CraftyHope

BTW: Using Leftovers

Though I've got a million things running though my head that I want to do and should be doing, one thing is sure; it's Bead Table Wednesday. Gosh darnit I'm making some time for that! ;)

I carved out some time yesterday to sit down and make something from my sketchbook. In fact, I made more than one design from it! Here's all that I got accomplished yesterday.

Now, let me go to into a little detail. I started by staring at this entry (pardon the big X over it. . .that means I did it.)

While thinking about it, I noticed a scrap piece of patina-ed copper wire sitting on the edge of my craft desk. I grabbed it up and set to bending, twisting, and hammering. Before long, I ended up with the two sets of toggle clasps in the above photo. I apologize for not having a closer picture of them, but wasn't having much success with picture-taking today.

Once that was done, I was still itching to get something made. The next sketchbook entry looked like this.

I decided against the embroidery thread when I found a little stash of some colorful silk ribbon. It's a fairly simple bracelet, but looks very teen/tween to me.

Once the bracelet was made, there were a few scraps of the black cord on my desk. I couldn't let them go to waste so they quickly became earrings.

While it wasn't much, I was really happy with my use of 'leftovers' and scraps.

Check out what else is going on this Bead Table Wednesday in the Flickr Group.

I also added a new pair of earrings and placed a necklace on sale in the CraftyHope Etsy Shop.

Exclamation Earrings

Life's Path Necklace *on sale*

Now to get back to some of those million things! What have you got going on today?

A Day Late and It's Getting Later

I'm still smitten with my Mock Bead Soup piece. If you shaven't seen it yet, please go take a peek!

My day got all discombobulated yesterday because of a family obligation I had forgotten. Oops! As such, the day got split in half at the last minute and I couldn't get my blog post up. Even though it's Tuesday, I still want to share my meal plan for the week with you. I've got all kinds of links and new recipes for this week. Exciting!!

Breakfasts: Cereal/oatmeal, cinnamon sugar croissants, whole wheat waffles, breakfast burritos, overnight French toast, omelets

Lunches: turkey/ham sandwiches, leftover stirfry, PB&J, pizza (from freezer), tuna noodles, leftovers

Dinners:
Garlic lemon Mahi w/rice & the best broccoli
Portobello mushroom burgers w/salad & sweet potato fries
Split pea soup (w/ham) w/bread
Spaghetti Squash meat pie
Grilled chicken breasts (with this marinade) w/ roasted red potato salad & corn on the cob

More Menu Plan Monday is over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Since I've got to cram a day and a half into this ONE day (and I'm already behind), let me just show off the new and relisted items in the shop and be off!

Pulling Petals Necklace

Moonlit Shadows Necklace

Now let me see what other trouble I can get into on this Tuesday that feels like a Monday!

Macro Sunday: Cheesy Noodles

I did make a Mock Bead Soup piece if you want to see it. I'm kinda proud of it!

Anyway. . .With Pat playing all weekend, I got to thinking (very dangerous)

Do you have a comfort meal? You know what I mean. One of those meals/foods that you make when you’re all alone and you just want to throw something together that makes YOU happy. It may not be good for you, but it sure does taste good. Well, I do. We just call it “cheesy noodle.” It’s a very flexible recipe and I tend to just use whatever I have on hand.

Mouth watering, right!?

Here’s how I do it:

Ingredients (again. . .very flexible)

Pasta - whatever you have on hand

Cheese - again, whatever. I veer toward Parmesan and then a little cheddar. But whatever works too

Vegetable - I usually go with frozen peas because I can throw them in at the end of the pasta boiling, but sometimes I’ll steam some broccoli real quick or something.

Meat - most often bacon, but if I don’t have any I’ll use ham, turkey, leftover chicken, or just leave it out all vegetarian-like

Butter - a tablespoon or two

Milk, cream, or half & half - just enough to wet the noodles

Salt, Pepper, Granulated garlic - to taste

Directions

It’s easy. . . I boil the pasta (throwing in the peas toward the end) and then drain when it’s done. I return the pasta (and peas) to the hot pot and toss in the cheese to get it melting. Once it starts to be gooey, I add a little butter and let it start to melt and then add some liquid (milk, cream, or half and half). I stir it up until well combined then add the meat, vegetables (if other than peas), and seasonings. Stir then NOM away!

So good!

I usually can't get enough of it! Mmmmmm cheesy noodles.

Since I got these yummy closeups of it the other night I decided I'd share it for I Heart Macro Sunday. Head over to Lori's blog, Studio Waterstone, for more cool macro shots. Though, I can't guarantee they'll make your tummy rumble like mine does! ;)

So what's your comfort recipe? Feel free to share yours in the comments!

Mock Bead Soup

It was the luck of the draw, and luck wasn’t on my side. . .or was it?

Because of the overwhelming number of jewelry artists that wanted to participate in Lori Anderson’s (of Pretty Things) 5th Bead Soup Blog Party, Lori opted to limit the blog hop to 200 this time around. This was perfectly understandable and reasonable. She went about it the fairest way possible. She let fate. . . and a randomizer pick the participants. Unfortunately, my number didn’t come up. For some reason I kinda expected this and was unfazed when I couldn’t find my name on the list.

Lori encouraged those who didn’t get selected to play along and challenge themselves with something they had stowed away in their own stash that they’d been avoiding. I thought this was a fantastic idea and knew immediately which items I would use.

For my birthday back in October, my dear friend Amanda gifted me with this beautiful Mother of Pearl flower pendant and large freshwater pearls.

Before she even handed me the little box, she admitted, “I know these aren’t your usual style or colors, but they’re just so pretty I was hoping you’d still like them.” She was soooo right (does that girl know mw or what), they were definitely not something I would have bought myself, but I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the pendant.

I promised her (and myself) that I would make something with them. However, I put the box away. I did pull it out from time to time and remark to myself how lovely it was and that I really should do something with it. Yet, I was baffled as to just WHAT I would do.

When Lori offered up the challenge to those of us who weren’t picked, THAT was the box I turned to. I pulled it out on my desk and have been toting it all over the state with me hoping an idea would magically spring into my head. And, it worked! As I was driving to the bead store on Wednesday I had a eureka-moment.

Here are my results (click on any of the pictures for a better look)

I used some 16g silver wire to form loops and 'leaves' then wrapped ivory freshwater pearls and chocolate glass peals on that with 24g silver wire. I wired the MOP flower pendant into place on the heavy gauge wire.

Silk ribbon is used as the 'chain' of the necklace. It was secured with more 24g wire and some of the freshwater pearls. I improvised with the brown ribbon as I couldn’t find ANY brown silk in the area in the short time I left myself to work on this. I will replace it most likely if I do find some soon.

A little closer look at the pendant and wire wrapping. As well on the upper right you can kinda see the dragonfly toggle clasp I used for the closure.

I am absolutely SMITTEN with this design. While it’s not exactly as I had envisioned, it’s still absolutely stunning. I’m as giddy as a school girl (that’s a real saying, right?) over my results and so happy I waited to come up with just the right design for that pendant.

Though I’m not officially part of the Bead Soup Blog Party this time around, I want to encourage you to check out all the other wonderful designers who ARE. Head over to Lori’s blog at Pretty Things for the full list of participants. You may also find a long list of artists like me who are just playing along. I can’t WAIT to get started hopping around!

As always, a big, huge, ginormous THANK YOU goes to Lori for organizing this extravaganza once again. I’m guessing it’s time for some PIE! ;)

Hop on Party People!

February Goal Review

February has come to a close. Though it's the shortest month of the year, it really seemed much longer. I think taking a photo each day really does help preserve the month in a sense. Fat Mum Slim announced the March Photo-a-day lineup a little while back.

Now to figure out how to shoot 'up' for today. Hmmmm.

Anyway, since it is the start to a new month, I'd like to review my 2012 goals again. FIRST, I know I upset some people with my use of the word FAIL to review these goals in January. When I said that, I just meant that I did not accomplish the goal and needed to do some work on it. Instead of fail, I'll simply say 'needs work'. . .okay?

Let's get to it! OH. . .and as before, I'm tossing in some of my Instagram pictures from over the month to break up the monotony.

PERSONAL

Disc Golf Basket

Exercise Ehhhh. . .I haven't been keeping up with this as regularly as I'd hoped. Pat and I really make an effort to do something active every weekend: hike, bike, disc golf. We've taken a few walks in the evening and I got up and exercised a very few mornings, but that's about it. Definitely got to find my groove for this one.
Eat right/better YES! We've been doing much better here. I've noticed our intake of butter and cheese is drastically reduced. We still snack, but have been purchasing those from the health food store. Granted, we have had some slip-ups since we were out of town a few days this month and had to eat out, but we took healthy snacks with us and tried to make healthy choices ast the restaurants. It's pretty impressive actually.
Read more books/watch less TV I FINALLY finished the last Game of Thrones book, A Dance with Dragons and have started on Inheritance (of course, another LONG book) as well as the Walking Dead series of graphic novels. I'm doing okay on my goal of less TV, but sometimes it's just ON. sigh.

Under the sink looks real nice right now!

Make a real effort to keep the house clean Well, like the exercise goal, this one is on again off again. I do most of the basic cleaning throughout the week. Toilets, laundry, dishes, litterbox. . .none of that piles up on me, but the clutter. Oh-emm-gee the CLUTTER. It's like it comes in the night and sneaks onto surfaces. I'm working on it though.
Discover new music Toward the end of the month I remembered this goal and tried to listen to something new but just ended up with more Mumford and Sons and some OkGo. Definitely needs work.
Grow some plants inside and out Needs work. We've done nothing on this one. Pat and I started talking about some veggie gardening the other day and I totally want some herbs, so I believe that will be a step we make maybe, hopefully this weekend.
Make my visions of my dream house and this house co-exist Only a few steps were taken on this front. First the aquarium is now running again and there are fish in it (hurray!). I've done some shopping for some ideas I have, and we've talked about a few of the things we want to get done around the house. I know this isn't a total success, but it's something.
Declutter/organize at least one drawer/cabinet/area a week. Needs work. I did get an area or two tackled, but nothing like I was hoping for.
Have a yard sale (possibly organize a neighborhood one) Needs LOTS OF WORK! Nothing done at all.
Take better care of my face and skin. oh boy! Does shopping for facial cleansers count? Because, really it's been a bad month for my skin. I'll try more this month, promise.
Go to the doctor/dentist Needs work, that's all I'll say.

Raspberry Parfait for breakfast (pureed raspberries, yougurt, and granola. . .layered)

BUSINESS/CRAFT

Make a real effort with my blog This month has definitely been more successful on the blogging front than last month. I just want to maintain that forward momentum.
Include more tutorials on the blog. If 'more' is one tutorial, than YAY!! Success!! However, that's not exactly what I was aiming for. Will continue to strive on this.

Just SOME of my button collection

Keep the craft room more organized. Bahahahahahahaaa!! I'll leave it at that.
Discover my passion I've done more playing with the tools I received for Christmas and loads more thinking, but I'm just not there yet.

My 'travel floss' box. I love me some ROY G BIV

Get published (if not published then at least submit to a few publications) Still have not submitted. This definitely needs work. I actually got a piece made yesterday that I think I want to submit. Of course, now I need to decide on WHICH magazine and look over their submission guidelines. This is probably not the best way to go about this.
Create something everyday EVERYday has been tough. I've been trying to catch up on picture-taking, photo editing, and description writing so the creation parts have fallen to the wayside.
Explore other venue options for selling my jewelry (in the community) Needs work. I'm just a chicken. It's time to get my feelers out there. It really is.
Find a way to use what I have instead of buying more. I need less more in my life! Again, I've done okay on this. I did do some shopping at bead stores while we traveled, but overall I've been pretty good about keeping the shopping to a minimum. Using what I have. . .I guess I have.

GENERAL

Figure out where my time is wasted and put an end to it. I feel like I have been using my time better, but I still feel like so much has gone unaccomplished. This has mostly been toward the end of this month though.

Our view from the condo this month.

Find some confidence and exert it. This is still not going well. Like I said above about finding new venues, I'm a chicken. Needs work!!
Think outside of the box. Since I've been using my sketchbook more to just jot down ideas as they come to me, I've been thinking outside the box a little more since I have had to figure out how to make those ideas WORK. It's not a success complete, but it's been better.
Be Grateful. I was hoping to make regular posts about what I'm gratful for each week, but that's just not happened. Needs Work.

While there's still plenty of work that needs to be done, I think I've done better this month than last (there's less red on this month's list!) Sooooo GO ME!!

Lastly, here's a new item and a re-listed item from the shop today.

Lacy Chic Bangle

Bumble Queen Earrings

Now I'm going to give those goals the 'ol college try' for March! Wish me luck!! :)

Bead Table Wednesday: Creative Relaxation

I've been editing photos and writing descriptions like a madwoman for days now. Since I'm feeling a bit on edge, I know it's time for me to plant myself in the craft room and get creative for a little while. It's therapy!

Here's just some of the options on my craft desk today.


Strands of beads bought on our last two trips out of town (left) and a pair of earrings in process (right)

MOP pendant and freshwater pearls that I might use to play along for the Bead Soup Blog Party. If so I desperately need to get busy on that soon!


Enameled beads and glass headpins I won from Gardanne's blog. Aren't they PRETTY!? Here's Gardanne's shop as well.

I've got a short day today since a local bead store's having a 40% off everything sale (that I MUST check out) and I'm heading over to help with the nieces after while. Sooooo, I better get to work! Head over to the Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group for more beady goodness!

Lastly, before I head out there's two new items and another re-list in the shop.

Fancy Free Necklace (NEW)

Bright Daisy Necklace (NEW)

Glitter and Glow Earrings (Re-list)

What have you got going on?

Fish and a Meal Plan

If you're here for one of the reveals, click the links below

**Chinook Blog Partner Reveal**

**7000 Bracelets of Hope Reveal**

Yesterday we got a wild hair and set about getting our fifty-five gallon fish tank in order. And, we even got some fish!

Meet Louie (top) and Pablo (bottom), our two tiger oscars. They seem to be best buds as they really stick together more than I've ever seen oscars do before. As well, Dyson and Hoover (algae eaters) are new to the tank, but they're too busy at work for anything as mundane as a photo shoot.

There's something so soothing about the sound of an aquarium running and I'm a happy girl to have some new pets. I think the cats like them too.

Anyway, it's Monday and I actually have my menu all planned out so let me get to that.

Breakfasts: Cereal/oatmeal, muffins, cinnamon sugar croissants, whole wheat waffles, eggs w/bacon & toast

Lunches: Soup & grilled cheese, bean burritos, turkey sandwiches, cheese quesidillas, stir fry (from leftovers), tuna noodles, leftovers

Dinners:

Rosemary Balsamic Chicken w/ spinach salad & crispy smashed potatoes

Quick Red Curry with tuna and peas (from Quick & Easy Thai by Nancie McDermott) w/ jasmine rice

Soup (from freezer)

Ground turkey tacos w/corn

Snacks: blue corn tortilla chips & salsa, crackers & cheese, yogurt pretzels, nuts, granola bars, fruit, raw veggies (carrots), yogurt almonds

For more Meal Plan Monday head over to I'm An Organizing Junkie.

There's a new necklace and a re-listed necklace now in the shop

Fill Life JUNK Necklace

Brighten the Nest Necklace

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

Lori at Pretty Things is giving away two sets of beads in her 7000 Bracelets of Hope reveal. But she's doing it SOON! So hop on over there to get your chance to win!

That's it. I'm done. I promise! I'm going to get back to watching my fish! ;)

Chinook Designs Blog Partner Reveal

Remember a couple weeks back when I threw a bunch of bullet points your way about my mail and giveaways and general beady. . .stuff?

No? Well, let me remind you.

I mentioned in that long list that I had been selected by Mellisa of Chinook Designs to be a Blog Partner for the month and get to use one of her fabulous ceramic pieces to make a design.

Now, when I say fabulous, I really do mean fabulous!

If you've been around here any length of time, you KNOW I adore the color blue and you should be familiar with my obsession with buttons. So this little gem really made my day! (Thanks Mellisa)

Of course, since I liked it so much I couldn't imagine how to 'better' it with a design. So, I pondered it for a while. As I played around with the ceramic button, it felt so light and delicate and fragile, but it held up to my handling of it (and that's impressive for Miss Clutzy right here. I'd use my two thumbs to point at myself, but I'd probably just poke my boob.)

ANYWAY, back to the design.

It was obvious that the button was a FOCAL piece, but it needed just a little sumpin, sumpin.

At last, I decided to try something new. (click on image for larger pic)

I added fiber. Basically, it's just bits of ribbon, lace, and fuzzy yarns; but I don't usually work with those materials in my designs.

With heavy gauge black annealed steel wire (coated and sealed with Renaissance Wax); I made a large loop, wrapped it, weaved it through the button's holes, and then wire wrapped the top. The fibers are simply tied onto the loop. (I will probably add a little fabric glue to make sure the knots are secure.)

For the chain of the necklace, a small gauge black annealed wire (also sealed) was used to wire wrap coordinating beads in violet, pink, black, cream, and light blue. The wire was wrapped so it formed a bit of a bead cap on either end of the beads.

A hook and figure eight eye clasp was made with some super heavy duty annealed wire and attached to the chain.

I really had a lot of fun creating with this pendant. It definitely allowed me stretch to my imagination (and you gotta love that!) I want to thank Mellisa for selecting me to be a blog partner this month and I only hope that I did her beautiful pendant the justice it deserves.

Check out Mellisa's blog, her Etsy shop, and how to become a blog partner!

As well, check out the other Blog Partners for the Month
Linda: Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings
Patty: My Life Under the Bus

Cilla: Tell Your Girlfriends Jewelry