Etsy Beadweavers April Challenge Entry - Time Machine

I'm a member of the Etsy Street Team of Beadweavers. Each month a challenge is given for the members with a different theme. I've managed to enter a piece the two months since I joined and really have enjoying doing as it inspires me to create out of my comfort zone.

This month's theme was "Time Machine." Last month's theme was really easy for me but this month's was a little bit more of head scratcher. I pondered on the theme and slowly an idea started to form in the fog. I thought to just take the theme literally and somehow use a watch face in my designs, especially since Steam Punk is such a popular trend right now. I found this wonderful brass clock charm from another seller on Etsy, The Supply Pusher and began to build a bead embroidery pendant around this charm.

As it took shape, the idea of an opulent Edwardian necklace came to mind. What an interesting period of time to highlight, and it has special meaning for me since my home was built during that time. It was "The Gilded Age", a time of beauty, excess and change, both socially and politically, and freedom from the restrictions of the Victorian era. Women's suffrage was taking shape, World War I began and the Titantic sailed on her fateful voyage.



I have sown rows of embroidery around the clock face and also around the accenting stone cabochons and brass stamping.



It is hung on double ropes of antiqued brass chain. And stepping out of my box, I wove beaded beads to accent the chain.



Please visit the Etsy Beadweaver's Blog and starting April 9th, you can vote on your favorite entry. Contest runs through April 15th. Each entry is an incredible work of art and reflects the many talents and techniques of the member artisans. Etsy Beadweavers

At Last! Dealan-de Designs has Found a Home .....

I'm so excited to announcement that my jewelry designs have been accepted in a wonderful shop on our historic downtown square. The shop is the Vintage Flea and it's one of those great, eclectic places that offers everything from jewelry to antiques, candles, original art, sea shells, one of a kind artisan gifts, reproduction vintage style holiday items....I could go on and on. All of this set in a historic downtown store front.

For a new look this year, the Vintage Flea began accepting artisan work on cosignment and my jewelry designs were accepted. I now have my own showcase and will benefit from their reputation and traffic. I'll continue to have my shop on Etsy and 1000 Markets but now, also in a brick and mortar shop. This Friday night is the annual downtown Newnan Spring Art Walk and I'm saying a little prayer that the rain, that has set in, will hold off for a few hours so that we can have a nice spring evening on our beautiful court square.

The Vintage Flea

I'm still working on new projects for the spring, centering around bead embroidery and weaving. I can't get enough of the Czech glass buttons. Here's my latest pendant using a teardrop shaped rivoli in the rich color of padparadscha, or more simply , red coral.

Irish Folklore, Butterflies and the Meaning of Dealan-de

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to share a wee bit of history on the
Gaelic word Dealan-de which is the name of my jewelry designs. I'm of Scott-Irish descent and cherish the culture of my ancestors. When I discovered the meaning of Dealan-de, I knew it was the name I had to use for my jewelry.

From MacBain's Dictionary---

dealan-dé
butterfly, Irish dalán-dé, dealán-dé. The Gaelic also means the phenomenon observed by shirling a stick lighted at the end. Apparently the meaning is "God's fire".

The significance of the butterfly in Irish folklore attributes it as the soul and thus it has the ability to cross into the Otherworld. It is also a symbol of transformation and creation

In the Irish folk tradition the butterfly is the spirit of a departed person who returns to visit their favorite place; in the 1814 Parochial survey of Ireland an old Granny was heard to say to a youngster chasing and attempting to catch a butterfly "How do you know it is not the soul of your grandfather” It is a common belief that the souls of the dead return as all manner of animals, and insects. Even up to the 1600’s it was against common law in Ireland to kill a white butterfly because they were believed to contain the souls of dead children.

Other aspects of Gaelic belief in combination with observations of the butterfly as a human soul are its symbolism as the power of transformation, inspiration and creativity, and eventual rebirth. It is thus used in an iconic manner in rituals surrounding conception, labor, birth and nurturing children.

For Christians, the butterfly's three steps of metamorphosis -- as caterpillar, pupa and then winged insect -- are reminiscent of spiritual transformation".

In images of the Garden of Eden, Adam's soul is symbolized by a butterfly, or drawn with butterfly wings. In paintings of Mary and her Child, the presence of butterflies stands for their care for human souls. The Gnostics depicted the Angel of Death by showing a winged foot stepping on a butterfly.

When the butterflies return this spring, I hope this Irish folklore lesson will shed a new light on the those beautiful, flying jewels in our gardens....or should I say, great-great grandmother Colleen!



(This information was found on the blogspot of DavidJohn Drew and Baylor University.)

Etsy Beadweavers March Challenge of Temptation. Please visit our site Etsy Beadweavers Blog and vote for your favorite entry between the dates of March 9th and 15th..

New Beginnings or what Dealan-de is all about...

Well, as is obvious, I've not done so well keeping up with my blog. Actually, I've posted nothing in the last eight months. When I reflect over this time, I realize, even though my life has been hectic as is anyone with a teenager, that I have been in a state of limbo....pretty much the same as the attitude of this country. Spring has come to the south with temperatures to reach 80 today, and spring is all about new beginnings, new life, resurrection...everything that the ancient Celts meant in the word Dealan-de, the word I chose for my jewelry designs. So, upholding this beautiful word of my ancestors, this is a season of new beginnings for my jewelry designs and my life.

In light of our current economic conditions, I have been working this winter on some new designs that are still uniquely different but at much lower prices than in the past. I have fallen in the love with the Czech glass buttons that have hit the market in the last few years. Some of these buttons are actually being created in vintage molds from earlier in the 20th century. All of them have such a look of antiquity and lend themselves so well to the fabulous colors of Delica seed beads and Swarovski crystals.



These pendants are so beautiful that I have chosen simple cordings and ribbon for the necklace strap...nothing to detract or overpower the focal point of the necklace.



You can find these pieces in my new Etsy shop at Dealan-de Designs

Happy Birthday America!!

Our country celebrated it’s 232nd birthday this past July fourth. This holiday has always meant so many things to me besides the obvious. It signifies the peak of summer vacation….doesn’t it seem once the holiday passes, the days streak by to the beginning of school? The remaining days of July and August are hot and sultry here in the south and thoughts of the cool days of fall and football are starting to slip into our minds. And of course, the fourth of July means fireworks, parades, homemade ice cream and grills smoking with some type of BBQ or just good ol’ hotdogs and hamburgers.

For our family, the fourth holiday also means celebrating family and time together. My husband’s mother and his brother both have their birthdays at this time of year with one being the first of July and the other the fifth. His mother has lived in Kingston, TN, in the same house, for the last 58 years. Each fourth of July, all the family loads up and drives to this little Smoky Mountain foothill town to celebrate the birthdays of their loved ones and the birthday of our country. Kingston is a beautiful town that sits at the confluence of the Tennessee and Clinch River. These two rivers form Watts Bar Lake which surrounds the town…and even boasts it’s own river boat, The Watts Bar Belle.



As clichéd as it sounds, Kingston is still a step or two back in time from the hustle and bustle of modern suburbia and time spent here gives you a respite from the worries of our complicated society. But on a more realistic note, it also makes you realize how fortunate it is to have the opportunity to move beyond small town life.

My daughter is an only child and it’s such a treat for her to spend time with her multitude of cousins…and this year was really special for her since her best friend, Brooke, got to make the trip with us. A July fourth tradition in Kingston is drag boat races on the lake and the kids had a blast loading up in the back of their cousin Brandon’s new Ford F-250 that’s so tall you practically need a step-ladder to get inside, and taking off to the lake to watch. After the boat races, it’s a trip to the fireworks store and then to Granny’s for hamburgers and homemade ice cream. After dark, it’s back to the lake for the annual fireworks display over the water….and what a beautiful show it is. Hundred of boats line up on the lake with their party and running lights burning, and like a stately queen, the river boat makes her appearance as she gently glides along a path between the boats. Once the Watts Bar Belle has paddled back to her dock, the fireworks begin.

Now Kingston may be a small east Tennessee town but they pull out all the stops for their fireworks show. I stood on the banks of that beautiful lake and watched the display exploding around all the thousands of Americans that were celebrating their freedom and their country. And being the emotional human being that I am, I couldn’t help but feel tears well in my eyes. Our country is facing such tumultuous times and on the brink of the most historical presidential election in our history. Where will we be this time next year? Who will be our president and will he have the experience and knowledge to properly guide us through these hard times? Will he be a man of conviction and continue our fight against terrorism and tyranny? I sincerely pray that each American will keep this in mind when they go to the polls this November and cast their vote.

God Bless America….long may you wave.

At Last....I'm Beading Again!

School is out, summer vacation is in full swing and my visions of spending hours creating new jewelry designs seem to be fading away. With such beautiful weather and so many fun things to do, it's hard to make myself go to my little bead studio....which is actually a corner in my over-sized laundry room.....and shut myself away from summer. But I finally did it, and a beautiful piece of jewelry has emerged.


The pendant in this necklace is a slab of Kyanite which is a unique stone with long crystals of blue, silvery gray and bronze. When I bought this stone, I couldn't help but think of Kryptonite crystals in Superman's Fortress of Solitude...but of course, in blue instead of green. I have fallen in love with bead embroidery and the slab is set in a bezel that's been embroidered with bronze and dark blue Japanese seed beads. I always try to use Japanese beads in my designs as their quality is far superior to any other seed bead. Other seed beads tend to be irregular in size and just don't work as well in bead embroidery. I was worried the stone would be too big for a necklace but I'm very pleased with the results.

When I've been away from my beading, all it takes is getting back into that proverbial saddle and creating one nice piece of jewelry. The creative juices start flowing again and as I make one piece, I'm already invisioning the next one. It's such an obsession!