Lisandro Pena's Amazing Renderings
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Free Bling Friday Number 22!
To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, October 4, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Good luck! Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!
Mincing Mockingbird
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Jim McVay Photography
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Under the Sea
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Free Bling Friday Number 21!
To be eligible for this week's Free Bling, email me by midnight, September 27, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Good luck! Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!
Living in the Moment
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Speaking of Building Cathedrals....
As for Sarah, she did quite a number on "my room" yesterday afternoon. Since DH can literally rock the roof with his snoring, I usually sleep upstairs in the guest room. When I went up last night, I had to come back down to ask DH who had been up there! He told me Sarah was playing in there while I was at my guitar lesson, and he thought he heard her jumping on the bed. What I found was a very well made up bed (the best effort a four-year-old could do anyway), with nearly every pillow in the room nicely stacked on the bed, same amount on each side. Nearby in my antique cradle, Abiner Smoothie--a teddy bear I've had since middle school--was sleeping peacefully on a big fluffy towel (okay, so it was the towel I keep in the window seat for the cats to sleep on, but big and fluffy none-the-less), and Abiner was covered with Sarah's favorite quilt. I was impressed. Not just that she made up the bed as well as she did (I guess that's a clue that I didn't make up the bed in the morning) but that she was so thoughtful to think of doing that to begin with. I am blessed with two very sweet little girls.
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To the Invisible Mothers of the World...
I received this from my twins group via email and it really touched me. I hope you enjoy it.
I'm invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going - she's going - she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription. "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: (1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. (2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. (3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. (4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
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Gems are Coming...
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Free Bling Friday Number 20!
This week's entry pairs a double drop of Botswana agate briolettes and crystal copper Swarovski crystals, all brought together with sparkling sterling silver. These hang approximately 2" from sterling french wires and have a lot of fun movement to them, plus those yummy fall colors.
To be eligible for this week's Free Bling, email me by midnight, September 20, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Good luck! Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!
Fly with Patina's Wings
In this necklace, she combined PMC Silver with a layer of 22K gold, making a beautiful mixed metal pendant. It's really a beautiful piece! Check out more of Kathy's work and read more about her and her causes here!
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Check out Sophie Ann Handbags
I told you a little bit about Sophie Ann Handbags back in April, but I wanted to put in another plug today. This past weekend, I participated in the 6th Annual Christmas in September Shopping Soiree, hosted by my friend Patty Bodney, of Padi Custom Ceramics. Patty, Jen Eccleston of Sophie Ann, and Mary Beth Johnston, a Pampered Chef consultant, all gathered at Patty's for an open house to share and sell our latest offerings. Being that there was a Pampered Chef consultant involved, we did a LOT of eating. Between our strawberry shots, featuring a lime yogurt topping--Yum!--Patty's awesome artichoke dip, and Jen's basil, buffalo mozzarella and tomato concoction, I'm fairly certain I gained five pounds this weekend! Sales were a little slow, but we really had a great time.
The reason I wanted to feature Jen here again is because of her mission. She and her husband are in the process of adopting a little girl from China, and since Jen is a stay-at-home mom, she wanted to find a way to contribute financially to their adoption. Thus, Sophie Ann was born. Jen's Italian grandfather was a master tailor, and Jen definitely inherited his skills. The craftsmanship on her bags is truly top-notch. I sew, so I do know a very well made bag when I see one, and hers really are the best made I've seen. So, Christmas is coming! I'm sure you can think of someone on your list that would love one of Jen's bags. Visit her website here to see all her fabrics and read a little more about the mission of Sophie Ann.
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Free Bling Friday Number 19!
To be eligible for this week's Free Bling, email me by midnight, September 13, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Good luck! Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!
Noah Orr Photography
Bogac Erguvenc Contemporary Photography
Random notes: Speaking of the sea, I did a couple new jewelry pieces this weekend that are totally sea-inspired awesome! I hope to break out the camera tonight and show you soon.
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Pretty Petal Studio
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