lespwa means 'hope'

like the rest of you, i have been wondering what i can do to help the victims of the earthquake in haiti... 

i happened to be on rebecca sower's blog... she had been travelling to haiti long before the earthquake... but when it happened, she went into action... there is now a blog and an etsy shop called 'haiti by hand' where you can go to help...

i had seen in rebecca's blog that lespwa means 'hope' - a word near and dear to many... for this lespwa necklace i created resin components... the link says 'renewing' and 'time'... it is always the time to help, but when crisis arises we can renew our dedication to that cause... all copper wire, lapis, turquoise, recycled sari fiber, a fiber & fabric wrapped link... and a hand - to illustrate our reaching out... 


i encourage you to take a look at her shop... 

just perfect -

when my son was young, i had nurses in my home 12 hours a day... naturally we became very close and would give each other gifts... there was one nurse who taught me the most wonderful lesson... she would give one perfect thing... and it wasn't necessarily big, it was always so thoughtful and 'just right'... i had always made people gifts, but somehow thought it was never enough... but she shone a light on the whole gift-giving dynamic for me... and i will be forever grateful... 
in this blogging world we become close to people... and all around us we see people sending off gifts to each other - a very generous group that loves to share... nurturing & supportive... i recently did a swap with cindy... and what she sent took me right back to that nurse... don't we want our gifts to be reflective of thought, of something personal and meaningful? well, cindy didn't have anything available in a shop... and i thought she just HAD  to... 

wordy block earrings

and now she does... what is really neat is that she explores so many different media... handcarved stamps, jewelry, polymer clay, felting, etc...  i really encourage you to take a look - and ask her to make more! i can see those printings on canvas turning into a version of prayer flags when strung along a string...
i am going to share a wonderful quote from her etsy shop - alchemy of life...


"You must understand the whole of life,
not just one little part of it.
That is why you must read,
that is why you must look at the skies,
that is why you must sing,
and dance,
and write poems,
and suffer,
and understand,
for all that is life."
J. Krishnamurti


best luck cindy on your new journey!

a very special new etsy shop

marsha neal has opened a new shop called my mom pattie over in etsy...  it is a neat concept, bringing together different designers and bringing them together for this cause... she is an incredible woman, great artist, devoted daughter/wife/mom... she has been sharing the story of the life and loss of her beautiful mom in her 'a blog in memory of my mom pattie' ... 

the shop is best described in her own words:

Welcome to the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop. My mom always wanted to open a small specialty boutique retail store in Old New Castle here in DE, and I was going to help her once I was old enough. Since that never happened, this Etsy shop will be run by me in her memory...

My Mom Pattie passed away in September 2007 after battling Leukemia. Find out more information about her, memories, photos, and how I'm dealing with the loss of her through my blog to her: www.MyMomPattie.Blogspot.com. 



All of the proceeds from the item sales from this shop will be donated to a non-profit organization. Right now the monies are being collected to donate a room to "My Mom Pattie" at the Tri-State Bird Rescue (DE) annex project. My mom loved feeding, providing habitat in her garden, and watching birds. And with the help from your purchases, there will be a permanent place in her memory where sick or injured birds can be taken care of.

when shopping for yourself or for friends and family, how much more meaningful would a gift be than from this shop? please spread the word & help marsha realize her dream...