Neutral on the Brain, Vintage Assemblage Earrings, Indie Weddings Love

I've been craving neutral...neutrality...calm colors. Calm feelings. Calm surroundings. I think because life seems "colorful" enough for me these days. Sometimes I feel like I am trying to run through knee deep honey...but most days I think I can feel the wind from the passing minutes blowing my hair. To keep calm, I listen to the Patti Griffin station on Pandora.com. I light candles and incense. I pray. I eat some chocolate. I eat more chocolate later. I take deep breaths and know that this one life is all I get. I have everything I need today, and everything is as it should be. I truly believe that. But it doesn't mean I don't get overwhelmed. I'm very human.

étinceler.

A friend of mine asked of me many many years ago, when I was without transportation and worried aloud about how I was going to feed and clothe four small children...she asked me, "Do you have what you need today?"
I never forgot that...
I have more than I could possibly want, or need this day. So do my children. When my emotions start creeping up to the blaring red "overwhelm" mark, I have to talk myself down. I count my blessings, my gratitude, my joys. And it calms me and centers me to make things.

éternel.

luminosity.

One of those joys is being able to still have the ability to create. Earrings are all I have much time for these days. When I commented about that on Facebook, a dear person said that earrings must be all that is necessary right now. I needed to hear that. Thank you Kelly (Barton) for the sweet and encouraging words.
What keeps YOU sane? Please leave a comment and share your story? I'd love to hear it.

Oh, by the way, have you heard about the website called "Ruffled"?...It is a website dedicated to weddings of all kinds...particularly those very creative indie type weddings with amazing pictures. It bursts with creativity! I think I most like it because it is full of photographs of young couples in love...such promise and hope in their faces. I really like that. The promise and the hope.....yeah, that......I need to see lots of that.

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend, filled with little joys.
Blessings to You and Yours,
Jennifer Valentine

Cherir La Vie

My daughter has been working so hard to open her new etsy shop! It is called Cherir La Vie, which in French means to Cherish Life. I love her use of bright color and simple elegance...

Fleur de Lotus

We've been talking "shop" about photographing, lighting, supplies, beads, wording, descriptions and all things Etsy. I'm super proud of her, and only being 18, I think she's done a fantastic job! She has a new seriousness about making her own money in her own way, now that she is going to be a new mama in a few months...(and yes, I'm going to be a new Grandma!) I love seeing her fly on her own with her own creative ideas...like this amazing locket ring~

Crystal Cluster (only 10 dollars!)

and this asymmetrical peach and gold vintage looking beauty~

Jardin De Corail (only 21.00!)

I love how she photographs her necklaces like they are lost and tangled in branches...there for you to discover. I love that her prices are fair and her work has the same kind of quality you can expect from mine. I love that her work is timeless and young and fresh and pretty. Just like her.

When she was my favorite Etsy model circa 2009

Lovely Mama to be, Emily Cathryn  July 2011

Seems like just last week, I chose to name her after one of my most favorite songs~

Well, I've got lots of work to do myself! I think I've got at least six necklaces on my table waiting to be finished...and twice as many pairs of earrings. Look for new things to come in my shop, and in hers~!

Blessings,
Jennifer

Idea: Window "Dressing" to Stay Cool

There is a heatwave going on...and I don't remember it being so hot last year. I've been roaming around our old house covering windows as artfully as possible to keep the sun out and the cool in. I'm not a huge fan of summer...strange I guess coming from a woman who spent most of her life in Northern Florida....
I've been keeping cool with the old fans around the house my husband has restored to their original glory, and lots of Coke in little glass bottles...
As I was pondering how to keep the curtains out of the way of the window unit, while simultaneously keeping out the sun, I came up with a quick solution! I used an old necklace as a tie back, and then used two clear tacks to tack a vintage white apron to the top part of the window...thus creating a layered defense that keeps a lot of the sunshine out, while still looking pretty...what do you think?

It's all in the layering...on top of the curtains, I also hung a white vintage dress on a wooden hanger and topped with an old brooch...so, three layers. The apron up top, then the curtain, then the dress(es). You could even tie the apron onto little brass hooks, or layer the aprons by tying them to each other to make a valance.

Bedroom window

close up of lampshade

I dressed this old lamp shade up with bunched up layers of old lace and a favorite rhinestone brooch.

window layers

OH, by the way, I'm having a Christmas in July sale! and you get a free pair of earrings with ANY purchase through July at the shop.

FREE with any purchase from Sacred Cake

Hope you like my idea!
Love and Light,
Jennifer

Mountains of Inspiration

Jennifer Valentine circa 1983

     When I was young I'd often visit my grandmother in New Jersey and I'd go to youth camp for a week in the mountains of Vermont...we would gather together around a fire and sing in the evenings...laughter and song bursting into the darkness around us...it was a place where I felt a belonging. I know we all felt it...
and we'd sing my favorite silly song "His Banner Over Me is Love". To make a long story a bit shorter, the song required a lot of silliness with hand gestures and body contortions that had everyone laughing hysterically and feeling present in God's love all around us. This necklace is homage to those summers...we, the branches on the vine of deep and compassionate, unconditional love.
The photo above is of me, my first summer there in Vermont, hiking on Mount Killington. I was 13 and wearing my first pair of Levi's; a bouquet of wildflowers in my back pocket...a Florida girl, touching a mountain stream for the very first time. This picture, I cherish, because it captured me at my essence...a girl immersed in nature, noticing the intricacies of life and flowers and the pebbles in a stream...an innocent heart filled with the joy of creation. Even then I knew that the beauty of this world is no accident.

He is the Vine, religious assemblage necklace

He is the Vine, religious assemblage necklace

He is the Vine, religious assemblage necklace

This religious assemblage necklace I created has amazing luminous antique opal beads,  flourishes of Art Nouveau elements, bits of vintage chain and an antique, well worn cross. I really love to incorporate leaves and the organically shaped elements of nature into my work.

Custom Vintage Assemblage Necklace from Grandmother's Vintage Buttons

Recently, I was approached about creating a memorial type necklace for a beloved client who recently lost her grandmother. I was excited about the challenge of using personal mementos to create something my client could wear to keep the memory of her grandmother close...

She sent several buttons and a pair of earrings and asked that the necklace be created in silver and red. The earrings she sent me to use were a bit of a challenge because they were bright and shiny silver, but the rhinestone buttons fit right in.

I added bright silver leaves from an old necklace to echo the beads she gave me from her grandmother's earrings, red rhinestone findings and glass flowers, matte red navettes and vintage Czech glass and Swarovski beads to add a little sparkle. I also used a vintage filigree base in silver and added a secret locket in the back to hold any small personal mementos. That was a last minute thought that I really love...I think she will too!

The silver sparrow on the chain echoes the bird on the antique button dangle that she sent quite nicely...then I added some silver chain and a pretty red glass drop at the end of the chain to make it adjustable in length.

Just wanted to share this custom creation with you. If you are interested in a custom memento or remembrance locket necklace like this one, using your own personal elements, contact me through my Etsy Shop. Or email me.

See you again soon!

Blessings and Light,

Jennifer

The Rapture of the Lego Men

I wrote this today...kind of formulated it in my mind as I vacuumed and actually had a moment to write it all down! (not easy with a six year old home for the summer!) keep in mind, I never profess to be a real poet...I just put thoughts down and make it look like I might know what I'm doing...

  The Rapture of the Lego Men
 

As I vacuumed today, I thought of it.

How many times it has been done.

Three boys and 25 years now,

off and on again,

I've come for them,

I, a gentle beast

with a sucking machine.

I don't really mean to be.

But once again I become in charge

of the rapture of the Lego Men.

They wait for me with some uncertainty

in crevices behind suitcases and trunks,

under couches and behind curtains, they wait

to be raptured up into the dusty air

with ardent faith in where they are going.

There are others there,

they tell me.

There are others.

I tell them I know.

They look up to the heavens

with eyes transfixed,

sometimes half-smiling and

missing their hat or their arm or their vestiges.

Forgotten by boys who have found

other toys

or whisked away by age or circumstance.

I wonder to myself

as I push and I pull,

what my own rapture will be.

Will I rise up in a whirl of dust

and float and glisten

in the rays of the sun?

settling gently among still water, the leaves of trees,

sprigs of new grass, and on the tender hearts of mankind?

I have listened to the Lego Men.

They tell me there are others...

and I believe.

              (copyright July 2011 by Jennifer Valentine)

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

The 4th of July, (a re-post of something from last year that you may have missed.)

Chicago circa 1940's

     I think of this little girl every fourth since I found her picture almost 6 years ago. This, aside from family photographs of course, is my most prized and adored photograph. I have made up a thousand stories in my mind about her and a thousand questions....where was she?what was her little name?who decorated the buggy?did she tie her own boots? Did she have a good life? Somehow, does she know what she means to me?Though I know she has most likely left this world already....somehow does she know that I send love to her every time I see her face?
I'd like to think so. It gives me peace to think so.
I don't think I could manage this life if I lived it believing there was nothing more after this world...that this was all there is...that there was nothing divine about our humanness...
      Somehow this has me thinking about my father and how I hear his voice speak to me often since I learned of his death. In the small and quiet places when I can talk to him out loud, he answers me. Is he really speaking to me, or is it just a way to cope with his loss? to cope with the profound loss of the hope for reparation that came with his passing from me? Does it really matter?
My thought is, that as long as love and gratitude and wonder take the place of hate and despair and hopelessness, then the world is better....humanity is better....and healing takes place. And that is what works. It is those things that make a difference. It has nothing to do with religious rites or "moralists" or the people out there trying so adamantly to prove that no God exists. I think it is about loving the questions and regarding the mystery with wonder.
      This little girl, the one in this photograph, does she know how she's changed the world? By posing for a photograph on a hot July day so long ago. Simply standing there in her boots and in her innocence...she has changed the whole world. And she knows it because I tell her, and she hears me...and because I am here to tell her story with love and gratitude and wonder.

Do you have a favorite photograph? If so, can you share a bit about it with us? It is very easy to comment. No need for an account. Just use the "anonymous" feature.

Love and Light,
Jennifer

Quilts of a Thousand Prayers; an interview with an extraordinary woman, Cindi Tyburski

My beautiful quilt, a gift from Cindi. Also, my most favorite pillow from her shop.

(a small excerpt from our Etsy conversations)
ME: "I've been feeling awful...barely able to finish the day...and not sleeping well...
I want you to know that your quilt has become a comfort for me...I actually hold it like a child would a security blanket throughout the day when things are particularly bad..."
CINDI: "I often wear a quilt too--my mom made one for me--she calls it the quilt of a thousand prayers. It makes me feel better, I can feel her love."
I met Cindi on Etsy a couple of months ago, when I discovered her shop filled with lovely one of a kind pillows, vintage pre-cut sheet bundles for quilting, baby quilts and even colorful quilt kits...through our written conversations, Cindi has become quite an inspiration to me as she battles her own rare illness and  keeps her spirit strong with her unwavering faith in the divine, through her creativity, and selfless giving. Cindi uses the proceeds from her etsy shop sales to buy supplies to make quilts for children fighting cancer.
I asked her a few questions so you could get to know her and be inspired by her and her lovely work.

part of my personal pillow collection! Perfect on the vintage sofa...

more beautiful vintage Barkcloth  pillows...

ME: "Cindi, tell me a bit about how you got started with quilting and how you got started creating quilts for children with cancer."

CINDI: "I began to sew when I was 5, my mom would let me sit in her lap. I would steer the fabric and she would press the pedal. We made baby doll clothes and later clothes for me. I have a truly wonderful Mom.
      I started making quilts for kids battling cancer a long time ago. Something about quilts is magical to me--they carry healing and I think of these children and their brave strong spirits. I pray for them, even though I don't know who will get what quilt. It seems God and/or His Angels somehow guide these efforts. One of our recent receipients was a little boy who had a brain tumor. His pastor had visited the day before my daughter delivered his quilt. His pastor told him that "FROGS" was to be his word, he was to say it if he was sad or scared. His pastor said the meaning: Forever Rely on God's Son. He loved his FROG quilt and his Mama said that she couldn't get it away from him to even get it in the wash. (She sleeps with it now and it brings her comfort.)"

ME: "I love the vintage bark cloth you use in your pillows, what is your most favorite medium?"

CINDI: "Vintage Sheets, bright colors, and whimsical cotton quilting fabric."

pillow currently in Cindi's shop (click image to be taken there!)

vintage quilt kit. all you have to do is sew it together!

 ME: "Tell me what you do when you feel discouraged?"

CINDI: "I really don't get discouraged. For me thinking of these brave children means I have nothing to ever be discouraged about. You see, no matter what, they show extraordinary strength of spirit and love so pure. They are my inspiration."

Please stop by Cindi's Etsy shop and see what's new! She is an extraordinary woman  who I am so grateful to know and introduce to you. I love knowing that the things I purchase from her shop help a very special cause...bringing comfort to sick children. Her work is impeccable, creative and just beautiful. You can seriously feel the love she puts into it.

With Love and Light,
Jennifer Valentine

Silent Prayer made Visible, Vintage Assemblage Religious Jewelry

Some of you have been wondering where I've been...I've been making the best that I can of my days, which have been consumed with being a mom to four children and dealing with significant pain issues, nausea, exhaustion and tremendous difficulty getting moving in the morning. Not good for me, who was always quite the morning person...I have suffered with  neuropathic pain for several years now and was diagnosed with Fabry's disease in January of 2010. It's very very rare, but it put a name on the neuropathic pain issues I was dealing with. My condition has deteriorated quite a bit in the last few months, and as of late, I have had  trouble breathing, and a lot of weakness which landed me in the ER last weekend.
And finally another diagnosis: Fibromyalgia. Through my struggle, I have continued to work when I can, determined to continue doing what I love in quiet prayer. No matter how foolish it may sound, I am a strong believer that whatever happens to us has a reason...a divine reason that we cannot comprehend.
I don't consider myself an organized religion type of person, but I believe in Christ and in the existence of God. I experience miracles every day...connections in life that just cannot be happenstance...
I believe in a divine plan...that the people and circumstances in our lives are there to teach, to reveal, to help us learn to love as God loves us.
There is a bible passage that I keep over my work table that reads:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways, acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths.
                 Proverbs 3 5-6

Here are my quiet prayers made real:

"Like Water into Wine"

"Like Water into Wine"

"Dreams of the Sacred Mother"

"the Dogwood Tree"

"Dreams of the Sacred Mother"

"the Dogwood Tree"

These necklaces will be available on etsy soon, along with the stories that inspired them.
I am finding such joy in the little things...finding immense joy in my children and my friends and my dear husband..and I am staying strong through my faith, which has become so much stronger through this illness. I am sending healing thoughts and light to those of you reading this post. You are never far from my thoughts.
I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about someone very special to me,  my dear friend Cindi of Cindi0 on Etsy.
An extraordinary woman dealing with her own illness, who makes beautiful quilts for children with cancer...stay tuned.
Love and Light,
Jennifer Valentine

Unconditonal Love and the Dead Bee Heart

I raised my voice at my 6 year old yesterday. It happens rarely and he is very sensitive....so he writes me a note. I have only gotten two notes so far...so I guess I'm doing ok. I was having a particularly difficult morning and in my frustration to try and get him motivated to get ready for school, I told him he needed to get dressed, NOW. As I went about getting myself together for the day, this note appeared on my dresser, quite matter of factly. Delivered by a frowning and resolute little boy.   

Needless to say, it immediately lifted any frustration or crabbiness from my mind and replaced it with laughter and gratitude. It has been said that our children are our greatest teachers. I believe it.

His frustrated scribbles inside a cut out heart shape said it all. I think it is about unconditional love....like the love we have for our children...like the love that God has for us. No matter how much we "mess up". No matter how many mistakes we make or how often we stray, God will always accept us back into the fold of his heart, dead bees and all.

New One of a Kind Jewelry and a Coupon Code Just for You

I've been trying out some new ways to photograph my work...and I really like it. it seems to be more me. To celebrate the new "look", I'm offering a discount code for 15% off all items: MAYFLOWERS
Just click the images to be taken to the shop to see what else is new!
Blessings and Light,
Jennifer

Gifts of Love

I just want to share with you some unexpected joy I've received, just because. Sometimes I feel so unworthy of such gifts...but when I'm feeling like I've been feeling lately, I'm so grateful for their presence here around me.
Last night I wrote these words: "I don't have the strength to fight for me today. I just want to sink into this bed and these soft feathers and old quilts into oblivion....simply fade away like dusk...leaving a trail of stars. I'm really not afraid to die. I think I'm afraid of what I'll miss...will I be looking down on my children from heaven or visiting in their dreams, like my father does to me...?
the constant daily pain and creeping numbness have just become something I've learned to live with, but this disease scares me. Why this slow decay? Why now the fumbling hands as I try to create? Why, after 40 years of living, have I finally found my creative joy, only to have it taken from me bit by bit?"

This morning, I awoke feeling a little better. The cats are all out playing in the yard...it is overcast and cool. My dear husband is outside transplanting clumps of violets and wildflowers and daffodils from the back edge of the yard to the front, around our statue of Mary and around the side of our home...It's quiet except for the red winged blackbirds and sparrows tweeting in the trees next door... I hear his shovel turning soil and the hose spraying and the soft sound of curtains breathing in and out with the gentle morning breeze. Life is so incredibly good sometimes I am moved to grateful tears. And then I feel rotten about complaining about anything. I know there are people out there that have it so much worse than I can ever imagine...but it doesn't change my story or my struggle for some semblance of a "normal" life.

Jenny Lee Wentworth sent me this painting recently! It was a complete surprise! and such a delight...I cherish it....and the incredible thoughtfulness and selflessness that went into her work. She even used real egg shells at the bottom and lace from one of her favorite worn out shirts along the bottom. I love the colors and the softness and the words....her blog is a gentle space where she shares her journey into painting and into life itself...wide open to possibility and hope. You can find it here.

My dear friend Carissa Paige is another dear soul who sends me the sweetest things...this just came for my birthday this year and I'm filling it with favorite letters and things.

top of the box

bottom of the box

How sweet is that? It is a big wooden cigar box, painted and screen printed with one of my favorite girls...Carissa Paige is another gentle and dear spirit that I am so grateful for...her etsy shop is exploding with pastel color and movement! You can see it right here.

sweetness from Carissa

Last for today, but definitely not least, sweet Corinne from September House sent me this amazing unexpected gift! I love love love her sweet necklaces..I had ordered a custom necklace with queen anne's lace after I wrote this post...something about the hand embroideredness of them...and the simplicity in design and sweetness that I love. I lost that necklace somewhere along the way and ordered another recently. It came as a gift instead, from Corinne...I cherish it!

I just wanted to share a bit of life with you today...and some things that make me smile. I hope you have (or had) an amazing day today!
xoxox
Jennifer