The handkerchief: We were so poor as kids that Grandma Moore would take her hanky, roll it up and fold it to look like a baby in a cradle…and those were our dolls. We were so rich with a creative Grandma who didn’t want us to miss out on the fun of playing with dolls!!! Handkerchiefs were an important part of my childhood. And I can just hear Grandma say, “Oh! Jennifer! This is the most beautiful handkerchief I have ever seen!!!” Don’t worry…she said that about everything in life!
The glasses: I went to the eye doctor a few weeks ago and had a rather intensive exam done. When finished, she looked at me and said, “So that eye is basically useless?” And I just wanted to cry. How sad to be approaching the age where people say parts of you are becoming “useless”. But I know that eye is not useless as it really continues to assist in my overall vision. So I made a covering for one eye of the glasses that is filled with fun things, partially blocking the vision in that eye. Maybe that’s how I see life…filled with fun things, a little blocked, a bit blurred, but still incredible!
The dress forms: What is my fascination with dress forms? The fact that my own body has never had much shape? That you can drape any outfit on a dress form and it looks good? Or the part where there is no face? (giggling here!) I think my fascination comes from the fact that you can alter them into so many fun things. Add arms and legs, wings, crowns, faces…. and that you can leave them blank. Sort of like us. We can add things or take things away…we are still who we are.
Rocks: I’ve been rock hunting since I was 20. It’s the adventure, it’s the exploration, and it’s the unending hope that you will find a fleck of gold buried deep inside the stone. It’s like me, always hoping to uncover the buried wealth deep within another person’s soul. Now, do you see the rocks at the bottom of this photo? Made of melted plastic!
License plates: Don’t you just love to drive down the road and read someone else’s license plate, figure out what it means, and then wonder what message they are really trying to tell you? “scrapn8” Does that mean they scrap and eat? Or there are 8 in the family and they all scrap? Or she scraps with a group of 8 friends? Names and what they mean and why they were given is a huge part of genealogy and a huge part of my life. I was blessed with a name that I have always loved, “Jennifer Lynn”. It means, White Wave on a Lake. In order for there to be a wave on a lake, the wind must be blowing strong and that means things have to be moving along at a fairly good clip. I could spend my life listening to and watching the waves hit the shoreline. For me, personally, my life has been like my name…I have traveled a lot, at a good pace, there have been ups and downs, but I do know how to sit back and enjoy what I see. Now, how can I fit all of that in 7 letters on a license plate? Life’s great question!!!
“Finding Your Star”: that’s a line in the poem and there is one star inside this box. Can you find it? It’s not a 5-pointed star, it has 6 points and it’s on a brass coin from West Africa dated the year my sister Colleen, my best friend, was born. The Magen David is what I wear around my neck 24/7. It has great meaning to me.
Golden bear: There is a tiny UTEE golden bear that was molded from the single piece of golden bear jewelry that I have left after a recent theft. My husband gave me all of this jewelry, each piece having at least one of these golden bears on it. It is my reminder that I do not need what I do not have…it can be recreated from what is still here. And it is my reminder of all that Kerry has given to me.
Vintage doll: Looks a bit like a child hiding behind her mother’s skirt. She was made in Germany (it’s stamped on her back) and that is where my mom’s family came from. She’s wearing a stamped dress that is pieced together, most like the childhood clothes of generations past.
Stamped skirt on dress form: There are the faces of 4 different girls stamped on this skirt with a tape measure below them. They are evenly spaced along the border. My 3 sisters and I were each born a year apart. Two are brunettes, two are blondes. We are each inked with different colors…as each one of us leads a very different life. But the measure of time keeps us all even, equal, and together, no matter where we may be. Sisters. Mine are all such an incredible blessing!
Art Clay Silver necklace: A Swarovski crystal embedded in .999 fine silver. Sort of like life. There is always something else in the middle of what you are looking at!
Outside Cover: Kind of plain? Kind of quiet? Well, at least compared to the inside of the treasure box! And that’s how I am. I can be the quietest person in the room. No one will take notice of me. Yet, when I open up (and you get to know me) there are levels, layers, nooks and crannies deep inside that you can take years to explore! Most days I leave my doors wide open!!!
You can see all the photos in my Picasa album!
And now you have a glimpse of what I'm thinking about when I put something like this together. A bit of my past, a bit of my present, and a bit of my soul.
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