newsletter archives
18 December, 2008
Eve’s felting tip
Our new video for the week is a tip taken from our full-length instructional video for Eve’s Apple Tote (available for purchase in our shop). Check it out – if you’ve never tried it, you’ll be amazed at how quick and easy it is to learn how to needle felt!
While you are at it, here’s a thought, reiterated in the video: felting, whether needle-felting or fulling something you’ve made, is a process which visibly ‘cooks’, transforms, solidifies, and changes the texture and weight of fabric – much like the ‘fire’ within you subtly ‘cooks’, transforms, solidifies, and changes the texture of who you are.
Wishing you Divine Holidays
My very favorite Christmas song is the Little Drummer Boy. With so many other beautiful Christmas classics out there, you may wonder (unless this is also your favorite) why?
Well, it is simply that I am truly touched by this little boy who is invited to bring his finest gift to the newborn King and the only gift he has to offer - his finest gift - is his innocent, heartfelt drum-playing. He gives of himself. His gift is in the present moment, his generosity and depth recognized by Mary as she nods; the ox and lamb as they keep time, and the baby as he smiles.
Perhaps this little drummer boy is also the inspiration for my preference for making Christmas gifts, rather than simply shopping for them. It is true that in making gifts for my family and friends, I feel that I am sharing something of myself. On the other hand, perhaps my motivation is purely selfish: I’m not fond of shopping, and I derive such delightful pleasure from the creative process – not to mention the meditative and grounding qualities of such work... And, given the number of Divine Women out there (yes, you) accessing and pursuing your artistic, artisan and handcrafting activities, I’m clearly not alone in this.
So at this time when the year’s cycle concludes its descent into darkness and begins the cycle back into light and growth, as we each celebrate with our own traditions, I wish you and yours joyful, thoughtful holidays filled with creative work! Pa rum pum pum pum, pa rum pum pum pum...Oh, how very divine, indeed!
Teresa Dane Marcel
More Divine Woman Bracelet patterns
Just in the nick of time before Christmas, and in honor of some of the Divine Women in our own lives, we’ve come up with four more Divine Woman Bracelet designs, one in each colorway – which we are, of course, sharing with you! They are:
Faith bracelet – in delicate peachy morninglight tones of natural pearl and gold, for the Divine Woman who has faith both in the flow of life and her true Self.
Clarity bracelet – this bracelet was created in honor of Rosalind, a dear friend and life-sister, whose clarity of love, life and vision has touched many hearts and lives. This softly feminine bracelet in dreamlight tones is made of rose quartz and amethyst, which suits the Divine Woman who either possesses or seeks that very clarity.
Christmas bracelet – so rich and elegant, in Christmasy firelight colors, is perfect for the Divine Woman who embodies the wisdom, faith, love and inner peace that marks this holiday season.
Unity Bracelet – in the clear, cool and sparkling grays and blacks of labradorite, tourmaline quartz and black onyx, this starlight bracelet is for the Divine Woman who finds herself juggling her needs for creativity with those for unity and self control.
We look forward to sharing these lovely bracelets (free patterns HERE) with you, and to hearing from you with your Divine Women Circle stories!
5 December, 2008
Searching for the perfect gift
You’ve survived “Black Friday.” “Cyber Monday” has come and gone. But perhaps you still haven’t found the perfect gift – something simple, inexpensive, yet beautiful and meaningful – for someone in your circle of Divine Women? For that special friend, helpful neighbor, thoughtful colleague, a kindly stranger, or perhaps your mother, daughter, grandaughter, aunt, niece or cousin? 
Or perhaps you would like to invite someone to join your circle of Divine Women by offering her a small but meaningful gift?
If so, check out our new Divine Woman Bracelet series, below. (Click on bracelet photos to see kits)
Meaningful gifts for the Divine Women in your circle
Designed with gratitude and giving in mind, these four stunning Divine Women Bracelets – the first in a series – are made of semi-precious stones and natural materials, accented with a delicate swirl heart charm – the signature of a Divine Woman Bracelet.
These super-easy to make bracelets (no tools required!) are available as kits at the stunningly low introductory price of $12 or lovingly made up and ready to gift at $20 each. All four bracelet patterns are free, as are the downloadable templates to create a personalized ‘scroll’ message to include with your gift.
We’ve researched the properties and qualities attributed to the stones used in the bracelets so that you can match them to the Divine Women in your life and remind them of the qualities that make them precious to you. The video above details some of these qualities.
You may, of course, simply wish to shop by color, as the bracelets are designed within the colorways of all our products: the Peace Bracelet is in morninglight colors, the Serenity Bracelet in dreamlight, the Wisdom Bracelet in firelight, and the Harmony Bracelet in starlight colors.
Happy shopping, handcrafting and giving!
Circle of Divine Women story sharing: an invitation
Let’s start a movement. Let’s move out and away from the fear and anxiety swirling all around us, threatening to drown us as we are bombarded with news that the economy, our jobs, our retirement nest eggs and the world as we know it are all falling to pieces. For that matter, perhaps some of us can still avoid ‘catching’ the fear in the first place and keep ourselves centered, focused on what deeply matters to each of us.
So, let’s start simply. Let’s start by sharing our appreciation for each other, for the Divine Women in our lives, for big and small meaningful thoughts and gestures. Let’s share our stories, too:
• Did a Divine Woman in your circle notice that you needed a hug or a cup of coffee?
• Did a Divine Woman offer to grocery shop, babysit when you were in a tight spot, or give you professional advice with no strings attached?
• Did a Divine Woman say exactly what you needed to hear, whether you liked hearing it or not?
• Was a Divine Woman there for you in some expressible (or inexpressible) way, just when you needed her?
If so, how did you – or how would you like to – express your appreciation to her? Did you return the favor in kind? Perhaps you offered her a simple but meaningful gift, such as one of our Divine Woman Bracelets?
So here is our invitation: share your stories with us in the Circle of Divine Women. Tell us what a Divine Woman in your circle has done, has said, and continues to be to you, as well as how you honor, appreciate and are grateful to her. If this includes offering her a Divine Woman Bracelet, all the better, but it need not. Perhaps you made, or were yourself thanked and appreciated, with something original – crocheted, knitted, beaded, sewed – and would like to share the pattern with other Divine Women? E-mail us your stories and photos at
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and we will post them on our News/Events pages. All appropriate submissions are, understandably, subject to editing as well as space availability.
We look forward to hearing from you. Let’s start a circle of Divine Women, a circle of gratitude.
Further thoughts from Eve
As you work up Eve’s Apple Tote – or any other tote or handbag, for that matter – here is some further food for thought that original woman might well have offered:
The Base: The beginning, the base, the bones – whether of a bag or of life, are the essence of a structure. In the beginning, when Adam was all alone, it is said that I was created from his rib. Now, how lovely is that? The feminine is separated from the masculine and crafted from a rib bone, which protects the heart. You might say that my - woman’s - essence is of the truth of the heart, that I am the protector of the heart’s intentions! Hmmm... What do you know?... READ MORE