Frosted Window "Pains"

View from Studio Window This Morning

     This year I am focusing on letting go. Mostly letting go of people that I love deeply...ideas of what relationships should be...and what they should not. Trusting in the process and that everything is as it should be is unsettling for me, when some relationships feel so unfinished...like the end of a record, static in my ears, and I cannot lift the arm to start the music and dancing again.

     Here, in the depth of winter, I go within.  I know that the process is not about them, but about my ideas and expectations of what love should be. It is about letting go of my firm grasp of faux control and allowing love to heal. It begins with loving myself more. It begins with believing that I am enough. It begins with forgiving myself...because no one is better than me at demolishing my self worth...

I'm the best self ass-kicker there ever was. Even at nearly 45 years old, I still flagillate myself for things I did 20 years ago that I know need to be put to rest. I am not the same woman I was at 20 or 30 or even 6 months ago. I have the gift of introspection...I am ever evolving. 
     Forgiving myself is much harder for me than forgiving others. Letting go is hard...and I wonder why it comes so easy for others. Trust is hard, but I cannot profess that God has a plan and then question it.
I want you to know that you are not alone in your struggle. I am here too. Peeling my own white knuckled fingers off of the edge of certainty. Falling is never easy. But you are not alone in it.
Let's trust. Let's let go together, shall we?
One.....two...........three!

My Love Affair with White, assemblage jewelry, and some Etsy Favorites

"Beatitude"

"Cathedral Windows"

My love affair with all things shabby and white began in 1987, when I was a young mother, like our Em is now, and furnishings and money were scarce. I had a big ol' green station wagon and a whole lot of determination and strength. (and a better back too!) I'd find things on the roadside that I needed, that were in need of a new home; load 'em into the back of my wagon and bring them home to a fresh coat of white paint.

our lovely bed

The first home decor book I ever purchased was "The Natural Home" by Tricia Foley, and I still own the same book. It is filled with lovely, timeless images of nature inspired homes that I still find inspirational and so soothing.

"Tapisserie"

I still can't resist the charm of white, though now I "paint", making my assemblage jewelry with shabby antique glass and pearls...something that I never would have guessed then, that I'd be doing now.


Some of my favorite "swoon-worthy" items from Etsy~

Pillows and quilts by Cindi at DreamyVintageSheets on Etsy

Paper Angel Ornament by RememberMeEmily

Scarves by Gloria Kirk

Prints by Carissa Paige

collages by Michael Douglas Jones

These are just a few of my faves, I'll be posting more soon during the holiday season...I intend to relish every. single. day. of it.
What is your favorite seasonal thing to do?
I'm also looking for great recipies to share here! Please email them to me at:
sacred_cake [at] yahoo (dot) com.


This season, I am offering free shipping and a lovely pair of earrings, free with any purchase.

free with any Sacred Cake purchase,gold plated antique french rhinestone earrings

I'd like to thank you all for your sweet comments about my new grandson...the house is overflowing with such newness and love!


See you again real soon. Love and Light,
jennifer

Vintage Assemblage Wedding Jewelry and a bit about Summer

Well, once again, I've been away awhile...busy with life, children, work, and getting better.
I've found myself relishing the cool days and the rainy weather we've been having...strolling around the yard after the rain subsides, looking for bits of roses and green things to trim to bring inside. I can't bring myself to cut any roses unless they are almost ready to shed! If there are enough blooms, I'll treat myself to some little buds. Our bushes are still young and not producing tons of roses yet. I've always wanted a rose garden, but never took the time to cultivate one...or splurge on bushes! This year, my husband has been lovingly planting them all over our sunny back yard. Such lovely colors... and I cannot convey the incredible sweetness of the scent some of them have...there is one in particular that is large and pale yellow that smells so amazing that it is difficult for me to tear my nose away from its velvety splendor...have you ever smelled a rose like that?
Today, I brought a  few inside to enjoy, along with some bright orange day lilies and a sprig of hydrangea...

I've never been a big fan of summer, but life has a certain amazing sweetness these days. I feel like I am more fully present in it. Less worried. Practicing being more mindful. Praying more. Feeling more and more grateful for my life, my family and my relationships.

I've been thinking about weddings again...and how much I still love making special occasion jewelry! I found myself making a couple of vintage assemblage bridal hair combs for the shop from some of my pretty vintage jewelry parts and pieces...this is one I was particularly fond of~

Cherry Blossom and Crinoline, shabby bridal comb

I used a bit of antique crinoline, a large leaf brooch, a gold plated flower piece from an old bracelet, and a few vintage shabby pearl and rhinestone earrings...I have had a couple of brides that I've made jewelry for send me amazing photographs of them wearing their jewelry and it is always so deeply touching for me to see. I feel so incredibly fortunate that they want to wear my work out of the thousands of jewelry designs out there to choose from...my work speaks out to them somehow, through the thousands of others...and I am so incredibly grateful to be a part of something like this~

Jenny's Wedding

I think it is because it makes me still believe and have faith in happily ever after.

xoxox,
Jennifer

Where Does the Time Go?

I celebrated my 42nd birthday on the 13th....with a new funky hair-do/highlight thing...I've been wanting a change...and well, I got one. And afterward I felt guilty for being so vain that I'd spend money on highlights....the usual internal tug of war when I spend money on myself. I'm still not used to seeing the new hair...I was a blond until age 4 1/2. Does that count? but do I think I like it. I used a photo app I have on my ipod for my 42nd birthday picture because it is sooooo much kinder to my face! I'm seeing wrinkles pop up in weird places, like under my chin...what's with that?!

We are welcoming spring here in Michigan. It is bursting out everywhere. My favorite part is the tiny clumps of violets that appear everywhere in the yard

and then the daffodils arrive on the very back edge of the yard in big clumps.

I recently watched the movie Eat, Pray, Love...I read the book years ago and just loved it, so I was pretty excited about the movie too. In the movie she talks about the Art of Doing Nothing. I thought about that. I asked myself, if there is ever a time, aside from sleeping, that I am ever just doing nothing? The answer was a resounding "NO."
So I went out into the yard one day this week and did that very thing. I took a photo of it for my journal...this whole notion of nothing doing was different for me, the multitasker-alwayshavingstufftodo-er.

There is a lot to be said for this whole doing nothing concept. I like it. I think I want to do more of it. I did nothing for a full 30 minutes or more....well, I did pet my cats...but I felt the breeze on my skin...the sun on my eyelids...I lay down and breathed in the scent of moist dirt and grass. I began to feel closer to myself...closer to the earth...closer to God. Just those few moments refreshed my spirit and reminded me of what I love best in life: being present in the outside world.
Do you ever practice the Art of Doing Nothing? If you do, where is your doing nothing place? What is your most favorite part of the season you are in?
Thank you for being here today. I'll be back soon with more news and such!
xoxox
Jennifer

A Letter

Dear God,

The brief darkness inside of me has given way to light. It doesn't take long for the light to come....I spend a lot of time within myself, working things through....and praying.
You know that, right? I try not to bother you too much, because I know there are people with much bigger needs, but lately I've been talking to you quite a bit and you help me work things out in ways I know I should. The sadness and the anger gives way and I feel your presence as always. Sometimes it just takes a day or two. Thank you for listening to me.
By the way, I like for you to be a "him". I'm ok with that. I like the idea of a heavenly father, and I don't get hung up on whether you should be a man or a woman. I just find comfort in you....and joy in your creations....I revel in them, really..... How do the tulips know when to rise?  I do enjoy the questions....

Oh, and I was just talking to my husband today about a quote by Einstein



“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

I think I'll still keep choosing the "everything" option.

Though there were still  patches of snow on the ground today, Jeremy and I went out to soak up the sunshine and do some sidewalk drawing...he chose to draw a rainbow...a sign of hope and promise.

Such sweetness and joy in his inside-out shirt and clunky snow boots...thank you for him. Thank you for all of my children. They have brought me such joy and they have truly been my greatest teachers.

I know that you know sometimes I loose my focus on what is good and what is deserving of thought and thanksgiving and what is deserving of just letting go. There are things I have simply just given up to you. So, I'll just let you handle the big stuff and the hard stuff and the tough questions that I can't answer, and the things that I just don't know what to do with anymore. Because you make life so much lighter. So much simpler. So much easier. So much softer. More joyful. More manageable.

More miracle.

I always come back to you.

What Does Your Heart Say?

Tonight I am thinking about the song of my life.....the song of my heart.......
with the sound of the cats romping about,
and the sound of my teenagers' laughter in the next room,
and the sound of my favorite music by Patty Griffin and Michael Hoppe on the player;
the sparkle of the snow outside when the light dances from the window,
and the taste of a warm cup of Chai tea...
the symphony of breathing in and breathing out, coming from the next room as my little son and husband sleep deeply;
carried by dreams...the secrets of the night...
as I type here tonight at the desk next to my jewelry table, I am surrounded by paintings and artwork by the most incredible people:
 Marina, Cathi, Michael, my beloved Ken, Carissa, Susan, my mama, Randal and my sister Kelly Rae who's quiet voice asks me each day in the sweet  words of my favorite print: "What does your heart say?"
And I say back to it that my heart says to love. Love with everything I've got...because love is really all there is. Love is the only thing I truly own, and it is meant to give away.
In this space I find myself surrounded with the evidence of it....letters and cards from dear and loyal customers and friends...precious offerings of Autumn leaves and special gifts from my sweet husband...
Yes, my heart says to love with wildest abandon. Hope for all things. Cherish family. Make amends. Laugh loud. Embrace each season of the earth, and each season of my life...

“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” H. D. Thoreau

Tonight I am thinking of you out there...and I am sending you love and light tonight. I thank you for being here and sharing your precious time with me.  For sharing this space.  For reading my words. For taking the time to leave sweet and thoughtful comments....I sound sappy, I know, but life has taken on such a different meaning for me since I've been sick so often.  Each day of wellness becomes this jubilant gift...a celebration...a triumph.

(And my darling Ken, my K.W., I know you are reading this too, and I want you to know how precious and rare you are....how precious and how rare. I love you so...)

Goodnight dear ones...

my feeble attempt at modeling one of Marina's necklaces
 wearing my favorite vintage sweater. Is my hair really that red?! oops.
good thing my husband is color blind.

What I've been up to...

These days I've been feeling good and immersing myself in my work. I enjoy getting just the right photograph...it seems to me to make all the difference to capture the spirit of my work. Lately I've been thinking about weddings and white; Autumn, lockets and leaves and being inspired by the colors I see in my daily life....the color of freshly turned fields and sprouts of Rye grass, huge wooden crates of freshly harvested celery, trees on fire with the richness of Autumn...(and the color combinations in my Boden catalog, which I was inspired to order from my sister!) I suppose that is one of the things I love most about living here. We have four distinct seasons and all so exquisite in their own ways. This year, I am actually looking forward to the feathery flakes falling from the sky this winter.
On a kinda funny note, at times I use antique dictionaries to photograph my work...but beware, all you dictionary jewelry photographers....there may be words in the background you did not intend to be read! Like "lazy" or "lung" as in this lovely photograph:

I guess it could have been worse. I've seen some doozies of mine that have cracked me up! My favorite one, I think was "louse". I'm thinkin' I might just start using antique story books instead...and hope I don't inadvertently capture something really strange.

"Beloved"

"Gather"

"Country Fields"

"Sacred"

I am really loving my new little "Sacred Cake" tags that I am putting on the necklaces and bracelets I create. My hope is that the jewelry I make will be passed on and loved for more than a lifetime....and maybe long after I am gone, folks might ask; who is "Sacred Cake"? Why that name when she didn't even sell cakes? And the answer will be, because that is what makes it memorable....and every piece tells a story.
A story of love.

(These items are available in my shop right here.)

A Song in my Heart

Today I drew a name for the special celebratory earring giveaway...I took the time to write each person's name on tags that I made from antique sheet music. It seemed appropriate. Those of you who visit my blog are such a song in my heart...your words about Autumn were such a gift to me! Thank you for taking the time to leave your most favorite memories. I so enjoyed each and every one of them and I'll be sharing some of them in tomorrow's post, as well as one or two of my own, but today, here is the winner of the giveaway:

There is something about physically writing...almost like leaving a tiny part of yourself on paper for others to experience. As I wrote each of your names, I thought of you and the inherent beauty that each of you possess. After I wrote out 26 names, I placed them in my most special vessel...a little old two handled sugar bowl that I've had for almost 15 years now. As far as possessions, this is by far my most favorite. I found it  so long ago and it has
followed me as I've zig-zagged from one end of this country to the other and back again. Its familiar shape, a reminder of simpler times in a little white bead-board house in the country and the things that truly matter. Simplicity. Hope. Love. Living in the moment...
I placed my hand over your names in that little white bowl and sent thoughts of those things to each and every one of you. I sent thoughts of hope, love, strength, light, simplicity, and peace to you all. My hope is that somehow you receive them.

In Celebration, a Saturday Giveaway!

Autumn is finally showing its grace here in rural Michigan...it is my most favorite season of the year. I've been busy making lots of new things for the shop, that I'll be posting throughout the weekend and I am offering a 10% discount on everything in the shop until Monday evening at midnight. And To celebrate being published in Belle Armoire Jewelry and the coming of fall, I will be giving away a pair of these beauties:

(vintage rhinestone teardrops in an exquisite shade of Madeira Topaz)

I just love these earrings! The antiqued brass elements are so highly detailed, along with vintage rhinestones in a shade (Madeira Topaz) that you just don't see in modern jewelry.
No special hoops to jump through to win these! Just leave a little comment to be entered, but I'd love to hear your fondest memory of Autumn, whether it be jumping in huge piles of leaves as a child, collecting and pressing leaves, or drinking warm apple cider.....and might I share some of them in a later post?
Thank you for being here today.
Blessings,
Jennifer Valentine