Fashion Trends in Jewely: the Pearl Connection

Pictured is a pair of Amethyst, Fresh Water Pearls & MOP Earrings

I love working with healing crystals and find that making them into beautiful jewelry gives people an opportunity to not only benefit from the crystal's healing energies, but also from the beauty of the artisan-crafted piece itself.

Lately I’ve been making several necklaces and bracelets featuring freshwater pearls, as well as incorporating pearls into a variety of earrings.

I thought it was just a fluke on my part (well, I was inspired by a local jewelry store advertising a variety of pearl earrings and necklaces.) What I discovered, though, is that long, swinging pearl earrings are the number one fashion choice.

Yep, sensuous, shoulder-sweeping pearl earrings are being promoted as The Way to be glamorous and in on the latest fashion trends.

I’ve been taking my designs one step more, using MOP teeth (mother-of-pearl) mixed in necklaces and earrings. The one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces are absolutely incredible. Even similar looking pear dangle earrings differ because each pearl, as a unique natural product, has its own character.

Right now I have some of the earrings up on EBAY, either in my EBAY storefront or at auction. More of them are here at the shop, and I hope to get some listed in my webstore as well.

Check out all the gemstone earrings, and wire wrapped pendants, as well.

Amethyst

A “Stone of spirituality and contentment.” Clears the aura. Brings stability, strength & peace. Used for meditation. Opens and activates the Crown Chakra. Protects against psychic attacks. Encourages and supports sobriety. Used to treat insomnia and clear pain from headaches and other physical problems.

Pearl
Signifies faith, charity & innocence. Enhances personal integrity. Focuses one’s attention. Allows for a clean channel for receiving spiritual guidance. Brings truth to situations & loyalty to causes.

Mother of Pearl, Paua Shell,Abalone

Abalone is a Mollusk (shelled fish) in the Gastropod class. Gastropods also include snails and whelks. Abalone is prized for its meat as well as its beautiful shell. The pretty part of the shell in on the inside, where nacre (mother of pearl) of a variety of colors can be seen.The word "Abalone" comes from the Spanish word aulone, which is the name of the animal. The shell is also called Paua Shell.

Crystal healers use Abalone for a large variety of purposes. It is thought to be helpful in disorders involving joints, bones, and muscles.It protects against uncooperative attitudes, stimulates creativity, and promotes calm. Not surprisingly, it also helps in calcium deficiencies.
Since Mollusks often have to leave their shells to find larger ones when they grow, all shells are considered to bring boundless growth in life and thought.
The Abalone that you often see in jewelry is a brilliant blue or purple.
It is sometimes known as a "Sea Opal" due to the changing opalescent hues.

Silver
Patience. Perserverance. Perception. Silver has long been thought to destroy evil--hence the legends surrounding silver bullets killing werewolves and vampires.

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Beads N Botanicals Celebrates Its Second Anniversay

Beads N Botanicals Second Anniversary with Holiday Open House

Beads N Botanicals' Second Anniversary Holiday Open House takes place on Saturday, November 17, 2007, from 10 am to 5 pm

There will be door prizes, refreshments, gift ideas, special discounts, craft demonstrations, one-minute tarot readings and more.

“It’s been very satisfying to see how so many people have come to our shop in Hoopeston,” says Catherine Novak, proprietress of Beads N Botanicals. “Whether someone is interested in learning how to make jewelry, or reduce stress in their life through meditation, they’re finding out how to do that here.”

The shop, which opened in 2005, features aromatherapy, crystals, essential oils, books, handmade jewelry, handcrafted oil blends & incense, soaps, bath salts, candles, herbs for tea, medicinal and culinary use; beading and wire wrapping supplies: including sterling silver wire, seed beads, semi-precious stones, sterling silver beads, milfoil, seed beads, Swarovski ™ crystals and much more.

Can't make it on Saturday? Don't worry, we'll be celebrating the whole week of November 20 through November 24 (but remember, we're closed on Thanksgiving!).

New at our shop....REED DIFFUSERS. Don't want to worry about lit candles or using electricity? We've got the answer: Reed diffusers that work to disperse fragrance naturally throughout a room. And we offer OVER 200 scent blends. Custom bottling of any blend you want, including aromatherapy blends with REAL essential oils.


Beads N Botanicals, 227 S. Market St,
(next to the Harris Agency), Hoopeston, IL 60942
Phone: 217-283-6380

STORE HOURS: Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Catherine Novak has served as an adjunct faculty member for Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, Pa., been a featured speaker at Barnes & Noble; and spoken about medicinal herbs on the Health Nuts NJ radio show. She appeared on the Judy Lewis show: Psychic World. Also, she and her son appeared on ABC's Sunrise This Morning out of Champaign, IL.

Catherine is available for individual herbal and health consultations, hypnotherapy for behavior modification, relaxation and pain management, Reiki energy balancing, tarot readings and classes at her office at Beads N Botanicals, and can be reached at at 217-283-6380 or beadsnbotanicals@gmail.com

http://wiseweeds.net

Tarot Readings Walk Fine Line Between Reality and Hoax

Tarot card readings walk fine line between reality and hoax

By Missy Smith

Ah, yes, if you want to see a picture of me (not my favorite one, I might add….lol), check out this article on my tarot readings at The Office in Urbana, IL.

David the photographer, and Missy, the reporter, were both very nice. And while I was not sure, by the headline, what the outcome of the story would be, I have to admit, I’m pretty happy with the ending.

Tarot card readings walk fine line between reality and hoax

Staying Young, Develop a Memorable Memory

Staying Young, Develop a Memorable Memory

By Michael Roizen & Mehmet Oz.

Seven ways to prevent memory loss and keep your brain operating at maximum efficiency.

Those seven techniques include teaching, learning something new, living in the moment, eating “brain” food, such as salmon, tomatoes and blueberries, and eliminating unnecessary chemicals from your diet and environment.

Staying Young, Develop a Memorable Memory

Witchy Cat in Hat

Here's one disgruntled cat. Can't you hear Shadow saying, "Mom, I will get you for this?"

If you go to my myspace profile, you can join the online Halloween party that I'm hosting there with my playlist of Halloween-themed music.

Wise Weeds Myspace

A Consumer's Right to Know About Essential Oils and Oil Blends

Wise Weeds Botanicals is celebrating its 15^th Anniversary in 2007.

Known as “the Wise Weeds Lady” to many people over the years, I have been blending essential oils, cosmetic grade fragrance oils and herbs to make my herbal healing, mystical, magical and spiritual oils for even longer than the establishment of Wise Weeds in 1992.

I’m a certified medicinal herbalist, transpersonal hypnotherapist and Reiki practitioner who has taught herbalism, aromatherapy and other healing practices in a variety of venues, including a community college, many adult education programs, Barnes & Noble bookstores,gift shops, beauty spas and salons, festivals and many other places. I've appeared on radio,cable and network television shows over the years, as well as been featured in newpaper articles.

Over the years, I’ve learned more and more about safe practices using oils. I’ve also seen how many vendors sell their products via false advertising, whereby they confuse the consumer
by promoting oils as being essential oil based, when they are not.

A Consumer’s Right to Know What S/he is Buying

As a consumer, you have a right to know what you are buying. I make no bones that I use cosmetic grade fragrance oils in some of my blends. Unlike many others on the market, whether ignorant or greedy, I do not call my blends “essences” thereby giving the impression, but not the reality, that certain oils are essential, plant-based oils.

There are some spiritual practitioners who value only actual essential oils and/or herbs in oil blends. Their reasoning is that the plants imbue the product with a type of natural magic that cannot be found in synthetically based products.

While I myself tend to follow this belief, on a practical level, certain scents are NOT generally available, except as synthetics. For example, Gardenia Absolute is rare, hard to obtain and VERY expensive. Rose Otto is more readily available, however, it is still extremely expensive. It is virtually impossible to obtain a natural Lilac fragrance. So I will use synthetic versions of these oils in blends. But, again, I don’t hide the fact from anyone, nor do I try to mislead anyone.

If you’re buying a one-dram bottle of rose oil essence for $5.00, it’s not the real McCoy. Believe me, I've had people insist they had found a "bargain." Well, you get what you pay for.

On the other hand, if someone has infused rose petals into oil to get the scent, the oil blend will not be an “essential” oil, but it may be a wonderful treat. I used to own such an oil many years ago, and the scent was delightful and quite magical. But it was not an essential oil, nor had it been sold to me under that guise.

What actually are essential oils?

The essential oils of herbs contain their concentrated energies. An essential oil usually bears the aroma and/or flavor of a plant, although the intensity of the scent may be overwhelming compared to what you're used to the plant smelling like.

Found in Various Plant Parts

Unlike fixed oils, essential oils are volatile. This means they evaporate rapidly at room temperature, whereas fixed oils, such as vegetable or motor oils, are more stable. Chemically, essential oils consist of a complex mixture of 30 to 100 or more compounds.

The oils themselves are found in various plant parts. Peppermint, patchouli, basil and geranium oils are derived from their leaves and stems. Clove oil comes from flower buds. Jasmine, rose and tuberose oils are derived from the open flowers. Essential oils are also derived from the seeds, wood, bark, roots, needles and skins of various plants.

Herbally-Infused Oils

Herbally-infused oils are different creatures than essential oils. An herbally-infused oil consists of plant material that is infused into a carrier or base oil. This base oil takes on the medicinal qualities of the herb, and can often be used either by itself or with another vegetable oil for massage therapy or as the base for an herbal salve.

I, myself, will often include some herbs in certain oils blends, taking a cue from certain hoodoo and voodoo traditional blendings of spiritual oils.

More often, I make herbally infused oils with a direct medicinal usage in mind. For example,
Hypericum oil consists of the fresh flowering tops of St. Johnswort infused into olive or some other carrier oil. Comfrey infused oil forms the basis of comfrey salve, used for healing.

And, of course, my Banish Pain oils consist of a combination of herbally infused oils and essential oils to help reduce or eliminate inflammation and pain.

To check out my oils in my webstore, you can go to

http://wiseweeds.net

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Tarot Readings at The Office in Urbana, IL

If you are one of my "friends" at myspace, or have looked at my weekly calendar, you already know I'm reading tarot cards at The Office in Urbana, IL on Tuesday nights, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Wasn't sure about going in the night BEFORE 4th of July, just because I figured a lot of folks might be at fireworks and all.

Well, I enjoyed myself tremendously AND I think the people who came in for readings had a blast, too! It was well worth showing up on July 3rd.

The Office is a cool place to do reads because it's casual, without being raunchy, the food is good and the service is friendly. So there's a fair amount of joking with the "regulars," however, anyone can feel at home there.

Also, if someone comes in for a reading and has to wait, not only is there good food to choose from, with some dinner and drink specials, but there are also two pool tables and four dart boards available. This is a fairly large venue, so you don't feel like people are breathing down your neck (unless you want to line up at the bar!).

It's also a nonsmokers' delight. If you are a smoker, there are tables outside where smoking is allowed.

While I really had fun, I also do take reading for people seriously, in the sense that I do read what the cards say and how intuition inspires me at the moment. Everyone was very nice, and most, but not all, were "virgins," that is, my reading for them was their first. Hopefully that first experience will encourage them to seek out more guidance for themselves in the future.

If you're thinking of coming out for a read, make sure you sign up on the sign up sheet at the bar. At one point, we got a little backed up. We're not real formal, and one fellow had JUST had his dinner arrive, so I read someone else while he ate and it all worked out fine.

It's best to arrive BEFORE 9 p.m. for a reading, although the last couple of weeks I have stayed beyond 9 p.m. Pretty much, if I'm up to it, I will read until everyone has had their "turn" so to speak.

Hope to see you there, in spirit if not in person.