Slytherin Formal necklace

Slytherin Formal
[For sale here on Etsy!]

Black ribbon weaves around rich dark onyx, black lava, and wire wrapped green goldstone, with dark green Czech crystals and a carved horn pendant. Includes a sterling silver toggle clasp and silver plated wire.

Onyx is a stone of grounding and balance, relating to the first Chakra and balanced Yin and Yang energies. It can encourage and attract happiness, good fortune, and higher inspiration, as well as reduce stress and encourage self control.

While some cultures associate the color black with death and decay, it was also associated with fertility and potential by the Ancient Egyptians, because of the fertile black silt left on their lands by the ebb and tide of the Nile River.

Green is often associated with wealth, good luck, tranquility, money, growth, and ecology. In flags and heraldry, green is often used to represent the health and abundance of a nation's own land. However, it often appears in Celtic folklore to represent, attract, or warn about the presence of faerie in human territory. In the case of Slytherin House, it probably also mirrors ambition-fueled jealousies and a desire for wealth and abundance, in addition to magical forces.

Go forth, be geeky ;-)

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Bast Pentacle Earrings

Bast Pentacle Earrings
[For sale here on Etsy]

Several of my friends have fallen in lust with this set, which is appropriate ;-)

Fine handmade wire wrapped earrings. Sterling silver Bast pentacle and tiny pentacle, with large and small lapis beads and frosted quartz crystal. Ear hooks are also sterling silver, and the wire is silver plated.


The pentacle is a common symbol in pagan circles, relating to the five elements, mastery of the four elements, etc. But it also relates to the orbit of the planet Venus, the five terminating points of the human body, and the five wounds of Christ. This symbol can be found in many different cultures around the world. Like Crowley said, in one of his more lucid moments, "Every man and every woman is a star in the sky."

In Egyptian myth, stories of Bast range widely from solar to lunar, warrior to lover. In modern times this feline figure is often revered as a goddess of love and pleasure. And felines, of course.

Lapis lazuli, called the Stone of the Heavens by ancient Egyptains, is deep blue fleked with golden pyrite inclusions. It is a stone of mental awareness, intellect, and psychic abilities related to the sixth chakra. Associated also with the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Saggitarius, and the Virgin Mary, lapis also encourages love and kindness, a charitable and giving spirit, and radiation of the Will. This stone brings a clarity and peace of mind reflective of the deep, dark blue of the night sky glittering with stars.

Clear quartz, or rock crystal, is popular with New Age and magical practitioners for its ability to receive, store, amplify, and transmit energy. It is also used in modern technology for its ability to store and transmit electricity. It is associated with the seventh chakra for its clarity, reflecting and encouraging clarity and focus of the human mind, and it is considered to be a source and reflection of the divine light.

I did nicely photograph a couple of items before I got sick ... last YEAR... so I uploaded them to Etsy. These earrings and the next necklace post. This winter I took sub-par photos of the pieces I made for Wicked Faire which I may post here for posterity. However, they are not up on Etsy yet.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Still alive, promise!

Hello cobwebby web blog, I apologize for my continued absence!

On the downside, my exhaustion, brain fog, and lethargy went on much longer than September. It is actually still going on. I went to the doctor around Thanksgiving to ask if I had a hypothyroid disorder, because those run in my family. After many tests, some of which were botched or gave false positives and had to be done over, she finally called back in early January. "Actually, your thyroid is a tiny bit high. But did you know you had mono once?" Um... no? "Yeah, you don't have it right now, but you tested positive for the antibodies."

Now our working theory is that back in March-April 2011, when I had one very long-lasting sinus infection followed quickly by two smaller ones, I also or actually had mono. And the thing about mono is that there is no real treatment for it other than to stay home and sleep, the disease burns itself out within about a month. When it burns itself out, however, it burns you out with it. Many people get it actively for a month, but then don't feel up to snuff again for six months to a year afterwards. For some folks it becomes a chronic condition. But the good news is that I know what it is (was?) now, and the cause was no where near as bad as I feared.

I am the sort of person that feels most fulfilled, happy, and stable when they are doing things. When I feel stuck in a rut, I go out and do something new and different. Putting me in a situation where I physically and mentally can't go out and do new things, or even keep up with my usual things, is my own Special Hell. In fact, the only treatment for this condition is to not do things! So aside from the physical problems, I'm driving myself 'round the bend too.

I read up on Spoon Theory, and in counting my own spoons realized I had the energy for either jewelry production *or* internet marketing. Not to mention my camera is also out of whack. So I opted to make lots of new stock for Wicked Faire 2012, and that turned out to be a good and profitable decision. Faire was great this year! I'm glad I am getting back in the saddle for vending at events, but I still spent most of it sitting behind my table and let the con come to me.

Between con prep, some anxieties at work, and more anxieties at home, I was badly drained for the weeks following Faire. Again I put aside my writing and jewelry projects and opted for my less brain-active sewing habits (not to say that sewing is not creative, I see lots of people do incredible things with it, but I just match fabric + pattern and press buttons). And soon I will have to put all that away again to make more shiny things, because...


Good news: I have been accepted as a vendor for Steampunk World's Faire this May! My birthday is also that Saturday, so yay for being surrounded by my fellow costumed weirdos on my special day!

Less good news: That means putting production of shiny things over photos, Etsy, and blogging for a few more weeks or months until I'm feeling better.

Hopefull news: At *last* year's Wicked Faire, a fortune teller told me that I'd be sick for most of 2011. This year she told me I'd be feeling better within six months, and back to normal by next year. I was feeling a lot better after Winter Break, actually, but all that energy dribbled away again by late Februrary.


I really can't plan or forecast what's going to happen with my blog, twitter account, or Etsy shop. There is no plan to quit or take anything down, but I can't begin to guess when I'll have the energy and not-foggy brain to keep up with them again. Maybe next week, maybe this summer, maybe not until 2013. But I will still be making the shiny things, off grid for a while :-)

<3 Chrysilla

Coming Out of Hibernation!

Hello! I am still alive.

Actually, I feel a bit more alive today than I did in August. Not sure if its the weather (not all that much different yet), the return to my normal school-year work schedule, the receding of allergy season, or my new vitamins. Either way, I hope it lasts.

Since my last posting, I have:

• Learned to use my sewing machine. Sewing became very satisfying (albeit time consuming, OMG) in the midst of my creative block. As long as I was pattern sewing, I didn't have to be any more creative than "What color fabric do I want?" and yet I was making things. I may show off a few items I've made here as soon as I figure out how to photograph them.

• Started writing a web-radio series, and then dribbled to a halt due to heat melting my brain. But I'm picking that up again too! It has much potential to be awesome.

• Left my improv practice team. I really like performing teh improv, but it is very time consuming, and I miss my other projects. I also miss going to watch improv as a humble audience member. But I'm still on their mailing list, so I look forward to seeing them perform in the future :-) I am in a short term class right now (which actually relates to the web-radio show), not sure if I will take more classes in the future. Cash is a leetle tight right now.

• Picked up a folding table for my sewing habit, but it also looks like a good set up for the light box I photograph jewelry with.

• Recieved some conical shaped bud vases which may work well for photographing bracelets. One of the reasons I don't make more bracelets is that I find them tough to photograph.

• Taken lots of naps.

• Attended DragonCon. I was somewhat sick, stressed, and sleep deprived, but I still had a mostly good time. And the con itself helped me realize how I want to prioritize my non-job time for the next few months.

A big theme in my life now is whether I can balance *making* art with *performing* art. I like doing both, but I think now I want to focus more on the making.

I took all of August off from social activities, with a couple exceptions, to rest. There was a really crazy late winter-into-spring period that I hadn't given myself a chance to recover from, and August usually melts my brain, so I just holed up in my Chantry and watched Star Trek. Once allergy season blows over, I hope this helps renew my stamina.

And thanks to a month of reflection and a weekend of DragonCon, I am going to prioritize jewelry, my writing project, and starting Tai Chi classes. After that come sewing, watching improv, and getting back to the cultural activities I used to enjoy (costume parties, readings, etc), cash flow allowing.


But this blog will of course be devoted to the jewelry :-) If I can start this week, I should have photographs up by October. Yay!

Right now I'm planning to do some work on a gothy color palette (I have a ton of onyx in storage), develop a new polymer clay project, edit an old polymer clay project, make more Game of Thrones pieces, and work on more talismans.

Last night I dreamed of buying magic crystals and gemstones, and will take that as a good omen.

<3 Chrysilla
aka Queen of the Cat People

Summer Vacation!

Its been a rough 2011 so far. Was very busy with life for the first three months, and overwork and overstress quickly segued into the worst allergy season ever. Including some of the worst spring colds ever. And now it is summer in NYC, which is well known for brain-melting heat and humidity. I've made only a couple of new pieces over the last several months.

I'm very sad that I've lost the yen to bead, but until my health improves I don't see how it will change. I am having some fun with a writing project, however, and would like to focus on that for a while. So I'm going on a summer vacation from jewelry.

With luck, I'll be back on my feet in September (after Dragon Con ;-D) with new energy and new shiny things. I can't fathom that this isn't a temporary situation, as jewelry has been a large part of my life for over a decade. But we all burn out sometimes.

My Etsy shop will stay open to customers over the summer, but I can't guarantee that I will be available for custom orders until September.

Thank you for your interest and your support! I will be back :-)

Star of the Evening - Blue Goldstone Necklace

I've all but stopped purchasing new blue goldstone because it turned out to be really hard to sell. Online or in person. Photos can't quite capture the glitter, and neither can the lighting at cons, clubs, or craft fairs. I do like the subtlety, but subtle doesn't always come across well. Like the piece Pearl Wings [on Etsy!] which I still can't quite *get* in photos.

Of course I still use it in my own jewelry ;-)

Blue goldstone, beads and a carved rose. So sparkly! Not directly inspired by Kushiel's Dart, but when I had both book and necklace completed they were a clear match :-)

This stone is man made, technically a sort of art glass. But glass is useful in amulets and talismans depending on its colors and shapes.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Quartz and Fluorite Necklace

Unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a creative/energy block for the last few weeks, and have run out of new jewelry to post. I way over-scheduled myself with other activities from January through March, and was sick for most of April, and am slowly starting to bounce back. This happens, especially when you have multiple hobbies and creative outlets on top of a 9-5 job. On top of that, I'm starting to work on updating the photos on my gallery website.

So to tide my fans over until I get over work, allergy season and hibernation, I'll be posting photos of some of my personal not-for-sale jewelry items :-)



To start, this is a necklace I made to test out the wire wrapping techniques that eventually made my House Dayne [on Etsy] and Tranquility [on Etsy] necklaces:

Instead of amethysts, I used fluorite and clear quartz. Fluorite is one of my favorite stones :-) Good for balancing heart and mind, helps with inspiration, ideas, and balance. And quartz makes a good battery. Hopefully my own batteries will recharge themselves soon.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.