Whale Wishes

Handmade Card by BayMoonDesign

Whales have been on my mind for awhile now.  My fascination began with a much anticipated trip to see whales in the Dominican Republic in February.  Each year 3 to 5 thousand humpback whales return to Samana and adjacent waters to give birth and mate for the following year. From January until March,  males can be observed vying for the attentions of females. Baby whales can be seen swimming with their mothers.  Tours are available to take folks like me to see these whales.  I just hoped that I would actually get to see at least one humpback whale.

 Humpback Whales

The day that I went on the whale watch between 300 to 500 whales passed by.  I saw around one dozen in the hour that I was on the tour.  They were sky-rocketing, standing on their tails, enjoying the attention from the crowds.  It was such a thrill for me to experience this.  I am thankful to the efforts of the International Whaling Commission.  Through their efforts the humpback whales along with other species have received world protection since 1966.  The world population of humpback whales has reached 30-35% of its original levels.

My jewelry and handmade cards are inspired by nature.  I needed to create several cards for a birthday, get well, thinking of you, and baby shower.  With whales on my mind,  I came up this whale theme card which can be used for a multitude of occasions.  

Let the Bead Soup Party Begin!

Lime Green Necklace with Shell Focal by Bay Moon Design

 The inspiration for this necklace comes Lori Anderson's bead soup party that I am participating in.  One of the challenges is to create something with a large round, mother of pearl shell bead. I decided to make it into a focal for a necklace.  I love green so I had the lime colored teardrop pearls in my bead stash just waiting for my putting them to use. I love to use pearls because they are classic and natural.  I also added some darker emerald green oval shaped as well as small, lime colored round pearls to the mix. In addition to the focal, I included some of the green beads that my bead party partner Rose Binoya sent me.  I also included the  beautiful clasp that she meticulously wired tiny lime green seed beads to.

Rose Binoya's  Beads

My next challenge was to take  the large purple, oval shell bead that she sent me and turn that into a focal.   I had to think long and hard to come up with a design for a focal, but I thought that the bead was so gorgeous that I just had to use it.  I am very pleased with the necklace that came to together.  I was able to include many of the beads that Rose sent to me and I only added some seed beads, a piece of silk ribbon, and some purple crystals that I had on hand.  I also dug out some chains that I had.  I love all of the lavenders, lilac, and purple shades in this necklace which you can find in my Etsy Shop. 

Lilac and Lavender Necklace by Bay Moon Design

I think you will agree that I met the challenge of the bead blog party as well as my own personal challenge of not buying anything new.  This  gives you an idea of the depth of my bead stash!

Visit Pretty Things for the complete list of participants.