Peaceful Sky

I spent most of yesterday making jewelry, and I guess I'll spend most of today listing and sharing. :-) This is one of my favorites. I love everything about it!

 

 

I used smooth, natural aquamarine oval beads (harvested from another project that I wasn't happy with) and funky little keishi pearls. I knotted them together with light blue silk thread, which really brings out the blue of the stones. I used a copper toggle to finish the bracelet.

 

It's hard to decide which element of this bracelet is my favorite. The colors? Light blue is my favorite colors...the stones? Pearls and aquamarine are 2 of the stones I love the most...I would probably have to say that the technique is the part I love the most. There is something very soothing and therapeutic about knotting. I enjoy the challenge of getting the knot in exactly the right spot...although I'm not so crazy about the challenge of getting it OUT when I make a mistake...:-)

Princess Necklace

After spending most of last week in Cincinnati at a readding conference, I'm back!! On Friday I listed a new item and I just have to blog about it:

 

 

Several months ago, I had a dream that I was walking on the beach and decided to start digging in the sand. I found a treasure chest filled with several different jeweled necklaces. When I woke up, this was the only necklace that I could remember. I knew I had to create it! I used my favorite technique, knotting. Pairs of tiny button pearls alternate with beautifully faceted tourmalines. I added a gold vermeil leaf charm and a gold vermeil toggle clasp and voila! I decided to name it the "Princess Necklace" because for me, this would not be an everyday piece of jewelry. The gemstones and gold make it Princess Necklavery elegant and glamorous. I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Give Peas a Chance

Happy Saturday! :-)

 

I am so excited about a new item I listed this week that I decided to blog about it. It's a necklace, and it's called "Give Peas a Chance".

 

 

The idea was born one afternoon when I was browsing through Etsy supplies, looking for some type of silver pendant - I can't remember what it was. That's when I found this awesome pendant. It's not a real spoon (not quite big enough and too thick), but it looks like one. I immediately thought how cute it would be to attach some green pearls to it to make it look like a spoonful of peas. I bought the pendant from redvelvet, then found  the perfect "peas" at QualyBeads. I went to Fusionbeads for the chain and findings. When all my supplies arrived, I was a little disappointed to find out that the gunmetal-finish headpins that I had planned to string the pearls on were too thick. Instead I used eggs to oxidize some thin sterling silver headpins, and that turned out just perfect! And as a matter of fact, I used the gunmetal headpins to make matching earrings. Hmmm, I wonder what other "vegetables" I can put on a spoon........

Sorry, vegetarians...

Now that summer is here, one of the many things on my to-do list is to try a new recipe at least once a week. It's not easy to find something that everyone will eat, when trying to feed this crowd: a husband who is allergic to chicken; a 12-yr-old who won't eat most things that originated in a garden; and a 4-yr-old who won't eat most things, period. That leaves me (of course, I'll eat it - I made up the menu :-), and 6-yr-old Aidan, who is a pretty good eater, at least compared to the rest. One of my good old standbys is meatloaf. I have a standard recipe that I've been using for years, and everyone is ok with it. But this week I decided that I wanted to try a new recipe, and this is what I chose:"Barbecue Meatloaf". I found it on the Taste of Home website, and it is wonderful!!! Very tangy, with just the right amount of sweetness to it. It was so good that I had seconds of it, even when I was eating it as leftovers! I will definitely fix it again, and I wanted to share the recipe with everyone, so here it is:

 

Barbecue Meat Loaf

SERVINGS: 8-10

TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1hour 20 min.

Ingredients:

• SAUCE:


• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce


• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar


• 1/4 cup vinegar


• 1 teaspoon ground mustard


• MEAT LOAF:


• 2 pounds lean ground beef


• 2 eggs, beaten


• 1 cup quick-cooking or rolled oats


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 1 medium green pepper, chopped


• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 teaspoon pepper


• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning


• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together meat loaf ingredients. Add half of the sauce to the meat loaf mixture; mix well. Press into a 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove from oven; drain. Pour remaining sauce over loaf. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes longer or until no pink remains. Yield: 8-10 servings.