Pearls and Gold

I've been working a bit more with goldfill metal.  I love the shiny cool look of sterling silver, but also love the warm glow of gold!

Freshwater Pearl on 18 inch chain

There's something very timeless and elegant about freshwater pearls and gold!

Freshwater Pearls on Earwires

Goldfill is the next best thing to real gold. It will not tarnish, crack, chip or peel. Under normal circumstances it will last a lifetime. 14K gold filled wire matches your solid 14K gold jewelry perfectly.

Freshwater Pearl Bracelet

All items now available in my ETSY shop.

Angel Earrings

One of my favorite things to make are my angel earrings.  They just bring a smile to people.  I just made a handful of pink crystal angels for breast cancer survivors.  Available now in my ETSY shop :)

White Holiday Earrings

  

Holiday earrings are available in my ETSY shop.

Jewelry Craft Show Displays

I don't do many shows, so the displays I use are usually home-made and inexpensive.  Since we are in the middle of show season, I thought I'd re-post my DIY earring display.  Here is the original post.

The earring cards and hangers were a great investment.  Each card has a little plastic back 'hook' so I was able to hang them on ribbon.

The hooks are adhesive and attach right to the back of the card you want to hang:

Photobomb by Marnie:

I purchased the hangers from the Homegrown Gems shop on ETSY.  The shop has a lot of great jewelry cards and tags along with accessories.

I've also found that baseball trading card stands make great earring displays.   I found these on EBAY: 

They're the perfect size to display earrings as well as my business cards:

Good luck in all of your shows!

Sweet Bird Designs Spooky Coupon Code!

Happy Halloween!

Use coupon code BUTTERFLY for 10% off your entire purchase from my ETSY shop! (must be all caps).

Apple Bran Muffins

I have such a sweet tooth, especially when I'm at work!  I'm always looking for homemade, lowfat treats to pack in my bag.  These were really good -- not overly sweet.  Usually when I make lowfat baked goods I don't like them to much. I used 2 apples so they were really filled with apple chunks.  My dad also likes his sweets and he gave me the thumbs up too :)  So this recipe's a keeper!

Apple Bran Muffins
1 egg
3/4 c milk
1 1/2 c Kellogg's All Bran Cereal
1 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
2 T melted butter
1 or 2 apples, peeled and chopped
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 c honey

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Beat the egg with milk in a bowl and mix in the bran cereal.  Let stand until the cereal absorbs the liquid, about 5 minutes.  Gently mix in the flour, baking soda, spices, melted butter, apple, banana and honey.  Stir until well mixed.
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Awareness Ribbon Necklaces

Just listed in my ETSY shop are new awareness ribbon necklaces in a rainbow of colors.  I was happy to find enameled ribbons in colors other than pink and I'm hoping to find more colors!  All come with Swarovski crystal accent and dangle from an 18 inch sterling silver box chain.  There are great charts on the internet that show the various color representations.  Here are the ones I've found for the colors I have in my shop:

• Purple:  Alzheimer's Disease, Lupus, pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, fibromyalgia
• Lavendar:  All Cancers
• Teal:  Ovarian Cancer and Anxiety Disorders
• Pink:  Breast Cancer

Is it Fall or Winter?

Mother Nature likes to have fun with Northeast Ohio! 6 inches of wet, thick, heavy snow greeted us this morning, taking down power lines and tree limbs.  

The pup isn't too crazy about it.  But she looks so darn cute in her fleece jacket!

It was very pretty -- but just not fun to drive in!  Boy, I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter!

Breast Cancer Awareness Jewelry

I started making breast cancer awareness jewelry after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago.  Usually when someone buys an awareness item from my shop, they share who it's for. It warms my heart reading their stories.  It also reminds me how precious life is.

Let's keep fighting for a cure!  And remember to take care of yourselves!

Apple Orchard Visit

I often take 1/2 days off to spend time with my parents.  Today we decided to relax and enjoy the sunny afternoon at a local apple orchard.  It was a perfect fall day - a bit crisp but nice and warm in the sun.  

It's fun to sample a variety of apples  - dad likes that they have free samples :)  Our favorite was the honeycrisp.

And so many pumpkins!

Happy Fall!

New Yellow-Ribbon Themed Charms

Just listed in my ETSY shop -- a couple charms/pendants in a yellow ribbon theme.  I think these are perfect for anyone with loved ones serving our country.

End of Summer

Have a safe holiday weekend!

Recipe ~ Orange Sweet Rolls

Aren't these beautiful!  And I made them - from scratch!  I bake with yeast one time a year - I make my Grandma's Italian Easter Bread.  I'll admit, baking with yeast is intimidating to me.  I never know if the water is too hot, too cold and if my yeast will proof.  But when I came across this recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction, I couldn't resist trying!  

If you love sweets or baking, her site is a great source of recipes and baking advice.  Her posts not only give the recipe, but step by step instructions and pictures (which help a LOT).  I've made several of her cookie and bar recipes and they always turn out great.

Here's a link to Sally's recipe =>  Orange Sweet Rolls  (and her pictures are much prettier!)  I'll be making these again for breakfast this weekend.

Amethyst Bracelet

Here's a pretty bracelet just listed in my ETSY shop.  Amethysts and jewel-toned colored pearls dangle from a sterling silver chain.  So fun to wear! 

Labor Day Recipes ~ Cucumber Dill Sandwiches

I think this is my all time favorite appetizer recipes.  I posted this recipe a while ago.  These are another easy recipe and I guarantee you'll get asked for the recipe!  

Cocktail Cucumber Sandwiches
1 package cocktail bread, either pumpernickle or rye
8 oz cream cheese (I use light)
2T sour cream (light here too)
1 package Good Seasons Dry Italian Dressing Mix
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thin (I like to use a seedless cucumber)
Dried dillweed

Combine cream cheese, sour cream and dressing mix. Refrigerate at least an hour or overnight. Spread mixture on each slice of bread and top with 1 or 2 slices of cucumber. Sprinkle with dillweed.

I usually make the cream cheese mixture the day before and then assemble the sandwiches a couple hours before the party. Assembling them too far in advance results in the bread getting a bit soggy.

Labor Day Recipes ~ Chili Dip

Here is another easy appetizer recipe.  I usually make it with a can of meat-free chili beans so my vegetarian friends and family can it it.  I found this on the Pinapple Grass blog a while back.  This blog has lots of recipe ideas and is fun to browse.

I never seem to catch a picture of this when I make it, but Tara has one on her blog.  Make sure you double this recipe - it will get devoured!

Here's a link to the recipe =>  Recipe

Labor Day Recipes ~ Caprese Skewers

With Labor Day around the corner I thought this week would be a great time to share some recipes that would be perfect for any type of get-together celebrating the end of summer.

These little caprese skewers couldn't be any easier!  You'll need:
Mozzarella cheese (I use fresh)
Any type of cherry or grape tomatoes
Your favorite Italian salad dressing
Fresh basil, cut into thin slices
Toothpicks

Cut the mozzarella into cubes about the size of your tomatoes. Marinate in the dressing for 30-60 minutes.  Cut your tomatoes in half (unless they are already very small).  Skewer a tomato and cheese cube on a toothpick.  After arranging on your serving platter, sprinkle with the basil.

Delicious!

Garden Bounty!

I stopped by my garden at the city hall on my way home from work today... my plan was to pick a tomato or 2 for dinner.  Good think I had a bag in my car!

Getting back into the swing of things + new earrings

Seems like forever since I've posted.  It's amazing how time flies.  But I'm back now after taking a short break.  Hope everyone is doing well!

Here are some new earrings I'm listing today in my ETSY shop.  

Sausage and Bean Casserole

Baby, it's cold outside!  But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.  When I come home from work all I want to do is put on my heavy sweats and curl up with a bowl of something hot.  Make a batch of this bean casserole and pop it in the fridge or freezer.  It's great re-heated and will warm you up in no time.  It's not the healthiest of meals, but oh so good comfort food!  It's a treat for us :)  It's also great to feed a crowd at parties.  

Sausage and Bean Casserole

2 lb Bob Evans Original Sausage

1 cups chopped onion

1 can green beans, drained

1 can yellow beans, drained

1 can lima beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

22 oz canned Campbell's pork and beans

1 can tomato soup

1 cup brown sugar

2T dried yellow mustard

1. Fry and drain sausage until cooked through.  
2. In large bowl, combine sausage, onion and beans
3. In separate bowl, combine tomato soup, brown sugar and dried mustard.  Mix well and add to sausage and beans.
4. Pour into baking dish and cover.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

*It's an easy recipe to substitue whatever type of beans you like.  Some of my aunts have even added sliced up hot dogs.  So good!

Blue Sky!

Today there are spots of bright blue sky and sun popping out from the clouds!  More snow and gray skies are predicted for this weekend.  It's still bitter cold, but that bit of sun can really be uplifting.

Blue is one of my favorite colors to work with.  Blue gemstones such as turquoise, chalcedony and lapis look so pretty against sterling silver.  Here are a few of my favorites in my ETSY shop.

Easy Beef Brisket Recipe

Let me start by reminding you that this is not a food blog, so please forgive my pictures :)

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit.  Yum!  I had to share!  This was our meal on a recent cold snowy Sunday.  The house smelled so good as it baked.  It was so easy, and I think it may be even better the next day!

3 lb beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 lb carrots cut in big chunks
12 oz tomato-based chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz beer
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Season brisket with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Place brisket in glass baking dish and cover with sliced onions.  Arrange carrots around brisket.
4. In bowl, mix together chili sauce, brown sugar and beer.  Pour over brisket.
5. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Remove brisket and let cool slightly.  Slice (against the grain) and return to the baking dish.

Enjoy!

ETSY Finds: Valentine Cards

I still love coming home to find a card in the mail!  There's something special about someone taking the time to pick out a card and send it in the mail.   And it's even more special when the card is handmade.  Here are some ideas for Valentine's Day cards I found on ETSY.  They all made me smile :)  Make sure you check out the shops of these talented artists:

Kumquat Paperworks

Goomie's World

Metsy Made

Le Trango

Ladybug On A Leaf Designs

Shelley's Craft Corner