A New Flirty Fairy Cabochon Long Necklace is Finished!

A fluttery winged fairy alights.

The image on this cabochon is by one of my all-time favorite illustrators, Warwick Goble, and it's called Fairies at the Cradle. His original design was used as the frontspiece for The Book of Fairy Poetry in 1920. I love the image, not only for its soft style, but also because I have always enjoyed imagining fairies and angels watching over my children.

Warwick Goble's illustration of Fairies at the Cradle.

The start of the project.

This little fairy wanted to be celebrated, and worn next to her caretaker's heart, so she jumped into my hands along with my favorite iridescent coppery rainbow seed beads, about 6 feet of FireLine, and a needle about as thin as a hair. I affixed her to a piece of Lacy's Stiff Stuff, which I had previously dyed black, and then I began to sew and sew, using the beautiful peyote stitch.

Fringe happening!

After the inside border was finished, she helped me choose a selection of fringe tips - top quality Czech glass dagger beads, iridescent blue glass leaf beads, and tiny copper droplets for the outside fringe strands. The first side of the fringe is always kind of exciting since I don't know what pattern will slowly appear until I'm right in the middle of it! The second side is easy, because all I have to do is match.

It's kind of like she's "spreading her skirt."

After the fringe is finished, she guides me to choose the pattern and colors of the larger beads around the outside border. These are 6 ott (6/0) beads. They crown the top and sides of the cabochon beautifully.

On to the necklace strap.

After the pendant part is finished, she asks me to weave the necklace strap, so I do, using some of the 6/0 beads to decorate it. I pull the FireLine through each of the two strands in the necklace strap twice, so it's strong and will last a long time. Then the trickiest part comes along - I have to trim the Lacy's Stiff Stuff off very close to my stitching, without catching any of the fringe strands or necklace straps or bead borders with my tiny, sharp scissors. I usually hold my breath while I do this part, and sometimes I pray too. Lord, pleeeease don't let me snip anything extra, pleeeeease, pleeeeeease! Thanks!!

Ta da!

And the last step is to sew the blue Ultrasuede backing onto the back to finish off the piece. This is tricky too, as it also needs trimming, after a dab of glue to hold it in place. Around the edge I pick up a single bead with each stitch and, once I'm around the circle I go through each of those beads to make a nice smooth border. Then, TA DA! It's finished!

Such a happy fairy necklace!

She likes to be worn with anything. Soft green tunic....

Paisley tunic....

White, or any solid color....

Flirty fairy necklace!

She will be available at Dreamkeeper Creations on Etsy for a few weeks, and then at the Green Drake Gallery.

Thanks for visiting!

Namaste,
Jen

Communications with My Sweet Jess xo

The cover of our journal

So my new relationship with my daughter after her crossover began with a very special journal that my two best ever Earth Angel Lovies gave to me. It's a journal designed by Laurel Birch, who surmounted some major challenges while she was here on Earth, so, extra special. I probably shouldn't say it "began" then, because Jess did, and continues to do occasional electrical stuff and songs and numbers, but the relationship with my sweet Jess certainly deepened.

This special journal sat on one of the bookshelves in my studio for several months and then one night I was really missing my daughter and I pulled it out and wrote her a letter, which I will share with you. (You can click on the images to make them larger.)

First letter I wrote to Jess

I was pretty sure she could see what I had written, and feel it as I wrote it. She could feel me reaching out to love her, and express my concerns.

I wrote several entries over a period of several months, which made me feel closer to her - somewhere in my soul I knew she "heard" me, she "received" the communication.

Then one night the idea came into my mind to write a letter from her to me. Well, wasn't I pleasantly surprised - it was beautiful.

First letter from Jess

xoxo

Well this made my heart feel lighter, and I loved it. I didn't know at the time that there was a name for the process we were doing, which I found out later. In the course of conversation with some people I trust absolutely, who are knowledgeable about alternative medicine, and energy work, I learned that here in this town where I live, there lives a psychic medium. Well, I thought, why not go see her? So I called and made an appointment to visit with her for an hour and see what would come about. Wow, it was so special.

For those who might be interested in a session themselves, her name is Desiree Dennis, and her whole family is wonderfully fascinating. Her grandfather is a veterinarian. Her mother is an energy worker and does a number of wonderful things. Her brother is very talented in a number of ways, and she, herself, is the most unassuming, charming, genuine individual who truly cares about her clientele. (Funny aside here - when we went into the room where she does her sessions with people there are three chairs. She sits in the middle one. Her client gets to pick which chair to sit in, either on her right, or on her left. She said it's so amusing that most of her "Penn State" clientele tends to choose the right-hand chair, and most of her "artsy, creative, spiritual" clientele tend to choose to sit on her left. Yes, I sat on the left, that's where the tissue box was : )

During our session, which was an hour long, and recorded, one of the things Desiree said was that Jess loves our letters and wants me to spend more time writing, both to her from me and from her to me. Desiree explained that there is a name for this process, and it's called "automatic writing." She also said there's a tree that's special to Jess and myself, and Jess wants me to know that if I go sit under our tree she'll come and talk with me. I happen to know this would be the peach tree by our pergola in the back yard, where we sat on the grass at sunset, and where Jess pranced through a little pathway bordered by mushrooms that had sprung up from the recent rains while she was visiting us. Yes, I've sat there, and yes, we've had wonderful conversations.

But I digress - I've spent some more time doing this "automatic writing" thing, and can say it lightens my heart and in each of Jess's letters there's at least one "zinger," which is what I call something I wouldn't normally write or even think of myself. These zingers give me insight or encouragement or turn a lightbulb on in my head and heart. They're gifts.

She guards me when she feels I've had enough to process - she says "Gotta go!" And I appreciate that.

She's talking here about the little creatures that our cat, Joey Max brings to us. I bury them in the front garden with flowers and prayers.

~Laurel Birch

Thank you Laurel Birch for being a big spirit while you were here. Thank you Desiree for your facilitation and encouragement. Thank you my sweet Jess for being accessible and sharing your adventures. 

Just LOVE. All good. 

We are working together and it is so fun. If you'd like to try "automatic writing" with someone you love who's in our true home, here are some tips:

• Make yourself comfortable (you might not want to be interrupted)
• Light a candle
• Put your favorite music on or go out in beautiful Nature
• Bring with you a beautiful journal and something to write with
• Breathe deeply a few times and ask for the blessing of Our Creative Source (whatever you call that) and the highest source of communication
• Then write what comes to mind without questioning or "editing" it (it's so interesting to read later). Don't think, analyze, or question, just write. That way the message comes through with more purity and not so much of "your" spin on what you're getting.
• You might feel an urge to change your handwriting, for example, Jess prefers me to print rather than write in full cursive, just go with it.
• After you feel you're done, say thank you and close out the session with gratitude.

Questions? Feel free to contact me at dreamkeepercreations@gmail.com or have a session with Desiree, you'll love her. She's very down-to-earth.

Fear? None. "The only thing to fear is fear itself." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt via Louis McHenry Howe

Love? All there. 

Try it. You'll love it. And it will love you back. 

I will also add that I've captured Jess's loving spirit in photos occasionally. A beautiful soft pink orb so huge it surrounds me.

See the round pink orb shape that almost takes over the whole photo?

Here's another photo taken seconds later.

AND when I chose the pink orb photo to upload it the other (second) photo uploaded by itself without me choosing it. Hi Jess xo : ) The cool thing about the first photo is that as soon as I saw it I felt an overwhelming sense of PEACE. I just love that. 

I think this kind of communication is good and healthy, and pretty much available to us all. 

Lots of food for thought here. Shared with love.

Namaste

Jen

Multicolor Abstract Gemstone Peyote Stitched Cabochon Necklace

Floofy fun!

For this abstract art necklace, I chose ruby agate, turquoise howlite, green agate, and golden tiger's eye cabochons and arranged them against a black seed bead background, dotted with occasional sparkles of colored glass beads.

Each cabochon is bordered by several rows of peyote stitching in beautiful shiny colored seed beads. 

Happy floral multicolored fringe!

I had the most fun creating the fringe on this necklace! It includes adorable glass floral beads in dark iridescent blue/purple, soft pink, and green. And I love the little round glass beads in fun colors on the edges and the sparkly yellow bead tips, as well as the cobalt blue teardrop shaped beads, which suggest the rains that come to make the flowers grow.

Detail

Here you can see the glowy cabochons and the floofy little skirt that plays around the bottom of the piece.

The back

The back of this piece is a soft maroon Ultrasuede.

The whole piece

And here you can see the whole piece, with its multicolored necklace strap.

Total Length - Hangs to about 19 inches (necklace strap is 28 inches)

Length of abstract focal piece is 5 inches 

Width of abstract focal piece is 1 and 1/8 to 1 and 3/4 inches at its widest point

Soft velveteen pouches

Comes in a soft velveteen pouch for softkeeping.

This necklace will be posted in my Etsy shop, Dreamkeeper Creations, as long as it's available.

Thanks for taking a peek!
Namaste,
Jen

Springtime Cabochon Fairy Necklace is done!

Teaser - Springtime Cabochon Necklace!

I've had a good time creating this lovely springtime cabochon necklace.

She is born....

This little springtime cabby girl wanted me to choose a lovely hand-carved bone face, which I tea-stained, and for her belly, a gorgeous mixed gemstone teardrop cabochon in greens (my very favorite color,) and soft browns and creams. She is the Earth sleeping just before everything comes into blossom. She is the promise, always kept, season to season.

Serenity itself.

I used a bit of copper next to her head for balance, and along the way she let me know she wanted fairy wings, so I added the beautiful little leaf bead to represent her wings. The background is made up of many stop-stitch beads in greens, creams, copper, with a bit of gold, and she has tiny flowers woven into the background - see if you can spot them.

Her halo is made of beautiful bright green glass bugle beads, which I love.

She has a lovely necklace strap!

Her necklace strap is made of copper beads with some gorgeous glass floral beads, smoooooth tiny bugle beads, and seed beads. I love how it twines upon itself. (This is not easy to make happen, the twining.)

No fasteners to fuss with.

She slips over your head easily, and sits upon your chest, about sternum level. The sternum is the chestbone - which sits right about the level of the heart chakra (energy center) - the chakra of LOVE, the heart center. According to Chakra Anatomy, "Green is the color of growth, life, and balance. Through balance you find this center from which you can love, form healthy relationships, and give and receive love."

Soft ultrasuede backing.

The backing on this piece is soft tan ultrasuede. Wonderful to run your fingers across when you're in a boring meeting....lol.

There she is!

Here you can see her altogether. Beautiful face, gorgeous cab, great background, and lovely necklace strap.

Total Length - 15 inches

Length of springtime fairy is 3 and 3/4 inches

Width is about 1 and 3/4 inches

Many hours of good, sweet work available to you at Dreamkeeper Creations. Come and take a peek.

Namaste,
Jen

A New Madonna for Racing2Cure!

The Madonna and Child

It's fundraising time again for Racing2Cure and my friend Brenda Milliken asked me if I'd like to donate some Dreamkeeper Creations jewelry. They do an auction on racing night - July 16th. It's a great cause, so I said YES! And because there are so many prayers going up for loved ones struggling with cancer I especially like to include a Madonna necklace. 

I love the madonna because, as I mentioned in the first Racing2Cure post, "Mary is to me, the calm amidst the storm. The quintessential woman who bears the very worst, yet never does her heart grow cold, and never does she lose the ability to love, not only her son, but also those who would do him harm. She has abiding faith in our larger Source of Creation. She has abiding faith in Life itself. She is an example for us to aspire to in cultivating serenity amidst the challenges of our lives."

She comes with a soft maroon pouch for safekeeping.

This madonna necklace incorporates blues, golds, and reds, with Swarovski and glass crystals to decorate the fringe. Czech glass dagger beads weight the bottom of the fringe strands. You can click on the image to see it larger.

The ever popular cloisonné bracelets.

I also like to include the most popular item I make for Dreamkeeper Creations, which is a set of five cloisonné bracelets. (3 sets available at auction.) The tubular cloisonné beads have a floral design on them and each bracelet is multicolored, so they match with everything. One reason these are so popular is that they don't mess with the keyboard when you're typing. They also are easy-on, easy-off since they're stretch bracelets that just pop over your hand and onto your wrist. 

Cloisonné Necklace!

AND I've had a lot of people ask for a necklace to go with the bracelets, so I made 47 inches of gorgeousness that can be worn a bunch of different ways. I have one and sometimes I wear it doubled up, other times I triple it up for blouses or dresses where I want something closer up on my neck. And sometimes I wind it around my ankle for some surprise bling.

Blue quartz wire-wrapped necklace

Sometimes I love to wear a simple gemstone sparkle, so I included a blue quartz, sterling silver wire-wrapped crystal on a delicate silver chain. I love the energies of this stone, which has properties that help to calm the mind, assuage fears, and inspire hope, according to Judy Hall in her book, The Crystal Bible (Godsfield Press, 2004).

Citrine with Swarovski crystals

Citrine is also a favorite, bringing powerful cleansing and regenerating energies.

Handmade glass lampwork bead with hematite and onyx.

I love handmade glass beads because no two are alike (like us!). The one on this necklace incorporates blues with a bit of elegant black, and swirling landscape colors that remind me of the ocean at night. Hematite "boosts self-esteem and survivability, enhances willpower, and imparts confidence." Judy Hall's information on the energy properties of gemstones helps us to choose what we want to enhance about ourselves. I like that.

Happy little floofy earrings!

I made some floofy, fluffy, fun dangle earrings for days when you're feelin' the love. These incorporate agate with a little bit of jade. Agate is a wonderful grounding stone, keeping us connected to beautiful Earth, and jade helps us keep wisdom up front. I have a couple pairs of this style in different gemstones and love to wear them.

Handmade glass with agate accent beads.

I love green, and I love agate, so I combined them in this pair of earrings. I really like that there are no others quite like this - the glass beads are handmade, hence, one-of-a-kind.

More one-of-a-kind earrings.

These elegant, understated earrings are also one-of-a-kind. The focal beads are handmade, beautiful glass beads with swirly designs in soft purples, blues, and creamy beiges with agate accent beads.

All made with lots of love.

Bid high, peeps, and wear the ones you win with good cheer, knowing you're helping to make a difference where making a difference really counts. And holler real loud when CJ, Brenda's son races - he drives to bring in a win for us all! GO CJ!

Racing 2 Cure's (R2C) mission is to help families that are currently fighting cancer. R2C wants to treat the "Human Side" of cancer. R2C donates a portion of the funds raised to cancer organizations that do amazing work in research, treatment, and raising awareness for this horrible disease. Additionally, funds are used by Racing 2 Cure to directly help families with everyday needs such as: 

• Travel expenses 
• Temporary housing expenses 
• Utility bills 
• Car payments 
• Transportation/Gas 
• Rent 
• Insurance premiums 
• Medical equipment 
• After school activities for kids (with transportation) 
• Day care (during treatments) 
• Tutoring for students 
• House cleaning / yard services 

Namaste,
Jen