Gentle Spirit Creations

Baking for my Granddaughter

Janine — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:55:03 +0000

My granddaughter was over this weekend. Such a wonderful time! But I have diet restrictions (gluten-free) and so does she (no dairy or eggs)! This grandma wanted to bake for her girl. Thankfully, I found a recipe on the back of the quinoa flakes box. It called for butter but no eggs and no gluten. I substituted coconut oil for the butter and what yummy cookies they were! I was happy to offer a healthy treat to my sweet 2 year old blessing. Here’s the recipe:

Crispy Quinoa Cookies (Gluten-Free)

1/2 cup Honey 1 cup Rice Flour
1/3 cup Brown sugar 3/4 cup Quinoa Flakes

1/2 cup Coconut Oil 1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 cup Peanut butter(or Almond) 1/4 teaspoon Salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat honey, brown sugar, coconut oil, peanut butter, and vanilla in medium bowl until creamy. Combine rice flour, quinoa flakes, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Add to mixture and beat until well blended. If desired add nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

Peruvian Opal “Believe” Necklace

Janine — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 01:01:57 +0000

Here is another necklace made with the beautiful Peruvian Blue Opal. Each stone is so unique! I’ve included a Sterling bead that says “Believe” on it to help remind us that if we believe in Jesus, we will be saved. This necklace features a lovely Peruvian Blue Opal wrapped in Sterling Silver wire. This is a chunky, yet smooth stone. A lustrous freshwater Pearl and a Sterling “Believe” bead hang with the Blue Opal on an adjustable single strand black leather cord. Complete with the Sterling Gentle Spirit Creations handstamped tag. Click on photos for larger view. Adjustable length.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” I John 3:23

Soothing Waves Trust Necklace

Janine — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:02:10 +0000

The Peruvian Blue Opal is so beautiful that I had to make another necklace. I’ve included a Sterling bead that says “Trust” on it to help remind us that we can go to God and trust in Him with all things. This necklace features a lovely Peruvian Blue Opal wrapped in Sterling Silver wire. This is a chunky, yet smooth stone. A lustrous freshwater Pearl and a Sterling “Trust” bead hang with the Blue Opal on an adjustable single strand black leather cord. Complete with the Sterling Gentle Spirit Creations handstamped tag. The back of the stone is gorgeous too – see photo. Click on photos for larger view. Adjustable length.

“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

Mexican Agate Necklace

Janine — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:20:58 +0000

These Mexican Agate beads are so pretty! Neutral toned, smooth and shiny with Sterling Silver rope rings between. They hang from a hand-dyed chocolate brown with black edges Silk strand that feels wonderful against the skin. Just tie it at whatever length desired! 28″ adjustable.

One-of-a-kind handmade piece complete with sterling Gentle Spirit Creations tag.

Mexican Agate Earrings

Janine — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:20:50 +0000

Mexican Agate and Sterling Silver Earrings. Secure sterling silver lever backs.

Mexican Agate Bracelet

Janine — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:50:51 +0000

Some stones just seem to insist on me creating with them! When I saw these large, multi-colored, roundel beads I just had to buy them. The Mexican Agate beads are smooth and shiny and make a lovely bracelet. The earth tones are a beautiful shade. I’ve paired them with sterling silver rope rings that match the pretty toggle clasp. A perfect go-to piece that will compliment several outfits! One-of-a-kind handmade piece complete with sterling Gentle Spirit Creations tag.

Mexican Agate and Sterling Silver Bracelet. Fits medium size wrist.

Click on photo for a larger view.

Soothing Waves Necklace

Janine — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:18:28 +0000

This necklace features a lovely Peruvian Blue Opal wrapped in Sterling Silver wire. Colors of the beach are in this chunky, yet smooth stone. A lustrous freshwater Pearl and the Sterling Gentle Spirit Creations handstamped tag hang with the Blue Opal on an adjustable single strand black leather cord. This is a perfect necklace to compliment most of your spring and summer wardrobe!

Spring Bling Bracelet

Janine — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:28:46 +0000

This gorgeous bracelet is like a breath of fresh air! Pistachio Freshwater Stick Pearls are just the perfect color to refresh you. Each pearl is approximately one inch long! I’ve combined them with sparkly Swarovski Crystals and a pretty flowered Sterling Silver toggle clasp. You will enjoy wearing this every season! One-of-a-kind bracelet complete with handstamped Gentle Spirit Creations designer sterling tag. 7.5 inches long will fit medium size wrist.

Pistachio Freshwater Stick Pearls, Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Click on photo to view larger.

Spring Bling Earrings

Janine — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:28:32 +0000

Abalone, Pistachio Green Freshwater Stick Pearls, Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver Earrings

Soothing Waves Bracelet

Janine — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:32:09 +0000

The tones in the bracelet remind me of the ocean. Calm, soothing waves lapping on the beach. The smooth Peruvian Blue Opal nuggets are combined with freshwater pearls and Sterling Silver beads. This is a chunky and yet delicate bracelet that will complement many an outfit! Just gorgeous!!

Peruvian Blue Opal Nuggets, Freshwater Pearls and Sterling Silver Bracelet. 8 inches long will fit a medium wrist. One of a kind piece complete with hand stamped Gentle Spirit Creations sterling tag.

Click on photos for a larger view.

Garnet Romance [Flickr]

janinebroscious — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:09:17 PDT

janinebroscious posted a photo:

I envisioned an antique looking heirloom piece when I created this necklace. I used pieces of Sterling Silver to make a filigree, hammered frame. Then I added faceted Garnets and a lovely pink Pearl. The necklace is faceted Garnets and Sterling Silver. Very sparkly and romantic.

Beads of Many Colors [Flickr]

janinebroscious — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:31:59 PDT

janinebroscious posted a photo:

I got some beads recently. I thought the colors are so pretty that they would make a nice photo. So, here it is. I find still life so challenging. Looks better on black.

Recycled Beauty [Flickr]

janinebroscious — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:54:19 PDT

janinebroscious posted a photo:

I've been relearning how to solder. I had taught myself the skill about 5 years ago, but then stopped using it. I just finished taking a class that made me feel secure in doing it again.

There are so many little pieces of sterling silver sheet and wire that I have collected through the years. And with the price of silver being what it is, I decided to see if I could make anything out of the scraps.

I had cut lots of circles from sterling sheet. Well, that left really odd shapes. So, I cut them up and laid them in an interesting pattern. I wanted to try fusing them together. Fusing is when you don't use solder, but instead heat the silver until the metal pieces just begin to melt into each other. The trick is to stop before the whole piece melts into a nice little ball. Well, it worked! And was fun. I used another piece of the metal which had had a circle cut out of it and sawed a frame in which I could solder the fused shape. Then, I couldn't resist adding just a few crystals. I think it made a really pretty pendant! Everyone who has looked at it has seen something different in it. What do you see?

I had a tough time getting a good shot of this. I thought it would be good on a dark background. But all those shots looked terrible. I switched to a light one and it looked better immediately!

Grace [Flickr]

janinebroscious — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:50:51 PDT

janinebroscious posted a photo:

“ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

I’ve been reflecting on God’s grace this week. It amazes me the extreme measures that God went to in order to cleanse us and make us His own. The God and Creator of all came as a man and died for us. All we have to do is accept his gracious gift of salvation. And he rose again! He is alive and continuing to shower us with grace…the grace to live each day.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

So, I got out my sterling silver and tools and went to work making a GRACE pendant. I even included a cross made from the symbol of unending love – circles. The pendant is sterling silver that I cut from a sheet of sterling, then filed, stamped and hammered. It is surrounded by swirling sterling wire and sparkly Swarovski crystals. The darker crystals are called Mocca AB. They are a deep brown, but because of the AB (aurora borealis) they gleam with many lovely colors!

Abalone Dream Pendant [Flickr]

janinebroscious — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:53:33 PDT

janinebroscious posted a photo:

I’ve combined Swirls, Sparkles and beautiful Abalone in this pendant! It’s gorgeous! Also included is Lapis and dreamy Blue Chalcedony. There is a lot going on in this lovely pendant. At first I was just going to leave it be all blue, but that abalone piece jumped in there. lol.