Isabel Designs

This past weekend our family gathered together to honour a tradition started by Mom many, many years ago. Family craft day is an event not to be missed. If you look around the homes of my siblings, you will note that many of the Christmas decorations gracing the walls, end-tables and trees were made on Craft Day. This year we made wonderful wire ornaments wrapped in the shape of stars, balls, snowmen, angels and more. Beads and stained glass were woven into the design, all with wonderfully unique results. 

For all the anticipation and stress of the Christmas season, I always look forward to this special day. Even my nieces and nephews still enjoy this day, and as they venture into their own apartments and start having families of their own, they feel even more compelled to carry this event into their futures. Family activities and gathering spell Christmas to me, and I’m so glad craft day is part of our family’s tradition.

Susan and I are really excited to be working at this project together. Isabel Designs was born one afternoon while we were wire wrapping and beading. It was obvious we were having fun and really connecting so we thought we should do something to keep up the momentum. Anytime Sue and I get together we inevitably talk about Mom, so using her middle name to identify our business seemed appropriate. Now every bead we string and pendant we hang gets wrapped up with her energy. Oh yeh, and for every sale we make on the website, a portion of the sale will be donated to Ovarian Cancer Canada for research and the cure!

If you haven’t visited the website yet, please go to http://www.isabeldesigns.com – and tell your friends to do the same! In the meantime, here’s a little information about our jewelry:

Each piece of jewelry is individually handmade using a combination of materials from both new and renewed sources. Many of our creations are inspired by abandoned vintage jewelry, reclaimed objects from our surroundings and natural beauties of the earth. We hope you like what you see.

Nancy

We are sisters – Susan and Nancy. We treasure the simple things in life. From the time we were little girls, we were encouraged to practice traditions commonly passed on from mothers to daughters. The most cherished lessons were taught by our Mother’s example. As children, our Mom used to make all our clothes. She baked cookies for our school lunches. At home every meal was an opportunity to celebrate family. We grew up understanding that hard work reaped great rewards, that being thrifty meant we had more to share, and that working with our hands and our heart is a wonderful way to breathe life into the world. Our Mother’s name was Marie Isabel. She lost her battle to ovarian cancer in 2001, but the legacy she left us continues. It is in this spirit that we create for Isabel Designs.

Now we want to hear your story. This blog is intended to be a place where we can all share the legacies that our Mother’s created. If you are carrying on traditions handed down to you from your Mother or Grandmother, we’d like to hear about it. If it’s as simple as following her recipes, or having similar penmanship, tell us why it’s special to you.