Tuesday's Treasures: Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

Today is such a treat, I've been waiting to unveil this little beauty for over 2 weeks! This is the newest necklace for my NeoAmour designer collection. It is inspired by the enigmatic Cleopatra, ruler of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians are very well known for their beautiful ancient jewelry - many pieces are found to have multiple strands, along with talismans and decorative pendants (seems they were quite ahead of the times in more than just architecture). Jewelry is depicted on many of the ancient tombs. It was a symbol of power, wealth and standing, and Cleopatra's jewelry would have been no different.

This necklace started out with this dramatic and unique focal bead, purchased from Louise of Fireseed (http://www.fireseed.etsy.com). She makes the most amazing beads, and I usually have a hard time sticking to a set spending limit (but it is ALWAYS worth going over budget to get her beads!!). I saw this incredible goddess bead over a year ago and fell in love with it, though I didn't quite know what to do with it until chance brought a few bags of stone beads and the pendant bead all in the same place at the same time. 

I started doing inventory in December (I still haven't finished, don't remind me, haha!), and as I pulled out a few bags of beads to count, they spilled into each other. I was about to curse when I took a second look and, well, Eureka! is the word that comes to mind now. A vibrant mix of turquoise, amber, lapis lazuli (Cleopatra used to grind up lapis lazuli to use as her eye makeup!), black Czech glass beads and brass-plated pewter findings all came together to create this 3-strand masterpiece.

I had been reading a brief history of Cleopatra and was thinking how brave she must have been to have accomplished everything she did. I wanted to make a necklace that would show her love of her country, her bravery, yet also show her vulnerable side. These beads spoke to me and said, "Make us into something Cleopatra would have loved..."

Cleopatra's history is long and the accounts vary depending on who does the telling - many were simply trying to discredit her for their own ends, as was (and is) common. Many said that she was an evil seductress. More likely is that she was a powerful, intelligent woman trying to find a powerful, intelligent man to help her stabilize her rule in a very unstable time.

Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

The goddess has always been a symbol of femininity and fertility, and I thought that this would be a perfect fit in a necklace for a young Cleopatra. By the time she was eighteen, she had witnessed her two sisters assassinations (they had each tried to take the throne from their father), her father's death, the decline of the Egyptian empire into perilous debt to Rome (thanks to her father) and had been forced to marry her own 12 year old brother. When Caesar came to Egypt to try to sort out Egypt's problems, I can see Cleopatra wearing a necklace like this to symbolize her fertility and womanhood. At that time, one of the only ways to stay safe on her throne would be to have outside help, and a strong man like Caesar would have been just the person to help her (he did, and she had his son, Cesarion).

This is a one of a kind necklace. I can never get the exact same goddess bead again, so if you like this necklace, please get it while you can.

This necklace is now available for sale on my Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleStudioJewels?ref=si_shop. Please take a look and get it while you can. I may have enough beads to make a matching necklace or earrings, please contact me if you are interested.

New Photo, Pledge Update and Glass Bead Demo!

Here is another photo of our rings - yes I had sapphire blue nail polish - I couldn't just go with traditional French, lol!

As for my Chatelaine pledge: Yesterday evening I rode my stationary bike for 30 minutes, and then did 40 minutes of yoga - feeling some serious exercise bliss and so proud that I did it instead of watching a movie and probably eating mindlessly (even if it is usually healthy stuff, it is still mindless eating - and I avoided it!). Woot!

Tomorrow I am going to watch a glass bead making demo with my friend Louise from Fireseed - we are going in together to see a woman make glass beads that look like the inside of an aquarium. I can't wait to see the demo! I am going to try to remember my camera to take some photos for you all :)

Have a great weekend!

Monday Update on the Bead Show!

I am interrupting Monday's normal "Monday's Methods" posts to bring you news of a fantastic show I went to over the weekend. On Saturday I took my mom to the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show in Ottawa, Ontario. It was fantastic! I didn't take many photos as it was crawling with people, and I didn't want to be jostling everyone, but I did get some great handouts from various glass bead makers.
I was also very, very good in that I only bought 2 strands of faceted onyx briolettes at half price. I stayed away from the Baltic Amber chips at $22 per strand...though I really, really wanted it!
I also bought a book on chain mail work! I am SO excited as I have had this on my Amazon.ca wish list for almost a year. This is a great book as it has great chain mail designs that are also added on to with beads:
It is fabulous and I can't wait to make some new creations with it, stay tuned for that!
I also saw my good friend Louise, who owns and runs Fireseed, her own private lamp work glass studio. She makes the most amazing beads and it was to see her and her newest creations in person that I really went to the show. She makes the most adorable Monkee beads - monkeys with different hats, different outfits, all out of glass! She even has a new Viking Monkee in honor of her newest endeavor - creating beads that are recreations of historical beads...some of them dating back thousands of years! Louise is on the right, and her good friend Jane is on the left.
I was, again, very good and didn't buy anything from Louise, though I am going to buy a Viking Monkee from her...she only had one at the show and I didn't want to take the only one and not let her clients see it. I will, however be buying it, or one like it if the original sold. That being said...
...I do already have quite a few "Fireseed By Louise Ingram" beads...I think I have an addiction...no, wait, I DO have an addiction. But really, after looking at these beads, how could I not?

I had a great time at the show, seeing so many different artists, being inspired, I will DEFINITELY be back next year, and I highly recommend that you go to...you need a vacation, right? See you there next year!

Tune in tomorrow for the FINISHED bracelet I've been working on!

Soulful Sunday: Keep the Cats Away From Your Monitors...

From http://icanhascheezburger.com/ I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I saw this...one of those, "It's funny because it's true" sort of things. Just don't use those cupcake wrappers when the hamster's done with them...no, those aren't raisins (ewwwww).

In other news, I visited the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show in Ottawa yesterday and had an absolute BLAST!! SOOOO many amazing artists, including a friend of mine, were showing some incredible beads that weren't so much beads as miniature works of art. I'm waiting on permission from a photo so I'll post all about it when I get the permission.

That is all for now, I hope you have a relaxing Sunday. I am going to bake cookies, make cupcakes to get ready for a cooking class, bathe the dog and maybe, just maybe, get some crocheting in there :)

Thoughtful Thursday: Bracelet Update and More

Here is the fourth layer started on the bracelet. I am using an Amber colored glass seed bead for this layer, and as it is built up it will look more like amber and less green, since the blue beads underneath are trying to show through right now. I am currently working more amber beads in between the rows of these amber beads, to give a cross pattern effect. More to come next Tuesday!

In other news, a good friend of mine is in need of prayers and/or positive thoughts. She is a breast cancer survivor, and is now being looked at for ovarian cancer. She had "minor" surgery on Tuesday to do some tests and the results won't be back for a bit. I say "minor" because no matter how minor they say it is, it is still painful and a real inconvenience! Please keep her in your thoughts, and pray that it is nothing so serious as more cancer, but, if it is, please pray that it has been caught early and can be cured. Thank you.

That is all for now, see you tomorrow for a Fabulous Friday Feature!!

Sweet Saturday: A Few New Things

Copper Snowball Ring

I have been trying to redo my jewelry photos and lo and behold! I've found some things that weren't listed! They should be up and on the Etsy site soon...be sure to keep checking back to see the new goodies...

Lindsay's Caribbean Blue Ring

Mostly I have just found rings, like the one of a kind Lindsay's Caribbean Blue ring, made with a beautiful lamp work glass bead, inlaid with gold foil.

However, I do have some new earrings that I want to show you as well...

Carnelian Arrow Leaf Earrings

And here they are! Carnelian stones are hung from graceful Arrow Leaf shaped ear wires, hand forged from 14karat gold filled wire. Gold plate daisy beads hug the carnelian for a pair of beautiful earrings, perfect to go from day to night! I'll also have these available in sterling silver.

Copper Persuasion Pearl Ring

And back to rings! The Copper Persuasion ring is one of a kind. It is amazing how many rings you can have in a little bag and not realize it!

Copper Midnight Ring

The piece de resistance! The ring above is made with a gem grade cubic zirconium in midnight black to contrast nicely with the copper wire. It is one of a kind.

Have a great Saturday, I'm waiting for my camera battery to recharge so I can take more photos :-)