Their Love is Unconditional...

I absolutely love my dog Jake! I'll never forget the day I decided to get him. I was getting ready to go through a divorce to my first husband. He was still living in my house and I could not wait for him to leave (I know, brutally honest). He was allergic to dogs and one morning I thought to myself while I was getting ready for work "As soon as he moves out, I'm getting a dog". Later that morning in my production meeting, one of my co-workers held up a flyer and asked if anyone wanted a puppy. Her daughter found him in a field by her college, was hiding him in her dorm room and was found out. I said instantly "I'll take him!"

He has always been there for me, is always happy to see me and snuggles up against my legs to go to sleep every night! I hate to think of the day when he is no longer there.

He is my Puppy, Jake, Jakey, Jakester, Jakester Peanut Dog, Puppy Peanut, JP Dogmont, Pupster, Pea Pup, Pup E Dog. And the list of names goes on and on.

I love you Jake!!!

Bone & ICE Rings

Let me say that I am having so much fun being a part of the ICE Resin® Design Team. The pictures below are from the project Bone & ICE Rings that are featured today. Be sure to check it out on the ICE Resin® Blog. To see how I did the cold connection, see my last post here.

Tech Tuesday Cold Connection Video

Want to use micro fasteners as a cold connection in jewelry? Then you don't want to miss my Tech Tuesday video for the ICE Resin Creative Team

8th Bead Soup Blog Party

Super excited for my second time participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party! Last year the beads I received from Jennie Davies-Reazor were fabulous! My necklace was a runner up and I received some beautiful beads from Lori Anderson!

If you are interested in getting in on the fun, there will only be one sign up which is February 9th! Don't miss out on this fabulous challenge!

Lucky 2013

I was reflecting on this past year and thinking about new goals for 2014. I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye to 2013 yet, it has been such an amazing year for me! It was so much better than 2012 and 2011 which I was definitely ready to say buh-bye to!

I learned so much about myself this year. The biggest is to grasp my God given talent and put myself out there and not worry "what if I'm not good enough". Because I put my fear aside, I filled out an application to be a part of a design team that I have admired from afar. I still could not believe it, even after I read the email that I was chosen, oh, probably 20 times. (Be sure to look for my first project on the ICE QUEEN ZINE blog on New Year's Day!)

Something else I am getting better at is being fully present when I am talking with someone, especially my family. I'm certainly not perfect yet, but I am working on it.

I think though, one of my proudest moments is Aiden creating his own art and wanting to do shows with me. He has done his first 3 this year and has been so successful. He is also understanding the meaning of being an entrepreneur, saving money and being careful what to spend it on.  He is starting to understand how he can be and do anything he wants as long as he works at it and is true to himself.

As the last day of the year dwindles down, I will continue to think about the New Year and will be sure to write down my goals and what I want to achieve and manifest by December 31st, 2014. This past year will be tough to top, but I'm sure it will be quite exciting and will have a lot in store for me because I will be dreaming even bigger!

Eucharisteo

Eucharisteo...thanksgiving...always precedes the miracle.

I love to read and a friend of mine from church was reading a book one day at the pool this summer,  "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" by Ann Voskamp. Kathy told me a little bit about it and mentioned it was a book they were reading in their book club. I could not make the Monday evening get togethers, so I purchased the book on Amazon and read it pretty quickly.

Ann, the author of the book writes about "How do we find joy in the midst of deadline, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does a life of gratitude look like when your days are gritty, long and sometimes dark? What is God providing here and now?" She discovered, in giving thanks for the life she already had, she found the life she'd always wanted. She kept a notebook and wrote down her daily thanks as she came across them in the moment. 

Now, I also love to make jewelry and I am usually inspired by what I am reading at the time. I happened to be taking a webinar "Windows to My Heart" by Diane Cook at the same time and the image popped into my head what I had to make.

I really enjoyed the book and it opened a "Window to My Heart", so to speak and I translated this into my bracelet.

The base of the cuff and the heart are both nickel silver and the band in between the two is copper. On the heart I etched "Grace, thanksgiving, joy" and "Eucharisteo".

The copper band reads "The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live...He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything.

The image under the mica is part of the painting "Supper at Emmaus" by Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio. In "1000 Gifts", Ann travels to Paris with a friend and sees a Rembrandt of strangers at Emmaus eating with Christ. Everything she wrote about came together and was so clear to her at this moment. I googled Rembrandt's painting and was in awe of Caravaggio's painting and had to use it in my piece instead of the Rembrandt. Don't get me wrong, I do love Rembrandt!

"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him" (Luke 24"30-31 NIV).

I had to finish the back with sheet music of "Joy to The World" - it just seemed so appropriate to me.

"Thank You, God, for the bread of now...
for Your Son and sacrifice...
for the love song You keep singing, the gift of Yourself that You keep giving...
for the wild wonder of You in this moment."

Stacking Ring Class at Eva's

Last Friday, in the 90+ degree heat, 3 of us took a class at Grand River Bead Studio with Kristina Malcom. It was fantastic! It was like getting in a hot yoga class at the same time! I think the hardest part was walking up 3 flights of stairs with such humid air.

I have to say, heat aside, I really enjoyed the class along with the two others, Claudia and Marilyn, and all of our rings turned out beautifully.

I ended up coming home, ordering a bunch of supplies, which just came in the mail a couple days ago. I can't wait to fill up my fingers with stacking rings!

Kristina and Claudia polishing away

Marilyn busy shaping her rings

My rings soldered, pickled and ready to set!

Group shot from left: Marilyn, Krisina, Mine, Claudia

Close up of my rings with a 6mm Labradorite, copper band with silver ball and a 4mm Alexandrite