Artisan Jewelry Holiday Extravaganza

Hey! I'm on YouTube!



Many thanks to Etsy artisan MonaJewels of Bellaire, Texas, who pulled together a wonderful collection of jewelry artisans to celebrate the season. She chose two pieces of mine to include.

Mona host's an on-line radio talk show for independent jewelry designers at nowlive.com called THE JEWELRY CONNECTION -broadcasting every Sunday afternoon at 12:00PM PST, 2:00PM CST, 3:00PM EST. Starting on the 23rd of November, she'll be hosting a holiday jewelry show, exhibiting each designer's work individually and promoting the videos in her broadcast room. There will be Christmas music playing in the broadcast room starting on the 23rd that will continue throughout the holidays to promote all of the artists. On the 23rd she'll be offering a drawing for door prizes so it will be a "Holiday Event" and a celebration of artisans and their Christmas Muse!

Christmas Shopping for the Science Geek in Your Life

Being the quintessential science geek/nerd/dork, I know that those of us who actually own up to that designation can be quite difficult to find gifts for come the holiday gift-giving season. On Etsy, there is a bona fide "Geekery" section, devoted to all things quirky, and it even has a "science" subcategory. A quick perusal brought forth these lovely little gems, most fit for a stocking at least, and definitely all good for at least a smile.

Featured are the following items from Etsy sellers:
Science Nerd Badge from Claire Payne
Red Wine Molecule from Molecular Muse
Yes I know most people do not love rats..... from Gwynstone Originals
Robot Tissue Box from Spaceboyjordo
C-3PO Mouse from The House of Mouse
S. pneumoniae Necklace from Arctida
Don't Blame Me Magnets from RadPanda
The Ultimate Answer Pendant from such pretty colors
Metallic Blue Gems from bugman58
Microscope Necklace from Ball and Chain
Famous Scientists Finger Puppets from Scientific Culture
Calculus Crow Letter Set from colespic
Cuddly Chromosomes from Fur Will Fly
Fossil Ammonite Necklace from North Star Jewelry
Evaporation T-shirt from lkyoto
Cellular Science from electricboogaloo

My personal favs are those famous scientist finger puppets - they even included Rosalind Franklin!

All I want for Christmas......

Not exactly my two front teeth (I still have those, thank goodness), but one or some of these delectable vintage enamel floral pins I found on Etsy the other day. These cuties are all so affordable - I think they would make great gifts for anyone with a little fun and funk in their personality. They spruce up a serious jacket, add pizzazz to fabric purses and scarves, and in a pinch, can be turned into artwork (see the post "What the heck").

Well, maybe not ALL I want, but it would be a nice start ^_^

Featured above are:
Ray of Sunshine From curiouskitty
Vintage Blue Poppy from OriginalzbyMernda
Hot Pink Vintage Daisy from chubbybunnyshop
Vintage Huge Red Poinsettia from Kimaroo
Aqua Daisy from withinamilefromhome
Big Red from stephieD
Vintage Enamel Flower from PorkiePieDesigns
Vintage Pink Enamel Flower from VeroVintage
Haskell Look - A Girl Needs Pearls from KarmaRox
Set of Three from jessbobess
Moveable 2 in 1 from VaudevilleVintage1
Vintage Golden Topaz from LifeTravelsDesigns

O Tannenbaum

a musing following Lesley's post concerning her quest for her perfect pagan symbol.....

Conventional wisdom has the Christmas tree as being co-opted from pagan practices, but not being Druid, I really don't know how it was/is used in pagan celebrations.

I do find it ironic that for something as pervasive in our culture as the tree, that controversy comes in from all sides. Fundamentalist Christians chafe at its pagan roots, non-Christians chafe at the civil display of what they see as a uniquely Christian symbol and therefore inappropriate, and non-believers adopt it as a festive decoration for a holiday that can be celebrated completely stripped of any religious content, back to chafing the believers. And again, I confess ignorance to what the actual pagans are doing or thinking about trees at the Winter Solstice. Maybe they're chafed about all this, too.

How do I as a Christian see my tree?

It is an evergreen to symbolize God's everlasting love for me.

It is chopped down by human hands just as my actions separate me from the love of God.

It is a tree because it was upon a tree that my redemption came through the power of Christ's crucifixion. My church took this symbol further by allowing the trees used at Christmas-time to completely dry out, then they stripped the trunks of their branches and fashioned crucifixes to be used during our Lenten and Easter services. Understanding that those were in fact our Christmas trees enriched the meaning immensely for me - connecting the hope and joy of the promise of the Baby felt back at Christmas with what happened to bring about that hope on Good Friday. That was a powerful message.

It is decorated in lights to symbolize both the stars that shone on the night of Christ's birth, and that Christ is a light to my world.

On the top? A star for the star of Bethlehem that led the magi to the Child, or perhaps an angel to represent the heralds that proclaimed His birth to the shepherds.

Under the tree are gifts to those I love and hold most dear, consecrated at the foot of this symbol just as sacrifices are laid upon an altar. Because God loved me first, I can love others.

And yes, we co-opted the Winter Solstice, too. I heard stories that the reasoning behind the choice of date for Christmas was to specifically supplant the pagan rituals of the Solstice (Hey, the people need a good party in the dead of winter, so let's give 'em a Christian reason to celebrate!), and I have no doubt that was part of the reasoning, but I'm also sure there were probably lots of other pagan rituals they could have wanted to replace. So I think the Solstice was chosen deliberately as the perfect time to celebrate Christ's birth. Just as the earth begins to turn to the sun with the assured promise of the abundance of the coming summer, so, too, can we turn to the Baby born to bring abundant love to us all. These feelings of hope were part of the collective consciousness of people (in December in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) - what better time to celebrate the hope of salvation?

Even with its "roots" somewhere not connected to Christ's birth, my Christmas Tree is a rich and meaningful symbol to me as a Christian. Do I chafe if someone else has a tree that is used in a secular or pagan manner? Of course not. It's just a pretty tree. But for me, our family tree will be an integral part of my meditations, celebration and joy this coming Season. May your holidays, however you see fit to celebrate them, be filled with hope and joy, too.