Friday Etsy Meanderings

It's Friday again!

And even while I bask in my post wedding glow...

(Kate & William's wedding was fantastic!!)

I thought I'd pass along a little magic to you all!

 Isn't she adorable? She's custom made to order and is made of painted, sanded quilters muslin that the makers describe as feeling like old leather! ooo so awesome! I'd love to have her!

A delicious collection to make you patio table like a fairy land - don't you hang art outside? :D

Fog One Handle Bowls - $40/2  dorothydomingo

Beautiful Heart Lights up the City Photo - $26   ChelseaVictoria

Circus Magic Original - $425   afancifultwist

Lotus Vase - $145   WhiteEarthStudio

Look at this flag ribbon. It's so great with the green gingham and pink roses - I've always loved pink and green together

! And there's nothing so summery as gingham and roses, perhaps white wine on the deck?? Ooo and this glass set below is really nice for any little foody thing you might want to keep the flies from.

You must know that there are few orange things I can resist. And Opalescent Orange?? Please!!!

my only regret is that there is no sugar bowl...

And I LOVE buffalo nickel ANYTHING!! But buttons... you can put them on your favorite cardy and fondle them while you dream of the day these great beasts roam the plains again...

Rose Bud Bunting with 12 Small Flags - $26.58USD   SewSweetViolet
Set of 6 - Teacups with Creamer -$28   RareFindsAndMore
3 - 5 cent Buffalo Vintage Silver Buttons - $14   whiteliliesdesigns
Cloche & Globe Set - $36   TheVintageParlor

My friend, and fellow mom/artist, Pamela Petry made the great pendant below.

I always find Dragonflies the most magical of all. They remind me of the evening that hundreds of them filled the golden hour right before I met my sweetheart!

You could say they heralded my own fairy tale... I do, anyways!

:D
xx

Product review - Bubble Gun $2.99 @ Safeway

(just a quick review)

the easter bunny brought, master zeke this bubble gun for easter.

there was some eye rolling on Brian's part, but I figure if Zeke's going to try to shoot me with pencil crayons (colored pencils to the Americans in the audience)

there's no getting around the gun influence!

Just as the easter bunny supposed
He

Loved it!!

Sometimes he used the 'gun' as a 'stick' to hit bubbles with!

A success any way you look at it!
It says that it's for 3+ years, but Zeke's not the kinda kid to put things in his mouth, or drink the solution, so I felt safe giving it to him. He loved that the trigger made the blade go around and around.
(don't worry it's plastic and wouldn't hurt him)
That little gun was whirring non-stop for an hour. He loved that sound too!

Happy Thursday!

:D
xx

Apple Pie Cake

So, last week sometime, Zeke comes in from a rousing time digging in the yard, and says, "Cake!"

"Did you want to make a cake?" I asked, thinking that he would say no.

I was wrong.

I noticed it was around the time that I start making Brian's lunch, so I told him we were going to have to 'schedule our cake making.'

As soon as Zeke got on the phone with Brian he told him we were making a 'CAKE!'

What kind?

Apple Pie Cake!

oh.

absolutely....

I had no idea that there was such a thing, but, ah the interweb!

And I just can't turn this guy down ;)

So apple pie cake it is!

Martha's always good for this sort of thing...

So I printed off the recipe, saw that it was for a 9" spring form pan. Now I only have one spring form pan and it's 10". 

I figured this was only a little different. 

So I made the 'necessary' adjustments.

I made a few more adjustments on the fly 

(the increases needed to be increased, so that there could be enough for a topping) and it turned out better than you'd think!

Zeke helped.

Yummy, even.

Although...

It really does need the full amount of apples!

See the ratio of fruit to 'cake'?
:D

AND
it's not nearly as tall as Martha's...but that was due to pan size as well as the shortage of apples!

The original recipe called for 12 and I was increasing ingredients so you'd think that I'd require more, but no.

I had 5 granny smiths. 5 would be fine.

Not juicy enough.

And the description on the recipe that this is like a combo between a pie and a crisp is kind of accurate...The cake is like the crisp topping...

all topping! So it's very sweet. I'll pick up some more apples, cook them and serve that with the rest...cause it is SUPER YUMMY!

Zeke and I highly recommend it!

Of course, he's so sensible he only ate half his piece, but he walks away from a half a cookie! It doesn't mean anything...

I swear ;)

xxx

So it's Monday... I mean Tuesday... yikes...

Yesterday was rainy and my husband was sick so it really still felt like a SUNDAY, so you can't blame me too too much for being confused..

well, maybe you can. I don't really know you ;)

And it's blazing sunny so there is NO getting around mowing the lawn today.

Boo...

though...

I DO have studio work to do.

I'm still working on the wedding set jewelry as the materials have inspired some 'off roading' design-wise.

I've gotten a little off track from what the Bride and I agreed on and I'd better get back to it before the materials are all gone and I have to order new.

Sheesh.

VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

And SO ARTISTIC!

Perhaps.

Unless you have an image of an artist as someone who meets deadlines and keeps their word... which I don't know that my image of who I am quite matches that...

Not true.

I meet my DEADLINES and KEEP MY WORD

I just have a tendency to beeline between here and there.

 wild flowers bee - $25   songsoflight

Discovery Park Flowers Photo 8x10 - $15    LifeThroughMyLens

 

 

But now I'm back from collecting pollen and it's STRAIGHT to the hive for me!

And if I keep my head down, really crank out the jewelry, 

I might 

just 

miss 

my lawn mowing deadline.

;D

Have a good one!

xxx

Friday Etsy Meanderings

It's Easter Weekend!

Happy Good Friday everyone (Good Friday/Earth Day)

So here are some lovely Easter-y photos from a few great photogs over at etsy!

 Aren't they adorable??

 easter yellow spring chick - $22   fosterbk

woodland walk photo card - $4   artbeco

lamb photo - $33  janeheller

I soooo fell in love with this bag, from bayanhippo, THE MOMENT I saw it!!

But, seriously, all her stuff is fantastic!

And what would Mother's Day be without a little MOTHERF@!*$% plate??

 trixiedelicious is actually the shop THAT brought me to etsy!!

Any place where she can sell her fantastic wares is the place I want to be!!

artsonthevine is a great little yakima valley husband and wife business, with so many lampwork and copper delights that you will want everything!

I really like the industrial look their jewelry has. So fantastic!

I really need another word for fantastic!

And just because I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE MAP here today:

A return to things Easter-y and Spring-y!

(YES, those ARE real words)

baby hare Isolde - $55  dragonhouseofyuen

little black & gold vintage brooch - SOLD*

(It's from Spain so Mumma if you're reading this right now - Bring me one of those! Please!!)

raincloud necklace - $43  mayahelena (who's probably getting a little weirded out with all the attention I've been giving her lately, but seriously... I JUST DISCOVERED HER!! AND I LOVE ALL HER STUFF!!

so that's just the way it goes...)

And finally, another artist I can't get enough of ARTISANIEeurope's leaping rabbits mobile - $216.42USD

Have a great weekend everyone! 

I hope that easter bunny is good to you - maybe he'll bring us a new earth ;)

(too much?)

xx


*sorry but they seem to have disappeared. I removed the link.

Wedding Sets

So recently, I had the wonderful compliment of having a friend request that I make the jewelry for her wedding. She requested 5 sets: one for her and 4 bride's maids!

I am so honored and excited!

I love this idea. As an artisan I am always looking at jewelry wherever I go and especially weddings.

I just had to list the opportunity in my shop.

So check there, if you're interested!

With weddings it is nice because you have a color pallet but every person's will be just a little different. 

They will match, but their jewelry will also match their personalities!

She picked out a couple of my jewelry pieces that she liked and then gave me her colors and preference for materials.

I have a couple of pieces complete

(that I haven't taken photos of and my camera battery's dead, or I'd show you)

 and some half complete

(here are the halfsies!)

and am waiting on a few supplies but mostly it's been pure fun!

Have a wonderful day!

xx

Lots can be said for avoiding Perfectionism and expressing yourself clearly.

It frees you.
Allows you to be the person who pursues the dreams of your heart, fulfills the potential of who you really are.

That all sounds pretty great!

Doesn't it?

It does,
however,
require starting with what you've been hiding.

Yikes!

You know what I mean.

All that scary stuff that you wish you didn't do, that you wish wasn't true, that stuff that keeps you stuck, unable to move ahead with your dreams.

...so I've decided to start with something I have been hiding since we bought our house a year ago.

something that is really preventing me from moving ahead with my dreams.

My Studio.

 Now...

I DO share my studio with a small,

rather rambunctious toddler,

but I don't know that that's enough of an excuse!!

Do you think?

In FACT!

It got sooo messy last week that I moved my jewellry making stuff out to the dinning room table.

And that sat there for a few days before Brian asked what was going on?

I had to come clean.

My office was too messy to work in, I told him.

oh.

ok.

yup. 

I cleaned up the table and moved back into my office.

so... now that I've come clean; I'm going to have to clean up!

And what a better time than Spring!!

Wish me luck! :D

do you wish you were getting rid of something?

I wish you luck.

I hope that it goes well for both of us!

xx