Tibet says that aventurine was used to improve nearsightedness and to increase the wearer's creativity; many believe that aventurine has the capacity to calm a troubled spirit and bring about inner peace).
The pendant - a brass replica of an asian coin - sits amid 8 larger aventurine beads-each hand knotted onto a red thread. For more photos or info for this necklace, please click on my Etsy shop to the right.
Lily's story...
Lily reached for her good luck necklace; it made her think of China and the daughter that she knew was waiting there for her. Fondling the coin, it seemed to soothe the wait, and the red thread that knotted the luminous beads reminded her of an ancient saying: "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." She sighed, but was comforted knowing that she too, would eventually meet her daughter. Looking east into the rising sun, she knew it would be a good day.

Julia Collection-the story continues...

Here is the second piece for the Julia collection, I really love this piece! When it is on, the butterfly looks like it is suspended within the copper frame, and when the light hits it...ooh la la!

If you don't already know, each collection has a woman's name, and each woman has a story. (Like we all do, in life). There is a paragraph from each story released every time a new piece in the collection appears-so you'll have to keep checking in to read the stories! I have included the "butterfly" paragraph here, but for the others go to my Etsy shop (the link is on the right), and check out the "description/write-up" for each of the pieces. Have fun!

Julia held up her long brown hair in a ponytail, away from her face. “Maybe I should do something with my hair, maybe I should cut it short”. She let it fall. “What do you think, Harry?” Harry, who had been gazing at her, cocked his head and and placed a paw over his nose. “Hmmm, maybe you’re right, maybe I should leave it for now. Harry barked, relieved. “It’s just that it’s spring-wouldn’t it be nice to change things up for spring? No? How ‘bout a walk then?” Harry ‘s toenails clattered across the floor as he took off to get his leash. She put on her favorite necklace-a beautiful suspended copper butterfly that she bought on Etsy, and turned back and forth in the mirror, admiring the way the light refracted from it. Pulling her hair into a ponytail and securing it, she frowned. “I wouldn’t look that bad in short hair , would I?”

This copper creation measures 1 5/8” across by 1 1/2” tall, and features a suspended butterfly, complete with rhinestones. The butterfly has been lightly patterned, then fire treated to get the interesting colors on it’s wings. The wings have been punched for added detail. The copper frame is supported by a black leather cording measuring 16” long.