2012 In Review

2012 A Year In Review

I am not sure why such and an amazing  year is also so riddled with such pain.  2012 has been one of my most difficult years and one of my most amazing years. It has been both bitter and sweet.

In 2012 my mother was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and it was also the year I received word that my jewelry would be published for the first time.  It was also the year my mother died and the year Bead Trends asked me to be their artist spotlight for April 2013.

Here I am with my sisters.  I am the middle girl.  One of our favorite pictures of us girls and our mother.  She handmade all of these lovely flowered dresses.  So you can see where some of my creativity came from.

My mother is wearing a necklace I made her in my early jewelry making days.  She was always so proud to wear it even though I kind of cringe looking at it today.  She loved it  and wore it with love. I am wearing the necklace that was to be my first publication.  I didn’t know it at the time.

This picture was taken during my mothers 

“Celebration of Life”  

party that me and my husband Tom threw for her and her siblings.

You see we knew that my mom wouldn’t survive the cancer.  She was full of tumors from the onset.  We also knew at this point that we only had about 6 months left with her.  I was grateful that I had these publications to look forward to during this most difficult time of my life.  Even though it was hard to fully appreciate them.

You see my first 2 necklaces that have been published in the above photo. My mother did not get to see these but I showed them to her and talked to her like she was sitting next to me and I can see her proud face on my mind.

We kept our mother at home as she was dying.  Me and my sisters took turns helping my dad care for her.  I am grateful to have had the time that I had with her to say our slow goodbyes.

I truly believe today that my mother is my biggest cheerleader even if it is from heaven.  

I made this necklace with thoughts of her and by far it is my favorite.  It was published in November Bead Trends 2012 and was called 

“Love is Seasonless”

As written in Bead Trends.

“Love is Seasonless is a reflection of my mother’s love, and I designed it with her in mind as she was dying of cancer.  She loved me at my worst; I was a difficult and troubled teenager and she fought for me when I didn’t know how to myself.  She loved me at my best when I decided to change my life, and she was my biggest cheerleader.  The heart is made out of basalt from the shores of Lake Superior which was one of our vacations spots as children.  Basalt is derived from the Latin word basaltes which means “very hard stone.”  I picked it to represent the strength of my mothers love that supported me during difficult times in my life.  My mother’s favorite color was green and it always reminds me of new beginnings in my life; her love was seasonless and constant.....Kristin

Today I like to think of my mom as happy, loved by her family and unburdened by the stress of this world.  Light and carefree as a butterfly.  I know she is smiling down at me from heaven and that gives me comfort.