Creamy Goodness and My Finished Pendant...

I eat Dannon's All Natural Plain Non-Fat Yogurt every day. I'd been looking at the foil top where it advertised "Creamy Sweet Potato Soup" and decided to try.

Boy was it wonderfully creamy! I'm going to have to try adding this yogurt to my favorite butternut squash soup recipe as it has almost the same flavor and could use some creaminess.

The recipe was really simple and my husband thought it was great:

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 qt. chicken broth
1-3/4 cup Dannon® Plain Yogurt
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Directions
1.In a soup pot heat oil. Add onions and cumin and sauté 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup 20-25 minutes.
2.Puree soup with 1-1/2 cups Dannon® Plain Yogurt and parsley or cilantro. Serve each portion of soup with a dollop of remaining yogurt and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Yields
12 Servings (8 oz. per serving)
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And here are a few views of the pendant I started and finished last week. This was a fun one and I plan on more woven wire pendants in the future!

Springtime and Works in Progress...

It is so nice to come home from my daily walks and see spring is here - even though I don't quite feel the temperature! These little daffodils are along the walkway from my driveway to front door. Inside my studio, I started a new pendant yesterday. Using a nutmeg shell my grandmother found on the beach in Naples, Florida, I've begun weaving a coiling a frame out of copper wire for a pendant. I can't wait to sit down and finish this today.
What are your new projects for this beautiful day?

Using Those Boca Grande Shells

I mentioned shelling at Boca Grande last month. I've gone and used a couple of them in this new butterfly necklace:

I just love making butterflies out of coquina shells! I used 20 gauge wire to make the antennae. The cockle shell backing of the pendant is the same square shape that I found on the beach, but I did drill two holes in it to attach it to the chain.

My favorite thing to make right now

would have to be sea shell flowers. I love lining up my little coquina shells by size and color.And love putting them on everything from jewelry to candle holders... And I love how each one is slightly different.
Do you have a favorite craft for right now?

Creating a Pendant

I love wire wrapping randomly shaped objects (especially those found on the beach), but do you ever wonder how I get to a finished item like this? I start with a rough sketch (outline) of the item I am going to wrap and then draw across is where I think the wires should go.

Then I slowly wrap starting with my base wires (the wires that hold the bottom of the pendant).

Then I connect my base and top wires (normally I use 20 and 26 guage wires)

and start adding embellishments:

Until I decided I need to change my pattern a bit - by taking away various swirls and adding wire where I hadn't planned to:

But eventually it turns into something I like :)

Going small...

I love large jewelry so my wire wrapped sea shells end up being the bigger sort, but recently, I've begun listening to friends a little more when they say they'd like smaller pendants...

so I've been trying it out. My favorite I think is with 26 guage wire: And I used square wire here in the same method I would use to wrap a marble:
And this on is 20 guage round wire in a rather simple design:

I ruined a masterpiece!

I was working on a pendant for me... wanted to call it my new masterpiece and I have managed to break a piece of sea glass. I love purple, so the rarity of finding a lavender shade of sea glass was just amazing, and while wrapping it in sterling wire, I managed to break off a corner (there was a "fault line" running where it broke when I started wrapping it). I guess I will use supper glue and some more wrapping to hide the fix when I wear it around.

This week's favorite... a sea shell necklace

I love beaches... the smell of salt water... the feel of sand between my toes... finding the neatest seashells along the shore...

I also love finding someone else who has made jewelry from shells in a way that I would have never come up with on my own. Check out the abalone shells in this necklace from Dark Fairy Treasures on etsy.

Browsing further in her store, there is this neat green man necklace - reminds me of those faces you can put in your trees...

Hope you like them, too!

My new sea shell necklace on etsy...

So I finally had time to get some new pictures taken... sometimes I think it takes me longer to get good pictures than it does to make anything anymore. :) And by "good," I only mean "not horrible."

Here is my green turban shell necklace:

The pendant is a green turban (also called a "turbo" by other conchology books) sea shell that has been attached to a gold plated bell cap. The rest of the necklace is made up with glass, gold plated, mother of pearl, and top shell beads.

And here is a pair of matching earrings using glass beads and gold plated filigree beads:


Soon, I'll be making some more earrings that match this necklace, so be sure to look for them in my shop.

I made my first sale on Etsy!

I was so excited when I made my first sale at my etsy store: http://www.shoredebris.etsy.com/

I had an e-mail that I didn't know what it was from, an immediate payment, and a great feeling. I was thinking - Wow! I'll finally have some sort of feedback rating, too. I package the item nicely, ensure it is all set, print the mailing label, e-mail the customer the tracking number, and wait...

Weeks go by... I double check to make sure it was delivered, and yes, two days following the shipment, the package was delivered. I hem and haw, considering whether or not to e-mail the customer and make sure everything was ok. Getting on the computer, I decide to look at the customer's profile. The customer has a positive feedback rating, all from other sellers... I click on the "feedback left for others" link and come to find out, this buyer has never left feedback for anyone. At least I can sit and know that my item was not bad in comparison to other sales....

Now I sit here wishing I never had that sale - turning that great positive into a negative... Without that sale, I'd show up on etsy's "Undiscovered" page, but alas, now I must live as someone who's had a sale, but didn't sell something good enough for the buyer to want to leave feedback.

Shore Debris has openned its doors for business!

Ok, so it has been out there for a couple of weeks, but not many people know... and after my latest virtual lab, I feel like I know more of what I am doing!

Please visit at www.shoredebris.etsy.com and feel free to give me pointers, what you like, what you don't like, etc, etc :) I like to hear all.

Oh and if you want to buy something, mention this blog and you'll get 10% off your purchase. (Put "Blog" in your comments to seller.)

Have a wonderful rest of your Saturday!