Craftin Burn Out

Every so often, I hit a major crafting wall. All of the sudden my brain is empty of creativity, and I can't force my hands to do what I want them to.

This has happened to me recently with my wire work. All of the sudden, the thought of weaving any wire is daunting, and my stones just aren't calling to me. I can't seem to get the energy together to even think about doing a craft show.

Perhaps it's the urge to enjoy the last few lazy days of summer that keeps me from putting my nose to the creative grindstone. Perhaps I'm just lazy. Who knows.

In the meantime, I've been knitting some winter hats, just to keep my hands busy, and my craftiness flowing, even if it's minimally. What do you do to help get yourself over a crafting roadblock?

I've Been Tagged With Love!

I've been tagged by BeaderJojo over at Unique You to help spread the bloggy love!
I'd like to tag LWGodsil's Jadis Jewelry, MaryLou's Art (Ad)Venture, and The Best of DIY. Spread the love crafty people :)

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Stone Souls- Lapis Lazuli

The next stone featured in my Stone Souls series is Lapis Lazuli.


Blue Empress www.ravenworksstudio.com

Lapis Lazuli is a stone with a very colorful history. It's rich blue color has always made it an attractive stone to feature in jewelry, and has been used in such since prehistoric times. Later on, it's vivid blues were used as a paint, and to color cloth.

Lapis is a highly spiritual stone, and is used often in meditations or any any activities that connect to spirituality or the divine. This is also a stone that promotes peace and serenity. This makes it a good stone to foster harmony and friendship in all relations.

In terms of healing the body, Lapis is most often said to help boost the immune system, to help with conditions of the throat and provide aid with insomnia.

First Boston Show Down

My best friend and I did our first Boston South End Open Market for this season this past Sunday. It was great to be back in Boston, and despite the crazy heat and humidity, the crowd was steady.

We were really surprised to discover that the number of vendors was almost half of what it was last year. I'm not sure why the number was paired down so much, but it didn't seem to deter the people walking through.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the day, we were hit with a hurricane-like storm, that threw thunder and lightning around our heads, and drenched us and all of our jewelry, while we frantically bailed water from the top of our tent to keep it from collapsing. Our neighbor's tent did end up collapsing, and several vendors had merchandise ruined by the rain.

Despite the tragic end to our day, we're looking forward to our next trip to Boston on August 3rd. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for no rain.

Stone Souls- Amber

Even though Amber is not a stone, I still think it's a predominant jewelry element with a lot of great metaphysical properties. With that said, I bring you Amber as the next instalment in my "Stone Souls" series:


"Suspended" www.ravenworksstudio.com

Amber is resinated tree sap, which usually contains small bugs, or bits of plants, preserved eternally in the honey colored material. Amber is pretty easy to find, and is used often in jewelry design. The warm earthy colors, go well with both silver an gold.

Because Amber is derived directly from trees, it is a "stone" that has strong connections to the earth, and gives it powerful grounding properties. Amber is also a powerful cleanser and healer, absorbing negative energies and transmuting it into positive healing energy. This applies to mental health as well, as its warm energy promotes stability and a positive demeanor.

For healing, Amber works best with the throat in particular, as well as ailments dealing with the stomach, spleen, kidneys, bladder, liver, gallbladder and joints.

Stone Souls- Snowflake Obsidian

The second stone I'd like to highlight in my "Stone Souls" series is Snowflake Obsidian:


"As The Fallen Snow" Pendant www.ravenworksstudio.com


Snowflake Obsidian is another well known, and well used stone, and is easily obtained all over the world.

Metaphysically, Snowflake Obsidian falls under the sign of Sagittarius. It is a stone of purity that balances the mind body and spirit. Snowflake Obsidian steers the wearer away from bad frames of mind, and stressful mental patterns. It also helps the wearer to recognize the value of their mistakes. Snowflake Obsidian is also calming and soothing.

For healing purposes, Snowflake Obsidian works best with the skeletal and circulatory systems.

Stone Souls- Amethyst

Lately I've become very interested in individual stones and there mataphysical meanings the more and more I work with them. Stones have a lot of influence of their wearer, and I wanted to be able to share my findings.

The first stone I'd like to explore is: Amethyst


www.ravenworksstudio.com

AMETHYST-

Amethyst is a very common stone used in jewelry making. It comes in several lovely shades of purple, and is mined in several different countries. It's a beautiful and an affordable stone, which makes it appealing to both jewelry makers and jewelry buyers.

Metaphysically speaking, Amethyst is a very "mental" stone, both stimulating, and calming as needed by the wearer. It is especially good at protecting its wearer from negative energy, and has even been said to have a sobering effect, which makes it useful if you are trying to overcome any type of addiction.

Amethyst is also a very spiritual stone, connecting one to the more divine energies. In this vein, it also helps the wearer to remember and interpret their dreams, and to have more intense visualization. Placed under your pillow, it can aid with insomnia or nightmares.