The Dawn of a New Year

As we embark on yet another significant movement forward in time, we step forward cautiously but yet full of hope. We have alot of be hopeful for in the upcoming year and may we all be a little closer to Nature and a little closer to those we love and little closer to finding peace.

I will be having some exciting new releases on Friday so stay tuned everyone!

Another One Gone....

This year will be the passing of my 45th Christmas and each one gets more and more special with growing families and those that I cherish nearby, if even for just a couple of days.

Lot's of family came to visit and we celebrated my newest Granddaughter's birthday as well, she was born Christmas Day. Bob's Son Michael was there too and was just discharged from the Marines after serving one tour in Iraq. He suffered a severed tendon from jumping from a plane and he had to be discharged on a medical release.

It is now on to Harmony's birthday (today) and then New Year's and then Emilie's birthday (1/4) and then I hope to have things get back to normal. I have not had any time to spend in the studio and I should have some of the much anticipated pieces ready by the middle of January.

The time ahead will be full of challenges with our entry into Capricorn. Things will change and we need to learn to ride the waves the best we can. Be prepared for those that are figure posts in our lives to potentially leave for other journeys and others to join us in the journey ahead.

Enough is enough....

Since we lost all the trees to the tornado we were concerned about Winter and snow buildup and I would say our worries were justified. The above picture is a bank that developed after about 6 hours on Saturday. You can see that the drift is about half way up to the roof which measured about 5 feet. It is pretty amazing!

We feel like we are living on the great tundra and expect a polar bear to mosey across the wasteland any second.

I guess we were lucky that the bank developed just about 5 feet from our porch or we would have never gotten out.

Here's to living in Minnesota - not!!!

Homegrown is always best

As described in my Etsy shop I have hundreds if not thousands of small round beads floating around. I usually start and end my torching session with doing a mandrel full of these colorful little glass beauties.

I put these red beauties and the turquoise together on my bead cloth and I like the way they looked and voila here ya go. Available in my Etsy shop now....

May you rest in peace....

I got word last night that Bart (one of my rescue dogs) had to be put down. He was tested for heartworm and the test came back positive but it is treatable depending on the severity of the damage.

He had found a home and his new owner wanted to do an x-ray before treatment to make sure that he could withstand it (Heartworm treatment is brutal and very hard on a dog). The xray revealed extensive heart damage and he would likely not survive the treatment and endure alot of pain in the process.

He was a sweet boy....now he romps with other friends in constant warmth and never to feel hungry or in pain again.

The Rainbow Bridge
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that petgoes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals that had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Click here to learn more about American Eskimo rescues or perhaps to make a donation in Bart's name.

http://www.heartbandits.com/

Were in this love together...

WE'RE IN THIS LOVE TOGETHER (Al Jarreau)
It's like a diamond ring-

It's a precious thing And we never want to lose it

It's like a favorite song

That we love to sing

Every time we hear the music
We're in this love together.

We got the kind that lasts forever.

We're in this love together And like berries on the vine,

It gets sweeter all the time.
Its like a rainy night in candlelight

And,ooh it's so romantic.

We got the whole thing working out so right

And it's just the way we planned it.

Sweet berries are the theme for this necklace of oxidized sterling and home grown glass beads.

Simplicity is a good thing.....

Secrets......

I just spent my lunch hour reading through Post Secret and I am always moved to tears by some of the post cards. There is pain, joy, hope and love and it always seems to bring me back to center.

This one really brought it home for me after 19 years of being terribly unhappy I left. I wasted my best years or did I?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYT6f9iLTeBn4DKzeK_i29E5Y4j1BFnaKHox24C4JPiC1aTxaeHiUvGce6kjsjkr6HJYDc7ya84YPpnwUuwvrRjZZdz40wxX43yrWakZaidmTIiebBEkK1c2A4iF5gD9OWJHF6HLvu-04/s1600-h/12.jpg

Some of the images are disturbing and but they are so truthful and why is it that they are secrets? We would rather lose our identities and our happiness than to tell the truth, why do we do that as humans? Please comment, I want to hear your thoughts.

"There are two kinds of secrets, the ones we keep from others and the ones we keep from ourselves" ~Frank Warren

Something to make you smile:

http://speakingforherself.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-grit-gratitude.html

And the winner is......

Umberdove!

Well, it looks like I get to make something for you this time! For those of you that don't know, Kelly has made a number of things for our home in replacement of things that were destroyed in the tornado. I am honored to have the opportunity to reciprocate.

I will be holding a similar contest once a month so watch for the next one in January for another chance.

Flight of the Moon Series

I don't think I have mentioned our past series called "Flight of the Moon" series and each of these special beads is in honor of each lunar month. Here we have Flight of the 5th Moon and Flight of the 7th Moon (Flight of the 4th Moon has already sold).

Each of these holds a special place for me being a child of the Moon and it's symbolism is something very important.

These are all Limited Edition which means that there is only one bead per month and once all 12 are done there will be no more.

Finally - The First Sacred Tree - The Mighty Oak

I have had quite a bit of trial and error with this series but I finally got it and am very proud to introduce the first entry in the 13 Sacred Trees Series. This pendant is representative of The Mighty Oak which belongs to the lunar month falling between June 10 and July 7th. To learn more of the background of the 13 Sacred Trees please go here:

http://heavenandearthdesigns.blogspot.com/2008/11/13-sacred-tree-calendar.html

To complete this piece is a fine silver hand formed charm featuring a swirl which is the universal symbol for the Circle of Life. The oak image is fired into the glass with 22k gold and makes a very ethereal statement with the background of the glass.

We hope that you enjoy this entry and we will be offering the Holly next which is for the lunar month between July 8th through August 4th.

Contest!!!!!

Ok, here is how this works. Leave me a comment and make sure that you also put down your email address in the body of your comment. Everyone that comments to this post will have their name put into a hat and then drawn.

The lucky winner will receive a piece of jewelry designed and crafted by moi! The contest ends 12/15 at midnight. Go leave me a comment!

Something fun....

Finally got some work done last night and needed to do something different. I had sketched out this design several months ago and ran across it again so here it is from paper to life.

The earrings were fun to make and I love the disks of sterling silver with the etching of the sunflower. The contrast of the coral red and the variations of the blues in the turquoise gives these earrings a lovely feel of both modern and rustic.
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On another note Spencer came home last night and here is a pic of the poor guy. He looks pretty sad here but you can tell that he feels so much better. Along with him came a battery of things that go in almost every orrifice he has and twice a day no less.

He is a very good boy and as decided that Harmony is his human and follows her everywhere.

Here are some of the other animals that we rescued: This is Fancy - a simply gorgeous Morgan mare, or at least will be again.

This is Miss MadisonThis is Angel

A New Beginning...

Update on the dog rescue - I treated the PekiPom and the American Eskimo for some skin conditions and they had a comfortable *warm* night at our home with lots of love and play time. It was very hard to do but we took both of them to the Humane Society last night where they will receive good homes.

The Vet just called and Spencer (Standard Poodle) will be undergoing surgery today, he will be neutered, teeth cleaned and ears cleaned and then will be able to come home tomorrow. He estimated that he had about 10% of his vision and no hearing due to the encrusted ears and eyes. It amazes me that people can allow animals to get to this level of degradation. My heart goes out to the animals that have suffered through this but there is light with the rescue efforts that were made over the last couple of days. Alot of folks came together to help and it was all because of Becky, I think she deserves a heartfelt "Thank you", I know the animals are thinking it in their own way.

Another dear friend is going to take the Llama and the goat so they will have a good home as well.

As for life getting back to normalcy, I am hoping to have the Sacred Trees and Winter's Palette releases up this weekend instead. I have quite a bit of photography that still needs to be done so bear with me.

For the Love of Animals....

I was not able to put up the new listings due to being called by a friend late Friday night regarding a friend of a friend that was dying from Cancer (She passed Sat night). It appears that she had a farm full of animals that were in serious neglect. 25 dogs, 11 horses, Llamas, Goats, Pot Bellied Pigs, and more.

She asked if I could help in the rescue effort so we headed down the road Saturday evening and brought back a Standard Poodle, PekiPom and American Eskimo. These poor dogs were in the worse shape I have seen in my life. I spent 4 hours on the Poodle and managed to get the mat (yes mat, not mats) off of him in one piece and it weighed over 5 pounds. His one eye is encrusted with goop and he can't open it and the other eye is not far behind. His ears are so encrusted that I don't believe he can hear very well either. He is only 1 year old and such a beautiful boy and very well behaved. When I had removed the mat he was prancing all over the house like he had been set free. The PekiPom is a dearheart and obedience trained and does tricks, he was in near shape to Spencer too but not as bad.

The American Eskimo threatened to bite so I just left him alone for a bit but then came around. He then ended up deciding that I was his protector and just wanted to be in my lap. All these dogs were in outside runs with no water, no food and -10 at night.

Once things settle down again I will get back to getting the photos done and listed. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Some Updates....

Over the past couple of weeks you have been reading about the 13 Sacred Trees and Winter's Palette.

I am pleased to announce that each of these series is complete and will be listed on Sunday morning 12/7/08.

I am still not going to say if they are glass, jewelry or something entirely different so you will just need to stay tuned and see what I have come up with.

I am a very spiritual person and these offerings represent something that has come from deep within my soul and I can't wait to share them with you.

Free Spirit

Today's offering is a complicated double strand bracelet that features Red Coral, Kyanite, Moonstone, Onyx, Picture Jasper and Rhodochrosite.

This bracelet has free moving parts which consist of small twist sterling beads that move freely along the chain and then a lovely connector with a wild horse depiction.

We hope you like?

Winter's Palette

The trees are naked, the water is frozen in time from the currents of Summer. The air wraps her icy fingers around you and holds you close and softly whispers in her icy breath "child of the snow, child of the ice, go forth and dream of days of greenery and meadows of flowers".

Colors of blue, colors of white, ribbons of gold which cause delight. Winter's palette, what beauty.

To know nature as your flesh begets a refreshing kind of loneliness. Sacred sticks and stones never forsake you, stillness faithful as the dawn. All the untouched earth is your hiding place, an evergreen canopy your timeless cache of inspired abandon. The quiet of rivers, birds, bark crackling in the wind interrupted only by your tread - how lovely, how lonely.

Stay tuned for more...

Baroque with a Twist?

Hi everyone! I have been madly working up designs between custom orders and I would like to share "Baroque" with you.

This lovely necklace features a focal stone in a rectangle of Kyanite that is accented with freshwater pearls, garnets and then turquoise for a bit of a twist.

Kyanite: Some say Kyanite enhances creativity, broadens perspectives, and helps achieve mutual understanding.

Turquoise: Sacred to both Native American and Oriental traditions, this stone helps to connect with spirit and brings the energy of the sky down to earth. It is helpful in expanding awareness while still maintaining practicality. Turquoise moves the wearer toward integration and wholeness. Used on the throat chakra, turquoise promotes communication and the ability to speak honestly, clearly and from the heart, and reminds us of our connection to Earth and Sky. Ancient lore suggests that it also protects against environmental pollutants. In ancient times, turquoise was utilized to gain wealth. Wearing turquoise can speed the healing process. Lore also has it that the stone will change color, warning when the owner is in danger.

Garnet: It is believed that if a garnet is put under a pillow it will cure depression. Garnets can be used to make a person popular and have self-esteem when worn as jewelry.

Freshwater Pearl: It is believed they produce endurance and emotional stability and are beneficial to lungs. Freshwater pearls enable one to accept great love, and stand for purity, beauty and compassion.