Life is pretty crazy. I am very thankful.

Life is a very hectic place for me right now. I'm glad i can take a few minutes and still realize [many, not all] the reasons i'm thankful.

[well...NOW saturday]

1. FREE Chik-fil-a – HAPPY COW APPRECIATION!

2. My INCREDIBLE co-workers/friends

3. That my parents are helping me find the doctors that can help me.

4. HOPE. HOPE. HOPE.

5. Feeling better then yesterday.

6. Cooking!! [with a new friend tonight]

7. Painting 3 paintings in my cube today.

8. Having a job i can paint during.

9. Art and chatter with an artist friend [later today]

10. laughter. smiles. puns. jokes. have i said smiles and laughter?

11. encouragement. love. music. positive affirmations.

12. strength. faith. hope. chabata bread.

13. God’s love.

14. Good list daily.

15. Being able to come up with 20+ reasons to be thankful!!

What are YOU thankful for?

smile, love and hugs to you!

Jenipher

Nightly Contemplations... are you an enemy?

Do you ever feel like two different people?

I do.

In general, i do feel our society dwells on the negative much more then the positive and it breaks my heart. I'm no different then anyone else.

In fact, if anything... i'm probably worse.

I'm very positive and optimistic for everyone else [most of the time]. But i'm so negative and hateful to myself, that there are days i honestly don’t even know how i get by.

It’s a constant battle, these two people inside me. One; the person i KNOW i really am, the person i want to be. The other; well, the other is the biggest “Debbie Downer” I can ever fathom. I am constantly and continually bewildered by how screwed up i am. And how my perception of myself is so skewed.

it's quite frustrating .... and more then that. it’s VERY VERY draining.

Do you ever feel this way about yourself? Are YOU, your own worst enemy at times?



My mom gave me a book to read while i was down visiting. It's helping her, which is a glorious thing. I'm reading it and find it INCREDIBLELY truthful and humorous. Maybe you will like it too. :)


Life is TOO beautiful. TOO precious. And WAY TO MUCH of a gift to consistently let it us down!! We all have to fight these negative demons away!!! It’s NOT easy, and infact VERY hard at times, but we WILL concur this.
TOGETHER.

I have faith in all of us!
I hope you do too.

Love, Smiles, Thanks, and Cookies to YOU beautiful lady!! [or gentleman!] ;)
Jenipher


PS:

I'm thankful, are YOU?

It’s a [friday!] wednesday!

1. Being away from Orlando for a few days.

2. My AMAZING co-worker/friends!

3. Grapes and Tuna…MMMMMMM!

4. My printed “Nightly Doodles”.

5. My room mates watching my kitty.

6. My friend Torin’s silly comments.

7. Tumblr!! It’s so stellar! I’m dailypretties.tumblr.com!

8. A nice smooth 4 [.5] hr drive down here.

9. Friends who all seem to move to California kept me company via phone on my drive.

10. I made one medium potato last three meals!

10 things, even on the hard days...

1) Options. – i have them.

2) Hope. – i have it too!

3) Friends. – they DO care.

4) Status – I love my Church.

5) Wesley. – still feels like home.

6) Rainer Cherries. – They make me happy.

7) God. – I thank him often.

8). My home.

9) My room. – it’s my favorite get away.

10) My imagin-ation.

10.5) Finding 10 things. [even on the hard days]

Waking Up in the Land of Glitter

I know it's a little late, and i apologize, but life's craziness got in the way of blogging recently. And...i wanted to fully read this wonderful book and contemplate it before writing about it.



I can't express how long i've been holding out for a talented writer to create a novel with a good story line AND incorporate the craft world, and Kathy did JUST that!! I'm so impressed by how fun and easy to read "Waking Up in the Land of Glitter" is. The characters are easy to fall in love with, and I'm sure every crafter could relate to one [or all of them] in some way or another.



This book is a sincere view through the eyes of all the characters as they come to terms with themselves, those around them, and their art work. I love how Kathy Cano-Murillo expressed that the grass aint always greener, which is a harsh concept we all need to learn.

Star, one of the main characters in the book has the parents i always wish i had. They treated her with respect even in her darkest hours. I hope to some day emulate these traits when i have children.

PLUS at the end, Kathy shows you how to create your own love shrine, along with a few other crafty projects!! So fun! :D Weather you're looking for a book to help inspire you, or just something fun to read, i would highly recommend "Waking Up in the Land of Glitter"!



AND NOW...MORE FUN!!!


A GIVEAWAY!

1 lucky reader will receive a copy of "Waking Up in the Land of Glitter"!!


ENTRIES:

Make sure I have an email address, with your comment, so I can contact you, if you win!
You have three days to contact me with your address and full name after the give away ends to claim your prize. There are a few different ways to earn points! Just let me know when your do any of these so i can tally them properly!

1. Subscribe to the blog.
2. Follow this blog.
3. Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about this contest.
4. Blog about this giveaway.


Give Away will end on April 17th, at midnight. Winner will be picked by Random and emailed. As soon as the winner messages me, i will make sure the book gets sent to you. Thanks so much for entering!!

I hope you all have a stellar day! Good luck to ya'll!

Smiles and Blessings,

Jenipher

Handmade Love.

These lovelies made my day brighter. I hope they brighten your day as well. :D



Holy cow! THIS. IS. GORGEOUS!! These floral bouquets are made out of Vintage brooches, and made by Amanda from Fantasy Floral.



I love love love this image, but i can't remember where it came from. Does anyone know??



These treats look too good NOT to post! She makes lots of other goodies as well. Her shop name on Etsy is called Jaynel Hollis.



How stellar is this hand carved stamp!? All of her [Sugar Skull 7 on Etsy] stamps are oh so detail oriented which are awesome. Check them out!

Enjoy!

Peace and Blessings,

Jenipher

Let the V-Day posts commence!

Customer Valentines Day Jewelry anyone??

;)

<3

jenipher

The month of Romance..

Okay...as much as i would love for ALL of you in internet land to purchase lovely Valentines Day gifts for everyone you know, i do have to admit, that i'm not a hugh fan of the holiday. It's cliche, and over stated, but i am a firm believer is loving someone [and showing you do] everyday of the year...

...BUT if this holiday really allows people who would not have showed their affection before to really show someone how much they love them, then by all means.... :D THIS holiday is for YOU!

Alas...some Valentines Goodies for you to purchase for someone you love!



Long Hearted Tiger.
$20.00



BIG Heart.
$25.00



Charming Love
$30.00



Choose Your Own Valentine
$20.00 or $32.00



Long Hearted Zebra
$20.00

There are quite a few more lovely choices on my website, and of course i would LOVE to custom make anything your little heart desires. :D

Thanks for reading! Happy FEBRUARY!

<3 Jenipher

Be a brave brave gal.

Oh my...did i need this tonight.

I joined the "Brave Girls" e-mail list because my artsy friend Carissa, sent me one that was brilliant for my heart. These two women are absolutely incredible.

I WISH i had enough money for their retreat. It sounds spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. In the mean time, i will relish in their daily "truth" e-mails. :D

Your Hair Will LOVE You

Emily from Emily K Botanic Studio has A-MAZING treats for your hair. She customizes beautiful floral goodies for your hair, wrist and other wedding treasures as well. Emily is a floral designer by day which you can tell really enhances her ability to create lovely floral works of art.

How long have you been crafting?

Ever since I can remember. My mom is a crafter so she always had me working on a some sort of project. The first craft I ever sold was at a local art group sale, and they were icicle Christmas ornaments made out of beads. I was probably around 5 or 6 at the time.



Did you always craft in this genre?

No, not at all. When I was a child, I would design ornaments or draw pictures. As a teenager, I fell in love with painting on canvas which I still love to do. Also, I've always had a great passion for decorating interiors.

Who or what inspires you?

famous painters/artists, my artsy friends, nature, going to the flea market, traveling, my family

How do you over come your creative blocks?

I take a road trip to visit a friend, go for an intense mountain bike ride, or visit an art gallery.

What defining moment made you decide to turn your hobby into a business?

I've always wanted my own craft/art business but never really knew when, what, or how. After working as a floral designer at a high end florist and making people happy with my wedding designs, I knew wedding work was my niche. I love the work, and there's always a high demand in this market.



What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

The biggest challenge for me right now is trying to work a full time job as a floral designer while still doing custom wedding orders on etsy.



If someone from out of town were visiting you, what key places would you bring them to? (galleries, coffee shops, parks, museums, etc)

I would definitely give them a tour of the Greenbrier which is a world class historical resort (also where I am a floral designer). I would also take them to the Greenbrier River trail for a bike ride or walk, the flea market on Tuesday morning, the Irish Pub in historic Lewisburg on Pub Quiz night, The Wild Bean coffee shop for an organically grown salad, and Valley View for a round of golf.



Thank you Emily! I loved learning more about you! Craft on! :D

If you'd like to see more of Emily's pretties, head over to her Etsy shop and say hello. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

Your Hair Will LOVE You

Emily from Emily K Botanic Studio has A-MAZING treats for your hair. She customizes beautiful floral goodies for your hair, wrist and other wedding treasures as well. Emily is a floral designer by day which you can tell really enhances her ability to create lovely floral works of art.

How long have you been crafting?

Ever since I can remember. My mom is a crafter so she always had me working on a some sort of project. The first craft I ever sold was at a local art group sale, and they were icicle Christmas ornaments made out of beads. I was probably around 5 or 6 at the time.



Did you always craft in this genre?

No, not at all. When I was a child, I would design ornaments or draw pictures. As a teenager, I fell in love with painting on canvas which I still love to do. Also, I've always had a great passion for decorating interiors.

Who or what inspires you?

famous painters/artists, my artsy friends, nature, going to the flea market, traveling, my family

How do you over come your creative blocks?

I take a road trip to visit a friend, go for an intense mountain bike ride, or visit an art gallery.

What defining moment made you decide to turn your hobby into a business?

I've always wanted my own craft/art business but never really knew when, what, or how. After working as a floral designer at a high end florist and making people happy with my wedding designs, I knew wedding work was my niche. I love the work, and there's always a high demand in this market.



What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

The biggest challenge for me right now is trying to work a full time job as a floral designer while still doing custom wedding orders on etsy.



If someone from out of town were visiting you, what key places would you bring them to? (galleries, coffee shops, parks, museums, etc)

I would definitely give them a tour of the Greenbrier which is a world class historical resort (also where I am a floral designer). I would also take them to the Greenbrier River trail for a bike ride or walk, the flea market on Tuesday morning, the Irish Pub in historic Lewisburg on Pub Quiz night, The Wild Bean coffee shop for an organically grown salad, and Valley View for a round of golf.



Thank you Emily! I loved learning more about you! Craft on! :D

If you'd like to see more of Emily's pretties, head over to her Etsy shop and say hello. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My first post of 2010. So So Crazy!

2009 was a crazy year....and I'm so thankful for all the blessings [both bad and good blessings] 2009 provided.

I'm thankful to have 10 toes.
I'm thankful to be able to shower normally.
I'm thankful i can walk. Run. Roller Blade. Jump. Dance.
I'm thankful i have friends that love me. Support me.
I'm thankful to have my family in my life again.
I'm thankful Cherry Runway did well in 2009.
I'm thankful to have my job[s].
And really..I'm thankful for all the wonderful things God has taught me this year.

I leave you with a funny cartoon. :D I hope you all had a safe, and wonderful New Years Eve/Day!













Smiles and Blessings,
JENipher

Happy LIttle Ramblings....

Me, the girl who doesn't like movies has finally found one! I DESPERATELY want to see this movie! Yay for August 7th!!



Aside from this movie, Mother's Day seriously make me contemplate about how many wonderful women i have in my life.

Life doesn't bring that many opportunity to just shout a random thanks ro everyone, so i wanted to share my love in a snailed mailed, stickered letter.

:)

Bah Humbug!

Getting engaged is supposed to be this whirlwind of happy feelings. Love, devotion, joy. These feelings, the setting, this incredibly wonderful person in front of you. Life, in that moment, seems to be picture perfect.

Being engaged is supposed to feel like a new chapter. A chapter that shows your dedication to this one person, and preparing to start a real life with them. Forever. In most cases, I'm sure the act of becoming engaged starts a blissful new chapter for the couple.

In my case, it's what broke my relationship to pieces.

It's kind of a surreal feeling. Just sitting back and thinking about what can change in just a week. One week....

Exactly one week ago, i was sitting in my kitchen working out my relationship with my [obviously then] fiancee. We have had a tough month with quite a few tiffs, had a major fight, a five day separation [merely because i was already planning on visiting my mother that week]. But we were both game for taking time to work things out. He actually told me he was ready to work on it. He knew he let our issues coast before, but now he is finally 100% game to fix these "things". These tiffs.

So how am i single, and broken hearted one week later? You know...as much as i tried to mentally prepare myself, i am still shocked and confused.

All i know is that we had one more talk, which lead to an argument, and the next day he told me "we tried our best, but i don't feel like trying anymore". We did our best? Since when did 7 days become enough time to work out multiple issues?

Everyone keeps telling me at least you found out now. At least your not married yet. But i still feel deceived. A week ago, the man i was going to spend the rest of my life was explaining how much he loved me and wanted to make our lives together better. And one mere week later, I'm single, confused and have a heart that needs more chocolate then i care to consume.

I know ill be okay. That, in time, this won't hurt so much. But right now, this freaking sucks.


*note* this is really personal, and most likely shouldn't be shared. Alas, i care to share it anyways*

*PS: It's also kind of odd, that my previous post was about my last date with him*

Funday Fundate!

Riley created a really fun date for us on Thursday!!

He gave me an invitation (from one of my stuffed animals) that said there was a pizza and art festival day in "haraje" (haha get it? Garage?) (Yeah, it took me a while too) on March 6th and asked if he could attend too.

The next morning we walked to Publix to pick up the ingredients for the pizza then he told me to go upstairs until he came to get me.

He made the garage into a Art show and our stuffed animals were running it.





Then there was this mystery involved a stolen pizza. The "Black Duchess" (who hates art and colors) stole our pizza lunch!!!



"The mayor" gave us a map and we had a scavenger type hunt to find it. Ha! it was so cute!



We ended up finding the duchess' dunging (my mailbox) where the last note told us the pizza was hidden somewhere....

Orange
Violet
Evergreen
Neon Pink

And serious...it confused the heck outta me!! HAHAHA!! They spell oven!!!

It was a really cute date, and i appreciated it greatly!!!

Thanks Riley!! <3<3<3

I heart breakfast.

These are some of the lovlies my love has made me for breakfast [somewhat] recently. I am loved. :)

Sickly Apologies.

I have not felt that well the past couple days, so ive been lacking of blogs (and Etsy'n sadly). I feel better today, and actually have a TON of plans!! Way more then any usual Jen has plans. I have plans ALLLL DAY.

* I have a online chat with my class mates and teachers which is very exciting. (starts at 10am)
* I am meeting friends to start an "Art Guild" (which also, starts at 10am)
* I have a friend's suprize BBQ at 6pm.

Whew!! Long wonderfully fun day! I hope yours is equally as great!

Smiles,

JENipher :)

No...Thank You!!

My mom is throwing Riley and I an engagement party this Saturday. (Ahem...lets say that day again, February 14th! How cheesy?! ha!)



Regardless, it shall be a happy event. Our families are meeting for the first time, which is exciting. And, we're going to be surrounded by dozens and dozens of family and friends, amazing food, and lots of love.

Since everyone is asking what to get us, we knew we needed to have extra special Thank You notes.

I think they came out more then wonderful, and they reflect us to a T. ;)

Calorie Free Love

Give your lady love a memorable gift, without all the fat and calories!



A delicious cookie for of a gal of any age!

A "handmade with love" cookie pendant is showcased by a 17 inch Copper chain. Three small freshwater pearls dangle on the right chain of the necklace. My signature heart toggle and cherry dangle complete this lovely piece.



Wear this fabulous necklace on any day you feel loved!

PS: You have so many pendant choices!!

Valentines Day + Cherry Runway = Happy Ladies!!

Don't you want your lady friend, wife, sister, mother, in laws, Fiancées, or general lady stranger to love you? Think your dandy? Have amazing taste in jewelry...?

Every lady loves jewelry.

Especially custom, handmade jewelry.

Impress everyone and enjoy complimentary gift wrapping and a lovely pair of earrings with any purchase before Valentines Day! Everyone wins!