Approaching Easter - With friends like these

With Friends like these, who needs enemies?

Ever felt let down by your friends?

Jesus had friends and followers, then there were twelve appointed friends who were like his best friends. The ones he could trust and that he went places and did things with.

Today's post looks particularly at two of those friends Peter and Judas.

Judas. He was known among the disciples to be light fingered. He carried the money bag around and was known for dipping his hand in to it. Jesus knew his imperfections and yet still held him dear. "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' Said Jesus at the last supper.
He was referring to Judas. he knew that Judas was going to betray him. Jesus was aware of how the next few days were going to pan out.
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.
"His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means".
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.
As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. (John 13 18 - 30)

Jesus Friend problems didn't end there either. His friend Peter would also play out a role. That of disowning Jesus.
Peter said: "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." (Luke 22 34.) Even though Jesus was in full knowledge of these facts, I'm sure the pain he felt at these Revelations must have been great

Getting Ready For Easter ~ Foot washing

John 13 v 1 -17 Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Foot washing in biblical times was a service provided by a good host. On entering someone's house custom would mean that you would be provided and the host or his servant would wash your feet. In this reading Peter seems horrified that Jesus would humble himself by washing their feet. Jesus explains that he is using the feet washing as a metaphor to show that we should all be servants to one another.

Palm Sunday

We are all very used to crowds, they seem to be everywhere: Sports events, concerts, school, shopping etc We are always witnessing crowds on the news too.  Sometimes its poverty stricken people waiting for aid.  Sometimes it's chanting crowds screaming at dictatorships, demanding change.
Sometimes it's crowds of people lining the streets at Wooten Bassett as our dead hero soldiers are repatriated and then in contrast, at others, its celebratory scenes. Cheering people celebrating an event (I imagine this will be the situation later this month as people celebrate the Royal Wedding).

 There were crowds in Jerusalem on the day we now celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Crowds who were no doubt going about their business, carrying on with their daily lives, the shoppping, the carrying and general hubub of life.
There was no announcement that the day would be any different from normal, no email, letter, poster, news flash.  The people were just carring on as normal.
Outside the city Jesus and his friends were approaching. as they came near to Bethphage, Jesus told a couple of them to go ahead into the village. "just as you enter, you will find a colt tied there, no one has ever riden it, untie it and bring it to me"
Now I imagine that in a time where punishment could be very hard, they were a little reluctant to approach a strangers place and untie his prized posession and take it, but Jesus said "if anyone asks you why you are doing this?, tell them that the Lord needs it and will send it back shortly"
They went and fetched the young donkey, they were stopped, but spoke the words they had been told and were allowed to take it.  Then they put their cloaks onto it and Jesus sat on it.
Back in the city, the noise and bustle continued. As the people went about their daily chores, they would have been chatting, or totally lost in their own little world, but somehow, through to their consciousness, would have come a sound, the sound of joyful chanting and shouting and they'd have stood up and looked to where the noise was coming from.
As a school child I remember sitting on the school firld eatting my lunch when something suddenly drew my attention, was it the flow of people changing, was it the change in noise, I don't know, but a fight was happening and it was as though everyone had to be there, I think this would have been similar, people all going in one direction, surging forward to see the "God Man", this Galilean, this man who spoke such amazing words, who healed the sick and raised the dead and promissed wonderful things.  There would have been conversations, stranger talking to stranger, "who is it?",   "what's happening?" and then as they found out, they'd have wanted to be part of the celebration too.  Palm fronds were hasily cut down and laid on the road, (a jewish sign of victory) people took their coats off as a mark of honor and laid them to be trampled underfoot.  Loud chants started up too.  "Hosanna", "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"

But, there were those to whom the celebrations brought chills of fear,   this was dangerous, this sounded like rebellion. They told Jesus to tell the crowds to "shut up" but his response to them was "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out"
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Monkey Alert ~ Introducing Kathryn

Kathryn is  a CE'd teal striped monkey.  She's quite a shy one and desperately need a playmate.  

You can read more about her HERE

The Easter Fair

Last night I had a stall at the local schools Easter Fair.  It's an annual event for me and I really enjoy the environment of all the children and their parents and the bustle and hecticness of it all.  This year I was set up in an art bay which suits me very well as it's like having a little shop unit.

I took with me my jewellery, keepsakes and sock monkeys and laid every thing out.  The childrens art that was decorating the walls in the bay was really lovely and someone had obviously been busy earlier in the day and had liberally dusted the floor with glitter for added sparkle.

The cleaner came round and hoovered up, but the glitter wasn't having any of it and stayed firmly in situ!!
It was a very successful evening and I had several sales including the whole of my sock monkey stash.  Every single one of them went!!!

The best bit of the evening for me was when towards the end,  a little girl called Scarlett came to my stall.  She was buying beads and had emptied her money box for the occassion. I think she had been saving very hard.   Just look how wonderful this looks!!  (needless to say I did not bother counting!)

My Stall

I thought that at long last I'd share some photos of my stall at South Cave Farmers Market.

I've been doing this market for many years and love the friendly atmosphere.

Sadly, the weekend was very wet and extremely cold, so although I wrapped up warm against the elements with many many layers adding to my bulky appearance, I gradually succumbed to the cold!

Sea Mist Necklace

This is my favourite colour palate.

Over the past few days I have created jewellery that reflects this scheme.

Sea Mist Illusion Necklace

Papier Mache Necklace

Cockadoodledo

Over the past few days, thanks to the internet, I have been watching the creation of a glass cockerel from start to finish.
Joy of Glass was kind enough to photo the process of design and creation.  I was so impressed that I thought I would share it too.

The design is drawn out onto paper

The glass is cut to shape and laid out

Copper is laid around the glass

The copper is soldered.

The completed cockerel.

And here is one mounted as a sun catcher

You can see more of Joy Of Glass' amazing suncatchers on her folksy store

or Like the Facebook page

Childhood Memories ~ Ginger Bread Men

I have just seen these beautiful pottery glazed Folk Horses created by the very talented Dottery Pottery.

The style of the horses brought memories flooding back of when I was young.

When I grew up, for a time we lived in County Durham and travelled from our village to a nearby town to attend the Baptist chapel there.  

Sometimes on a Sunday after the service we would go to one of the nearby houses.  It could even have been the one shown next to the church.  There was a lovely lady there called Mrs Munsey  (not sure of the spelling!) who would give us brown paper bags containing beautifully decorated ginger bread horses and men all outlined with white icing just like the Dottery Pottery horses.

Keepsake Teddy Bear

This is my Keepsake Teddy Bear.  It can be created in your own special fabrics, baby grows, Grandma's table cloths, wedding dresses, christening gowns, school uniforms or anything else with special memories for you.

Each bear is created with your own fabrics and can be personalised on one or both foot pads

UK law says that keepsakes cannot be sold as toys as the fabrics cannot go through the testing process for self certification due to the individual nature of the keepsake.  They are therefore sold as Keppsakes for display purposes only.

I do create a range of CE certified toys and manufacture these keepsake teddies to the same high standard using the same thread and stuffing etc.

Please allow up to a month for your Keepsake bear to be delivered.

You can find out more about these bears HERE.

Origami Rose

Here is an origami rose I made from the page of a magazine.

Craft Juice ~ Promote Your Crafts For Free

Craft Juice Is an online site dedicated to showcasing the handmade work of thousands of designer makers from around the world.

Craft Juice is free to use and is an exciting way to look for new and aspiring designer creators online.  It’s a free to use showcase for hobbyist, professional crafters and artisans.  Those looking for some exclusive, new and individual products can find just that by browsing through the many wonderful and amazing handcrafted items on show. You can search for any item for your home that you may be looking for by adding a search term.

Each item links back to the original source and you can contact the designer through that or simply leave a message on Crafts Juice.

There are over 10,000 active members who regularly display their latest pieces on Crafts Juice.

Crafts juice has a range of  soft furnishers, knitters, crocheters, artists, ceramicists, wedding accessories, home product designers and many others besides.

“As a user of the service, I really enjoy having an audience to show my latest creations to. Receiving encouragement and feedback in the form of votes and comments is a real boost”
Using Craft Juice is simple:

Monkey Making

Over the past few days I've been making monkeys.  I was halted for a while when I was waiting delivery of a huge box of stuffing.  Once it had arrived though, there was nothing stopping me and so now I am back up and running again.  I thought I would introduce you to the latest monkeys.
 Above is Laura.  She is for sale on Ra Ra Bazaar.

This is Zak who has been adopted

This is Milly who has also been adopted.

More monkeys coming soon!

All my monkeys  are CE tested and certified.  You can read more about the process HERE

The Banks of the Humber

This morning I was doing the mum taxi thing and had a few minutes to spare, so we headed down to North Ferriby River Bank.

The River Humber is vast and in the distance, on the other side you could just make out a factory and the hills and trees.  Even the Humber Bridge was shrouded in a thick coating of fog.  We walked a little way towards the bridge with the water lapping near by.  The foggy cover was strangely lit by a very bright sun which gave some stunning light on the water.

I attempted to catch this beautiful site on the camera, but not being an expert, it really didn't work, so instead I took photos of the amazing worn wood that is prominent all the way along this stretch of bank.

Little Shoots

Walking up to church this morning it was beautiful to see the snowdrops with their heads dancing in the breeze.  There are so many tiny shoots starting to appear  and in the next few weeks they will flourish into glorious life.

Who would have thought something so natural as a little flower could make someone so happy.

Today I visited an elderly lady to drop in a birthday card.  She showed me a lovely floral arrangement that her church had give her for her birthday and she glowed with pride as over and over again she said "isn't it beautiful"

I Am Proud To Announce That .........

I have officially self certified my sock monkey design

and also my Ra Ra Raggie Doll Design

They will now be going into production.

CE Testing Update

Back in the summer I found out that the UK law has changed and all soft toy products (toys are anything that looks like a toy) must be CE certified.  It is not a task for the faint hearted or for those that give up as soon as someone says "no", but it can be done..... Not in the way that many people suggested which was to attach labels stating not for under 14's or under 3's ( not a legal cover) or say this is for display only (as they too have to be tested if they look like a toy, they are a toy)
Knit a hat for a child and sell it, no problem, but put the same hat on a toy and it then needs to go through a large range of tests.
My trading standards department couldn't see a feasible way to get tested as socks are clothing and thus not subjected to the same rules.... so I stopped trying, withdrew my sock monkeys from sale and started to research.
I've found a very helpful company and a group of other makers who have been or are going through the process.

It has not been a cheap process and takes a lot of time and paperwork.  You should see the piles I have.
Every single component has to come up to certain standards and be traceable, frlt, fabric, stuffing, thread, ribbon, buttons etc.  It means that you cannot use vintage or second hand fabrics because you can not trace the manufacturer.

So my monkeys have now had weights attached, seems poked, eyes twisted painfully, have been washed, tumbled dry and photographed like a top model and they are currently awaiting more torture  but the wind is currently stopping proceedings.  I need a still day.

Throughout the process, I have been tempted to give up, but with encouragement from other people going through the same thing I've very nearly reached my goal.

I have also been developing a new product.  Ra Ra Raggie Dolls are traditional style rag dolls who are also being tested at the same time.
So watch this space while I watch the wind!

Lavender Blue

Let me introduce you to a web site I've recently created for Gill Tomkinson.
Lavender  Blue is home to some really stunning Lavender and Dianthus (pinks) Plants.

 The new web site is now live and will be added to over the next few weeks

The full range of Dianthus

The full range of Lavenders

Gillyflower the floristry section

Indescribable

"Who has told every lightening bolt where it should go or seen store houses laden with snow"

Updates .......

For many many years I've been trading as Beads By Design and whilst that fitted my initial ideas, it's become more restrictive and does not really reflect my current creations in the same way as it used to.
I am also known as Crystal Velvet Weddings and as Ra Ra Bazaar and after some considerable thought, I have decided to move to being Ra Ra Bazaar as it enables me to encompass all my creations under one roof.
I will still have the Beads By Design and Crystal Velvet Wedding sections on my web site, but am gradually changing my public persona.
www.rarabazaar.co.uk will eventually become my main web address, but the others will still be kept on and will work to take you to the same place.

South Cave Snow Video

A few years ago, but each time snow falls here the beauty is the same

Jack Frost Visited

Spiders webs turned into lace

Little ice crystal trees

Wonderful fern like patterns on the car