Friday, July 29, 2011

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal by Nat Ewert

Nat did the most magnificent work on Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal painting. I commissioned her to do a 8x10 mixed media painting for me and it's done and it's lovely. I haven't received it yet - I'll get it next week but I have the proof of the finished piece. It was amazing working with her. She let me have a lot of input and I tried to use as much of my research as possible.

Of course, some of it couldn't be included, for example the 3 rings on each hand, and we added a few things, the blue mantle and the Holy Spirit, but it's still true to the third apparition of St. Catherine Laboure. Even the snake, which represents Satan and evil, is green with yellow spots just as St. Catherine saw it. Our Lady is standing on the snake to represent her battle against evil. She also stands upon on the Earth, which is perfect, with the date 1830 among a lot of wonderful clouds. She is absolutely lovely. Nan made her dress a little bluish to represent the "color of dawn" as St. Catherine saw it, as well as rings on each of her fingers and rays from the rings towards the Earth. Although St. Catherine did not see a blue mantle, this was added later by her confessor, the bishop, and has been a part of the image since then. The circle surrounding her which reads "O Mary Conceived Without Sin Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee" from hand to hand as was seen by St. Catherine. Of course, the original was in French but we decided to do the text for this painting in English. Nat also added the Holy Spirit at my request. 


Nat takes custom orders year-round, and even offers an Easy-Payment-Plan upon request. You can find her art shop at www.natamon.etsy.com , and contact her at natstoremail@gmail.com . Nat's religious paintings are all lovely. This painting will be available as a print in about one week. She also currently has wonderful paintings and prints of Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist, St. Theresa, St. Gertrude, St. Padre Pio, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Francis of Assisi and others.

The painting is truly amazing. I will be lucky to have such a piece of art. I know you want to see her so here she is:

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Three new Teamcatholic Treasuries

Here are three teamcatholic treasuries I did since Saturday morning. Please take a moment to go look at the wonderful treasury items by clicking on the Treaury link. Thank you.
"To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens." Ecc 3:1

Autumn is my favorite season, the cold breezes blowing around the leaves, the colors of the Autumn trees and foilage. A beautiful season of much joy and delight waiting in anticipation.

I chose items made by the teamcatholic with autumn colors to makes this treasury based on the Bible verse above .


Geometric Gem by Simply Lovely Jewelry

Treasury 2
From the Gospel today, "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls..." Matthew 13:45. There are several verses in the Bible referring to pearls, including the 12 pearl gates of Revelations. Pearl is June's birthstone.
I chose items made with pearls by teamcatholic to make this treasury based on today's Gospel reading.

Yellow Pearl Rosary Bracelet
by Raes Spirit

"If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it." 1 Corinthians 3:12-13
I chose wood and brown items to make this teamcatholc treasury based on this verse .


Handmade woodburning of Blessed Pope John Paul II


Friday, July 22, 2011

Two New Projects Today

Russian Orthodox Rosary
I worked on two small craft projects today and finished them. The first was a Russsian Orthodox rosary and the second was a kit to make a "Miraculous Medal" ring.

The Russian Rosary
(A slightly different version of the Byzantine Rosary)
The Eastern rite rosary dates back to the 7th century, when according to tradition, a saint had an apparition recommending this form of prayer. In Russia, the rosary is called "Chotki." It is usually made of wool in which there are 100 knots with an extra know between each ten. At the end is a cross also make of knots.

The Russian Rosary I made has a tiny (11mm) sterling Russian Orthodox cross at the beginning, followed by one sterling bead, a tiny (9mm) sterling center for the Miraculous Medal and 100 vintage crystal beads of a multitude of colors separated each ten by a round sterling silver bead. This is a tiny rosary despite all the beads. It only measures 8" in full length. There's a little space in the wire so that it's easier to keep count. The sterling cross and center are lovely. They both have a front and a back with alot of detail. Unfortunately, the back, which is in Russian, is too small for my DH to read too.



Back of the Cross and Center


Front of the Cross and Center
100 vintage crystal Rosary beads and sterling silver spacers


The Immaculate Ring - Vintage Jewelry Kit

This is a theoretically simple "connection" project using a wonderful ring shank with pierced loops on it. The ring is texturized to give in an antique look and then it is oxidized to bring out the highlights. The kit includes mother of pearl components, including a faceted rondelle with tiny filigree bead caps. There are also two tiny brass cross crosses and two Miraculous Medals (hence my interest), These were aged as well. Antique brass headpins and tiny jump rings are included for the connections. The kit was supplied by Vintage Design Resource, a really fun place to shop on-line.
I had no problems with the kit except that it was difficult to use such tiny jump rings when one has tremors in one's hands. Other than that, it was alot of fun to make and very pretty.
 

Ring from Vintage Design Resource
 


My Immaculate Ring
 

Kit from Vintage Design Resource



CARRY YOUR ROSARY EVERYDAY

When you carry a Rosary, Satan has a headache.
When you use it, he collapses.
When he sees you praying it, he faints.
Let us pray the rosary every day, so that he'll keep fainting.

Did you also know that when you are about to forward this message, Satan will try to discourage you?
Forward it anyway and help hasten the triumph of Mother Mary!
Send this to your prayerful friends and see how the Holy Spirit works!
There is a great deal to gain and absolutely nothing to lose!

****************************

Hi Everyone,

Imagine what might happen if every Catholic in the world would pray a Rosary on the same day! We have an example in October of 1573, when Europe was saved from the invasion of the mighty Turkish fleet, by the praying of the Rosary by all Christians!

So, on July 30 2011, let us all pray a Rosary for peace in the world and the return of moral values into our communities. If possible, please pray your Rosary between and .

Also, please e-mail this message to every Catholic on your address list, and ask them to pass it along to every Catholic on their lists. Let's unite in praying one of the most powerful prayers in existence, for these intentions, on one of the holiest days in our Church year.

God bless us all!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

New Rosary: The Crystal Rosary

Hi, Yesterday I completed this rosary as I received the Madonna and Child pewter/crystal crucifix and center (thank you Phyllis at Rosaries by Speziale). The beads are strung on sterling silver soft flex wire which I love to work with. This rosary will be designated R27 when listed in my etsy store and is eligible for my Christmas in July and my Summer 25 discounts. The Pater (Our Father) beads are Swarovski clear crystal round, highly faceted beads between 8 and 12mm accented on both sides by silver rondelles with small crysal inlays. The Ave (Hail Mary) beads are Swarovski bicones of approximately 5mm. The spacers between the Paters and Aves are 2.5mm sterling silver beads. The Madonna & Child Heart Rosary Set is an American made Pewter Heart Shaped center depicting Mary and baby Jesus with little crystal clear stones (1" x 3/4") and a beautiful matching Crucifix (2" x 1 1/4"). The full length of the R27 Crystal Rosary is approximately 18 1/4". Thank you for sharing this blog article with me.



Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Pics of My New Wedding Band

Greetings!

I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to post this but I wanted to make sure I love it as much 2 months after receiving it as I did when I received it. And I do. I absolutely love it. This ring was designed by the jewelry artist Carol Stall and myself for my wedding band. Carol then made it for me. It is a sterling silver band about 6.5 mm wide with beveled edges for a comfort fit and it is so comfortable, despite being as wide as it is. There is a 5mm brilliant cushion cut white sapphire as the stone. I picked this out at a jewelry show in Baltimore, MD. The stone is set in a rose gold bezel, because Carol knows how much I love rose gold. It's a size 5 to fit my left hand ring finger.

Now it sounds like Nick had nothing to do with it, but he basically gave me carte blanche on the ring and he did approve of the original AND the final designs. He loves it too. I wish to thank Carol for being such an excellent jeweler and listener. She listened to my ideas and either said that sounds good or there's no way I can do that. It was especially important to me that the ring be comfortable to wear and she adjusted it in such a way that is truly is. She has very helpful, very kind, and very communicative. Thank you Carol. You're the best.


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

New Treasury: August Birthstone - Peridot and the Bible



Peridot Necklace by RaesSpirit
I made this treasury entitled August Birthstone - Peridot and the Bible for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to highlight the beautiful art from all of the etsy teams that I am a member. Peridot is August's birthstone and it won't be long until August now. Peridot is likely one of the gems of the Bible (see below) although there's some controversy to that. Regardless, it has been mined for thousands of years and is said to be Cleopatra's favorite stone. I am trying to research more about the gemstones of the Bible so that I can focus on these gems, in particular, when I make my rosaries. I loved the jewelry, especially the religious jewelry, made by etsy artists that used real peridot gemstones.

Peridot Rosary Bracelet
by ABABeadsKC
Periodot has been mined as a gemstone for four thousand years and is mentioned in the Bible under the name of Chrysolite, although there is some controversy to this name. Periodot is also mentioned in the Bible under the Hebrew name of pitdah. Peridot gems along with other gems were probably used in the fabled Breastplates of the Jewish High Priest, artifacts that have never been found. The Greeks and Romans referred to peridot as topazion and topazius respectively and this name was later given to topaz, to end the confusion with the two gems. In the Bible, the names topaz and chrysolite are used interchangeably causing even more confusion.




Sterling and Peridot Pendant
by bddesigns
This green gemstone is the birthstone for August and since it will soon be that month, I decided to make a treasury on this beautiful gemstone. I used all of my teams to find peridot containing items for this treasury, including the Catholic Etsy Artists Guild (teamcatholic), the Team Christian Artists and Craftsmen (teamcac), the Christian Artists Promoting Shops (capteam), the Prayers on a Wire Etsy Team (prayersonawireteam), and the Christian Artists Street Team (castteam). The beautiful work done by these etsy team artists inspired me to do this lovely treasury.





Saturday, July 9, 2011

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - Who is the Artist, Please?

I am seeking the artist of this painting of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in the picture to the right. Please leave a comment if you know the artist's or the painting's name. Thank you and God Bless.

Artist please?

Friday, July 8, 2011

What I did on My Free Friday Afternoon

Well I have so much <joke> "free" time between going to doctors, having exams, painful injections, trips to the ER, doing PT, lawyers, forms, praying, serving etc. So after my Dr. appointment this afternoon and the gushing rain walking home from the bus stop, I checked the mail. Lo and behold, all of the parts I needed to make myself the Jasper necklace and earrings were finally here! This included:


Necklace:
Medium beading wire (Softflex)
Large Turquoise Aqua Terra Jasper Oval Puff Beads
6mm Sterling Silver spacer beads
Turquoise Aqua Terra Jasper Cross
Large Sterling Jump Ring for Cross
Large Argentium S Clasp with SS Jump Rings for Closure




Earrings:
Sterling Silver Head Pins
Small and Medium Turquoise Aqua Terra Oval Puff Beads
4mm Sterling Silver spacer beads
Argentium Reusable Ear Wires


Everything Purchased from Etsy.com

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Completed Alex's Rosary!

I wanted to add a medal of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Alex's birthday rosary because OLG is Alex's Lady. Alex has wonderful stories to tell about OLG, miraculous even. I thought it would be a special touch. I also found it appropriate that the medal is a scroll because both Alex and I both love to read and do research.

I also found this prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe which I thought was timely to the world's situation and wanted to include it here in my blog.

A Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe:
"God of power and mercy, you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. May her prayers help all men and women to accept each other as brothers and sisters. Through your justice present in our hearts, may your peace reign in the world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Etsy Christmas In July Sale!

Christmas in July Sale!
Tree of Life Rosary

Please use the code for the Summer25 sale!

Remember: SUMMER25
The sale continues until September 31. I am offering 25% off all Etsy items except PIFs and gift certificates. Even custom items are on sale. Once we establish a price for your custom item, you will receive 25% off that price. Gift certificates can still be used to purchase an item and then receive 25% off that item. Just put in SUMMER25 into the discount code box to receive your discount.

Please visit my Facebook page and Blog. You will receive an additional 5% off if you "Like" me and "Follow" me, respectively.
For those who have already done both, you are eligible for this deal and an extra 5% (35% total!!), just let me know in a conversation please.

Thank you and Blessings,

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Three New CEAG Treasuries - Tributes to Our Lady

I wanted to make a tribute to Our Lady. But with all the wonderful art done by the Catholic Etsy Artists Guild, aka CEAG aka teamcatholic, I was able to make three.



1. A Tribute to Our Lady, I - Virtues focuses on Our Lady of Grace, Charity, Good Counsel (apparition), Hope , The Immaculate Heart, the Mystic Rose, Perpetual Help, the Rosary, Sevens Sorrows, Snows, and the Star of the Sea. There are other examples of Our Ladies Virtues, but these are the one for which I found beautiful items from the CEAG.
2. A Tribute to Our Lady, II - Apparitions focuses on the Visitations of Our Lady, including, the Burgundy region of France, Lourdes, Guadalupe, Mt. Carmel, and Fatima. A number of miracles have been associated with these regions following her visitations. In other regions of the world, several miracles have been attributed to Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.
3. A Tribute to Our Lady, III - St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal is my favorite visitation. Our Lady Mary visited the nun, Sister Catherine Laboure, at least three times. On the first visit, Mary allowed Sister Catherine, to lay her head in Mary's lap and spoke with her regarding, largely, the political situation in France in 1830. During the conversation, Mary said to her, “My child, I am going to give you a mission.”

Later that year, in the Second Apparition, streaming from rings on Mary's fingers, as she held the small globe representing the world, were many rays of light. Mary explained that the rays symbolize the graces she obtains for those who ask for them. Mary explained that the rays symbolize the graces she obtains for those who ask for them. The globe represented the whole world, but especially France, which was having political and social problems, specifically the death of the King and the French Revolution. France would be the first to experience these problems.
The vision then changed for the Third Apparition. Our Lady standing on a globe with her arms now outstretched and with the dazzling rays of light still streaming from her fingers. Framing the figure was an inscription in French but translated here to English: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
The Third Apparition - St. Catherine and Mary

Mary is standing upon a globe, crushing the head of a serpent beneath her foot. She stands upon the globe, as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Her feet crush the serpent to proclaim Satan and all his followers are helpless before her (Genesis 3:15). The vision turned and showed the design of the reverse side of the medal. Twelve stars encircled a large "M" from which arose a cross. Below are two hearts with flames arising from them. One heart is encircled in thorns and the other is pierced by a sword.

The twelve stars can refer to the Apostles, who represent the entire Church as it surrounds Mary. They also recall the vision of Saint John, writer of the Book of Revelation (12:1), in which “a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars.” The cross can symbolize Christ and our redemption, with the bar under the cross a sign of the earth. The “M” stands for Mary, and the interleaving of her initial and the cross shows Mary’s close involvement with Jesus and our world. In this we see Mary’s part in our salvation and her role as mother of the Church. The two hearts represent the love of Jesus and Mary for us. (See also Luke 2:35).


Miraculous Medal, in French, front and back
Then Mary spoke to Catherine: “Have a medal minted according to what you see. All those who have this medal blessed and wear it, especially around their neck, and who recite the short invocation, will enjoy the special protection of the Mother of God and receive special graces. These graces will be in abundance for those who wear it faithfully.” 

Catherine explained the entire series of apparitions to her confessor (see References), and she worked through him to carry out Mary’s instructions. She did not reveal that she received the Medal until soon before her death 47 years later.

With approval of the Church, the first Medals were made in 1832 and were distributed in Paris. Almost immediately the blessings that Mary had promised began to shower down on those who wore her Medal. The devotion spread like wildfire. Marvels of grace and health, peace and prosperity, followed in its wake. Before long people were calling it the “Miraculous” Medal. And in 1836, a Canonical inquiry undertaken at Paris declared the apparitions to be genuine.

There is no superstition, nothing of magic, connected with the Miraculous Medal. The Miraculous Medal is not a “good-luck charm”. Rather, it is a great testimony to faith and the power of trusting prayer. Its greatest miracles are those of patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith. God uses a Medal, not as a sacrament, but as an agent, an instrument, in bringing to pass certain marvelous results.

When our Blessed Mother gave the design of the medal to Saint Catherine LabourĂ© she said, “Now it must be given to the whole world and to every person.”

References:


Friday, July 1, 2011

New Rosary: The Tree of Life Rosary

I just wanted to share some photos of the rosary that I made today, The Tree of Life Rosay, designated R25. This rosary was handmade by stringing deep ruby Our Father (Paters) and Hail Mary (Aves) crystal beads on a gold colored beading wire. The crucifix, connector, and bead caps are all gold plated. The spacer beads are Swarovski bicones in golden shadow. The Rosary is approximately 20 inches long. Any and all comments are appreciated. Thank you for browsing.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. Numbers 6:24 










Pressing Toward the Goal: Happy Summer Giveaway!

Pressing Toward the Goal: Happy Summer Giveaway!: " Thanks to Sarah over at http://www.forgivenlovemuch.com , I have been inspired to offer a free giveaway! Photography is a love of mine..."