October is Breast Cancer Awareness month

Last week I received so many blessings. (This has been a very unusual week for me, to say the least.) Linda K. of White Linen Lavender Field http://whitelinenlavenderfield.blogspot.com/ sent a lovely envelope filled to the brim with sweet Victorian lovelies to be used on "The Journals of Love" for persons dealing with cancer. Pretty pink/blue/cream tiny flowers with Cameo's and ribbons, jewels, French ribbon, a wooden spool laden-ed with trims and a handed stamp muslin banding. There was just so much I can not begin to tell you my favorite pieces. (Best of all was the love that she tucked inside.)

Look at the watch faces, buttons and precious mementos that I am so excited to use these on the "Journals of Love". The journals will be so very beautiful because they truly are filled with love. Carole from California sent me two packages of goodies last week then this week Linda K. sent me another. I have not had a second to make anything from Linda's beauties but they will be coming soon.

Here are a few journals that I made last night from the Carole goodies box. Carole, do you recognize the medallions on the fronts of most of the journals? They came from your generosity.

Cora, do you recognize some of the graphics are from you? http://clearlyvintage.blogspot.com/ Cora just sent me the most gorgeous clear "The Modern Women" stamp set to use wherever I can on the journals as well as the bookmarks that I am enclosing in each journal. Thank you, Cora for such a beautiful gesture. The stamps will get worn out from all of the use I will give them . I have decided to make some Journals of Love based around children. I know there are Mothers who will want to write notes and experiences that she went through waiting for her child to recover from cancer treatments. Here are three that I started working on. This will someday be a treasure for a recovered young person to read and reflect upon the miracles that went into making them well again.

I have a quick story to tell.

I won't go into details but a dear beading friend of mine, Deb, has recently lost her Father to suicide. He had colon cancer and it was flaring back up and he wanted to save her the pain of watching him become so helpless. She was her Daddy's girl and has been crushed by his death. Her Mother is under Hospice care and my friend has a huge cross to bare right now. She has joined a suicide counseling group to help her deal with it as she is healing. Today, I personally had the privilege of handing her a book to help her write out her feelings and thoughts during this time. The look in her eyes were so full of grief and how the overwhelming details are taking their tole. That look of appreciation, without words, made me so humbled and touched my heart so deeply that there are no words to express them. (One little act of love can make all the difference in the world to a hurting soul.)

Most of the journals will go to people I will never meet this side of heaven but if I toil over them, fill them with prayers & honest love then God will get the glory. I thank God for the opportunity to give this one special person a part of my love. That is reward enough for me.

I am blessed! Truly Blessed by this ministry. Therefore I know that I know the ones who have donated from their hearts will be blessed also. Thank you, Carole, Linda K. and Cora for helping with this ministry & may God richly bless you all!!

Your humbled servant,

Sharon

A Penny & A Purse & Christmas

My first Christmas project complete! I had a lawn ornament ball that lost the little bird on top. I just could not leave well enough alone. I unscrewed the pole, glued an electric connector to the top (after drilling a hole through the top of the connector). Can you tell that the top is made from a electical connector? I began by stringing a copper chain through the hole to hang the ball from. Then started adding the smallest size 15 seed beads in a variety of sizes in golds and bronzes. Once I reached the top of the silver ball I started making a nettingof red to go all the way around the ball, in all directions. (I had to make up a pattern as I went along because the ball is 12 inches around.) I then added a ring around the center line with a delica gold herringbone stitch. I added loops in gold size 11 beads, then made the crystal drops with a silk thread and a muted gold bead for the accent dangle. ( I am thinking that I will add a tassel at the very bottom in a variety of golds.) But this is as far as I have gotten, for now.
A Penny & A Purse:

Yesterday, during the heavy storms, my daughter came over to show me a new idea! Do you like my new purse? It is so tiny is won't even hold the Penny laying next to it. Aren't these just the cutest? (The pennies are another project that I got the idea from "Just Something I Made".)I had just gotten in a patten leather look red from Artbeads.com and I had the black delicas in my stash. She got me started and I couldn't quit until I got the pair of earrings completed. (It is simply an octagon folded in half.)

I then hung them on 14K gold ear ring hoops. Now I am all dressed up and ready to go...somewhere.

My photography leaves a lot to be desired but maybe you can get an idea of how sweet these little ones are up close.

I know I will be making many more of these!

Thank you all for your lovely encouraging comments and your sweet emails to me. It is such a blessing to get to know each one of you better. It is so interesting how similar our lives are entwined.

Sharon

Blessings abound & a weekend of Another Rainy Day in Georgia

It has been raining "cats & dogs"! (I wonder where that phrase came from? ) You may have already heard the news. The schools have been canceled for Monday & Tuesday because of the flooding. We have had showers, drizzle, and honest to goodness rain & lightening storms. But in my home I have had "showers of blessings"! On Saturday the mail lady brought me a wonderful gift wrapped in a secure plastic bag. I was so excited that I ripped it open just like Christmas mornings! Look at all of the the wonderful goodies that were in the box. It was stuffed beyond bulging. Then I found out that it could not all fit in that box and another arrived on Monday morning!!!! What a blessing from above! Carole of California sent me a box of fru-fru's to use on the Journals of Love for cancer patients. Carole, thank you, dear dear lady, for listening to my heart and sending a much needed supply of encouragements!!!

My hubby and I live entirely on Social Security and I would not to be able to continue making the Journals of Love without the Lord supplying the need. Then I received two emails from ladies wanting to contribute toward this cause. My pride wanted to say: "No, send it to someone who will really need it" but I knew in my heart that the Lord was supplying when we could not any longer make the lovely journals.

Look at all of the inspiration that has been so generously given! There are papers, pens, glitters, laces, pictures, letters, it goes on and on. I have received my Christmas gifts in September and I am a happy camper!!

Thank you, Carole, for the love gifts! I am so humbled and moved that someone so far away has touched my heart so deeply. Please accept this "virtual hug" from the bottom of my heart. I KNOW that the Lord will return this blessing to you ten fold...

Sharon

It is a rainy night in Georgia

It is cool and rainy in Georgia. Wonderful times to create. After reading so many posts about getting out the fall decorations I had my hubby to dig out my pumpkins. (These are NOT ordinary pumpkins these are my Blessed Pumpkins!!)
I wanted to show you the center pumpkin first. I made this five or six years ago out of dryer vent tubing. I wired the hose with a strong wire at the top and bottom/spray painted it with neon orange/added a tree branch stump to the center with a touch of glue. It has served me well for at least five long years. (It is very orange but the flash makes it look yellow)
Second I wanted to talk about the three pumpkins in the background. (I painted a jack-o-lantern on one side and turned it to face the mirror.) In the fall of 1989 my ex-husband had lost his job, we were flat broke and struggling to take care of our two kids. I remember that I went out to the workshop and called out on the Lord to "PLEASE, Lord help us!!!!" I saw alot of scrap pieces of lumber laying around the shop and thought "fall? What could I do for fall?" Thus my pumpkins were born. I began to free form the shape of a pumpkin and went to the jig saw and cut it out. "Now what was I to do for the stem?" Out in the yard I found a branch that was just right. (Mind you this was three or four o'clock in the morning) By morning I had 100+ pumpkin "hopefuls" waiting for HomeDepot to open to get neon orange spray paint. Sometimes the Lord doesn't just drop money from heaven, He intends for us to use what He gave us. I knew that I knew I was on the right track. I continued to make pumpkins, then Santas, then severl full size Santa & reindeers. I made a business out of a cry for help! God answered my plea and He helped me to raise the money to pay the bills until my ex-husband got back to work. (An interesting side note: Once we did not need the money as much, the business went flat.)
I remember the bad & the good times but it is in those bad times that we reach out, pray, & get answers.
If you are going through some rough times, Our God is Faithful to Hear our Prayers & He WILL answer one way or the other। He always answers! It may be Yes, it may be No but it could be Not NOW.
Sometimes I have to remind myself of the miracles that He has blessed me with. My pumpkins always make me remember back to my answer from God.

Journals of Love with a Giveaway

Recently I had read about Shirley Nagel's "Journals of Love" that she was creating and donating to a local hospital for cancer patients in California. I immediately wrote to her and she encouraged me to make journals for my local cancer units. I thought it was such a lovely idea that I went out and purchased numerous notebooks and composition books & got to work. (I had posted some of them a couple of weeks ago.) I went to a Women's Pavillion here in Atlanta and donated several of them to that center but I am thinking there is no limit to what we can do: what about Mothers' of children dealing with cancer, what about men who might want do document their walk, what about Hospice patients, etc., etc.???

I found that it has encouraged me to pray more often and think about the trials and tribulations that cancer patients are going through. Well, there is no limit to what a single person's vision can create when it is done with love. Shirley had an idea, then she went for it plus did not have any idea that the project would "catch on". Cora from Clearly Vintage & Digital Two for Tuesdays (http://digitaltuesday.blogspot.com/) gives us such lovely graphics each week. This is a loving way to use those beautiful works of art. Cora then posted about the idea and has created a "Challenge" for each one to make Journals of Love and send them to Shirley to distribute. (Isn't blogland wonderful!!) I used Cora's wonderful graphics and came up with the two journals featured. At Cora's suggestion, I covered the inside page and added a pocket for a bookmark then covered the back cover on both sides and added a pocket for a card/appountment schedules/patient information. (I have also added graphics from the Graphics Fairy) I started working on two journals to mail to Shirley and was up until 5:30AM this morning. But, as you know, one thing leads to another....I found gorgeous sacks at the dollar store! IF I was really careful I could get a two books out of one sack. (The gift sacks are more durable than our regular scrapbooking papers.) I even added a bird nest to a couple of the journals. I wanted to make something that was more cheerful and light, just in case a Mother would want to document her childs recovery, victories, and appointments. So I wanted you to see how they turned out.....

What do you think? (You can right click on the pictures to see more detail or to save to your computer to use on any projects.) It is just another idea to add to Shirleys' project. I am enjoying making these and knowing that it will be just another way bloggers can show the love they have for others.

Join in if you can but please go over to Cora's and see the wonderful journals already created by so many wonderful women.

Blessings to Shirley in her ministry and to Cora for caring enough to have such lovely giveaways. You are both, such loving and giving women. Thank you for this opportunity to give out of our abundance & showing love to our fellow sisters in need.

Finally here are two pieces of jewelry!

I can not believe that I have gone for a full week without picking up a bead! This is very very unusual for me. I try to bead at least a couple of hours to keep learning more techniques and weaves. The first two pictures are a "beaded bead". I have taken numerous graduated sizes and textures of beads, wove them together to make a solid bead. I really liked making this one. It is made with blood red, silver, and black beads. The center bead slides on and off of the herringbone chain. I have added Swarvoski crystals to link the herringbone together.

This bracelet is such a pleasure for me to make. It is called "Flat Cellini" and the pattern came from a local shop (On the Rocks). On the Rocks is one of my favorite shopping spots! I have made this Flat Cellini in numerous. (I like the teal & silver the best, so far.) I made a round loop on the end from a size 15 bead. This is one of the most comfortable bracelets I have ever made besides being stunning to wear. If you have a favorite color range, I can make a custom order for you...hint, hint.
I am going to post some of the "Journals of Love" that Cora mentioned at Digital Two for Tuesdays. I have been making them every since Shirley posted about this project. So far I have made 32 "Journals of Love"....Please check out my next post for all the information.

Do you like the jewelry? I MUST get back to beading again on a routine basis.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sharon

A Tribute to the Old and the New Baby Blogger...

Jalina Rose (isn't that the cutest name!) has not even been born yet and she already is blogging! Yes, you read it right...some new blogging friends of mine are expecting a baby! Grammy is already busy at work, nesting, creating and lovin' every minute of it! Grammy, better known as http://ladyjanesemporium.blogspot.com/ is having a shower for the new baby girl , Jalina Rose, and of course for her Mommy too. I promised Jalina that I would post this sweet girly girl thank you so she could use it after she is born. I thought someone out there might want a copy of it. (the first picture is of the card closed the second two are 8x8 inch full card that has to have the window opening cut out to reveal the sweet baby inside-then folded twice.)
But first you will have to read the story behind the cards.

(Goodness, I have been so blessed with wonderful stories of my family.) This is my Great Grandpa Bohling who lived to be 94 years young. (I posted a picture of Grandma Bohling a couple of posts back.) He was a wonderful Christian man that lived his Faith. As far back as I can remember he was a street preacher. Up to the month before he died, he made it a habit to ride his bicycle, take the bus or walk to downtown Des Moines, Iowa to tell passing strangers about the Lord that he loved.
About a year before he died, I happened to be downtown and was blessed to hear someone singing "The Old Rugged Cross". There was my precious Granpa, hat in hand, singing his precious heart out for all to hear & see. I stood across the street, just to watch him for a while. Two men were making fun of him, as they stood beside me. I winked at one of them (of course, I was a lot better looking & much younger then) anyway, so they watched me walk away. I went right up to Granpa and kissed his sweet cheek then winked back at them. Granpa was so happy to see me & said "Well, Bless God, honey, will you have a cup of coffee with me?" He always said "Bless the Lord or Bless God" whenever he talked. (I can hear him now) So we went into Woolworths for a cup. When the lady brought the coffee he asked for cream. She brought the cream but when he poured it in the cup the cream was spoiled and curdled a little. I started to call her over and he said "No, no, sweetheart, don't bother her she is so busy, I will drink it anyway". That was my Granpa. He never wanted to be any trouble or bother to anyone. He truly had a humble servants heart. When I think of the scriptures on humility, my Granpa is the picture that I see.
So back to the card.
Granpa used to go door to door selling Watkins products and Christian cards. His idea was, he was then able to get into a home to leave his testimony with them. Around 1960-ish he gave me two boxes of the loveliest baby thank yous for my future use. I saved the boxes as a reminder of him & his sweet spirit. They got packed from here to there, house to house and state to state. I found them once again.
"Jalina, I am so glad to have met your mommy & grammy and hope they will be able to think of a good use for this sweet card. I send it with the Lords' blessings to such a sweet bundle of love."
So if anyone else wants to use them, please do so with my blessings, but please do not sell the graphics as your own....
Just another story from my past to share with all of my sweet blogger buddies.
May the Lord "shower each one of you with His blessings" this week.
Sharon

Clearly Vintage Challenge "Journals of Love"

Cora http://clearlyvintage.blogspot.com/ has challenged us to make "Journals of Love" for Cancer patients! This is one of the journals that Shirley had made from Cora's graphics from last week. Isn't it just the cutest!!! Go over to Clearly Vintage and see all the details about this wonderful challenge!

I am going to do it. Will you try to join me?

Blessings to Shirley and to Cora,

Sharon

A Giveaway

Have you been over to see Carol at Carol Annes Boutique (http://carolannesboutique.blogspot.com/) ??? Please look at her giveaway but DON'T enter! I have first dibs on this sweet giveaway. I am not trying to be selfish, honestly I am not, but Office Depot just donated 18 comp books so that I can continue to make the journals for ladies going through cancer treatment. It would be sweet of you to leave a comment but if you leave a note then you are already entered automatically....what to do? What to do? Okay, go ahead and leave her a nice. I will just have to keep prayers going up for that silly counter thingy will pick my name...lol
She honestly does have a lovely blog that I just recently found and she loves everything that I do. She has pretty free card clip art! Go over, it will be worth your time...Have a wonderful blessed weekend.
Gotta' get back to the journals and as you can see it is 3:00am. So much to do so little time.
Sharon

My Great Grandma & My Sweet Sister

This is a precious picture of my Great Grandma Bohling & my dear sister, Mary Ann, that I found while designing my new "office". On the back is my Momma's sweet handwriting, (she always labeled each picture with such care but always in ball point right across the faces. I do hope that the pen will not someday leak through to ruin the pictures.) This one was not dated but it has to be over 60 years old. (sorry, Sis, if that dates you...lol) I made Mary a card with this picture & until right now did not notice how much they look alike. I put clear plastic sheets over the front and back, sandwiching the picture in between (so that it would appear to float) then cut the film an inch larger. I then framed the picture with a red quilt paper so that she can see both sides of the picture (red & black are her favorite colors) . Then added lace to the bottom with a piece of jewelry on top. (I can not show you a picture of the card as it is already in snail mail to her...sorry) You will just have to use your imagination.

I have promised to show you some of my jewelry BUT I got the brainy (not too smart) of an idea to have hubby make me a simple desk. Well, if you are a "keeper" like I am, I had to work for days packing the beads, papers, files, etc & putting them in the "spare" bedroom. He built the desk nine feet long with a five foot "L" connected. Of course, that meant the computer, printer, email, etc. all set in the extra room for days along with my beads, jewelry, and all of the rest of my numerous collections. It did not go as quickly as I anticipated so I have been a nervous wreck. At the end of the four looonggg days of moving major pieces of furniture down stairs, a lot of struggle, hard work and purging I now have 14 feet of counter space to use!

I thank the Lord for my precious hubbies hard work and his support in developing my many crafty endeavours. (this project about did us both in!)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Please stop in again and I WILL get the jewelry displayed soon, I promise...

Sharon