Weekly Inspiration for this week! The lovely Miss M over at PhoenixFire Designs hand makes these amazing Tree of Life Pendants! I love looking at the different styles and beads used. They're amazing works of art and are smaller than the size of a quarter!


I invited Miss M to be my partner for a swap over on Craftster. It turns out we both are native to Tampa! Awesome right!? Our plan was to swap in person but due to unforeseen circumstances that didn't happen. Miss M needs surgery and is going through quite a rough patch. I hope everything turns out well for her and I am keeping her wellness in my thoughts. *sending good energies her way* I mailed out my swap package to her this morning so it will arrive tomorrow. I hope that will at least bring her some joy :)

If you would like to add your support or donate to her surgery costs you can read about it here.

Luna Lovegood's Jewelry.

I crafted Luna Lovegood's jewelry for my costume durring this past Halloween. They were a pain in the butt, but came out marvelously! Did you know the actress who plays Luna constructed her pair herself! I knew there was a way I could make my own pair, I just had to figure it out. And so, I want to share some of my WIP photos and explain a little how I accomplished those complicated Dirigible Plums.




It was important to me that I had round earrings. So, I started by winding a small piece of red yarn to use as my base and I secured it with some fabric glue. I then took a needle and strung the bead wire though the center. You will have 2 wire ends. One you will string beads, the other is used to connect to the actual earring. So leave enough to work with. Next, I started winding the clear beads from the bottom. This is actually the most difficult part. Getting your wire to wind in such a small circle. I used fabric glue to adhere the beads to the yarn. It's the only way to get them to stay. It actually works really, really well. Once at the top I wound the beads as closely as I could. I cut my wire and try to tuck it into my yarn base, and secure it with glue. Now you have only 1 wire end left.


I used a different type of wire for the leaves. One that will hold when bent. I then constructed the leaves, they have a small loop at the top center. I looped them onto the remaining wire. I didn't really follow any particular pattern, they just needed to resemble leaves. I shaped the wire to my liking. I added a few beads to my wire and then looped the wire around the earring. I used a small closing bead (the ones you can crush with pliers) to secure it, then tucked the remaining wire into those last few beads.

I hope this is a bit insightful. If you're wanting to tackle this project yourself, feel free to message me with any questions. I'd be happy to help!

It was also important that I got her necklace as accurate as I possibly could. I think I did a pretty fine job. I've been selling Luna necklaces in my Etsy shop. Keep checking, I'll be relisting them soon.