Life and Jewelry

Weigh in Wednesday

2012-01-11T17:07:00.001-05:00

Hubbs and I have decided to really try to loose weight again. I guess you can call it our New Year's resolutions. We're using a great app on each of our smart phones to track calories, and I've been using a great workout game on the Wii. As of this morning I'm down three pounds. Not bad for a week.

One of the low calorie recipes I've discovered has been great especially this time of year. We've had some pretty cold days here and what is better when it's cold out than a big bowl of chili?

Low Calorie Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

1LB ground turkey

1 large onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 roma tomatoes, diced

1 can red beans

1 can black beans

1 small can tomato sauce
1 tbsp each of chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Saute the onions in the bottom of a large pot until they are tender. Add the red and green peppers and saute until they are slightly softened. Add the ground turkey and seasonings. Saute until the turkey is fully cooked. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. Simmer for at least an hour.

Of cours the longer you let it simmer the better it will be. Using ground turkey instead of beef keeps the calories down. Personally I add a lot more spices to mine, but I would recommend starting with the recipe's recommendation and then adding more if you like.

New Toy

2012-01-03T01:04:00.000-05:00

I decided to pool some gift cards and use a bit of the money I made with all my holiday sales to buy myself something. A KINDLE!!!

And of course being all crafty I had to make a sleeve for it. I used this tutorial to make my pouch. For my first attempt I think it came out pretty good. I've sewed small things before, like the catnip pillows. But this was my first try working with a zipper.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

I wish everyone the best for 2012!!

Hubbs and I spent New Year's Eve with some friends. Went out for a great dinner and had a great night together.

New Year's Day was low key. Did some grocery shopping and spent the rest of the day just relaxing at home. We used one of our Christmas presents to make some home made sushi. We made hubbs's favorite rolls, salmon, cream cheese and avocado. The salmon was prepared gravlax style so it still had that wonderful raw texture and light flavor. Unfortunately fresh salmon is pricey so this is a rare treat

Happy New Year everyon!!!

Holiday Haul

2011-12-30T02:50:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone enjoyed thier Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate.

Ours was very nice. We had my inlaws over as usual. Made a yummy turkey and exchanged gifts. Hubbs and I love cobalt glass, so it's become a traditon for his parents to give us a few cobalt items. This year we got a really nice spoon rest and a syrup dispenser. In previous years we've gotten a cream and sugar set, butter dish, pitcher, candy dish, cookie jar. I don't know where they get them from but they're always beautiful.

My favorite gifts this year were from my husband and my parents. For hannukah my parents got us an awesome panini press. I can't tell you how much I love it. We've been using it every day since we got it. Turkey leftover sandwiches on a panin press are AMAZING!!! And it's the kind that opens flat so we can use it as a grill too.

And from hubbs, my favorite movie!!! I've watched it like 5 times since I got it. I just love this movie!!

Alive

2011-12-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

Yes I'm alive!!! Oh it's been too long since I've posted hasn't it? I hope all of you had a great Christmas/Hannukah/holiday of your choosing.

For me the holiday season went pretty well for sales. Between Etsy and Ebay I was sending out almost a dozen necklaces a day. And fortunately the sales are still slowly coming it.

I'll try to keep updating regularly again, I promise.

My first one!

2011-04-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

I've been talking about making tutorials for a while, but I actually did it!!! I made one for one of my favorite items, things I make all the time.....TREE PENDANTS. It's already listed in my shop!

Celesital bodies

2011-04-13T11:18:00.000-04:00

I've been playing with the sun and moon theme recently. At first it was the crescent moon shape, which actally turned out to be much more difficult than I thought it would. I tried using different pens, markers, nail polishes, anything round as a mandril to get the curves just right. Finally I ended up shaping everything completely by hand in a very, very long process.

To make the sun, I thought the gold wire I had sitting around would be perfect. As well as the beautiful yellow citrine briolettes that I don't use very often.

And the combination of the two

This one was difficult because I used a thicker gauge of wire. The whole thing, except for the wrapping was made with just one piece of wire.

What is it with cats and boxes?

2011-04-11T10:16:00.001-04:00

Any box, big or small is not safe from the kitties. If there is a box...there will be a kitty in it.

Exhibit A

The box is clearly too small...but does she care? Nope. What I wasn't able to get a picture of was Kara in this same box. She's a little bigger than Peanut so she couldn't curl up like Peanut could. Instead she just kind of crouched into it....her sides spilling over like a muffin top.

Something new

2011-04-08T10:25:00.000-04:00

A while ago I came across a few blank circuit boards. Of course my mind immediately began thiking about making jewelry out of them. It took me a while to get the pieces cut, but the first jewelry item is done!

I think it would be the perfect gift for a "geeky" guy. There isn't really a big supply of men's jewelry available on Etsy so I'm hoping these will go, especially around Father's Day. I also want to make cuff links an tie clips as well.

Funny story about making this pendant. You see those little holes? Well boy was it tricky to get my shiny sealant to not pour out all those holes and all over my table haha.

Names

2011-04-04T10:28:00.000-04:00

I'm so sorry I've been neglecting the blog. But I've been pretty busy with my shop (knock on wood).

One day a few weeks ago I decided to add a listing for a custom wire name necklace. I didn't really think that people would be interested in it. Boy was I surprised when the listing sold the same day. Since then I've made probably close to 30 of those necklaces. And I've had so many custom orders for them in large quantities for bridesmaids and gifts!

This weekend I also added a listing for the name necklaces in GOLD, so we'll see if those sell as well.

I'm also super excited because I finally decided to go ahead and get a paypal debit card. Now if I have to go to the post office to send an international order, or if I'm going to the craft store for some supplies, I can draw money directly from my paypal account where money from my sales is saved. I almost feel like an actual business LOL

And since I'm loosing my day job in a few weeks I can definatly use all the sales I can get!

caged

2011-03-14T14:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, now for a real update (sorry it's been so long.

A while ago, I made this pendant with a beautiful center stone.

I loved making it, and loved the look of the finished piece. So I made a few more!

This beautiful blood red stone

I like the contrast of the teardrop cage with the round stone

These were tricky because the stones are so small. Wrapping the cage around the stones was quite the challenge

This pendant is my favorite I think. I absolutely love the color of the stone, and I used a different cage. Hearts instead of swirls and I really like it!

Etsy

2011-03-14T13:02:00.000-04:00

I know right now many Etsy sellers are unhappy and are leaving for Artfire or other sites. But I'm not one of them. While I wasn't particularly happy with the loss of the forums, Etsy hasn't done much of anything to anger me. I've had a shop on Artfire for a long time and have neve had a single sale there. But I have been making sales fairly regularly on Etsy with minimal effort. So I am not joining the Anti-Etsy bandwagon. I am staying with Etsy

LOVE YOU ETSY!!!

I'm such a geek

2011-03-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

I had a sudden inspiration last night. I can't believe I never thought of making this before. Especially after making those Hamsa pendants.

I don't know if I want to list this or keep it for myself

I have the weirdest cat ever!

2011-02-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

When it's on the chilly side, this is her favorite spot to sleep, pressed up against the heater. I was finaly able to get some pics of her in all her cute glory. Do you see that thing she's using as a pillow? that would be the leg of our exercise bike...oh well at least someone is using it LOL

Oops, I woke her up

Well this just proves that cats have no bones

I'm not really sure what this move is

Don't you want to rub that tummy???

This is what greeted me this morning, fortunately I still had the camera near by

Daddy has a flavor

Bursting out

2011-02-22T13:16:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had an idea that had to be made right there on the spot, or you felt like you would burst? This happened to me recently. The husband and I were home, doing some cleaning and an idea popped into my head. I played around with the design in my mind while I was cleaning but it started to grow and grow and I just HAD to drop the cleaning and make it right then and there. It's a good thing I had the supplies for it or I might have gone crazy!

And this is what came out of it

A bronze and silver Yin Yang pendant.

Another tiny item

2011-02-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

After making the tiny key I wanted to try to make something else tiny. I think this is the smalles thing I've ever made

a favor

2011-02-10T12:28:00.001-05:00

I've entered a contest and I could really use a favor. Please please please vote for my necklace. Vote every day, tell your friends to vote every day!!

http://apps.facebook.com/contestshq/contests/89825/voteable_entries/15750209?ogn=facebook

Keys!!

2011-02-10T09:29:00.000-05:00

I can't stop making these little keys. It took me a while to perfect them, but now I love making them! Last night I made a super teeny tiny one, it's so cute!

And the winner is....

2011-02-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who voted!! I'm pretty happy with how this first contest went. I will definately have more of these in th future.

Now, I've counted all the votes, and the winner is.....

Octopus and Mermaid Forbidden Love Necklace by Lithia

CONGRATS!!!!!! To claim your prize email me at vgrbabe@hotmail.com and give me your address (put something in the subject line so I know it's you) or convo me at Etsy.

Photos

2011-02-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

I don't think I'm a great photographer or anything, but I've had a few people ask me about how I take my pictures and how I get the background so bright. Well let me tell you how

First, the most important step is the camera. It doesn't have to be a fancy camera. But it does have to have a white balance setting. My camera has an option that lets me set it manually. So to do this I select the option to set the white balance manually and point the camera at the white paper that I use as my background and hit the shutter button. This sets that white paper as pure white. Of course each camera is different so check your own specific camera's instructions on how to do this.

When taking pictures I do NOT use a lightbox. I have nothing against them, I just happen to not use one. I also don't have an opportunity to take advantage of natural light. I take all my pictures either before or after work, so it's dark outside when I do.

My set up is very simple. An old desk, a large sheet of white paper, two lamps and items that I use as props.

So after I set my white balance, and take a picture it looks something like this

It needs a lot of work! (and yes it's always that cluttered)

I don't use any fancy or expensive software to edit my photos. My favorite program to use is Microsoft Office Picture Manager...that's right, the one that came free with the computer. Ok, so the first step is to crop the picture.

And then it looks something like this

To brighten it up is pretty simple. There's a tool in this program that does the work for you. Click on the "EDIT PICTURE" button. Then click on "COLOR". There will be a button that says "ENHANCE COLOR". Click on that button then click on any area in your photo that you want to be pure white. In this photo I clicked on the upper right corner on the white background. This is how it comes out.

And that's it!

2011-01-31T11:12:00.001-05:00

I'm going to extend the voting for another week. Hopefully we'll get some more votes in.

Voting Time!!!

2011-01-24T09:46:00.001-05:00

I want to thank everyone who entered! There was a much better turn out than I was hoping (I was afraid I wouldn't get a single entry)

And now, here are the entries

1) Octopus and Mermaid Forbidden Love Necklace by Lithia

2) Rainbow Crystal Heart earrings by Abbyka (KraeheoftheCrows)

"The colors are of a rainbow, the colors that represent the gay community. They are still fighting for their right to love anyone that they want, so their love is still forbiddon to a lot of communities and people. Even in the military they have been asked not to serve or tell who they really are."

3) Jailed Heart Necklace by JewelrybyJaime

4) Siam on Brass Chandelier Earrings by Virukka

5) Valentines Day Cute Cupcake Earrings by Marietejee

5) Purple Teardrop Earrings by DesireeBeadBoutique

6) Pewter Heart Necklace by BrightCircle

TO VOTE:

Just leave a comment in this post with the number of the entry that you think best captures the theme. Voting will end one week from today. The last vote counted must be posted by 11:59pm (EST) on Jan 30th.

Good luck everyone!

Not what I had in mind

2011-01-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

With Valentines day coming soon, I've been trying to make some heart jewelry. But I guess I'm not in the heart zone because nothing was coming out right. I finally had an idea for a simple heart pendant. I figured using bronze wire instead of silver would make it more romantic for some reason.

What I ended up with wasn't exactly romantic, but I don't hate it either.

I got a steampunk heart instead

Caged

2011-01-18T08:51:00.001-05:00

If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check out BrightCircle's shop and her awesome shimmerstones. I recently bought a pretty purple one and have been playing around with various ways to turn it into a pendant. I tried various wrapping techniques but what finally worked was a sort of cage setting. I like how the silver looks against the purple stone. I may have to buy some more of these stones soon.

First Design Contest!

2011-01-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

As I said before, I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm anxious to get started!

Our first theme, will be FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. Your job is to come up with a piece of jewelry or accessory that is inspired by this phrase. The sky is the limit here!

Rules:
~One entry per person please
~To enter the contest simply leave a comment to this post with a link to your entry
~You will have 2 weeks from today to enter. Last entry accepted must be posted by 11:59 EST on January 23rd.
~All entries will be posted and voting will begin on January 24th

PRIZE!!!
The person who's entry has the most votes will win these lovely earrings.

Try to spread the word around, get your friends involved! The more entries we have the more fun the contest will be. Good luck to all!

Fingerless fun

2011-01-10T11:22:00.000-05:00

I love making these crochet fingerless gloves. Aren't they fun? The ones I made this weekend have been all about combining colors. I think they came out pretty cute

I've also been looking at different stitches to make them a little fancier on the top. I haven't found too much. I did like this one though, but I'm not overly crazy about how it came out in real life.

I just absolutely love that shade of blue though

More Hoops

2011-01-04T10:43:00.000-05:00

I've been playing around with more hoop earrings. On these I've modified the clasps. Unlike the previous hoops these are made with two pieces of wire. I like this style a lot too.

I've been thinking about these for a while, but kept putting them off. Making all those loops by hand and keeping them even and the same size was a scary thought. But when I started making these hoops I knew a pair of hoops with these pretty loops would be amazing.

I still need practice making all the loops the same but I'm happy with how they came out

2011-01-03T11:33:00.001-05:00

Would anyone be interested in a monthly contest? I've been thinking about doing this for a while. My basic idea is to propose a theme, and give time to work on it. Then the entries get posted and people vote on them. The winner gets a prize. And it wouldn't be limited to just jewelry entries. I was thinking of doing this for several months, as long as i'd be getting enough entries.

Anyone interested? Should be fun!!

Oh and the entries will be put into a treasury too!

New Hoops

2010-12-30T09:13:00.000-05:00

I recently found a great tutorial on how to make wonderful hoop earrings. I love these hoops! They're simple and sturdy and have a great clasp on them.

I played with some designs of what I could do with these hoops. I love these earrings, how simple they are but how they also look kind of fancy. I'm going to make several more pairs with all different gemstone beads

The tutorial for the hoops is here. http://etsywag.blogspot.com/2010/09/free-tutorial-basic-hoops.html

Snow Day

2010-12-27T20:43:00.000-05:00

New Jersey was under a state of emergency today, so that meant no work. We got about 2 feet of snow. So how did I spend the day? I started creating my minion army!!!

I love this guy!! I want to make him a friend, shorter and with one eye. And now of course I really want to see this movie again haha

Here's the pattern I used. It's surprisingly simple, you only really need to know single crochet.

http://wolfdreamer-oth.blogspot.com/2010/07/despicable-minion.html

Christmas Menu

2010-12-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Luckily I have Friday off so I can pull this off.

On the menu for Christmas eve we have planned...

The 23 pound turkey that I got from work for free (WOO FREE STUFF)
Parmesan mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Spinach puffs
Garlic rolls
Mixed Berry Pie
Key Lime Cheesecake
Sangria with fruit

Must go grocery shopping!

More handmade gifts

2010-12-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

Everyone except for my father in law is getting handmde gifts this year. This is what I made for my brother in law

He just recently took up golf so I found this lovely pattern for golf club covers here https://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/register.fcgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lionbrand.com%2Fpatterns%2FL0142AD.html (You just have to register real quick to get the pattern)

The pattern itself isn't that complicated. This would be a great project for a beginner.

ButterBeer

2010-12-11T19:03:00.000-05:00

A little while ago, hubbs and I decided to watch all the Harry Potter movies. After watching them I was really curious about the delicious looking butterbeer that they were drinking. After a quick online search I came across this article which has a recipe on the bottom

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/02/harry-potters-butterbeer-recipe-uncovered/

Here's our attempt at butterbeer

When we made it, we did cheat quite a bit. To me it seems that the first half of the recipe describes making butterscotch syrup. So I decided to try just buying some premade syrup. And we added a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. YUM!!

Peanut Ball

2010-12-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

We threw a blanket over our couch the other day because the leather tends to get very cold, and the blanket makes it feel so warm and cozy. Well Peanut definately approves of the idea.

I just love when she rolls up into a little ball. It's so cute!!!

And of course not long after Kara had to come over and join her. She just loves to bug Peanut.

Aren't they so cute together

Finally

2010-12-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

I finally took the plunge and bought some bulk shipping supplies. I've been putting off doing this for a very long time. I was terrified that the minute I bought some shipping items in bulk that I would be jinxing myself, that I would never have another sale again.

But I finally did it, I bought some and so far the sales are still slowly trickling in, so maybe I didn't jinx myself afterall *crosses fingers*

My favorite thing that I bought is the sticky labels to print my paypal shipping labels on to. I know it's not the most exciting thing in the worls, but I'm excited about it, look how nice and professional my packages look now.

Pretty!

2010-12-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

We put our Christmas tree and lights up on Black Friday. It took me a while to get some pictures, and they came out kind of bad. But here's our tree

And of course the kitties use the tree skirt as a cat bed

Kara learned a new trick with the tree. She quickly learned that if she jumped up and tried to knock off an ornament that she would get yelled at and have things thrown at her. So now when she wants to knock off an ornament she climbs inside the tree and reaches her little paw through to bat at the ornaments. On the one hand I'm mad that she's trying to mess with the tree, but on the other hand I have to give her credit for figuring out a way to keep doing it but in a way that I can't throw things at her

Scrub a dub dub

2010-11-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

For the first time, most of the gifts I'm giving are all handmade, and mostly all crocheted.

For one of the gifts I've been looking for a good pattern for a while. I found a few different ones but when I made them, there was something just not right about them. But I finally found the perfect pattern for what I was looking for, a bath puff!

The pattern I used is here http://befriendmantic.blogspot.com/2009/06/free-pattern-perfect-loofah.html

I did change one thing from it though. I didn't do the 4th and final row. Ok well I DID make the 4th row, and it came out so big and heavy that the only thing I think this puff would be good for would be to wash a car. So I undid the last row and I liked it much better with just the three rows.

Great News!

2010-11-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

Etsy has finaly established coupon codes! We've been waiting for this for a long time!!!!

In order to celebrate I've created a code just for my blog readers. Enter this code at checkout and you'll get 15% off! First person to use the code and let me know if it works or not also gets a free gift

here's the code: BLOGDISCOUNT

I'm still here

2010-11-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know that I haven't abandonend the blog, I've just been really sick. I promise soon though back to regular posts

Tiny Trees

2010-10-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

I know I've said it before, but I just love making these little trees! These are a bit different than my usual ones though since they're not in a round frame. I didn't have enough of the chip beads so I used all round beads and I do like the results

They're smaller than they look, only about an inch tall

More crocheting

2010-10-26T13:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't been working on too much jewelry lately. I've been more about crochet lately. I'm still working on the new granny square blanket, I think I have 3/4 of the squares I need made already.

Another thing I've been working on are these Iphone cases.

Aren't they cute! I'll be adding them to my shop soon. Yeah, I decided instead of trying to balance multiple shops I'll just put everything into one, crochet stuff, supplies, destash, jewelry, etc.

Update

2010-10-25T16:04:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update on my experiment.

So far I think that there's been some success. I've definitely noticed more views on my items. Sales are still sporadic though.

I've also started posting every new item listed on my facebook fan page. We'll see if that makes a difference too.

An Etsy Experiment

2010-10-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

This week I started an experiment with my shop. Since I have a TON of new items to list I wanted to try to figure out the best way to do it. I know that I wanted to list items little by little every day, to keep myself at the top of the searches, instead of just listing a ton of things all at once. So, I went into my google analytics, and found out what time of day my shop was getting the most views. Turns out I get the most views between 1pm and 3pm, with the peak being 3pm. So I'll be listing three items a day, one at 1:00, one at 2:00, and one at 3:00. Lets see if this makes a difference

New Jewelry Storage Solution

2010-10-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

In an earlier post I talked about a way to store my earrings to make it easier to travel to craft shows. Well since I'm not doing anymore shows (except for next year's Witches Ball) I wanted something nicer, a way to store them to make it easier to pack them for shipping. So here's what I did.

First I had a great discount for vistaprint.com, so I ordered some new business cards with my own design

Then, I cut them in half (and trim off that extra strip of black on the left side)

Then I poke some holes in the cards and put earrings, or other jewelry on them.

And then they go into individual plastic baggies and into one of several plastic shoeboxes for storage.

Most of my craft show inventory is not listed on my Etsy shop, but I'm slowly getting them all listed now. It's slow going since I'm only listing 3 or 4 items a day. I already have over 100 items! So keep an eye on my shop for lots and lots of new items over the next few weeks.

Decorating

2010-10-13T09:42:00.000-04:00

After we recovered from The Witches Ball, on Sunday we sepent some time decorating outside for Halloween.

How cute are those pumpkins? I love the colors. It's hard to tell because it was still light out when I took the picture but there's a ton of lights strung all over the railing and beams. Pretty purple and orange lights.

The Witches Ball

2010-10-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

I've been talking about it for a while, and The Witches Ball finaly came and went. I have to say it was the most fun I've ever had at a show.

Overall the show was a blast. We took turns sitting at our table and walking around. There was a ton of foot traffic, and some really great costumes.

I made a good amount of money and we decided that overall we're done with shows but we're definately going to do THIS show again next year!

Weekend Cuteness!

2010-10-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

I was taking pictures and happened to have my camera nearby to capture lots of cuteness this weekend.

Look how funny she is when she's sleeping!

This is both cats watching a squirel on the balcony. We have a lot of them here and the girls love watching them

Aren't they cute together!

Blanket

2010-10-01T08:31:00.000-04:00

A while ago, I made a granny square blanket. I loved it! The colors of it, the style of it, and I had so much fun making it. Unfortunately what I didn't know at the time was that I had been finishing off the squares wrong. I figured that out when I was cuddling under the blanket one day and noticed that many of the squares were unraveling. So what did I do with that blanket?

Yep, it's now a kitty bed.

Since I had so much fun making the first one, I've started on a second one. And I'm making sure to secure the threads very well. These are the colors I'm using that hubbs helped pick out.

New Pendant

2010-09-28T08:39:00.005-04:00

I've been workin on this new pendant for a while, and guess what.....it's not made of clay haha.

This has actually been one of the trickiest things I've ever made with wire. I spent a lot of time first drawing out the design, figuring out a way to fit in the swirls and what to do in the center of it. Then forming the wire to match the drawing. Making the frame was quite frustrating. Keeping everything symetrical is not one of my strong points.

I wanted to do something different with gemstones. I was originally thinking of putting lots of tiny beads in all different collors all over the pendant, but as it came together there was so much going on in it already that I think just the one bead in the center was perfect. And don't you just love that shade of blue?

The Show

2010-09-27T14:55:00.003-04:00

Well it looks like The Witches Ball will be my last show.

Overall it wasn't a horrible experience, but I don't think that I bring in enough money to justify the trouble. I made enough to cover the table, materials, dinner, and still have a good amount left over, but I didn't reach my goal.

The day was beautiful. The temperature was warm and there was a beautiful breeze all day. We were under a big tree so we had shade too. One thing I'm very happy about is that I have never had a rude customer. I've heard horror stories from other sellers about rude people and I'm very thankful that they've never come to my table.

After the show was over and we were home and relaxing and watching tv, we both remembered something very important. It was our wedding anniversary! Saturday was the 4th anniversary of our Las Vegas wedding, and we both forgot!

I will leave you with some earrings I just listed

Tomorrow

2010-09-24T09:07:00.004-04:00

The show is tomorrow and I'm getting nervous. I've been packing for the past couple days, and making sure I have enough items. This is going to be the biggest show I've done so far and the most space I've had to fill up. This is also my first outdoor event so I've had to modify some of my displays. Many of my displays would blow over in the wind, they would just act as sails, so I've put together a bunch that are lower.

This show is going to be the test. The last two shows I did had factors against them, one was a brand new show that didn't advertise and had a very low turnout, and the other show ended up being on the hottest day of the year and had a low turnout. But in both shows I managed to make more than my table cost plus what I spent setting up. Tomorrow's show is well established, well advertised, and the weather is supposed to be very nice. So if I make a good amount of money then I will continue to pursue doing shows, if not then I will go to the Witches Ball which I already paid for and that will be the end of the shows.

And just so this isn't a completely boring post, here's a picture of one of my latest clay creations.

It's here!

2010-09-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

My favorite time of the year! FALL IS HERE! Well almost. I really love this time of year, the cooler temperatures, the leaves changing colors, cider, pumpkins, and of course Halloween!

Even more clay

2010-09-16T09:37:00.007-04:00

I'm still playing around with clay. I bought a few more colors to play with too. The only problem I'm still having is baking. It seems that either when I take them out they're still a bit soft, or they're overcooked and the color is off. But I'm having a lot of fun with the different colors and combining them. I made a few more Halloween themed items which I think are really cute. These aren't finished yet, they still need to be sealed but I couldn't wait to take some pictures of them.

Vampire bite hearts

I made these in a bunch of different colors.

This heart was really tricky. It involved making several identicle hearts in different colors, cutting them apart, sticking different colored pieces together and adding the teeny tiny little bits of black clay to form the stitches. It reminds me a lot of Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas.

Sally's Heart

And these were just plain fun. It took some practice to form the petals all the same, but I think they're so cute!

Treasuries!

2010-09-16T08:25:00.005-04:00

I've recently gotten convos informing me of THREE treasuries my items have been in recently. I'm so excited, I usually don't get into treasuries! And all of these are so beautiful!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c8c2c1ba5dd8eef0b841b8d/for-all-eternity?index=0
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c917515b4a86d918ccd42d9/recycled-talent-fasonable-and-elegant?index=0
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9174acb4a86d9107ad42d9/a-goddess-needs-her-accessories

Earring Box

2010-09-11T16:54:00.005-04:00

I solved a small problem today. What to do with all those earrings until their bought, or in betwen craft shows. I'd been thinking about this for a while. I wanted to store them in a way that I could just throw in the car and take to shows, and then store them neatly at home so they were out of the way. This is what I came up with.

It turned out to be pretty simple. I bought a bunch of these plastic shoe boxes at Walmart a while ago, for like $.5o I think. Well I took one, drilled a few small holes through the sides, fed some thick wire through and hung the earrings. The wires are low enough that I can still easily put the lid on. And I can just take the box, put it on a shelf in the closet, or put it in the car and go. I love it! Here's what it looked like before all the earrings were in it.

Stats!

2010-09-09T19:49:00.003-04:00

Did you guys see this? The Stats link in your blog dashboard. Check it out

Destashing!

2010-09-09T12:56:00.005-04:00

So, I'm using my second shop (http://www.handmadefindings.etsy.com/) to destash some beads, as well. While looking for something, I came up on a box full of old beads that I had completely forgotten about. Lovely beads, and lots of them. So destash it is!

Here are some of the ones I've photographed so far

These incredibly beautiful amethyst beads. It kind of hurst to list them, I mean look how incredibly purple they are. But I never use these in my jewelry. At 6mm, they're really just too big for my taste.

I also came across a ton of these, in all different colors. They look like Swarovski bicones, but they're not. They're actually lucite, but I don't think you can tell the difference just by looking at them

I just know I have more things I can list. Now it's like a scavenger hunt through all my storage bins to see what I can list!

What I really did over the long weekend

2010-09-06T22:48:00.003-04:00

I have been working on this project for a while. It started out with an idea that wouldn't go away. you know, one of those ideas that keeps bouncing around in your brain that you can't really get rid of.

I started a supply shop. It's mainly handmade findings. Earwirs, jumprings, headpins and such. I'm also using it to destash a bunch of beads.

Check it out. I've already had a sale!

http://www.handmadefindings.etsy.com/

Stamped Pendants

2010-09-05T21:47:00.007-04:00

I'm in love with my metal stamps. The day they came in the mail I went through all my blanks stamping and stamping. It took me more than a few blanks to figure out what worked and what didn't (and I ruined more than a few blanks) But I did get the hang of it, and here are a few of the little pendants I made

It was rather tricky photographing the shiny surfaces of these little guys. They are so reflective. I have some bigger ones that I made that I will photograph soon

More clay play

2010-09-04T16:05:00.004-04:00

I was playing some more with some clay, this time combining two colors in one piece. It was scary. But I like the results

Something else for my Halloween category. I made a bunch of these little coffin pendants. I tried different placements of the hearts, but I think this one came out the best. Making that little heart was really tricky.

Secret Sale

2010-09-01T13:50:00.005-04:00

I'm currently in the process of listing some new jewelry to my shop. But I wanted to do something fun. So I'm having a SECRET SALE! Well it's not really a secret if you're a follower of my blog.

What's the sale?

Every item in my shop for blog followers is 25% off!!!

To claim the discount just write the word "BLOG" in the notes to seller box at checkout and I will issue you a refund via paypal to reflect the discount. But this won't last long so hurry up and buy something!

(the 25% will override any existing sale discount. For example I have a discount on my featured items, so if you bought one of those you would just get the 25% off)

Hammering

2010-08-29T18:29:00.006-04:00

On Friday I got my steel block in the mail, and I've been hammering (and probably annoying the neighbors) all weekend.

I've always loved the way hammered wire looks but I didn't have a block before so I couldn't do it myself. Now I just want to hammer everything in sight.

Of course I made a bunch of earrings

Blast From the Past

2010-08-25T13:53:00.005-04:00

Last week I got the coolest thing in the mail ever

LEGOS!!!

Not many, just a few small bricks in a few different colors. But they brought back so many memories. As a kid I was never really into Baries or dolls, I was always more into Legos. My brother and I had giant buckets of them.

But what do I do with Legos now....make jewelry out of them of course!

I promised....

2010-08-24T10:32:00.013-04:00

...some Halloween Jewelry, and here it is! I know it's way early, but I can't help it! It's my favorite time of the year. I can't wait for fall to come with the cooler temperatures, hot cider, leaves changing colors, and comfy comfy hoodies.

Ok, this isn't really jewelry, but it's in the Halloween theme. I normally hate spiders but how cute is this guy

This necklace is very dainty and simple, but I think it's my favorite...the VAMPIRE BITE NECKLACE. It's a thin silver chain with two deep red Czech glass beads on the side. I will be wearing one just like this myself this Halloween.

These next items were something new to me. It was my first time working with and baking clay. I don't know why but I've always been afraid to bake clay. I guess I've been afraid of overcooking it, or not cooking it enough. But I like how these came out.

The first set I made is in the theme of dripping blood made from dark red clay.

A bracelet:

Both pictures are the same bracelet, I wanted to show how it's flexible and will conform to your wrist

Necklace:

This was surprisingly tricky. I drew by hand several stencils for the drippy blood but some of them were way to big for a necklace, and some of them were way too small. Once I got the size of it right, my next challenge was to figure out how to make it curve. I didn't have anything round that I could safely put in the oven. So when the clay came out, I immediately put it over a round bottle (did you know that clay right out of the oven is really hot?)

and a different version of the necklace:

Once I get a model (hopefully tonight) these will be going in the shop

Happy Monday!

2010-08-23T10:36:00.009-04:00

I had a great productive weekend. I got some beautiful quartz beads in the mail on Saturday and just had to use them right away! These photos don't do justice to the colors of these babies.

While going through my bead stash, I found a single earring, and the frame for it's mate that never got made. So they finally got to be a finished pair

HALLOWEEN JEWELRY next post

I gave in...

2010-08-20T08:16:00.002-04:00

I mentioned in yesterday's post how much I wanted to get into metal stamping. Well....

I've been drooling over them for a while but I finally gave in and bought the starter stamp set! It's the alphabet and the numbers. Don't t hey look pretty? I can't wait to get them. I already have a hammer, and some blank discs, and I have a steel block on the way (thanks again ShoelessJane). I can't wait to get whacking! So many ideas are swirling around in my brain. I've seen so many more beautiful stamps that I would love to get, like some of these from BenchMarks

Or some of these cool stamps from theurbanbeader

They're all so cool! But I'm going to have to wait until I make several more sales in my shop before I buy any more stamps

Treasury

2010-08-19T12:05:00.001-04:00

I made a treasury!

Summer isn't quite over yet

Too many ideas

2010-08-19T10:59:00.002-04:00

I have so many ideas of projects that I want to make. With different materials and tools and colors. One of the things I'm really dying to get into is metal stamping. But that seems like it has a fairly large upfront cost for the stamps. But I have so many ideas of necklaces that would look so cool stamped. Maybe I should just by one of the innexpensive starter sets and go from there.

I also just bought some materials to make some silly and fun "nostalgic" necklaces. I can't wait until they get here

This is new

2010-08-18T12:26:00.003-04:00

Has everyone seen the changes to Etsy shops? I have to say, I like it. Here's what my shop looks like with the new changes

The sections are over on the left now, and the announcement section has been shortened. I like this a lot. Too often I see shops with such a long announcement that I have to scroll and scroll down to get to their items.

Also now you can have 4 featured items. this I like

In honor of these changes I'm also having a sale in my shop:

15% off featured items

and from now on I will always be offering free shipping within the US

A Fantastic weekend!

2010-08-17T08:42:00.005-04:00

I mentioned that hubbs and I are huge geeks right?

This past weekend we went to a Star Trek convention! *pause for laughter* It was so much fun. We haven't been in a few years. I missed the experience so much.

We got a lot of autographs, saw some of our favorite actors, and spent time with some friends. Unfortunately the weekend went by way too quickly.

Here's the centerpiece I made for the Gold Dessert Party.

(sorry for the crappy picture)Aren't they cute! They're cupcakes with Borg faces! I made them myself out of gumpaste. Here are some close ups of some of the faces.

I really love going to the conventions. Asside from the chance to get some autographs, meet the actors, hear what they have to say about their time on the show, the best part of the weekend is connecting with friends. You can't help but make friends at these conventions.

One of the best things about the conventions is the fans. It's truly a place where it doesn't matter who you are, what your religion is, what color your skin is, where you are from, how much money you make....we're all there for one thing, because we're all trekkies. It's really an amazing experience.

I'll make another post later with all the autographs that we got

(pics from the convention are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hearttohearts/)

Trees

2010-08-11T08:17:00.007-04:00

Here's a quick picture of some of the finished catnip pillows. I've actually been thinking about listing these on Etsy. I don't know if I should start a seperate shop for them or list them in my regular shop.

Another thing that's kept me busy the past few days is a few more tree of life pendants. I love making these, they're so much fun. And no two are ever exactly the same. I'm thinking about creating a tutorial for these too.

This is one of my favorites. Peridot chips and tiny garnet beads. It looks like an apple tree. I actually had a similar one of these already in my shop but it sold recently so I got to make another one. I wasn't sure how this one would come out. I wasn't too sure how the dark red garnet chips would look against the dark wire. But I like how it came out

This one was really fun. When I showed my husband I said "look, spooky Halloween tree". And I guess that's what it is. Spooky Halloween tree....oh by they way, Halloween jewelry coming soon

Sewing

2010-08-06T08:26:00.005-04:00

At my last craft show I had thrown together a small basketfull of little catnip pillows. Just little bits of fabric sewn together stuffed with batting and catnip. And people bought them like crazy! I didn't expect that! I also didn't expect that every person who came by would pick up a pillow and smell it either LOL. So I'm making a lot more of the pillows. I got a bunch of cute fabric scraps that were cut into squares.

And I've been sewing...and sewing and sewing them all into little pillows.

I do all my sewing by hand, and my sewing skills are far from perfect. AND I've only stuck myself with the needle 6 or 7 times!

Once I have them all sewn up, the stuffing process begins. This is quite dangerous. It involves an open container of catnip and two kitties watching me work. More than once one of them has pulled a finished pillow out of my basket. They have excellent team work. One of them distracts me with something cute, the other snags some catnip goodness while I'm not looking.

I sewed about a dozen of these little guys last night.....only a few hundred more to go before my next show

Weekend plans

2010-08-04T12:20:00.004-04:00

From Friday evening to Sunday evening I will be minus a husband. He is going to a civil war event with his father for the whole weekend. So what does that mean....for one that means sprawling out on our king sized bed!!!! Well actually huddled in a corner while the cats sprawl out, you know how it is.

It also means SEAFOOD. Hubbs hates most seafood (besides sushi) so the only real time I make any for myself is when he's away. So I've been spending today at work browsing various recipes.

It also means I will have time to work on something I've been planning and secretly working on for a long long time

TUTORIALS

I have a bunch that I'm planning to make, from basic techniques, to more complex wire wrapping, to specific pendant and earring tutorials.

Possibly one of the first tutorials I might make will be this clover necklace

So look for them soon!

Inspirations

2010-08-02T12:03:00.008-04:00

Since learning that I was accepted as a vendor to The Witches Ball, I've been wanting to make a few things that lean towards the gothic side. I love the Victorian Gothic style of jewelry and clothing.

I had these beautiful deep red glass cabochons and some wonderful antique bronze settings, which I think went really well together.

The first thing I made was a bracelet with some pieces of bronze filligree, and some lovely deep red Czech glass beads

I wanted to make some things to match it, to make a really nice set that went together. The next thing I made was a pair of earrings.

As I was making the earrings I got an idea for a matching necklace.

And having just recieved them in the mail, I had to make a ring to go along with it

So pretty!

2010-07-30T11:45:00.002-04:00

Have you guys heard of these? RAINBOW ROSES. They're so beautiful, I want one so bad!!

It's interesting how they make them. The stem of the rose is split and each part is inserted into different colored water. The rose naturally absorbs the water into it's petals resulting in the beautiful rainbow.

Don't you just want a dozen?

Weekend review

2010-07-26T06:38:00.003-04:00

Saturday was the show. How did it go? Well.....

It was hot. I mean HOT. This past Saturday the temperature reached 101 degrees, and the building we were in did not have air conditioning.

Because of the heat as you can imagine not as many people came to the show as were expected. But I still managed to make some good money, but it was a miserable day. We did leave early though, and I heard that almost half of the scheduled vendors didn't even bother coming.

Here's what my table looked like, sorry it's such a bad photo

I've always heard of horror stories from people who work craft shows, people who are rude and insulting to their work, want things for less than they're worth and such. But I've been very fortunate that the two shows that I've done, the people who came to them have been wonderful. Everyone has been polite and nice. So, if you're reading this post, and you've seen me at one of the shows I've done, thank you for being so friendly.

I've been debating for a while whether or not I want to do more shows. I have several more applications, and they're not very expensive. The trouble is, the two shows I've been in so far have been poor examples. The first one was not advertised at all and hardly anyone showed up, this second one because of the heat, hardly anyone showed up. But in both shows I made significantly more than what I paid for the table. That makes me want to keep doing them.

On Sunday, we had tickets to our favorite theater, the Bucks County Playhouse. If you're in the area, or near the area you must check out this little theater. I don't know exactly why I love them so much. The building is old and small, the seats are falling apart, taped up and not the most comfortable. But I just love this theater so much. We go there a few times a year.

We had tickets to see 42nd Street. I'd been dying to see it, would you believe I've never seen it before? The first act was fantastic. Great dancing, fun music, and even a very funny incorporation of an announcement for a Jeep in the parking lot with it's top down and it beginning to rain.

Unfortunately the rain was turning into quite a storm, and during intermission the power went out. We sat and waited for about 20 minutes and then they told us to leave. So we never got to see the second act. The good thing is that we'll get free tickets to another show, which we will definitely be using.

Hope you guys all had a great weekend!

It's so cute

2010-07-18T16:34:00.003-04:00

I recently found this tutorial for a super cute little butterfly pendant. (take a look at the rest of the site too, it's great!)

How friggen cute is it!! And so tiny! I did make it just alittle differently than the tutorial said. I wrapped the wings to the body with a criss cross weave. And you know what, the wings flap too!

Getting ready

2010-07-16T12:16:00.005-04:00

It's one week from tomorrow. I'm getting nervous. This should be a much bigger show than the last one I did.

To display my earrings I use several of these wire grids.

They work very well. I can arrange them into any shape I want, they're sturdy and they look neat. But they are just a bit on the bland side. One of the things I've done to try to brighten them up is connect them with bright yarn instead of the standard connectors.

Another thing I've been working on to make the earring displays nicer is my own earring cards. I've been working on them for about a month, trying different designs, different proportions and such. I finally came up with a design that I absolutely love

I just love the swirls! I shamelessly used the printer at work to print about 200 of these little cards and it looks like this weekend will be spent cutting them all out. My idea is to cut them following the curves of the swirls.

2010-07-16T08:16:00.000-04:00

Yay! I have 100 followers. You guys are the best!

Oops!

2010-07-15T09:48:00.003-04:00

I just realized that I forgot to weigh in yesterday! How could I have forgotten weigh in Wednesday??? I suppose it was for the best though, since hubbs and I went away for the weekend and well we had fast food more than a few times durring the weekend. I probably gained back a few pounds. But I just KNOW that next Wednesday will be back on track and I'll have a great loss to share.

Coming soon I'll have some pictures of everything I'm working on to get ready for the craft show on July 24th. I've been busy busy busy.

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-07-07T12:19:00.004-04:00

The last few days have been brutal. So hot. Too hot to spend any length of time in the kitchen, especially over a hot stove. So I've been looking for some super easy, quick, and "no-cook" recipes for dinner.

SHRIMP SALAD STUFFED TOMATOES

Ingredients:
1 pound peeled cooked shrimp, tails removed, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
10 Kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
4 large ripe tomatoes, cored

Directions:
Combine shrimp, celery, basil, olives, shallot, mayonnaise, vinegar and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Carefully hollow out the inside of each tomato using a melon baller or small spoon. To serve, fill each tomato with a generous 1/2 cup of the shrimp salad.

Long weekends are so bad for my diet. No loss to report today. Gained a few pounds over the weekend, and then lost them. I'm back to where I was last week.

Busy Hands

2010-07-02T10:20:00.005-04:00

Every night as we sit and watch tv I have to do something with my hands to keep them busy. That's actually how the jewelry making started. If my hands aren't busy, then I'm falling asleep or looking for something to eat.

Lately a lot of what I've been doing is crochet. But nothing with any purpose, just practicing various stitches, trying out new ideas and such. Last night I made something that well I don't really know what to do with it but I absolutely love it.

I made a doily!

(ignore the cat hair in the picture)

It's not very big, maybe 6 inches across, and it took FOREVER. I kept unraveling it and starting over, recounting stitches, trying different number of chains and such. When it was done I didn't know what to do with it.....except to make another

I guess I could make a bunch of them in different colors and call them coasters for my upcoming show.

2010-07-01T08:18:00.005-04:00

I still haven't heard anything from The Witches Ball about being a vendor, but I see that they cashed my check. So hopefully I will get some kind of communication from them soon about it. So it looks like I'm doing THREE shows in the upcomming months....oh boy. If all goes well I'd love to make doing shows a regular thing and earn some extra money.

Oh and one of my crochet bracelets was in this lovely treasury....THANK YOU Ponder!

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-06-30T07:04:00.004-04:00

Who doesn't love ice cream! I've discovered the best ice cream! And guess what, it only has one ingredient in it, and it's creamy and delicious and HEALTHY, and you don't even need an ice cream maker.

FROZEN BANANA ICE CREAM

What you need:

2 bananas
wei

Cut the bananas up into large chunks and put them in the freezer over night. When they're rock hard toss them in the food processer and pure until smooth. If you like soft serve ice cream then eat it right away. If you like hard ice cream stick it back in the freezer for an hour or two.

That's it! Amazing banana ice cream. I didn't believe it until I tried it myself. But it is just like good rich custardy ice cream. It has the same amazing creamy texture, the sweet banana taste, and the nutrition of a banana!

You can experiment by adding all kinds of things to it, like a spoonful of peanut butter or some nutella. YUM!

Weigh in Wednesday results: -3 pounds -13 total

New Necklace

2010-06-28T11:19:00.003-04:00

This necklace is actually my attempt to recreate a beautiful filigree heart pendant I saw online somewhere. I can't find the link anymore to compare though

I actually made this necklace a while ago, but I only recently got the chain for it. Sometimes when I look at it though I think it's too busy and the pattern in the center gets lost.

You know it's hot when....

2010-06-26T11:37:00.007-04:00

...the cats melt. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

some more random cuteness...

What did I do?

2010-06-24T09:48:00.003-04:00

I might have bitten off a little more than I can chew, but I'm excited. I signed up for two craft shows plus I'm still waiting to hear back from a third. The first of these shows is a month from today. I'm still waiting to hear back from The Witches Ball, which will be in October. And then the third show is actually a "jewelry only" show that will be in November. Hopefully these will be some good oportunities for both making some money and for getting some traffic to my shop.

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-06-23T06:50:00.006-04:00

Well it's officially summer, and it's starting to get HOT. This time of year I love to find cool, light, and refreshing recipes to try. Especially dessert recipes. One of my new favorites is this

STRAWBERRY SALSA
2 kiwis
2 apples
8oz raspberries
1 lb strawberries
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp fruit preserves
juice from 1/2 a lime

Dice up all your fruit. The smaller the pieces the easier they will be to scoop. In a big bowl mix together the diced fruit, sugar, brown sugar, preserves (any kind will work, I used blackberry) and the lime juice. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least half hour.

a great chip to dip are these

CINNAMON CHIPS
10 10 inch flour tortillas
1 cup cinnamon sugar
melted butter

Brush the tortillas with the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I prefer to have a light sprinkle because the salsa itself is quite sweet, but you can be heavy with the cinnamon sugar if you like. Cut the tortilla into wedges or strips. Arrange them on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until they're crispy.

Weigh in Wednesday results -0 pounds -9.2 pounds total.
I actually lost a few pounds last week before Sunday, but Sunday having gone to a party and gone a little food crazy I gained a few of those pounds back. As of this morning those pounds have all gone away so I'm back where I was last week.

Been crocheting...

2010-06-21T21:13:00.006-04:00

These have been really fun to make. I made some white ones too out of some thin thread and they look like they could be nice to wear at a wedding.

They're pretty simple to make too. I made a chain that was long enough to go around my palm then I followed a basic granny square pattern until it was the lengh I wanted.

To make it into a glove just fold it in half lengthwise and stitch it up the long side, just remember to leave a hole for your thumb.

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-06-16T06:52:00.002-04:00

One of the hardest things for me to give up on a diet is salty snacks. I honestly would be fine never eating a piece of chocolate again, but I need to have some chips. I discovered an amazing alternative, that is really tasty too

Baked Veggie Chips

They're so easy and so good, all you need is a bunch of different root veggies, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, etc.

To make them, clean and peel your veggies, and slice them all very thin. Lay the slices out on a paper towel and sprinkle them with some salt. Let them sit for 2o minutes or so. This draws out a lot of their moisture and that's what makes them crispy. After 20 minutes rinse them off in cold water and dry them very well. There are two ways you can cook them, either in the microwave or in the oven.

Microwave:
Rub a microwave safe plate lightly with oil and arrange the chips in a single layer. Spray lightly with oil. Microwave on high for 6 minutes.

Oven:
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with oil and arrange the chips in a single layer. Spray lightly with oil. Bake on 250 for one hour.

With either method the chips will continue to crips as they cool, so give them 20 minutes or so before you eat them

Weigh in Wednesday results: -3.2 pounds -9.2 total

It's finally here!

2010-06-11T07:06:00.006-04:00

I've been without a wedding ring for a while now. My wedding band had lost a few stones out of it (that's what we get for buying a cheap one) and it just took me a while to fix it or replace it. About a month ago I decided to find a cheapish ring to wear until we could afford something more nice. I found a beautiful set online and ordered it, and waited....and waited...and waited. The tracking info said it had already delivered but I had no ring. When I started to go back over my order I realize stupid me had put the wrong address!! Can you believe that? I 've never done that before. I put a 13 instead of a 12. Hubbs even wend down to the neighbors to see if they got it but couldn't get anything out of them. After a few weeks I bought another ring. And it arrived in three days. I was so excited to get home. Hubbs opened up the ring, got down on one knee puts it on my finger....and it's too small. They sent me the wrong size!! I contact the seller and they are very apologetic and say that they will send out the right size and a prepaid envelope for me to return the small ring in. So I wait, and I wait, and I wait.....nothing. No ring. I contact the seller and they give me a BS responce about how it probably got lost in the mail but they're out of stock on them now. Eventually I just got a refund from them again.

Fortunately I found another seller who had a similar ring (for a lower price too) I ordered that, and it arrived in only a few days. And guess what, it fits! It's beautiful!

Please ignore the chipped nail polish and my sausage fingers

I'm in love with it. It's so sparkly and shiny. I'm no diamond expert but it looks real. My only concern is that the center stone might be too big, I don't want people to look at it and automaticaly think it has to be fake.

2010-06-09T15:12:00.002-04:00

one of my filigree bracelets is in a treasury, yay!

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-06-09T06:46:00.001-04:00

I'm in love!!! With this chicken broth.

Before you think I'm crazy let me explain why. I love soup!! pretty much any kind. The trouble is, just about every kind of soup is crazy high in sodium. Even so called "low sodium" broths are still quite high.

I was so excited to find a brand of low sodium broth that is actually low in sodium. A serving of this stuff has only 70 mg of sodium and get this, only 15 calories! And the best part.....it tastes good!! The only downside, it's kind of expensive. But I suppose it's worth it for yummy yummy soup. The brand name is Pacific and I found it at Walmart of all places.

One of my favorite homemade soups:
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Ingredients:
One onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 red (or yellow) pepper chopped
1 can of corn (or frozen corn) no salt added of course
1 can of diced tomatoes - no salt added of course
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you don't want the heat)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbs olive oil
1 chicken breast cubed
4 cups chicken stock

In the bottom of a large pot, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they are tender. Add the peppers and saute until they are slightly softened, about one minute. Add the tomatoes, corn, seasonings and stock and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is cooked through

You can top it with shredded cheese, avocado, and of course some crunchy tortilla strips

If you like, you can also add different kinds of veggies to it, like zucchini and squash

Weigh in Wednesday results: -3 pounds -6 total. I'm close to working off all that I gained last week. Only a pound to go. Remind me not to do that again. I'm not too happy with these numbers today. I feel like with as little as I'm eating (usually no more than 1500 calories) that I should be loosing more. We'll see if there are any significant results next week as hubbs and I joined a gym

Fingers Crossed

2010-06-07T06:52:00.003-04:00

I'm applying to be a vendor at another craft show. This one looks like it's going to be so much fun. It's not until October so I have plenty of time to get ready. Unlike the last show I did I will have to provide everything for myself, tables, chairs, and since it's going to be at night my own lighting. This is also a bigger event, more established and will have more people. The space is a little more expensive but still not very high, about the cost of hubbs and I going out for a sushi dinner. The only thing Iwill have to invest in is a canopy, but I saw one at Sears for under $30 (and I could always return it after the show shhhhh)

The show is The Witches Ball and it looks like a lot of fun. Even if I don't get accepted as a vendor hubbs and I would still attend. And hopefully by October I will have lost enough weight to get that beautiful gothic style dress I've had my eye on for a long time now. This would be the perfect event to wear that to.

I want these

2010-06-04T12:59:00.004-04:00

I just stumbled upon this shop and I had to share.

soleilduautomne

She makes the cutest crochet shoes. I want every pair! They look so soft and comfortable

Aren't they just the cutest shoes!

One of the Weekend Projects

2010-06-02T18:59:00.005-04:00

We took full advantage of the long weekend and did some work around the apartment.

Now that it's getting hot out we've been having a problem cooling the apartment. We have an AC in the living room, but the problem is that our dining room and kitchen are off the living room. It basically created an area that was too big for our unit to cool off. So we came up with a nice way to block off those two rooms.

AC on:

AC off:

Not only has it helped cool the living room so much faster, and I'm sure will save us money on our electric bill, but I just love how it looks. I've been hating the bland beige walls, but with the curtains it actually doesn't look that bad, almost like we meant the walls to be that color

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-06-02T06:21:00.004-04:00

After a weekend (plus Monday) of poor food choices and splurges I was not surprised to have gained a few pounds this week, especially thanks to this guy
That's right! A whole roasted pig. Fortunately what I gained was less than I was fearing. But today starts a new week of renewed efforts!

About a week ago, my Itouch had developed a problem (my first apple product and it breaks after 2 months, had my microsoft zune for 4 years and it still works perfectly) and needed to be sent in for repairs. I was surprised to find how lost I was without my LoseIt! app. I've been trying to log everything in a notebook for the time being, but it's just not the same. My baby was supposed to come home yesterday but never arrived. I hope it will get here today.

"It's a doodle. I do doodle"

2010-05-28T09:38:00.008-04:00

The other day I made a doodle at work of something I wanted to make. The doodle turned into something more elaborate and fancy and complex, and something that I couldn't get out of my brain
This was probably one of the most complex things I've ever put together. It took lots of trial and error to get all the elements to fit together perfectly

Workplace Temptations

2010-05-27T15:08:00.004-04:00

Weight loss challenge: free dounts at work

I took a few bites out of one and threw the rest away. I still logged it as a whole donut though. I'm dreading the next time someone brings in pizza. I know I won't be able to resist

Weigh in Wednesday

2010-05-26T07:01:00.008-04:00

Earlier this week I was going through my wallet and found an Applebees gift card for $15. After going online and checking the balance, and discovering that it still had $15 on it hubbs and I decided to go out for dinner. I'd been wanting to try something from their under 550 calorie menu.

I ordered the Asiago Peppercorn Steak. And it was surprisingly good! A smaller portion than most restaurant portions, but that's a good thing, and the average plate should really feed two people. It came with a good sized piece of steak, some delicious potatoes, and some bland steamed veggies. The steak was acutally bigger than I was expecting and was absolutely delicious. It was perfectly rare in side, tender and juicy.

So it's nice to know that if friends want to go out to eat I can suggest Applebees, and order this and not blow everything, plus nobody will really know you've ordered something "diet".

Weigh in Wednesday week2 results: -2 pounds -8 total
I'm a little dissapointed with this week's loss, but I did have a bit of a gain on Monday. Hopefully I'll do a little better for next week