acrafterslife

I hope all you happy crafters haven’t totally abandoned your crafts as the weather warms and the outdoors calls.  I have to admit my mind’s been more on yard work than on crafting, but I’m still knee deep in unfinished projects, which I may or may not finish by fall.

If you’re a crafter who likes to create your own accessories or make items to sell to others, it may be that you need to know what’s in for the season.  Providing the proper color accessories can greatly boost your sales or your self satisfaction.

I spoke of color trends in an earlier post, and I thought I’d expand on that in this post.  Margie Deeb is known as “the” source for color mastery for bead artists and has loads  of very good information for free on her website.  She also does workshops etc.  to help you learn to combine colors, know what’s in for the current season and so much more.  Check our her website and get started creating.  Even if you’re not a bead artist, the information on color matching and combination can come in handy.

The Stylish Geek posts the newest fashions.  It’s not entirely the fashions that catch my attention, but here also you get a good feel for colors that are in for the season.  Of course the styles will dictate the type of accessories too so that’s an important thing to keep in mind.

I’ve finished my affirmation  ladder.  It’s quite different from the one suggested on the About.com The Artist’s Way site,
but that’s what making your own affirmation ladder is about, using things that have meaning to you.

My affirmation ladder is literally a ladder.  It has gemstone chips for the sides and gold bugle beads for the rungs.  I was going to make it a bracelet, but decided I liked it for a bookmark.

First, I chose the gold bugle beads for two reasons, gold represents one of the most valuable raw materials known to man, and the color of gold or yellow represents happiness and joy.

I chose white and black seed beads to sprinkle throughout the ladder to represent the white light of divine love and the black to disperse negativity.

The gemstone chips are arranged as follows.  The four center beads are sodalite and the ladder repeats in reverse to the end where I’ve attached a go go donut of rhodonite and amazonite.

Amethyst
is associated with increased nobility and spiritual awareness.  Disperses anger,  increases vivid dreams, relieves depression, promotes calm, serenity, and spirituality. Helps with addiction and stress

Aventurine
A good luck stone, especially in financial matters. Stimulates creativity, intelligence and perception. A great healing stone, it gives a sense of mental and emotional well-being.

Rose Quartz  great for attracting love. Promotes self-loving and heals emotional wounds as well as promoting peace, forgiveness, and nurturing.

Garnet
is considered to be the stone of devotion both to others and to one’s self.  It is said to inspire romantic love, passion, sensuality, sexuality, intimacy, positive thoughts, inspiration, past life recall, career success, social popularity and self confidence.

Lapis Lazuli is said to be associated with self-confidence, truthfulness, openness and inner tranquility. Lapis Lazuli is the ancient stone of mental and psychological health. It promotes spiritual healing, mental calmness and strength of will. It increases psychic abilities and allows for spiritual growth.

Sodalite  purifies your aura and protects you from negative energy from people around you.

Rhodonite  self-affirmation and self-love. Fosters ability to remain calm in arguments and resolve disagreements in a loving way.

Amazonite
is thought to bestow truth, integrity and honor to its wearer, enhance love, and soothe tense, aggravated emotions and situations.

Between this post and the About.com site, you should now have enough information to make your own affirmation ladder.