A River Runs Through It

I am lucky to have a piece of paradise. Our farm has been in my husband's family since 1813. We are getting ready to celebrate its bicentennial. Winding through our farm is a river called Chagrin. Several years ago, my husband and sons made a sitting area for me along the river. The picture above shows my view. The worst of days are made better by just sitting down there.

It is not uncommon for me to go for a walk in the river. I love looking for the perfect skipping stones. To me, there is nothing like the feel of a stone that has been smoothed by water. There is almost a velvet quality to it.

The other day, I went for walk and came upon some stones that I thought would be perfect for some jewelry. What do you think?

Thanks for visiting.
Cynthia

MIA

I can't believe it is already June. My poor blog has been so neglected. Life has been too crazy of late and something had to give and alas, it was the blog. Now that things are calming down, hopefully I can give more attention to my little piece of the cyber world.

I have been dealing with health issues for my elderly inlaws, a leaky roof and septic problems. Oh the joys of living in a house built in 1820! Thank heavens for my jewelry. Banging on metal and playing with beads are a wonderful way to relieve stress.

I have been doing a lot of custom work. The picture above shows the latest piece I created. It is a charm necklace that features the dog tag of a WW2 veteran who served in the Pacific and was at Iwo Jima. The necklace is for the veteran's granddaughter. It was such an honor to create this piece. The thought that he wore the tag while serving our country made it so special. The charms make a wonderful sound when they go up against the tag. The veteran died last year and he was very close to his granddaughter. His daughter thought this would be the perfect way for her daughter to carry her grandfather with her. Projects like this make me love what I do.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cynthia

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the farm. I hope your day is filled with laughter and love.

Blue Sky and Sunshine

It is amazing what blue sky and sunshine can do for one's mood. I have been living in a world filled with rain and gray for almost two weeks. I should not complain since people on the east coast are dealing with far worse things but when you learn you have a leak in your roof, sunshine and blue skies are a wonderful thing. I wandered around my gardens this morning, snapping pictures. I try to take pictures of the gardens during the various seasons to help me during the winter when I plan what I am going to do in the spring. It is a wonderful way to see what needs changed, moved or spots that need gardens. My husband refers to it as his work list. Here are some pictures to show you how things look around the farm.

The view of my kitchen garden. I want to expand this and add raised beds for vegetables.

A view of the perennial bed behind the house. Things have gotten huge in there so I think it is time for a new garden bed so things can be divided.

I was tickled to find a rose bud this morning. It is now sitting is a sweet vase on my kitchen window sill. I best hit my workroom. I have lots of things to work on before my annual holiday open house next week. Thanks for visiting. Cynthia

October at the Farm

The leaves are beginning to put on quite the show. The colors have been inspiring my work of late.

Here are some new items that were inspired by my magnificent view.

I hope the day treats you kindly. Cynthia

MIA

I cannot believe autumn is almost here. Where did summer go? I have been MIA thanks to too much going on. I decided it was time to revisit the blog since life is a little less hectic. I have been busy in the workroom trying to get ready for the holiday season. My gardens are still providing me with lots of inspiration. I picked this bouquet this morning.

The bouquet then inspired this charm style necklace.

I like the way it turned out and just might have to make myself one. Enjoy your weekend!

Custom Orders

I have been busy these last few days. It seems there are lots of brides out there.

I have always enjoyed working with brides to make jewelry for their bridesmaids and themselves. It is a wonderful feeling to be a part of their special day. I especially love it when the brides send me pictures from the weddings so I can see what they look like. The one downside to having an online business, I often don't know what my customers look like. So it is a treat to get pictures.

The necklace in the picture was a special project. The bride had lost her grandmother months before her wedding. She wanted a way to have her grandmother play a role in her big day. The bride showed up at my home with containers filled with her grandmother's button collection. The bride had fond memories of playing with the buttons when she was little. She asked me, "What can you do with these?" The bride also had pearls that had belonged to her mother and several other relatives. I thought treating the buttons like the base of flowers would be a great way to use them. The pearls would become the center of the flowers. When I showed the bride the completed necklace. She remarked, "That is exactly what I wanted." I love it when it works out that way.