Honor and Heart

I can't put into words what happened to me yesterday. Laura, whom I've been working with at Papa's barn, asked me to make something for her mom for her birthday. She gave me a bag of jewelry and keepsakes. She also gave me her brother's dog tags. She wanted me to make them into cuffs. One for her mom and one for herself. Honestly, I didn't put a lot of thought into it. I knew it would be super easy to make. I did stop in to the leather store the other day and picked up some really cool hides. One was grey and I felt like it was totally different from the other leather cuffs I've done. I wanted to use it for more than cuffs, too....(handbag?) I decided to put one of the dog tags on the grey. It looked great!

I took it to show Laura to get her opinion and planned on finishing it on Monday. I didn't have everything and she said she planned on seeing her mom on Thursday. I took it home, finished it and made the second one in my traditional brown leather. When I took them to Laura today, we discussed me sharing it on Instagram and Facebook so that her mother would see them and know that I made them, but that they were from Laura for her birthday. When I got home, I uploaded the picture and wrote out something simple. I really tried to cancel it before it sent and then.....I started getting tons of comments and likes on both social media platforms. Everyone loved them, several wanted to place orders and one issue was his social security number. Yes, it's on there. I asked Laura what she thought because her mom hadn't seen it yet. She told her mom to go look and then asked her thoughts on his information being out there. They both agreed that they were ok with it staying online. As the night went on, more and more comments and then I read this....this is what it's all about. Read what Laura wrote about her brother and the lives that have touched him, these dog tags and her heart.

When I look at these tags my heart swells with gratitude and love and I think about the people they have passed through to get to where they are now.
My brother was a hero. SPC Andrew Lee Hand. He joined the National Guard in 2005 and served in 2 deployments. On his last tour his vehicle was hit by an IED and he went home to be with The Lord in 2010.
Before he left for his last deployment, Andrew gave his dog tags to my brother-in-law, Chad Davis, who Andrew also considered a brother. When Andrew passed away Chad gave them to me. They have hung on my vanity for the past 3 years. A place where I sit everyday to get ready and I can see them everyday. But as special as these are to me, they needed a better home than just hanging in my bedroom. So, I decided to have my cousin Lucy Farmer, owner of Lucy Locket's, make them into these beautiful, leather bracelets you see in the picture. One for my precious mother for her birthday and one for myself.
As you can see, from being worn around my brother's neck on the battlefield, to my brother-in-law as a gift, to me as a keepsake, to my cousin to create a cherished piece of jewelry, and last to my mother and myself. They are a sacred treasure that we are privileged and honored to wear and they will be worn proudly for all to see.
#hero #son #brother #dogtags #favoritethings #family #lucylockets

Making these cuffs is one of the most rewarding things I have done. Thank you, Laura for the opportunity and for your heart.

Lucy Lockets in Loudon, Tennessee

A few weeks ago I went to see my Mom and Aunts. My Mom and Aunt Ruthe live in Tennessee...my Aunt Linda was just there for the Loudon Antique Show. Every year they have an outdoor antique show around the courthouse. It's a gorgeous location. Loudon is on the Tennessee river and is a  beautiful old town. Mom wanted me to come up and bring some of my Lucy's Lockets. I really have never done a show on my own with my jewelry. I was lucky to have help with a huge set up at Haven and it made the booth look full and finished. Well, this time, not so much. I didn't even have a table cloth! I did spray paint several bird cages to fill with burlap and display the necklaces on the outside. I also brought my new wrap station from Creative Co-op. Everything on the table top looked amazing! Then...there was the white table and all my stuff underneath. Some kind Facebook follower suggested I use a ruffled burlap tablecloth. I thought she was offering to send me one...not so much! Next time, I will find a cool vintage table that hides what is underneath.

At least my tags are AWESOME!

My Mom likes to paint furniture. She's got a little shop there called The Red Door. She has some really cute pieces if you want to check out her Facebook page!

 I enjoyed hanging out around the courthouse with everyone. I also loved shopping! We hit a couple of antique stores on Friday afternoon in Knoxville. Anthropologie just opened a store there and I picked up a few things for Fall!

This was just the cover of a book. Wonder what it was about? 

This metal Dr. Pepper sign was fabulous! Of course, not for sale. 

Shot glasses spelling out hot. 

 I found several pieces to use on future Lucy's Lockets and lots of other things that I would have loved to buy...but didn't!

 On my way, I was behind this cute Elsie. I couldn't resist taking her picture!

Papa's Hands

I met Laura at Papa's barn on Friday. She had a couple of projects to finish. I had no idea what I would work on. I just love going. It's very inspiring and believe me, when I left, I had lots of plans for the next time! My husband grew up in and around the barn. It's a place where he earned money helping Papa with refinishing, painting, restoring and creating furniture. I was completely enthralled when Papa came to the barn to see what we were up to! I was following him around and listening intently. His first priority is safety and wants our undivided attention when showing us how to use the tools. 

When he was almost finished, I realized there were lots of missed moments behind the camera. We were talking about making some frames and he wanted to find a box of glass he had on a high shelf. In the meantime, I picked up a scrap from one of his pepper mills, (more on that later), and asked what he would do with it. We talked about making a bowl for rings. He grabbed the piece of spalding wood. Definition: Spalding is when the wood is rotting. It's caused by insect's excrement that gets into the wood and creates amazing patterns. The piece I handed him was a little far gone. He put it up on the lathe and started turning and it was crumbling a little. He showed us how to use different tools and different angles to get the shape you want. I was in complete awe. 

One of the things I enjoyed most was how much he loves everything in the barn! He has it set up in a very organized way, but you will find a treasure hidden in every corner! We were talking about different kinds of wood and as we were finishing, he pulled out this block of wood and asked us how old we thought it was. Laura and I just looked at each other. That's when he pointed out the rings. This piece was no where near the center of that old tree. We couldn't even guess! He knows every type of wood and where he got each piece. I have a feeling I can find him a few pieces to play with! 

A few of his tools. His last name is Hall, as is my son, John Connor's middle name....named after his great-grandfather.