After substitute teaching half the day and then grocery shopping yesterday, I sat myself down in front of my computer, determined to update my website with all the [...]]]> I know that old gospel standard is now playing in your, and I’m not even sorry about it. Today was a great day for me, on several fronts.

After substitute teaching half the day and then grocery shopping yesterday, I sat myself down in front of my computer, determined to update my website with all the scarves I’ve woven recently. This is a task that I put off, generally finding it rewarding only when it’s done.

When I started shooting the photos of the ‘missing’ scarves, OMG, they just kept coming. I ended up with 14 pictures to shoot, each of which had to be cropped, formatted, and optimized in two different sizes. Plus there were an additional 4 shots already taken that had to have that same formatting and sizing work done.

Then each of those pictures (18×2=36) had to be uploaded to my website. I know I shouldn’t be whining. After all, the only way I could have accomplished this prior to August was driving into town and going to the library to use their high speed wireless. Now with my little dish, I could stay home, but trust me when I tell you this was not a speedy process. I know I’m repeating myself when I say that rural high speed isn’t all that high.

Anyway, I got the photos all uploaded, and then had to start working on the web pages. I had several new handwoven rayon scarves and a few new handwoven bamboo scarves, so I had to work on both pages. The bamboo page also had to be redesigned. (I’m updating the pages one at a time as I get to them. No point putting the new scarves on the old page.)

So the tedious part is simply adding to the structure of the page to add the new pictures. Then comes the really time consuming part – describe each scarf so that a potential customer would like to buy it. Make the description accurate and written in a way that the search engines will like, but also fun to read. Think the J Peterman catalog vs. a scientific manual.

I started writing in late afternoon, and got on a roll. The muse was with me and my creative juices were flowing. Until 10PM. I still had 4 more scarves to describe, but I’d hit the mental wall. Close up the mac and go to bed.

I got up this morning, wrote those 4 descriptions, tested everything, and uploaded the new pages. YAY!! Another HUGE task crossed off my list.

The sun came out, so I went out for my daily walk. It was a lovely spring morning. I came back home, pruned my raspberries, and got to use my sledgehammer to pound their supports back into the ground.

The fun didn’t stop yet!

Most of my sales are at shows, and since the beginning I’ve had an EZUp tent. If you’ve never put one up, let me assure you that the name is a lie. In addition, they tend to leak when it rains, blow over when it’s windy, and fall apart after a few years. At least that’s been my experience. So I wanted a real tent, a professional tent, but I really didn’t want to shell out many hundreds of dollars for one.

About a month ago, I stumbled on a very gently used Trimline on Craig’s List, and jumped on it. Since then, it’s been snowing, raining, or quite muddy at my house, so I couldn’t set it up to see how that process went, or even make sure that all the parts were there. It was making me anxious.

Today I had a 10×10 flat spot at the top of my driveway that was dry enough to do it. I followed the directions step by step.

Joy! It’s all there, I can do it, it wasn’t too hard. Definitely not harder than an EZUp, in some ways easier. The only thing I didn’t do was extend the legs to their full height – I just didn’t see the need for my trial run.

It took me about an hour to set it up, vs. the 18 minutes it took the woman in the video, but I didn’t think that was too bad for a first time. It took me another hour to take it down and put it away — the hardest part was actually folding the fabric.

But wait, the good news isn’t over yet!

Someone had asked me to make them a healing gemstone talisman. I won’t reveal any details of who, or why I chose these particular stones, but I will tell you that I really enjoyed every part of the process, from the research to the creation. Based on this person’s specific situation, I couldn’t stop myself with one piece.

Each of these can be used in a slightly different way, and for a slightly different purpose. All I have to do now is write up the insert and package them.

So today was a great day, with lots of happiness.

I’m going to go take a bath now to head off the aches and pains from the unaccustomed manual labor after a long winter.

Your turn: what’s made you happy lately?

Several colors of fluorite

I know this woman well so didn’t need to ask too many more questions. I knew that I really needed to focus on memory, but also wanted add other gems for mental functioning.

So I did my research, gathering [...]]]> A good friend asked me to make her a pair of talisman earrings to improve her memory.

I know this woman well so didn’t need to ask too many more questions. I knew that I really needed to focus on memory, but also wanted add other gems for mental functioning.

So I did my research, gathering information about healing gemstones that are good for memory, creativity, and focus, among other qualities. I let it all percolate in my brain.

Talisman Earrings

The talisman gemstone earrings contain petrified wood, carnelian, clear quartz, blue topaz, and rubies. Petrified wood, carnelian, and clear quartz are all memory enhancers. Carnelian, ruby, and blue topaz are all used to stimulate creativity, while clear quartz and ruby improve general brain function. Courage, stress reduction, wisdom, calmness, and clear thinking are a few of the other qualities these healing gems can impact.

My friend’s only had them for a few days so we can’t comment on their effectiveness yet, but she does like the way the look, move, and feel when she’s wearing them.

Contact me if you need a custom talisman, and I’ll be happy to help.

Before I talk specifically about leopardskin, [...]]]> I know I’m late, that I should have posted this at least a week ago, but time sure flies these days. Anyway, I promised you a post on the healing qualities of leopardskin jasper since that’s the gemstone in the free earrings in June’s giveaway contest, so here you go.

Before I talk specifically about leopardskin, here’s a bit of general jasper information. Jaspers are a form of chalcedony. (Pronounce this word almost however you like – I’ve seen several pronunciation guides that differ on the correct pronunciation. Me, I like KAL seh doh nee). So what’s chalcedony? A type of quartz. Agates are also a form of chalcedony. You can generally tell the difference between a jasper and agate by appearance. Jaspers tend to have less well-defined patterns and are generally opaque. Agates tend to have more regular patterns and be either fully translucent or have translucent bands.

Jasper was a favorite gemstone in the ancient world, and it is often referred to in ancient Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian, and Greek cultures. The ancients believed jaspers had many powers, including bringing rain and healing gynecological problems. I can’t comment on either of those.
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Lovely Leopardskin Jasper

Some people believe that wearing leopardskin jasper will bring what you want into your life. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’m guessing that if it is, like many things, you might want to be careful what you wish for. Also, it’s often true that you may consciously think you want one thing, while subconsciously you’re really seeking something completely different.

I have no idea how true this is, even whether or not this is really a legend, but here’s a good story about leopardskin jasper.

No matter what you believe, I think you’ll agree that my little handmade leopardskin jasper and sterling silver earrings are sweet – so enter the June contest and win them, absolutely free. I even pay the shipping charges!

My knees feel SO much better!

Now, I can’t claim that use of the talisman deserves all the credit, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s at least partly responsible for [...]]]> I’ve been carrying my healing talisman for my knees during all my waking hours for three weeks now, and all I can say is, “WOW!”

My knees feel SO much better!

Now, I can’t claim that use of the talisman deserves all the credit, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s at least partly responsible for the dramatic improvement.

Prior to making the talisman, my left knee ached most of the time. It would become stiff very quickly, requiring me to rise out of a chair slowly and take initial awkward steps until the knee started functioning normally. I was applying my herbalist friend’s arnica oil at least twice daily to reduce both pain and inflammation. My knee was quite visibly swollen, and I couldn’t sleep in my usual positions because my knee objected, sometimes loudly. I was taking a hot bath just to soak my knees in the warmth at least twice a week.

Now, just three weeks later, my knee is not completely recovered, but it is DRAMATICALLY improved. I don’t use the oil every day. I can sleep in my preferred positions about half of the time. My knee is nowhere near as stiff when I get up from sitting.

Sure, I still have to pay attention to it. It still doesn’t like me to kneel or squat for more than a minute or two, which is a bit of a problem with all my gardening. And my sleep isn’t completely as I’d like it to be. But hey, it’s only been a short time.

I’m certainly going to keep carrying my healing talisman for my knee, in my left pocket whenever possible (it’s my left knee that’s bad), for some time to come. And keep being kind to this joint that carries me through my life.

Learn about how gemstones can enhance healing, and if you think a talisman could help you, contact me and I’ll gladly create one just for you. It will contain healing gemstones chosen especially for you, and will be of a size and shape appropriate to you, your lifestyle, and your personal taste.

(There’s no photo with this post, ‘cuz trust me, even with the swelling down, you do NOT want to see my knees!)

My arthritis talisman

You can guess that the metal is copper, which has long been recognized as a healing agent for arthritis. I punched the little tab with the word SHANTI, which means peace, hoping that it would bring some [...]]]>

My arthritis talisman

You can guess that the metal is copper, which has long been recognized as a healing agent for arthritis. I punched the little tab with the word SHANTI, which means peace, hoping that it would bring some peace to my knees. I added the copper chain for two reasons – not only would it provide more of the healing copper, it would give me more options for use of the talisman as a whole. Although I usually carry it in my pocket, if I’m wearing a skirt without pockets, I can easily pin it to my bra by the chain. I actually kind of like this option, as it makes little noises when I move a lot. This gentle sound reminds me that it’s there and makes me smile. The talisman never jangles in my pocket.

I purposely made the entire healing talisman small and lightweight. Knowing that I intended to carry it in my pocket, I wanted something that wouldn’t wear out the fabric quickly, and that wouldn’t be obvious to others that I was carrying it. Now that I’ve been using it for a week, I might rather that it was a bit larger and reminded me that it was there. If this feeling continues for a few weeks, I’ll modify it.

The healing gemstones I used in this in this talisman include carnelian, bloodstone, garnet, mother of pearl, and rubies. Yep, really rubies. I consider myself fortunate to have some sweet little faceted rubies left over from making a piece of custom jewelry for one of my customers a few years ago.

After deciding on the copper, the first gemstone I chose was carnelian. And I knew that I wanted to use more carnelian than any of the other healing gemstones I’d use. Why? Carnelian is a strong gemstone to use for arthritis. If you look closely at the picture, you might notice that the largest piece of carnelian is a bit oddly-shaped, not an absolute oblong. I chose this stone specifically for my talisman. Not only did I like its less-than-perfect shape, my thinking was, and is, that the more “raw” the gemstone, the less it has been “worked” by machines to form it, the closer it is to its natural state and the more healing power it contains. I don’t really know this to be true, but this particular stone spoke to me, so I’m going with it. There’s another small carnelian rondelle on the smallest dangle of the talisman.

Above the carnelian oblong is a small garnet rondelle. Garnet is a gemstone that helps heal inflammation, and arthritis is a chronic form of inflammation. Again, I purposely chose an oddly-shaped stone.

Highest on that dangle is a mother of pearl star. Like carnelian, mother of pearl is recognized as an aid to heal arthritis. Now you might think that I showed quite the contradiction, purposely choosing a less-than-perfect carnelian and garnet, and then picking a highly-worked star for my mother of pearl component. This little off-white star encourages me to shoot for the stars in my healing, to work toward complete cessation of pain and inflammation. It also just makes me smile, and smiling is always a good thing.

The second dangle has two of those lovely little faceted rubies bordering a bloodstone lentil. Rubies are good gemstones for healing arthritis, and bloodstone is good for inflammation.

Finally, the shortest component has the carnelian rondelle I mentioned before and another garnet.

I’ve only been carrying the talisman for about a week, and I have been successful at remembering to transfer it from pocket to pocket each day. Although I’ve been thinking about it, I haven’t yet worn it to bed.

So have I noticed a difference? I can’t say I’ve noticed that my knees hurt less, but I can tell you for sure that when I hear or feel the talisman it makes me smile and feel better mentally. And feeling better mentally is an important part of physical healing. Besides, talismans aren’t magic bullets; it takes time for the gemstones to impart their healing powers.

I will periodically let you know how my knees are doing, but I’m heading outside now to work in my garden!

I admit it, I learned a lot with this contest, mostly about what NOT to do again. I promise, the [...]]]> …Jane, of Canastota, NY. Jane’s entry in April’s contest to win a free gemstone talisman earned the most points – 327! The moss agate talisman should arriver at her door within a few days.

I admit it, I learned a lot with this contest, mostly about what NOT to do again. I promise, the next contest, which will be announced soon, will be MUCH easier, and the deadline for submission MUCH closer to the contest announcement.

So watch my blog for the next contest. YOU could win next time!