Managing Time

This was a school year which won't easily be forgotten. I said "Yes" to more than was possible to accomplish. Here are some thoughts about each of the three jobs.

Teaching Kindergarten is a delight and I'm very grateful for a wonderful job! The benefits are many and include:

1. Making a difference in a child's life.

2. Taking them from letter recognition to reading big words and stories.

3. Finding each one's learning style and teaching them with ways in which they can relate.

4. Helping them find their strengths...and not be undone by their weaknesses.

5. Enjoying children's laughter on the playground as they let off steam and expend energy.

6. Remembering that they have a spiritual aspect for which I've been given a big responsibility and opportunity.

The school year is rewarding especially toward the end when, as a teacher, I see with my eyes and heart the benefits of time invested in these precious little ones. What an awesome assignment...Make a Difference!

Here's where I got in over my head. Teaching jewelry-making classes at a local JoAnn store through Fall, Winter, and Spring kept me very busy in the evenings. Then, designing, making jewelry, and filling orders took the rest of any spare waking moments.

Valuable lessons God taught me this year:

1. Managing time doesn't always mean making a paycheck or bringing in finances.

2. I shouldn't take an opportunity just because it's offered.

3. Priorities! Busyness squeezes out important things like lengthy God time and family commitments.

4. The BEST time can be so valuable you cannot put a price tag on it!

SOOOOO....what do all of these things have to do with a Kumihimo Necklace set? Not a whole lot, except that, in speaking about spending time...it takes a long time to drop each tiny bead into the woven pattern. The end result becomes a work of art (in my humble opinion) which brings great satisfaction. Seeing the finished product is rewarding and worth the investment of time becoming good at it.

Next school year will be better for the lessons learned. Phewwwwww...

Loving God & the life He's given,

Juni G

A Few of the Latest Projects

Posting some pictures of recent work since there are so many time constraints at the moment. Happily Ever After and Pearl of Great Price have sterling silver components.

One supplier I heavily rely on has brought in some of the most interesting pewter beads and has more than doubled his Illusion Crystal line. Gals love bling, so the crystal is incorporated in many jewelry pieces. Enjoy the photos and feel free to email questions or connect with me for purchases. Thank you!

Terry, & I Love You

My sister-in-law Terry is one supportive gal. Her encouraging remarks to Facebook buddies are constant. She's the consumate cheerleader for her family and friends. You can count on her affirmative comments. The support given to her children and grands, as well as to her mother and siblings is admirable. Terry's love for her family goes beyond words and straight to action. Terry and my brother Bill are thoughtful, kind, and giving. I'm grateful for both of them.

Once she gets on a roll, Terry can make jewelry faster than anyone I know. When she and my sister Carole came to Florida to perfect their wire wrapping skills, she caught on quickly and created an amazing amount of jewelry during our beading marathon. Of course, she was doing it in the middle of the night when the rest of us were sleeping. She understands the word "focus" better than most. Driven might even be a better word. When Terry makes up her mind to do something, she gives it her all, making me examine myself for commitment level.

Thank you so much, Sis, for being an example to your children, grands, and the rest of us. I appreciate you!

I Love You is very comfortable to wear. Hammered sterling silver hearts give it a weddingish look. It could easily be just the set for a beautiful bride. It's also pretty enough to wear with a simple black dress. Round facetted Aurora Borealis crystal stays put on each heart because the silver is hammered with it in place. White glass pearls separate each heart or allow the earrings and slide to dangle nicely. Ask my sister-in-law how it feels on. She has a set.

Summer Time, Family Time & Three Hearts

Summertime is awesome for teachers. We have time to rest, play and recharge our batteries from the busyness of the school year. This summer has been non-stop fun with family. We are blessed to have a large one and getting everyone together is challenging at best. We were able to get together for a few days with all of them, but not necessarily in one place. It took going to TN and Maine to see just our own children and grandchildren and we still missed two of them. One of these days, before someone goes to be with Jesus, it's my dream to get all of us together for a long weekend even if it means meeting in the middle somewhere.

While in Maine, I met an adorable, bubbly gal by the name of Rachel Roberts who has been working with silver for a while. My niece Donna was kind enough to connect us with Rachel. We got together at my sister's home to learn the art of bending and hammering silver. You can find Rachel online if you search for Kouklamou Designs. The evening went fast as she showed us several techniques. Thank you Rachel for spending time with us. God bless you and your business for sowing seeds into our businesses. Carole and I are both very excited about what we learned.


Three Hearts is part of my new hammered line. It's a combination of wire wrapping and hammered sterling. The hearts each have a bead on one side to add a little interest. What's so neat about these new pieces is that I can make as many as are needed and am not waiting for bead shows to roll around (no pun intended) in order to pick up more supplies. This offers a whole new opprtunity for creativity that keeps my brain going in the middle of the night. What an adventure! Bracelet is $33. Matching earrings and pendant are also available.

Friends, Bead Shows, Coin Pearls &Silver Shells

Going to bead shows is an adventure for me. I enjoy seeing the different gemstones, finding great bargains which make my jewelry more affordable, but, most of all, I like doing business and establishing relationships with quality vendors. Beautiful jewelry can't be made with ugly, low quality components.

When Leanne and I began our jewelry-making adventure, we thought our stuff was elegant. Now we chuckle at those pieces. Clasps bought at our local box stores had shiny finishes which wore off quickly. Beads looked nice but their finishes scratched or became dull. Our tastes have also changed as we've been exposed to artfully produced pieces by seasoned beaders. I've realized that this craft is a never ending journey which constantly requires searching for better components, better methods, and quality resources. It's also much more fun when we have the support and encouragement from those we love and respect.

Along the way, I've joined with a couple of compatriots, women with the same excitement and enthusiasm for beads. We share successful techniques, our little secrets, our best suppliers. We respect each other's gifting. We share the cost of shipping, call each other to see if anyone needs products, let each other know when a supplier has a special sale. We want success for each other. There's nothing more encouraging than seeing someone do well, especially in this economy.

Saturday, my sister Carole, Diana Bunten, Laura Tidey and I get to spend a few hours going to a bead show in Pompano Beach. The anticipation of introducing my sister to great suppliers and rooms full of BEADS is delicious, but this morning, I realized that I'm more excited about having her meet two wonderful beading buddies. Befriending Diana and Laura has been a God thing. My jewelry and business have been better because of the contacts. They love God, so we have an added dimension to our relationship as well. They are great examples of the saying, "Happiness is an inside job." Can't wait for my wonderful sister to meet them!

Coin Pearls & Silver Shells is an example of networking good supplier information. The coin pearls are from the west coast. They are some of the best pearls I've ever seen. Combined with Hill Tribe Sterling components, the bracelet is gorgeous with a summer tan. Matching earrings complete the set. The creamy coin pearls are over 1/2" across. A shell charm dangles from the toggle. Sold separately, the bracelet is $59 and the earrings are $25. The set goes for $79.

I Love Dragonflies

When we were kids growing up on Sebago Lake in Maine, mosquitoes were a huge issue throughout the summer. Our cottage was one of seven on a small peninsula we lovingly called "The Point" which was bordered on two sides by marsh and squishy mud...breeding ground for mosquitoes. By evening, we were juicy meals for those bloodthirsty pests. But, night after night, sunsets across the water made it worth the victimization. We loved "camp".

Over the years, I remember trucks traveling the dirt roads around Sebago spraying to kill what they could as we hurried indoors holding our breath when we heard the shusshhhing sound of the machine coming near.

As the EPA came into the picture, and as PCBs and carcinogens slowly found their way into our lake's fish, less spraying was done. We made jokes about the mosquito being the state bird, and hiding our babies and small pets so they didn't get carried off into the sunset by swarming bugs.

I'll never forget the first time one of the neighbors came to chat with my grandfather about splitting the cost of a dragonfly delivery on the Point. What an intriguing concept! Dragonflies eat both the bugs and their larvae. That seemed like a great idea. We waited in anticipation for the truck to arrive that summer and enjoyed seeing the mosquito population being gobbled up by those delightful creatures. I never swatted one of them, even if it found it's way into the cottage. We were careful with all of them. They were saving us from the vampires which came at dusk.

I Love Dragonflies, a 41" Diva Length wire wrapped necklace, is full of great beads! Jasper, howlite, mother of pearl, crystals, copper hearts and rose gold are beautiful, but the best beads are the dragonflies. My daughter put this on, and I couldn't stop looking at it. Doubled (as shown) or not, it's gorgeous on. Either way, it's an attractive piece. Necklace $65

Thanks to my brother Bill Bridges who lives in the beautifully renovated "camp" and takes the most amazing pictures of sunsets. He captured the one above.

Our Ladybug and Ladybug Picnic

A ladybug lives in our home. She's 5 and her name is Jaymee. What a delight! The day she was born, our daughter Leanne and I both nicknamed her "Ladybug" without the other knowing. When I held this little six pounder in the hospital room and called her "Mommy's Little Ladybug", I thought Leanne was going to jump off the bed. It was a cute moment which cemented the nickname forever.

Do you know how many things are available with ladybugs on them? Jayee has a pillow, tiny earrings, an itty bitty bracelet for a tiny wrist, shirts, pants, buttons, stuffed bugs, and even a tea set with ladybugs on the handles of the spoons. Jaymee points them out when she thinks we might have missed one in a store. We even point them out to each other when she's not with us.

When Leanne decided to get her own jewelry business up and running, she chose Silver Bug as the name of the ready-made line we also carry at Juni G. You don't have to guess what's on the Silver Bug business cards.

Bless Laura Tidey. When I asked her to make ladybug lampwork beads, she spent time looking at options and waited until the creative juices were at their best...then she made the most adorable ladybugs! The center bead is a triangle with red bugs on the three points. Laura amazes me!

Ladybug Picnic can be remade if someone wants a similar bracelet. There will be enough differences to make them one of a kind. With facetted, banded onyx beads, tagua rondelles, and sterling silver beads plus a ladybug toggle, it's priced in the $90 range.

Email me at www.junig@bellsouth.net with any questions.

DC & Cinnabar Bouquet

It's been a while since I posted a blog, but here we are in November headed for Thanksgiving already and it's amazing how fast time has flown. Making jewelry, doing shows, teaching art, spending time with family here and in Maryland, have all sped up the clock.

Two Sundays ago, Jay and his family took me to Washington, DC, where we spent the day on a walking tour. I'd forgotten how small the area is and how easy it is to see a lot in a short span of time. The weather was perfect and the trees were dressed in the most vivid colors I've seen in a while. My camera was full of wonderful pictures by the end of the day. This is just one example of the Washington Monument surrounded by fantastic leaves and sky. The delightful day made a memory for me. I'd like to do it again, next time seeing the buildings and landmarks we missed for lack of time. Something to look forward to.

The rest of the trip to MD was spent decorating Jay and Michelle's lovely new home. We managed to finish four rooms. The three of us worked steadily for several days to get the rooms completed before I headed back to Florida. My favorite vignette is the diningroom wall with words saying, "The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table." Click on the picture to see the words closely.

Returned Tuesday night, spent Wednesday preparing for school Thursday. With an Open House scheduled for today and two shows next Friday and Saturday, there was the need for more production, so I pulled out the stops and have been cranking out serious jewelry. This next week is going to be busy as well. Since the set below was sold within two days, I decided that it was worth making again. The second set is similar, but, as always, I change it enough to make each piece one of a kind. This three piece set sells for $90. Earrings, bracelet and necklace contain tan cinnabar flowers, acid etched onyx lentils, leopard skin jasper, Swarovski crystals, and black lava. For more information, email me at www.junig@bellsouth.net

Tribute to my Grandmother

Bracelet $59.oo Matching pink earrings available

email for info: junig@bellsouth.net

Profit from the sale of this piece goes to the

Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I decided to post a second pink bracelet in memory of my grandmother, Irene Marguerite Bridges who had breast cancer late in life.

Gram was quite the woman. She was not too tall, a lot less than 5', and a woman to be reckoned with. I affectionately called her a banty rooster. Don't take me wrong, she was always lady-like, but her strengths were evident. I don't ever remember her strolling. She walked with determined purpose, head held high. It seemed to me that she had something to do, even if she didn't. There was always a project in some stage of completion. Among other things, she made dolls, braided rugs, blankets, and sewed every dress she wore out of the same pattern but with different materials, buttons or lace accents.

Her cooking was simple and without fanfare, but her baking was amazing. I still have her recipes for molasses cookies, gingersnaps, and peanutbutter fudge. She once helped me win a fudge making contest by talking me through the steps. I was some proud! You could invariably count on cookies, separated by wax paper, being in her "tin". She hardly ever let the tin get empty and knew which ones were from the latest batch because the freshest ones were always saved for "the menfolk".

Over the years, there was little deviation from her routine. If I slept in their guest room, it was a given that they'd be up at the same time each morning, first reading their Bibles out loud, repeating the 23rd Psalm and praying together. Then my grandfather would hold her feet as she did a few situps. He did an impressive amount every morning himself, then they'd go downstairs to freshen up and eat breakfast. Before they ate together, my grandparents held hands, prayed over the food and ended with the Lord's Prayer. You could bank on the routine.

Gram never wore makeup, but her skin, no matter how wrinkled it became, was soft. To this day I can't smell Noxema without seeing her face. It served her well.

When my grandfather died of cancer, we were concerned because Gram had heavily relied on him. She was from a generation of women who never wrote a check, got a driver's license, or went far from home unless she sat in the passenger seat. Still, she had a strength which proved itself when she had to function alone at 80. I think she did more things for the first time AFTER my grandfather passed than she'd ever done before. She became independent, began doing things with "the Girls", took trips, and kept busy until a while before her death just before her 93rd birthday.

I remember taking her to several radiation treatments which burned her breast and caused tremendous discomfort. She was a trooper through the treatments anyway, complaining little. She fussed more about being a burden to people who drove her for radiation. All the same, it became another opportunity to declare out loud once again how much I loved her. We all need to say it often while there's still an ear to hear and a heart to receive it.

The day Gram died, two of her sons, their wives, and a few grandchildren and great grands held hands around her bed as she took her last struggling breaths. We sang, "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory." It was a fitting send-off for a wonderful woman who loved her family.

I wonder if I'll smell Noxema on her face as I kiss her hello when my time comes.

Marguerite Weimer & My Pink Poodle Skirt

It's a relief to be able to talk about Pink Poodle Skirts and have more than one generation know that I don't mean a poodle wearing a ballerina tutu. Granddaughter Morgan has seen the fad come around one more time, albeit briefly, and wasn't puzzled when I made this piece.

Fads come and go, but sentimental is forever. Wearing this bracelet is like owning a piece of history. I remember my babysitter Marguerite dressing in the uniform of the day which included white collared shirts with rolled up sleeves, a small scarf tied around her neck, white bucks and short sox. She was always so fashionable and my admiration for her knew no bounds. She had a poodle skirt.

Marguerite was the also the gal who got me to quit biting my fingernails. Hers were amazing in a day WAY before acrylics and nail wraps were heard of. She promised that if I quit biting my nails, she would buy me my first manicure kit. I got the best end of the bargain...lovely nails AND a new manicure kit.

Marguerite is a lot like my wonderful sister, Carole. Both are elegant in every way right down to their pedicured toenails, and they are fun to be with as well. It's no coincidence that they are friends.

As I was making this bracelet, Marguerite came to mind several times. I wondered how she is doing and what's going on in her life these days, and appreciated her for the thousandth time for throwing me a wedding shower back in the day when most people would have rather talked than helped. She is one special woman.

Thank you Marguerite Weimer for being someone an insecure kid in her early teens could look up to. We all have people watching us when we often don't know it. Look around a little.

My Pink Poodle Skirt is THE cutest bracelet! There are five of Laura Tidey's lampworks in it, and I saved three more to make earrings and a slide for the gal who buys this. Buy the bracelet & earrings, get the slide for free! Notice the Sterling Silver poodle charm. Pearls, Tagua from Ecuador, Thai & Bali Sterling, cat's eye beads, and pink Swarovski finish this gorgeous conversation piece.

One of a kind.

Bracelet $89.oo

Earrings (not posted yet) $20.oo

Caramel Macchiato

Coffee's a big thing in our house. The hands down favorite is Green Mountain, a tasty coffee from Vermont. When we travel to Maine, the carry on contains at least 6 bags of it on the return flight. There are most always remarks from flight crew and fellow passengers about the smell of our luggage. It's easy to pick out Caramel Vanilla Cream or Pumpkin Spice scent over the French Vanilla. One day soon, I'd enjoy having a Keurig so we can buy Green Mountain K cups at our local bed & bath store.

Leigh's sister Val sends goodies from Green Mountain at Christmastime, and we love opening the box. Trying to save the coffee 'til Christmas Day can be a challenge.

Another enjoyable coffee is Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. We make jokes about how awesome it tastes and how much it costs, but, at the end of the day, it's a delicious treat.

Caramel Macchiato, the bracelet, is so much fun! All the colors in my favorite Starbucks coffee complete with heart shaped cream on top of the cup. Laura Tidey did a delectable job on lampworks for this set. Tagua from Ecuador, Carnelian, Bali and Thai sterling silver all blend to make this yummy combination. To top it off, there's an adorable sterling JAVA charm with a tiny cup of coffee in the middle of the V. Delicious!


One of a kind.

Bracelet $89.oo comes with a free pair of earrings which are shown in the picture above.

Rest & Amazing Grace

We are enjoying the challenge of organizing, editing, and publishing this blog as well as posting jewelry pictures & linking the primary sites. A few times, I have found myself bogged down (or 'blogged' down) in computer details and taking a break to clear my mind. Housework is a great 'mind clearer', but, more than anything, sitting quietly with God makes for the BEST rest. Psalms 16:11 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." No other presence gives that kind of joy. All other pursuits look to me like a dog chasing its tail. It's the difference between a circle and a short straight line. The circle of busyness and living becomes a treadmill with no end in sight and only hollow reward. The short straight line takes me quickly into the presence of my Father. Rest and joy are only a short sigh away. I find myself ceasing my own movement and waiting to hear His heartbeat. Then it's easier to acknowledge who's in control. The Faithful One. The Almighty. I appreciate what God is teaching me in this journey. It's always BEEN, always IS, and always WILL BE about Him. When you see me doing something different, and I will, please love me enough to remind me.

Amazing Grace combines Laura Tidey's gorgeous lampwork beads with turquoise, wood rondelles, Bali and Thai sterling silver. Brown and turquoise are great in any season.

$68.oo