California Drivin' Wednesday

Had an interesting experience on my commute home this evening. The off ramp from the freeway makes a sharp left hand turn, so sharp that a sign is there to advise 15 mph as the recommended speed. The off ramp is joined on the right by speedier traffic exiting from another freeway.

As I turned slowly turned left, I heard a loud horn blast to my right. A middle-aged woman scowled at me and waved her middle finger! I'm assuming that she thought I was going to veer into her lane, but since I was traveling slowly and had not even touched the middle line between our lanes, I don't know exactly why she was so furious with me. I'd been singing along to a Newsboy song as I turned, but now was quiet.

First I was angry, then I said a prayer to forgive her and for her to be freed from hostility. Three minutes later I was angry again and had to "give it to Jesus" again. Do you ever do this? Give a problem to God and then find yourself chewing over it later? Even three minutes later~LOL! Then I got home and shared it with my DH. He smiled at me and reassured me. I rode my exercise bike and elliptical trainer and felt better and better.

There are some angry people on the freeway, and other places. I'm grateful to my Lord that He gave me the prayer for this woman, one of His children. He had to handle angrier people than I...even to the death. May you all be given peace and strength from Him to deal with your own daily challenges. Bless you!

Goofing Around

Here's some pics of some little copper charms I made a while back. I LOVE making charms. It's almost like doodling on metal. You choose your stamp, pound with your hammer...if it wasn't so noisy, it'd be hypnotic.

Bless you all! I pray your Tuesday was a good day. And may Wednesday be fine too!

Hidden Jewels

I had an interesting patient visit my mammography room today. An elderly Asian lady crept in slowly for her afternoon appointment. She was wearing scuffed sandals, faded sweatpants and an old baggy T-shirt with some company's logo. I stepped out to let her change into one of our gowns, and when I returned I saw the necklace that she was wearing under the old t-shirt. It was an exquisite jeweled heart, bigger than a half dollar. And as I turned the pendant to her back, to move it from the mammogram area, I saw the back inscribed with "I Love You".

I took all of the images needed for the exam, and then asked her, "Who gave you that heart?"

She smiled shyly and said, "My daughter."

It tickled me so! A hidden treasure masked by a humble appearance. And made me think that we all have a hidden treasure~~~Jesus' love. His immense and unbelievable love. And I smile as I think of my beautiful treasure from Him.

Bless you all, my friends.

"Beloved" Resin Pendant

I've had SO MUCH FUN and a little frustration with this new pendant. My second foray into soldering and resin~~ This piece was inspired by Stephanie Lee, the amazing found object jewelry maker and author.

I started out by cutting copper pipe to 1/4 inch thick. And sliced my hand a bit. Not bad, just enough to annoy you because the bandage gets in your way. Warning: if you use a pipe cutter, be careful! Sharp metal can cut (duh). After bandaging, I cut and stamped a piece of copper sheet.

Then I played with solder. The first picture is another solder explosion. I used a soldering gun first. Didn't work well and the join wasn't stable. When I was cleaning it it fell apart~~heartbreak! And that just fired my determination to fire up my little butane torch. Which worked better, until I ran out of butane. LOL!

Then cleaning, painting the join, antiquing and Krylon-coating the metal. Oh, I punched some holes sometime too.

Next came trying to figure out what I wanted to put into my pendant. I tried little pieces of metal, little charms in my "odds & ends" drawer. I found this copy of an old pic of my Polish Grandma, and it all started to come together after that.

As soon as this cures completely I'm going to wear it and see how it lays, wears, works. And I'm going to hang it on hand-dyed silk ribbon~~ooo la la! As soon as I find some, that is. :-)

God is so good. It's been lovely making this and then running to clean the bathroom, do the laundry and vacuum. A wonderful weekend of productivity! My friend Kristy from Wisconsin is visiting this afternoon after church service. Thank you Lord! I'm so richly blessed.

May you feel richly blessed too. Or if you don't, may you feel the Holy Spirit comforting your heart and holding you close. I love you all!

Friday Free Spirit

Yay! It's Friday! I'm going to a Pampered Chef get-together tonight at a friend's house. The funny part is that I don't cook! No, you envious ladies, my DH cooks amazing meals and I'm spoiled rotten rotten rotten! Of course, with just the two of us during the work week we just eat salads or cereal. But on the weekends~ salmon, chicken, whole grain pasta, tuna, YUM! OK, now you hate me. Sorry, you can't have him! LOL! I do bake great cookies, but that's it. Something is wrong with me!

These are some earrings I made last year called "Free Spirit". They are big and fun. May your weekend be big and fun too. Bless you all.

Earrings for the "Breathe" Necklace

Happy Thursday All! These earrings were made to go with the "Breathe" necklace from a few posts back. I took the whole kit & caboodle to Sonoma today~~what a drive! Springtime in Northern California is beautiful!

May your Friday we smooth. If it isn't easy, may it be handle-able. I don't think that's actually a word! LOL!
God keep you all so close!

Tiara Tuesday

A quiet day at work. A quiet evening at home~LOVELY!

Here's a picture of the tiara I made for my DD when she got married in 2005. She was beautiful, of course! Swarovski crystals, pearls, glass and sterling silver. A labor of love.

May your Wednesday shine and may you feel like a princess! God bless you all!