Beads N Botanicals is excited to participate in this year's 6th Annual ArtHooHa.
In addition to all of our own wonderful handmade jewelry, candles, soaps, incense and oils, we are proud to feature an exhibit of photographs by local photographer, Tara Allen.
Her images include black & white and color photographs of nature, motorcycles and more. This image is her Black & White Rain Bell.
Not only will you be able to view this talented photographer's works, you can also purchase them.
We also welcome the artistry of Marlitta who works with beads, feathers, wood and antlers to create unique smudge feathers, smudge fans, feather ties, dream catchers and other nature-inspired craftwork.
Art HooHa is an unofficial celebration of our creative community and an opportunity to support artists while you find unique gifts for your holiday list (or for yourself). We hope you enjoy our little event and its relaxed atmosphere where you can check out both the goods and the studios, nibble on some cheese, shop for presents and have fun. Bring your friends.
ArtHooHa 2008!
8 locations in Urbana
Friday Night, December 5th (6:00 - 9:00)
Firefly Jewels Open House
712 S Maple Street, Urbana
• Athan Chilton/Firefly Jewels - Glass beads, jewelry, leatherwork
• Julie Watkins/Garnets and Glass - Beaded jewelry
• Melinda Willis - Hand carved ceramic beads, small vessels
Griggs Street Potters
(Gallery and Studio)
305 West Griggs Street, Urbana
344-8546
• Charlene Anchor
• Betsey Cronan
• Reni Franciscono
Butterfly Beads
1104 E Washington Street, Urbana
(217) 344-2323 (BEAD)
• Classes and Workshops available
(see Butterly Beads on Etsy)
Heartland Gallery
112 West Main Street, Urbana
(217) 337-4767
heartland-gallery@comcast.net
• Featuring art and fine crafts from the Celtic lands, traditional Indian and Latin American folk art from Kalarte Gallery and the work of over 35 local artists.
(Heartland Gallery web site)
(Pictured l to r, Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing,Store moves to Urbana
Beads N Botanicals, which sells scented products and beading supplies, has moved from Hoopeston to downtown Urbana.
Now at 117 N. Broadway Ave., the shop also offers classes and consultations with owner Catherine Novak.
Novak also operates Wise Weeds Botanicals, a handmade oils and incenses retail/wholesale business she has had for 16 years.
Novak first opened her store in Hoopeston three years ago. She decided to relocate to Urbana, she said, because she has lots of potential customers there who know her through the tarot card readings she does in the area.
Her new Urbana store sells crystals, beads, semiprecious stones, crystal stones and clusters, medicinal and culinary herbs, handmade jewelry, tarot cards, teas, incense, hand-blended oils, books, candles, custom-blended perfumes and bath products.
Classes focus on jewelry-making, beading, aromatherapy, medicinal herbs and personal development.
Novak said she is available for consultation about herbs, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, Reiki (a Japanese relaxation technique) and tarot readings.
For the complete
Special Discount
Incense Sticks
$2.50 per pack
Reed Diffuser Oil
$4.00/ounce $7.50/two ounces $11.50/four ounces
Selaginella pilifera also known as the Resurrection flower, is a desert plant growing in the sands of
The ball then expands again, opens flat on the ground and deposits its seeds, which germinate. Once watered, the dried-up looking young plants soon begin to bud. You could say they feel their way through this process,
as they don't necessarily remain in the first place they stop, but feel into the nature of the place to see if it is adequate to enhance growth. There they may stay, and grow, or indeed they may move again many times.
It's always amazing to me how slowly a garden seems to take shape, and then it's like it is on a race track, speeding forward with incredible growth. First pictured above is the catmint/echinacea patch in early Spring. The next picture was taken about a week ago in July. The spiked purple flowers to the right are a Russian Sage plant that I thought I was going to kill last year, as I kept accidentally digging up the little start. Now established, it will probably keep up with the cat mint and start to spread next year.
In the meantime, I thought the following article was particularly timely.
In January 2005, weeks after giving birth to her daughter, the
mother of two knew only that she was in pain, suffering cramping so
severe she felt like she was still in labor. Then came the diarrhea,
uncontrollable bouts up to 50 times a day, which left
weak and raw and stranded in her Maineville home.
For the complete
article check here.
The upcoming closing of Danville's Hobby Lobby craft and home décor store has local crafters in a panic. However, local businesses in Hoopeston are stepping up to fill the gap.
Beads N Botanical's owner, Catherine Novak, says, "I've been hearing that a lot of people are very upset about Hobby Lobby's closing. Most of them haven't realized that several Hoopeston businesses carry the crafting and home décor items that they need."
"For instance, at my shop, we offer a nice selection of charms, seed beads, semi-precious stones, sterling silver beads, sterling silver wire supplies, Swarovski crystals, jewelry, herbs, herbal products, handmade incense, more than 200 fragrance and essential oils, reed diffusers, origami and other crafting supplies. Plus, I will always special order items not in stock."
Novak adds, "Anyone looking to learn how to make jewelry can take one of our basic classes in making earrings, bracelets, necklaces, or wire wrapped pendants."
While Novak teaches many of the classes herself, an upcoming class on making dream catchers, on Saturday, March 29, will be taught by Woodland's Marlita, also known as Rainbow Buffalo.
Wire Wrapped Black Tourmaline
I love working with healing crystals and find that making them into beautiful jewelry gives people an opportunity to not only benefit from the crystal's healing energies, but also from the beauty of the artisan-crafted piece itself.
Like many artisans, I go through phases of making one style of jewelry and then move on to another. I did this with my Flower Garden bracelet series (which I may feature in a future blog) and have also done this with the creation of a series of Chakra Crystal bracelets and Crystal bracelets featuring clear quartz and other semiprecious stones, such as Turquoise, Amethyst, Fluorite, Moonstone, Tigers Eye and others.
Right now I am in the middle of a wire wrapping frenzy!
I got in a new shipment of rough Black Tourmaline specimens, some of which are terminated, and others are slices which make wonderful pendants.
These wire wrapped tourmaline pendants have been very popular. I haven’t even had a chance to photograph some before they flew out of the shop.
Some of their popularity has to do with the beauty of the pendants themselves. It probably doesn’t hurt that Black Tourmaline has a reputation for being a protective talisman against negativity.
As you’ll see, copper wire makes a beautiful contrast to the stark, dark black of the tourmalines.
I hope to have some of these pendants listed in my webstore for sale shortly.
Black Tourmaline
Taken from Wikipedia: A complex silicate of boron and aluminum, whose composition varies widely because of substitutions. Black (schorl), blue (indicolite), pink and red (rubellite), brown (dravite), green, multicolored, rarely white; vitreous; streak white. Hexagonal, usually short to long prismatic crystals that commonly have a rounded triangular cross section, striated lengthwise; also radiating, columnar, compact. Tourmaline is harder than apatite and further distinguished from apatite and beryl by striations. Tourmaline forms in igneous and metamorphic rocks and veins. It occurs with lepidolite, microcline, and spodumene in granite pegmatites and others.
Tourmaline is widely used as a semiprecious gemstone.
Metaphysical Properties:
Can be used to enhance psychic protection.
Clears oneself and one's surroundings of negativity and disharmony.
Good for releasing negative thinking, anxiety, anger and low self-esteem.
Protect's one's energy field from psychic attachments, entities and energetic debris.
Grounding and calming influence.
Deflects and repels negative energy, especially psychic attack.
Protects against microwaves, radiation, "spells," and ill-wishing.
Grounds spiritual energy, increases physical vitality.
Defends against debilitating disease, strengthens immune system.
Treats dyslexia and arthritis.
According to Melody's book, Love is in the Earth,
some of the properties found in Black Tourmaline (Schorl) are:
Can be used to both repel and protect against negativity.
It acts to protect one from being victimized by the negative energy of another.
It has also been used as an energy deflector, being an excellent stone
for those with potential for exposure to excessive amounts of radiation.
Also used to activate grounding between the first chakra and the earth.
black tourmaline, wire wrapping, wire wrapped pendant, wire wrapped crystal, crystal healing, tourmaline, semiprecious stones, sterling silver pendant, copper pendant
The monthly magazine, Central Illinois Health Magazine, just published an article on aromatherapy in its February 2008 issue. The article: “Aromatherapy: help or hype?” by Kelsey C. Blackwell, takes a close look at whether or not aromatherapy can help people become healthier.
Although the article is credited to Blackwell, Greta Hale, the magazine’s editor, is the person who interviewed me in December 2007. Considering the skeptical tone of the article (which, overall, was very balanced in its presentation), I am very pleased with how I was identified and quoted (although I’ve actually been studying and teaching for more than 15 years, rather than the 12 years noted in the article.)
Normally I would just include a link to the article, but unfortunately the magazine is not web-friendly right now. The following quoted material is from p. 33
Catherine Novak also knows the value of essential oils. She owns Beads and Botanicals in Hoopeston and the online business Wise Weeds.net [Please note: this should be wiseweeds.net C.N.] …She believes aromatherapy is a useful and non-threatening tool to complement traditional medical treatments.
“What I see a lot coming into the shop are people who have already seen a doctor and they’re looking for more relief, she said.
Novak sells custom blends and essential oils. One blend, named banish pain oil, contains essential oils mixed in with another oil infused with
The article also included information on some of the types of aromatherapy blends I offer clients and customers, including my Banish Pain and Clear Air formulas.
I found it sad that one of the scientists quoted in another section of the text said that peppermint oil was not effective for headaches or migraines. I say sad because I’ve seen where a little bit of peppermint oil mixed into a carrier oil has given relief to headache/migraine sufferers.
Still, all in all, this is a great article with a lot of information.
Central Illinois Health Magazine is published by the News-Gazette in
