Appreciations

Way back in October, I found these large, Larimar beads in Florida.  I bought enough  to make some Christmas gifts, even though it almost drives me to drink to not give out pretties IMMEDIATELY upon purchasing them.  

I was soooooo proud of myself for making necklaces in the fall and saving them for Santa time! 

This one is made with aquamarine, moonstone, labradorite, mother of pearl, amazonite, and silver.

These two are designed by Sugarwings for her Hippie Chick Mommy and Mommy's partner.  My girl went with me to the gem show, and spent over an hour finding just the right set of rainbow stones to use for the matching pieces.

I used silver, which was good for most of it, but the jump rings I had were too fine, and not strong enough, the pendants were easily pulled off when the piece snagged on a scarf. I've gathered the faulty gifts back up and have to replace the delicate jump rings that held the pendant on with something sturdier.  oops!

Jewelry making was just what I needed to make me feel better last fall while I was down after my minor cardiac procedure.  2016 was a year of beading for me, working with my hands was very healing.

Last spring, when I first had the arrhythmia symptoms,  I'd recently been to the gem show and had a bagful of beads on the dining table.  I felt pretty crappy and didn't want to go out to the studio, so I turned my dining room into a jewelry workshop.  

Bracelet after bracelet , necklace after necklace, was made this year, some for myself, some for friends and family.  It was good for me to be able to be creative when I wasn't feeling up to par, and gemstone beads are an addictive item.  The more I made, the more I wanted to make.  

It wasn't practical, I wasn't selling the items.  And I think I gave away at least $500 worth of beads in the pieces that I made.

But making all of this gemmy goodness was sooooo good for me.

My limited energy wasn't allowing me to be up to doing my regular work in the studio, let alone making kits or setting up classes.   

Yet, being creative in any way is very important to me.  This little hobby helped me get through some tired times and cheered me up. 

Oh, I don't want to make it sound like I was a complete invalid, I'm fine, the whole cardiac thing was minor.  I'm very, very fine, I was just feeling down for a matter of weeks multiple times over the past year.  

Enough that between feeling yucky or being busy with our remodeling project, my business was put on hold. So, I am grateful to have had an outlet to keep my hands busy with pretty things that uplifted my weirdly, thumping heart.

2016 was jammed with wonderful moments, smiles, and loveliness.  And I'm lucky that my health problems were as minor as they were.  (I'm beyond very, very fine now, and my heart has not done any odd pitter pattering since I had the repair job done).  Having those issues makes me appreciate my creative energy and not take it for granted.  Being out of commission art-wise, can be as heart breaking as having a faulty thumper.

Earlier, I posted some of my vows for the new year, and now I think that I need to add another.  Besides Joy, and Merry, Grateful, and  Thanks as words for the year, Appreciation needs to be up on the list.  

Appreciation sounds a lot like Grateful, but in this case, it is a bit more.  To me, it will mean slowing down to think about what I do, what I make, and appreciating my own skill and drive to create.  And knowing how being creative keeps me going, and makes me who I am.   Not taking it for granted.