Regret Not Me, my new Portable Memorial Jewelry

Its been a year of losses for many around me and I have found myself making jewelry as a kind of portable memorial for those who grieve, and also as a symbol that there is hope for the future even in the darkest of times.

The top image is of my Regret Not Me earrings just added to etsy, these were inspired by the Thomas Hardy poem of that name, in this poem, Hardy speaks of slumbering peacefully beneath a tree. These earrings are black as the pain of grief, but the etched bead is like a nut or seed for new life and the leaf is also symbolic of the life cycle. Although I could only use an excerpt of the poem in my listing, here is the poem in its entirity, from my beloved book "Poems of Thomas Hardy, selected and introduced by Claire Tomalin" (Penguin Classics 2006)
Regret Not Me:

Regret not me

Beneath the sunny tree

I lie uncaring, slumbering peacefully.

Swift as the light

I flew my faery flight

Ecstatically I moved, and feared no night.

I did not know

That heydays fade and go

But deemed that what was would be always so.

I skipped at morn

Between the yellowing corn

Thinking it good and glorious to be born.

I ran at eves

Among the piled up sheaves

Dreaming, "I grieve not, therefore nothing grieves".

Now soon will come

The apple, pear and plum

And hinds will sing, and autumn insects hum.

Again you will fare

To cider-makings rare

and junketings; but I shall not be there.

Yet gaily sing

Until the pewter ring

Those songs we sang when we went gipsying.

And lightly dance

Some triple-timed romance

In coupled figures, and forget mischance.

And mourn not me

Beneath the yellowing tree

For I shall mind not, slumbering peacefully.

(Thomas Hardy)

I also have these czech cross earrings in black and gold, this pair on a chain, a second pair hangs simply from their earwires, in brass findings.

My heart goes out to all who have lost near and dear ones, may you find some hope and comfort in your lives.

My Prison Photo

Today I got a call to action from Amnesty International, asking me to upload my photo on behalf of Burmese conscience prisoners, these are the people imprisoned in Burma (Myanmar) for making comments 'against the government'. As the nation prepares for an election, we remember that the results of the last election were ignored and the winning canditate imprisoned in her own home. This respected woman, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, remains a prisoner, and over 2000 citizens are in Burmese prisons for their beliefs alone.

If you could please use this link http://3freedoms.ammesty.org/ you can have fun, give your friends and family a laugh at your 'prison pic', help promote awareness and hopefully achieve positive change for the people of Burma.

Amnesty International operates secure sites, and respects your privacy, your identity and email will not be used in the promotion, only a first name and a nation are displayed with your pic in the campaign. I have always enjoyed security and peace of mind while supporting the Charity.

Starry Girl by Starzyia smilebox promo

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My Recent Handmade Purchases

My moratorium on shopping (due to saving for surgery) has been lifted, and here are some of my recent handmade purchases.

To begin with, my jeans were getting a little loose, and for a long time I've wanted a decent belt instead of the cheap junk I picked up from Kmart or hand-me-down leather from my Dad. I had seriously considered going to David Jones in the city as I have often browsed the belts there while waiting for my mother. I knew from that experience that I would need a good 70 to 100 dollars to come away with something nice. But then I remembered an etsy seller I had seen while browsing, and thought I'd look up the shop, and I'm so glad I did, because I was able to get a custom sized belt with a beautifully designed belt buckle, as you can see in my top image, and I can tell you I only paid USD$24 for the belt.
The etsy seller is Valento www.valento.etsy.com and I really enjoyed the friendly service, and he created my custom size faster than anticipated, the quality of the belt is excellent, I really could not be happier!


The image above is of my handmade headband from etsy seller BargainHeadbands, her bands promise to be headache free (which is important for me) and both my bands delivered on this promise. Not only that, but this seller is happy to adjust your band for you if you find it is too tight or the wrong size when it arrives. It is also possible to shop for co-ordinating headbands and purses. I believe the shop link is www.bargainheadbands.etsy.com

Here we have an image of matryoshka dolls handmade by Australian seller Plushka, I bought one of the dark blue dolls for my dressing room. Not only beautiful, the doll has immaculate stitching, and I was excited by how quickly I received my new doll, and very pleased with the friendly service. There are so many great finds in Plushka's store, please visit her, www.madeit.com.au/Plushka

What have you been buying lately?

Guess and Win Butterfly contest Winner Announced

First of all I'd like to thank the people who entered a guess, and comiserate with those who had difficulty leaving a comment as there have been some blogger site issues recently, in future I will hold contests where you can enter through a variety of sites - Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger combined.

The number of butterflies I have in my room, is 42!

Therefore the closest guess belongs to Chez, who guessed 37. I will be contacting you Chez and sending your prize once it is all nicely wrapped up.

If you have an idea for a fun and interesting competition I could run I would love to hear from you as I am currently brainstorming for the future.

Here's to the future!

Free Contest, Have Fun and Win Butterfly Earrings

I will ship these earrings to anywhere in the world for free, to the lucky winner of this contest. The earrings feature a pewter butterfly in antiqued gold finish, with sapphire coloured rhinestone in a heart setting.



To win, simply guess the number of butterflies in my room! I will give you some guideline hints below. The contest will run until midnight Perth Western Australia time on the 21st September. The winner will be either:

1 The person who guesses the exact number of butterflies.

2. The person who is closest to the exact correct number of butterflies



In the event of multiple people guessing the same number or being equally close to it (ie in the event of a tie) the names of the people tied up will be put in an online randomiser and one winner will be decided by chance.



My family members are not eligible to enter. My friends who have had access to this room are ineligible to enter. This is a contest for my online friends and readers, and will be fairly refereed.



To enter, just leave a comment below with the number you wish to guess.



HINTS and TIPS

The room is small-medium room measuring 3 metres by 3 metres.

The room is multi purpose, it is my dressing room with built in wardrobes and tall boy drawers, it is also a room housing tall bookshelves.... it is a room I sit in and read comfortably, listen to music, and sit or lie on the day bed. I find this room very relaxing.

My clothes are all put away inside the closet/wardrobes so any butterfly clothing is not counted in the tally.

The curtains and upholstery do not have any butterflies on them.

There are 4 framed pieces of art hanging on the walls.

There is a pin up board on which hang all my personally owned earrings, but none of the earrings made for my stores are in the room.

There is not a ridiculously large number of butterflies in the room, although I can look in any direction and find butterflies, their numbers are not overwhelming.

Do not guess 500 or more butterflies that is way too many!



I will announce the correct number of butterflies on Wednesday 22 September and who has won!

Why not visit my fellow etsian and awesome blogger Jess who has very kindly featured me this week in her segment 'makers', you can read my interview, and while there, explore recipes, spiral jewelry, tips for your own handmade success and all kinds of fun posts!
http://messy-bessie.com/2010/09/makers-starzyia/

Wedding Gift for My Cousin

Hi, I am still alive and well... just bowled over by how busy I have been, I go to bed each night thinking how happy I am, so I can't complain. I have even found a bit of time to read at night and have a large stack of new books to slowly pick my way through. I am also happy to say I no longer need to save for that out of pocket surgical expense!

This week I have taken some time to hand make a pair of earrings for my cousin who has just gotten married, I wanted something classically beautiful and elegant for Elizabeth and of course they had to have a special meaning.

These pearl and ivy leaf earrings are hopefully a perfect match for my cousin's taste in jewelry. Ivy is a traditional wedding gift to promote fidelity, and pearls are for married happiness, wisdom, and women's health.

I do have some jewelry in my stores designed for married happiness and one pair of earrings in my www.madeit.com.au/Starzyia store a little more exotic, named Song of Solomon after the classic love verses in the bible.