Jewellery by Amanda Handmade

Hello there!

So, I want to share a post about some absolutely STUNNING handmade copper and natural crystals and stones jewellery! I mean, seriously, STUNNING stuff! I own so many pieces and can’t get enough! All 100% handmade with love, peaceful positive energy, and lots of crystal healing magic by my lovely friend Amanda Carmagnole of ‘Amanda Handmade’ in Flic en Flac, Mauritius.

Amanda has always been such a generous soul (gifting me so many beautiful pieces), and she was lovely enough to spare me some time for a little Q and A and this is what we spoke about:

1. When did you decide you wanted to go into jewellery design? How did it all start?

I left my job as a sales manager at Mauri Pix in 2014 but I had no other job to go to. So I decided to start making feathered jewellery.

2. How would you describe what you do and the jewellery you design?

All I can say is I let go and get creative, but the jewels have a duel aspect... it’s not made just to look pretty. There's also the healing aspect of it. Each stone has its own healing properties as well as the copper.

3. You grew up in Britain and have lived most of your life there before moving to Mauritius. How have these countries influenced your work?

I think in the UK is a very multicultural place to live but it’s a very big place in comparison to Mauritius so you find that people don't always mix with each other like we do here. So, I have come more into contact with the Hindu culture and the belief system. That being so it has helped me to look to other cultures and work more in tune with the Divine Feminine energies of many times and places.

4. You work a lot with crystals and semi-precious stones, as well as copper, what are you favourite materials and why?

Oh....That's a really hard one....how to pick one stone above all the others, I simply love Jasper, all kinds of jasper. It’s such a beautiful stone and there are so many different kinds. No two stones look alike and then you get the picture and poly chrome jaspers and it's like an artist has made a gorgeous painting on the stone. But I have many that I love equally.

5. What is the design process like?

To be honest I very rarely draw a design. The stone tends to dictate how it will be made. It's a very organic process for me and a very connected one with the stones.

6. What projects and designs are you currently working on?

At this moment I’m working a little with wood as well, making some healing wands with crystals and copper and just trying a few new things before I go headlong into my new collection.

7. What is one of your favourite designs that you have ever done?

I think this is one of my favourites, again a jasper stone... but it's just a simple design and it looks so magical, well to me anyway. But I have made many that I really love, especially in the Goddess collection.

8. I particularly like your Goddess Collection. Where did the inspiration come from for these pieces?

Well, I have been very fortunate to come together with a group of beautiful ladies in a woman's circle. We have worked in many different phases, meditations, and energies of the goddess. So, this for me was something that helped me bring to fruition something that I had wanted to do for a long time. It's surprising, but it really helped to bring that little light of an idea in to this physical collection, and each piece having an energy to make the wearer feel like the goddess she is meant to be.

9. What can we look forward to seeing from you next?

Of course some more jewellery design in the new year but also tools for healing... some home decorations in the form of sun-catchers and wall hangings and maybe a piece or two of furniture that incorporates stones and copper.

10. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into jewellery design?

For me it's something I really love to do. So, if it’s something that you love to do, go for it. You are expressing yourself through the medium of your choosing and people will be wearing what you make; so be passionate, and make the best you can and enjoy it, love it and express it and go for it.

Much Love,

Amanda

Please check out her amazing pieces and gorgeous collections at Amanda Handmade in Flic en Flac, Mauritius. It’s  such affordable jewellery for incredible quality! You can check out the jewellery by appointment. Call her on (+230) 5738 9509 or drop her an email at a.carmagnole@gmail.com.

The vibes when you are with Amanda are very serene and I always feel joyous when I am hanging out with her. I am really grateful to have such a talented and loving friend; we share so many great memories together. I wish Amanda all the light and success with her new collection and upcoming creations; you deserve it girl and I am sure it'll be a smashing hit!!!!

I couldn’t begin choosing which photos to use, as everything is just a visual feast. I am certain I will share another blog post of more photos soon!

Check out Amanda's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TranquilityMarketingLtd/

       xx love & light xx

Beltane in the South, Day of the Dead, and Moon Energies

Namaste

With recent Beltane celebrations here in the Southern Hemisphere, and the full moon coming up on November 4^th, I thought I’d share a few things on Tiger*Wolf! Full moon energies can be felt up to four days prior to and following the actual date, and as this is the only full moon of the Scorpio season (which is my zodiac), I am already feeling the energies quite intensely. I’ve been emotional all day, with moments of deep gratitude, sudden fear and sadness, joyful tears, and tearful frustrations. And, I’ve been allowing all of these feelings to flow through me before gently letting them go.

While in the North my family have been celebrating Samhain and enjoying the Halloween festivities, here in Mauritius my Anamchara and I have spent the past couple of days both in calm and quiet reverence of Beltane, and in inner reflection and tribute to our ancestors and our Spirit guides for the Day of the Dead (which is celebrated locally). The Wheel of the Year, which is a calendar of nature and metaphor for the cycle of the seasons, originates in the Northern Hemisphere and the dates are advanced by six months in the South, to coincide with the natural changing of the seasons in the local climates below the Equator (which is why we’ve recently celebrated Beltane over here). The Wheel represents the eight ancient festivals known as Sabbats, which are spaced at approximately even intervals, celebrating the natural cycles of the Sun and Moon and the effects on the Earth (e.g. the seasons, the equinoxes). This cyclic aspect also represents the progression of birth, life, decline, and death; as well as the notion of Samsaara (the life, death, and rebirth).

Wheel of the Year Dates for Southern Hemisphere

As part of my Beltane and Day of the Dead rituals, I did a card reading to help me navigate the current energies within my life. I wanted to know which things from the past continue to linger that I need to let go of, the seeds of energy which I need to plant for the coming season, the passion and inspiration which drives me, the helpful energies to allow me to bloom, the opposing energies and challenges, and how to overcome these. Here is the spread that I used which you may also find useful for a reading. Please let me know how you find working with this card-spread; I’d love to hear about your experiences and share our insights.

And here’s some information for the upcoming full moon, in the sign of Taurus, as well as some information about how to use the different energies during the cycles of the moon. I’ll be doing a release ritual on November 4^th to help navigate the shifting energies of the seasons and the cyclic changes that are natural within me also. Letting go of the old, reflecting on the winter that has passed; inspired by the fertility of Spring, planting seeds to grow in the coming months; ushering in the coming Summer, trusting the Universe and opening myself to abundance and the blessings of the Great Spirit.

Cycles of the Moon

New Moon: New cycle – new possibilities – symbolically reborn – summon your whole self – cleanse the psyche for the month ahead – SET YOUR INTENTIONS – begin the process of manifestation for what you want to enter your life.

Waxing Moon: New growth – building up power for manifestations – continued action – action plans – INVOCATIONS – attracting new energies – imagine and focus on success.

Full Moon: Vitality – surge of power – amplified creativity – take action – RELEASE – let go of what you no longer need or have outgrown – step out of the old and celebrate your emergence in the new – inner transformation – focus on gratitude.

Waning Moon: Meditation – reflection – balance – dig deeper into psyche to discover the roots of issues – dispel negativity – endings – cleansing – LET GO OF THINGS WHICH NO LONGER SERVE YOUR HIGHEST PURPOSE.

Dark Moon: Turn inward – go deep into the psyche – SHADOW WORK – Shamanic journeys – solitude – psychic power – dream revelations – divination.

           x love & light x