Paying It Forward and appreciate what you've got..

My mind is swimming with what all that I want to share. So I am just going to type. I apologize in advance for any grammar errors, profanity, and random rants. I have had some profound learning's and reminder's lately. I'll start at the beginning. I have a ton of compassion for people and situations. I wear my heart on my sleeve always. I recently had the opportunity to donate some jewelry to a auction for a young girl named Kolby who has cancer. Please see the link at the end of this blog. It hit home for me because when I was 17 my mom lost one of her best friends Lola. It deeply affected me as she really had an impact on me while I was growing up. Lola and Kolby have the same cancer in common. I was so sad to hear about this poor girl way to young to have this terrible disease. It got me thinking of how I would like to help. How anyone who has a talent can do small things to impact great causes. Anyone who has a heart and good soul can do small things to again impact great causes. Anyone who has huge networks can spread the word of these great causes by a click of a button and maybe a little copy and paste. Aside from getting to help this cause it reminded as well as showed me what is really important. The things we take for granted. How simple it is to help...ANYTHING.

I am grateful for having a talent. One that I didn't believe in up until a few years ago.Why did
I feel like this? Well because I tend to not often feel like I am good at anything. Like how people are good at sports, art, etc... I know now that is not the case. I have a talent and it is creating jewelry. My friend Hilda told me when I was looking for a "mission statement" so to speak for On A Whim that "I make people smile one bead at a time". I went with it and loved it! It got me thinking about how I could help more in small ways, encourage others to do the same, keep causes circulating and such. I can be a handful sometimes. I am stubborn, I am a pleaser, I am a procrastinator, I am an Aunt,Sister and daughter from far away :( , I am compassionate, I am bothered by REAL issues that really affect people, I am insecure, I second guess myself all the time but I am not doing that now as I write this blog. I am determined and driven. I am grateful that I can use my talent and network to help those who have a cause. This brings me to the heart of what I wanted to write about. About a month ago a facebook friend of mine posted a link about a family and their little boy Ronan who had been diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma and is 3 years old. My niece will be 3 in November. I don't know this family but grew up in the same town as Ronan's mom. When I read this blog my heart broke for this family and Ronan's mom. I can not begin to imagine what this family is going through. What Kolby's family must be going through. I have been following blog's for both kids and their families. I want to share 2 things and have both sites at the bottom of this blog fore you to check out and to SHARE, to SPREAD THE WORD, to IMPACT great causes through our networks and talents. You can donate to the auction for Kolby and if you are in AZ you can purchase tickets to the Diamondbacks vs Dodgers game on 9/25 and a portion of proceeds from that will go to the Ronan Thompson Foundation. If you can't buy tickets you can donate through Paypal. The moral of my entry tonight is that I as a artist want to help causes such as these. Whether it is me donating pieces of my jewelry or using our artist community and network to spread the word and pay it forward. We take so much for granted, including how simple and easy it is to help with the click of a button or a copy and paste. I want to encourage and hope to see more of us in the artist community sharing what we are doing with our craft to pay it forward whatever your cause.

I guess what I am saying is I want to start a group of artists who are willing to donate/auction items monthly to go to various causes such as Cancer. After reading the stories of these kids and what their families are going through I almost feel like I know their families through the words they write. My heart breaks for them. I wanted to help, to do something. Not sure what but I wanted to do it right away. So here I am and this is what I am thinking....

I think it would be amazing to come together as a group and make an impact through our craft.

I feel really strongly about wanting to do this and want to know who is willing to go at it with me?
I encourage EVERY artisian to do this. PLEASE DO. Whether it is donating an item or spreading the word. We have so much strength in numbers. So spread the word.. it is a simple copy and paste.


It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.
Mother Teresa


http://keepingkolby.blogspot.com/
http://rockstarronan.com/

So I always seem to create the best pieces when I am inspired musically at the same time. I tend to just listen to the play lists I have created on Pandora and get to town with me and my beads, and supporting jewelry making elements. I LOVE MUSIC! So I am curious what inspires other artists out there musically? A few of my staples when creating are : The Beatles, Tori Amos, Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, and Journey. What do YOU listen to? I love to have new suggestions :) Overall I guess I am most at peace when creating. It is almost as if I can TRULY forget all else that is happening around me and truly do something I love. I am the type of person who is always anxious and stressed so I feel blessed to have been given this creative gift that I have. Funny that I say that now. Years ago I did not take my jewelry talents seriously and was quite self conscious of my creations. I have grown into a comfortable skin with my jewelry endeavors and won't let anyone convince me otherwise :) I am driven to make On A Whim Jewelry into something more than a hobby and I appreciate everyone on this journey with me who is never waiving in their kind words, inspiration and encouragement. You all save me at the end of the day and make me want to push forward with my dream. THANK YOU!!