Mar 16, 2013

Holiday Bling Blog Hop 3: Celebrating the Spring Equinox


March 30
Begins Spring



Celebrate

the equinox


 with us


Holiday Bling Blog Hop 3




Welcome. The Holiday Bling Blog Hops are hosted by Marshell Swaps: Shelley Graham Turner of Tori Sophia and Marlene Cupo of Amazing Designs by Marlene. Today's blog reveals will celebrate the Holidays of February and March. Our Toltec Jewels - Windbent jewelry exchange and reveal celebrates the Vernal Equinox, the start of spring, night & day equal in time; sunrise & sunset due east & due west, right on the directions.



Windbent

I've had the pleasure of participating in every Holiday Bling Hop, and each time I've been honored with a very special, gifted partner. My partner for HBBH3 is the creative, multi-talented, beautiful, smart and magical


Lennis Carrier


My partner, 
incredibly talented, 
smart and magical!


It's my great privilege to celebrate the Spring Equinox and exchange jewelry with Lennis. I admire her work tremendously. Getting to know Lennis is a gift. I cherish our friendship, and feel like I'm talking with an old friend. 


The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water
returns returns returns returns


When the most beautiful lampwork bead appeared, made of Lennis' favorite colors with a tree bending in the wind against a sunrise, indeed WindBent, it was simply magic! I knew the lampwork -- with its spring peridot green grass, morning twilight teals, violet March sky, and tree silhouette at sunrise -- was meant to be Lennis' bead. 



SRA H.J. Sanders of Dichroic Dreams created the magical focal. 





Inca Puño

Wanting to create a kind of ombre effect with the colors of the lampwork, I began by creating about 600 jump rings in 8 shades of green, violet, and teal. After trying a few  Persian weaves, I finally came upon a simple weave that I modified to look like little flowers with leaves. I liked them. They reminded me of the flowers I drew as a child .... 


And the little flowers, with mystic hematine and the gemstone of the Toltec Indians, obsidian, became an unusual, unique Spring sunrise silhouette chain maille necklace and earrings. The bright yet cool colors radiate against the obsidian & gunmetal.









The Spring Equinox Sunrise ... 





                    Balance



Marlene and Shelly have asked us to share the jewelry we've created, but in addition I'd love to share the jewelry gifted to me by Lennis. It arrived as my Jasmine bloomed here in Orlando, along with an abundance of treasures: Marilyn Miglin's Magic and Feng Shui incense, beads and a splendid, full notecard -- even telling of the music played as "Thicket Fairy Awakening" was created by Lennis. Her beautiful clay focal and handcrafted chain is exquisite, with Czech beads & flowers that seem to bloom under the fairy's guidance & fluttering, graceful wings.








"Thicket Fairy awakening" by Lennis Carrier, Windbent.






merry we meet
merry we part
and
merry we meet again





























  gracias y ¡adiós!



 

Toltec Jewels is an author by day, jewelry maker by night. Her literary work is housed by the San Fransisco MOMA and is published internationally in popular magazines, literary quarterlies, and university publications. She has won a number of awards for literary and jewelry arts. She is happiest making handcrafted jewelry with her entire family, snuggling with her doggies and grandkids, sewing, singing, reading, and learning jewelry techniques. She is the host of Jewel School Friends, a community of expert and emerging artisans taking inspiration from each other and Jewel School. Join her on Facebook for networking, fundraising for Beads of Courage, jewelry making challenges, contests, give-a-ways and of course, cool beads and jewelry!

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful! You are so uniquely talented!

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  2. Love the chain mail incorporation the necklaces for beautiful and of course your writing is always amazing and wonderful to read

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  3. I love the chain mail work And the designs for wonderful. And of course you're writing Is so interesting to read As always

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  4. Absolutely stunning Toltec! What a perfect bead indeed for Lennis, and you complemented it beautifully. I also love her necklace for you.

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  5. Thank you so much. Your post is as lovely as what you made me. Since I didn't take any pictures of what I made, I'm sending everyone over here instead of stealing more of your pics! Have a lovely holiday Wednesday.

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  6. What a beautiful exchange... like the coming season, colourful and cheerful!

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  7. I just adore both designs. I had the pleasure of having Lennis as my first Holiday blog partner, I agree she is very talented, so are you. I can not imagine the amount of work it was to make all those rings.

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  8. Both of your necklaces are gorgeous and so unique!

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  9. Wow... that chainmail link up is fabulous. Beautiful work!

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  10. What a wonderful, beautiful blog! Such a talent! The pieces shown are just gorgeous!

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  11. Great post and such cool pieces. This really was a great hop :-)

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  12. Oh, my... Rita - this is stunning: the post, the art, the chainmaille - all bring such a dancing feel of the wind and I can almost believe it's spring outside (almost because it's actually snowing :) )
    Absolutely beautiful - both pieces!

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  13. Most of the partners for this hop were randomized picks, but putting you and Lennis together was a choice we decided to make, and you certainly proved us right in making it. Both pieces are stunning! Thanks so much for joining us in this Holiday Celebration.

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  14. Rita, such thought and planning went into this beautiful gift, and I love the way you bring that picture to us, I can picture the onset of spring with the windbent stalks of life trying to break free and begin anew. You are an amazing, gifted, talented, writer and jewelry maker.

    Gina H

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  15. Rita! Your chainmaille skills are mad, MAD I tell you! This necklace is GORGEOUS! I totally love it, now I might have to visit Lennis too! (see her blog comments and BEWARE!) hehehehee
    ~ Shelley

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  16. such gorgeous work! the chainmaille is fantastic, and that lampwork - OMG!

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Gracias for your comments and for visiting! I appreciate every word :)
Namaste --
Rita