Deeper Magic From Before the Dawn of Time. Narnia inspired earrings.

  

If you follow this blog, you know how much I love Narnia. I found this photo of the Snow Queen at a Facebook page, here, don't know which issue of Vogue it comes from, but I thought the similarities with the White Witch from 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' were striking! The Snow Queen looks irresistible, but would she be the most powerful? I thought of the 'Deeper Magic' chapter. And then, I made these:

 

I thought of ice melting, I imagined love entering even the coldest of hearts. Only white opal, with its iridescence and its colorful flashes of pink, green and gold could capture the magic of love and kindness that lies deeper than any other magic in the world!

Available here.

Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen! Христос воскрес!

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι ζωὴν χαρισάμενος.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tombs, granting life.

This is my favorite icon of the Resurrection. In the Orthodox tradition, the actual moment of the Resurrection is never depicted by iconographers, and that is because we believe that it is something that the human mind cannot possibly fully grasp. The emphasis is also given to the importance of the Resurrection, and how it brought the opportunity for humankind to live a new life. For more info, see here, and if you can read Greek, this is also very good and simple.

And this is the Holy Light, as it now burns inside my Kandili. May we keep it in our hearts always! Happy Easter everyone, Χριστός Ανέστη, Christ is Risen, Христос воскрес!

Lazarus Saturday

Dead.
Dead and four days buried.

Russian icon. The Raising of Lazarus. 15th century, Novgorod school.

Sebastiano del Piombo, The Raising of Lazarus. Early 16th century.

Giuseppe Salviati, The Resurrection of Lazarus. 16th century.

Mosaic in Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo. The Resurrection of Lazarus.

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Raising of Lazarus. 1310-11.

Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκραύγασε· Λάζαρε, δεῦρο ἔξω. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ τεθνηκὼς δεδεμένος τοὺς πόδας καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κειρίαις, καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ σουδαρίῳ περιεδέδετο. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· λύσατε αὐτὸν καὶ ἄφετε ὑπάγειν. Πολλοὶ οὖν ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, οἱ ἐλθόντες πρὸς τὴν Μαρίαν καὶ θεασάμενοι ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν. (Ιωάννης ια', 43-45)

If you want to read more about Lazarus Saturday, click here.

Happy Easter!

Fun Felt Egg Cozy

Cute Birdie Hanging Decoration

Easter Candle

8 Wool Felted Eggs

Clean Monday

Today it's Clean Monday in Greece. It's the first day of Lent that leads up to Easter, and of course a movable feast.

Kyra Sarakosti, by Olympias

The term for this day, Clean Monday, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. The widespread Greek custom of flying a kite on Clean Monday symbolizes the beginning of Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love. It is common for children to make kites and fly them especially on this day -well, with a little help from mum and dad...

Metal kite embellishment, by fastrunningfox

Long sleeved onesie, by BHBKidstyle

This day is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus and people often have picnics. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted, and so it is a custom to consume shrimps, calamari, taramasalata (a dip made with fish roe), clams and shells. We also make or buy the traditional lagana, which is a kind of bread (if you speak Greek you can read the recipe there too, but you can see the pictures of it anyway). Other delicacies include tahini halva, revythokeftedes (chick pea balls), tomatokeftedes (tomato balls) and dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice).

Frutti di Mare Pizza, by PetitPlat

Sushi pincushion ring, by swiedebie

Picnic bag, by oneperfectday

Vine leaves, by FoxInTheBox

Apple cozy, by woolicious

Picnic blanket, by SewnNatural

 

The Lamb Mosaic

With Easter Sunday approaching, I thought I should present my favorite Easter animal, the lamb! I mean, as much as I find bunnies or little chicks cute, for me nothing compares to the sweetness of the little lamb.



1. Little white sheep- custom wool animal by littleloveblue
2. Baby Sheep (Lamb) No. 1, 7 x 8 Fine Art Print by SharonMontrose
3. The Sheep - Fine Art Animal Photograph by eleanors
4. Sheep Magnet Polymer Clay figurine by HeartshapedCreations


So many things come to mind when I think of sheep: The pastoral life depicted in Christopher Marlowe's The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, a new spring cardigan my friend's mom made for me, my grandmother spinning wool, the lost sheep which was found by the Good Shepherd, insomnia and how I have tried to count sheep only to see that it doesn't work, The Silence of the Lambs, humbleness, gentleness and innocence, the Passion of Christ -and of course, the lamb that Greeks traditionally spit-roast to feast with the family on Easter Sunday!

So, what comes to mind when YOU think of sheep?