the Ernie

August 23, 2016September 2, 20162 Comments

Just in case you missed the big announcement this morning, or yesterday, or a week ago…

Frippery House launched this morning!!!

I’m pretty excited and nervous and I didn’t sleep AT ALL last night…but today is going pretty good. And, in honor of this incredible day I wanted to post a very special dedication page about a most wonderful woman…Ernie!

Photo Cred Silas Treu

Ernie is more than a friend…and not because we’re so close we are like family…we are actually family…I married Ernie’s cousin, and now our lives are forever intertwined.

When Ian and I were engaged Ernie use to joke about how Ian was getting the better end of the deal, but I disagree…because I think my husband is wonderful and I love being married to him…but also because I married into an incredible family…honestly, I have amazing in-laws, and not just mom and dad but brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, cousins, and nephews.

We have a lot in common Ernie and I…photography, making things, garage sales, and missions…and I just LOVE spending time with her…it doesn’t matter if garage sale shopping, hanging at a family function, chilling in my living room…it’s all wonderful. And because we are stuck with each other FOREVER there’s a safety in sharing our hearts I think…we can share with one another promises the Lord has whispered to us and trust the other to pray and not blab or judge.

Case in point, she and her hubby Brandon prayed along side of us with faith and expectation to see God bring into our lives the child He had promised…she never told me I was crazy, or tried to get me to see how hard it was going to be, she never told me that I should really just try harder to get pregnant…She faithfully prayed for me and with me to see what God would do. And, she has celebrated, encouraged, and exhorted me as I have learned to mother that child that was the fulfillment of the promise.

Recently…well, not really recently, but it’s still happening now so we will go with that…I have had the pleasure of watching her and praying for her as she has felt called by the Lord to move to Ireland…at first we were praying for direction and for the Lord to reveal the same thing to Branden…God answered that prayer…and now we pray for provision and for peace as they and the boys prepare leave in just a few weeks…I seriously just broke into sobs as I typed that…maybe I need to pray for myself a bit too….

Fairly early on in our friendship I noticed that Ernie always wears this one necklace with a little spoon on it…it has some other things too, a little charm that says “Abide” and maybe a cross I think…and the spoon always catches my attention. So one day I asked her, why a spoon?

It turns out that someone once told her that “Forks are for poking, and knives are for cutting, but spoons are for serving…be a spoon.”

I love that! I want to be a spoon!

When I started designing for this line I knew I just had to make a spoon necklace, but with my very own twist on it. I found the perfect spoon and added white pearls and a green…for Ireland of course…mountain “jade” bead to complete the look. It’s a long necklace, because I just LOVE the ease of necklaces that slide over my head. And, I know it’s just me talking here, but I really think it’s pretty great.

An added bonus is that purchasing this necklace supports Ernie’s family as they love and serve the people of Ireland…I give them $15 for every necklace I sell…to purchase the Ernie click the link.

And make sure to check out Ernie’s blog The Treus Go To Ireland, her kiddos even have a “Boys on Mission” link where they share their journey as young missionaries.

Thanks again for reading, and make sure to like, follow, share, and to go to Frippery House to check out my first line of jewelry.

the Tiffi

August 16, 2016September 2, 20164 Comments

As I gear up for the big launch…which is in a WEEK…I am going to up my blogging game. My goal is to have at least 3 more of my dedication pages written and posted for you guys…this way you get a sneak peak at the jewelry AND you get to hear the story behind the pieces.

This bracelet reminds me of bubble gum…it’s happy and fun and there’s something soft about it…and at the same time it reminds me of boulders…strong with smooth sides changed but not destroyed by weather…It’s inspired by one of my dearest friends…Tiffani!

You know how in old cartoons sometimes a little tiny devil and angel would pop up on the shoulders of someone…well Tiffani is kind of like my little shoulder angel. We’ve been friends for a long time…possibly the longest I’ve had a friend…we’ve laughed, cried, moved away from each other, moved back to each other, traveled the world together, she even stood by my side at my wedding…in a beautiful purple dress….And when things get hard in my life, or I find myself lacking joy it’s like she pops up on my shoulder and starts giving me a pep talk, encouraging me to remember Who God is, His promises, His love…and to find joy in those things.

Tiff and I first became friends when she started hosting a bible study at her house, I was new in my walk with the Lord and super excited to be a part of a group of young women who wanted to study the Bible…actually I was so excited I came a week early to the first one!

I continued the tradition of coming early every week…but I showed up an hour early instead of a week…to make the tea and coffee so that she could clean…which I didn’t really understand because her house was always SO clean…we would spend our time chatting, but secretly I was watching her, studying her.

You see, Tiffani is joyful, like really really joyful. If you asked me to describe her in just a few words joyful and bubbly come to mind…also tough, but we will get to that…and sometimes I use to wonder if it was real or not, if she was really that full of joy.

Being in her home, seeing her prepare for these young women to come over, watching her interact with them, this joy was always there…it wasn’t an act! She was the same person in her home when it was just the two of us as she was out in the world.

Over the years I have continued to watch her. I have seen her walk through trials and great challenges in her life…many of which have not been joyful…yet there was always joy. Sometimes the joy has been a choice…some conversations I’ve had with her have felt a lot like her giving herself a pep talk to rejoice through every situation…and at times it has literally just flowed from her.

But it’s always been there!

I think that constant presence of joy is what makes her so tough. She is determined to rejoice, to hope, to love people, to worship God with her life and her interactions with others no matter what life throws at her. And it hasn’t always been easy…there’s even been seasons where it feels as if it’s NEVER been easy…but she has always chosen to rejoice.

Tiff has influenced me in so many ways, and I see this determination in my own life…the choice to trust and hope and rejoice…and I know that it is something I learned from her, something she modeled for me. I also think she’s a big part of why I have decided to live a transparent life…with people welcomed into our home and our family so freely and being honest about the things we go through in life…because seeing that she was the same person in front of people and behind closed doors made such a huge impact on my life.

She doesn’t know that I’m writing this…and she doesn’t even know that I designed a piece of jewelry that is inspired by her. But I did, and it is…because she has made such a huge impact on my life, and even though we don’t get to spend near enough time with each other these days she is still one of the most important people in my life!

Thanks Tiffi!

Shop the Tiffi

Don’t forget the big launch is happening next week

the Jill

May 17, 2016September 2, 20165 Comments

I really thought the whole writing about who inspired the jewelry I’m creating thing would be easy…but it’s not. It’s so personal and real and I have to be pretty vulnerable in it, and that’s tough. Capturing who these women are to me in a few brief words has been nearly impossible.

Case in point…Jill.

When I made these earrings for my lovely friend I was a little worried she would never wear them. They aren’t something I think she would buy for herself, she may not have even given them a second look in the store honestly, but they are so her.

Over the last couple of years Jill has become my best friend, actually more than a best friend…family. I have so much fun with the girl! We are very different, but we have this mutual appreciation and respect for who the other person is. We’ve shared tears, prayers, loss, and laughter…lots and lots of laughter.

She hated me taking these, but was such a good sport about it!

Her and the hubs walked the whole adoption journey with us. She talked me through the insanity of feeling like God was calling us to adopt a 12 year old boy, and showed up at my house to help me clean and get the room ready for the boy that was the answer to the question “am I crazy for thinking this is the Lord”.

Side note, Jill has had my boy as her student two years, one before he was ours and one after.

She is the most real and genuine person I know. She’s not afraid to be vulnerable, not afraid to enter into someone else’s pain with them. She’s eager to help in any way she can, to do whatever she is able, to relieve other’s burdens. And, she comes as a package deal with this amazing hubby and preciously wonderful kiddos.

And, Jill is cool. She has somehow transcended the natural rules of coolness by living a life fairly oblivious to most things pop culture, not really caring about fashion, and walking around thinking she’s not cool. Yet, she’s always adorably put together and totally relatable. I have not seen anyone rock running gear the way this girl does!

I love these earrings, because they remind me of Jill. They are real and natural, and cool, and beautiful. They go with everything, but they are anything but plain. The crystal is transparent, but not perfect, the labradorite catches light to show you different colors.

In a world of putting on faces, of pretending, of hiding reality to show an ideal…I am daily blessed by my bestie Jill. She is something very different and so very real, she daily lives out her faith and where she walks she brings peace and love and joy…lots and lots of joy!

The Jill is available now!

thedizonlife

Tag: besties