Works From the Attic by Linda

Cellini peyote is one of the bead-weaving stitches I love the most. This past year I joined the Cellini Peyote Freaks group on Facebook. I enjoyed sharing pictures of things I made and learning from patterns that others shared with the group. For Christmas 2018 I decided to give my pattern for Cellini Spiral with Superduos to the group as a gift. I have enjoyed seeing photos of the pieces people have made using my pattern. It is a blessing to be able to share knowledge with others. This year as I was desperately trying to figure out how I was going to jump-start my blog, I decided to start by giving away the pattern I gave to the Cellini group. You will find a link to the Cellini Spiral with Superduos at the bottom of this post. Superduo beads are  manufactured by the Matubo bead company. I hope you enjoy using the pattern to create your own masterpieces! The only thing I ask in return is credit for the original design and pattern and that you not sell m...

This should be a day of celebration. 37 years ago today my son Michael was born. It was the happiest day of my life. He was such a blessing in every way. I remember counting every finger and toe, listening to him breathe and treasuring every moment I spent with him. I miss his laughter, his wit, his kindness and so much more. Our lives were forever changed the day he died. Never let anyone bully you or tell you that you are not good enough. The very people he loved and truste d made him believe he was not good enough and the world would be better off without him. Sadly in his hours of grief he believed those lies. If you are in that situation, talk to someone. Never let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. Michael Cunningham 9-3-80 to 4-4-16 Always in our hearts   <3 For whoever needs help right now, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (talk)

I lost my son to suicide I am not sure where the last 12 months went but the pain feels like it was only yesterday that Michael committed suicide. I love you Michael and miss you so very much. Michael's death has changed me in the most profound ways. It literally demolished me, forcing me to figure out who I am without him in my life. I am learning how to find joy in the depth of darkness. There are days of darkness that consume me and take my breath away. If I can out live my child, my strength will have no limits. Finding that strength to move forward is hard. Every day since his death is another day that I’ve survived. I learned that so many things are out of my control. His death has taught me it is possible to live with only half a heart as part of my heart remains with Michael. I am learning that laughter is meant to be heard and tears are meant to fall. I have learned that nothing can change the pain of losing a child. Until April 4, 2016, I didn't know what...

It has been difficult getting back into doing things I enjoy. This is my latest piece. This is a 20" Cellini Spiral necklace made with Miyuki & Toho seed beads and Czech fire polished crystals. I was happy to finish it prior to having my right hand carpal tunnel surgery.

This is one of the most difficult things I have ever written. I never expected to hear the words, "I'm so sorry you son has passed away". What was even more difficult to digest were the words "it was a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound". We all missed the signs. His contagious smile and determination to get through any obstacle in his life left us all with so many questions to which we may never get answers. We all struggle to awake each day and just breathe. Yes there were problems in his marriage. Apparently it became more than he could bear. He left behind a huge number of grieving relatives, friends and children trying to grasp what caused him to decide he could not take another breath without pain. Michael Aaron (Mike) Cunningham, 35 of Unity Township passed away, Monday, April 4, 2016 at home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was born September 3, 1980 in Willoughby Ohio and was the son of Michael E. Cunningham and wife Susan Cunningham...

It has been too long since I have updated my blog. There have been too many illnesses, deaths and surgeries that have managed to keep me from doing what I love best. This hand-wrapped piece is special to me because it is the first wire-work piece I was able to complete since they removed a tumor from my wrist and performed carpal tunnel surgery. It has been a long road that was speckled by issues from a non-related condition as well. It is easy to take things for granted until you are no longer able to enjoy them. This piece includes gemstones that include amethyst, snowflake obsidian, rose quartz, amazonite, carnelian, lapis, serpentine, jade jasper and agate. It is a continuous 8 foot long piece which allows the wearer to wrap it several times around the neck or across the neck, chest and waist. I look forward to sharing more work in the next few weeks and catching up from my absence here.

I would like to introduce you to a dear jewelry designer friend of mine. She just started her first blog! http://kissthemoongems.blogspot.com/ Cathy Voss makes amazing Chainmaille along with various other styles of jewelry. She has a great eye for design and uses only the best materials. She is a genuine artist! She also has a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KisstheMoonGems You will want to make sure to "like" her page as she has monthly drawings! If you are looking for a gift and surfing Etsy wondering if it is handmade or something made overseas by people working in factories for pennies, look no further! Cathy is the real deal and everything is made completely by her! You will not be disappointed! Welcome to Blogspot Cathy!

~Prepare yourself~ A story of a true American Veteran and Hero Every year on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day everyone is sidetracked of the real meaning behind the holiday.  Stores have huge sales to which most people flock, forgetting the real meaning of the day. Every day there are more soldiers injured in war zones. Our Veteran Hospitals often offer care that is less than adequate and quite frankly, we often fall short of taking care of those who put their lives on the line for us. My father served in the Korean War. Many of my relatives served in various wars including the Civil War, World War I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the Gulf War among many others.  Many of them suffered from war related illnesses and injuries. I went to school with Chuck Giza. Chuck is one of those guys that you could always count on. He was always polite and never got caught up in the typical school harassment that most kids fall into. After High School Chuck went...

No matter what you put in an obituary it never tells the story you want the world to know. Catherine was a mother of four but she was so much more than that. She was like a second mother to me. For the last four years she has lived at Sunrise of Fox Chapel aka Concordia of Fox Chapel. I cannot begin to say enough about the staff there. In the times that we could not be there, the ladies that treated her like family. They laughed with her, listened to her stories and even gave her those extra midnight snacks that she loved so much. They truly took wonderful care of her. For the longest time I spent three days a week helping with her and spending time with her. Sometimes she knew me, sometimes she didn't. As hard as that was, it didn't matter. What I found out through the stages of the disease of Alzheimer's that I would never have known any other way was in many ways a blessing of sorts. I had never really known anything private about her life growing up. Spending tim...

                                                     Catherine's 90th Bithday Saturday was Catherine's 90th birthday party. It was such a blessing to have her still with us to celebrate this event. She has led such a full life, it is so hard to see her fading so rapidly. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease. Family came from in-state and out-of-state to share in this wonderful event. It was so nice to see family that we haven't seen in so long. It was so very special that all the family came together for this blessed event. We even had Drew on Skype from England to wish everyone a wonderful day and of course, a Happy Birthday to his grandmother, Catherine. Technology is wonderful, when you can pass around a cell phone and see him, hear him and have him see and hear us back, it was so nice to "have him there" with us. No one was too sure if Catherin...

The following post was written by Cameron Von St James. His blog address is  Cameron Von St. James   I can relate to what he has written as my father passed away from cancer and my mother has had several occurrences of cancer. It changes your life; you make sacrifices and gather strength wherever you can. I wish I could say that those were the only people I knew affected by this disease but sadly it isn't. I hope you take the time to read what Cameron has written and look at his blog and hear his story. It is of comfort to those who are newly diagnosed or family thereof. My thoughts and prayers are with Cameron, Heather and Lily. I ask that you remember his family, my family and the many friends I have who are dealing with cancer. Facing Cancer with my Family My wife has told me more than once that she doesn’t really know how I felt and what I went through when she was diagnosed with cancer. I hope I can explain it to her a little more clearly with my...

We all grow older, a simple fact of life. This January was Phil's 60th birthday. He has changed a bit over the years but I still love him as much as I did when I first met him. He still makes me laugh, we still enjoy spending time together and we still know how important it is to let each other have some time to do the things we each enjoy as well. He still loves to fish, I am still an artist specializing in painted items and jewelry. We both enjoy boating. I suppose the fact that we have a fishing boat, three kayaks and a canoe are a testament to that. We gave up the larger boat when the kids graduated and moved out. We celebrated with dinner at Red Lobster and a concert by Get The Led Out http://www.gtlorocks.com/ (The American Led Zeppelin) at the Palace Theatre. It was a great show! We love vacations along the beach, visiting wineries and just being true to our hearts and treasuring the time we have together. Who could ask for more? Happy 60th birthday to my ...

I follow quite a few blogs, friends, co-workers, internet friends and family. Today I was sent to a blog and it took everything in me to read it. It contains information that most people think would never happen to them. I hope you take the time to read it as I am including the link. Take the time to share the link, take the time to talk to people you know. This could be anyone, your friend, your family...anyone. My heart and prayers go out to her family. Hopefully Meghan's story will forever help other children and families from dealing with this tragedy. http://lovelightlaughterandchocolate.blogspot.ca/2012/12/be-with-me-just-for-today.html My blessings to all of you for a safe and Happy New Year. May you never know the emptiness and sadness of losing a child. ~Linda

Sometimes inspiration for my work comes from the most interesting places. This piece is special to me in many ways. It was inspired by the brilliant colors of the Dr. Suess movie "The Lorax". It is made with custom beads designed by Laura Lee with some ruby red velvet crystals for the extra sparkle. It is wire wrapped by hand with Tibetan silver. I can't thank Laura Lee enough for helping me bring my vision to life! Thank you for looking and I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday Season! ~Linda

  It is always nice to get away for a while. We took a little journey in September to our favorite wine country. There is a great B&B that we stay at each year. Of course, the most important part of the journey is to reconnect with the water. We miss living along the shore and watching the sunset over the water in the evening.   This past year has been one of many changes in our lives. We have learned to treasure those we love and not take one moment for granted.  

You Know You Have A Large Cat When... Cricket is one of our cats. She and her brother Shadow are spoiled as any good cat lover would spoil their "babies". Shadow is short haired and smaller than his sister. Cricket has long hair, very long hairy "toes" with the temperament of a rag doll cat. She never thinks anything is too small for her to venture into. Being a Pica kitty she loves boxes. She will try her best to cram her long body into the smallest of boxes but we have found that DirecTV boxes are perfectly sized for her. We put little cuts in the corners and bend the edges down for chin rests.  If she isn't on her favorite chair, she is in the DirecTV box. Hubby is making Cricket a custom cat tree that will give her multiple levels to climb on while allowing the levels to be large enough to accommodate her length. We looked at everything at the pet stores and nothing works for her so a custom tree is the way to go. She has her perches in front of ...

This is my grandson's birdhouse. He won a blue ribbon on it last year at the fair because it was the only "truly functional" birdhouse entered. This is the fourth family of birds born in this birdhouse since last year. If they ever stop using it we will take it down and clean it. As you can see (just barely) from the photo, Mother bird is feeding her baby. I am so proud of my grandson every time I look at this birdhouse in my garden. It was the first thing he built and even though it would have looked spectacular with paint on it, it would no longer be considered a functional birdhouse according to the Wildlife Conservation rules which we followed. He put a lot of work into this and already has another one built to enter this year. I'm hoping for another blue ribbon for him! My garden had been a bit neglected this year due to all my tests, appointments and surgeries. The post-concussion syndrome and all the anesthesia certainly isn't helping mat...

Happy Memorial Day My father served in the Korean War. These are some photos he took while serving his country. He served at the 8057th AU Replacement Depot. There are so many who serve our country every day and rarely are recognized. Today we had our annual Memorial Day parade in town. I was surprised at how many people didn't know how to pay their respect to those who have served our country.   I hope that everyone takes some time out to remember what this holiday is about.   Thank you to all who have served our Country! ~Linda  

Don't you just love the sunshine? My two little angels sure do! I'd be lost without them. It has been a while since I posted on my blog. Things have been hectic between mom and the in-law's and a few upcoming "trunk show's" that are on the calendar. My grandson started baseball, the first game was played in the rain, but wet clothes and all, it was great to watch! He really loves sports. He did extremely well in basketball this past season. He made 11 baskets! Not bad for his first season. The upcoming shows have kept me hopping. It takes a while to build up a good inventory with a nice mix of things. The good thing is that jewelry is selling!  Thank you to my loyal customers! The bad thing is that it keeps me from laying in the sunshine and just soaking it in. I suppose it is okay since I am fair-skinned and abhor peeling skin! I try to take some things out on the patio to work on in the late afternoon as the sun is shielded from the patio when it ...

Lori Anderson is giving away an awesome package of DVD's by David Plumlee! These are awesome video's! Here is her link http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2012/03/incredible-chain-maille-tutorial.html Hmmm...should I tell her that April 1st is my birthday?? ~wink~ Have a sunny day! Linda