Spring Equinox, Eclipse Necklaces

Spring Equinox/Ostara is almost here, Spring yay :0) and this year it comes with a solar eclipse!!
With those events in mind I thought I would show a couple of necklaces that I created which would make an excellent (eggcellent ;0)) memento/gift.

This is a silver spiral moon kissing the sun for the eclipse or for the balance of night and day at the equinox.

And this is for Ostara's Hare coursing across the starlit night under a crescent moon.  With added symbology of the triple spiral/ triskele.

With Terry Pratchett's sad passing it also remind's me of Tiffany Aching's hare necklace in I shall wear Midnight. I think I shall make a silver horse necklace to compliment this one similar to the one she wore when she was younger.

If you like these necklaces you can find out more about them here -

 Necklace and pendants

Silver Triple Moon and Golden Leaping Hare Pendant

Silver Triple Moon Hare Necklace

Silver Triple Moon and Golden Leaping Hare, a photo by Dawn* on Flickr.

This is the Triple Moon and Hare I had on my soldering block ready to finish a while ago that I showed as wip, thought I'd better take a photo to show you the finished necklace:0) Sterling Silver Triplemoon with a textured finish to the crescents, waning and waxing with the full moon buffed to a shine. The spiral golden brass hare leaps across across the front of it. Working on a similar piece now with a crescent moon and hare. I don't seem to be able to reply to comments, will have to have to try and sort that, thank you for any comments that have been left, I appreciate them x

Triskele, Hare & Moon Necklace

 

After spending up till easter this year trudging down to my workspace at the bottom of the garden in wellies through the snow I have decided to move into the house for the winter.  Although the weather is still glorious at the moment and I will miss going down there while it is nice and checking how well the weeds are doing, I am loving the almost spider free space, brighter light and more room of working in the house,with running water and kettle near by and it should be warmer when the weather does change.

This Triskele, Hare & Crescent Moon with little star Necklace is the first thing I have made in my new workspace, all totally handmade.  The Hare is hand sawn from brass sheet and the moon and star from sterling silver sheet, all the other parts are sterling silver too including the hand formed Triskele.  The moon can be a New Crescent Moon or a Waning Moon depending on your mood as it is reversible.  I'm tempted to keep it as it looks lovely on but will list it on my Morning Star Craft website soon.  Oh and I must remember to give measurements too.

Have now put this necklace on the website and am trying to update other parts of it too:0) 

Morning Star Craft Necklaces/pendants

Hand flowers and Ribbon Wrap Bracelets

Have been making some more handflowers or slave bracelets and ribbon wrap bracelets.   My son says my armless model ;0) looks a bit creepy, but not sure how else to show them, my nails after bending metal and being up the garden aren't lovely enough to be in the photo.  What do you think, creepy, good, bad?

Feeling a little batty;0)  There's a small bat on the extender chain as well.  Or maybe butterflies are more your thing, this one has a beaded ring and small butterfly charms.

The different hues in each of the hand dyed ribbons are gorgeous.  They wrap about 3 times around your wrist and have a sliding spiral bead to help with fastening.  The ends can either be tuck in or left loose to dangle. There are moons, fairies, goddess, dragonflies, pentacles, unicorns, dragons, and wild animals, tiger, lion, monkey, giraffe, elephant is one your animal guide?

This bottom one with the pentacle, turquoise crescent moon and goddess hasn't got a slider bead as although they all would make lovely anklets as well as bracelets I think this one would be an ideal one for an anklet.  Some of them would make great necklaces too, so three in one, can't be bad;0)  I'll be bringing some of these along to the Derbyshire Pagans Lammas Camp along with some more of my jewellery, including some feathered arm bands which I thought would look great worn with sleeveless tops in the hot weather.

Spiral Moon Gazing Hare Necklace

Long time since my last post, thought I would start back in with this lovely Moon Gazing Hare I have hand pierced (sawn) from copper and engraved a spiral onto and other features, a good warm colour for Mabon. It has been out under the full moon.  The wrapping around the cord is Sterling Silver and is fastened with adjustable knots so it can be shortened or lengthened to suit you.  

Hope you like it, will get it on the web site soon:0)

Silver and Amethyst Triple Moon Necklace

Finished a silver triple moon pendant.  I decided to make it with the crescent moons top and bottom of the full moon rather than side by side and to set an amethyst in the centre.  Amethyst is one of my favourite stones, I find it calming and happy.  The moons are cut from sterling silver and I have textured the lower moon and bottom half of the full moon to represent the waning moon and have oxidised them to bring out the marks more, the top crescent has been left shiny to represent the new moon.
Morning Star Craft Necklaces

Crochet Wire Bead and Shell Necklaces

Just finished these two necklaces, I like the unstructured look of them.  I think the green shell one is very reminiscent of the sea, seaweed and bubbles of spray, especially with the silver plated shell ends.  Embrace the mermaid in you;0)

They are crochet with purple and green wire.  The green shell one fastens with a lobster clasp and the purple bead one with a toggle clasp.

Moon Hares

Running Spiral Moon Hare Necklace

Leaping Full Moon Hare Pendant

Moon Gazing Spiral Hare

As it's nearly the Spring Equinox/Ostara thought I would show some of the Moon Hares I have finished recently. They have been hand sawn (pierced) from brass (the two top ones) and copper, the silver is all sterling silver.

I have engraved some detailing onto the Running Hare. Behind is a silver moon which has been lightly hammered to give texture and a crescent shape and a silver spiral acts as the bail.

The Leaping Hare has a circle of sterling silver bringing together the hare and the mother of pearl full moon.

The Moon Gazing Hare has a silver spiral on the back leg and sits under a lightly hammered silver moon.

The hare is an ancient symbol of this time of year and is closely associated with the Saxon goddess Oestara and is from where the modern easter bunny comes. There are different spellings for Oestara - Ostara, Eostra (notice the similarity with the word easter). She is the European version of the Goddess Ishtar/Astarte whose worship goes back thousands of years. She is goddess of the spring, and the dawn, and fertility, as christianity took over her time was changed to easter and the hare to an easter bunny.

This is my favorite time of year, the celebration of the arrival of Spring. There is new hope and promise for the coming seasons, warmth returning, early flowers blooming, renewal and rebirth, balance of night and day, with the light growing stronger day by day, masculine and feminine/yin and yang are also in balance, young life is emerging, and of course chocolate eggs;0)
www.morningstarcraft.co.uk necklace pendants

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

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

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/

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.

Shaggy Loop Necklace

           

This necklace is made up of rings joined one to the other and give a lovely flowing movement when worn.  On some of the rings I have put on beads in sort of peacock colours to give it a bit more colour, and I have finished it with an easy to use toggle clasp with spirals on.  I did have a bracelet that made to go with this Shaggy Loop Necklace but it's already been taken.  I might do some earrings in a similar style as I think they would swing and move very well.

Wire Work Bracelet and Necklace

This is one of my handmade bracelets, I took it to show at belly dance class. It was brought by one of the other dancers and she commissioned me to do a necklace to go with it, happily she was delighted with the necklace as well :0)
www.MorningStarCraft.co.uk