New Jewelry Book

I bought this book: Mixed Metal Mainia: Solder, rivet, hammer, and wire exceptional jewelry by Kim St. Jean. I love it! It is by far the best investment in jewelry books I have ever purchased. It has gotten me over my hump in moving from just wire work and into metalsmithing. It was more than a year ago that I took a metalsmithing boot camp class at Ornamentea, and I went out and bought all of the tools and materials necessary to begin metalsmithing in my own home. But they just sat there... I would look at everything from time to time, and was truthfully unsure of where I should start and unsure of myself and my skills.

Kim's book is written at my level - I've already read it cover to cover three times and have completed project 1, a rather simple, but stylish cigar band ring.

Lucky for me, I have my own jewelry collection that always needs more pieces and friends/family that love an experimental piece as a gift. I decided to do three rings (just for extra practice) - one for me, one for a sister, and one for a friend :

I taped them down to my scrap piece of nickel silver (the left over piece from my class at Ornamentea).

After a couple of hours, I had them all sawed out. Mine was complete - I stamped "V"s on one side and "C"s on the other with "&"s going down the middle. The part that wasn't stamped, I used my ball peen hammer to add texture. My husband thought having out initials on the ring was a cute idea. I still had lots of work to do on Lauren's and Betsy's.

I decided that I did not like the "&"s down the middle, so I did Lauren's without those. Betsy and her husband have the same first initial, so I just stamped the "B"s all over the center of hers which ended up being my favorite one.

I'm ready for the next project!

Oh, how does your garden grow?

Oh, quite well, I'd say... :)

My garden is beginning to look like spring although these morning temperatures sure don't feel like spring!

My Irises are already in bloom: And my white dogwood:
And my absolute favorite, the pink dogwood!
As far as my fruits and vegetables, I have not made it very far this year. But I have weeded out the bed that carries my blueberries and strawberries! Can't wait until those are ripe!

My Latest Treasury

Crazy for Crochet

I learned to crochet at the end of last summer and now have made so many potholders and washclothes for my family I've been told to stop :)

On Tuesday, I finished my first "big" crochet project - this purple shrug (I had only started it last October):Of course, I was able to wear it on Tuesday because it was still in the 60s, but by Wednesday, it felt like 90 outside. I guess it will go into winter storage, but I'll have something cool to wear when autumn comes!

I was reading Kim's post at Snug Harbor on learning to crochet, and through her found a fabulous crochet blog: Aesthetic Nest. Anneliese is doing a new Learn to Crochet series and I found this awesome tutorial on her site for a baby cloche: Granted, that was attempt number 4 above, but I finally got it! Numbers 1 and 2 had mistakes and looked like they were made for cone heads... my gauge on number 3 was totally messed up and almost fits my head... But it's all a learning process :)

The bane of my existence...

for the last couple of weeks has been my new sewing table. I had lusted after this table for quite some time and finally broke down and bought it.

Now, I consider myself an expert in modular furniture construction. In my office alone, there are eight pieces from Ikea. My power rack in the garage took me a total of 45 minutes to put together although there were all kinds of reviews about it being too hard and not having good directions.

This table on the other hand was horrible. It arrived with 2 packages of one type of screw and none of another. The little wooden dowels - there were 2 fewer in the box than tha directions called. The screws that were supposed to be used with the hinges had heads smaller than the holes on the hinges. The screws for the handles were not long enough to go through the wood and into the handles. Needless to say, after six trips to the hardware store, it is finally done. Yes, I did try calling customer service, but it was of no use.

If this had been my first piece of furniture that I had to put together, I would have never ever tried these other pieces in my house. I'm so glad it is done and will begin working on some sewing projects this week!*************************************************************************
On a more exciting note, I was plaing with my wire weaving all week long!

On Thursday, I made this bow pendant/necklace for my sister-in-law's birthday. She loves bows and pink, so I figured rose quartz and a sterling bow would be perfect. I finished it off with a toggle clasp adorned with rose quartz chips.

On Friday, I was playing with my brand new lampwork beads and made an asymmetrical pendant set.
I've been so productive this week I want to jump and scream at the top of my lungs! I hope you've had an excellent week, too!

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)
***********************************************************************

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!

Shopping!!

I was in need of new shoes. Shoes to work in the garden, mow the yard, and otherwise get covered in dirt. Normally I have a rotation... new shoes to walking shoes to work shoes, but somehow I've messed up my routine.

We have a relatively new store in my little town - Burke's Outlet. (Trust me, everyone gets excited when anything comes to town, even large chain stores... It beats the 1+ hour drive to anywhere else.) Boy did I get a deal in the shoe department. These Reebok's were marked $29.99 with the right color sticker to be 90% Off... On top of that, at the register, I was asked if I wanted to join their frequent shopper program (free to sign up) which includes 15% off every Friday!I can't believe it, but my new "work around the house" ended up being $1.27! I haven't had a deal that good in a long time. I'll be visitng this store again on future Fridays!

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?

Smoky Black Bean Soup with Chicken Sausage

I was reading my march issue of Fitness Magazine and found a recipe that sounded good for dinner last night. I of course don't do anything spicy, so used kielbasa instead of spicy chicken sausage and omitted the chili altogether. I also put 2 times as much in the blender because I was craving a really thick soup rather than the thinner version on the pretty magazine photo. Smoky Black Bean Soup with Chicken Sausage

1 tsp olive oil

3-oz precooked chicken sausage, thinly sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups chicken broth

1 canned chipolte chili in adobo sauce, minced

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest

4 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 tsp honey

salt

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sausage in a single layer; cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate lined with papertowels.

Add onion and bell pepper to pan; saute until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and oregano; saute 1 minute more. Stir in beans, broth, and chipolte; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine sour cream, lime zest, 1 tsp lime juice, and honey in small bowl.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups soup to blender and puree. Stir puree back into soup; add sausage. Stir in remaining lime juice and season with salt to taste. Serve and top with lime sour cream.

Website Outline

I've had "Update Website" on my active to-do list since last October; however, I have not had the time to actually do it (especially when I realized exactly how much re-vamping I am going to do).

This week I finally sat down, and although it is covered in scribbles, I have my 6 1/2 page outline ready to start typing into html. Making that outline has really brought the daunting task to a much more manageable level!

I hope to have it completely done and online by the end of March.

Green Treasury

This year, one of my goals is to create one treasury per month. I did last month's in pink, but this month I was feeling the green:

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.

Visiting Richardson's Rock Ranch (again...)

This week, my husband and I were in Oregon visiting family so I was able to stop by one of my favorite places for stones - Richardson's Rock Ranch. They're known for their thundereggs: but I really prefer all the things I can find the in the Rock Shop - like these polished amethyst pieces, crystal points,
the large stone hearts,
small jars of stone chips,
stone starfish,
and pieces of argonite.
I can't wait to begin playing with these!

Guilt-free Mini Cheesecakes

I pull recipes out of magazines all the time, but rarely get to try all the ones that I want. I already love the traditional version of this covered in cherry pie filling, but decided I'd try these "White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes" recipe printed in the February 2011 copy of Fitness Magazine.

I found these mini cheesecakes to be delicious and you could definitely taste the white chocolate. Since I live in the middle of nowhere, some of the ingredients were unavailable. My local grocery store does not carry reduced fat vanilla wafers and the fat-free cream cheese was completely out of stock (and has been for more than 2 weeks). I only garnished mine with strawberries and chocolate flakes because the kiwis were hard as rocks, too.

Ingredients
12 reduced-fat vanilla wafers
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
3 ounces white chocolate baking squares, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Chocolate curls (optional)
Sliced strawberries (optional)
Sliced kiwifruit (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with baking cups. Place one vanilla wafer on the bottom of each. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheeses with an electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds. Beat in white chocolate, sugar, milk, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in egg white. Spoon mixture into muffin cups until each is about three-quarters full.

3. Bake about 20 minutes or until set, then set pan on a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Remove cheesecakes from pan; cool on wire rack 1 hour. Cover and chill 3 to 24 hours.

4. Before serving, remove baking cups. If desired, garnish with chocolate curls, strawberries, and/or kiwifruit.

A new print for my home

I get the greatest gifts. My sister/brother-in-law bought me this print from Green Girl Canvas on etsy. I love the print and it has been lanquishing in my favorites for while I tried to figure out if I had room for even more artwork in my house... I'm glad that decision was taken away from me or else I might have wavered until it was no longer available. Now I just need to figure out how I want it framed and put it up on my wall!

Thrift Store Finds

Are you someone who likes to rumage around in thrift stores and come out with amazing items? I definitely am. And my favorite stores are those in Naples, Florida. My grandmother and I spent the day hitting all of our favorites, including St. Vincents De Paul Thrift Store where I found this wonderful soup bowl:This fits in my house perfectly! The bottom is a basketweave design and shells/sea life decorate the sides.When I turned it over, I even found it has the artist's name: Karin Villaroman. Now, hopefully the artist isn't too offended that I paid only $1 for this bowl, but it is definitely going to the home of someone who will love it, cherish it, and use it regularly for the beautiful piece that it is.

First Craft Show of 2012

I had a booth at the Placida Art Market this past Saturday. For those of you who don't know, Placida is in South West Florida (near Port Charlotte), and yes, that is me standing there wrapped up in a blanket with a large scarf and fleece jacket. I belive it was 10 degrees colder there at the time this picture was taken than it is right now at my house in North Carolina.I had lots of fun and met tons of great people. This art market occurs every other week during season, so if you're in that area, I recommend stopping by. I went shopping on the New Year's Eve market and picked up some great pottery and notecards for myself. You won't know what treasures you will find! If you can't make it for a Saturday Art Market, there are a couple of stores (art gallery, gifts, and orchids) with a Key West vibe and the Fishery Restaurant that are worth visiting.

If you're an artist in this area - try on this market for size. It has friendly artists and is an artist-promoted event. The entire atmosphere is fun, and who could complain with a waterfront view all day?

My First Treasury for 2012!

Bangle Giveaway at Scarborough Seashells

I ordered shells from Scarborough Seashells years ago (on eBay, even, I think) and have just recently come back across her store.

Lucky me, she's giving away this beautiful sterling bangle on her blog:

You have until Friday the 13th to enter by visiting and commenting on her blog post !

Shelling at Boca Grande

Visiting my parents in South West, Florida has been quite fruitful. My mother and I drove out to Gasparilla Island and found piles of shells in only an hour on the beach at Boca Grande. There were you're ever present cockles, coquinas, and scallops, but I also picked up some good ones including the apple murex, fig, immature fighting conch, and olive. And someone knew I'd be making some Valentine's Day themed items, so made sure I found a heart shaped beach stone and heart shapped coral.

Can't wait to get my wire on these babies!