September Art Spark Designer of the Week

by Staci L. Smith

And, the September Art Spark designer of the week, is……………………………………………




Sandra Miller! Congratulations Sandra!!!!!!

I met Sandra at the Tinicum Arts Festival this summer, and man, she is one sweet and talented lady! I am so glad that she not only created a wonderful piece of jewelry for us to adore, but for her soul bearing write up of what it meant to her to create this piece.

When I originally thought of sentiment, it was using objects that mean something to you, but really, like Sandra showed, it can be the symbolism of the beads themselves.  You can read her story about the bracelet here.  I think my favorite part about her bracelet is the discs that she made and etched herself.  Just looking at them, makes me think of secrets shared, love confessed, or comfort sent.   


And speaking of beads, there are many, many bead and jewelry artists who are willing to make custom items. Custom beads and charms are a great way to add sentiment to your jewelry. I mean, really, that is what mothers necklaces or bracelets are, right? Well, awhile back, I won a custom made Simple Truths pendant or link over at Tesori Trovati, The Treasures Found blog, written by Miss Erin Prais-Hintz. Her Simple Truths pendants are perfect for just such a thing~ adding some sentiment to your jewelry. I mean, just look at these, and to think, you can have her customize one for you (and trust me, she is the gal for custom work!)

I asked her to make me something that said “dream” in the colors I picked out, and she sent me this wonderful bead, with a moon and stars in it. It couldn’t have been more perfect. You see, my best friend in the whole world, I mean, the girl, lady, woman, who has been with me from braces to babies, had just lost her father. She means the world to me, and with my heart breaking for her loss, I just wished there was something I could do. So when I got this bead, with the celestial motif, it was perfect, like destiny. She loves all things moon and stars, and I knew it would be made into something for her, eventually.

(Here we are at Senior Prom......dates?  What dates??  Poor guys!)

Well- eventually is now, and it’s my submission this month. Here it is……………………………

You see, Steph, my BFF, is a really go getter. She’s the woman you call when you need something done. She is tough, and business like, and organized, and outgoing, and remembers EVERYONE she meets! She is a city girl, an NYU graduate and drives highways like she’s running to the store. If she is shooting for the stars, I know she will get one. Then there’s me. A country girl…..I will always live near woods and tree’s, hate driving highways (give me a windy back road any day of the week!) I am so very unorganized, HATE confrontation, and multi-tasking, never seem to finish anything, and can’t remember who some of my teachers were in high school, and ILO shooting for the stars, I tend to just dream about them………….I guess you can say we are total opposites. City mouse and country mouse if you will.

The Simple Truths link represents both of us….me, the dreamer, and her, reaching for the stars. I added a silver PMC link with a spiral, because she love spirals almost as much moons and stars ~ that we have in common. There is a wonderful Two Sisters glass disc bead, a crackle agate in grey / blue, a kyanite bead, and a piece of sea glass that I turned into a bead by drilling it. The sea glass is to symbolize our first vacation together, this past summer, with our children. It was so awesome to finally get to spend some time away together, with our families………………….and to see our boys (4 months apart in age) playing together like brothers. They clicked. Maybe they too will be best friends. We can only hope!

So there it is. A long story. Actually, I should tell you a story or two, you would probably spit out your coffee…..yeah, we’ve been friends that long, and we’ve got some good ones. But I’ve shared enough. I love her. She is awesome. She has never let me down.  This is for her.

Sentiment.