So that I can have better tools and access to more folks, I'm moving my blog!

My new Honey from the Bee Blog is on blogger. Please come visit me there and let me know you stopped by. I'm always wanting to hear what memories I stir up from my blog posts as well as my jewelry.

Unfortunately I was unable to move comments made to posts here to my new site.

NOTE: My 1000Markets shop will remain open... *no way I'm leaving here! Beautiful presentation, juried shops, and excellent service from the staff are among many reasons I love this handmade market place.

By the time we reach 35 most of us are affected by cancer in some way. For me it was starting to hear about friends around my age getting diagnosed with breast cancer. For some reason in my circle of family and friends it's been almost exclusively women that have heard that dreaded "C" word. It wasn't until I reached 50, however, that I actually started fearing it. I am a worrier by nature, unfortunately. I lost my Grandmother O to pancreatic cancer, my Great Aunt Catherine to ovarian cancer, and my Aunt Nancy to mulitple myeloma. They were all diagnosed within 6 months of their passing. It sounds like a train getting closer and closer.

For family and friends dealing with cancer we want to be there to help and be their cheerleaders. We can help lift them up when they're feeling down. We can support their beliefs and faith and choices. But sometimes we just feel helpless.

I am someone that wants to be in control. Yeah... right... Fortunately I am healthy, able to exercise and have the means to eat well.

Mentally, though, I needed to do something that perhaps prevents cancer or provides better therapies. I also want to honor the women in my life that are cancer survivors, those that are still fighting through therapy, and those that live on in my memories.

My maternal late Great Aunt Catherine and late Aunt Nancy loved jewelry as much as I do. I learned for the first time in visiting my Great Aunt after her diagnosis that she took some metalsmithing and lapidary classes in her retirement. This connection felt so important, although we were sad the knowledge came so late. I cherish the pendant (above) she made years before and gave to me. My Aunt Nancy was one of my biggest fans. She came to every local show and always bought one of my one of a kind necklaces and sometimes gifts for her daugther-in-laws. She toted my business cards around and handed them out to anyone that admired what she was wearing.

An idea was forming! I inherited alot of costume and handcrafted vintage jewelry from my maternal side. I selected pieces for myself, will take some apart and use in future designs, and have decided to sell pieces that I think have more value as they are to benefit a cancer charity.

50% of these Jewelry Trunk Finds sales will go to the "A" rated Cancer Research Institute. The A rating was given by the American Institute of Philanthropy, the toughest charity watchdog organization. The items are not made by me, so I am only listing them on ArtFire where I can sell them as non-handcrafted in my studio.

Note: Most are vintage. Most of the earrings are clip-on style. All are sold as is, but I will note if I know of any problems with a piece. Check back often, as I'm going to be listing new items probably every week over the next 6 months.

Grandmothers, the grandest mothers of them all! My inherited jewelry is only the material side of my inheritance.

The Rocker

My paternal Grandmother B was an old-fashioned kind of grandmom who spent her whole life in Chautauqua County, NY. She was 100% German so when she married, an orderly household came to her hardworking but more carefree Scottish in-laws. She gardened, canned, baked, embroidered, sewed and braided rugs. She made doll house furniture and accessories from found objects. She made Martha Stewart worthy dried bouquets from collected seed pods and grasses. She found joy in making things with her hands and everything she did was quality.

Her molasses cookies were eyes closed, toe curling, melt in your mouth delicious! They were so good that my brothers and I have had recurring dreams where we are searching for the tin cans she stored them in from one end of her kitchen to the pantry. She'd bake a bunch before we'd arrive for a visit and hide the cans out of our reach. Of course we found them and snuck a cookie or two. I've never successfully recreated them and always suspected it was her gas oven or the type of shortening she used, but I've got one more thing to try before giving up. In the mean time Dancing Deer Bakery makes one so close that I can close my eyes, bite into its spicy sweetness and be sitting in the dark pantry once again.

Evelyn (on left) and her family pre-marriage

I wish she had been able to "let loose" a little, as I think she might have laughed more. She did live a long life, passing away at age 87. From her I definitely got the love of making things with my hands and the discipline to do it with quality. To my knowledge she didn't have much jewelry other than her wedding ring. I did inherit a tiny pin with a photo of her Grandmother which as a granddaughter and genealogist, I adore.

The Roller

My maternal Grandmother O was a hoot and loved life. She moved constantly during her marriage as my Grandfather, a graduate of Annapolis, was a Navy Officer. He died when she was only 51, the age I am now. She never remarried, but dated some characters from time-to-time as long as they were fun and didn't get too serious.

Grandma O must've been hard on car brakes, because when she came up to a stop sign she was going almost full speed before she'd brake hard. Thanks to my Uncle she always had a car with a big engine. She could come off a stop so fast you had a hard time keeping your head from falling back. The grandkids thought this was just about as much fun as a roller-coaster.

She rarely drank, but we could get her to have a glass of wine at a family dinner. It was always the grandkids' goal, because she would get to giggling and not be able to stop. That got us all, including the "adults," laughing hysterically til tears were rolling down our cheeks. Another fun thing to do was to get her to say cinnamon. To my knowledge she never was able to say it without getting stuck in the middle and adding lots of extra m's and n's.

My Grandmother, Margaret, and her BFF Lil

She was born in Baltimore and her mother tried to raise her very proper with rules on what clothes you should be seen in. However, the Grandmom I remember was the one in bright colorful knits and sparkly sandals. She was a good bowler, LOVED Dungeness crab, and was the type to eat a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich if her granddaughter said it was her favorite. She was the lead cheerleader on my team.

In 1992 she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away about 6 months after diagnosis, almost 28 years to the day of when her beloved Arthur died of a heart attack. Besides photos and my memories, I inherited a couple necklaces, some beautiful Venetian beads and some rings. I was never a ring wearer before, but I had them re-sized and wear them often. They bring her closer where I can almost see her beautiful blue eyes that sparkled with mischief.