While the wedding itself was lovely, the lead-up to the wedding was, uh, occasionally... stressful. One thing that helped, though, was having something to do with my hands that occupied my attention, because that kept me from being able to work up a good head of freakout. Accordingly, I spent a good bit of time making beaded jewelry. Jewelry based, specifically, on two different types of changelings.
I tend to like to make jewelry based on themes, and I'd just finished Delia Sherman's
Changeling, which prominently features three treasures of New York Between: the Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen, Tickets to Peter Pan (With The Original Tinkerbell!), and the Scales of the Dragon of Wall Street. So I made some pieces based on that.
The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen hairstickBeads and mermaid charm from
elisem's Beads of the Month; hairstick from
Leginayba on Etsy. As soon as I saw the silver-grey oval bead, I knew it'd be perfect for this one. It's even more magic-mirror-like in person. (The Mermaid Queen of the book is a bit more hair-like-a-coral-reef, covered-in-tattoos, but take this as artistic license on account of I didn't have any punk mermaid charms.) The one down side is that this hairstick borders on too heavy, so it works better as a decoration for an already-stable bun than for holding hair up on its own. Ah, well.
Two Tickets to Peter Pan (With the Original Tinkerbell!)Beads and fairy charms from
elisem's Beads of the Month. These will be earrings when I get around to attaching the earwires. The charms were just too perfect not to use.
The Scales of the Dragon of Wall Street pendantBeads from
elisem's Beads of the Month. The big crackley stone is what
elisem calls "dragonscale carnelian," and so seemed very appropriate. This is the one I'm least happy with: I like the idea, but am not so pleased with my execution. I may take it apart and remake it later Still, it's very shiny, which fits the theme.
I also made some pieces based not on the book
Changeling, but on my Changeling: The Lost roleplaying game from a couple of years ago. Accordingly they are both faerie and Seattle-themed.
The Key to the Sound wrapped braceletBeads and key charm from
elisem's Beads of the Month. The Key to the Sound—
Puget Sound, that is—would have been the McGuffin for the second arc of the game, had we gotten that far. (If I ever have the werewithal to pick the game back up, that's what's in store.) The Key to the Sound is a magic artifact that legend and rumor say is capable of "unlocking" the Hedge along the misty border between forest and strand and sea, and if it falls into the hands of the mad changelings who worship the True Fae, Bad Things will happen. Anyway, I never got that far, but I know what the plot arc would look like, so perhaps at some point I will.
Armor for Trollkin choker/necklaceBeads from
elisem's Beads of the Month, except for the round dragonfly bead to the far right, which is from
Earthenwood on Etsy. This, on the other hand, is from part of the game that actually happened: when Our Heroes traveled to the Olympic Peninsula in search of the mysterious Bellkeepers, they briefly ran afoul of—and then gained the aid of—a ram-horned troll who was part of a knighthood of changelings bound to protect their kind from the True Fae.
There's more, but I need to figure out where I put it, and photograph it...
no subject
Date: 2010-09-19 03:07 pm (UTC)I'm fascinated by your C:tL MacGuffin. I have too many game ideas in my head, and not enough time to run them all (nor, to be fair, enough spoons to herd the cats it would require to run them all.) I kind of want to sit down and write them all up as stories, though.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 08:07 pm (UTC)I've been thinking about starting a Changeling game, but srsly ... dissertation. Sigh.
This is a good argument for leaving academia when I'm done.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-19 07:05 pm (UTC)