Irish fairy and angel jewelry

Look what fluttered in!

Irish Connemara marble angel or fairy pendant

This little lady is made from rare, Irish Connemara marble. You can read about this ancient stone in my previous post A snippet about Connemara marble.

Irish sea glass fairy or Christmas angel

Sea glass is recycling at it's best as it is a material recycled and improved by nature! It takes decades for the ocean to naturally tumble a piece of glass, buffing and frosting it until it is fit for use in jewelry and other decorative items. This beautiful sea glass fairy or angel works as a sun catcher or a Christmas ornament. 

blue fairy pendant

The blue fairy makes a pretty pendant. As her skirt is semi transparent she too would look fantastic surrounded by fairy lights or hung in the window where she can catch the sunlight. 

Dun Laoghaire Pier Lighthouse. Caught My Eye no.36

Caught My Eye  is a series of blog posts showing scenes I found interesting, odd, curious or beautiful. Please do enjoy a snapshot glimpse of the world through my creative eyes. 

Dun Laoghaire (Dun Laoire) is one of Dublin's ferry ports, a large, lively town and a favourite among city dwellers for a day out. It has two long piers where you can go for bracing walks with the reward of a whipped icecream cone at the end.  Just about anyone who grew up in Dublin in the last 50 years or so will nod and smile at the words 'Teddy's Ice cream.'  The humble little shop with a hatch window facing out onto the coast road is an indelible childhood memory.

Nowadays you can claim your ice cold prize at the end of the pier if you wish. Teddy's has an impermanent annex tucked behind the East Pier lighthouse. 

Dun Laoghaire Lighthouse, East Pier, own photo, Spring 2015

The lighthouse was built in 1847. Keepers and their families once lived in the dwellings at the base, though in 1955, the two families were removed and only the keepers lived and worked there in shifts. In the 70s the lighthouse became fully automated.

detail of surrounding wall, railings, steps

I last took this walk in the late Spring, accompanied by an Etsy friend, out for a crafty chat. We slurped our '99' cones, perched on a cold stone step facing the base of the lighthouse. The two hook-like structures on the opposite wall caught my eye. They call to mind snakes or birds, maybe even swans, spying on the people below and hoping for a crumb of wafer. 

They also remind me of long, sleek earring wires. In my mind's eye I added some dangly beading........if you ever take this walk and find such an addition, twasn't me...I was nowhere near the vicinity Officer....

White sea glass - ray of sunshine

I found this unusual piece of sea glass on a Dublin shore a couple of years ago. The lines fan out like rays of sunshine. At a guess, it comes from the bottom of a vase or bowl. It reminds me of a Dublin Crystal fruit bowl my mother won for fish cookery or some such thing when I was a teenager.

I confess I was a little scared to wire wrap such an interesting piece lest I spoil the radiating lines and so I did nothing but admire it until now. 

Then out of nowhere I lost my fear and got the urge to do this with it in silver wire. I had the swirl of the ocean in mind when wire wrapping it. 

 

Sunbeam sea glass pendant on cotton chain

Yes, I had to wrap over the rays but you can see the shape of the lines through the wire, just like rays of sunshine penetrating deep waters. It works. Sometimes you just have to go for it.