Spring Sprung

So early! I almost don't want to trust it, but I've been so excited to work out in the garden that I've let myself go ahead and start planting some hardier stock: lettuces, greens, parsley.

I also went and took an exceedingly long walk through various parks and gardens the other day and have made a few pendants with the spring findings. I have my first Asian themed pendant with green Jade, pearls, bamboo tips and Japanese Pieris blooms which remind me of paper lanterns. (Seen here)

Pieces like this, of course, are pretty much one of a kind, as I can never guarantee that the plant parts will be able to be found again, or that they will be in season. All my things are harvested as fresh and natural as possible, which I know must be a little vexing as I sometimes get people asking for lilac flowers in the middle of winter, and I just can't do that.

Also, do note, while herbs, woods, and hardy waxy flowers, like lilac flowers, hold up exceedingly well in oil; and the oil will keep all plant parts from rotting and wilting, some delicate spring flowers, like the cherry blossoms I love working with sometimes, do become somewhat transparent over time as they absorb the oil. Depending on how much sun exposure they get, and the nature of the flower themselves, they can also sometimes bleach out and lose their color. I've tried to weed out and not use the flowers that lose their color with normal sun exposure (nothing extreme though, hanging things directly in the sun is going to fade anything/everything, no matter what), but I can't always know which ones will do that. So I try and be up front about it. Even in the case that a flower does become transparent and pale, which is very likely with very thin, delicate, spring flowers, like the sakura, the intent and the contents are the same; it doesn't effect the energy of the pendant, the flower is still in there, it's just paler and sheerer than it was before.

Hopefully that little blurb will clear some things up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The combination of jade and pearl is pretty classic, and there are a lot of options out there on etsy if you're looking for something with that mix.

Jade doesn't just come in shades of green, though. My favorite jades tend to be in the pink, purple and red ranges, and while harder to find sometimes, the swirling mixes can be very lovely, too. Alya has a beautiful combination of ruby colored jade combined with rose quartz beads and freshwater pearl. All these are joined in sterling silver and it even comes with a delicate little sterling silver chain. All this for barely more than $20! It's a nice deal. The rest of her shop is simple and tasteful with very affordable prices and a few little surprises like this colorful pop tucked in amongst the 7 pages of stock. Make sure to check all of them!