One More Button / This week with Entrecard July 26th to August 1st, 2010

Portrait of Charles XII of Sweden from Wikkipedia

This week ABC-Wednesday has the letter 'B'. For my 'B-post' I have shown a portion of my collection of beads and buttons, as well as featured two blogging jewelley-artists that make beautiful pieces with both beads and buttons. A post that appeals more to women than to men.

Painting of battle from Wikkipedia

This is why I am adding an extra button that may be of interest to all of you boys out there and history-buffs: My extra button is a button-bullet, that is believed to have killed the Swedish king, Charles XII (1682-1718). There has been a long debate about who actually killed this king. Was it the enemy's that shot him in the battle of Fredrikshald in 1718, or was it one of his own? To look at what Wikipedia has on this subject please click here.

This is a painting from the National Gallery of Art in Stockholm. Photo from Wikkipedia

This picture depicts the body of Charles XII being carried home to Sweden.

According to popular belief at that time, Charles XII was immune to bullets; He was considered to be protected by Divine Powers, and that only something that belonged to him, such as a button from one of his uniforms, could kill him. According to this button-bullet-theory a soldier named Nordenstierna saw Charles XI get shot and picked up the bullet that had gone through the king's head. Nordenstierna found that the bullet was made from a button from one of Charles XII own uniforms. At first Nordenstierna kept the button-bullet, but then later threw in a gravel pit, for fear of being cursed. The button-bullet was miracleously found in 1924 and left to Varberg's Museum in 1932. In 2002 it was analysed for DNA to see if blood traces were the same as on a pair of gloves that had the king's blood stains on it. The DNA tests showed that the button-bullet in Varberg's museum could be the bullet that killed Charles XII.
This would seem to support the idea that CharlesXII was assassinated by one of his own, but the experts are still not in agreement on this point.

To read more about the button-bullet that ended the life of Charles XII (in English here) (in Swedish here).
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Thank you for advertising with me on my Entrecard-widget from July 26th to August 1st, 2010. Please visit these fine sites:

Monday, July 26th - Sara Cat writes / Sara Katt skriver



Tuesday, July 27th - Because Someone Cares

Wednesday, July 28th - Equine Epiphanies

Thursday, July 29th - Space in Pictures

Friday, July 30th - Shalampax Speaks

Saturday July 31st - Meow Diaries



Sunday, August 1st - Welcome to Mel's World

Best wishes,

Anna

First Commenter:

Jen of
Equine Epiphanies

B is for Beads & Buttons that are Red - ABC-Wednesday Round 7 / Alphabe-Thursday - Rainbow Summer School - Red

Today is already Wednesday, July 28th and time to link up with Mrs. Denise Nesbitt's ABC-Wednesday for the letter 'B'. This week, I am a little pressed for time, and choose to combine this ABC-Wednesday 'B'-post with Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday Summer School Rainbow - RED.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

(Click on image to enlarge)

My B-words are BEADS and BUTTONS, that are RED. And here is a sampling of my collection of beads and buttons that are red.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

(Click on image to enlarge)

I use all kinds of beads when I make jewellery. Here is a red necklace that I sent to a buyer yesterday. It is actually one of my personal favourites. I hope this person enjoys wearing it. I love making jewellery in bright colours, but most people seem to be too shy to wear something RED!

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

(Click on image for more information about this necklace.)

I use buttons when I sew, but I have not yet incorporated buttons in my jewellery designs. However, there are jewellery artists, who do! Here are two of my favourites, Lisa of Alterity Art och Rose Clearfield: (This is not an ad, just things I like.)

To begin with let's look at three red bracelets that Lisa of Alterity Button Jewelry and Gifts has made with buttons and beads!

Photo Copyright Lisa of Alterity Button Jewelry and Gifts

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

Photo Copyright Lisa of Alterity Button Jewelry and Gifts

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

Photo Copyright Lisa of Alterity Button Jewelry and Gifts

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

This is Lisa of Alterity Button Jewelry

(and not Anna!)

Another jewellery artist who makes bracelets with beads and buttons is Rose Clearfield of The Beadings and Buttons of Randomcreative. Here are three of her button-bracelets:

Photo Copyright Rose Clearfield

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

Photo Copyright Rose Clearfield

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

Photo Copyright Rose Clearfield

(Click on image for more information about this bracelet.)

I can't find a photo of Rose Clearfield herself, but here is her avatar.

Photo Copyright Rose Clearfield

For this post I don't have any historical or etymological references about beads or buttons. It would have been interesting to look at how beads have been used in different connections, and to trace the development of different kinds of buttons used as fasteners for clothing, but I did not have time to do any research of that kind. My post is about the use of beads and buttons together in modern jewellery.

Thank you for your time.

Happy ABC-Wednesday and Alphabe-Thursday!

Best wishes,
Anna

First commenter:
Ann of Ann's Snap, Edit & Scrap



To see more 'B-words' please go to this site.
To see more posts for the colour red, please go to this site.

Thanks to Entrecard advertisers from July 19th to 25th, 2010

This is Erik, 8 years old, and the kitten he wants to have as his special friend, Nils:

Thank you for advertising with me on my Entrecard-widget from July 19th to 25th. Please visit these fine sites:

Monday, July 19th - Grampy's World

Tuesday, July 20th - Alerity Button Jewelry and Gifts

Wednesday, July 21st- Meow Diaries

Thursday, July 22nd -Mariuca's Perfume Gallery

Friday, July 23rd - Nanjo Dogz

Saturday July 24th - denz Recreational



Sunday, July 25th - Red Cat Society

Best wishes,

Anna

First Commenter:

Russ of Grampy's World

Camera Critters #120 - Anna-Lisa & her kittens

This is one of Anna-Lisa's two kittens.

Here are both of the kittens, slightly out of focus.

Anna-Lisa is nursing her two four-week-old kittens while hiding under a sofa.

Best wishes,
Anna

P.S.

An explanation: Anna-Lisa is not my cat. My son Erik found her as a half-grown kitten wandering around the farm one very snowy and windy afternoon in February of 2008. My sister-in-law, who lives on the farm with three or four cats of her own, took Anna-Lisa in as one of her own. So the children and I are just visiting. The kittens are not yet ours. But hopefully we can take them home to us when they are at least twelve weeks old and completely weaned. (Anna, July 25th, 2010)

First Commenter:
Carmen Henesy (RNSANE) of

Carmen's Chronicles



For more posts for Camera Critters please go to this site.

X is for Xylophone - Alphabe -Thursday - Alphabet Soup

We have just finished our journey from A to Z with Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday and this week is a free-for-all that Mrs. Matlock calls 'Alphabet Soup'. Next week we start summer school with all the colours of the rainbow.

My Alphabet Soup-post is a retake of the letter X. My X-word is Xylophone.

My six-year old daughter, Elisabet, has always loved sounds and music. I sang to her when she was still unborn and all through her young life. I think it is a genuine interest with her, not just a response to my lullabys. She is humming and singing right now as I type this post.

Today, Thursday July 22nd, I took these quick snaps of Elisabet on the balcony with her beloved xylophone. I don't know why I did not think of it when we were doing the letter X. Maybe it is just because the word sounds like Z-I-L-O-F-O-N, and I did not remember that it started with an X. I am not the world's best speller! (One of the many reasons why these alphabet-challenges are good for me!)

Thank you Jenny Matlock for giving me another go at X. And thanks also for sticking with us for a new round of Alphabe-Thursday after the Summer School Rainbow!

Best wishes,
Anna

First Commenter:

JDaniel4's Mom

For more Alphabet Soup posts with Alphabe-Thursday, please visit this site.

A is for Apple & Anna, abcWednesday, round 7 - 'A'

'A' is for Apple. This one is from our garden.

This is a green apple that soon will be ripe enough to be picked and eaten. But at the end of May it looked something like this:

Welcome back to abc-Wednesday!
Best wishes,
Anna

First commenter:
Mrs Denise Nesbitt of
mrsnesbitt's space




To see more 'A-words' go to this site.