imprinted only by force and purpose...

I mailed off this custom necklace yesterday. A man named David had me make it for his wife. It is stamped with Ruach Hakodesh, which means "Holy Spirit" in Hebrew. He sent me the email below after I emailed him the photo. (I asked permission first to share this) His words totally blew me away and gave me an entirely new perspective on what I do everyday. Praise God!!

"I have always loved the Hebrew script - and to have it hammered into metal is such a picture of how the word of God should have its imprint upon our hearts. He is set as a seal upon our hearts... Like the signet of the King imprinted upon the wax seal of the document, the promise endorsed and enforced by the King Himself.  But so often, our hearts are not as softened, or as warm as fresh wax...often more like metal...imprinted only by force and purpose. As if the purpose of God is so relentless, that even hardened hearts can be made His. As if He has replaced the harsh and terrible clang of Calvary's hammer with the soft tapping of His Spirit upon our hearts...with the tapping of your tools upon metal revealing His ancient Word..."

 

antique keys - before and after

 

A sweet customer knows how much I love to work with antique keys and surprised me with these five beauties today!! The photo on the left shows them this morning, rust and dirt and all. The photo on the right shows what an all day salt and vinegar soak (plus a lot of elbow grease) can do. Love these keys and can't wait to create with them!!

 

chevron baby quilt

I've been meaning to post these photos for several weeks now, but time just got away from me! I made this patchwork baby quilt for one of our pastor's wives who is expecting a baby boy, Jude, next month. I love the fabrics for this one - chevron, ticking, clouds, elephants and hippos, bicycles, robots, and cars. So fun for a little boy! I backed the quilt with a solid khaki cotton. And I also made a cute little garland for his room, too. I was super happy with how they both turned out!

I put the garland in a little plastic sleeve and sewed some leftover fabric scraps onto the card. 

I love how the packaging turned out! So fun.

oh joy!
 it's a boy!!

 

endless ocean

I just made this new necklace. I used a hammered sterling tag pendant, raw quartz, and natural amazonite beads. It reminds me of the ocean, and also of one of my favorite songs, "Endless Ocean" by Jonathan David Helser.

Here's the video:

In the beginning You were singing
In the end You'll still be singing over me
In this moment You're right beside me
You're everywhere, You're in the air that I breathe

You are an endless ocean, a bottomless sea

In my sin You kept loving
There's no end to Your forgiveness and mercy
Every morning You keep coming
The waves of Your affection keep washing over me

All those angels, they are swimming
In this ocean and they still can find no shore
Day and night, night and day
They keep seeing new sides of Your face

There's no end to the affection You have for me

 

zion's quilt

My sweet friend Brittney is expecting her fourth child next month. She is having a little girl. I made her a patchwork baby quilt and matching garland. Here's some photos of them and also how I wrapped it all. Hope you enjoy them! I really loved making these special gifts and praying for baby Zion as I sewed. :)

snowed in again!

Winter Storm Pax came to us on Tuesday morning, and we have been snowed in since. The last time I checked, we had over 6 inches of snow. We have never seen anything like this before!

Yesterday, Clint took the boys on a sledding adventure on a big hill behind our house. It was bitterly cold with sleeting rain. They are tough guys! :)

happy boy

off they go, leaving their footprints in the snow!

after they came inside from their adventure, leo was shivering on the couch. i came over to him and held him like this. he said, "thank you so much, mom! that's just what i wanted!" 

daddy and ruth :)

i read by the fire in my flannel pajamas

and worked on a patchwork baby quilt

and sewed some little heart appliques on the quilt once i pieced it all together

and handstitched some holes together in my favorite vintage crocheted blanket 

a thick blanket of snow in the backyard

we have stayed in our pajamas for days

and built forts

and read some more books by the fire

and clint built a snowman :)

beautiful ruth in the snow

brothers and friends

what i've been making lately

I've been making a lot of unique pieces lately! What a blessing! What a joy! 

this was a very special custom order.

she asked me to just pray and make whatever i felt the Lord leading me to make!
i love it when I have total freedom like that!

another fun custom order

to expect - to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence with the coming of; implies confidently believing, usually for good reasons, that an event will occur."

what a perfect word to put on a shield of faith!

The other night, I got an itch to make something new and experiment with an idea I'd had in my mind for fora few months. So, I blasted some worship music and sat down at my worktable and hammered and prayed.

 Three pendants, each with a leaf to represent healing (Rev. 22:2). Healing for our spirit, soul, and body. Total healing that only God can give. Come, Holy Spirit! Heal us from the inside out!

another custom order for someone 

i am loving all of these "word of the year" necklaces i'm getting to make for people! so inspiring!

My mom's word for the year is "wait". When she and my dad were up here visiting this past weekend, we sat down one morning and I made this necklace for her. It was fun showing her how I work! And I really love how the necklace turned out! 

Isaiah 64:4

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, 
no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. 

I made this sweet little piece yesterday. I love it! I just got that little arrow stamp - isn't it the cutest? 

I think this one is just perfect for Valentine's Day! 

(just listed it in the shop if you'd like to purchase it :) )

Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Lora