Custom Cystic Fibrosis Graduation Crystal Bracelet

Almost everyday, people come into and (sadly sometimes) go out of, our lives. There are as many ways that these people come and go as there are stars in the sky.

It could be a brief encounter, such as when you checkout at the store; it could be a friendship or connection that develops through school, work or unexpected circumstances. But, it is undeniable. That person has touched your life for some reason. To know this is simply to ask the question,'of the millions of people on this earth, why did this person come into my life'?

Granted, not everyone you meet will have an identifiably direct purpose in your life. It may be years before, one day, you think to yourself, 'now I understand'. But, for some, almost immediately, they indeliably touch your life in a way that is hard to ignore -or forget.

Whether they come or go, life continues on. Your connection may not be as clear and simple as say, you both have something in common. It may be one you cannot explain. But, also, one you cannot explain away. Life is made up of little moments. Cherish them, nurture them, explore them. But most of all, don't ignore them. Those little moments add value to your life and you should never go forward with regrets.

An example of this was when Nancy contacted me about creating a custom beaded bracelet to celebrate her niece, Jackie, who was graduating and for her work on her senior project. She wanted a custom bracelet designed to represent awareness for cystic fibrosis and to memorialize Jackie's friend, Fallon Finegan, who passed away at just 16 years old from cystic fibrosis. It was a tall custom order, but I knew it could be accomplished.

Jackie had known Fallon since the third grade and to lose her longtime friend must have been devastating. But Jackie vowed to honor her friend while raising awareness of cystic fibrosis and fulfilling her future goals of becoming an event planner.

You can read the full story of Jackie's senior project fundraiser. The Finegan family was so touched by Jackie's efforts that they presented Jackie with flowers the day of the event. It was certainly a very heartfelt day for all involved.

At the studio bench, I got set creating this special handmade custom bracelet taking direction from an existing design Nancy already liked and incorporating pink Swarovski Crystals (Jackie's favorite color) and purple Swarovski Crystals (to represent cystic fibrosis awareness). Merging these two colors was a perfect representation of Jackie's and Fallon's friendship. The sentimentality of the design can also be seen in the centered purple ribbon lampwork glass bead, sterling silver diploma charm and Fallon's birthstone, a December blue Swarovski Crystal charm.

Jackie's Custom Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Graduation Beaded Bracelet (B151-II) is truly a treasured keepsake that will remind her of the special person who came into her life, remains in her heart, and one of many life accomplishments she will make.

Thank you Nancy for the opportunity to create this very special design for a very special person! And congrats to the graduate, Jackie!

Here is what Nancy had to say:
I can not thank you enough, she is going to be thrilled! = ) Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, as this is not just any gift but has so much sentimentality behind it. I will definitely keep your e-mail for future orders!

Your life speaks to you in a whisper...listen to it.

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Got Spiders? Don't Call Me!

Not even a Swarovski Crystal Spider is beautiful!

Don't ask me where it comes from but, I.hate.spiders. Hmm.....'hate' is a strong word. No, who am I kidding. HATE is the word for how I feel about spiders. Not even the spider, Charlotte, from the novel Charlotte's Web could change my mind. Although Charlotte is a little easier on the eyes and the creepy factor -she still makes my skin crawl. Sorry Charlotte.

What's all this talk about spiders? Well, my little one has become quite the prankster. Let me step back a moment. One day, I happen to catch a spider creeping along the kitchen ceiling. With the husband at work, I knew I'd have to do the job. Ugh. As I ponder how I am going to do this, I muster up enough courage to occasionally peek at it (with one eye), as it crawled along the ceiling, waiting for it to stop. It finally stops above the fridge. Great. Not exactly the best of angles to try to kill it.

The cat decides he's going to jump on the top of the fridge to play (since now I am up on a stool whispering words of encouragement to myself that I can do this). I think to myself, 'great, the cat will see it and get it for me'. He jumps up...looks up...looks at me...I point to the ceiling since this tarantula is on the move...he looks up, again...looks back at me. I wait. He'll get it. Time is of the essence here, cat...it's on the move, stop looking at me. No. The cat decides he's more interested in my attention than he is in getting the spider. Figures, the one time I need him to eat that creepy thing and he wants attention. Great.

In the meantime, the little one comes down stairs and asks why I'm talking to myself (don't laugh at me, you know you do it too -at least I admit it) and why I'm on the stool. Her chatting to me is making me lose my focus. I ask her to stop talking for just a moment. She asks again, what am I doing. I tell her there is a spider on the ceiling that I need to get. "Unless you plan on helping me (at this time I turn my head towards her, only to find she has disappeared!). Yes, she ran away the minute she heard spider. Thanks for the help.

Now, this sets the story for today. I'm in my office, the little one is getting water for her doll. She knocks on my door. "There is something in my play room". Ok. I get up, go to her room and there is this big black tarantula on the floor (to you, it may not have seemed that big -but to me, it was..in fact, I think I saw it move!) I think, no way. It can't be. But...am I going to touch it to find out? Heck no! So I need to find a way to know if it's real. Think.

I ask her if it's one of her play spiders and did she put it there, she responds in an inaudible tone. Did she say 'no'? I look at her and she didn't appear to have been the culprit, seemed surprised, so, here I am again...needing to do the spider job. Ugh. She stands watching me as I take a pen and poke at it to determine if it's real or not (as I'm thinking, please do.not.move.). I tell her if it does move -scream! Help is sure to come. lol. Turns out...it's fake. That little stinker! She set me up. She can really get her game face on when she needs to.

Maybe it won't be so funny if that (fake) spider is getting your Hello Kitty! Of course, I didn't say that to her... I snapped this pic without her knowing -or she would probably never touch her Hello Kitty again!

In case you're wondering about the spider on the ceiling. I did get it. After much screaming and dancing around the kitchen, I had to do the job a second time as the first didn't quite work.

What's that? Poor little spider? No. I don't go crawling around spiders' homes. Therefore, I certainly don't expect them to be creeping around my house. :-)

(update) And in case you're wondering. Yes. It completely creeped me out to write this blog post. I could barely search images for the first spider pic. For a brief moment, I contemplated asking the husband if he'd look for spiders -he can take it, he's a man. But, I got my tom-boy on and did the deed. Of course, I did not escape the spider nightmares. Nice.


Your life speaks to you in a whisper...listen to it.

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Custom Crystal Epilepsy Awareness Bracelet

With each custom awareness bracelet design, I get the opportunity to meet some really special, fantastic people. I also get to learn about the diseases that affect them. Sometimes I learn alot about the person, other times, I don't. But one thing is for sure. With each custom request -it touches my life -permanently.

Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. It is also called a seizure disorder. Seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells in the brain signal abnormally, which may briefly alter a person's consciousness, movements or actions.*

Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of "meeting" one of the nearly 3 million Americans (50 million people worldwide) affected by epilepsy. Her name is Laura.

Laura wanted to have a custom epilepsy awareness bracelet designed that would raise awareness of epilepsy but also be a touch more personalized with her name. Laura's design incorporates lavendar Swarovski Crystals, the awareness color for epilepsy, 14k goldfill beads, Bali and sterling letter blocks for her name. She wanted our latest exclusive sterling Hope Ribbon handstamped charm and it was the perfect finishing touch to her treasured keepsake awareness bracelet.

*(source: Epilepsy Foundation)


Your life speaks to you in a whisper...listen to it.

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