Folk Fest Reaction

Beth and I had a lot of fun as vendors at the Folk Fest last week.  We listened to some good music. (Some we really could have done without, too.  I admit, neither of us is an avid fan of bluegrass.  However, we enjoyed the jazz, acoustic and celtic offerings.)  We got to talk to some old friends, meet new people and sell some jewelry.

Beth sold quite a bit (Go, Beth!), and I covered table fees.  I'm delighted for her, and disappointed for myself.  Since my stuff tends toward the sparkly and Beth leans towards stones, I wasn't terribly surprised.  We made some contacts, had lots of people ooh and ahh over our jewelry, handed out quite a few business cards. 

Sum up:  We are willing to try it next year again now that we know what it is like and can plan for the the average Folk-Fest person.  Probably a bit more leather, wood and ribbon and a bit less sparkly.

Saturday Smiles

Normally on Saturday I share a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.  However, today I just have one.

Beth and I are at a bazaar today!  Well, it's not really a bazaar, and we really don't have any clue how it will go.  Someone invited us to set up a booth at the local Winter Folk Fest, an acoustic music (Bluegrass, Celtic and Jazz) all day event at Pioneer Park.

Here's a fun album of the music groups from last year- Beth & I did not go last year, so we have no idea what this will be like.

We are excited and nervous.  Beth's contact said the event is pretty much self-contained with people stuck there all day so the vendors do pretty well...  However, we sell sparkly jewelry.  Not so sure how that will go with the Folk Fest crowd.  We are hoping for some crossover from our Farmer's Market crowd.

I'll update here how we did.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I share a few things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

This has been a rough week!  Some really important appointments and a bunch of cancellations.  I haven't done a huge amount of smiling.  But I have not been a dour sourpuss all week...  I have smiled.  I have laughed.  Quite a bit too.  It's just been a rough week.  And I'm smiling as I think about the fact that this week is over!!

1) My husband
Jake has let me explode all over him several times this week, and he has helped me be silly.  What an amazing gift he is!

He has been able to do some photography this week, so he's all happy and excited about his negatives.  I am, too.

2) Our house is warm!

Oh!  It has been so cold here in Fairbanks.  I hate negative temperatures and especially when it gets down to -40 F.  Blech.  But our house is warm and we are safe.  We ran out of fuel at the end of last week, and it is miserable to go without heat for even a couple of days up here.  God provided heating fuel for our house, and we are so thankful!

3) Chocolate

Chocolate has made me smile this week.  In fact, I smile about chocolate quite a lot. =)

Sparkly

I think my sister is a fashionista.  She's got all the best clothes and she puts them together in funky, unexpected ways.  The best part of her fashion sense is that about 80% of her wardrobe is either from someplace like Value Village or from the recycling pallet at our local transfer sites.  The transfer site pallet is a Fairbanks tradition. In fact, it is such a tradition that an entire web-site,  Arrogantly Shabby is devoted to finding fashion at the Fairbanks transfer stations.  We've got a local friend who does not buy anything except food- her entire house is "transfer station up-cycled".  And I know what you're thinking- trashy, right?  But no.  Her house is absolutely lovely.  She has re-used and re-made many things, but she also just has a great eye.

Beth comes home with the best stuff- clothes for my girls, (yes, we wash everything before we wear it), furniture, dishes... Plus, she finds great clothes for herself.  Like this great green shirt and purple sweater, which I simply adore.

I want this shirt!  It's green (my favorite color) and it is sparkly.  I like sparkly. 

I have adopted some transfer station style into my wardrobe, but I don't think I'll ever pull off the combinations my sister makes look great.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I post about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

1) Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party
I signed up!!!  Yay!  Lori's Bead Soup Blog Parties are so amazing that there is even a book about them. =)  I am so excited.  I love doing blog hops.  (And Lori's are the best, in my opinion.)  Love them!  They are a good opportunity to see what everyone else is doing out there in the world of handmade jewelry.  I love getting to meet other bloggers, and develop new friends.  I love the challenge of creating something out of pieces I didn't choose.  It's HARD! And fun.
Blog hops are definitely worth the effort and I hope I get to be involved in more than just one this year.  (Although if I only get to be in one, this is the one I'd want!)

2) Lian Tanner's Keeper's Trilogy

I gulped this trilogy down so quickly!  and was amazingly disappointed when I finished it and it was over.  I loved the characters, adventure & magic of the stories.  I found fascinatingly mature reader ideas behind so much of the story- overprotecting children to the point of paralysis, experience is the best teacher, the paralysis of fear holding captives... There is a really fun interview with Tanner about the first book HERE:

3) Painting
I'm painting in a group/class again, and I'm loving it!  I've only gone twice, but the best part of this is that we pray before we paint, chat about life, listen to cool music and have fun.  The teacher is Vicki Salmon, and we are holding the class at our church, but there are students from all over the area.  Some of the other painters go to church with me and I'm getting to know them in a casual environment (always the best way to get to know people), and it's pretty awesome!  I don't have a finished product yet, or I'd share.  I will share when my first piece is complete.  I'm finding little time to paint at home, so it will take longer to complete my work.
Here's a link to some of Vicki's work.  I think my favorite is the one of Jesus portrayed as an Athabascan with nail scars in His hands titled "Come to Me".

Best Things

I don't know how many times over the years I've casually said, "Wow, that's the best thing that ever happened to me." Not a lot, but enough to know that I'm incredibly blessed.

I tend to mostly focus on the negatives.  Isn't that silly?  I'll think 'wow, this was my worst year ever for health problems', or 'that doctors appointment was the worst one I've ever had.'

I want to focus on the Best Things, not the Worst Things.   So, in honor of my challenge to focus on the good rather than the bad, I am going to start a running list of the Best Things that have ever happened to me.  I will add more to the list, and I hope to start adding posts entirely dedicated to great things.

Here are some to begin with:

*My First Best Friend
Being born into my specific family was one of the Best Things that ever happened to me, because I got my first best friend, my sister - Beth, handed to me and did not have to go out and find her.  She was just there!  We moved around a lot, so I learned that Beth was one of the constants in my life.  We played together, we fought a little, and we got to experience life together.

*My First Kitty
I prayed and prayed for a kitten for years, and finally, when I was 11 we moved to Kotzebue Alaska.  It's a tiny Eskimo village way up inside the Arctic circle, and for whatever reason, (I was miserable and lonely, I was suicidal) my parents let me get my very own kitten.  I named her Tiger and she was extremely special.  She was smart, unusually smart, and she knew she was a cat and we were people.  We'd play fetch and she'd sit on my lap while I read.  She had beautiful green eyes, and I was her special person.  I told her everything, and she kept my secrets.  Tiger was one of the Best Things that ever happened to me.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I write about a couple of things that have made me smile this past week.
*****

1) The Noel Wien Public Library in Fairbanks

I found two new books from authors I love!  Plus some older books I've thoroughly enjoyed.  While my girls are in Girl Scouts I get two quiet hours to go pick out as many books as I can carry.  I read so many this last two weeks.  In particular I love Tanya Huff's The Silvered, and Mercedes Lackey's Home from the Sea.
But the library itself is a joy and delight.  There is a huge area just for kids, and computers, and rooms to check out for groups and they have trees growing in the foyer.  Real trees!  Which I think is really cool.

2) Girls Scouts
My girls simply adore their troop, and have been delighted at being able to participate.  I don't know if they will next year, but this year has been so fun for them.  Deborah is a Girl Scout Junior, and Abigail is a Brownie.  They play together and learn how to get along with other kids.  They learn about the world around them and are earning badges.  Pretty cool.

3)  I got to go back to tutoring this week.
We assess all of the kids in the school three times a year.  It's this crazy marathon of listening to every kid read for about 3 minutes.  It's exhausting and stressful.  Boring, because you hear the same stories over and over; but high tension, because you want to get it just right for every kid.  It takes about a week, and we finished on the 14th, so I got to go back to working with students.  Which I prefer.  I know that checking on students progress helps them, but it is not fun for anybody.

Memories and Thanks Blog Hop

A very special lady named Lori Anderson created a special blog hop based on the idea of remembering and honoring someone special in your life.  And when I read the story about why she decided to have the hop and what this particular blog hop was based on, I wanted to be part of something extraordinary, too.

Thank you, Lori! I loved the idea for this blog hop, and I am so glad I got to participate, even with the very limited 'free time' I have to make jewelry.  Christmas time is so busy, but having this project to look forward to helped me think about January and the new year.

I struggled with who I wanted to honor...  I thought about my Grammy, and all the family living down south (in the contiguous states- for those of us in Alaska everybody is south!) that I miss so much.  I thought about some of my Company friends from my days in Texas.  And I thought and thought....  I've been thinking about it for quite some time, and I finally had to just sit down and choose.

So, I chose my dad...  .I think I chose my dad because I've been thinking about him a lot lately.  He passed away about 7 years and 2 months ago. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that I saw him walking down the stairs. 

This is my dad, my little sister - Beth-  and me:

My dad was a botanist, a forester, and a rock-hound.  Most of my memories of him are tangled up with being outside and searching for something- rocks, flowers, trees...  I remember tromping through the woods in Oregon, the deserts in Southern California and the tundra of northern Alaska with him.  I remember walking on the beach in Oregon and looking for agates.  I remember digging through red desert sand trying to find rocks with him.  I remember camping and taking our huge old turquoise Dodge so deep into the woods that we thought we'd be stuck forever.

From him I gained an appreciation and love for the great outdoors.  I gained a wonder and delight in the simple things- the beauty of an agate, the mystery of deep dark woods, the majesty and awe of our the Northern Lights.  My dad never saw an impossibility in being a scientist and a Christian.  In fact, I think his scientific study gave him a greater appreciation for the intricacies & detail that God created.  He loved sharing the trees and flowers with us, and would always spill out the Latin names for everything.

 He also was a talented singer who loved to share songs with his family and church.  I gained a love of music an singing from him, too.

From him I gained a love of animals and compassion.  He would frequently remind us to be gentle with the dogs and cats we'd meet.  My dad believed that we have a responsibility as care-takers of God's creation to do our best by the animals and people in our reach.  He was 'green' way before it was cool. 

My dad was a talented painter who focused his artistic passion on the flowers he loved so much in his botany job. After he retired from the Bureau of Land Management, he started pursuing a BA in Fine Arts from the University in Fairbanks and he was working on his final exhibit when he passed away.  I have only recently started playing with paint, but part of the reason I tried was because he didn't really try until he was in his 60's and 70's.  And he was good.  He took those flowers and leaves he loved and turned them into fantasy style landscapes, where everything looked alive with personality.

His tiger lilies:

His calla lilies:

A forest scene:

I wanted my necklace for him to have the colors I associated the most with him- the blue of the ocean and the green of the forest, the brown of the earth and the trees.

And I wanted some of the rocks we had found with him to be in the necklace; however, I don't have a rock saw here at home to turn the rocks into beads.  I had to settle for wrapping one of the petrified tree branches he found, and I think I'm happier with that than if I had made the piece all smooth and polished.  I included flowers for his him, and a key.  I believe my dad opened areas of interest to me that I wouldn't have normally had, like geology and botany.

Thank you, Lori!!!  This necklace was a joy to make.  I struggled and struggled to sit down and make it, but when I finally started it just flowed effortlessly.  I honestly would never have thought of making a necklace for my daddy, and this was a very special project for me.

To see more blogs from this hop, go HERE.

COMPUTER on the Fritz

Yikes!  My computer is having serious issues right now, so I am unable to keep up with my blog.  I'll be able to check in on my phone and borrow my sister's to approve comments.
Please know that I will return as soon as possible, and that I still read comments and LOVE them.
I miss blogging and reading my daily allotment of favorite blogs!
I'm still here, just silent and frustrated! =)

Planning for 2013

Happy New Year!

I want to look back over the year, evaluate what happened and think about what I want to happen this year...   I rarely do that.  Mostly my life is spent putting out fires...  You know what I mean: making jewelry for the next event, planning dinners for this week, caring for a sick child or husband (shocking how similar those can be!), rehearsing for the next performance...

I want this to change!  Most of the time I feel very out of control and like I can't handle anything else on my very full plate.  I want to be able to evaluate my current responsibilities and choose whether I will deal with anything extra and maybe ditch some of the things that I shouldn't be doing.  I want to have a pleasant & clean home I can invite friends & family to (which I currently do not have!). 

I want to make changes that transform my life and bring more peace to both myself and my family.  I don't really know how to make sweeping changes, though.  I know how to take small steps, but I'm not sure where to start.

So, I'm currently looking for the specific things I want to change... 

One of those is where we live. 
Jake & I came up to Fairbanks for him to go to school, and we moved in with my parents so that we could afford for him to pursue a degree.  LOTS of things happened: another baby was born, my dad died, Jake's job didn't work out, Jake had serious health complications, I had serious health complications, Jake dropped out of school...  And here we are.  Still living with my mom.  And we want to be on our own again...

This isn't something I can just wave a wand and change.  For us to live on our own, I need a full time job.  But I'm honestly not qualified to do much.  =)  Those of us with art/drama degrees have to make strange decisions about jobs.  I love working where my girls go to school. I love seeing them during my work day, and they love having me there.  I don't know that I want a full time job, but I do want to live in our own place.... .  Kind of an impossible change unless God makes it happen.

It's interesting to me how one change affects everything else in my life.

I also want to have fun making different kinds of jewelry, and make time to create more. 
I have to be more focused if I'm going to make that happen...  Instead of floating through my evenings and discovering that suddenly its time to go to bed after doing 'nothing'.  Maybe I can choose a specific day to make new pieces?  I'll have to think about it.  But I don't want to think about it so much that it doesn't happen.

So...  Not much decided here, except the fact that I definitely want to make changes. I will choose some specific things to change.

Merry Christmas!

May the light and joy of this season remain with you through out the year.

 

An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Saturday Thoughts

I normally blog about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week, but I'm having a hard time thinking about smiley things today.  I am still thinking about the precious children shot this week, and the heroes who died to protect them.

I don't have answers, but I do know that God is loving, powerful and sovereign.  I wish that He would take our choice to do evil away.  But I cling to the idea that He knows better- that when He created us He created us to with free will and the choice to be evil rather than for us to be robots/automatons without the choice to love.  I don't know why, but He does...  And I can't see the whole picture and He can.

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words and I am comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in the world." 
Mr. Rogers

Feeling Stuck?

 

This picture kills me... It makes me laugh and laugh.  

 

I laugh partly because there is no way that baby knows enough about life yet to hate it.

But... that child does know being stuck and feeling powerless.

 

I know powerless.  I know feeling stuck.  I want to make changes, but feel like I can't because it feels overwhelming.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I post about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

1) Charlotte's Web
I enjoy acting in this play so much!  I am delighted with the entire process- the performances, the rehearsals, the warm-ups, the make-up, getting into costume, talking with the other actors...
I have some Instagram pictures I took on opening night.

 

I love the simple costumes our director has chosen- the t-shirt indicating whether you are human or an animal plus accents to indicate the costume.

I am having fun!  Yes, I'm tired.  Most of the time.  But I am so happy to be part of the show.

 

2) Farmer's Market Holiday Bazaar

This bazaar takes place tomorrow- Saturday, December 8th.  Which means that technically it hasn't happened yet, but I have been looking forward to it since October.  I smile whenever I think of it! The FM bazaar is the most fun because of our FM friends and customers, and we definitely sell more there than anywhere else.

 

3) Abigail is well and back in school!

Poor thing.  She's been so sick, and it means we both missed a lot of school recently.  But she went back Thursday and she had a good day. 

Bracelet Hop

I get to be part of another Blog Hop!  

The amazing Sue of Sue Beads pulled together this blog hop for 7,000 bracelets, which is a campaign of the Global Genes Project. Global Genes donates blue awareness bracelets made by jewelry artists to people with chronic & life threatening diseases.  They also give bracelets to their care-givers. You can read more about the project HERE.

Here is my donation.  I wish I could have made more, but am glad I was able to complete one during this busy time!

Many more artists have participated in this blog hop- Please check out there donations HERE.

Thank you, Sue!  I am delighted to have been part of this hop and to have helped raised awareness for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Campaign.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I write about a few things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

This week I have spent time contemplating all the blessings that make my life sweet.

1) My girls- Deborah & Abigail-
How they've grown! I got to look at some old pictures today and I am enjoyed how cute they were, and how beautiful they've grown.

2 year old Abigail at Creamer's Field

4 year old Deborah at Tanana Flats

 

My girls this last August

 

2) My Jake-

I love him, and he's tender and sweet.  Sometimes he makes me want to punch him, but I am so grateful for him.  He is a blessing and my life would be such a dry and barren desert without him.  We've had a rough couple of weeks here- he really was not prepared for how much time the play would consume, and he is having a hard time dealing with my persistent absence at home.  I'm grateful we've made the commitment to do life together, no matter what life might include.

 

Jake from last August

 

3) My Sister Beth

My sister is a joy!  She has made some huge changes in her life lately, and she is a delight to be with now.  I love creating with her, spending time with her...  Yesterday she went to Value Village with me and we found my costume for Charlotte's Web.  Fun!

 

Beth with new beads

 

4) My mom

I don't have a picture of her, and she'd kill me if I tried to take one.  I am grateful that she has opened her home to her adult children and her grandchildren.  I am grateful for the work she does to keep this crazy house full of six people chugging along.

 

5) My kitty, Luna

Sweet girl.  She has mourned my time at rehearsals and work when I am gone from the house.  She trails me around like a little shadow and crawls onto my lap at every opportunity.

 

 

I am thankful for so many things- Our car, our beds, clothes that we can change every day, food in the cabinet, a grocery store nearby, jobs, health insurance, a home, beads and the opportunity to make things, the play I'm in, our church... 

 

I want gratitude and thankfulness to flood my life and flow over into everything I do- creating, playing, working, mothering, household churches, talking, worshipping...  living.



 





Saturday Smiles

On Saturday, I share a couple of things that made me smile over the last week.
*****

1) Watershed Holiday Market
Beth & I were invited to attend a Holiday Marketplace which supports a local charter school.  We had so much fun last night and today.  I took a couple of pictures on my phone and am glad to share them here.  (no, they are not the highest quality, but they are totally 'in the moment'.)  Our dear friend Janie Magelky organizes this bazaar for the school every year, and one of the best parts of this market was seeing so many friends from Farmer's Market and The Stash.

 

 

2) It warmed up!  To +20F!  From -20F.
That's 40 degrees difference...  I hate -20.  I know, I should NOT live in Fairbanks, AK.  But here I am...  Cold and in the dark.

3) I sold my Sun piece from Metal-Smithing.

 

I have had it for a long time, and I knew it would be for a specific person.  I wasn't even sure if that specific person would find the pendant.  But he did.  This weekend at Watershed.  It was a gift for a friend, and he looked and looked and looked at it.

Blog Hop!

I get to be part of another one of Lori Anderson's Blog Hops!  Happy Day!

The hop won't be until January, but I am excited to be part of this cool event.  Lori shares details for the inspiration of this event HERE.

Here's the date info, and I look forward to sharing more in the future.

Saturday Smiles

It warmed up enough to snow today.  In fact, it is still snowing- lovely downy clouds of snow.  We've had negative 20's for the last week, and it warmed up to +20.  Forty degrees is an amazing difference!
For my Saturday Smiles this week, I just want to share some snow pictures I took.

My kitty watching me trudge through the snow

Snow on our mail-box- the white streaks are falling snow

 

My feet covered by the snow

 

Beth's peony

 

Snow Needles

 

Snow needles

 

Clumps of snow

 

I accidentally caught this one with the flash on,

but I love the magical quality of the shadows on the snow.



Solar Flare Blog Hop Completion

Yikes.  It has taken me longer to complete this piece than I had hoped.  Since I am heavily involved with rehearsals for Charlotte's Web, I find my 'free time' taken up by such ridiculousness as clean clothes, home-work and dinner preparation.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE being in the play, but I'm busy in a totally different way now.  When I come home, I have to focus on the necessary chores to keep the household running first, then spend any free time on jewelry creation.

For specific details about this blog hop, go here.

I want to share the completed piece, but first here are the two photos that inspired the piece.

I had a hard time attaching my central focus element to the rest of the wire work; however, I am pleased with the final solar flare piece.

I have attached a thick, ropey chain to the wirework, and I love how it fades right into the rest of the piece. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with these photos for this blog hop.  I've never created a piece based on a photo.  Thank you, Sam!