June almost gone!!!

Is anyone else out there shocked at how fast June has departed??? Golly, I feel like I just celebrated Easter~~LOL!

Here's a fire agate etched copper necklace I made a while back. A sweet lady at my church purchased it and I get to see it some Sundays~~



And I appreciate the caring and prayers of support regarding my work challenges. One thing I've learned---there are a lot of people dealing with tough situations at their job. Or dealing with no job at all. So I do see my blessings in this situation. Thank you all so very much!!!

May your "Fourth of July" week be a blessed one!

Happy Friday

Hello All My Blog Friends~
Friday~~ahhhhh. One more day at the imaging clinic before a busy weekend. Another day to save lives! Ah, the exciting life of a mammographer~~~

I spent a good portion of my day off yesterday working on the newest "Cavewoman Cuff".



I love these cuffs! The metal behind the turquoise is brass that I stamped and antiqued. The copper wire surrounds the brass and I added some little charms to dangle.

When I'm stressed, jewelry-making is such a comfort! Seven years ago, in June 2001, I'd asked God to bring me to a hobby that I'd enjoy. The kids were getting older and my love of reading, church activities and my work wasn't "enough". And He showed me an ultrasound tech at my work who played with beads and wire in between her patients. I was hooked! And I've just gotten "hooked-er". God is good. He leads us through tough times and leads us into blessings.

I intend to keep holding onto Him, keep focusing on His blessings and guidance. May you all be led likewise~~~love and hugs to you all!

You all ROCK!

Thank you , bless you and thank you all for encouragement while I deal with big work challenges! I'm overwhelmed by your encouragement and love. You all ROCK!!!



Here's a picture of some teeny heart earrings I made a couple of weeks ago. Adorned with a little pearl and quartz rondelles. Very fun!

I'm concentrating on Him~~~I spent my day working to remember Him and feeling my guardian angel's presence. Encouraging me and telling me not to worry! He's got it all under control and will lead me through anything!

Bless you all and may your Tuesday be a winner~~~ A day of blessings!

Debbie's earrings

Debbie, a gal at my work, bought a necklace from me not too long ago. She wanted earrings to match, so here we are! Copper stamped and antiqued, a glass drop and amethyst rondelles, sterling earwires. Hope she likes them!

I read a wonderful article today in the July 2008 issue of "Real Simple". It was called "The Picture of Happiness" by Alison Buckholtz. The author is the wife of a US Navy pilot. When he was deployed to the Persian Gulf for seven months starting last November, she and her children had a hard time adjusting to life without Daddy--as so many military wives have to do~~~God bless you all! Anyway, she began to put copies of a family picture in each room of the house, and that image of the family happy and united helped bring peace to her and her children as they waited for Dad to return.

The story made me think: What if I put an image of myself and God united together in every "room" of my thoughts? What if I "saw" Him with me at all times, during current challenges...wouldn't that bring me peace? That's exactly what I intend to do this week. Every time I start to worry, I intend to bring a picture of God guiding and comforting me. Now that I've written this down, I actually have to do it!!!! I know my blogger friends will hold me accountable~~~and I thank you!

So bless you all this new week. May we "see" His presence in every instance that we face. In Jesus' strong name we pray. Amen!

Chrysocola Cavewoman Cuff

Hello my dear blogger friends~~~I know I've been hiding away since Monday. Work pressures and a lovely visit from my DD kept me busy and hopping.

Here's my project for this week: a cuff featuring a big bead of chrysocola. It looks so primitive that I had to label it a "Cavewoman Cuff" because this style could have been worn by an ancient relative. Nothing refined about this, no sir! The brass plate behind the chrysocola bead was stamped and then antiqued by spraying it with salt water and suspending it in a little cup in a container of ammonia. It takes a while, but the green and brown streaks develop and look super cool. And old. The cuff part is copper wire that is textured and antiqued. I've tried a sealant called Renaissance Wax to keep the patina pretty, but it smells rather strongly...hmmm....I'm wearing it as I type and love the style! Will keep this one for myself and refine the design for cuffs to sell. Only to cavewomen, of course!

So many of you have expressed love and concern, prayers and wishes for a better work situation for me. All I can do right now is ask Him to keep my thoughts positive, work hard and keep my ears open for anything better while keeping my heart open that this situation will work itself out.

I pray that every one of you is enjoying a lovely first weekend of summer. It's 98 degrees here, so we're hiding in the house! God bless you all~~~

Glad You All Made It Monday

An old picture of a necklace I made 4 or 5 years ago~~~this was very "daring" for me at the time. I sold it immediately to one of the supervisors at my job...what a fun memory! Chrysoprase, citrine, copper and glass beads.

Challenging Monday~~hope you are all well. My workplace is undergoing some hard changes, so it makes for an unsettling time. I keep turning to God. Keep reassuring myself that He's guiding me. And then I start fretting again and have to go thru the whole process, LOL! Silly me.

May your week be guided by Him. May you feel His Peace everywhere you go and in everything you do.

My Sis and I

In 2004, three of my four siblings, my Mom and Dad, and my DH and I traveled to Wisconsin for a Czech festival. My Dad's parents were from Czechoslovakia and my Mom's parents were from Poland. We grew up in California and didn't celebrate our heritage much, so this was quite new and fun for us "kids". OK, middle-aged kids!

Here's a picture of my sister and I hamming it up. She makes a rather feminine-looking guy, don't you think?

May your week be full of evidence that God is watching over you and leading you through the challenges that you meet. Bless you all~~~

"Joy" Resin pendant

Joy!!! This pendant was created using little turquoise fetish beads that my DH and I found at a bead shop in Davis, CA. It's made with copper, brass, found objects, beads, and a little piece of paper that says "joy". It's all encased in resin and I love it and almost don't want to take it to the gallery to be sold~~~almost! But I can't hang onto everything!

May you have a weekend of "JOY" and laughter. May God protect and watch over you all. May you be a blessing to someone!

Wanna Play?

Sierra is a Border Collie Lab mix puppy~~almost 1 year old. Button is an orange tabby girl kitty, just barely a year old. These two like to play. Sierra is big and boisterous, but Button likes her. And every morning they play a bit before I go to work. And make me laugh.

Aren't pets a blessing? Thank you, Lord, for companions to make us laugh and give us love. Your gifts are so amazing. Amen.

My Brother's Daughter

Are these little feet adorable??? My closest little brother (I've got three of 'em) became a father for the first time last month to little Sophia. And among the pics he took is this one of her little feet cradled in his hands. Little angel feet!

May your week be blessed with little miracles of all sorts. God bless you all.

The Artist Reception was FUN!

The artist' reception at the Arts Guild of Sonoma was fun!!



Here I am explaining my display to a dear friend. I got to talk talk talk all evening long!



Here I am with two dear friends. It was like a mini-reunion~~~

No, I didn't sell a single pendant, but most of the other artists didn't sell anything either. They said that usually not much is sold at the reception, but the response to the resin pendants was positive and they'll be at the gallery for the whol month of June. So we shall see~~~~


Our Sunday was amazing! Our worship service has gone through a bit of a rehaul and we sang and sang and SANG worship songs...how happy I felt to sing my love of Jesus! It was the best start to this week. Now it's time to spread that love around. Amen!

Houdini Dog

This innocent looking dog is our black Lab, Dakota. Dakota usually spends his days playing with our Border Collie/Lab mix Sierra, sleeping, and walking with my DH. But this weekend he became...drumroll, please...Houdini Dog!!!

Dakota learned how to "climb" over the chain link fence at the bottom of the hill. Our neighbor Bob found Dakota frolicking in his back yard. And returned him to us. My DH put barbed wire along the fence top, but Dakota learned to avoid it and was back in Bob's yard. So my DH put even more barbed wire and Houdini Dog has retired. Silly boy.

Happy Friday, friends and family~~~God bless and keep you all. And God keep protecting silly dogs. Amen.

Suffering from TMSTD (Too Much Stuff To Do)

Hello All! I've got a bad case of TMSTD, or Too Much Stuff to Do. A lot of people are coming down with this. Very contagious!

My pieces are in the gallery!



The gallery reception is Friday night, June 6. So if you're in Sonoma, California, please be a dear and stop by the Arts Guild Gallery and check it out. Friday night 6-8 PM. Have some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies and drink some Sonoma wine. And chat with me a while!

Thank you all so much for your love and good wishes. This gal soooo appreciates her sweet friends~ May your Thursday be full of good friends and thankful thoughts.