Let it go... and breathe.

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.” 

― A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin to Pooh

I have been a very, very naughty blogger.  I know.  I really have.  Did you ever have a space of time where you just had to keep telling yourself, breathe?  One day at a time.  One step.  One moment.  One breath.  That has been my summer.  My beloved husband has been gone on an internship since the beginning of May and will not return for another week and a half.  I have three small children, my parents are over two hours away, and I have only two close friends in my town.  I grew up a Navy brat, as I've confided before, so I am no stranger to life without Daddy for stretches (even long stretches) of time.  But I have never had to do without my husband, the father of my children, my best friend, the man who tells me when I'm acting silly, the one who holds me when I cry... never for so long, not since we have been married.

What have I learned?  I have learned that I am indeed, as Christopher Robin tells Pooh, stronger than I seem.  I am also braver than I believed.  Whether I am smarter than I think is still up for grabs ;).  I have learned that I can do it on my own, but I am so very grateful that most of the time I do not have to.  I have a new appreciation for what my mother, and all other military wives, went through when I was growing up.  I do not even know how to put into words how incredible their sacrifice is, how much I admire them, how much I appreciate them.  (that goes for single moms and single dads as well, even more so, you are all HEROES).

Where does the odd title of this ramble come from?  My struggle this summer.  I tried the first week or two to continue as I had, making jewelry at night, photographing, listing, updating my store.  But as everything fell upon me, the grocery shopping (with three children ages 6, 4, and 2), the store runs for other necessities, the normal things, the cleaning, the dishes, the playing with the kids, mowing the lawn, weeding my plants, sending packages... on and on.  It started to overwhelm me.  Until I realized something.  This insanity?  It is, praise God, temporary.  So guess what?  I decided to let it go.  To breathe.  Instead of staying up until 2am (before a 5am wake up call by my son) trying to make jewelry after staying up late to sweep and mop... I went to bed at midnight.  I chose to read during some of the time the kids were sleeping, some nights?  I was truly naughty and didn't do my chores before bed either.  I have gotten some pieces done, but only when I was ready to do them.  And honestly, the pieces I have made?  I really love.  I really felt inspired.  I let the blog go too, which I feel a bit guilty about, but I knew, being the wonderful friends you are... that you would understand :).

So, let me share with you some of the pieces I have done.  This first is a favorite, I used all of the silks from my palette for Marsha Neal's silk color challenge:





I paired the silks with some gorgeous Fallen Angel Brass, swarovski crystals, and three gemstones out of my stash.  I love the way it turned out :)

Here are a few others...


Featuring FAB and a gorgeous boro from Amanda at Seashore Glass


More Fallen Angel Brass with beautiful ceramic tiles from Marsha Neal Studio.

Last, but surely not least, a special order I did for an incredibly special and lovely young lady:



Fallen Angel Brass, gorgeous sari silk, a Vintaj blank, czech glass and swarovski crystals :)

The end is in sight, my husband will be home the middle of this month and hopefully all will be back to normal!  ;)  Oh!  And I'm having a sale in my shop for a limited time!  20% off anything in the shop if you use the coupon code:  SUMMER  at checkout (you have to make sure to use the coupon code box in Etsy or the code doesn't work).

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SoulsFireDesigns

I hope you are all having an incredible summer!  Once I hit 100 sales in my shop I will have a fancy giveaway, any ideas for the giveaway?

~Jenn

Challenge of Music: I'm Through

I had the most amazing musical experience on the first of this month, I went to a little "pop-up" concert by Ingrid Michaelson in Portland (Oregon, for those of you who don't follow my blog :)).  I have always thought her a good artist, have always enjoyed her music, thought her voice beautiful... but I have to tell you... there is absolutely no comparison to her live.  Watching her interact with her audience, listening to her tell us about her music, catching glimpses into her sweet and warm and funny personality all made me adore her.  But the truly spell-bounding moments were when she sang, her voice is so pure, her emotion so real you feel as if you can grasp it in your hands as it winds around your soul.  Even singing lighter, more upbeat songs, her voice is so beautiful it just captures you.  I cannot for the life of me remember the last evening I enjoyed that way, I was about ten to fifteen feet from her the entire concert and it was incredible.

Every piece was amazing, but the song that pierced me to the quick was "I'm Through."  She confided that we were the first group to ever hear it live and told us in her own words what the song meant.  She told us it was about trying to move on, going out with someone for the first time after losing someone you loved very deeply.  And the new person is really wonderful and ordinarily you might really like them, but you are still too broken over your previous relationship.  When she began singing, it was just her on the keyboard, I was overcome by the beauty of the music and her voice... and the sadness.  Yet there wasn't just sadness, there was the bitter-sweetness of a relationship that was life changing.  There is even a hint of hope, or more correctly, a knowledge that it won't always be so difficult.  That moving on will happen, but when you are ready, in your own time.  Here are the lyrics, courtesy her official website:

http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/music/songs-lyrics/im-through

I'm Through

I'm going out again tonight
the first time in the longest time
he holds the door and holds my hand
but doesn't feel like you

we laugh at all the people in
the restaurant across from us
he talks a lot but not too much
but doesn't sound like you

it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through

I know there'll come a time again
when everything will fit right in
and I won't have to see your face
in strangers on the street

but I would rather feel the sting
than never to have felt a thing
I'll always know that you were the one
to rip me from the ground

it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through

it's all because of you that I'm through
it's all because of you that I'm all through

I did manage to take a video of her on my ipod at the concert I went to, but the quality is wanting.  But I did manage to find another video on youtube of her singing it at the pop-up in Seattle!  Here it is:

And now, finally, here is my piece inspired by this incredible song and the lady who performed it:

The picture came out brighter than it really is, the sari silk is actually a deep navy blue.  I wanted the whole piece to be rich and moody and slightly tattered feeling which is why all of the metal is Fallen Angel Brass.  I chose this amazing pendant from Marsha Neal Studio that I have been hoarding, I love the way it's glazed dark and smoky blues, greys, and browns and looks distressed.  To me it represents the fact that the love had before was beautiful, as she says, she would have rather had it than not... better to have loved and lost.  I used grey fire agate, dark faceted sapphire rounds and a single grey glass pearl.  That pearl is that knowledge that someday it won't be as painful, that life can be good again when the time is right.  

I'm through...

Thank you so much, Erin, for hosting this amazing challenge, I have loved every single moment!  I hope you will take the time to visit all of the other participants on this wonderful ride of a challenge!  

Erin Prais-Hintz
Marcie Abney
Christine Altmiller
Elisabeth Auld
LJ B
Lori Bowring Michaud
Shannon Chomanczuk
Cece Cormier
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Malin de Koning
Beth Emery
Michelle Escano-Caballero
Erin Fickert-Rowland
Therese Frank
Amy Freeland
Tanya Goodwin
Stephani Gorman
Amy Grass
Beth Hemmila
Kristina Johansson
Jennifer Justman
Tari Kahrs
Susan Kennedy
Ema Kilroy
Kathleen Lange Klik
Kirsi Luostarinen
Paige Maxim
Beth McCord
Natalie McKenna
Alice Peterson
Cat Pruitt
Bobbie Rafferty
Johanna Rhodes
Cynthia Riggs
Sally Russick
Sarah Sequins
Amy Severino
Staci Smith
Kristen Stevens
Lola Surwillo
Stefanie Teufel
Sandi Volpe
Holly Westfall
Shaiha Williams
 

Music speaks to the soul, don't you think?  

~Jenn

Giveaway Winners!

Happy Friday, everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful week :)  I will start off by announcing my giveaway winners!  Firstly, for the pair of earrings:

Number 14 was Louise, when asked her hope for the new year, she said:

"I have been following your work for a while. I really love your eye for colour. This year I want to realise my own dream - to find my inner creativity and express myself through jewellery. It didn't happen last year so fingers firmly crossed."

Here's to finding your inner creativity, Louise!  You can do it!  

The winner of the bracelet was:

Number 8, Christine!  She said her hope for the year was: 

"Your earrings and bracelet are so pretty!! 

My biggest goal...I'm almost done setting up a torch-fire enamel area & would love to spend more time making jewelry!!"

I can't wait to see what torch fired goodies you come up with, Christine!

Congratulations to both!  Please contact me at:  mysoulsfire@hotmail.com  with your addresses so I can get those out to you!  And for all of you who didn't win...  I am having 20% off anything in my shop, even sale items!  Enter the coupon code:  HOPE20  at checkout!  :)

Now, I'd love to give you all a peek at the new things in my shop :)  I'm really excited about them, I've really enjoyed putting these together :)

Tangerine Sky Bracelet and Earrings:

Twilight in Paris, featuring a beautiful tile by the lovely Marie of Skye Jewels and delicious Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass:

And my favorite... the one I am having an especially hard time parting with... Red as a Fox.  Which features

the most perfect sleepy little fox from Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio (paired with Fallen Angel Brass

Co. wire and lovely sari silk from Golden One Too on Etsy):

If you click on any of those images it will take you to the listing where you can see more pics :)  I felt so inspired with those, they truly make me happy.


Now, for some exciting news!  I made it into Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party!!!  This will be my second and I am over the moon excited!  My partner this time is the talented Kari Carrigan of Charmed Pennies!  I started following her blog after the last Soup and am so excited to have her as my partner this time!  I need to put her soup together this weekend, it has been swirling in my head and I think I know what I'm sending :)  So excited!  Check out her blog and shop!


http://www.weegemsdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CharmedPennies

Later this weekend or early next week I will have blog posts spotlighting the work of two wonderful ladies who last month I was lucky enough to receive pieces by!  Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

~Jennifer

Laryngitis means... not being able to sing!

And let me tell you, me not being able to sing is rough lol.  I sing all the time, always have.  I sing along with pandora, or my itunes playlists... I sing my son to sleep... and I just sing.  So when my throat started feeling yucky two days ago I knew I had finally caught what the kids have had, then last night my voice started to go.  It makes me sad, not to be able to sing, lol.  But I will keep drinking tea and hopefully it will be back soon!  Until then... I will just wear the beautiful and perfect pendant I was blessed enough to win from the incredible Erin of Tesori Trovati, she had a giveaway during the Challenge of Color Hop I was a part of a bit ago.  When it arrived I was dealing with a rough patch and it just brought a feeling of joy and peace to me.  I have worn it a lot since, on a simple silk ribbon/cord from Marsha Neal Studio (these silks from her are incredible, so soft!!).

I grew up mostly in the Pacific NW, so rain is something I am very used to... and I have been blessed enough to see plenty of rainbows in my life.  This pendant helps me remember that we need to remember that without the difficult times in our lives we wouldn't have the incredible ones... the ones so beautiful they take our breath away.

So, armed with that, I managed to get out a handful of new items over the craziness of the last two weeks, here they are :)  I am very fond of this first one, I'm calling it Gypsy Flower Dance and if you want to know more click on it to go to the listing:

The pendant is from Marsha Neal Studio and the sari silk is from B'Sue Boutiques, B'Sue is such a sweet and inspiring lady :)  It also has plenty of gorgeous Fallen Angel Brass.
Earrings with more Marsha Neal tiles and stainless steel:

And lastly, a pair of wrap bracelet/necklaces featuring more of that amazing silk from Marsha Neal and one of them has a sweet Oui charm from B'Sue Boutiques:

Happy New Year, all!  May yours be so filled with joy and love and success that you overflow with goodness and touch those around you.

~Jennifer

What to do with sick littles...

Give them warm chamomile tea with lemon and honey and read them Winnie the Pooh, of course!  Well, for as long as they'll sit still that is.  We went south for Christmas... whenever we travel? We all come home sick.  But it was a wonderful trip, the children had a great time visiting my parents and so did I.  Sometimes I really wish we lived closer, though we're only two hours away... sometimes it feels like we are more like twenty.

So, as I am tending sick little ones, I have not gotten much beading done, but... what I have done I am very proud of :)  I managed to put together one bracelet and a necklace.  I'm going to share the bracelet with you for now.  In my head I am calling it... The Key to Love... though with the new keyword thing in Etsy putting titles on things is tricky.  Regardless... this is all born out of a fantastic tile from JLynn Jewels:

Don't you love it?  ;)  The colors... the texture, the wood burning.. I added plenty of Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass, of course... including this little key that I am totally just swooning over.  I used jasper, sapphire, wood beads, opal, sodalite and delicious navy blue sari silk.  I wanted something to... bring to mind the softness, depth, and peacefulness that can be found in real love.  While making this bracelet I was pondering how there are so many different types of love... so many ways to love... to show love... to feel it.  How it is possible to love everyone in your family deeply, but differently.  Which makes sense, really, because every person is different, so how could we not love them as they need to be loved?  Or at least try.  Coming to the end of this year, this 2011, I am realizing that love is important to me.  Or rather... how much my desire to find a type of love, a way to love, all of the amazing people in my life.. that is important to me.  Love means many things, is many things, but I think... the most wonderful thing about love is its ability to grow.

Now if only we could all find a way to let it grow... hmph, there I go rambling again.  Well, sweet friends, I love all of you, and am so grateful for your kindness, your support.  It is an honour to be part of your lives :)

Love one another... as best you can :)

~Jennifer

Pretties...

I know, I owe you guys a really good post... but I've been sick and I'll be honest, my brain isn't up to it lol.  So instead, I am going to make this picture heavy and show you some of my new pretties :)  I've finally been able to get to work with my new Marsha Neal goodies! Marsha has such incredible talent, each of her ceramic pieces, pendant or tiles, is just filled with beauty.  And each one is so unique!  I love her glazes, each one has its own appeal, this set of earrings I'm calling "Caramel Toffee"  can you guess why? ;)

"Black Magic"

"Peach and Raspberry Sorbet"

And some gorgeous enameled beads from Sally Russick of Wireworked, they have this delightful crackle finish to them, it is just amazing!  I'm calling them "Sweet Sunshine":

A gorgeous tile from Marie Cramp of Skye Jewels (this one I dubbed "Queen Bee") and Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass.  Marie's tiles are always so lovely, this one has the prettiest soft green color, and I love wrapping her tiles in Fallen Angel Brass filigree!

Click on any of the pics to be taken to the Etsy shop for more images and a description!  Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season :)

~Jennifer

Pre-Holiday Fair Madness

I have never done a craft fair... I've been to a handful over the years and always thought how amazing the vendors were.  To be able to make beautiful and or useful things with their hands seemed so wonderful to me, still does :). So now, to be doing this myself is just crazy to me, but exciting :)  Doing all of this prep for it has been a bit exhausting and I'm still nowhere near done, it's amazing how the smallest tasks take forever when you have three littles lol.  I've got about a million ideas for jewelry pieces in my head right now and I've started acquiring ways to display my jewelry, thank you second hand stores!  Unfortunately they need to be sanded, which I started last night and I had forgotten what a pain that is to do by hand...  hopefully I'll be able to paint tonight or tomorrow.

I thought I'd show you what my bead table looks like at the moment, to give you an idea of the chaos reigning ;)  I have finished pieces mingling with barely started ideas...  Marsha Neal silk ribbon... KAS ribbon.... tons of Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass... charms, chain, jump rings... swarovski crystals.  Yup, a royal mess LOL.

It's actually much better today than it was last night... sad as that is LOL.  And I won't even show you the floor which is even worse... boxes of beads, packaging, silks, my metal working stuff... it's a disaster.  Here's one of the things I picked up to use for displaying, it needs a bit of work, but it has potential.  I was playing around with it last  night trying to imagine how I was going to use it.

It's a nifty cork board with a wood frame that appealed to me, I really like its length.  But it definitely needs a little something, so we'll see what I end up with when I'm finished jazzing it up.  I also got that pretty little tray in the first pic above on the left.  Sorry these pics aren't the best, used my ipod lol.  See those earrings in the middle pic?  I got some new and insanely gorgeous lampwork beads from one of my favorite artists (Iris Glass Art) within hours of getting them earrings made themselves, I swear it!  

I had big plans for taking the kids and the camera and getting pics of them in the leaves this weekend, but... didn't happen lol.  They've all been fighting with a bit of a cold and I decided we'll try maybe after school tomorrow :). How was your weekend?  Did you do anything deliciously autumnal?  Or is Old Man Winter nipping at your ears already?  Whichever it is, I hope you had a lovely weekend and it leads to a fabulous week!

~Jennifer

I love java sweet and hot...

Are you a coffee person? I totally am.  I wasn't always, but now I am not sure I could live without it.  I love coffee.  I love the way it smells, I love the way it tastes, I love the happy secure feeling I get when I have it.  Because it is really just one of those happy spots in my life, drinking a cup of coffee (or four, depending on the day ;) ).  I find when I'm starting to feel stressed that making a pot of coffee, letting the scent fill the house, holding the warm mug in my hands... soothes me.  Helps me breathe for a minute.  And sometimes that minute is something I desperately need, don't we all?  What had me thinking of coffee in such a way, you may ask... well, I just finished reading The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen.  There is a character in there named Rachel and she says that the way a person likes their coffee can tell you about them...  I don't know about that, but it is definitely an interesting thought, don't you think?

I know, rambling, right?  Ok, onto business!  :)  Today I want to talk about what I've been working on!  I made two new bracelets this last week or so and have finally had enough weak sunlight to attempt to photograph them :)  They feature the work of two ladies whose work I admire very much :)  The first bracelet is called "Autumn Leaves in the Wind" and has the most wonderful cuff style bead by Heather of Humblebeads.  The blues and browns in it are just so perfect for autumn and I love the oak leaves, so pretty, they just looked like they were blowing in the wind, thus the name :).  I kept it simple featuring more of that amazing Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass... chain, wire, and headpins.  Can't get enough of their metal!  Anyway... here it is!

What do you think?  :)  

The second piece that I'm really excited about is a bracelet featuring a focal by the wonderful Marie of Skye Jewels.  I have a bit of an obsession with the Eiffel Tower (and Paris in general) and anything London related. I just think they seem like such beautiful and amazing things and hope someday to see them in person... until then I will just have to create jewelry inspired by them :)  Marie made this lovely tile with a stunning layered image of the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye... it's so dreamy, so romantic... and I tried to keep that feel by wrapping it in a gorgeous filigree from (you guessed it!) Fallen Angel Brass Co.  I used this amazing creamy green jasper and soft lavender cape amethyst that almost glows in some lights.  After I made the clasp I wrapped it in a finer gauge wire with lavender seed beads and then added a few sparkling swarovski crystals... Oh here, you have to see it LOL

Well? What do you think?  :)  I'm pretty excited about them.  Getting to use such amazing materials by such talented ladies is a true pleasure!  If you click on their names above you'll be taken to their fabulous shops!  

~Jennifer

Humblebeads: http://www.etsy.com/shop/humblebeads    http://humblebeads.blogspot.com/   

Fallen Angel Brass Co.:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FallenAngelBrass  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FallenAngelJewelry   http://fallenangelbrass.blogspot.com/

Skye Jewels:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/skyejewels  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Moreskyejewels  http://skyejewels.blogspot.com/

P.S. Come back tomorrow for the Sari Blog Hop Reveal!!!  

Autumn breezes... blow through my mind.

If you are looking for my soup post, it is HERE

I swear they do, really.  I love autumn... it is by far my favorite season.  The leaves are turning now in front of the school down the street... and when I jog in the mornings I get to watch the progression.  First just a hint of color on the edges of the leaves... and day by day it changes... a little at a time.  Rather like some things in life... not everything changes in moments, some things are softer, more gradual.  Rather like a steady rain or the surf caressing the shore, changing the shape of it year after year, little by little...  Yes, that's right, I get all dreamy and musing in the autumn LOL.  So watch out, you never know what is coming next!  ;)

For now though, I thought I'd share some of my latest creations :)  I've been hard at work... and with such lovely materials it has been a true pleasure to work.. then again, when isn't it?  Fallen Angel Brass Co. has become my new favorite place to go for all things metal... there is something so incredibly appealing about their dark brass.  It totally fuels my imagination!  They have these angel wings... if you know them, you know what I speak of lol.  I've wanted to play with them for ages and finally ordered a set... and when they arrived? And I held them in my hands I had a vision... and my hands started working and a few hours later... this was born :)  I named it "Fallen" for it's dark fallen angel appearance... and of course the company who inspired it!  Thank you, Karen and Tina, you ladies rock!  Their wire just makes me breathless with joy :D Without further ado... "Fallen"

Please excuse the middle pic... I need to get myself a proper lady for displaying :)  Anyway... I wire wrapped the lapis and the boro (20 gauge wire from FAB, of course).  Three types of chain.... some swarovski crystals and pearls.  And you have... a lariat *big cheesy grin*  Very proud of myself LOL.  I love this piece!  

Next up features not only FAB... but also the work of an artist whose work I have admired for quite some time now, Janice of JLynn Jewels.  She has become a wonderful friend and I am so grateful to her for her advice and daily inspiration, I am so blessed!  Anyway, point Jennifer, get to the point!  I was sitting here, skimming through Etsy trying to find inspiration.. and saw the most gorgeous tiles she put up in her shop.  I usually hem and haw and wait and wait before buying things, worry over costs... not these!  I snapped them up within seconds of seeing them!  And she sent them out to me quickly too!  Angel that she is, because I was so excited!!  So here it is, my Wings of Autumn necklace featuring one of her perfect tiles!  

Isn't that tile just stunning?  And all of that FAB wire and I made the clasp myself too :)  I am growing very proud of my wire work lol.  Honey jade and cappuccino jasper just seemed to perfectly capture the colors in the tile.  And that boro bead I've had sitting there waiting for the perfect piece for months now!  It all just seemed to fall together perfectly :)  Click on any of the pics to go to my Etsy site to see other pictures of the pieces.  Let me know what you guys think!  I have several new wrap bracelets and some amazingly sparkly and dangle-y earrings coming up and into the shop this week!  Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week, my dears!  

~Jennifer

P.S.  Blogs for the ladies mentioned above!  Click on their highlighted names above for their shops!  Check them out!!
http://fallenangelbrass.blogspot.com/

http://jlynnjewels.blogspot.com/