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

Greenhouse

Spent yesterday up the allotment playing snails.  We moved a greenhouse from an adjoining plot on to ours, but of course it wasn't as simple as we first thought!

We did well taking the glass out (only broke two panes) but then we looked at how it was tethered down we discovered that they had sunk some long 2x2 wooden batons (think Stonehenge deep) into the earth which were then screwed to very long horizontal pieces at the bottom!  They didn't intend for it to move.  So after digging the greenhouse out we then had to dig a very deep trench on our plot to sink it back in, I've only got short legs and had to be hauled back out after getting stuck in the trench!

This is where the snail part comes in because then we picked the frame of the greenhouse up and walked it across on our backs to where we wanted it, it must have looked very odd.  So we are now the proud owners of a greenhouse, lovely fresh warm tomatoes this summer.  With the greenhouse and the rhubarb we planted last week it's looking like a proper allotment:0)

Web site

My web site that I have with microsoft office live small business has to move as they have decided that they are shutting that down so a lot of us are floundering around searching for a new place for our websites!  Thanks microsoft:o/  If any of you are knowledgeable in how much having to re point your domain name will affect Google rankings and how to try not to go down too far please let me know x  Not that I've pointed it anywhere yet, still got that to figure out!

So having to spend time moving photos and descriptions etc over at moment.  I have a new camera so think it would be a good idea to try to take some better photos of my items, while I am getting to grips with how things work on the new site.  I had tried the other day, but after loading them on the computer everything looks blue, will need to try it again.

If you look at the new web site and things are still a bit wobbly, sorry, if you wouldn't mind dropping me a line to say what's not working I can scratch my head in puzzlement and have a go at correcting it, web savvy I'm not lol.

Off to play with my camera now.

Oak Leaf Silver Ring

I had originally planned for this silver ring to have a Green Amber stone set in it, but while I was waiting for the ring to pickle after soldering the bezel on, the stone disappeared.  Hopefully when/if I get round to tidying up I might find it again in some far flung corner!  Luckily I had this Blue Onyx stone that fitted in,  its a gorgeous shade of blue and I think works better, reminds me of the sky and trees.  Ah trees because I have cut out  two Oak leaves and soldered them either side of the setting.

www.morningstarcraft.co.uk pins-rings--things

Derbyshire Pagans Lammas Camp and Hasfest 2012

Things to look forward to this summer :0)

Hasfest 2012 18th, 19th and 20th May and of course Chesterfield/Derbyshire Pagans Lammas Camp (which promises to be even bigger and better) 2nd - 5th August.  Tickets on sale for camp at Imbolc from Chesterfield Pagans site or at any of the Derbyshire moots, Hasfest still free:0)

Lots of fun, fire, dancing, drumming, meeting folks, learning/workshops and shopping (must get some things made to sell so I can buy things;0)

For info on last years happenings see here: http://chesterfieldpagans.org/2011/05/25/photos-of-hasfest-2011/, http://chesterfieldpagans.org/events/

I'll be at both with my stall as well, here my web site link if you would like to have look before;0) www.MorningStarCraft.co.uk or my facebook page www.facebook.com/MorningStarCraft

Bramble, Tendril, Leaf Silver Ring

I really like this ring and might make some more similar I think.  It has a central leaf (yeah ok it looks a bit like a heart) with tendrils wrapped around the ring and a thorn sticking up (nice and rounded though, doesn't prick).  I aged it to give it more definition.

www.MorningStarCraft.co.uk rings

All bare again here!  Left it till 12th night as it always seems so dull when all the pretty twinkly shiney things have been put in their boxes again for another year, though usually we leave one or two things out for a bit of sparkle:0)  Might be a making pretty things to hang around the house this weekend for me and at least the youngest, hard to motivate the oldest one now!