Nikita’s Journey: A Story of Loss and Hope
Furbily-Furld Takes on the World
Tag Archives: Loss of a Child
The LOVE We Keep
Introducing “The LOVE We Keep” print of a watercolor painting I made while I was going through some difficult months of loosing some loved ones one right after the other, along with missing my daughter more than words could ever express … and I was reminded of the love we are given and therefore we keep & carry with ALWAYS when the image of this came to me. I knew I had to try to put it to paper. It is such a special piece to me. My hope is that it will hold something special for you too.
Rayvenwood Manor
Guess what I just got in the mail this rainy afternoon and won’t be taking off anytime soon ???
I will give you a clue…it is from one of my most favorite Etsy Shops…Rayvenwood Manor 
The owner of the shop and I have become fast friends as creative minds think alike. “Wink” Wink”…Now we have done trades in the past but this time around it was a very special trade indeed. I am creating a special painting to put in her little sons room which I will post pictures of at a later date.
She in turn has created this beautiful “Memory Bracelet” and necklace in honor of Mazzy!!!
Anastacia has many years experience working with jewelry and so she connected with exactly what I wanted. She listed to my thought’s and memories…took time to really pick out some special charms that would connect with my daughter and symbolize her time here on this earth and special moments that we shared. I mean this charm bracelet is totally loaded!!! Here is a list a list of everything she put into it…
*Sterling silver double strand charm bracelet with large crab claw closure…all “o” ring connecters are sterling silver
*Charms
From Left to Right…
Swarovski amethyst purple angel (I came up with these myself)
Cookie monster
Vintage blue glass star and hemetite bead dangle (Mazzy Star)
Swarovski amethyst purple angel
Swarovski dark purple crystal with strawberry charm to represent the frappicinos
Vintage purple glass bead silver flower
Vintage 1960′s Sterling silver scroll picture frame charm for photo
Swarovski Blue crystal and hemetite bead dangle with silver flower
Snuffy from Seseme Street
Swarovski Blue crystal and hemetite bead dangle
Vintage 1972 Sterling silver Tinkerbell charm with star in her hand
Swarovski amethyst purple angel
Round Mother’s sterling silver disk charm with “Mazzy” on front and her March birthstone
Swarovski amethyst purple angel
Vintage 1960′s sterling silver scroll designed heart locket
Swarovski Blue crystal and hemetite bead dangle
Elmo from Seseme Street
Swarovski Blue crystal and hemetite bead dangle with silver flower
Vintage 1972 Sterling Silver Cinderella’s Castle Charm form Walt Disney World
Vintage purple glass bead silver ornate cross
Swarovski dark purple crystal with strawberry charm to represent the frappicinos
Swarovski dark blue crystal with scroll heart charm
Vintage blue glass star and hemetite bead dangle (Mazzy Star)
Swarovski amethyst purple angel
Grover from Seseme Street
Swarovski amethyst purple angel
I can’t wait to add special photos of my Mazzy to the sterling silver locket and frame!!! Oh so very special and I am wearing both the bracelet and necklace as I type this As soon as the photos were taken they went right on my wrist and neck…I just could not wait;) They are simply gorgeous just like my friend Anastacia .
Take a moment and please look through her Etsy Shop. And if you have someone in your life that was lost too soon and you want something beautiful to wear in their remembrance day in and day out… then you need to get in touch with Anastacia
Because she can make you a special custom piece tailored to your special loved one…
Just tell her I sent ya =)
I’m so thankful for my beautiful friend and to possess her lovely creations in my daughters honor…
Thank You Anastacia XOXO
~Cheers~
Posted in IN THE STUDIO, Loss of a Child
Also tagged beads, bracelet, charms, cookie monster, Elmo, etsy, friends, gift, hand made, Jewelry, locket, Loss, loss of a loved one, love, made in the usa, Mazzy, Mazzy Star, memory, Painting, quality, raven, Rayvenwood Manor, remembrance, shop, special, sterling silver, thank you, trade
Living in a Snowglobe….
Kinda feeling a bit like this bird right about now:) LOL…I have a lot of things going on between a private commission, wrapping up images for the new book “Furbily-Furld”, three paintings for a show in Oklahoma…and then managing my Etsy & iCraft shops….whew!!!! I am so thankful & blessed for each and every one of these opportunities. It keeps me strong and makes me work that much harder. I am so blessed to be able to do what I love for a living.
On that note I was just notified that I was selected to present a workshop at the Compassionate Friends 33rd National Conference, a workshop based on the book I illustrated for “Nikita”s Journey”!!!
TCF National Conferences
“Reflections of Love, Visions of Hope” is the theme of The Compassionate Friends 33rd National Conference which will be held in Arlington Virginia July 2-4, 2010. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City promising a beautiful venue for the 33rd TCF National Conference. Independence Day will not only feature our Walk to Remember, but will include a world-class display of fireworks over the National Mall, visible from Arlington.
What an honor to be able to reach out to others this way and to do it in Mazzy’s memory!!! I just know that Mazzy would be so honored to know her life and spirit is through this book helping others heal. Putting together this workshop is really exciting!!!
I feel like we have been living in a snow globe:)
A look outside my studio window:( The lovely trees are now gone…so sad to see them in all their beautiful glory brought down by the snow and ice. They shall be greatly missed!!! I just hope new ones get planted soon!!!
We were pleasantly surprised when our dear friends showed up outside and plowed out our driveway and sidewalk with their ATV with a plow attachment:) So completely thoughtful!!! We are truly blessed to have such awesome people in our lives:) We were so snowed in that we could not even make out the front door:)
We got a LOT of snow:) All I could think was how much Mazzy would have LOVED it!!!!She loved the snow:)
~Cheers~
Posted in IN THE STUDIO
Also tagged Arlington Virginia, Art, ATV, awesome, bird, blessed, blizzard, book, childrens book, cold, commissions, Compassionate Friends 33rd National Conference, crafting, CRAFTY FUN:), etsy, exciting, fireworks, friends, Furbily-Furld, heal, healing, honor, Hyatt Regency Crystal City, ice, illustration, life, Loss, love, National Mall, Nikita's Journey, oklahoma, oppertunities, outside, Painting, people, plow, snow, snow globe, snowed in, snowglobe, spirit, strong, surprized, TCF National Conferences, thankful, the compasionate friends, thoughtfull, workshop
Look What Arrived On My Front Doorstep!!!
Guess what came into today??? Yup you guessed it!!! The rest of the books arrived on my front step today!!! Yeah!!! So now comes the task of getting them all lovingly packed and sent to each of you!!! I also have a surprise bookmark that I am including..we had them made of in honor of the book!!! I just wanted to all of you guys again for your support!!! Oh and don’t forget to go to Amazon.com and leave a rave review..lol!!! I’m just so happy that Amazon has picked it up and it will reach even more people who could find comfort and guidance from this creation!!!
We are planning book readings at a few of the local schools. If your local and know of a class that could benefit from a reading of this book we would be more than willing to do so!!!
So what was I doing before all of this excitement at the front door step you ask? Well I was putting the finishing coats on a canvas that traveled with me all the way from southern France and my time there in college!!! It is a very special piece that my high school friend Elaina bought!!! I had it out from my inventory and gave it a good look over…I wanted it to have a final protective coat because it was stretched on bars once I made it back to the states but had not been in any shows since so I thought it needed a bit of love before I sent it on to it’s forever home!!! I was done of beautiful linen canvas and as I worked with it for the last time…I realized just how awesome linen canvas is!!! I think the next round of canvas I get will have to be linen!!! It is so smooth!!! Also it brought back so many memories!!! It was the view from outside my studio there…so many magical moments there in La Coste!!! Sigh…..
Oh I cannot wait to see what it looks like in Elaina’s house!!! I grabbed the extra bubble wrap I needed to send it out to her and am packing it up tight in a box tonight!!! Hubby will take it onto the post office in the AM:)
Posted in IN THE STUDIO, Loss of a Child
Also tagged arrived, benefit, book, box, canvas, doorstep, France, front, grabbed, IN THE STUDIO, La Coste, linen, look, Nikita's Journey, Painting, reading, school, what
To Walk Between Two Worlds…..
So this past week has been bittersweet just as it has been around the 25th of March every year since we lost our Mazzy….This year she would have turned 6yrs old….I found myself looking through countless things leading up to her actual birthday that I would have wanted to have made for her…or toys I knew she would have loved…
The tears streamed down my face knowing how much fun we could be having right now…knowing all the moments that are now lost to me forever…Everyone give your babies even more hugs & kisses….love every second you have with them….I loved every moment I had with her…every moment!!! 
I still have moments..she comes to me in dreams…she is in my heart always…Someone at one of my TCF meetings was talking about how since our children were a part of us then literally a part of us is in the “next life”….I really had never thought about it this way…& unless you have gone through this loss it is something you will never really “grasp” but to me at least it made a great amount of sense…and now it’s just something I take great comfort in…she is not alone..she has part of me with her….just as I still carry a part of her here with me.
I still make pretty things for her…things she would have worn in her hair and cute boutique outfits for her to wear, cute stuffies….the list goes on…I put them in our studio and in her memory chest that my friend Bonni made for us to put such keepsakes as this…She is also making me another chest …I think it might be for Mazzy’s future little brother or sister…to put things aside that I would have made for Mazzy and reserve them much like”hand me downs” would have worked…
I find myself collecting little girl patterns and making up toy patterns of things I would like to make in her honor or to pass on some day…sigh
Though I must say my two girlfriends are keeping my busy with their little ones…both boys…urrrg…a whole new world to me of crafting since I am so used to girls…lol…but do my best to “Macho Up” color schemes and designs…lol…I’m getting used to it..
I have two goody boxes I need to send out next week…I should have finished up a few of those projects by then:)
I’ve been busy with the arrival of the book “Nikta’s Journey” co-staring non other than Mazzy herself!!! She would have been so thrilled to have gone to the bookstore and seen her book on the shelf & online!!! She loved books so much!!! We would set aside an hour (no joke) every night to read to her…she had quite a little collection going!!! She would pick out from her bookshelf the ones she wanted to read that night and sometimes we would get talked into reading her faves twice bc she loved them so much!!!
Oh how I miss curling up with her and reading with her…..such special moments!!!
(I Love & Miss you Mazzy….)
Posted in IN THE STUDIO, Loss of a Child
Also tagged Art, BOOKS, grief, IN THE STUDIO, Loss, love, Mazzy, Memorial Gardens, miss, spiritual, Spring, the Compassionate friends, Toys
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