Even though it may seem like a cliché to start the year with New Year’s resolutions, there is something reassuring about it.

If you think of the new year as a kind of “do-over”, you get to reflect on the things you’d like to improve and to set your intentions for the fresh, new year.

Instead of looking at all the things you feel need improving or that you didn’t accomplish, how about looking at things that made life better and how you can incorporate more of that into the new year.

What helped you connect most to the people you love?

What were your best accomplishments last year?

What lessons did you learn?

What would you like to carry forward from last year? (An attitude, a new habit, a way of being)

What would you like to let go of and leave behind?

What would give you energy and excitement for the coming year?

This necklace is one of my latest creations and one of my favorites.

Handmade Fine Silver branches, leaves, and fragments with etched letters are the treasures that create the links of this special necklace.

In between each of the “treasures” I created are links with Laboradite stone nuggets.

Labradorite represents  spirit, transformation, clarity, and peace.

The necklace has a delicate quality.  While I made this of silver, the patina I used gives hints of gold along with the silver.

And the Laboradite has such a lovely iridescent quality that picks up different colors.

I created a matching bracelet that can be worn separately or connected to the hand forged clasp on the necklace extending it from

18″ to 25″.

Earth’s Treasure Necklace ©Sally Evans 2012

We are always in need of ideas for gifts for the special people in our lives.

My husband and I have been enjoying giving and getting gifts of experiences.  For example, I got him season tickets to a series of plays in our area.

The gift has been ongoing and we have enjoyed seeing the plays and spending the time together.

I wanted to have the presentation be special too.  Instead of just giving him a piece of paper that said the names of the plays, I decided to print the logos of each play and make a little booklet for him to “unwrap”.

Admittedly, this was a little more elaborate gift wrap than I would usually do, but I figured he could keep the “tickets” and refer to what was next on the calendar.

Here is how I made the booklet:

First, I took some old business cards we had on hand, that had already been punched them with a Rollabind 2 hole punch.  You can get these at Rollabind, or through Levinger as the Circa system.  I originally was using them as notepads.

The paper is cut so that you can slip the paper on or off the rings.

I chose an assortment of pretty, coordinated paper.

I glued the business card face down on the back of the paper with a glue stick.

Then I trimmed them all down.  I cut two covers from some double sided scrapbooking paper.

They were all punched  with the Rollerbind punch.

I copied the logo,  the date of each play, and the running dates, in case we needed to change it.  I printed this out and cut them apart.

I decorated the covers with some scraps of the decorative paper and some Paper Washi style tape.

Here is the finished booklet, each page has another play.

I placed the ticket booklet in a black and white plastic index card holder, added some of the washi tape, black and white polka dot ribbon, and red chenille stem as a finishing touch.

It was a big hit.