Happy Holly-Days!

The other day I was feeling a little bit under the weather, and realized I had become disconnected from something that was essential to my happiness -- being out in nature. Since the cold and rain had descended on Oregon back in November, I had been shuttling from one warm building to another without taking much time to be outside.

Instead of going to yoga, I decided to take a walk at the Hoyt Arboretum and found myself pulled along a path filled with holly.



They were all so surprisingly different and changed my whole conception of the traditional holly plants you see at Christmas time. There were miniature plants, variegated leaves, and even ones with yellow berries.

I felt so enchanted. A magical forest of holly!

A non-native of Oregon, holly has adapted well to our Northwest environment and back in 1890, German immigrant Gustav Teufel started cultivating English holly for his gardening business. Teufel Holly Farms is a family owned fourth generation business that is still supplying some of the most beautiful holly and greenery. Next year I'm going to have to visit Teufel Holly Farms shop for some festive decorations.



I looked at something in a different, I got excited about experiencing the holidays with a new twist, and I reconnected with an essential part of myself that longs to be in nature.

This walk made me realize how easy it is for me to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and not even notice how I have left my true self behind. All it took was an hour out in nature for me to meet up with myself again and refocus my energy. I left home feeling exhausted and unsettled and came home feeling refreshed and centered.

As I close my shop to celebrate Christmas with my family, I leave you with this one wish and that is that within these final glowing moments of the season I hope that you too find the small places or things that bring you closer to your true self and a wholeness filled with happiness.

Thank you all for your gracious presence throughout the year!
Wishing you and your family peace and joy for the holidays!

Gem Stories: Turquoise

turquoise

A tiny piece of sky, the ocean blue, or the birthstone for the month of December, whatever personal connection you have with turquoise, it is surely a stone of sacred proportions.

Used for centuries by humans, found all over the world, and thought to be one of the first crystals used for adornment, protection, and good luck, turquoise is imbued with ancient history. I think of turquoise as a grandmother stone -- filled with wisdom that has been passed down through the ages.

Dove of Peace earrings, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry)
sterling silver, turquoise, and silver dove of peace charms

She's a keeper of myths and teller of tall tales -- a medicine woman. A healer for body and soul and a protector of community and values. She accepts all people and events into her life equally and without judgment.

Who wouldn't want turquoise -- this grandmother stone -- to be a force in their lives?

Lost & Found Love

Lost & Found Love, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry)
silver heart, dog, and tree of life charms

I think the picture says it all!
Happy Holidays to all those are longing to be rescued :)

Squirrel Buddha

squirrel buddha

Do you have a squirrel Buddha in your backyard? Haha, we do and boy does he love our new squirrel feeder. Just look at his jolly belly filled with nuts and seeds!

This squirrel feeder was one of the final additions to backyard garden in hopes of keeping four legged critters separate from the birds. So far it's really been working out. We mounted the feeder directly outside our kitchen window, so while I'm cooking, I get to watch the little guys enjoying a snack.

Have you been making any winter preparations for your backyard creatures?

Spiritual New Year

New Year, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry)
silver charms: cross, lotus blossom, star of David, and karma wave

I almost feel silly talking about the New Year in the midst of holiday fun, but then I was thinking about the Christian advent season and how it is a symbolic preparation for the coming of light into the world.

During this time before Winter Solstice, we are experiencing the earth tilting farther and farther away from the sun. Winter Solstice, on December 21, is the turning point when we come back into the presence of the sun. The sun is reborn into our lives.

All of our holiday celebrations during the month of December are preparing us for this momentous event -- light in our lives, a new day, a new year, and ultimately change. So while we prepare, celebrate, feast, and engage in giving and receiving, why not keep in our minds eye the promise that is waiting -- the New Year.

What better way to embrace the New Year, then communing with universal symbols of spiritually. There are so many more for me to make but these are just a few spiritual symbols that I have in Hint Jewelry's charm collection that I thought looked like best of friends holding hands.

Dishrack Kitty

Don't you love it when there are no boundaries?

Big vs. Small

forest within a forest, beth hemmila

In the Northwest, miniature forests grow in the strangest of places. The other day my husband even found a small one growing out of his car!

And if you ever get to Portland, Oregon you must take a moment to visit the World's Smallest Park -- Mill Ends Park -- the only leprechaun home outside of Ireland.

Sometimes when you want something big you can often find a version of it small. The smallness of it's size is often the invitation that others overlook. Have you been wanting something? A studio space, a garden, a new car? Sometimes there is something small that you are overlooking that is just waiting for you :)

Penguin Love

Antarctica, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry)
silver charms snowflake, penguin, and stillness
gemstones: aquamarine and grey freshwater pearl

I've never traveled to some place as remote and extreme as Antarctica. Considered the coldest place on earth and technically classified as a desert, Antarctica is home to emperor penguins. These amazing creatures were the stars of my favorite documentary The March of the Penguins (La Marche de l'Empereur). My husband and went around performing penguin hugs for months after our viewing.

Maybe you're a fan of Happy Feet, which I hear is coming out with a sequel next year, or if you want to date yourself Chilly Willy who hails from Fairbanks, Alaska. Whatever the context, penguins seem to delight our spirits and warm our hearts.

Featured in this necklace is my new Hint Jewelry penguin charm -- my last holiday surprise before the new year. Imagining what life is like in Antarctica, I paired my penguin with a snowflake and the sound of stillness.

Here's hoping those penguins huddle close and stay warm this year!

Personalized Photo Frame Christmas Tree Ornaments for Pets

personalized photo frame Christmas tree ornaments for pets
fine silver (metal clay), lion and fox motifs
Beth Hemmila, Hint Jewelry

I've been shopping for the perfect personalized photo frame Christmas tree ornament to place pictures of my cats in for this year's holiday season. While I was gradually becoming more and more disappointed with what I saw, a light bulb went off. Duh...I make stuff out of silver. Why not make my own Christmas tree ornaments out of precious metal clay?

Does this happen to you? Sometimes I get so caught up in making things for Hint Jewelry or other people, I forget that I can make something for own enjoyment.

The whole thing worked out splendidly, because I had just finished creating my fox mold for my 2011 spring line (oops a little teaser for what's to come next year!), designed to honor the spirit of our new kitten Sierra, and then I was able to match it with Hugo's Courage lion totem.

personalized photo frame Christmas tree ornaments for pets
fine silver (metal clay), lion and fox motifs
Beth Hemmila, Hint Jewelry

I used metal punches to stamp the letters of their name on the front, and on the other side, I created a frame to mount a future cat photo of each one of my kitties. Some things that I would design differently given the chance is that I would have stamped 2010 on the bottom of the ornament and created a bail for the top instead of a hole.

Oh well, I was in the moment and having fun just making something that didn't have to completely perfect.

personalized photo frame Christmas tree ornaments for pets
fine silver (metal clay), lion and fox motifs
Beth Hemmila, Hint Jewelry

Hope this inspires you to use your creativity to design your own personalized ornaments for the home or tree!

Learning When to Give In

heart speak day 58, beth hemmila

Hmmmm...I don't have much to say these days. In fact, my blog has appeared a little bit sparse lately. Hint Jewelry is keeping me busy, and I've also developed a sinus infection that seems to be affecting my eyesight. So if my cyber silence seems distant, it's just that I'm off being an elf and trying to keep things light this season.

In the meantime, I thought I might share one of my pivotal creative moments during my 120 day drawing challenge. Back on Day 58, I sort of lost it. I couldn't think of anything to draw and in my head all I wanted to draw was a picture that everyone was taught as a child -- house on a hill with a tree and some clouds in the sky. Oh, maybe a pond with a duck or a family to go with this scene, but really all I wanted to do was draw the house. The feeling was so intense that I imagined that if I drew this house every day, I would feel completely satisfied. Like someone who needs a cup of coffee to perk up in the morning, I needed to draw this picture every day to feel happy. So I gave in and drew it. This house is the most satisfying picture I've drawn yet.

The logical part of me is completely embarrassed by the simplicity of my action, but my childlike curiosity is totally enthralled with the beauty of the act. How often do we let our over rationalized, judgmental brains dictate what we are suppose to do in terms of being creative? How often do we miss out on personal pleasure simply because we don't follow what we are really wanting and do what we think is acceptable to others?

It's only in the last couple centuries that being creative has been equated with having to be unique. It was a rationalized mind that decided that to be valued as a human being a creative act must be one that has never existed before.

On Day 58, I'm pretty sure I saw my modern, rational brain give in to something more primitive. The empty mind, the one that doesn't care if I'm unique but just enjoys the simple pleasure of making its mark.