Mika, my 7.5 yo, is selling the first necklace she designed and made all by herself. It’s made of azurite and copper (I think) and it’s much nicer than the picture shows. Indeed, I wanted it for myself but she is “saving” to buy herself a DS, or a dog or a TV (it changes by the minute) and she seems to prefer the money to her mommy. The necklace is 22″ long and it’s quite well made for someone her age. As I said, I’d like it for myself. She wants $10 for it (plus shipping if you’re not in San Leandro).
If this doesn’t work I’ll probably try etsy, but then I’d have to create an account 🙁
Author: marga (Page 45 of 158)
. The School Board wants the imput of the community on how to name it (though they are not obligated to actually follow such imput). They are asking that people send their suggestions to <a href=)
newcampus@sanleandro.k12.ca.us.
I believe that we should name the 9th grade campus after Fred Korematsu, one of the very few true heroes that San Leandro has. Korematsu was a patriotic Japanese-American who volunteered to fight with the Navy during WWII but was turned down for health reasons. In 1942 the US government decided to intern all people of Japanese decent in its own concentration camps – lest they provide help to the Japanese. Interestingly they didn’t have the same concerns about citizens of Italian or German extraction.
Fred Korematsu refused to give up on his constitutional rights and heed the internment order – instead he went into hiding but was eventually arrested in San Leandro. He was tried and convicted. He appealed his conviction but the Supreme Court, in 1944, in one of its most shameful decisions since Plessy v. Ferguson, ruled that military necessity justified the detention of Japanese Americans. Korematsu did not give up, however, and in the 80’s he was finally vindicated in court. Through his life, he continued fighting for civil rights and against discrimination. You can read more about him in his wikipedia article.
Personally, I believe that there is no higher courage than to stand for your rights and beliefs in the face of oppression. It’s so much easier to give in to fear and rationalize your cowardice – something that I’ve done plenty of times myself. Korematsu, however, did what was right and I’m proud that he lived in our city. I cannot imagine a better name for a new school here. Let’s teach the new generations that true courage and true patriotism are best shown by dissent.
If you share these feelings, please e-mail the San Leandro School Board.
Along with beads, I’ve been buying some pendants on e-bay. Many of the cheaper ones are described as “Murano Lampwork Glass”. Apparently Murano glass is an exquisitely dedicated glass from the Venetian island of Murano. I’ve never seen a real sample myself, so I have no idea what it looks like. I do know that the real stuff sells for quite a lot of money. For example, this one
The ones on e-bay sell for much less and come from China. Though the description of the items might suggest they come from Murano, I think it’s pretty evident given the price and location of the sellers, that the pendants are made of Murano style glass.
I’ve bought a few of these and I’m really impressed by how beautiful they are. The colors are very vibrant and the designs quite nice. I’m particularly impressed by a blue coil-shaped one which I’m sure I’ll wear frequently. The picture to the left, which I took, just cannot do justice to the beautiful coloring.
I’m also planning to give some of these as presents (I’m thinking of giving one to my mail carrier who has brought a lot of little brown envelopes to my house in the last few weeks – I hope she doesn’t read my blog ;-)) and I’ll probably buy a couple of more for myself now that I know how pretty they are.
All these said, a word of caution. Not all the sellers on e-bay are trustworthy (I’ve bought mine from athena_lovly, they took about 20 days to arrive), but you can also buy the pendants on Amazon
The obsession continues. It’s been almost a month and I’m still beading quite a bit – pretty much every day. I’ve made 11 necklaces so far, not counting the little one I made for Camila and the several necklaces that I made only to decide I didn’t like and ended up unmaking. Pretty much everyone with whom I exchange presents is getting a necklace (or a pendant) this year 🙂
Mika is not very enthusiastic any more about beading, but Camila is totally into it. She likes following the patterns on the necklaces I make (but she won’t put the 2mm seed beads) and loves making necklaces of her own, on which she tries, but cannot, follow a pattern. The only problem is that she wants to use my “good” beads in her necklaces – the plastic ones are not good enough for her 🙁 After we are done with a necklace, no matter how it looks, she enthusiastically proclaims that “it’s very cute, mama”, opening her eyes to show delight. She’s so sweet.
I have several necklaces planned out (though I’ve learned that I’m not good at predicting what will look good together) but I’m waiting for spacer beads (which I also ordered on e-bay from China). I’ve also been making earrings but I find that more difficult, looping the pins into a hook in particular.
I’m still astounded that I’m enjoying this so much – I’m the least crafty sort of person in the world. But it is completely mindless and makes me relax 🙂
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