May the Forest Be With You

Hello, and welcome to my reveal for the Into the Forest Blog Hop, hosted by Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist/Pine Ridge Treasures. Late last summer, Lisa offered creative kits filled with beautiful assorted beads specially chosen to challenge and inspire. I received a gorgeous lime and olive green mixture:

When I think of forests, I immediately see rain-forest... I was also inspired, not by a photo, but by some quilting cotton in my stash:

Y'all know I LOVE fibre, and any excuse to employ it in jewelry design; but I was disappointed to find my sewing machine very disagreeable to the prospect (overworked and long overdue for a maintenance appointment). I regretfully put aside the strips of colourful fabric I had cut and decided to get back to basics with some straightforward stringing (a technique I seldom use but enjoy very much).

Here is a 26" slip-on necklace I call Amazon Midnight:

**I apologize for the photo quality. It seems my technology is not in love with me right now, and the feeling is mutual :(*

I could talk at length about my love/hate relationship with seed beads. They were a lovely adjunct when I was doing cross-stitch... now more like a reminder of failing eyesight :( However, I DID manage to string the little darlings, adding some of my old stock of seeds and bugles, randomly aligned, recalling the varied muted shades of an equatorial forest. This lariat style necklace/bracelet I have named Forest as Medicine, a nod to the many seads, pods, leaves, etc., harvested for use as life-giving therapies, often adapted from traditional remedies:

**P.S. Take THAT, seed beads!**

And, of course, we must have a couple of earrings :) These will be part of my donation to Amy Freeland's 100 Pairs 100 Days in support of the beautiful Ears to You organization, providing much-needed morale boosters to women undergoing cancer treatments.

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In closing I would like to share the words of an American-born nun who chose to live in solidarity with the poor of Brazil, helping peasants make a living by farming small plots and extracting forest products without deforestation, while protecting them from criminal gangs working on behalf of ranchers who were after their land: 

"A Morte da floresta é o fim da nossa vida" which is Portuguese for "The death of the forest is the end of our life." 

In 2005 her support for the poor of her adopted country would lead to the end of her own life, when she was murdered to silence her powerful and influential advocacy. Her words are a chilling reminder that the loss of our precious forests may indeed be the end of all life.

RIP Sr. Dorothy Stang

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Here are the other artists who have chosen to reveal the many beauties of our forests:

Your hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life 
  Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation
Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware
 Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Shaiha Williams,   Shaiha's Ramblings

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Monique Urquhart (YEP, THAT'S ME) A Half-Baked Notion

Janet Bocciardi, Honey from the Bee

Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales

Elizabeth Engriser, Bead Contagion

Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Ema Kilroy, Ema KDesigns

100 Pairs 100 Days: Part 1

Today is my first installment for the "100 Pairs 100 Days" Challenge hosted by Amy Freeland of  Copper Diem. Amy is a longtime booster for Ears to You,  an organization which distributes earrings to women undergoing cancer treatments. 

Here are my first 10 pairs:

What's that? You only count eight pairs? You are correct :) The other two will appear tomorrow as part of the Into the Forest blog hop... drop by and check out our other designs!

I will be attempting to keep up with Amy, an earring designer extraordinaire, as she sets a new speed record in earring creation :) Hopefully I will be back on January 20 for Part 2.

**Details on components are on the 100 Pairs 100 Days Pinterest board**

 

January Challenge #1: Low-Spend Goals First Update and KIVA Report

This is my first check-in for the No-Low Spend Challenge hosted by Carla of My 1/2 Dozen Daily. To recap my goals (actions in CAPS): 

1/ Limit my shopping to two days per week (I am setting Tuesdays and Fridays... for now) **ONE INCIDENCE OF UNPLANNED SPENDING: AN EYE APPOINTMENT I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT, SO I AM ADDING A FIFTH GOAL**

2/ Plan all my meals ahead of time, preferably weekly **I SUCCEEDED IN PLANNING ALL MY MEALS**

3/ Develop a savings plan **I WILL BE OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT IN ANOTHER BANK SO I WON'T BE TEMPTED TO DO ONLINE TRANSFERS**


4/ Investigate part-time work which will not interfere with my home responsibilities **SO FAR I HAVE JUST CHECKED THE FEDERAL GOVT JOB-BANK**

5/ NEW GOAL: Set aside a "bumper" for unplanned or emergency spending in the budget.

Thanks, Carla, for helping me to get organized in my finances (yes, these baby steps is "me getting organized" LOL).

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I realize belatedly that I haven't yet shared my KIVA experience here. Way back in September of 2012, I discovered the world of micro-lending during research for a jewelry design challenge. I was fascinated at the prospect of lending directly to an entrepreneur somewhere in the developing world. Since then I have made 30 loans ($25. each) to borrowers in 27 countries. 

These are LOANS as opposed to donations, and KIVA has an over 99% repayment rate. I receive the payments back over time and can reinvest in a new loan (I always do... it is amazing to hear about the success of the entrepreneurs). I can choose loans by country, by sector (agriculture, clothing, health, housing, retail, etc.) or even by gender. I have lent 60% to women; most recently I have been seeking out loans for sewing businesses (Iraq, Kosovo and Jordan). At this point, I can make one or two loans every month from the repayments alone :)

The need is great, the result rewarding and it is so easy to fit this in any budget! I believe a first-time borrower can still get that initial loan for FREE (donations set aside for this), and if you link via another borrower, they can also receive a bonus loan for FREE! This is my invitation link if you are interested in taking advantage of this wonderful program. For Canadian borrowers, you can also enter though this invitation link for KIVA Team Canada. 

Here is the latest inspirational video from KIVA:

My First Blog Hop of 2014 (Sneak Peek)

The first blog hop in which I will be participating this year takes place on January 11. I believe it was WAAAY back in August that Lisa Lodge offered some mystery bead packages to anyone wanting to take part in the theme "Into the Forest". I received this lovely selection of beauties which include Swarovski crystals, Czech glass, seed beads, carved leaf beads and even a handmade decorative pendant by Gaea. 

It is hard to believe the time is almost here for the reveal. Hope you can join our hostess, Lisa Lodge of A Grateful Artist, along with a talented group of artists eager to show off what they have created!

Two Challenges for January

A New Year began today. For something a little different, I am beginning two challenges.

CHALLENGE #1 is called the January No-Low Spend Challenge, hosted by Carla of My 1/2 Dozen Daily. Quite simply, Carla is moderating an exercise in trimming the fat from our budgets. This Mom of four (like me!) has tons of experience in cutting non-essential spending, cheap day-to-day living and planning to save. Since I have always been a seat-of-my-pants budgeter, I am keeping my goals straightforward:

1/ Limit my shopping to two days per week (I am setting Tuesdays and Fridays... for now);

2/ Plan all my meals ahead of time, preferably weekly;

3/ Develop a savings plan;

4/ Investigate part-time work which will not interfere with my home responsibilites.

Notice I am taking BABY STEPS. I'd like to get to success!

CHALLENGE #2 is from Amy at Copper Diem. We will be creating earrings, 100 Pairs in 100 Days to be precise. Amy is a continuing supporter of the very worthy Ears to You organization, which distributes earrings to women undergoing cancer treatments, as a morale booster. Read the easy instructions on her blog. I will be doing my best to follow along with Amy, the Queen of the Earrings!