Clay Rosary Giveaway!

Lacy at Catholic Icing is hosting my first ever Rosary giveaway! It's a biggy! The lucky winner will get one of my rosaries. You can have four chances to win by following the rules on Catholic Icing. Head on over and enter! Good Luck!

Black and White Ornate Cross

 

For my last day in Minnesota, I'm finishing up the projects I set to do like this one that I completed today.  It's a relatively simple bead with swirls and dots and other shapes in the shape of a cross.  The pictures don't show the detail of the smaller beads, but it's all there. I think it almost looks like a celtic cross now that it's finished.  I will use a few of the smaller beads for the rosaries, but most of these beads will be used for jewelry.  Stay tuned for the finished products!

In the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes

I knew from watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, that it was dangerous to swim at dusk when it's feeding time for sharks.  What I didn't know was that it's also dangerous to swim at feeding time in Minnesota lakes! Never have I gotten bit by a fish from swimming in lakes all my life, but after only 30 seconds of swimming at dusk, Liam comes running out of the water screaming bloody murder that a lizard had bit him.  Obviously, there are no lizards in the lake, but a fish had definitely nibbled at his toe which is why you see him in the above photo without his toes in the water. I don't blame him either, those fish were vicious! Next time, we'll swim at noon.

Chaplet of Seven Sorrows

Yesterday, I put together this chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, also known as the Servite Rosary or the Seven Sorrows Rosary.  The medals are hard to see in the photo, so I included an extra photo of the medals in detail. It is a beautiful prayer that I discovered when reading, Our Lady of Kibeho (linked to an older post that I wrote for this book).  The book included a detailed meditation for each of the Seven Sorrows.  It really helped me get through the painful labor and childbirth of my last child. I plan to reread for baby Jude's birth in November.  The instructions for this rosary/chaplet are below.  I will be putting it for sale for when I get back.  

DEVOTION OF THE SEVEN SORROWS
PRAY OUR FATHER ON LARGE BEADS, 
7 HAIL MARYS ON 7 AVE BEADS
MEDITATING ON EACH:
   1.  Prophecy of Simeon.  
2.  Flight into Egypt.
   3.  Loss of Child Jesus in the temple. 
4.  Meeting of Jesus and Mary on Way of the Cross.
   5.  Crucifixion.
6.  Removing Body of Jesus from the Cross.
   7.  Burial of Jesus
PRAY HAIL MARY ON 3 BEADS ON PENDANT FOR THE TEARS OF MARY

 

 

Minnesota Fun

Here are some highlights from our Minnesota family visit so far.  The last picture is from our "girl's day out," a Schulzetenberg family tradition.  While the girls were out, the uncles and Grandpa took the kids to the Fair (top two photos).  Also thrown in the mix is a picture of a snapping turtle we found on our driveway. Notice how it snapped on a branch we put in its mouth.  The kids are having so much fun with their aunts, uncles, and Grandpa and Grandma that they haven't had time to miss Virginia...yet!

Just For Fun

I was tagged

"Just Me" tagged me for a meme from her blog. Don't ask me how to pronounce that word, I've never heard of it either. I'm so not a hip blogger! For this meme, I'm supposed to name three of my most favorite Catholic devotional prayers, and explain why they're my favorites. I'm also supposed to tag some other bloggers, so if you want to to this too, go for it!

My favorite devotional prayers would have to be the Hail Mary, Our Father, and Memorare. This is the prayer of the memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Eric and I prayed this every night when we were in a job crisis sitiation a few years ago.  Mary came through for us, just like we knew she would.  She is a loving mother who never turns away her children.

Of course I love the Hail Mary- especially in the rosary. It is such a comforting prayer. I instantly feel the protection of Mary's Mantel whenever I pray the Hail Mary.

Lastly, who cannot love the Lord's prayer?! Everytime I pray it, I find something more to meditate on.  Each part of the Our Father is so rich, a person could study it all their life and never run out of things to learn.  I like it say it slowly so as not to miss an important part of the prayer.

That's it for me! Let me know in the comments if you decide to do this on your blog.

Calla Lily Bead

I had a special request to make a calla lily and since I needed another flower bead for my rosaries, so I decided to go for it. Plus what's more fun than making a gorgeous flower??  While making the bead, I discovered it's symbolism.  A calla lily symbolizes beauty and grace, youth, femininity, innocence, purity, and modesty.  This makes it a great wedding flower, but while making them,I thought they would also be a good symbolism for St. Clare.  So with these beads, I am going to make wedding or bridal rosaries and also St. Clare chaplets.  They will also be another flower bead (linked to my bead meaning page) for my multi-bead rosaries.

Scroll down to see the process of making this bead. 

Away to Minnesota

I am going to be in Minnesota for a couple weeks visiting my family, so I will have to close shop until August 25.   But I'm not going without my clay! While my sisters and my parents are doting on my kids, I plan to make a new bead and put together some more products for my store.  I'll be blogging my progress :) 

Bracelet Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to all who entered the contest and thank you all for nice comments and the birthday wishes!  I always say one of the best things about having this little business are the wonderful people I get to meet.   I love to hear the stories about who the rosary is going to and how they liked it or how the rosary touched someone's life. 

Anyway...about the the winner of this contest--I went to random.org to get a random number from 1 to 33 and the winning number is 19, which is Gae! Congratulations Gae! I will email you to get your info.

Thanks again for all who entered!

Last Chance To Enter Clay Rosary Giveaway

Today is your last chance to enter the Clay Rosary giveaway described in the last blog post.  A beautiful multi- bead bracelet will be given away to one lucky person tomorrow. I might add that I wore one of these yesterday along with the bracelet that has the bigger multi-beads and they looked great on my wrist!

This month, a wire-wrapped rosary is also being given away at the Etsy Rosary Guild. Donated by 15 Promises Heritage Rosaries and Jewelry. See the picture below for this rosary giveaway.

It's My Party and I'll Give If I Want To!

It's my birthday today and my shop is reopen for sales! Getting finished with the face-lift of website was a great birthday present to myself and I am celebrating by giving away one of my new adult bracelets. 

Multi Bead Bracelet with Smaller Beads (click the title to view the bracelet in my shop)

It's my first giveaway ever, but I think that now I have a bigger selection of merchandise, I'll be having more of these little give-aways in the future. I'm thinking a baby Jude (my bun in the oven) giveaway with a St. Jude Chaplet, St. Andrew Chaplet giveaway for the advent season...if you are not already a follower or have this page bookmarked, you might want to do that for the awesome gifts coming your way!

For a chance to win the Multi-Bead bracelet, you must visit my website and pick your favorite item. Then come back here and leave a comment with what your favorite item is.  I will pick a random winner on Friday, August 6.  I will be emailing the winner, so if you choose to leave an anonymous comment, you have to either email me your email address or leave it in the comment box so I will have a way to reach you.

Lastly, I want to brief you on the upgrades I have made to rosaries. My previous rosaries were strung using fish-line. While they were strong (and didn't come apart like regular chain-linked rosaries) my new rosaries are upgraded with state of the art, Accu-Flex® Professional Quality Beading Wire. This wire consists of 49 individual strands of stainless steel wire that is nylon coated. This creates a rosary that is durable, beautiful and has a natural drape. As always, the rosaries and chaplets come with a lifetime durability guarantee.  If anything should happen to your rosary, I will fix it and restring it at no charge. 

You will notice a price difference in the new rosaries for a couple reasons- one being the upgrade described above and two being a more fair price for all the bead work involved. Remember, I don't just go to the store and buy beads.  I make each and every one- which is very time consuming and skill oriented.  

Now's your chance to win a handmade clay bead bracelet! Go to www.clayrosaries.com and pick your favorite item.  Then, then come back here to leave a comment and tell me what it is.

Good Luck!

P.S. if you notice any glitches on my website or if it runs really slow, please email me: sarahs_rosaries@yahoo.com.  You won't get an extra chance to win the bracelet, but you will earn lots of brownie points!