Saturday 22 June 2013

"But Mummy that bead really likes me..."

Took my five-year-old son out to town today.

After we'd chosen some other presents, I told him he could choose five beads from the bead shop. He sort of got round this by choosing five charms and five beads, and wouldn't give any of them back because each bead had apparently developed a strong and unbreakable attachment to him...

On the way back, as a special treat we visited to a gorgeous ice-cream parlour, with a very kind waitress, fifteen sorts of ice-cream, tables with white table-cloths and a mirror that showed us eating our ice-cream in an "upside-down world". It was magical.

We also managed to cover lots of conversational topics over the day, including:
  • how soldiers now tend to wear camouflage gear rather than full suits of medieval plate armour
  • the difference between a true friend and a false friend (this came from something he had heard from the older children at school - a false friend is apparently someone who "gives you expensive presents and throws wild parties")
  • what children (his age) mean when they say "I won't be your friend any more!", especially when everything is fine five minutes later
  • why children should not run off in shops so that their parents can't find them (I heard this later re-enacted, with him featuring as the parent and his toy shrimp as the wayward child) 
  • how the planets are all named after Roman gods
  • how, with the weather, You Never Can Tell (a favourite saying of his)
  • what you can see when you are in an aeroplane (and why you are not in space, even when you are above the clouds)
  • the different methods for dyeing one's hair (or beard; this particular conversation was prompted by seeing a man with a pink beard)
  • what money is for
  • what a "chicken dinner" is
  • how God is the reason the world is "full of lovely things"

Friday 7 June 2013

Natural World Necklace: water, earth, air

The focal for this necklace is one of the three grey ceramic hearts my sister Rachel selected at our Craven and White visit. She suggested pairing this heart bead with some of the round green glass beads I'd used for my winter necklace which I happened to be wearing that day. Luckily, I had two of the large green glass beads left, which seemed to suit the focal better than the small ones.

While putting this together for Rachel I was thinking how much she cares about the natural world. She is very knowledgeable about ecology. She and her husband are such great people to visit a nature centre with - they really bring the subject alive.

Thinking of this, I came across these beautiful turquoise rounds from Ilona Biggins. Then I added some long-hoarded poppy jasper beads from Beadworks, and some pale blue crystal rondelles. Together, they felt like "water", "earth" and "air". Because they're so different, I combined them in a simple repeating design, using almost the last of my upcycled translucent green 8/0 seed beads.

 

The necklace came out slightly on the short side, though - almost choker length. So I also made a matching bracelet with an identical Tibetan silver toggle-clasp, which can be used to extend the length of the main necklace if preferred.


The crystals catch the light as the necklace moves, which is nice since they signify "the air".


Luckily the weather has now substantially improved since this photograph was taken!