Working It

How was your Memorial Day yesterday?
Did you get to enjoy a long weekend?

Since Pat was off, we took the opportunity to head to the beach.
Of course, in reality I was still working as I dog-earred magazine pages with jewelry design aspects I really liked.

Today, I went through those pages with my trusty Sharpie pen and wrote in more specific notes about what it was I liked about the designs.

Well, I did that AND caught up on some chores, some picture taking, and some jewelry making.
Today became my Monday and what a Monday it was!
How did you survive the long holiday weekend and the catching up it created?

Wet Motivation

I guess I'll make the post today rather short and sweet.

Originally, I had this whole deep-thought tangent about cat poop and the superiority of the human race that I was going to go on about, but I'll skip that for now. . .maybe I'll share it another time.

It's been a dreary day here, but we've needed the rain. I enjoy a nice storm. I thought it was dampening (hehehe) my motivation until I FINALLY decided to just get in the craft room and see what happens.

Now, there's a few new items in progress on my desk!!
And there's a new thrifted item looking for it's place in the craft room (from the tiny bit of thrift shopping I got to do yesterday.)
Check out this awesome big jar.
The mug is only there as a size reference

Now, let me get back to work before I get too distracted here.
On Sale - Royal Affaire Earrings

OH And, here's hoping your motivation is just inside your creative space as well!

Bead Table Wednesday

Today's plans were a bit rushed by the fact that a friend wanted some menu planning advice while having lunch. So, I didn't make it to my bead table today, but have spent the week so far pulling expired Etsy listings and making decisions.

These were keepers to be re-listed or sold at another venue.



These were taken apart



And resorted into my bead and button soup jars.


It's been a real task!

Check out what's happening on other bead tables this Wednesday.
Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group

Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire is giving away these (in any color you like). Check out her blog post for the details


New
Earthly Delight Necklace
On Sale
20% Off Glass and Glam Necklace

Tumblr Eye Candy

How'd you like my kitchen story yesterday?
It's one of my favorites.

After all the wordy-ness of yesterday, I'm going to take it easy today and be thankful that it's Tumblr Tuesday. I found HEAPS of lovely bits this last week, but I'm only going to share a few.
Buttons and a Rainbow = SWOON!

Kitchen of My Dreams

Yeah, I could relax here

Not sure what it is, but I've been loving the succulents lately

Dreamy Picnic

Head over to the rest of THAT blog at CraftyHope.com for more!

These earrings totally make me long for a little beach outing. Hopefully this weekend!
Beach Babe Earrings

I've got all kinds of tasks I want to get off that to-do list today. . .Come back tomorrow to see what's on my Bead Table!

Gather 'Round for a Story

Last week I said that I would try to open up to y'all a bit more, and I even asked if there was anything you wanted to know. The fabulous Patty of My Life Under the Bus suggested that I start with something "funny." It being Menu Plan Monday, I've got JUST the story! (with some jewelry peppered in for the pretty pictures!)
ON SALE - Unique Inspiration


Let me start by saying that I wasn't always the cooking maven I am today. Growing up, I had absolutely no ambition for or interest in learning to cook. My mom joked that I could barely boil water. But, I made it through summers on mac-n-cheese, ramen noodles, and Chef Boyardee. That was all I needed.

With a move on my college campus, I branched out my cooking repertoire a little. My favorites were tuna salad and nachos (not together of course.)  But still, no serious cooking. When Pat and I started dating, I really didn't have to reach for any new recipes. The man loves simple things like Hamburger Helper, spaghetti, and chili (we went through a LOT of hamburger meat!) Yet, something in ME started to stir. I began to clip recipes from magazines and flip through cook books. I still can't put my finger on what changed.
Summer Shine Earrings

As my relationship progressed, Pat and I decided to rent a house together that was about midway between where each of us worked. I felt all domestic in my rented HOUSE. As such, I expanded my cooking skills along with the additional floor space. I was even making lasagna! Until. . . .

[Let me preface the rest of the story with the small fact that right after we started renting the house, we were having plumbing problems. These problems meant that we couldn't run any water down the drains without another drain backing up. It was a rough time.]

Since we were having the plumbing issues and eating off of paper plates, I decided to make a MASSIVE lasagna in a disposable aluminum pan so we could eat it for days without making any more messes. I thought I was being resourceful. I carefully measured out the sauce, the various cheeses, the layers of noodles, and more sauce, and meat, and more cheese, and sauce. . . It was beautiful. With the last layer of cheese sprinkled on top, I grabbed the pan's sides and turned to put the whole thing in the oven. Just as I reached the oven, the entire pan COLLAPSED, hit the floor, and splattered all over me, the oven, the floor, the cabinets, EVERYWHERE!! It looked like a crime scene.

I stood ankle-deep in the mess and stared in disbelief. There went our dinner! There went all that hard work. There went . . ..oh goodness. . . HOW was I supposed to clean up this disaster WITHOUT WATER? I called Pat in and he surveyed the scene. We scooped up lasagna from the floor with a dustpan and wiped it off other surfaces with paper towels. Sauce has a way of getting in more nooks and crannies than you know exist. After what seemed like an eternity of cleaning up the several pounds of lasagna from the kitchen, I was outside . . .  getting HOSED OFF!!! Seriously, my loving boyfriend pointed a hose at me and sprayed off bits of uncooked lasagna and sauce from my body in the backyard! I knew then that we would laugh about it one day. And, we've laughed about it MANY times since.

However, this is the lasagna I make now.
Stouffer's Lasagna
And I VERY CAREFULLY maneuver it into and out of the stove.

Obviously I do enjoy cooking now and take some time each week to make a meal plan of the foods I'll be preparing. Without further ado, here's my Menu Plan Monday. There are more where this came from over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

MONDAY
B: Granola bar
L: Leftovers
D: Mac-n-cheese with conecuh, spinach salad (with grapes, strawberries, and almonds)

TUESDAY
B: Breakfast burrito
L: Ham sandwiches
D:Grilled chicken, sweet potato, broccoli

WEDNESDAY
B: Cereal
L: Tuna noodle
D: Pat on own

THURSDAY
B: PB toast
L: bean burritos
D: Beef with snow peas

FRIDAY
B: Cereal
L: Soup and grilled cheese
D: Mexican - out

SATURDAY
B: Omelets
L: PB&J
D: Hope on own

SUNDAY
B: Muffins
L: Ham quesidilla
D: Hope on own

I think I've said enough today and my craft room is begging for attention. I can hear the beads calling out to be played with. . . It's time to get some real work done!

Let me know if you've had any similar kitchen disasters. I'd love to know I'm not the only one!

I Heart Macro from the Kitchen

We're just having a lazy Sunday at home, but somehow all my macro pictures ended up being taken in front of the sink!
Mojito ingredients

Very Yummy Mojitos

Kabobs for the grill

Check out what else is going on with Studio Waterstone's I Heart Macro



Before I head out to enjoy my Sunday Supper . . .I found a GIVEAWAY from Copper Diem!! GOOOOOOO Check it out!!

I hope you enjoy the rest of YOUR weekend also!!

Thinking About Opening Up

I feel like I've just been "phoning in" blog posts for some time now without ever actually revealing anything.

If you've been coming here long enough, you may have inferred that I read a ton of blogs (and am trying to get better about commenting on them.) My favorites are, of course, other jewelry bloggers. Yet, I also read the blogs of friends. I read food blogs. I even read so called mommy-blogs (even though I'm nobody's mommy.) And, there are quite a few other miscellaneous blogs that I find myself unable to delete from the feed reader. In all that blog reading, I've learned that there are MANY, MANY different styles of blogging. In the several years that I've been doing it, I still haven't completely found my style. However, I know that I do WANT to be one of those bloggers who shares my innermost thoughts and funny bits of my day and lessons I've learned. Somehow, though, I've found it very hard to do so. But, I will try to get better about it. I will.

So, prepare for some "about me" posts in the future. If there's anything you want to know, feel free to ask!


For now let me tell you the high and low of my day today.
LOW: While trying to finish up this necklace I'm super excited about, I ran out of the wire. . .and had to order more . . .and have to wait. I'm no good with waiting.

HIGH: I made a run to Hobby Lobby and Michael's as a pick-me-up. I found that Michael's has a few new lines of jewelry products. They are all part of their 'Bead Landing' name. AND!! They were all on sale!!

Speaking of sales, a few items were added to the ON SALE section of my shop. Go there to see what they were.

Not on sale, but new in the shop are these:
Cloudy Skies
Please let me know if there more you'd like to know about me. Please, I need a place to start.

Coming Up Roses

It took me a few hours to do it, but I finally made my way into the craft room this afternoon.

As usual, the craft desk was a disaster.

But, as I focused in, I was able to narrow down my options.

Until I created this lovely pendant.

And started on the chain for it.

What does your craft desk look like on this Bead Table Wednesday?
Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group


While I had a productive afternoon, the morning wasn't wasted either.
Unlocked Necklace

Getting My Share On

If you saw the Crafty Hope Jewelry Facebook Fan Page yesterday, you'll have noticed that I was actually able to get crafty (YAY). Hopefully once I get some housework done (dang litterboxes) today, I'll be able to bust out some more creative masterpieces!

In the meantime, let me share some of the great items I found on Tumblr over the past week.
Cupcakes and Cookies 

Blue Flowers and Jars

Easy Chocolate Raspberries

Awesome House

Spring Button Flowers

Ice Cream = Happiness

While I'm sharing, here's a few more GIVEAWAYS I stumbled across.
Finally,  I listed these earrings this morning. This technique was new to me. I'd love to know what you think!
Of Far Away Lands Earrings

There's Always So Much to Say on Monday

Somehow this little rosebud picture got misplaced when I was working on editing my photos for I Heart Macro yesterday.

It couldn't have been the hastiness of my trying to get that post written that made me lose the photo. . .nooooo that couldn't be it. In any case, since I found it this morning I thought I'd go ahead and share it today!

I'm still trying to decide what else I'll be doing today. . .chores of course. But, I'm not sure how much more of the craft room I need to work on or how much more I WANT to work on it until I find the additional pieces for my re-design. Either way, clearing off a few more surfaces will be in those plans. Then. . .I might just create something. We'll see. That might be too ambitious for me right now.

I mean, I've already created the menu for this week. . .
Speaking of which, here's my newly crafted meal plan for Menu Plan Monday. Check out more over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.
MONDAY
B: Cereal
L: Turkey sandwiches, fruit
D: Stroganoff, green beans

TUESDAY
B: Bacon, eggs, toast
L: Leftovers
D:  Crockpot chicken, salad, mashed potatoes

WEDNESDAY
B: PB toast
L: Tuna noodles
D: Hope out, Pat on own

THURSDAY
B: Cereal
L: Turkey quesidillas
D: Tortilla soup (from freezer)

FRIDAY
B: Omelets
L: Chicken salad
D: Pat gig, Hope on own

SATURDAY
B: Waffles
L: PB&J rollups
D: Grilled steak, grilled veggie kabobs, brown rice

SUNDAY
B: Breakfast burritos
L: Soup and grilled cheese
D: Mac-n-cheese with conecuh sausage, peas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**GIVEAWAYS!!!**
I know I've been lacking lately in sharing giveaways, but I've been WAY BEHIND on my blog reading and by the time I get to it. . .the giveaway is OVER. However, I'm catching up and have these two to share today.
1. Andrew Thornton is giving away a very nice set of ImpressArt design stamps. The stamp designs are their entire "Shabby Chic" line and are awesome!!
2. Tish at JustATish Designs has a fab copper tree pendant from ArtBeads and a $20 gift certificate that she is offering up.Too cool!!

[Both of these giveaways simply ask for a comment. You can also get additional entries to both of them by tweeting, FB announcing, and blogging about the giveaways. Please go to their blog posts for the specifics!]
 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Before I head out for the day and try to get to those tasks I mentioned, let me share with you what's new in the shop.
NEW
Sweet Simplicity Earrings
 NEWLY ON SALE
Music to My Earrings - 20% OFF
Have a fabulous Monday!

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