Crystal Thistle / Etsy Review
I was privileged to receive a Faux Pandora Bracelet
from Crystal Thistle.
Is is just beautiful, and I can’t wait to wear it!
Here are just a few items in the shop.
I asked Judy to tell me a little bit about herself,
and about her shop.
Here is what she told me.
I retired from being the Assistant to the Senior Minister of
Peachtree Presbyterian Church,in Atalanta.
(the largest congregation in the country: 10,000)
My cats are, Tassie and Dinah, ages 8 and 7,
My grandsons are 21 and 24. My 3 daughters would not
like me to tell their ages!
A little information about the faux Pandora bracelets I have
for sale in my shop: I LOVE the Pandora beads, but they do not like
my wallet, so I purchase all my beads in auctions on eBay.
If a bracelet has 18 beads, it means I bid on and win the auction
for each particular bead. It is time consuming but fun. This is
how I’m able to see complete bracelets for the cost of just one
authentic Pandora bead! I don’t think that many people
could tell the difference.
They look like the authentic beads, but at a fraction of the cost.
I enjoy stringing beads, stones, and crystals and have a few of my designs
in my etsy shop. I find is very satisfying to design pieces I would wear myself.
I make duplicates of some of them for my own personal use.
I have recently learned to do chainmaille, and working with jump rings
to create byzantine or Helm, or cage bracelets…
it’s almost mesmerizing as I work on them.
I have found a way to have fun and also complete a beautiful project.
Here is my Etsy profile:
My shop theme was inspired by a visit to Scotland with my brother to see the birthplace of my mother. In Edinburgh, we saw a shop window filled with hundreds of hand-fashioned blown crystal thistles. When the sun hit that crystal– Gasp! Such beauty! My brother later surprised me with one, and it has brought me inspiration. The thistle is the emblem (not the flower, which is the bluebell) of Scotland. Scots are humble but proud of their heritage and the struggles they endured as evidenced in their motto, loosely translated: “No one provokes me without consequences.” That is the message of the thistle, a humble weed with spikes that will only cause pain if stepped upon. Imagine a thistle crystallized with ice on a purple Scottish moor: hence, my shop name. This poem came to me when I was contemplating fulfilling a dream: creating jewelry.
THE THISTLE
Norse came ashore to steal and pillage
But ere the hordes could reach the village,
The sneak attack was doomed to fail,
For in the moonlight`s crystal trail,
The thistle stood as still could be
And was what it was deemed to be.
Bare feet upon the thistle trod,
And screams of pain went up toward God.
Alerted Scots then saved their soil.
Where neither weeds nor flowers toil,
A hero was the lowly weed
Who simply grew from planted seed.
So, was its purpose to be trod?
The answer’s known to only God.
It neither tried nor aimed to be . . .
But just enjoyed the sky and sea,
And flowered in the warmth of sun.
Now Scotland’s pride, its work is done.
And if one says you cannot wait
Until the day the Pearly Gate
Is opening to let you in
Before your life plans to begin,
Remind them of this Noble Plan:
The thistle was its own “I am.”
©
THE THISTLE
Norse came ashore to steal and pillage
But ere the hordes could reach the village,
The sneak attack was doomed to fail,
For in the moonlight`s crystal trail,
The thistle stood as still could be
And was what it was deemed to be.
Bare feet upon the thistle trod,
And screams of pain went up toward God.
Alerted Scots then saved their soil.
Where neither weeds nor flowers toil,
A hero was the lowly weed
Who simply grew from planted seed.
So, was its purpose to be trod?
The answer’s known to only God.
It neither tried nor aimed to be . . .
But just enjoyed the sky and sea,
And flowered in the warmth of sun.
Now Scotland’s pride, its work is done.
And if one says you cannot wait
Until the day the Pearly Gate
Is opening to let you in
Before your life plans to begin,
Remind them of this Noble Plan:
The thistle was its own “I am.”
©
Please head on over to Crystal Thistle
and take a look around.
Judy is participating in Etsy’s Christmas in July
so she has some great pieces at wonderful prices.
Those are very pretty and earthy looking. I love it!