Mala-tastic

Mala Beads. Also known as prayer beads. They are simple, but full of meaning.

They are typically comprised of 108 beads and they are a tool used to keep your mind on the meditation and prevent it from wandering. Malas are generally made from different materials such as tulsi (basil) wood, sandal wood, rudraksh seeds or crystal. Each type of material has certain properties which subtly affect the subconscious mind of the practitioner.   Anyone who has mediated before knows how hard it can be to focus sometimes. By its very nature, the mind tends to wander off during the meditation practice. If ones energy is low at the time of meditation, it can be tempting to fall asleep. If the energy is too high, the mind can start daydreaming or coming up with shopping lists. At such times, the mala provides the much needed anchor. The Mala beads are moved in rhythm with the breath and the mantra, so that both-sleep as well as excessive mental distraction-are prevented by this action upon the beads. A personal mala is a wonderful accessory to meditation, which when used regularly with a personal mantra, absorbs the vibrations of the practice. It becomes like a close friend or a comfortable piece of clothing! The Mala is traditionally held in the right hand and used in two ways -In one method, the Mala is hanging between the thumb and the ring (third) finger. The middle (second) finger is used to rotate the Mala by one bead towards oneself with each repetition of the mantra. In the other method, the mala is hanging on the middle finger, with the thumb used to rotate the mala just as explained - one bead at a time. Either way, the index finger is never used to touch the Mala. Can you guess where this is going? Yes, we are going to be carrying Mala necklaces (and bracelets) within the next month or so. Many of them will be one-offs, so stay posted!
Here is a quick sneak peak! Green Sandalwood 108 Beads

I give you my heart

Phew. Busy busy busy! Sad to say, I haven't had much time lately for blogging, let alone jewelry. However, I was hit with the jewelery bug this weekend and had a bit of a revelation. I was shopping for some thin headpins to finish my mum's wedding earrings, when I found the most beautiful crystal hearts. They're shiny, girly and they fall right into this pink/nude/tan trend that I've been so in love with lately. I snapped them up and spent a couple hours creating (after finishing momma's earrings of course). This led me to the conclusion that I need to start a new line. I love the earthy, bohemian style, but it's fun to switch it up now and then.

Think of this as a sneak peek into the new, flirty line (which may also branch off into bridal accessories)!

ps. Any guesses as to what book I used for the background?

"Colour of my Heart"

"Something Blue"

You're the Apple of my Eye!

Aren't these stickers fantastic?! I stumbled upon them this morning and the best part is - you can download your own free set by clicking here.

Better late than never...

Oops...I'm such a bad blogger. I completely forgot to post my art journal last Friday. I was getting ready for a karate tournament on the weekend so I was a little distracted (excuses) ;)

My Mantra

As a graphic designer, sometimes you have just have to follow the client's direction instead of your own creative license (after all, they usually know their business better than you do). From an artist's perspective, this can be a bit trying sometimes, but I have a mantra that helps:

 

It is Latin for "Art for art's sake"; a Bohemian creed from the 19th century. Art for art's sake" affirmed that art was valuable as art. This is a good reminder when creating something that is not for yourself. I'm not saying compromise is always good, but sometimes, especially in business, it's necessary - heck, Michelangelo refused to paint the Sistine Chapel at first saying that he was a sculptor not a painter...but was soon persuaded by his "client" (Pope Julius). :)

I also created a wallpaper to use while at work. As you can see, I'm a big fan of the whole "erroded/grunge" style. :)

Modern Day Corset

Recently, Patti Ransom, a local interior designer, was nice enough to give me a huge box of fabric scraps and books of wallpaper samples. This might seem useless to some people, but I was thrilled! This meant new materials for craft time! Because a lot of the fabric samples were cut small, I had to come up with a project that wouldn't take much material. Case in point: the corset belt.

(my bum)

Honestly, I had no idea what I was creating at the time and it was very much a make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of thing...but I LOVE how it turned out. Once I solidify the pattern these will be available to purchase in all sorts of fantastic colours and patterns. I find it's a great way to dress up a plain outfit and it even hides any, er, unwanted bumps (what bumps?). Plus, it's reversible (flip side is plain brown).

Oh and, on another note, the necklace that I'm wearing in the photo is my newest creation and is available to purchase here. 

Green Wedding

Some of you may know that my Mum is getting married in March. Of course, this means that for the next couple of months, I get to play wedding planner. We have already made several trips to Michaels to get dried flowers, vases, arches, invitations etc. Yesterday, we found these dark green pearl beads (my Mum will be wearing a dark green mermaid dress and they match PERFECTLY). My Mum had already bought some jewelry but honestly, it looked cheap and a bit tacky. To remedy this, we bought the green pearls and I told her to just let me at 'em. :)

I figured I'd give her two options. One is a chandelier style and the other is a long chain. They are both unfinished (didn't want to put too much work into till we picked a style). I showed them to my Mum today and we're going to go with the long chain version - which is the one I liked best, so yay! Now I need to finish the earrings and start on the necklace/bracelet. I will be sure to post a photo of the final product!