No Longer an E-Bay Virgin ...

Yes, I finally gave in and made my first e-bay purchases.

I have a regular at the legion where I bar tend who is an e-bay addict, and he has been "coaching" me on the finer points of getting bargains and staying safe.  So I finally broke down last week and bid on a few things, of which I got 4 ~ spending a whole $27.42, including shipping.  I am such a wild child.

What did I buy?  Oh come on, you know me by now ~ I bought rocks, and glass beads, for jewellery making :-)  .

Considering the Pandora brand-name glass beads cost $40 a piece, and I got 3 galss beads and 10 rock beads for my $27.42, I think I did OK.  Adding to the coolness factor, for me, is that the shop where I got the glass beads is ran by an American Mil Spouse.  Task Force Home Front!!

I am just hoping they fit on 550 Para Cord.  :-)

I was looking for a t-shirt for Sebastian as well.  There is a t-shirt from the good folks over at Ranger Up, who I quite like.  There are, however, 2 problems: 1) the t-shirt I want is currently out of stock and 2) the t-shirt is on sale for $13, but shipping to Canada is $19 on top of that ... not that the boy isn;t worth it, but it bugs me when the shipping is more than the item!  I have not yet been able to find it anywhere cheaper.

The t-shirt?   See for yourself:

I think he would like it.

Beading

I made a new necklace today. I am a rock tramp.

I went to the local rock shop to buy a piece of agate to send to Sebastian to take with him when he deploys. I want him to have a little something to remind him of me, and agate is said to be the "ultimate" protective gem, and it certainly can't hurt!

Of course, while I was there, I bought myself a little something too! (Ya I know, so much for my lent sacrifice ...)

So this is my new necklace I just made; the centre piece is Banded Agate, and the beads are Botswana Agate:

I thought while I was at it, I would document a few of my other recent experiments/creations.

This is a lapis lazuli choker I made. Lapis is (usually) from the Khyber pass in Afghanistan ~ you can see why I wanted some. It is associated with friendship, truth, love, self confidence, and intuition. The spacer beads are pewter.

The next one is on a purchased woven silk band; the stone is a polished cabachon of Jasper (I think). Jasper is associated with compassion, completion, relaxation and contentment.

This one is also jasper; and an experiment working boot bands into necklaces. It am not happy with it yet, and I am still playing with the idea.

The last necklace for tonight; this one is crystal, with a simple silver celtic trillium pendant. After I was finnished, I thought I might have been channelling my great-grandma when I made it, it kind of reminds me of her.

Finally, the thing that started it all: when the Wolf and I became a couple, I "stole" a couple of his boot bands and started wearing them as a bracelet. I have worn them ever since (not the same ones, silly, they don't last that long!) I started with olive, and switched to tan when he did. The string of beads on the far left of the photo are rhyolite; not only did they match the olive boot bands well, they are said to moderate emotion, help with working toward goals, and ease lonliness. The middle band, created when the tans went on, is a mix of rhyolite and tiger jasper.

Wordless Wednesday