November Giveaway and New Designs

First I gotta tell you about my first giveaway- so excited!  I'm going to be giving these cute little crescent earrings away this coming Saturday November 17.  They are hammered copper crescents onto which I've soldered silver stars and they measure just 3/4" across.  The earwires are sterling.  These sell in the Etsy shop for $52.

To participate: first, sign up for my newsletter to the right in the sidebar, then go to the Mystic Forest Jewelry Facebook page to "like" the photo of the earrings (just like the above photo).  To get two entries, "like" and "share" the pic.  The deadline is midnight on Friday November 16, so you still have two days to enter!  *You must be on the newsletter list AND like the earring pic on the Facbook page to participate.*

I'd also like to give a sneak peek of some in-the-works new designs for this collection, which I've christened "Celestial Artifacts".  Currently there are 4 sizes in the earrings and 2 finishes- the bright copper finish and an antiqued finish, which makes the copper almost black so the silver stars really pop.  Like a nighttime sky.  See the largest size here. 

The crescent shape is an often-seen design in many cultures the world over, from Asia Minor and the ancient Turks to the Sassanian Empire of Persia, in Hindu symbolism associated with the god Shiva.  It is a widely-accepted symbol of  Islam (with the star), it is seen in heraldry, in astronomy and astrology, goddess worship, and to represent silver in alchemy (silver is associated with the moon).  In astrology the moon rules emotions, intuition and illusions and cycles.  In many cultures it is seen as being feminine, and can mean many things to many people.  Maybe it has special personal significance for you. 

And stars- well, where does one begin with the lore of stars?... from wishing upon a star, to the stars of the Milky Way being the pathway to the Divine, to the fact that all of us are, literally, "star stuff" as Carl Sagan so succinctly put it, to the belief that our deceased loved ones live on in the stars.  It goes on and on.  Here's a link to a short video of how the elements are created in stars.  I'm just one of many who are drawn to the cosmic beauty of celestial objects, so naturally it's a source of inspiration.  I've been working on expanding my Celestial Artifact line with some pendants and here are some in progress...

There will be a tiny pendant (on the right, just like the tiny earrings I'm giving away) and the pendant with three crescents (on the left).  Do you have any suggestions for other configurations?  Let me know what you think by commenting below.

They'll be finished in the next week so be sure to check the Facebook page, because I always post new stuff there first.  Oh, and don't forget Twitter.  I post new listings there too!  :)