CraftyHope

Bead Box 11 - Stocked

Before I started The 100 Day Project, I knew I needed to restock that darn bead box. Since my project is #100DaysOfMakingJewelry, I just had to make sure I had a few designs at the ready for those days when I'm not inspired.

My bead box is a simple plastic organizer with 17 compartments. Into each compartment, I place most of the elements for a jewelry design. This is the eleventh iteration of this box. I'll have links to all the others below. Here's a quick look at the box all stocked and ready for me.

And, here's what's in each of those compartments.

This actually wasn't the first piece I designed for the box, but it ended up in space one because that's the largest of them, and this is a packed design. It's really simple though. I chose an ornamental vintage chandelier crystal for the pendant. From there, I dumped out my personal stash of bead soup (mix of beads) and began selecting beads and buttons that spoke to me. Before long, a palette emerged. If you follow me on Instagram, you've likely already seen this and several of these other initial bead box designs in progress.

I went much more simple with a lot of what ended up in this version on the box. These turquoise drops and brass arrows, for example, will be a pair of earrings.

I've had those lovely brass leaves for AGES. It's time I put them to good use. They really speak for themselves, so they'll be the centerpieces in a pair of earrings.

Finding beads to match that shade of blue on the found pottery shard was tough. But, I dipped into the last of my amazonite pebbles and will alternate those with frosted faceted glass beads.

A friend gifted me with several sets of keys. I've been trying to find different ways to use them. As I was stocking this box just before Valentine's Day, these heart keys spoke to me. I painted them with several shades of pink Vintaj Patinas but wasn't a big fan of the outcome. So, I sanded it back to give these a nice rustic, peeled-paint feel. I'll accent them with some rhinestone beads.

I absolutely love using those hardware store snap rings for assemblage pendants. For this necklace, I'm using a soldered button, a soldered stone, a handmade wired resin and paper teardrop, Czech glass beads, a bone bead, and some gunmetal-colored e-beads. I can't wait to see how this one comes together.

And, then it's back to simple. Those distressed and aged tin discs will be paired with the large white beads for earrings.

I'm really, really excited to see how this one turns out. The brass stamping fairy was picked up at an antique show several years ago. I haven't been able to bring myself to use her. Isn't she lovely? But, now it's time! She will become the pendant to a necklace with the chandelier crystal and some clear glass beads.

I can't remember where I got those metal tassels. I think they were part of some office supplies I found at Tuesday Morning. Of course, I saw jewelry! They're going to make it into a pair of earrings along with brass bead caps, headpins, and some tiny faceted blue beads.

These elements were already bagged up together like I had already planned out some earrings for them. I don't know what I was waiting for, but into the box they went. They will end up just being tiny little things.

I'm awful at planning out bracelets. I try to make sure I have at least one design for one in each of the bead boxes. The Tim Holtz word bar was altered with metallic Vintaj Patinas. I'll add the black and gold beads as the chain.

Those tin semi-circles are from an old Mary Englebreit tin. Can you tell? I picked out coordinating red and yellow glass beads along with a few black seed beads and some silver chain to create a pair of earrings. I know we're all ready for spring!

As simple as this mix looks, quite a bit of thought went into it. The pendant's picture is from the dictionary definition of the word "balcony." I decided that the girl is Juliet and looked up the Capulet colors. Seeing that they were blue and yellow, I selected the yellow glass pearls and small Czech glass beads to make the chain for this necklace.

I wanted a new key assemblage piece in this box. So, an iridescent glass bubble was attached to a steel key blank. I'll add some wrapped crystals to the key when I work on this one. As well, a soldered bubble, silver beads, and more AB glass beads will be used to complete the chain of this necklace design.

Again, I've gone with simple for a pair of earrings. This set will include vintage chandelier crystal beads and some reproduction copper clock hands.

I really love those amazonite briolettes. I've matched them up with cultured sea glass coin beads and some silver tone swirl beads to make a pair of earrings.

For this final design, I picked out those cute brass bows. They'll be combined with some tiny garnet semi-circles, garnet-colored glass beads, and frosted glass beads for earrings.

If you're interested in the other stocked and revealed boxes, here's that list I mentioned.

Bead Box 10 - Stocked

Bead Box 10 - Reveal

And, that's it for this version of the bead box. As I finish writing this post, I have to admit that I'm getting close to finishing all the designs for it since my 100 Day Project is keeping me very busy with making jewelry. I hope you're finding ways to stay busy too.

Peek at My Week (March 7-13)

We're in the home stretch to Spring and I can feel it all around me. The azaleas are blooming outside my craft room and pollen covers EVERYTHING! This time of year always feels so full of possibilities and gives me so much to look forward to. I hope you're feeling similar. Here's a peek at my last week.

The week began in an unexpected and awesome kind of way. Pat's best friend from childhood has sold everything and bought an RV. He and his wife were docked close by for the week, so we met them and some other friends at a beautiful outdoor restaurant for lunch and drinks. The rest of the day dissolved from there.

Monday was slow-moving for sure! But, I accomplished almost everything on my list.

As I started an earring design, Artemis decided she wanted to help. (She wasn't helpful at all.)

I felt much better on Tuesday and finished up the last (for now) of my chain link earring designs.

For dinner, I decided to try one of the suggestions I received on Facebook for how to use up some eggs and made a Frittata. It was good, but the leftovers never got touched.

I felt super creative on Wednesday and jumped into a few projects early. I even worked in one of my art journals.

And, I took a peek at what was blooming outside. I was surprised to find that one of our mini daffodils had two blooms on one stem. That's pretty rare, right?

I'm not even sure what happened to Thursday. I probably let myself play video games as both Pat and my niece were out in the evening. Oh, and I finally started on my pieces for the Bead Soup Swap & Create. I can't wait to share what I've made so far!

I started Friday with a walk around the property in the morning. The fog was thick and stuck around for a while, so many of the buds and blooms were covered in a dewy mist.

Even the kitties felt the magic of the day and were found actually touching. (Rosalina didn't know Artemis had snuck in next to her. When she realized it a few minutes later, she left the room. Ha!)

In the evening, we met up with Pat's best friend again at his camper mansion (it's a really nice camper!) and enjoyed a fire on a beautiful evening.

The late-night didn't bother me as much as I was up early on Saturday and even out on the porch doodling. I'm so relieved the weather is nice enough to hang out there again.

We did some yard work before I made us a light lunch.

That salad was HUGE and delicious. (It's spinach, romaine, strawberries, chicken, glazed pecans, blue cheese, bacon, and a vinaigrette.) So good!!

In the evening, I met my best friend out on the patio of a local restaurant and talked until the place closed. I've seen more people this week than I have in the whole year, I think. And, admittedly, it makes me nervous. So, I'm hoping to get back on track until more people have the vaccine and that nagging voice in my head can be silenced. I hope you're safe and healthy as well.

Here's some inspiration from the past week:

I don't make a lot of rings, but simple ones like this Easy Spinner Wire Wrapped Ring Tutorial make me wonder why.
I think we're all aware of how trendy woven wall hangings have become. These massive weavings from Tammy Kanat show just how beautiful and diverse they can be.
Speaking of wall decorations, I'm taken with the simplicity of this recycled yogurt container wall decor idea at Stampington.
This new DIY Earring tutorial from Moois Van Mie just screams spring and summer.
I've probably mentioned a time or two that we don't hang a lot of wreaths at our house, but the funky design of this Boho Twine Jute Wreath pulls at me to make one.
Here's a great idea for how to finish off a cup-chain using crimp covers. I'm wondering if a similar idea would work with ball-chain too.
Julie Balzer always has some cute ideas. I'm digging this one that involves using a paint palette to make paper beads.
I'm absolutely smitten with this DIY Gemstone Chain. I usually make chains in this manner, but those gemstones really make this necklace. I'd love to find a local (US) source for similar beads. Let me know if you have one.
These pop culture military paintings tickle me to no end.
No post would be complete without some mention of embroidery. Here's a cute, free Irish Blessing Pattern just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

And, that's it for the week. After all my fun, I'm running a bit behind and hoping to catch up. Here's hoping Spring finds you wherever you are and you enjoy the heck out of it!

Instant Pot Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl

Several weeks back, I was craving something a little different. I had a package of ground beef and randomly wanted to create a bowl of some sort. However, I didn't really want it to be Mexican-inspired (as so many are). With those criteria, I did an online search and found a few interesting ideas, but nothing that really spoke to me in its entirety. So, I created my own with a combination of the results that came up. I give you my Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl!

Okay, okay, okay - so it's not technically bulgogi in every sense, but more inspired by the flavors of bulgogi. I added a lot of little things that I crave and felt like it would complete the meal. Since I know how we all feel about scrolling through all the pictures and yakkity, yack; I'll go ahead and give you the recipe then talk about it a bit more.

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
olive oil, salt, & pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 C Korean Barbecue (bulgogi) sauce
1 C pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 C chicken stock
eggs (1 per bowl)
Optional garnishment: sesame seeds, green onions

Directions

Quarter the zucchini longways then dice. Toss the chunks with oil, salt, & pepper. Lay them out on a baking sheet and roast at 425° F for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Set your Instant Pot on the Saute setting. Add about 1 Tbs of oil. Cook your ground beef and onions until no pink remains. Drain the grease and return the beef and onions to the pot.
Add bulgogi sauce and let it cook into the meat for a minute or two.
Stir in couscous and stock.
Secure lid to the instant pot. Set pot to manual pressure, high for 7 minutes.
While the Instant Pot is going, fry your eggs.
When time is up on the pot, quick release the pressure. Once the pressure is released, add your lightly roasted zucchini and mix it together with the beef mixture.
Place beef and couscous in a bowl and top with your fried egg(s). Optionally, you can garnish with more bulgogi sauce, green onions, and/or sesame seeds.
Enjoy!

My Inspiration

When I first made this dish, I was simply looking for something a bit different, but still delicious. Like I said, I had the beef. I also had couscous. Knowing that those were great starting ingredients for a bowl, I did a search and found this recipe for Instant Pot Couscous with Ground Beef that made such simple work of cooking them together. Yet, it just didn't have the flavors I was looking for in a meal. With a tad more digging online, I discovered the sauce in these Korean Beef Bowls that sounded yummy. For my first, go-round with my recipe, I did use the sauce in that second link but later realized that I could buy a bottle of Korean BBQ sauce on the Asian aisle of my grocery store for convenience. That's what I used for my second attempt at the recipe, but I kept their addition of the egg and sesame seeds. Because I like to make sure there's a veggie or two in every recipe, I added the onions and zucchini.

Recipe Details

I like to start this recipe with the zucchini by first dicing it into small chunks that work well for bite-size pieces in the bowl. Once it's chopped, I toss it with a splash of olive oil and some salt & pepper before spreading the chunks out evenly on a baking sheet and sticking it in a 425° F oven for 8-10 minutes. I'm not a big fan of over-cooked zucchini, and I know that it will cook a bit more once it's mixed into the pot with the hot beef and couscous, so I undercook it slightly then set it aside while working on everything else.

While that's in the oven, I start on the meat. I use ground beef for this recipe, but I think ground turkey, chicken, or pork would work just as well if that's what you have on hand. Begin by selecting the saute setting on your Instant Pot.

Add a splash of olive oil and allow it to get hot.

Then, add your finely diced onion and ground beef. Use a wooden spoon to break apart the beef and stir it as it browns.

Once all the pink is gone from the beef, turn it out onto a paper-towel-lined plate to drain off the grease. Return the beef and onions to the Instant Pot. Stir in the Bulgogi sauce and allow it to season the meat for a minute or two. Add the couscous and chicken stock (though other stock would work fine too) and stir to combine.

Turn off the saute function on the Pot. Place and lock the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to seal. Set the pot on Manual, High Pressure for 7 minutes. While that cooks, fry up your eggs in some oil or butter. I have to admit that I didn't use to be a fan of fried eggs. Once we got chickens and were able to have the freshest eggs ever, I started liking them much more and now want to put fried eggs with a runny yolk on EVERYTHING!

Back to the Instant Pot. Once the time is up, quick release the valve and wait for the pressure to release and the pin to drop. Carefully remove the lid and stir in the lightly roasted zucchini.

Scoop the meat mixture into bowls. Top it with your fried egg. You could also add a drizzle more of the Bulgogi sauce and maybe even sliced green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. (I like all the toppings!)

I haven't timed this recipe, but it's QUICK and so delicious. It's also filling and easy. It really is all the things. I hope you try it. If you do, let me know what you think.

March Challenges and Inspirations

I'm up to my eyeballs in The 100 Day Project, but I can't turn away from other sources of inspiration. They might just spur some jewelry-making for my project of #100DaysofMakingJewelry. Since it's nice to have a list of the challenges and their deadlines in one place, I like to share my list with you as well. Here's what I've unearthed for March.

Sarajo and Eric have revealed the inspiration photo for the March Honey Do List. It's full of spring colors and joy. The link tool will be open for your reveal on March 22nd.
Speaking of Spring, that's the theme for this month's Art Elements Theme Challenge too. This challenge is open to any medium and you are welcome to share your creation(s) in the designated album on the Art Elements Community Facebook Page anytime during the month.
at Halcraft Collection, they've revealed the March Pretty Palette. It's called Electric Kumquat, and I kinda love that. Find all the information in the link.

And, y'all...That's all I have for March. I should remind you that if you're involved in the Bead Soup Swap & Create, our reveal is on April 3rd! If you know of any other challenges or inspirations or some other fun community reveal like these, please don't hesitate to let me know so I can share it here! Have an inspired March!

Peek at My Week (Feb. 28-March 6)

I'm running so behind! Let's make this just a quick peek.

Pat and I worked all day Sunday to start on getting the pool in order and ready for the heat. The big task that took us most of the day was removing the pool blanket that we had placed on the pool before Hurricane Sally. We had hoped it would prevent too much debris from gathering in the pool. But, it's been on the pool since then, collecting its own debris. After much pulling and tugging on our own, we finally got the tractor involved. As Pat lowered the boom, I spied this cricket (above) on it.

We tried several methods to get the blanket out of the mucky pool without dumping the debris or tearing the blanket. In the end, only a little bit of leaves and straw went in, but the blanket was ripped in the process. At least we can start to get the water ready now.

Most of Monday was spent in the craft room working on videos, editing pictures, and making a little jewelry. I even started trying to get our taxes in order.

Tuesday was rainy and cold all day long. But, it kept me inside, getting things done.

On Wednesday, one of my nieces had a dentist appointment in Mobile. So I planned to spend the whole day there. But first, I had to tackle my 100 Day Project.

Ah, I jumped into it too quickly, before my coffee and ended up breaking a bead in my hurry. Fortunately, I had plenty more to complete the design later.

Thursday was beautiful and warm. I cleaned out and updated the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents.

Back at home, I began working on a project that involves using large links of chain to make earrings. It's really to fill out some of the open spots up at the antique store. But, I'm working on making it part of a video series as well!

This new challenge for myself continued into Friday where I began to work on the link earrings in earnest.

Saturday began normally enough, and with an abundance of fresh eggs. (The chicks are now laying pretty regularly.) So, I made omeletts to work our way through a few of them.

The big excitement for the day was our new fridge getting delivered.

Yes, I'm at an age now where a new fridge is exciting!

And, that pretty much finished up my week. Here's some inspiration I found.

This spirograph necklace tutorial uses plastic canvas and embroidery floss to create a pretty pendant.
It's almost hard to believe that these mini paper plants aren't real. They're so beautifully made.
Ethan Hawke gives a TED talk on giving yourself permission to be creative. He's got some really inspiring points in the talk.
Before, it was paper plants, but now you should see these paper flowers!
This necklace tutorial that includes a shrink plastic butterfly is really something special.
In this article, you're encouraged to work on two paintings at one time. I think it may apply to other arts as well.

Today'sa bit off-kilter for me after a fun-filled day yesterday. I hope to get back on track soon. I hope your week treats you well too!

Thrifty Thursday - February Thrifty Haul

I've said it many times, I love me a great deal no matter whether it's from a craft store, thrift store, dollar store, yard sale, etc. You never know what you'll find. This month, I found quite a few deals, so let me share some of them before the video that reveals all at the end of the post.

First, there was the thriftiest of them all: free books and magazines from the library!

There were also several trips to the Dollar Tree this month. Most of them were for needed items, and then I picked up a few other things that caught my eye.

Possibly my favorite score this month was finding that Hobby Lobby had a bunch of their Tim Holtz products reduced to clearance prices. YES!

I just can't resist those sales.

To get a better look at everything I picked up thriftily this past month, make sure to watch my February Thrifty Haul video on YouTube.

So, have you found anything good lately?

Art Journal Videos from February

In addition to making jewelry, I enjoy working in my art journal and making mixed media pieces of art. Often, those are shared on other social media. However, I like to make sure I share the videos here that you may have missed on my YouTube Channel. Here are the ones from this past month.

Art Journal Color Inspiration: Blue

Working with an Existing Background in a Junk Journal

Art Journal Page with Lots of Texture and Color

I was fortunate enough to get to work on TWO video hops/challenges this month. They both had their reveals this past Saturday. First, there was the Red Riding Hood Hop.

Little Red Riding Hood Hop Along

Then, there was the reveal for the You, Me, Same 3!

You, Me, Same 3 - Moon Fairy

That was all of my art journaling and mixed media videos for February, though there were several others during the month: Riveting, Thrifty Haul, Craft Room Tour, and Bead Soup Received. But, I've already shared all of those here on the blog. To make sure you stay up-to-date on my videos, you ought to consider subscribing to the CraftyHope YouTube Channel.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about art journaling or creating mixed media art. I'm always happy to help.