Saturday, March 16, 2013

HBBH 3 :: Greek Independence Day

Marlene and Shelley, now famous for their holiday bling hops, have decided that there is no reason why a holiday hop should only be scheduled in Nov-Dec. There are plenty of holidays year-round, and why not take advantage of them?!

And here we are. A holiday hop in March that celebrates pretty much any holiday you can think up for the months of February or March. My partner, Mary Govaars of MLH Jewelry Designs, and I decided on the Greek holiday of Independence (March 25th) because, well just because who doesn't love Greece and a little Mediterranean colors ... especially in the dead of winter ... on the East Coast! Well the East Coast for me, the West Coast for my partner Mary. 

Take a look at this beautifully designed necklace by Mary. She used that serine Mediterranean blue colors in the beads. Those large blue diamonds are vintage howlite; aren't they just gorgeous in this piece! She mirrors the pattern with silver that have that distinctive Greek pattern to them. She also added drop beads that have a moonstone hue. I think she absolutely nailed a beautiful Greek look! Thank you Mary for such a lovely necklace and beautiful package to open.

I have a lot of friends from the Mediterranean for some reason. Not a bad thing; mind you, just enough who know I love beads and who like to bring my souvenirs home in the shape of beads, or charms. You all know that I'm not complaining! I simply LOVE to get something interesting in to my beady concoctions. 

The piece I sent Mary included lots of beads and charms from the region including evil eye beads and charms in the shape of whirling dervishes and crescent moon with star. I used gold and wood seed beads in various sizes to create a freeform peyote bracelet in a tone on tone pattern. This is actually my second ever freeform project, and I have to say I'm really liking this type of bead weaving!

The symbol of the dervishes brings to mind this region to me for some reason. The word Dar in Persian means door with the term dervish meaning going from door to door. Dervishes have taken a vow of poverty; mainly to learn humility. They are not allowed to beg, and what money they acquire must be given to others in need.

Dervishes have become popular from the performing Dervishes throughout the region. You'll see them from Turkey, to Greece to Egypt and elsewhere. They spin endlessly, and my bloggy friend Kashmira saw a performance where the Dervishes had lights on their skirts and all you could see was the flowing lights. She even got up to dance with them. Wish I could have been there! (click on the link to see her post from her trip)

There is another small piece to this story. You'll also notice a crescent and star, which is a symbol from the Turkish flag. One of my friends is ethnic Greek who grew up in Turkey. She embraces two cultures, two flags, two countries. Truly a sense of what it means to find independence and to live a life in peace.

Ok, this is a hop. You all know what to do. Take a hop through the list below and see what all the other participants shared in their swaps.

Alicia Marinache              Catherine King                      Chris Schlicht
Cynthia Machata              Dyanne Everett-Cantrell         Gina Hockett
Jennifer Reno                  Laura Reed                         Leanne Loftus

Lennis Carrier                  Lori Bowring Michaud           Marti Conrad
Mary Govaars                   Renetha Stanziano               Rita/ Toltec Jewels
Sandra McGriff                 Sarah Goode                       Sherri Stokey
Sonya Stille                      Tammie Everly                    Therese Frank
Tiffany Goff Smith            Marlene Cupo                      Shelley Graham Turner

28 comments:

  1. That's fantastic!!
    Both the necklace and your bracelet look amazing. And I love the evil eye beads because, although I'm not really religious, I definitely believe in the evil eye. (Some Greek genes are invincible!)

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  2. what a fun looking bracelet! Those eyes are giving me the willies though >.< LOL

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  3. Fabulous.....just fabulous! The whirling dervishes, the evil eye beads. The free form peyote is wonderfully presented and the storyline was enchanting.

    catherine

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  4. These are all so beautiful. Being a descendant of Greeks, I know very well about the evil eye beads. I probably have some somewhere around here...

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  5. Hi Cynthia,
    What a great post I love reading your post they are always so full of great eye candy and information. The necklace Mary sent to you is very beautiful and very Greek looking. The bracelet you made and sent to Mary is gorgeous and so full of Greek symbols.
    Therese

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  6. Really great gifts on both ends. Love that you guys picked a Holiday I knew nothing about, thanks for the information.

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  7. I love what both of you made - it was interesting reading about a new holiday!

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  8. Both pieces are gorgeous, Cynthia.
    I love your stories - however I know a different aspect of the 2 cultures embracing each other :) I believe you have the side of those who were OK (for some reason or another) with the Turkish occupation; while I have the side of those who didn't - we should compare notes one day.
    That doesn't change the beauty of both Mary's necklace (I simply love those Greek 'swirls' - perfection) and your bracelet: so full of symbolism and so pretty! Love them both.

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  9. Wow. Both of those pieces are amazing. The necklace from Mary is a really show stopper and my stepmother would kill for that bracelet you made. She wishes I could make something like that.

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  10. The bracelet is wonderful! And I love the colors and shapes in the necklace.
    Both pieces are fantastic, what great jewelry!

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  11. It's cool to see how you both interpreted the same holiday. Both pieces are really unique! I really like how you incorporated all of the different charms in the bracelet to tell the story about the holiday.

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  12. Love the colors in the necklace! It is just beautiful! The bracelet is so well done, and so full of symbolism. What a great HOliday!
    Gina H

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  13. What a fun swap! I love the blue beads in the necklace and the design of your bracelet!

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  14. Awesome Cynthia!! I am so glad you told the story behind the design and the beads/charms of your bracelet you made for me and thank you for the compliment on my necklace. It was a lot of fun to have you as a partner. I think we need to play together :)

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  15. The tranquil blue in the necklace is like wearing a ribbon of blue sky in this dark winter we are having. Your bracelet is full of fun details!

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  16. Great post and such cool pieces. This really was a great hop :-)

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  17. Love your freeform bracelet! This method has SO many possibilities!

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  18. You both nailed some of the Greek culture in your pieces. Great job. Bet Mary is wearing your bracelet right now. Thanks so much for joining us in this Holiday Celebration.

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  19. What a fabulous idea to celebrate the non-traditional holidays! Love the post, beautiful jewellery!

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  20. Such pretty pieces! The necklace is a statement piece and that bracelet is so flirty and fun!

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  21. Oh wow Cynthia! This bracelet is so cool. Love the free flow of it. It looks comfortable to wear, its a "hey, where'd you get THAT?!" kind of bracelet. Lots of textures. WOw just so cool! Know Mary must love it too.
    ~ Shelley

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  22. I've gotten a little behind in my commenting because of family obligations, but I had to stop by and say what an awesome bracelet that is! The cinnabar and grey earrings in your earlier posts are beautiful, also.

    I saw a performance by a Dervish while on a lunch cruise in Egypt--totally captivating!

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    1. So jealous! I would love a lunch cruise in Egypt watching dervishes! WOW

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  23. I always learn something new when I come here and I love it!! The necklace and bracelet are both amazing!

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  24. How completely cool that because of friends, you were able to create with authentic Mediterranean beads for Mary! Your bracelet is artistic and creative, rich & yet grounding with the powerful freeform monocromatic use of gold and wood seed beads. The charms of dervishes are very neat-o! Love your bracelet design!

    Mary's necklace seems to bring the Mediterranean right to us, as do you -- the howlite is elegant, and her use of color, design & form is gorgeous! You are very lucky to have that sophiticated necklace! Love!

    Happy Hopping,
    TJ

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  25. Both pieces are just beautiful. I love the Greek key pattern - something about it just grabs my attention. And I admire anyone who can do freeform anything LOL :)

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  26. O my gosh, your bracelet is absolutely amazing! I think it's definitely among my top ten of your creations :)

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  27. Mary's necklace is so beautiful! I bet you will get tons of summer wear out of this piece! I love the freeform peyote stitch you did working in those evil eye beads. Great symbolism in the other components. Interesting about the Dervishes.

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