Moot making, seasonal wreaths and green goodies

On Tuesday at the moot lots of seasonal greenery was gathered so we could make wreaths, or anything else that took our fancy to decorate our home with for Yule.  It was good fun and was getting us in the mood for the coming winter solstice.  All the wreaths, hearts and sprays looked fab.  This is my attempt a festive pentacle wreath, made with willow for the pentagram and holly, ivy and other foliage.

It's the Yule do on Friday with film (which we star in), food and fun:0)

Leaping Moon Hare Pendant

Latest Moon Hare that I've made. A golden hare leaping under a full moon and circled with silver.  The hare has been hand sawn from brass, the circle is lightly hammered sterling silver and the full moon is a mother of pearl cabochon. The jump rings have been soldered so that the pendants should lay well when worn as a necklace.

I did have another similar hare finished which I was going to put on now, but I can't find it! Hope I didn't loose it when I was showing some of my things the other day.  That one was sweat soldered onto a silver disk which was hammered on one side to form a crescent moon inside a full moon, with the hare leaping across it.

www.morningstarcraft.co.uk necklace pendants

Allotment Paths

Got paths in now, it's really beginning to take on some framework.  Have rubbed skin off my finger cutting the carpets to go under the bark chippings to make the paths though, but at least you couldn't see it oozing for the mud.  Gwen has got her bike wheel on a post for the peas to grow up and in even more exciting new there are green shoots appearing that aren't weeds - no they are things we've planted and wanted to grow, garlic, leeks and the onions are very nearly ready to send out green shoots:0)

Work in progress

Scene from the work bench. Hares and moons to finish off.

Silver and Jade Spiral Isabella Jewellery Set

 I had blogged about this some time ago, but blogger had moved it into drafts for some reason!  So I'm reblogging it.

On my website was a silver plated spiral pendant with a jade bead, I received an enquiry asking if a bracelet could be made to go with it and possibly earrings too, to which I replied yes:0)  As it was a special birthday it was decided that they should be made of sterling silver, this is the results:

I got a message back  "Thank you so much for the jewellery. Isabella loves it!!  You're a star xxx", so much happiness all round:0)


www.morningstarcraft.co.uk necklace pendants

Samhain Celebrations

Chesterfield Pagans will be facilitating Samhain celebrations this year at the New Inn (229 Mansfield Road, Winsick,Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 0JJ). 


This is a bring and share event, so all who come should bring food for themselves and enough to share with others.


Cheril and Simon are hosting the ritual and ask that you all bring at least one tea light to be lit in rememberance of those who have gone before us.

Remember it will be chilly and although we will have a fire warm clothing is a must. Oh and most importantly....its......FANCY DRESS.....So please attend as your alter ego.....And if its dry enough DRUMMING!!!!! Oh and if each person/ couple/family could bring a carved pumpkin that would be ace, not compulsory but for the CARVED PUMPKIN COMPETITION it might be worth while ....you just never know what you might win!


Wordage borrowed from Ginger;0)  For more info please see facebook - Samhain Celebrations and Chesterfield Pagans.  For those that have been to Hasfest before it is the same place.

Allotment

Up the allotment doing some Ho Ho Ho ing, sorry is it a tad too early for Christmas jokes...

Copper Oak Leaf

Well the leaves are beginning to fall in earnest now that the days are definitely getting colder.  I picked an Oak leaf up on my way back from the allotment and impressed it into some copper sheet so that the detail of the veins of the leaf were left on it.  Then I cut round the shape of the leaf with my piercing saw and smoothed the edges.  I left a stem type piece of copper at the top which I have turned under to make a bail to hang the leaf from and then applied patina to give it some subtle colour.  It's lightly hammered on the back to give the reverse some texture as well and is a good solid piece of jewellery.  

It measures approx 7.5cm x 3cm.  

I'm going to make some more things from leaves I think.  There are a couple of other photos on my flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawn-rose/

Allotment make over

Had an exciting day on the allotment without doing a lot yesterday.  Had a man with a big tractor come and dig our plot over, so worth it, saved hours and hours and hours of sweaty digging.  It is now a blank canvas for planning out where things are to go, and we can start the good bit, growing stuff:0).  The farmer said our soil is really good too and he must know his onions.  Will have proper harvest time next year, yeah.

Nine Ladies, Stanton Moor

You'll be pleased no doubt to know that they're still there;0)  I needed to do some thinking and pondering on Friday and to get out of the house, so I thought a think and a ponder in a beautiful place would be best.  Love it when you get there and it's all peaceful, quiet and empty, though I do enjoy it when we celebrate up there as well of course.  Anyway after quite a bit of cogitating and ruminating I headed back down for coffee and chocolate enjoying looking at the flowering heathers and hills on the way.

Derbyshire Pagans Lammas Camp 2011

Elderflower Wine

I've started wine making!  Got to wait months though to find out if it's any good, and drink it, it's quite exciting, sad I know.  Hoping it might be ok to take to camp though it says several months in the book and Lammas Camp is only two month away.

As the Elderflowers are now out and smelling good I thought I would start with Elderflower wine as I remember my Grandma making it and Elderflower Champagne, and it tasted good and cooling on a summers day and at christmas time it reminded you of summer, mind you the corks exploding occasionally in the cellar gave you a bit of a shock.

James and I picked some of the flowers on the way back from the allotment yesterday.  When I got back I left them in the bag as I read that if you leave them 24 hours and then give them a good shake the flowers fall of the stalks, but this didn't happen and I didn't want to leave them any longer in case they started to go brown so ran a fork through them and combed them which does work pretty well.  We picked more than enough, only needed a pints worth, so I might make some cordial as well.

So now they are soaking in 8 pints of boiling water with 8oz of chopped raisins and the zest of a lemon, this has to stand for 4 days and be stirred occasionally.  I've sort of combined two recipes together as I was getting confused with all the different ideas for Elderflower wine out there, the rasins apparently give it body.

So Thursday it will need straining and then 3lbs of sugar and the juice of the lemon and the yeast need adding.

Hasfest 2011

Had a brill time at Hasfest, Labyrinth, Burning Man, workshops the lot.  Wish I'd made more Chalices and Smoking Incense Bottles though and things with hares on, I love hares as well don't know why I didn't do more! Knees are a bit achey from too much dancing round the fire though.

Now looking forward to Derbyshire Pagans Lammas Camp.

Wedding Favor Glasses

I was asked to engrave some glasses as Wedding Gifts for six Bridesmaids and the Best Man recently by the Bride To Be, with name, date and choice of animal on, and thank you for being my bridesmaid/bestman. They were all very happy with the glasses and I got lots of 'thank yous' and brilliants, the Bride sent me a message to say 'I cannot actually say how fantastic everything is' which made me feel great, it's lovely when you get compliments about your work even if it makes you blush a bit. If you would like something similar please contact me either by a comment on here or via my web site www.morningstarcraft.co.uk contact-me

She also asked me to make an Ivy and Oak Headress, alice band style, similar to the one I did for a Handfasting, she was carrying a bouquet with lots of ivy in it and they both went together really well.

The cake they had was fab, it had lots of flowers, toadstools and Mr & Mrs Owl on the top, Mr Owl had a beard to match the Groom's.  The cake was nothing to do with me I just thought it looked great.

Shamanism, Paganism, Rock and Roll or in other words Hasfest 2011

Well it's very close to that time of year again when we drum, dance, shake our stuff and make merry.  Hasfest this year looks to be even better, we've had two years practice now;0)  The first year was a bit ad hoc with 'shall we, yes why not?' thrown together quite quickly and was thoroughly enjoyed.  This year there has more time to worry, no I'm sure it will be great fun, there will be the burning man, fire, drumming, workshops and of course things to buy.  I'll be having a stall there and there promises to be lots of others there too, so if you want things a bit more unusual come down.  Entry is free so why not come and see (see a bit of rhyming). If you want some more info please visit http://chesterfieldpagans.org/events/hasfest/ or searching for hasfest on facebook should bring it up too I think.  It takes place at the New Inn, Mansfield Road, Hasland, Chesterfield S41 0JJ mainly on Saturday 14th May, but there is to be some drumming and such like the evening before.

This is some of us a few weeks ago having a tie dye party, getting fabric ready to hang in the marque to make it look less white and boring! It was a fantastic day and my first time at tie dying anything, who'd have thought it, being as how I am and at my age too :0P

Heart Jewellery

 

 As it's nearly Mothering Sunday thought I would do some heart shaped jewellery.  The one above is a copper pendant with a sterling silver heart set at an angle and finished with a sterling silver bail.

 For more of a spring/summer feel these are glass hearts on pink thong with silver colour beads and finished with a toggle fastener.

More copper and sterling silver hearts -

These aren't loaded on to my web site yet but they are on the MorningStarCraft  facebook page.

Hand Engraved Personalised Tall Glasses

 


















I thought I would show these as I'm not as often asked to engrave tall glasses as I am wine glasses, pint glasses, whiskey glasses, chalices etc  These were for a Christmas present to be sent directly to the customers parents, she requested a greenman with Dad on one and dragonflies personalised with Mam on the other.


www.MorningStarCraft.co.uk glass