Product update: Brizel Silk Tapestry Mini Rugs

Brizel Silk Mini Rugs have been in the process of expanding...

I've been working on suns and moons mostly- inspired by the height of the Sun and the ever changing Moon... so visible this time of year when the skies are crystal clear and graced by the Milky Way.

Sliver Moon

Enlightening Sun

Sun Set

Green Eye

Full Moon

Mediterranean Sun

Summer Sun

Brown Eye

Silver Moon

These stunning Brizel Silk Tapestry Mini Rugs are available for purchase through Brizelhandcrafts.etsy.com.

Goldenhr @ Twilight and feline love

Goldenhr, that twilight time when the setting sun hits the easterly hillside at Twilight and the colors slowly turn from subtle golds into intense golden strawberry... that time when my family gathers round and sits quietly to watch the trees, with their blueish shade, shimmer in that golden delight... peace & serenity usually fills my heart and I know that I am in the right place at the right time !

Here is a rare photograph of Zippy Zip and Mawr sitting together !

Zippy Zip is a little wild thing, kinda like Max, independent and yet... willing to relinquish his wildness to come in for cuddles. He was abandoned on the ranch... and it was Moonstone who decided that he should come live with us. Although the NO VACANCY sign was clearly on that fateful night, some 6 yrs ago, I told him that if he showed up for breakfast I would feed him. Funnily enough he did a no show but three days later he came back to move in.

Moonstone and Zippy Zip became the best of friends- like litter mates...

and when Moonstone was lost some two years ago, I wasn't sure if Zippy Zip would stay on... but I am so pleased that he decided too... He is such a lovebug when he wants to be !

I miss Moonstone... He was a heart throb !

and he waited so patiently for me to adopt him...

Found trapped in a swamp cooler and taken to the clinic for care, the vet had dubbed him 'Swampee'. I met him there in the process of his recovery... when Merlin & Nimue were teensy puppies and still living at the vet. We gazed at each other & fell in love... but I resisted to make the commitment. A couple of weeks later, after Tammy had passed on and I had settled in the rambunctious puppies, I went back for him. In that time he had been adopted out but weirdly enough had been rejected by his new owners.

It was all meant to be and I am so very glad to have met & loved him !

Update from the Spiral Garden @ Twilight

We've been having a relatively cool summer up here at Twilight.... it's been staying close to the 100F mark (as opposed to averaging in the 115F) and I have been loving the early evenings when the temperature goes below 90F at 8pm. lol.

The star thistle still waits to be weed whacked and i just havent had the energy to whack the 6 acre compound a second time around. Its not ideal but there it is :)

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking a day off and pulling out from storage eight windchimes that needed to be repaired. In my excitement, I pulled out tools, hardware, & crafting materials and by the end of the day had most of them back in the 'Dreaming Tree'.

The Bee chime above was created from scratch and hangs at the entry of the Spiral Garden... its bee-licious !

Here's a longview of the 14+ Butterfly bushes in full bloom... These were planted outside the edge of the spiral garden... This year I pruned them back during the month of January and the blooms sure have been lovely. What a beautiful array of dark purples, pinks, lilacs and even some whites !

Also known by its botanical name, Buddleias, are a wonderful plant host for caterpillars that aspire to be butterflies when they grow up :)

Here's the Chaste tree a growin' and a bloomin'. Such wondrous purple flowers... conical and bursting from the bottom first. The leaves are also quite unique and lovely as well. Chaste, also known as vitex, produces seed like berries that are used in women's medicinals.

I still have some roses blooming and it remains a special pleasure to walk the Spiral Garden in the mornings at watering time.

Magic fills the air @Twilight

Magic filled the air at Twilight throughout the week.... Its that special time here when the dragonflies in the early hours of the morning come to hover above the gardens and trees.

Years ago, as I was in escrow on the purchase of this wondrous land, and when I was in the process of perking the soil... the county man who came to do the inspection work also happened to be a trained entymologist. He looked at the lay of the land and commented that this was a natural place for the winged creatures to come and mate.

In Celtic lores, it is said that where there be dragonflies, the doors to the faerie realm are sure to be nearby & wide open. What a special blessing !

When i set out to water the spiral garden a few mornings ago... a garden created on top of a fairy mound... dragonflies began to hover above me... i beckoned to them and they came closer. What an incredible site to behold as they majestically zipped on by ! My heart burst in wonderment and gratitude... and i knew this day would be fortuitous :)

That full moon day I set out to town and in my mailbox was an order i had placed with my Czech glass button supplier... Guess what was in the package ?

I was so delighted... This dragonfly button is now available for purchase through brizelsupplies.etsy.com.

Brizel4TheAnimals finds an ETSY Team

Brizel4TheAnimals is now a new member of TEAM EFA... Etsy For Animals !

brizel4TheAnimals.etsy.com opens its doors

Since Brizel Supplies has been doing well and listings have been averaging around 300, it became clear to me that adding anything else but buttons or sashes would get lost amidst those colorful offerings.

Brizel 4 The Animals was a sudden inspiration fueled by full moon energy and the answer to the question that i had been posing the Universe: how could i raise some money to help my animal pack with their needs and challenges ?

So- I am up & running and listing like a maniac to get the store filled with offerings... Brizel4TheAnimals.etsy.com will be selling beads, charms, buckles, fabric, destash items, vintage jewelry, other vintage things, estate items, interesting books and other quality goodies !

All listings are currently focused on fundraising for Nimue...

Nimue (welsh for Spring Maiden) is now 6yrs old. She is a beautiful white golden looking Lab. Her mom who was a German Shepherd, rejected the entire litter. Nimue was the first born and narrowly escaped being eaten by her mom... only 5 of the puppies survived and they were brought to the vet for care. I first met Nimue ('Nim-way') when she was a few weeks old and put in a request to adopt her and one of her brothers, Merlin. It was touch and go for a time, as an adoption home in Marin County wanted to take the entire litter in. When the puppies turned 3 months old - I celebrated Spring Equinox by bringing them home !

Nimue currently is suffering from Gingivitis and is in high need of getting her teeth cleaned. With the help of buyers... money raised from the sales will be put aside to make that happen much sooner.

The store made its first sale at the end of the first day- a wonderful positive affirmation and message of hope !

Please come and visit us soon :)

Last week's show: Kelseyville's Homemakers Wine

Kelseyville celebrated its Homemaker's Wine and Beer Festival last Saturday... It was roasting hot at 105F and it was no picnic doing a show on asphalt with those temperatures.

I decided to do a one wall set up... so that the air & breeze could flow in & out... six bamboo panels at the back with a return of two panels on each side to protect the table's depth.

The bamboo walls make super wind & sun barriers and they are also perfect to hang the Brizel Silk Tapestry Hip Pouches from. I put together a couple of tables and used some beautiful basket weave motif fabric... The red really offsets the black velvet jewelry displays.

Nothing much exciting to report about this event. As per usual, I met some wonderful people- local and otherwise- the highlight was chatting with Dorothy, an elder woman from Middletown, who had bought 250 acres with her husband some years ago and raised her family there. We talked about crocheting, gardening, pioneering, and finding 'true love'. It was an honor and a pleasure !

new Brizel Handcrafts Shop @ ArtFire

Well... with everything that has been going on with Etsy lately, the final straw presented itself a few days ago, when I found out that uploading to Google Base would be limited to 100 listings. With 145 listings on brizelhandcrafts.etsy.com, I decided to pull back some of my listings and begin spreading my handcraft wealth to other venues !

I've selected ArtFire first and have now created a mini Brizel Handcrafts on that marketplace. Click here or go to www.brizelhandcrafts.artfire.com to see my new Artisan shop :)

As a Basic Member I only get to have 12 active listings- its a perfect amount to list a sampling of my different product lines. I hope that interest will spur me to upgrade to a Verified Member very soon !

ArtFire is a very different venue and still in its Beta infancy stage. I look forward to exploring its studios, and bumping into the same craftfolk as well as meeting new ones :)

Wish me luck as I delve into, yet another online marketplace !

WHiTE ALBiNO Humpback Whale Returns !

If you haven't yet had a chance to see the footage of Migaloo... a rare white Humpback Whale that has returned to the coast of Queensland in Australia...

Earth Times had this to say about him:

"Sydney - Australia's favourite whale has been spotted on its annual journey from the frigid waters of Antarctica to breeding grounds in the tropical warmth of far north Queensland. The progress of a rare white humpback, nicknamed Migaloo, has generated such excitement on the east coast that sightseers were warned Tuesday that hefty fines await those who defy the law and get too close.

"Migaloo has been declared a special-interest whale, granting him more space to swim up the Queensland coast," Kate Jones, the state's environment minister, said. "The whale-watching regulations are there to protect the whales, but also to protect people from these huge, unpredictable mammals."

Migaloo was injured in a collision with careless British tourists aboard a boat on the Great Barrier Reef two years ago. He was first spotted off Cape Byron, Australia's most easterly point, in 1991 and has been seen in each of the last five years.

Being designated a "special-interest whale" means those taking a boat any closer than 500 metres risk a hefty fine. Aircraft that fly low over Migaloo also risk punishment.

Around 5,000 humpbacks migrate each southern hemisphere winter from their Antarctic feeding grounds. By the spring, the females will have given birth and their young will be strong enough for the return journey."

Visit Migaloo's website by clicking HERE or http://www.migaloowhale.org/