Beads Of 'A Year And A Day' - Faery Beads

'A Year And A Day' is a well known term that has, over time, held many significance's. There are stories in which couples would become handfasted for a year and day, which was a sort of temporary marriage commitment. After a year the couple could then decide to stay together or go their separate ways. It was seen as a period of time consisting of the 13 lunar months plus 1 day, making up the solar year. It was also said to be the length of time one would have to stay with the faeries in their realm, if one was to wander into their realm, before it would be possible to return to the mortal realm.

The instructions I found to create these beads describe using rowan berries threaded on string and finish with a cross of rowan wood. Not living in a country where rowan trees grow naturally, I instead decided I wanted to make these from actual beads. I also personally preferred the idea of creating beads that would last for a year and a day, as opposed to having to go through the process of drying out the berries and hoping the whole thing would not fall apart. I know it might have been nice to use natural products but that was not available to me and personally I prefer these beads that can be handled and worn.

 

Without access to rowan berries or wood, I instead decided to finish of my beads with a bronze star. There was no way I could use silver or iron on these faerie beads, for obvious reasons. To complete these beads of 'A Year And A Day' I used 4 different sized red, or reddish, coloured beads, totalling all up to be 366 beads. The full length of these beads from star to star measures about 133cm, creating one very long necklace if you wish to wear it as such. Though I have preferred to wear it wrapped around my wrist multiple times as a bracelet.

These faerie beads, as I like to think of them, were inspired by Eco Enchantments. The link to the instructions can be found HERE. There is short description about rowan berries and their use in healing and protection, as well as instructions for creating these using actual rowan berries and wood, if you are inclined to do so. Although I have no access to any rowan trees, I was lucky enough to have a small collection of different bead colours and types, so in creating this I used only the materials I already had, including the bronze star charm.

Embroidered Star Sign Constellations - Libra

  

Another star sign birthday gift I made, an embroidery of the constellation Libra. This was done using white embroidery thread on a silken navy blue material which I then placed in this white mini frame card. I brought a pack of these mini frame cards that measure about 9.5cm by 9cm, the inside framed embroidery measures about 6cm by 4.5cm. I also used my alphabet stamps to stamp the word Libra across the top of the card in blue ink to complete the piece.

Ravenclaw Diadem #2 +pattern

After my first attempt at creating the Ravenclaw Diadem, I couldn't decide if it was too plain or if I would prefer a more colourful, textured looking Diadem. So I redesigned the Ravenclaw Diadem slightly to include shadows and highlights to the piece with the addition of two more colours, the black for shadow and the light blue for highlight. I also redesigned the matching earrings in the same way.

The pattern for this Ravenclaw Diadem, including the earring, is below. Although I actually made the earrings and the diadem's gems on a round peg board, I have included it with the pattern below. This pattern is also a wallpaper, and I also have a simplified wallpaper below. To better view these just click on a picture to enlarge it. To download as a wallpaper, click on the picture you want and "Save Image As" to save to your computer or alternatively you can select "Set As Desktop Background"

My Beanie Ringtail Possum

This native Australian marsupial can be commonly heard at night running across our rooftops, this is mostly because we live so close to bushland. But a lot of our native wildlife are suffering in the fires and I this little critter is just a small reminder of those unique animals that share this land.

Created from My Beanie pattern, my previous beanie makes being My Mouse and My Bunny, I wanted to create an Australian animal. And while I did first consider a Koala, I'm having a little trouble getting the ears right, so I instead  made this ringtail possum as the first of my Australian beanie makes.

I loved this silver grey material and thought it ideal for this ringtail possum. The tail and ears had to be created for this animal, but the body and paws are my standard beanie pattern. The face was done in the same ways as my other beanie makes using black safety eyes and a few stitches for his nose.

This ringtail possums tiny paws and tail are stuffed, but the body is filled with plastic pellets  making him soft, playful and very cute. The finished size is about 11cm long, not including the tail, which makes for a comfortable size to handle, toss or just keep you company.

Ravenclaw Diadem #1 +pattern

As a Ravenclaw I have long wanted the Ravenclaw Diadem, but have yet to be able to purchase a replica. So until such time as I can buy one, I decided to make my own with iron beads. Obviously this is only for decorative purposes, however I would be lying if I said I didn't think about ways I could wear this. Which is probably why I decided to make matching earrings from the diadem's gems that can be worn.

The pattern for this Ravenclaw Diadem, including the earring, is below. Although I actually made the earrings and the diadem's gems on a round peg board, I have included it with the pattern below. This pattern is also a wallpaper, and I also have a simplified wallpaper below. To better view these just click on a picture to enlarge it. To download as a wallpaper, click on the picture you want and "Save Image As" to save to your computer or alternatively you can select "Set As Desktop Background"

Embroidered Star Sign Constellations - Cancer

As part of a birthday gift, I embroidered the constellation relating to the star sign Caner on to a framed card. I have a packet to these mini framed cards that I thought perfect for this purpose. The actual framed card size is about 9.5cm by 9cm, the inside window which has the silken navy blue material with white embroidery is about 6cm by 4.5cm. I finished by stamping the word Cancer across the top of the card in blue ink using my alphabet stamps.

Rainbow Goddess Dolls set3

This last group of five pocket dolls completes my set of fifteen Rainbow Goddess Dolls, all made using recycled materials and stuffed for soft handling. Each coloured doll has its colours meaning embroidered onto it using a Pictish Swirl, with each doll ending up about 8 or 9cm tall depending on the type of fabric used.

These are the last five Rainbow Goddess Dolls, all totally hand-stitched and hand embroidered. The meanings for each colour is embroidered onto each of the coloured goddess dolls. These colour meanings are- Gold = Sunlight, Silver = Moonlight, Black = Darkness, Grey = Stability , White = Lightness. So this completes my set of Rainbow Goddess Dolls.