A giveaway! :)

I'm giving away 3 handmade items over at my main blog... check it out :)

LWICD Wednesday - Wire wrap pendants

Something a little different... I love this technique because it showcases each stone and it's easier to do a linear color gradient line-up.

Spinel, tourmaline, sapphire and quartz...

London blue topaz, sapphire, tanzanite and iolite...

Rectangle faceted citrine surrounded by green tourmaline...

Peridot, tourmaline & citrine...

These will be online in a week or so. They still need the necklace part... just a small detail ;)

Two of Two for Tuesday - Shelves

I was flipping through a magazine (of course I can't remember which one anymore, and the photo was already cropped.)... but look at this shelving!

I know it's been done before, and I've seen something similar at Ikea, and on Trading Spaces... but I just loved how this shelf grouping is set up.

I'm thinking a whole wall of shelves like this... perhaps I could assemble them on the ground then mount (to avoid a zillion holes in the wall) and paint some with flowers and leave some plain with just a clear coat or white wash. I love what they did with them in this picture, color wise. I could frame a few out with molding and put pictures or a mirror in them... make a whole focal shelf wall. Ooooh... I smell a project :) And in my office, I can customize my wall o' shelves to include ribbon dowels, hooks, large shelves for my jars (we don't have earthquakes in NC! woohoo! hehe) and other fun little cubbies. And in the bathroom... and in the...

Yep, I think I like them.

One of Two for Tuesday - Casi Cielo Coffee

Do you like coffee? We REALLY do :)

I know Starbucks isn't truly the best for the snobby coffee connoisseur's picky palette, (that's so not us) but I must share a coffee that I really enjoy. And it's from Starbucks, for a limited time (artificially "limited"? The jury is still out).

It says it has hints of dark chocolate and lemon in it... whatever it is, I'm in love and I've stocked up :)

Maybe I should call Tuesday's posts "Show and tell Tuesday" ;)

Magazine Monday - a little blue

I've only met one person in my life who dislikes the color blue... and she was very passionate about it. Otherwise, I think everyone has a blue room... even if it's the palest iceberg blue in a tiny powder room. Blue and green are my favorite colors... I have about 12 used gallons of paint in my basement to prove it... and I like to go dark and bold ;)

Back to Making Jewelry!

I feel like I have postpartum Christmas depression... the whirlwind of packing, shipping, rushing, inventory checking, the festive sounds of packing tape unrolling... all sort of came to a screeching halt!

Can't I just go into suspended animation until September? ;)

Kidding.

I really like the color and whimsy of Valentine's, St. Patty's and Springtime pastels... but there's just something about the Fall into the Holidays that I really love. Can't I just give everything a Christmas or Halloween flavor? Trees with hearts, snowmen at the end of rainbows, pumpkins with bunny ears... eggnog hunts. Yep. Someone call Hallmark.

Changing gears a wee bit... Here are a few jewelry pieces I've been working on... some are a work in progress :) I really like the simpler earrings with only a few stones.

Hoping to muster up some inspiration to paint tomorrow... come on Valentine's day bug... bite me! ;)

Speaking of inspiration, we've been playing Little Big Planet 2. It has oodles of inspiration. Shooting cupcakes, riding fluffy robo-bunnies, dodging flaming marshmallows... it's pretty amazing.

Fiesta con mucho mucho comida…

We made quite the meal for DH's Birthday :)

To read the full story and get recipes, please check out my main blog :)

Steak Chimichurri, corn cake, bread pudding and more :) All tested and tasted with much success ;)