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“There is nothing we have to give to the world if we don’t love and nurture ourselves first.”   – Esther Hicks

 

VeruDesigns is -among many things- one of the most powerful ways I know to nurture my soul, just like water and air nurture flowers and plants.  It is the first major endeavor in my life I pursued for the sole purpose of loving myself, enjoying myself, trusting and creating myself.

 

The decision of following and actualizing dreams and passions comes easy to many people.  Not to me. It took a life-changing event for me to grasp why I’m here, what my life is truly about, what I’m capable of and how my self-love is at the core of my ability to love anybody else fully and unconditionally and be the best version I’m capable of being.

 

Today’s “Nurture The Soul” Necklace is a celebration of not just self-love, but what it awakens in all of us: The Creator and the Teacher that lives inside us all.

 

If you like this fun piece, please “like” it! If you love it don’t forget to share it with the people you care about and help us remind everyone that we are all creators and teachers in our won unique way.

 

Much love dear friend,

 

– Veruschka

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[tab title=”About our Model”]

Ellen, our beautiful model today, couldn’t be more of a perfect representation for this beautiful one-of-a-kind piece and what it is about.

 

A horticulturist by trade, Ellen spent many years being the best stay-at-home mother and wife she could possibly be.  When her oldest daughter left for college and her younger son began approaching his senior year in High School, she knew that she had a choice: She could prepare for life in an “empty nest” and choose to see her life as approaching “the end” of what seemed the most important phase in her life as a mother . . . OR

. . . she could choose the to view this stage as the “new beginning and re-birth” of the next version of herself.  She had the choice of focusing on what she was about to miss in her life, OR what she could add and expand into her life.

 

Ellen’s re-birth began with the bold choice of loving and nurturing herself. Not only did she go back to college, but in this journey of challenging and educating herself again, the eternal Artist and Mother inside of her lead her to her true calling: Teaching.

 

After several years of studying and working very hard she was offered a permanent opportunity as an Art Teacher to about 500 students a week at an elementary school. I’ve been lucky to see the light in her eyes when she talks about how much she loves “her children” . . . and the parents, and her colleagues and her school!

 

Pat Conroy once said that “great teachers fill you up with hope and shower you with a thousand reasons to embrace all aspects of life”… This is Ellen.

 

I will never forget when my own Art teacher looked deep into the eyes of my 7-year old self and said “You can be, do and have everything you want, if you believe it. What you believe you can make happen!”.

It took me several years for the seeds of her words to bloom inside of me, but they did, and for that I will be forever grateful.

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[tab title=”Behind the Scenes”]

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This has been no question one of the most complex, time-consuming but extremely rewarding necklaces I’ve created in a while.

 

The “Amalfi Necklace” was commissioned by someone who had very clear requirements for the design. This necklace is not only meant to capture Amalfi’s look and feel, but its energy, its vibrant colors, its delicious LEMONS, and the amazing view of the village from the water. I’ve learned that the beautiful woman for whom this jewelry art is intended for as a gift, is never afraid to shine, and feels great appreciation when wearing pieces with a unique story and meaning.

 

Making this piece reminded me of our own time in the beautiful Amalfi Coast of Italy just a few years ago. Pictures never make true justice to a piece of heaven like Amalfi. For those of you who have been there, or are lucky to live there or close by, know what I mean. The magic of these places transcends any description. Is it the air? Is it the unbelievable sunsets and sunrises? Is it its colors? Is it its breathtaking geography and architecture? It’s all that and more, so much more!

 

Hopefully you’ll enjoy this piece as well. It was such a labor of love and I couldn’t be more excited to share this with you on this Tuesday’s Reveal.

 

Please “like” it if you like this piece, and don’t forget to “share” it if you LOVE it!
Your selflessness means everything to me.

If you have any memories or thoughts you’d like to share, don’t be shy! I’d LOVE to hear from you

 

Much love dear friend,

– Veruschka

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[tab title=”Behind the Scenes”]
I thought you’d enjoy to see some of the behind the scenes steps in the making of this lovely piece:






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We had a magical time in Amalfi just a few years back! I think I was meant to create this piece before I ever knew it

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I thought a gorgeous “bird house” caging our precious hearts was a lovely way of expressing the need many of us have to protect our hearts out of fear of being hurt. . . And yet, a caged heart is the very reason one lives a caged life. We go on this life-quest looking for this one person or thing(s) that we believe has the key to our hearts. Someone/something that will make us feel “safe”, happy, and will make us the loving and powerful being we know we are.

And there lies the irony:  Only we have the KEYS to our own cages. It’s the key of CHOICE. And once we open our heart, then we begin to really “see” our world as beautiful as it really is, and it’s this appreciation that begins to transform our being from the inside out.  Fear comes from a believe that we are vulnerable to the outside world, but LOVE brings the KNOWING that we are stronger than any “thing” or “situation”. Love is freedom. 

I truly hope you enjoy this piece as much as I LOVED making it. I’d love to read your thoughts/comments about happiness. How do you experience it? What makes it happen in your life? If you have a minute, share it below!
As always, if you like this piece, please LIKE it! If you love it, “SHARE” it with your friends and loved ones.
Let’s spread the love as far and away is possible!With love,
– Veruschka

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[tab title=”About our Model”]

“It’s incredible, that unconditional love you have for a child. I still wonder if he really came from me, from my womb. It’s a miracle. I don’t understand it. I live it very intensely.” – Anne Parillaud

This photo-shoot was not only incredibly fun, but I was honored to capture a beautiful friend of mine who embodies so much of what this necklace is all about.

Fernanda is not only beautiful on the outside, she holds her heart wide open and radiates her inner strength, compassion and kindness through her beautiful smile and personality. She is also an outstanding professional in the demanding (and tough!) financial industry, but she somehow is able to seemingly be the confident, loving and tough decision-maker she needs to be from 9 to 5, and comes home with her smile intact, full of love and energy to be the mother she loves being to her gorgeous Eduardo, wife to Jon and a friend to all of us who are lucky to know her.
As always, if you like this piece, please LIKE it! If you love it, “SHARE” it with your friends and loved ones.
Let’s spread the love as far and away is possible!

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[tab title=”Behind the Scenes”]
This necklace  came to my mind by what I am calling “divine intervention”.  I was having a conversation with my (always patient) husband about the ideas I wanted to convey with this necklace.  I was telling him how I was looking for a “beautiful” symbol that showcases “fear”, but at the same time is overwhelmed by other symbols of beauty and a message of strength and love.

My husband came up with the idea of maybe using a little “bird” as the symbol of freedom, and have it “caged” in a tree.

For some reason this idea didn’t resonate with me much that night.  This is where the story gets interesting: The next morning, after coming back form the gym at 7:30am, I sat in my computer, and my little sister (who is in South America) had sent me an e-mail to tell me about this beautiful purse she had seen at a boutique that was shaped like a “bird cage” and how she had decided to save some money to buy it next month.  An hour later while working in our office, my husband was looking at the mail we had received that day and gave me all the envelopes directed to VeruDesigns.  One of the envelopes came from a Museum in Maryland with a brochure about their future exhibitions.  The main picture on the brochure was a painting of a bird-cage with its door open.

This is when I said: “Ok Universe! I got your message! This is what I’m supposed to do!” Viola!

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