Jewelry, A Tip, and Mark Your Calendars

Good morning Y'all.     I hope and pray that the sun is shining where ever y'all are.     And even if the sun isn't shining outside, I pray more than anything, that the SON is shining on the inside!     The SON can brighten any situation or circumstance, believe that!     We've had lots of rain here lately and the grass and weeds are growing voraciously!!    We have just about been in the notion of trying to see if we can have  our back yard declared a "wildlife habitat" and just forget mowing!   hahahaha     I don't know if that would work or not, but it might be fun to see if we could.     Then all the homes in town would be declaring the same thing of their back yards.     Oh shucks, no matter how good the plans, something always spoils it!!!!!   hahahaha     Oh well, I tried anyway.   

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I just wanted to share with y'all, that a friend of mine is teaching classes in Hobby Lobby!!!   Yay , woop woop,  hooray!!!!    Her name is +Heather Kraafter  from the Kraaft Shaak.    She is a wonderful artist, teacher, mentor and friend.    She also has a heart that's on fire for the Lord!!!    I have to believe that the powers that be at Hobby Lobby seen and recognized that.    She is out west, so I would like to request that if you live in her area or are in her area any time, to pay the local Hobby Lobby a visit and see if she is scheduled to be there any time soon.    She will also be traveling to different Hobby Lobby's throughout her area with the plans of branching out even further and hopefully be coming to a Hobby Lobby near you some day soon!!!!!    Heather does have a calendar of events over at the Kraaft Shaak, so check that out and support a wonderful, talented lady.    I hope and pray that someday I get to give this lady a big hug!!!!    So, if you meet her in person before I do, then give her a hug for me, would ya?    https://kraaftshaak.com/events-schedule/      Heather, I pray for this to be an awesome adventure for you and your family.

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I have a couple more jewelry sets that I want to share with y'all today.      You may get tired of seeing them, but I haven't gotten tired of making them yet, so till then, I guess I will keep sharing them.     I did use my cropodile this time to set some eyelets in all the holes I punched to attach jewelry findings to, and I really do love that look.    For both of the bracelets I used long flatish jump rings to join them and I LOVE that!!!    I hope I can find some more of those.     Actually, they weren't really jump rings, it was a necklace chain that I never wore, I got the necklace for the parrot that was on it and I had turned it into a pin, so the chain was in jewelry findings and I used that for my bracelet links.     Anyway, this is the pictures of the two sets I made.

For the first set, I used turquoise shell chips.    I also used turquoise, purple and copper viva decor inka gold rubs. 

For the earrings, I used the next to the smallest oval and then punched the center out with the smallest oval to make an open earring.   I love that a whole lot. 

The oval links really helps the bracelet lay flat and I hope I can find another necklace chain with the oval links.     The clasp is shaped and hammered.     I really enjoy making those too.

I think the copper really allows the turquoise chips to shine.      I was really proud of these sets of jewelry. 

This set has purple, turquoise and copper viva decor inka gold rubs.     The colors are put on in different layers to the first set, same colors, just different layering.  It also features the ecru shell chips.

 These two sets are made from 3 layers of chipboard adhered together with 3L adhesive sheets.     It could also be done by using a xyron machine or just plain glue.

The clasp on the one was a bit longer and I like varying the sizes of them. 

I am happy to report that I donated these to a local fundraiser for the silent auction and they did sell!!

Yay!!!     I don't have any idea how much they brought, I was just thrilled that they sold!!!     I hope to be able to vary the shapes of them soon.     I have a "squares" die ordered from ebay that will be here soon and I am looking at other shapes too.     So, I should have a variety of shapes and sizes before long.   Yay!!!!

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What is the one thing you need most in this life?     Have you ever thought of what some of the vital requirements for life are?      Clean air, clean water and healthy food are the top 3 things that pop into my mind.     Then jobs that will pay the bills, shelter, clothes, medical care, transportation, and what else?     Maybe a good hobby to occupy your hands and mind.     Some people have green thumbs, me, I have brown thumbs. Everything I touch turns brown and dies, I can even kill an artificial plant. hahaha    That just has to be sad, doesn't it.     Lots of people are into photography, physical fitness and some are into fancy cooking, lots of people I know are into crafting of all kinds.     Some people like to work on cars and restore them, people spend time hunting and fishing, mountain climbing and just doing all sorts of things for recreation purposes.     The list just goes on and on of things that people love to do to satisfy their desires to be active and purposeful in their lives.

When I started contemplating all of this, my mind just seemed to keep turning to Jesus Christ.     After much consideration, I decided that Jesus Christ really has to be at the top of my list.     Why, you ask?     Well, Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.    Knowing that Jesus is God, He was present when everything that exists was spoken into existence.    If I know anything about God at all, it is this.   God is NOT the author of confusion.     God is orderly.     He created the universe in an orderly fashion.    God created man last.    Why did He not create man first?    Because God had a plan for man and He set out creating the universe and all that is in it in an orderly fashion. He got the earth and all that was on it created in the fashion and manner that would be best for man to thrive in.     If you go back and look at creation, you will see that God enjoyed His time in the garden with Adam, just walking in the cool of the day with him.     Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful it would be to walk with God in the cool of the day in the garden?    And I just wonder what the conversation would be about.     Yes, I know that God is all the "omnis"; omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresent.

In Greek, "omni" means "all".   Omnipotence is "all ruling", all powerful.     When we refer to God as "Almighty", we are expressing our belief that He has ownership and authority over all His creation.     God didn't create the earth and all that is in it and walk away from it.    He has been present with His creation from the beginning and will remain with His creation to the very end.

Omniscience means all knowing.    Everything that has ever been known, God knows it.    Everything that is known now about anything, God knows is.    Everything that is to be known in the future, God already knows it.    When I think about all that He knows, I realize I don't know anything!!!!    What about you, what do you know?    God knows what is in our hearts at all times.     He knows each and every one of us deeply, even better than we know ourselves.  

Omnipresent means being everywhere at the same time.   Is there anywhere at all that you can go that is away from where God is?     And,  I'll throw this in as aside, why would you want to be where God isn't?    But, no, there isn't anywhere in God's vast creation that we can get away from Him.  

Now hear me, I'll be the first one to admit freely and openly that I don't understand all of this, I really don't.     But until my mind can wrap around this completely and understand this fully, I will walk by faith!!!!   Faith tells me that God is omnipotent, omniscience, and omnipresent!!!

So when I think about the things that I need to survive and thrive, I just go back to the top of the list and start off with with Jesus Christ, and then everything else just sorta falls into place.      Because He, Jesus Christ, will meet my most important needs.

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A tip that I have for you today is "activity trackers".      There is a wide variety of brands and styles on the market.     Varying price ranges, makes them affordable for most anyone.      If you are serious about getting active and healthy, then they really are the "beez kneez".      I asked my hubby for one for my birthday.     He said "go for it"!!!!      So I got a "fitbit charge 2" from walmart.     I ordered it from wal mart dot com and picked it up at my local wm.     I had gone to the play store on my android and put the app on my phone and it was ready and waiting for my fitbit to come in.     I picked it up and went to the car and opened the box and less than 2 minutes, I had it on my arm and the rest is history.   hahaha      It tracks everything automatically.      Steps, continuous movement, sleep, resting heart rate, heart rate while exercising, and the type of exercise and more.      If I want it to be specific, when I get ready to start exercise, I can push the button on the side and bring up workout and then set it, when workout is over, push it again to stop it and it has all the stats for that workout period.     I log water intake.   I log every bite I put in my mouth.    It tells me my caloric intake as well as calories burned.     I take it off to clean and charge it when I'm in the shower.    Other than that, I wear it 24/7.     It tells me ten minutes before the hour that I need to get steps in before the hour is over.     Just for the sake of checking others out, I ordered one from ebay that basically does everything the fitbit does, but it was less than 7 dollars and free shipping.     This one is waterproof, you can wear it in the shower or what ever.     I did not dl the app for it and put it on my phone because I didn't want to risk messing up my fitbit tracker.     But, I'm gonna give it to someone that I have in mind.      So, my tip is go to ebay and do a search for activity trackers and look for low price and free shipping and see if you can find one in a price point that matches your needs.    Oh yeah, I have walked almost 200 miles in the last 6 weeks.      It logs how many hours spent exercising, all kinds of neat info.     I certainly give it 2 thumbs up and would give more if I had more thumbs.    hahaha

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Well, that's just about it for this time.     I hope you seen or read something here today that has helped you in some way or sparked a little creative thinking or just made you smile.     If you leave here feeling a bit better than when came, then I consider that a success.     I hope the rest of your day is filled with peace and joy and that you get to spend time with someone you love.     Remember that God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you thru His Son, Jesus Christ.     I love you too and hope to see you back here real soon.    love and hugs, Patty