Fancy - The Gala Necklace

Recently, Pathways, my favorite organization, threw a big party—a gala! I love any excuse to get dressed up, wear heels (now that I can actually walk in them), and have a good time, and the cause was also great: raising money for families of soldiers and special needs children, and for Teen/Family Camp.

While I did some small things to help with the gala (helping set up for the silent auction and processing silent auction winning transactions at the end of the night), the biggest thing I did to help was make a necklace just for the silent auction.

This is a special necklace. Not only is it the only thing I've made in months... I purposely made it using high-end materials, in hopes it would bring a hefty winning auction price (and therefore lots of money donated to Pathways). That... didn't quite work out, but one happy bidder did get to go home with this lovely necklace. 

Did I mention it's valued at over $650?

I made matching earrings, too, but I only remembered to get a crappy cell phone picture of them on that night.

This necklace has all kinds of yummy details. It’s got high-end stones, first of all: ruby, sapphire, and emerald… and the rest of the stones are very high quality: seraphinite, tourmaline, peridot, citrine, smoky quartz, kyanite, turquoise, larimar, amazonite, amethyst, lapis, hematite, pearls, jade, chalcedony, rhodochrosite, moonstone, sunstone, carnelian, malachite, and garnet.

I also used some large Swarovski crystals to draw extra attention.

I used 14k gold wire, and all of the findings were 100% handmade. This necklace can be worn long, or it can be doubled. It looks pretty darn fabulous either way.

I just love the cluster of sapphire, peridot, ruby, and moonstone hanging in the middle of the gold wire circle.

I seriously had a hard time giving this one up… may need to make one of these for myself, too.

Be sure to click the pictures to see the full-sized images. It's worth seeing, if I do say so myself!

A Poem: Stricken

I dream of floating up and away,
to a land far from here,
far from all my troubles,
debt,
outstanding petulant to-do-list residents--
permanent residents
it seems these days
follow me around, waving their arms violently 
in the air and screaming at me
to mark them complete,
and all I want to do is
drive on the coast of Maine
and stop at a cemetery,
walk around the lovely grounds
and ask the bees to show me mercy,
kindness,
benevolence,
and leave me be--


and then,
I come upon a bench labeled with a name,
a noun
a verb
a permission slip:


Grieve.




(I abide. 
I'm not together
but I'm getting there.)




*Note: I did visit Maine in September. It was a trip full of serendipity, grace, and healing. See all the photos I took here.

Another Sale? Why Not!

I had a big sale in August, and I’ve decided to do another one. This time, though, it’s an even BIGGER discount!

If you’ve had your eye on a piece (or 3!) but you haven’t been sure about buying it… now is the time!

Enter the coupon code NOV2010SPECIAL during your check-out through Etsy*, and you’ll get a whopping 25% off your entire purchase! 

Yes, you read that right...

25% off your entire purchase!

That’s a big deal!

Please pass this on to your friends… family… strangers… etc!

Sale runs through November 30^th only!

*You must enter the coupon code… if you don’t, then Etsy won’t adjust the sale amount and you won’t get your discount!

My Weight Loss Journey, Continued

I haven’t posted in forever! I know. I’m long, long overdue.

The truth is, I’ve gone through some really difficult stuff over the past several months. It really started to hit me in June, and it’s still going on now. The good thing is… I’m through the worst of it.

But, still… sometimes life throws curve balls for which you are unbelievably unprepared.

I’ll also be honest, and say that I have gone back and forth about a thousand times, trying to decide how much to say here on my blog. You’ll notice that so far, I’ve chosen to stay quiet… but I would like to share a couple of things. At some point, I’ll share more, but I need to wait until a couple of larger issues have resolution first.

 

So, as for what I will share…

I have lost 50 pounds.

Yes. Fifty.

(That's me... the "just barely overweight" me, on the right!)

I’ve done it the right way, with adjustments in diet and portion control. Now I wish I had taken progress photos from the beginning! I started this journey back at the very beginning of May, and I’m still going. I have 32 pounds left to lose, to reach my original goal.

Up until last week, I was absolutely determined to make it, but I’ve run into an unexpected snag.

I just ordered some jeans from Old Navy, and when they came in I immediately put them on and pranced around in front of the mirror for a good 15 minutes, posing and looking at myself in utter disbelief at how small the number was on the inside of those jeans, and the jeans fit me so well, and I let the belief sink in as I looked at all the shrinking parts of me, smiling wide all the while.

In other words… I’ve never been as happy with my body as I am in this moment.

In fact, I’m so happy with the way I look and feel right now that I’m having a hard time staying motivated to continue losing more weight!

Holy cow… I really wasn’t expecting that.

Last week was a wash. Intense work stress provided just the needed excuse to eat poorly. I shoveled candy and chocolate, fattening food, and higher portions than I have been eating.

Friday night, I found myself thinking, “What the hell am I doing?”

I’ve been on such a roll with losing the weight I want to lose… and I’ve done an excellent job. But, this past week… I just gave up.

I listened as my internal voice told me the same thing it’s told me time and time again, for years. 

“Just this one piece won’t hurt. 

Just one more bite won’t hurt. 

It’s no big deal.”

I realized that while I am happy with the way I look right now, it’s going to be hard to maintain (let alone continue to lose) if I go right back to the bad old eating habits I used to have.

I think one thing adding difficulty is that I don’t have a point of reference. I’ve never been the size I’m going for. Never. Not even in high school. Not even in junior high... or elementary school, for that matter. I’ve been overweight for almost my entire life, so I don’t actually know what it feels like to feel slender, or a normal size… I have no clue what it feels like (or looks like!) to fit well within the “healthy weight range” for my height. Not a clue!

So, I can see how it’s easy to stop trying. I don’t know what my goal looks like or feels like, so I’m not entirely sure how to keep it tangible.

These are the things I thought about and wrote about in my private journal on Friday.

I had a pretty significant “light bulb” or epiphany after all that thinking… and Saturday morning, I woke up with a renewed sense of motivation.

I realized that if I quit now, I would be following suit with so many decisions I’ve made in my life.

I’d be settling.

Settling for a size and weight that isn’t where I want to be. Settling for not looking as good as I know I can look… settling for not feeling as good as I can feel.

Settling… is such an ugly pattern in my life! But now that I realize what I was doing, I am absolutely resolute in my decision to plow forward and continue on with losing more weight… At least 32 more pounds to reach my original goal.

I will get there. I’m absolutely determined.

And tonight, I made a very yummy chicken and veggie soup to help support that cause…

I’m back on the wagon, y’all.

Watch out!

The Only Constant in Life? Change...

I have a few things to talk about today, and a few pictures to show you. Ready?


First... my sale is still going strong. I've even posted a few new things... so please do check it out. At 20% off everything in the shop, it's really hard to go wrong. 


Second... I've made a necklace for myself. Yup, another one. It features some of the most gorgeous rainbow moonstone I've ever seen, including a really large teardrop briolette that I've coveted for myself for ages, now. I finally made the necklace that's been sitting in my head for a long time.

What do you think? I like that I can remove the pendant at the bottom easily enough and put something else there, or, depending on the neckline of what I'm wearing, leave the hook empty. I could see some yummy larimar hanging from that hook, though... mmm...

I'm really getting into hammering wire and texturing the heck out of it. I love the look. And it's really fun! 


Now... the next thing is that my friend Sarah has opened a new Etsy shop for her jewelry. I can't say I'm surprised, since she's been making jewelry for a little while now. But have you seen her latest jewelry? It rivals any of the best jewelry I've seen. She's really upped the ante on her work by learning to work with wire. She's really making it work for her... in very cool ways. 


To say I'm a little intimidated would be an understatement. I mean, why would anyone want to buy anything from me anymore... when you can buy Sarah's amazing beads in her own amazing jewelry? C'mon, now, go check it out!


I'm going through some changes right now, and change is hard. My confidence has been knocked around a bit, and I'm trying to find my footing. 


One of the things I'm changing is my jewelry. I'm pushing myself to come up with more and more unique designs... because, let's face it. A few years ago, nobody was making jewelry that was quite like mine. Now, I see jewelry just like mine everywhere I go... except that now I consistently see jewelry that's far more inventive, clever, amazing, and beautiful than mine.


Part of the reason? Those jewelry artists have more time than I do. 


I work full time, so any time I get to devote to creating is at night, when I'm already tired from the day, or during the weekend, when I'm also trying to cram in errands, time with friends, and chores like laundry. There isn't much I can do about it at this point, but it really leaves me feeling a bit lost as an artist. 


I almost feel like there's nothing original anymore... so what's the point in even trying to be different? 


That's not a good place to be in when you're an artist.


I'm working through that, and also working through all the other crap I'm going through (because losing my identity as an artist just isn't enough), so that's one of the reasons why I've been so quiet.


I'll end on a good note, though.


I've managed to lose 31 pounds, and if I keep it going at the pace I've established over the last few months, I'll reach my original goal weight by the end of January 2011. That's very encouraging!


Here's a photo I snapped this morning. 

I can see how my face is thinner... and though I still have a long way to go, I'm very, very motivated. It's one of the best things in my life at the moment, and I'm clinging very tightly to that...

SALE - 20% Off Everything!

I know, I know... it's been a long time since I've updated. I've had quite a lot going on, including initiating some really big changes in my life.

I'm still keeping up with the lifestyle change... and I've lost close to 30 pounds now. I'm losing about a pound a week, which is good for healthy, sustaining weight loss. And I'm really enjoying it, too! I feel better, I look better, and I already enjoy life more than I have in a long time.

But let's get to the heart of this post, shall we?

I'm having a sale. A big one! I need to generate some serious cash, so I've put everything in my Etsy shop on sale!

20% off your entire purchase!

Please... go, shop, and enjoy!

Congratulations to...

Karen!

Karen was the first one to comment, and I typed in the range to randomizer.org (I love that site - if I had to actually *choose* I'd be absolutely unable!)... and #1 was the winner... and that's Karen!

Karen, I know how to contact you, so all I need is to get your address, and this little gem will be on the way. I hope you love this little bead... now that the time is here, I'm having a very hard time parting with it. I've suddenly become very attached.

I find that I'm struggling with that in just about every aspect of my life at the moment... I'm clinging to everything familiar, trying to make sense of what's going on in my mind and heart. 

And it's not working...

So, that's why I've been quiet here.


Still - I did manage to post 12 new listings to Etsy yesterday... so please do check them out! Lots of simple pieces, clearing out some stash I've had for ages. A few of those pendants have been around since I first got back into beading, about 5 years ago now. That's a long time to hold on to something that I never intended to keep in the first place!

The Lori - A Custom Wedding Necklace

Riding the wave into a new chapter of life... This necklace turned out exactly as I imagined it would. I painted the picture in my head of a wave of sterling silver wire, with two large silver pearls attached to it, and a wired amethyst flower in the middle.

My co-worker and friend is getting married this weekend, and I offered to make her a necklace to wear.

This is the result.

She likes simple designs, and while I think this fits (at least loosely) the "simple" part... I think this necklace is particularly special. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and honestly-- if I didn't make this necklace specifically for her, I would probably keep it!

She and her fiancé have a special story. They met as co-workers and became fast friends... helping each other heal from their divorces. They've been bonded ever since!

They are a wonderful couple, and I wish them all the best as they start their new chapter of life together!