Spellbound - Black Alaskan Diamond

This has been a grey damp weekend. Long, kind of cold - and honestly, just a little bit of a downer after the beautiful spring start we've had around here. That dullness combined with our efforts to purge ourselves of a million little things ( like a vast collection of 80's video game stuff for example, I'm sitting beside a mountain of Atari games right now). We're smack in the middle of cleaning and renovating our spare bedroom from a storage closet into a nursery for our baby girl (due May 9th).

I cheered up today when my mother in law gave me a ring she thought I'd like that belonged to her mother Eva.  This is my husbands grandma, who he loved so much and was very close with - so I'm spellbound with it in more ways than one - and that's why this vintage gold black Alaskan diamond (hematite) ring is today's Spellbound.

It's shape and beautiful setting remind me of a raven's claw. Just the right amount of delicate, with a dash of darkness - an enchanting combination.

Black Alaskan Diamond - Specular Hematite (Specularite)

This beautiful variety of hematite has a rich metallic luster on a sparkling silvery polished surface.
Specularite brings grounding and high energy simultaneously. It promotes the aspiration to your personal goals regardless of what is perceived as acceptable, releasing all judgment. This stone assists in grounding high level spiritual energy to the reality of every day life.


Specular Hematite is an excellent stone to keep on your desk to counter the ill effects of your computer on your energy body (good to know for us holistic bloggers right?)

Birthstone: March, December


Zodiac: Aries, Aquarius


Planet: Mars, Mercury


Energies: Love, Protection, Healing

Love Jill
PS. Because we had such a grey weekend, the love lune slip photo shoot for our website was delayed, but forecast calls for sun tomorrow - so I'm hoping to get them listed very early this week - sorry for the delay (totally mother natures fault - what can I say?)



Room Divider DIY tip

This isn't a real DIY. I just said that to get your attention. Tricky right? It's more of a show and tell - but I bet you know some-one somewhere who could use a variation of our set-up for their own space.

Lune and Freckled Nest share the rental of our space - half is used for their office/studio and the other half is Lune's Vintage shop which is open exclusively twice a week. The space is a mirror image of itself, with matching bright bay windows overlooking a busy street. The entrance is smack in the middle of this divide, so on our one common day of operation (Fridays) we needed to make sure the space had a clear division to allow customers to understand that the shop is right, and the private office is left. Up until this point, we were using furnishings to divide the space - but a line of back to back furniture isn't exactly design ideal, and the sight lines still didn't allow for our professional spaces to be esthetically individual.

The issue was, our ceilings are very high, and since they're drop tiles in a track, I couldn't hang anything from them without the risk of the ceiling drooping. There was nothing to anchor a super long rod to, and building a wall was out of the question. I had to be economical too, and buying a series of screens or room dividers just seemed expensive and not much better of a solution.

Light Bulb! Air Craft Cable! Cheap in supplies, strong enough to cross the 30ish foot span from front to back, and minimal enough not to be a waste of space! Todd picked up the cable supplies at the hardware store and I bought 30 curtain rings (clips) to hang 3 matching vintage yellow 70's semi sheers which I thrifted for $20 (a huge score), as the same amount of raw material, even purchased at the discount section was $50.

It took us one evening to rig it up - and it's strong! We even used the cable in our display window which also couldn't use a regular rod since it was basically a very wide bay window , and we needed the curtain to sit behind the stage.

This technique would be ideal for any open space that you'd like divided off in an adjustable way (easy to slide the curtain or straight fabric panels back and forth) in your home too! The lightness and slight transparency of the curtains allows light to pass, and if you get sick of the color - changing them out is a hell of a lot easier than painting!

Check out a quick and easy list and how to over at Apartment Therapy - it's pretty much genius for any multi use space!

Love Jill

Lune's Project Restyle - Tapestry Bag Tutorial

 

This week Lune was happy to contribute to Project Restyle over at A Beautiful Mess (check it out here!) I love finding vintage tapestry rugs from the 60's and 70's. My love affair with these rugs started as a child. My dad had a huge printed tapestry of "The Hustler" by Arthur Sarnoff hanging in our game room. More recently, I pick them up for our local shop Lune Vintage to add a warm bohemian feel to the space. I also have a huge one with deer in my living room! Usually, I look for larger rugs, but it struck me that the small door mat sized ones would make such simple slouchy drawstring bags. So, this is what I used to make a Summer Tapestry Bag!

Supplies:

12 large metal grommets

Rubber Mallet

Sharp Scissors

Coat Weight Thread and Tapestry Needle

Cotton Cording (or other cording)

1 thrifted leather belt

1 thrifted small rectangular Tapestry Rug

This project is easy, but takes some practice, especially when hammering in the grommets. I suggest buying extra because I made a few mistakes along the way and replaced some loose or overly bent ones.

STEP 1: Fold your tapestry in half and cut down the middle with sharp scissors. The bottom fringe will be at the bottom of the bag.

STEP 2: Measure and cut small holes with scissors at the top of the two sides of the bag, making sure they line up. Hammer away and add grommets. Be sure they're facing the right way out!

STEP 3: Serge or Sew the two sides of the bag (good sides facing in) together down the left and right side. Leave the bottom open.

STEP 4: Turn the bag right side out. Top stitch the bottom of the bag an inch above the top of the fringe. This step is important if you want to maintain the original tapestry fringe at the bottom of your bag - my favorite detail this spring!

STEP 5: Sew your leather belt (or any other strap you choose) to each side of your bag. I used a tapestry needle, and a leather awl and punch to get through the tough materials. An easier solution would be to use canvas strapping that you can easily find at the fabric store, our braiding a length of cotton cord to make a thicker strap!

STEP 6: Thread your cotton cord through the grommets and tie. I hand dyed my own cord for a mottled look, and then knotted and brushed out the ends for long tassels. Alternatively, you might find some vintage curtain cord that already has tassels, or lengths of leather! Add beads, chain and feathers ... So many options!


My tapestry bag features an arctic scene of polar bears. Most vintage tapestries are nature themed and in rich jewel toned colors. Tapestry bags are the perfect bohemian accessory for spring and summer! Just think of how much beach gear you'll be able to fit in there. Try it out, and share your results. I guarantee you'll get a ton of questions on where you got your amazing bag!

Visit the Red Velvet Project Restyle flickr group to join in, and share your own restyles HERE!

Love and Peace,

Lune