Telling the Runes

Runes are the letters in a related set of alphabets known as runic alphabets, used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of Latin, and used for specialised purposes afterwards. The earliest date from 150 AD onwards, found in Denmark and Germany. They were still used in rural Sweden for decorative purposes well into the 20th c.

I came across these gorgeous, pitted ancient looking beads while browsing Etsy. This one is Kenaz - the rune for creativity or knowledge. Josephine Wadman makes a selection of them them to order (and yes, I do have more!)

I wanted to express the nature of creativity with them so the earrings contain one of my favourite things to work with - Lucy Haslams 'punkies'. She know I love all things gothic and made some of these specially  for me to use as connectors - I've had large and small, long and short and love them all.  I'm not giving away her special recipe but there's a lot of  soldering going on...….and each one is unique, the very essence of creativity.

Natural stones seemed 'right' with these so I used slabs of silverleaf jasper, and beads of warm jasper and dark haematite.  The 'create' tag is pewter. And of course, vintaj chain. Great earthy colours.

                    I'll be popping these in my Etsy shop forthwith. See you again in two weeks!

                                                                           Lindsay x

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Jasper Gorditos

Green Line Jasper Earrings

Sometimes I feel the need to get back to the stones. Much as I love to play with sheet copper, wire, lampwork and Czech glass, my first love was natural stones. The pretty faceted gemstones are nice, but I feel a real connection with jasper. Jasper was referred to in the Bible, so I guess I am not alone in finding it appealing. Jasper has been sought after for thousands of years, not just for it's natural beauty but it was believed to have a protective power.

My fat little (gorditos) jasper earrings are two shapes of green line jasper, stacked atop one another with waxed linen cord wrapped around the adjoining point of the stones. I chose a wine colored waxed linen cord and seed beads to accent the earthy tan jasper stones.

Tiny little copper ball charms hang from the bottom of each earring that repeat the ball of the ear wire, and lend to an overall organic look of the blended shapes. There is something about oxidized copper with jasper that naturally blends together, and I think that is does in this arrangement.

Jasper comes in so many colors, all with that wonderful earthy quality that I love. These came from Cherry Tree Beads. There are so many jasper varieties that it is difficult to name them all, and they are usually very affordable. That means I have way more than I should have, but I can't stop myself.








Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry