Get The Look For Less -- Chakraluscious Crystal & Lava Stretch Bracelets...

These are the first in my new line of inexpensive Chakraluscious bracelets using mostly lava beads to keep the prices down around $30 to (occasionally) $50.

Fitting a loose medium, they're great for stacking. Contact me to order your bracelet here or to order a custom size or with particular crystal beads. Note that in the 6mm beads I have almost 200 different crystals to choose from.

The following are just some crystal properties. Meanings change, amplify and alter depending on other stones they're with.

Garnet & Lava:

8mm beads, $30.

Aids in turning visions into reality; regeneration, energising, balancing, protection, strengthening; removes and transforms negative energies.

Orange Calcite & Lava:

8mm beads, $30.

Integrates the spiritual realm with the physical body; enhances creativity; helpful with emotional issues; directs positive energy into will and sexuality. 

Golden Tiger Eye & Lava:

8mm beads, $30.

Releases fear and anxiety; aids in harmony and balance; make decisions with discernment and understanding unclouded by emotions. 

Malachite & Lava:

6mm, $50.

Warrior stone; manifestation, transformation; guardian of the heart; absorbs negative energy, pollutants; brings balance, abundance. 

Lava: 

 grounding; providing strength, courage and stability through times of change; 

reducing anxiety. 

All of my bracelets are strung with Stretch Magic, a silicon stretch cord. Customers have come back a year later to show me that even with continual wear their bracelets have still not stretched out. Need repairs or resizing? Has your favourite choker gotten all gungy? I sell replacement leather cord, and I do different types of repairs from replacing earwires and broken clasps to resizing and restringing necklaces. I charge $5 to restring bracelets.

Shipping depends on your location. You can pay via Visa, MasterCard, Interac eTransfer (in Canada), and PayPal. Cash works, too! Don't forget, I'll be at The Gem Expo / MetaExpo in Toronto at the end of July.

Come and see my new bracelets, sterling silver, skulls, crystals and tree of life pendants and more at the Woodstock Farmers Market every Saturday morning from 7:00 until 12:00 noon on Nellis Street at the Fairgrounds. For you early birds, I'm almost always there by 5:00 a.m. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday Morning Market Production...

I made these adjustable chokers yesterday morning at the Woodstock Farmers Market. Then it got reeeeeeeeeeeeeally busy. Love long weekend Saturdays at the market. All the people who do NOT go away are in a party/barbeque mood.

I'm always amazed at how a simple bead and jump ring combination can look so spectacular. In this case I used gunmetal beads in a two-three combination with stainless steel coloured jump rings. I was able to use three jump rings to form the bail on these pendants. Using more than one makes it more stable, and enhances the design. And if one or three pendants look good, five repeated in sequence is even better.

Here is an experiment using glass pony beads, copper and gunmetal. Not quite as effective as above.

When designing anything, making mistakes is invaluable because that's the only way to see what works and what doesn't -- and also to come up with happy surprises. I think here the combination of beads distracts from my using different pendants.

These cords are 1.5mm, and I scour bead stores and online for big hole beads precisely because this is an inexpensive, fast and easy-to-change-out way to bump a simple pendant up to stunning.

These are made with silver-plated wyverns, dragons and bird skulls, glass, copper and variously plated beads, all on adjustable leather cords. Prices range from $25 to $45.

Hope to see you next week IRL with hundreds of semi-precious, pewter, metal and silver jewellery and crystals at the Woodstock Farmers Market, at the Fairgrounds on Nellis Street, Woodstock, 7:00 a.m. until noon all year round. For you early birds, I'm almost always there by 5:00 a.m.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day earrings...

New for the cool moms on Sunday, May 13th! 

Silver-plated bouquet of flowers and bird skull dangle, sterling silver earwires, just $25. $30 if you want sterling silver leverback wires. Out of town? Shipping & handling is extra. 

I'm at the Woodstock Farmers Market every Saturday 7:00 a.m. to noon; for you early birds, I'm there by 5:00 a.m. setting up and making items.

Want a Chakraluscious healing bracelet? I have over 150 different 6mm beads, and a large selection of bracelets ready to go, or contact me to make a custom bracelet just for you. They are truly beautiful and you'll fall in love with their stunning colours. Please email me directly to order or for more information.

Thanks for stopping by, and see you at the market on Saturday!

If you fear change...

The Cavern bar/resto at the HI-Toronto youth hostel where I stayed this past weekend. I really, really like it there!

See you all at the Woodstock Farmers Market this Saturday with all my Toronto Gem Show goodies. I got lots of new beads to make chakra bracelets, as well as earrings and pendants!

Thanks for stopping by!

More Handmade Hammered Chains & Some Tiny Hearts...

I got a little further on the Vertebrae Chain...

...and then hammered out a few shapes in 20 gauge wire, played with them in different positions, hammered and tweaked some more, and came up with these chain styles. All are about 8 inches long so far. The middle chain is a simple figure 8 chain, then I made the lower figure 8 chain more "8-ish" with a large and small loop. I added the filigrees based on the vertebrae links above; instead of hammering them while straight, I curved and spiraled them to the outside.

For me, the hearts are easier to make if first you loosely spiral both ends towards each other, then bend the wire in the middle until the spirals meet, rather than bending the wire in a V-shape first and then trying to make the curls. After I make a pile of them, I gently hammer the outside curves.

These hearts are about 1/2 an inch across and I'll be adding tiny pearl drops and sterling leverback earwires in time for the market tomorrow morning. Yeppers... It's Valentine's Day again and I am NOT READY. Oh, well... there's always next year, and the year after, right? But I do have lots of great gifts for everyone, including kids. Come and check out the Woodstock Farmers Market on Nellis Street, 7:00 a.m. 'til 12:00 noon.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Oxford County Animal Rescue Fundraiser & New Kids' Jewellery for Christmas...

It's been a crazy week and a half -- time has flown. Someone told me on Saturday there was only one more market 'til Christmas and I went into panic mode. Then I was told, no, you have TWO more markets, meaning another five days to procrastinate 'til the Thursday market on the 24th. Whew! Good news for me and good news for all those people who still haven't started shopping, and have left the worst -- I mean the best -- but still most difficult people to buy for last: KIDS!!

I gallop to your rescue: trust me, boys love skulls and fossils and girls (a lot of 'em) also love skulls and fossils... and birds and flowers and purty beads... and I have all of them and more. Lots of items under $20 and many starting at $3-$5 for little girls and guys.

Just got some brachiopods in (550 MILLION years old!!!) and adjustable chokers are $10 each:

This past Saturday I made the world's ugliest chakra bracelet. Yeah, it just kinda flops there, doesn't it?

It just did not work, but the birds I liked and I do like the individual beads, even if some of them look suspiciously edible. I took it apart and made these with small Picasso glass pony beads, $8 to $10 each:

In the summer, I'd made this chakra bracelet...

...which I ended up swapping for this!!!!

I've subsequently discovered that this bottle is available from the LCBO filled with booze. Whoo hoo! Or maybe that should be boo hoo 'cause I can't drink anymore. Stooopid meds. Spoil all my fun.

Sunday, December 6th was the Oxford County Animal Rescue fundraiser, where Nancy (Junk of Ages: Vintage Home & Garden and my booth partner at the One of a Kind Antique Mall) and I shared a table. If you're into vintage Christmas jewellery and ornaments, we're the place to shop at the market (and at the Antique Mall, booth 800/847). This show was a hoot to do, not the least because I fine-tuned a new table layout -- and this time I remembered to take detailed pictures before teardown.

Jim and Jan Post's Caravan Candles display at the OCAR fundraiser. Yah! That really is a wax skull there on the front corner of the table. They'll be at the market (with the skull candle) this Saturday, December 19th, and Thursday, December 24th. There's Nancy in front of the table.

Nancy and I both still have lots of great, well-priced Christmas gifts available for every age and interest. See you at the market...

Saturday, December 19th

Thursday, December 24th

7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

(but I'm there by 5:00 a.m. if you want to 

get a head start on your shopping day)

I think I need to get my Christmas cards done... soon!

Thanks for looking!

OCAR: Crafts, Bling & Things...

.... Nancy Mac and I are sharing a table at the

Oxford County Animal Rescue 

Crafts, Bling & Things

Fundraiser & Adoption Day 

There will be lots and lots of great vendors selling all manner of items, animal toys and handmade Christmas gifts for humans. There will be raffles to enter, kittens to oooh and awwww over, gallons of coffee and lots of homemade cupcakes.

We'll be setting up on Saturday evening, so I'll try to post some pictures of some of the tables before the show.

Sunday, December 6th, 2015

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

885 Nellis Street, Woodstock

Located in the building just to the east of the Auditorium at the Fairgrounds

Lots of signs and balloons -- you can't miss us!

Tons of parking, too. 

LINKS:
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