A Classic Ring with a Classic VW bug

Ever since my 67 bug’s engine caught on fire a few years back I’ve been wanting to get it working again. I had bought the engine parts years ago and I removed the engine and it’s been sitting outside in the elements with just a plastic bag over it. Not a great situation. So I’ve started to dedicate my time to it so that I can get the engine in and get it running again. It has been quite the process and to be honest the engine is back inside. There are potential issues that will force me to remove the engine again, but with limited tools and equipment I will just have to do what I have to do. If I can get it running then I can worry about the rest. If not then I don’t feel I should spend anymore money on it and just sell it for someone else to put their heart into it. It’s in a stage where if I were to do it properly, I would need to redo so much of it, body work and all. I can’t afford to do that and just want the car to run. I miss it. It brings a good feeling when driving it.

VW 67 engine rebuild — My 67 VW bug engine rebuild - Right = engine after fire - Left = my rebuild attempt

Old classic rings are like my bug. They look so cool and have that antique look. Even though it has that look that doesn’t mean it has to have been made a long time ago. I made this one classic ring years ago and I love it. It’s not super old, but still has the look and feel. The one in the image has a 2ct amethyst stone with small diamonds and other cool design elements.

Platinum Antique Style Ring — Draping Elegance - A platinum ring with a 2ct round center and accent diamonds and filigree.

So there is just something about that old classic look. It’s beautiful and feels good to just to own one. The amount of time that goes into fixing a bug up and to design a ring, clean it up and set all the stones are similar on different scales. Lots of time and energy spent on thinking and even getting your hands dirty. Patients and a careful sense of attention to the small details. In the end it pays off and what comes of it is pure joy. It’s the journey that is wonderful and we need to see life in a way that is positive. A life that lifts our soul that can help shine onto others so we can all progress forward in a constructive positive way.

Christmas season is here

So I have a tradition that I started with my family and it’s been about 7 years now that we have been doing this. It’s a tradition that I did with my Dad and siblings growing up. I grew up in Paradise California and I remember as a child going with my Dad higher up into the mountains where there would be snow. We would hike around and find a Christmas tree to cut and take home. I don’t know how many times we did this, but the few times we did are stuck in my memory. So I also started this tradition with my kids. It’s about that experience of going and enjoying the day in the mountains hiking around for a Christmas tree. Oh and yes we did purchase Christmas tree permit which you can get at recreation.gov. :) This year I went twice. lol Once with my family and another with my daughter and nephews. There is no snow here in Arizona where we go at this time of year, but it’s still very fun. The weather was in the 60’s. Perfect to enjoy the day and we did. It’s just so peaceful. I wish I could get out more often. So what are some of your traditions around this time of year?

CuttingTheTree

My Daughter cutting the Christmas Tree

Cool Forest Image

Just a cool area we came across

Forest Relaxation

Taking a nap in the forest

Christmas Tree

Our decorated Christmas tree

So I love to celebrate the birth of our Savior with family traditions and a time to remember how important the birth of Christ is. Are we actively engaged in a good cause? I sure hope so and of course we are imperfect, but we should always be trying our best.

Gifts are a joyful way to give and help others out. I remember as I was growing up I loved to make things. I’ve always made things like cloth bracelets, or beaded jewelry. I’ve gotten a lot more advanced since those early days and it’s continues to be a passion for me. I just like to make the best craft or jewelry item I can. I hope you can enjoy keeping up with some of my arts and crafts. I don’t post as often as I should, but this year I’ll do better. You can find me mainly on Instagram @danaarts and You Tube @JustinThorup

I would love to do another give away soon. I missed out on Thanksgiving which is when I like to do it. Maybe I can plan one for the beginning of this coming year. If you agree then just let me know so I can plan for it. :) If no one reads this then I’ll know it’s just not time yet. :) but let’s just keep giving and enjoying life together as we try and help one another out through this journey of life.

Making Forward Steps (one at a time)

Making forward steps one at a time is what we are all hopefully doing and striving for. These steps forward don’t have to be anything large like a leap and bound. Each step and how big each step is different for everyone. We all have our challenges and methods to cope with life. Some may be spiritual and others are physical or mental ways or a combination of them all. All of this and I get to my own challenges in life and with running a business. Right now one step at a time is all I can do.

We finally moved into our house about a month ago. It’s a great feeling and I am overly joyous of the huge blessing it is to be living on the property. You see, now I can be a whole lot closer to my shop which has been a challenge all in itself. I had no water for long periods during the build and even longer no electricity. Can you imagine working without electricity? Well, a bit impossible so things were on hold for a while. So again, one step at a time. This past weekend we finally got the electricity back to the shop and I’m excited. It’s finally finished and I can start progressing and taking that one step at a time in a forward motion. I feel rejuvenated and inspired to start thinking again about my next steps in moving forward. It still will only be a small step at a time as I’m still spending lots of time unpacking and organizing, but little by little I will get there. Patience is key and I hope to be more active on showing what I’m up to. Stay tuned and if you have any suggestions I’m willing to listen. :) Take care. Hej Hej.

Subpanel Dana Arts — New subpanel to the left coming from main at the house. The right side is where the electricity was before it was moved to the house.

Reworking Jewelry Designs

I love designing rings. I remember my first interest in wanting to make jewelry when I was young. I was with my mom at Johnny Apple Seed Day in Paradise California. This fair was once a year and in the heart of Paradise. There was a park that had some booths where venders were selling arts and crafts. So my mom and I were looking at a booth that had some jewelry in it and my mom had purchased from this vender before. I was intrigued by all the jewelry and wanted to see if there was a way I could purchase some sterling silver wire so I could maybe try and make some crystal wire wraps for pendants. I’ve always been into making things so it’s always been apart of me and who I am. The vender did not have any wire to sell us, but it really got me wanting to get some silver wire. I cherish that memory because now that I think about it, it was my mom that really introduced me to the jewelry field without knowing. Then as a teenager I found a shop in Chico California that sold everything hippie like style items. I asked and they said they could get me some. I eventually got my hands on some silver wire and it was my chance to start wire wrapping. Such a fun time creating more crafts related to all the other hobbies I had including leatherwork, cloth woven bracelets, and anything else I could think of to create. Well, through the years I after that I never knew what I wanted to do for a career. Eventually I got married and was working at Anasazi Foundation (a wilderness survival treatment program for youth). I had to find a new career and that was when I started working in a real jewelry store. Since then I have learned to design jewelry in a whole new way. CAD (computer Aided Design).

I love working in CAD. It’s something I still have a passion for and love the freedom it gives me to create what I have tucked away in my head. Developing a design can be quick or it can take a long time. I have noticed though, that when I have to rework designs, they become better and better as I rework them. At times I am unwilling to rework a design because I feel I have put my all into it and it’s maybe good enough. Each time that I end up reworking the design it truly does become better and I’m always glad I made those changes. It a bit like life. For those of us that like routines and don’t like change, it’s hard to make changes. My daughter is also the same way. Change is difficult and we don’t want to have to go through with it. We will fight it and deny that we need to progress and make the changes in life. Once we do it’s really wasn’t so bad and things just got a whole lot better. Not all change is great, but I feel that many times it does or can help us to grow into better people. When jewelry changes happen, it’s for the better and I’ve learned that everyone is their own designer. How often do I make a custom piece of jewelry that is fully my idea or deign? Not often. Most people have something in mind that they want and so even though I throw my own flare into the design, the overall idea is the customers. They are the designers and even if I don’t fully love the design it’s what they want. There are only a few times, here and there, that a customer loves my style of craftsmanship and design enough to where they can trust me and I can pretty much design anything and they would love it. Just give me the topic or a little guidance and let me free. That’s what it’s more like at Dana Arts. As I am able to just freely design what I want. That is why I wanted to start Dana Arts. It’s a place where I can design what I like in hopes that others will too. A place where I can showcase my art and ideas. It makes me feel good when someone can wear a piece of jewelry that I’ve fully designed and created and have joy in it. That’s why I love music as it is one of those areas that can touch so many lives. Although jewelry is not the same as music, I would hope I can also touch lives though designs that are enjoyable to wear. Something you can feel proud to wear and show to others. Quality well made custom jewelry is a so breathtaking when you love to wear it. Beautiful rings can bring moments of joy to your life. Wedding rings are one of those categories. Wedding rings and wedding bands are jewelry that we wear daily. I know that you should love what you wear for wedding rings. They mean so much and remind us of our commitment to our partners in life. Finding the right design or having custom made the right ring design can be a decision that stays with us throughout our life. That is why it’s so important to choose the right ring as it reflects upon us as couples and becomes a part of who we are.

If you are contemplating buying a ring for any occasion, remember the joy a quality handmade ring can be as it will journey with you throughout your life. I will always be making jewelry and if you haven’t noticed I never delete any designs. I will always come up with new ones, but if you ever lose a ring, it will be there to order again. Most companies phase out designs and always keep the new. I strive to keep coming up with new, but keep the old as they are classics too. You can count on me to do the best I can to create quality jewelry that will last through the decades.

CTR Rings and bands

So I’ve tried in the past to sell some CTR rings which stands for “Choose The Right”. Then I stopped because of licensing issues. I am now proud to announce that I’m have permission to sell some CTR rings again. There are only five designs that I can sell for now. I have maybe 15 designs. I will work on getting the others approved. As of now I have these five available as I get time to list them on my site. I’m excited to share these designs with you. Here is the first one that I’ve listed. CTR Rock Foundation in Sterling silver

CTR-Greek_SS_b.jpg

CTR_Rock_a.jpg

CTR-Celtic_b.jpg

CTR-SI_a.jpg

CTR_immovable_h.jpg

To “Choose the Right” is not always an easy thing to do. I feel it’s easier to do alone than when around friends that may give a little pier pressure. Either way we need to stay strong and always remember to choose the right especially when faced with hard choices. We may be tempted to take the easy way out, but if we can learn to pre decide and know what we would say or do in certain situations we will make those hard choices become easy choices. So lets choose to choose the right.

DA update and life

So I’ll have to say that a lot has been going on because usually I can’t stand still and keep things moving along. lol. For Dana Arts I keep myself busy. I always have and will continue to do so. I’m a small business that is just me and my determination, passion and love for what I do that will keep it going no matter what. I have to admit that the past 5 or 6 months have been more than slow as far as sales go, but I continue to try and find ways to come up with new ideas, improve the website, or as of lately planing to do more video about what I’m up to. I have a few pendants that I think are really cool that will come out for the next few months as my newest featured items that you can usually see when they come out from the banner at the top of the webpage. I try and come up with ideas of what I think is cool. There have been times when a customer had an idea that we worked together on and are now available for sale. If you’d ever are inspired just let me know. I can do custom unique pieces just for you or we can work it out to put it into my line of jewelry. My shop is a bit cluttered right now. I have a 12’x12’ shed that I work out of right now. It has all my equipment for jewelry, gardening tools, and wood working tools. Oh an a lot of vw bug parts all over the place mixed in with everything.

So the shop has been real messy lately as I have been working more on my vw bug engine than jewelry. Ever since the fire I’ve been slowly trying to get parts and now cleanup to get this thing running again. So far I’ve managed to pull the engine from the car. (my first time ever doing so). Now I’ve been tearing it apart. I’ve managed to paint a few tins and am currently working on cleaning up other tins for painting. Next I’ll clean up the engine bay and then re wire the car. After that I plan to assemble the engine and put it back in. I want to test it to see if I can get it running again. If it does then I can work on the seats, windows, and the rest of the car to make it usable again. I just want to know if it can run before I spend the time fixing up the rest. The sad thing is that I am not going to be able to restore the whole car as it should be. I can’t replace the pans right now that have holes in them. I can’t do a lot of things that should be done since the car is stripped down to nothing. I don’t have the money to put into it, so I just want it running and drive able again. This way I can enjoy it once again even thought it won’t be perfect. It’s just a joy to drive my 67 VW bug. My first car. It’s a big fun project that I will share more about down the road.

The garden is doing well. After the last frost I pulled out all the tomato plants and basil. Right now I have onion, yarrow, mint, carrots, a few types of lettuce, bak choi, thyme, cilantro and a few other small plants and herbs. It’s starting to warm up a bit and I have planted a few carrots, celery, squash and more. It may not be the right time for some of these, but I will replant if nothing shows up. Already we have tons of tomatoes popping up from the old tomatoes. Same thing with the basil. It’s like a weed. I plan to keep the garden area a bit more clean this year. We’ll see how it goes. My henna plant may have died in the frost because it got frosted when my cover blew off it. Hopefully it survives. I could go on and on, but that’s just a small update on the garden.

Garden Area in the back and the fire ring up close to us.

The Garden House. It has begun. Yes the day we have been waiting for for almost 2 years now. The pad was built a few weeks ago and then it rained for a week. Now that it’s dry again the footing was just poured Friday the 16th of February 2024. I look forward to seeing the next steps and progress of the build. To get to this point felt like it would never happen. I did have to change the plans and lower the pitch of the roof from a 9:12 to a 6:12 because it just plainly cost too much. I also had to modify the foundation a bit to save some money. We are happy that our builder is our next door neighbor. He is amazing and so helpful. I would love to post about this whole journey someday. It’s a blessing that I’d love to share with everyone, but for today I’m just keeping it simple and letting you know that it has begun. Within six months we should be in our new home.

Live is full of ups and downs. I know that nothing lasts and I’m sure hard times and good times come and go. I just know that if we keep God close to us we will be able to get though anything, appreciate life and see the light as we progress through life. Our outlook on life will be different and we will have greater peace within our life and that energy will show. I will keep everyone updated now and then on mainly the house, garden and of course Dana Arts. Take care and I’ll talk with you again soon.

It's Christmas Season

Christmas season is a fun time of year. It means different things to different people and I love different aspects of Christmas. It has also changed over the years as I have grown up and after I got married. More changes came when I had kids and then now as they have grown up it also has a different feel. Here are a few examples of the different stages of life and the Christmas season.

My mom is from Denmark and we had what I feel were Danish Christmases. She would always decorate the house with danish ornaments and little scenes. Small little figurines that were made of string or wooden figurines that all had red and white colors to represent Danish colors. The Christmas tree was the best. It had lots of ornaments with the touch of little stringed paper danish flags that would wrap around the tree. We also spent time making those danish hearts that were woven together and had a handle on them. You could add candy to those too. :) I remember dancing around the tree signing songs. Also the food was traditional foods like pork and pork rinds, the red cabbage, and the pudding that has the almonds in it. You know there were only one or two whole almonds in it and whomever got them would win a prize. The pudding was always so rich that I could not eat a lot, but tried so I could maybe win. lol . She always created a magical time. I’ll always remember Christmas at home.

When I got married things had changed. No more Danish Christmas. I tried, but not too hard to keep the traditions going. It was hard because no one else had these traditions in the Latin culture and I felt out numbered and gave up early on. My kids didn’t grow up with the same feeling of magic that I grew up with. I’m sorry kids.

As I’ve grown up and my kids are older I’ve been trying to center Christmas more and more on the true meaning of Christmas and about Christ and his example and role in this world. I mean, Christ was born and that is very significant. So even though we can create a lovely time during Christmas and enjoy all the decorations it’s also important to remember the Christ and his purpose here on earth. I won’t get into any depth on this, but I’m hoping you know what I mean.

So yes we still decorate a little, and things have changed, but it’s still an enjoyable time to be with family and share giving and thoughtful times with each other. One fun family tradition we do every year is to buy a Christmas tree permit and go out to the forest together and cut our tree down. It’s a fun day that we all enjoy.

Our Christmas tree 2023 - simple forest tree

So what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

I have to say that leading up to Christmas day is a busy time for me working in the jewelry field. I usually don’t get vacation during this time of year, but making jewelry and being able to see the joy other get when wearing jewelry makes me happy too. I have not designed any specific designs for Christmas this year, but may I suggest some fun rings to look at.

Petals Scale band - a unique silver ring that has these like shield sections or scales that go around the band. Then it has these leave petals or stems that are on each scale. It creates a very cool nature like ring. You can see it by clicking here.
This Life Cross pendant in sterling silver. A must see.
The Tree of Life pendant is also another one that has some great meaning behind it. This pendant is cool because it has the leaves and a tree next to a little flowing creek and on the back it shows the roots and a more winter like tree above.
Or this sooth and rough band it sterling silver. The smooth surface next to the rough organic surface makes a unique ring that also reminds me of nature and Christmas.
This square ring that has leaf like patterns on the edges is a truly lovely ring. It is comfortable with the hidden side designs that bring that cool festive factor to it.

So I could keep going as I have a lot to share, but these rings are some of my favorites that are natural and have a good vibe about them. I love nature and what has been created for all of us to live with. Getting close to nature definitely helps me get closer to God. Hopefully some of these rings can bring that type of representation to you as you wear them.

Thanksgiving Give Away 2023

So I really enjoyed the first ever give away I did about a month ago. It was really fun and I got about 11 new followers on Instagram. Thank you to everyone that participated because it really helps. So I’d like to try this again and since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday I’m going big. Yes you heard me I’m going big. Instead of a specific category I want to allow for the give away to cover any category of my collections that have a cost of $250. All my rings cost that much except for a few so you’ll have a huge variety to choose from. I still like when a give away is just one category in the collection, but since I’m going big I figure what the heck. Let’s do this. Are you excited yet? I know I am. So many to chose from there should be one in there for everyone to like.

Dana Arts Rings — A few samples of what could be yours.

Dates: Nov. 20th (starting when I post on Instagram) - Nov. 25th @ 8pm

So the rules are this:

Like the Instagram post of the give away
Comment on the post of the give away
Share the post with a friend
For those that don’t already follow me on Instagram, follow me.

Simple and easy. If you meet that criteria then you are entered to win a sterling silver ring. At the end of the week I will again randomly choose a winner that meets all the rules. The more you enter the more chances you have to win. Thank you for everyone that is helping support me. Good luck.

Pendants

I love designing pendants because most of the ones I do are larger than rings and it allows more space for the design elements. Lately my favorite shape has been the round medallion pendant shapes. I have a few in the works and lots already done. I know they are big and heavy and not everyone likes that. I will try and design a few smaller and thinner ones in the future so that there is a pendant weight for everyone to choose from. My personal favorite is the “Paradise Pendant”. That’s the one I wear most often because it has to much significance to me. I like adding a thick leather cord to them because it is strong and will wear well with the pendants. Of course you can also put them on a thick silver chain, but they will wear out faster than the leather cord would.

Pendants can be so creative. There are so many shapes that can be used. For me I like to find what I feel is a cool shape in the moment and then start the design or idea for the middle. As I develop it I push and pull things around until I like it. I’m a very visual person so I usually can tell what will work and can see it in the metal as I design on paper or in CAD. Most of my design I start with and design totally in CAD. I think that’s funny because when I went to college I took many art classes. They always taught to design on paper first because you have more freedom to do anything you want. You mind can open up and be creative. That may be true, but for me I am able to be free even though I’m limited to the tools and my knowledge of the CAD program. I’ve used CAD for a long time and the tools are not really a hindrance anymore. If anything I can do things and be creative in ways I could not if I were to just use pen and paper. We all work different and have different skills and this is just how I’ve developed mine. I enjoy doing it in this way. I’ve also learned that I am not the best 2D artist. I love to draw and love to design on paper so don’t get me wrong. I just don’t feel I’m great at it even after all these years. I’m not a natural at it like some people. When I discovered CAD and started to learn sculpting in the computer, I fell in love. I’ve never sculpted clay other than making pots, but in CAD I love the ability to sculpt and save your file, then continue with it at any other time. I feel I’m a better 3D artist than a 2D one. It just makes more sense to me and 3D shapes are like real life so it comes easier to me. I’m still not perfect at it, but enjoy doing it.

So back to the pendants. This is why I design my pendants in CAD. The 3d environment make sense to me and it’s easier to do than draw my awkward 2D drawings. It’s interesting how we develop our skills though life. Everyone different with different paths. We do what works best for us and our families.

I hope yo enjoy my ideas coming to life in the form of pendants. I sure do. I get excited each time I’m able to spend some time building a new one. If you ever have a request for one let me know. I’d love to explore the idea and you will have had an influence on the design process. Thank you all those who actually follow me on social media or even read this blog. I doubt there are many, but everyone is important to me. As I try and grow my business please help out by sharing my posts with your friends. I just recently did a giveaway for a silver ring. I will be doing more in the future. Stay up to date and follow me on Instagram. @danaarts

Ring Giveaway

Introduction

I have been thinking a lot about ring giveaways. I’ve decided to give it a try and I am excited to announce that I will be partnering up with @delaneymay.designs for this giveaway. They will be giving away a beaded bracelet and I will be giving away a ring from the “Impressions of Nature” collection. I will do this every so often per ring category from my site. If whom ever wants to participate they will just have to follow the rules to enter. At the end, the randomly chosen person will win a free ring of their choice from that category. How about that. My goal, of course, is to help spread the word and grow Dana Arts following both here and on Instagram. Please help by spreading the word and you might win a free silver ring. So lets just get right into it.

Rules to enter:

Like the contest entry instagram post/reel.
Tag a friend in the comments of the Instagram post (separate comments for each tag gives you more of a chance to win)
Follow Anja @delaneymay.designs and me @DanaArts on Instagram.

Dates: October 7th 2023 is the first day to enter. Winner will be randomly chosen Saturday night October 14th at 7pm Arizona time. :)

Winner: Once the winner is chosen and they chose a ring, it will take 3 weeks to make it and get it to you.