Blue

Two weeks ago I started an early spring cleaning in my beading workspace.  When it got to my bead storage I started to do an inventory on what types of bead colors I purchase the most and found out that I have more blue beads in my collection than any other color. 

I have blues which range from navy to cobalt and also aqua and turquoise which are in the blue family....I counted over 100 vials of beads ranging in different sizes!  I was very shocked to find this, considering blue isn't even my favorite color.  Then I started thinking maybe it's how those blue colors make me feel.  When I look at blue I feel calm.  I also think of the beach and the ocean and how much I love going there.  Turquoise also makes me think of my days as a college student in Long Island when me and my friend Christine, use to buy a lot of Turquoise jewelry.  We would go into the village of Southampton and buy necklaces and earrings and we were always attracted to silver and turquoise. 

During the holiday break my friend Christine and I connected and she purchased a pair of turquoise earrings in my Etsy store....she said it bought back memories of our school days as well! 

Earrings my friend Christine purchased from my Etsy store

 

These are more of a green turquoise, but nevertheless still in the turquoise family. 

 

My husband loves blue...especially cobalt, which I seem to have a lot of in my bead stash.  I made this tila bead necklace with him in mind.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122032036/cobolt-blue-tila-bead-netted-beadwoven

 

 

I researched the meaning of the color blue online and this is what I found at http://crystal-cure.com/blue.html 

 

Color Blue

Blue is the coolest color - the color of the sky, ocean, sleep, twilight. The ancient Egyptians used lapis lazuli to represent heaven. Blue symbolizes the Virgin Mary. A pure blue is the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality. Blue is often the chosen color by conservative people. Blue is the calming color. That makes it a wonderful color to use in the home, especially for babies. Blue is so soothing that is a good choice for pajamas. Dark blue is the color of truth and moderation. A blue iris means your friendship is very important to me. Wednesday's color is blue. Blue gemstones to wear to feel calm are blue sapphire and blue topaz. Lapis lazuli and azurite are said to heighten psychic power. Turquoise is the symbol of youth, both the color and the gemstone. This color has a soothing affect. Turquoise is the color of communication. It contains the growth quality of green with the blue quality of communication. Turquoise has long been used in amulets to provide protection, health, confidence and strength. Aqua is the color of high ideals. Blue Energy Blue gives a feeling of distance. Artists use it to to show perspective. This is a good way to understand the energy of the color blue - it allows us to look beyond and increase our perspective outward. It contains a cool vibration that is helpful to communication. The vibration if blue can be used to open energy flow where it is blocked. Using blue to relax will encourage feelings of communication and peace. Put some blue in your life when you want: calm and relaxation to counteract chaos or agitation to open the flow of communication to broaden your perspective in learning new information solitude and peace Blue gem stone properties Blue gemstones promote peace and are used to calm ragged emotions. They are used to provide relief to people who have difficulty sleeping or who have nightmares. They offer inspiration and enhance the quality of communication.

 

Very Interesting!!!!

 

Here is some more jewelry I made using blue and turquoise!

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/94602335/turquoise-netted-beadwoven-necklace-with

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107902120/long-dangle-bluegreen-and-gold-pierced

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/118391519/blue-crystal-netted-beadwoven-necklace

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/118516819/turquoise-and-teal-netted-beadwoven

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



 



Beading and Winter

It is now the middle of January already and the days are becoming gloomy and gray.  All of this gray weather has made it difficult for me to feel motivated to do anything, so instead of beading with dark colors I have decided to alleviate the gloom by working in bright colors!!!! As some of you know I LOVE netted jewelry!

Egyptian necklace displayed in the Metropolitan Museum

 

I first fell in love with netted jewelry at the Metropolitan Museum here in New York City.  The Egypt room there is filled with art and jewelry from ancient Egyptian times.  When I first saw the netted jewelry there it made me think of beaded lace.  Egyptians used beads, shells and metal pieces to weave there magic into fantastic statement pieces just like the one above!

So this week I used my love of netting and some bright colors to lift my spirits and made the following,

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120483419/yellow-and-orange-seed-bead-netted

 

 

I love the way that netting feels and looks like lace in this necklace!  The colors are bright and sunny, and helped me through a very gray and rainy day. 

 

Here are some other netting pieces I created.

 



 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/112268576/yellow-mustard-tila-bead-netted

 

 



 https://www.etsy.com/listing/98492195/topaz-and-mustard-yellow-tila-bead

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/94608105/bronze-tila-bead-netted-beadwoven

 

Catching Up..........The Holiday Season

This past year the holiday season seemed to pass by so quickly.  I know it has been awhile since I have blogged but decided to catch everyone up on what has been going on with us. 

Let's go back to Thanksgiving.  This was the first time in about 20 years that I did not cook Thanksgiving dinner.  The kids were unable to come home because of work responsibilities and so it was just me and the hubby. 

It was the first time I ever in life went out to dinner for Thanksgiving!!!  We went to Neely's Barbecue and the food was fantastic!!!!

 

In case you didn't know, Pat and Gina Neely and their family own and operate own several BBQ restaurants in Tennessee.  They also have a show on the food network, Down Home with the Neely's.  I am a huge fan of their show so I just had to try their restaurant! 

 

We had reservations and were seated right away near a romantic fireplace.  We ordered the Thanksgiving pre fixe dinner.  It felt as if my grandmother cooked for us!!!!  Smoked Turkey, stuffing, candied yams, southern green beans and to finish it off a huge slice of pumpkin pie with whip cream!!! The meal was just too delicious to describe!  We decided to walk home afterward because we were totally stuffed!

 

The one thing I like about the holiday season in New York is how decoratively lit the city becomes.  The walk from Neely's was over 30 city blocks but we enjoyed the lights and each other's company.

 

Lights on Bloomingdale's....yes they are that bright!

 

Christmas came so quickly!  My daughter was able to visit and we had a great time Christmas eve.  It is our tradition to have a nice meal Christmas eve, and then go out and see the tree in Rockefeller Center. We then walk home to see all the city lights one last time as a family! 

 





 

Some of my favorite people and the tree in Rockefeller Center

 

New Years came so quickly!  My husband and I stayed in but my daughter went out and partied with friends! 

 

Reflecting back it seems almost as if it was a dream.  The holiday's came and went in a flash!  I hope that everyone out there had a safe and happy holiday and will have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!  And to all my beading friends....HAPPY BEADING in 2013!