Pay it Forward for February

Have you ever heard about a situation and it just breaks your heart and you feel like you HAVE TO do something about it?

A few months back I met a lady, Lovely Reckley, and she told me how she goes to four different schools in Abaco and feeds 85+ children that would have otherwise had no lunch. For some of these kids this is the only meal of the day.

Lovely even takes food to some of them when school is out.

That really broke my heart. I mean, I know there are kids all over the world that are starving, but when I realized there were children right under my nose it killed me. I kept wondering what I could do. I thought about offering to help cook, but cooking for so many mouths really overwhelmed me. Then I realized what a COMMITMENT this awesome woman had made to these children.....EVERYDAY!!!

At Christmas, instead of giving gifts I gave a donation to her organization (and to our Humane Society) instead of buying things that people really didn't need.

But it kept tugging at my heart. So, I decided for the month of February I would post several heart themed items to my blog. They would be for sale, and I would give 25% of the cost of the item to Lovely, to help with her costs.

I may post an item everyday or I may post several items a week.....I am really not sure, but 25% will go to "Feed the Children" in Abaco, Bahamas.

I CANNOT imagine going without food, or only having one meal a day that I had to rely on someone else to bring to me, and these children shouldn't have to deal with this either, so please help!

My item today is a quilted journal cover that fits a Mead Composition book, which can be replaced if you fill it up. I named this journal "Heart Strings", and quilted on it is the famous quote, "live, love, laugh"

If you are in Abaco or Nassau you can contact me to purchase this. If you are the U.S., Canada, or somewhere else the item is listed in my Etsy shop.....HERE. {sorry, this journal has been sold}

It is made from cotton fabrics and cotton batting.

I even quilted a heart pattern on it.

The hearts are made with 2 pieces of fabric fused together and stitched down the middle, so there is a little bit of a three dimensional quality to it.

And there are two hearts on the back of the journal cover as well.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope sometime this month you will find something you like that will give a donation to "Feed the Children Abaco"

Have a great day & eat consciously.

What I Have Been Up To.......

Hello!!!

I am sure in my last post I was telling you that I was getting ready for an art show.....

I used old frames, spray painted them black, for jewelry displays.

Had a quilt to make, as a donation to the Bahamas National Trust, for a raffle.

The art show ran for three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and was a great success!

It was the first time I really had a big selection of jewelry.  My sales were great and I got a lot of compliments.

Of course any show is a lot more fun when you are surrounded by friends.  These friends were my show neighbours and we had a great time.

I still haven't had a chance to upload the photos of my booth.  I *borrowed* these few photos from one of facebook friends :)

Be sure to check out my blog for the month of February.  I am going to be posting and selling some cute heart items, and giving a portion of the proceeds to a local charity.

See you tomorrow!

i {heart} hearts

I am not sure what has gotten into me lately, but I have been totally smitten with hearts for several months now. I think I have been trying to repress this also, but I no longer can. They are sneaking out into my work like I have no control.
My style really seems to be changing, but I am enjoying the transformation, and just creating from my heart.

As you have heard me say, I am getting ready for a show next weekend. I am trying not to show too much of my new work. For one, I want people who come to the show to be able to see new things, and then I get in a pickle if someone wants to buy it and then I am short of stock for my show.

B U T......I just have to show you a few things that I am so proud of!

First this set of jewelry....heart of blues.....

Then this journal that I made after reading a bible verse on Pinterest (yes, i am addicted to pinning also!)

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" Proverbs 4:23

WOW! That is the perfect verse for an artist!

Here is the journal I was inspired to make after reading that verse.

I love the texture in this......

If it were my journal I wouldnt be able to stop touching all the textures and frays.

I hope this journal gets a really special home.....

and that the owner of this journal remembers...
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" Proverbs 4:23

Bead Table Wednesday ~ i {heart} copper

Happy Bead Table Wednesday!

It is sad how long it has been since I have done a BTW post. I could have been doing them, because my bead table has been a very active place....but.....anyhoo.....I am back this week at least :)

I am getting ready for a show next week, so I have been working on some new components.

In this last post about the Woodland Necklace, I discovered how much I love copper......all on it's own. Since then I have been cutting and hammering and forging and soldering away with copper.  I just love all the colors copper turns under the heat from the torch!

Here is what was on my table today.....

These, very organic copper flowers, for some reason, were very difficult to clean after oxidizing them.....not sure what I did!  My fingers were black!

I have been experimenting with Shannon LeVart's tutorial, called Turning Leaves, which you can purchase on Etsy. It is a great tutorial which will lead you step by step through creating mixed media leaves. Again, I used copper!  Fun! Fun! Fun!

I've also been playing with PMC Clay some more and need to turn these components into some finished pieces of jewelry.

Well, that's all I got for now.
Back to creating........

Back to Quilting

Today I have been back at the sewing machine. Finishing up a quilt I am making for the Bahamas National Trust. It will be raffled at Art for the Parks, which is a local art show that I participate in.

I realized today that this show is 2 weeks from Friday......eeeekkkk......TWO WEEKS!!!
I only have a few more blocks left to make for this quilt, and I really love the palette....lime, yellow, hot pink, a little orange and dash of red.

And this pattern sews up very quickly.

I have so much to do, but I love the creative adrenaline rush I get leading up to a show. It is something I wish I could bottle and use when I have no motivation to work.  
I am looking forward to sharing with you all my new creations.
After this show I will also be back to teaching quilting again!!  If you are local and would like to take up quilting, or be a part of a quilting class, please let me know ASAP.
Well, back to stitching for me right now.......unlike my precious cat, Mr Wiggles, who gets to snooze in the sunshine.....

Woodland Necklace

Hello!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Remember my post, *Coming Soon*?

I was awaiting the arrival of a copper leaf clasp from Daisy Chain Designs in England. That tiny envelope took almost 2 months to get to me!

Now that the holidays are over and my house is empty again, I had a chance to make a piece using this beautiful clasp.

There were five jewelry designers that participated in the challenge, so be sure to check out their blog posts if you didn't already, right here.

While I was waiting the arrival of this package my lampworked owl was born, and I thought he would be perfect with this clasp.

This is the first time I have done a necklace completely out of copper wire and chain, and I really like it.

I have had this chain for quite some time and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  It works perfect with this necklace.  Heavy enough to add to the design, but not so heavy that it takes away from the oak leaf clasp or the beads.
Mr Owl has a birdie friend accompanying him also.

Hope you like my Woodland Necklace!
I think I am keeping this one for myself :)

Recycled Glass Jewelry

Happy Friday everyone!

Over the last few weeks I have been working on and off with making glass beads out of used bottles, that would have otherwise been trash.

The beads aren't perfect because I am not working with a rod, the glass isnt perfect, but I think the imperfections add to the uniqueness of the pieces.

Sometimes pieces break or crack, but I am pretty happy with the finished jewelry pieces that have been created as a result of this glass that could have been garbage.

I still have more photos to upload and edit, but wanted to show a couple of the most popular pieces.
Have great weekend!