Give Hope...it's in our genes.

World RARE Disease Day
Blog Hop

To all my Amazing, Sweet Friends who have followed me along my path

these last few years, I want to Thank You with all my Heart

for your wisdom & kindness & generosity of Spirit.

You have made ALL the difference in helping free me to speak my truths

without fear, knowing I would land in a place of love & support...

there aren't even words that can express a gift like that.

I learned about Huntington's Disease when I was 10 years old.

My Mother who was adopted, had been sick for quite a while by then.

 Her doctors were finding it difficult to come up with a diagnosis for

her condition without having more information about her birth family.

It was during this period that I heard the term, Huntington's Chorea, for the very first time.

How could I have ever known, how much those 2 words

would change mine & my family's life forever.

{Read more about my journey HERE}

Huntington's Disease is neurodegenerative genetic disorder.

The onset of HD is generally in the prime of your life...

there is no cure & it is fatal.

My Mother & Brother both died from complications of Huntington's.

Every child of an affected person has a 50% chance of inheriting this disease.

This has been a lifelong heartbreak for for me & my loved ones...

but I STILL have HOPE! 

{Susie & Johnny last Christmas}

The Good News!!!

I am joining with The Global Gene Project to help promote awareness for the

upcoming World Rare Disease Day on February 29th, 2012.

What does the R.A.R.E. Project stand for??

Rare Disease / Advocacy / Research / Education

Statistics

*30 days from now is World Rare Disease Day.

*Why is the number 30 significant?

*30% of children with RARE disease will die by their 5th birthday.

*An estimated 350 million people are affected by rare disease worldwide.

*1 in 10 Americans is affected by rare disease, that's over 30 million people.

*30 million Americans is more than the total number of people

  living worldwide with cancer & aids.

*There are more than 7,000 rare diseases with some affecting less than 100 people.

*75% of rare disease affect children,

*Almost 80% of rare disease are genetic in origin.

*These rare conditions are chronic, life threatening and FATAL.

*There are NO cures for any rare disease, and only 5% of the diseases have any treatment.

*Over 50% of Rare Diseases have no foundations, advocacy group or community support.

{Sara & Johnny}

Take Action

*Help unite 1 Million for RARE on the Global Genes Project Facebook page so we

  can increase awareness to the rare disease community

*Wear That You Care using JEANS to call attention to GENES that can cause rare
  disease on World Rare Disease Day, February 29th & encourage others to do so too.

  Include your schools, sports teams, places of worship, family & coworkers!

  Share your photos on Facebook, tag Global Genes Project!

*Getting involved can be as simple as putting on a pair of jeans or as involved as organizing a local

  Denim & Genes event.

Recently driving home, I saw the most beautiful, crystal clear rainbow
that I've ever seen & instantly knew it was a SIGN.

A sign of all the wonderful things to come,
a sign of Joy & Peace & Love for the New Year,
but most importantly & without reservation, I knew
it was a sign of HOPE.
Life without hope is no life at all.
GIVE HOPE...it's in our GENES!

XOXO

vintagesusie

My Finished Soldered Necklace & More

Hey Sweeties, Happy Hump Day!!!

Today's the day of the big reveal...

the finished product of my 1st soldered necklace & even I must say,

I LOVEY IT!

It may actually be worth all the aggravation

of soldering! ;)

Don't you just love my little civil war girl's grumpy face?
She reminds me of Shirley Temple for some reason.

Something I DO enjoy doing, is hand-wiring together crystal beads.

When done with an annealed steel, they have the look

of a vintage rosary...Heavenly. 

Now, being that I am the Queen of SPOONIN,

I had to add a vintage spoon to the mix.

I chose one that is very close to my heart,

a souvenir spoon from

Long Beach, Ca where I was born.

I also added a small vintage brooch as a chain connector.

I love that this piece is just as beautiful on the back, as on the front.

My antique ledger paper I got from The French Larkspur

is perfect with it's 1855 date showing.

I have to tell you though, it was very hard for my to cut something

that was so old. I only know that I will cherish each little piece

& put it only in my art projects that will be loved & treasured.

And how cool is it that on the back of my favorite spoon
the date is marked 1917. This truly is an heirloom necklace.

So overall soldering is still a struggle for me, but I've found that

the end result can be worth every burnt finger &

swear word I had to go through to get here. 

Now in contrast to soldering,
making these cute little vintage coin purses into necklaces is easy

& so much fun. Since I adore tintypes, I just include them to

everything I make these days. They add that touch of the past

that really brings your piece to life!

I LOVE copper!

I love the patina it gets with time

I had a fabulous antique copper skeleton key that I used as a

chain connector for this necklace & I added a bit of

chain with an old Pepsi Cola coin dangling from it.

It worked perfectly as it is an old coin purse, right.

I even made a pair of matching earrings with a couple of metal

elements I got at Round Top from Sandy Schor. I swear,

his booth alone calls me back to Texas!

The set together...

too bad I didn't notice that the key was

backwards when I took the picture. :)

All in all, this past week has been full of creativity.

I've tried my hand at techniques that scare me,

I've learned about the concept of wabi sabi,

I've embraced the beauty of imperfection,

& I know as with all things,

I will only get better with practice.

Patience Grasshopper, patience.

XOXO

vintagesusie

I Can Solder, But it SUCKS!

 Hi Sweeties...
Well, here I am as promised, back to tell you about my
weekend of soldering. I was so inspired having seen all the absolutely
gorgeous pieces of handmade jewelry on Pinterest.
But let me tell you a little secret....
it's NOT as easy as it looks! LOL

I must say, this is not my first attempt at trying to conquer my fear
of soldering, it's my 2nd. My 1st try was a complete failure & you can
check that sad experience out HERE!
Let's just say, I BURNED shit!

So, the good news is...I love to copper wrap!
Instant gratification, just like wrapping a beautiful present...
it's easy & tidy & neat, me likey.  ;)

{don't ya just LOVE the face of my grumpy little girl}

But then comes the hard part, the SOLDERING...arggggggghhhh.
My problem is, I want it to be perfect & as far as I can glean,
there is no perfection in soldering, or at least not in MY soldering.

In the pictures above, I bought the glass soldered charm on the left
& my soldered charm is on the right. When comparing, I see that even the purchased
glass charm has solder dripping on the edges on both sides & I bought it & loved it.
But I need mine to be smooth, which comes from the anal, OCD part of me.
Another problem I have, is that the flux always gets under the glass
leaving a wet mark on my antique, 1855 French paper.

Like I said before....arghhhhhhhhh!
By Sunday evening, this is exactly what my face looked like. lol

But through it all, the trials & tribulations, I did manage
to create this one little perfect gem.

And look...the flux didn't even get under the glass this time.
Yippppeeeee.....

To reward myself for suffering through a weekend of soldering,

I also worked on some yummy little vintage coin purses

that will be made into long necklaces. 

I still have a few, treasured metal jewelry pieces left from my

Round Top, Texas trip last spring & they make perfect little frames

for a Tintype photograph. 

I ADORE Tintypes...

you can see & feel the history they share with us.

Sooooo....short story long, I can solder, but it SUCKS!!!

I know I will get better in time & I know practice makes perfect,

but for right now...

I will try & find the beauty in imperfection.

And keep in mind,

I haven't even TALKED about jump rings...arrrrgggghhhhhh.  ;)

XOXO

vintagesusie

Pinterest & Inspired Soldering

{pictures from pinterest}

Happy TGIF Sweet Hearts!!!!

I hope you had an AMAZING week...

I know I did cuz this week, I discovered Pinterest!!!

I'm ALWAYS the last to know right, what's UP with that??

Well, here's my theory...

I spend soooooooo much time on the computer working,

I mean like ALL day, a lot of days,

that I'm already filled with guilt about not being present.

There's Email...

Facebook...

My Blogs...

Blog Design...

Reading Other Blogs...

Photo Downloads...

Spoonin  Website Revisions...

My Kindle Fire...

The idea of one more social media to have to nurture & maintain

was too overwhelming & I had no interest at all in adding to my already full plate.

And then I actually went into Pinterest....

& fell madly in LOVE with everything I saw!!!

So here's my boards...

vintagesusie & wings

Queen of Everything

Needful Things

Jewelry Inspiration

Pearly Love

Junky Love

Spoonin

Words to Live By

Places I've Been & Love

Places I Dream Of

Design Inspiration

Inspiration

Bucket List

Love Old Pictures

Sooooooo, once more I will say to you...

can anybody say OCD!!!!

I'm addicted to Pinterest!!!

I spend my nights {sometimes days, lol}

dreaming of the things I love & looking longingly at the

gorgeous images found in Pinterest, I ADORE it!

The GREAT news is, Pinterest INSPIRES me to CREATE.

So today, I overcome my fear of soldering & make this!!

{well maybe something LIKE this, lol}

Source: youtube.com via Susie on Pinterest

{click on photo for soldering tutorial}
I'll be giving you an update on my soldering progress,

as last time I tried it was a complete failure.

Why does it scare me so???

I feel like a 2 year old...HOTTTTT!

Anyway, wish me luck & go forth & PIN!!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie