Enameled Flower Challenge

Lorelei held a Jade Scott Enameled Flower Challenge...

This was the flower I used for the challenge...I loved the pink and copper colors together.

So what did I make?

I decided to make it into necklace.
I soldered the flower into a domed copper cup and riveted tiny vintage enameled flowers, also in domed copper cups. I then stamped the words "and smell the flowers..." and I added one of my tiny lampwork bees (hovering over the garden of blooms)

Thanks Lorelei! This was a fun challenge!

Here is the list of the other participants...
 1. Lorelei Eurto
2. Serena Trent
3. Susan Raber
4. Shawna Tobias
5. Lucid Moon Studio
6. K Hutchinson
7. Gigi
8. Lois Moon
And also!
http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com
http://mariagrimes.blogspot.com (you are here)

http://peacockfairy.blogspot.com/ 

The perfect ending

Last nights sunset was the perfect ending to a wonderful few days.

We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Santa Barbara (or paradise, as my dad would say) then headed up the coast to my favorite getaway place. There is nothing more relaxing than waking up to the smell of the salty air mixed with the pine trees. 

xo

Save the date...

Save the date...

Thursday, December 1st the Toys for Tots Auction starts!

Plus I'm getting ready (but not until after Thanksgiving) to load my site with holiday goodies, including ornaments, jewelry and even a fun kit!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! 

xo

It's coming very soon {and the winner}

A couple weeks ago while in Vegas, Molly and I had some extra time to play.

Our medium of choice...paper clay.

The little owl on the holly branch is my favorite, the little tiny red heart (below it) will dangle from the branch.

I think I'll offer the owl ornament as part of my Toys for Tots sale, which is coming very soon!

In case you are not familiar with this event, each year I offer fun things for sale (hopefully you'll love them and want to buy them) then I donate 100% of the money to The Toys for Tots. It's a win win for everyone!

If you'd like to be notified (via newsletter) when I have everything listed, just sign up for my newsletter.

Now for the "Vampire Heart" giveaway winner. I went to random.org

And the number was 26, which is GwynnieB, Congrats Gwynnie! Send me your mailing address, so I can send you your heart.

I myself can not wait to see the movie (loved the books too)...but not this weekend, too many screaming girls :o)

xo

Winter Goodies {a giveaway}

~Let it Snow Bracelet~

I added a few new goodies to the store today...I've been working on "Winter" things.

You can check them out HERE.

But, before you go...I'm having a little giveaway.

In honor of The Twilight saga....

To enter-

Just leave one (1) comment below, letting me know if you plan on seeing the movie.

If you'd like to earn extra chances, here is how...

Facebook about the giveaway = another chance*

Blog about the giveaway = another chance* 

*Make sure you leave a separate comment for each one you do (with the links)

I'll have random.org pick the winner this Friday!

Good Luck

Contest is now closed...winner will be announced shortly 

TGIF

It's a good day for dad's veggie soup...

I actually make this soup all the time. But I have made a few changes along the way. I now make it in a crock pot, because it's so easy and I love the way it makes the house smell...

If you'd like the original  recipe it's here.

Vegetable Beef Soup
2 medium Zucchini (cubed)

 2 medium carrots sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used a small bag of mini carrots)

10 white button mushrooms, sliced

2 stalks celery sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 large russet potato-peeled and cubed
2 onion-sliced
1 lb. Beef (cut in cubes)

1/2 lb green beans cut in half diagonally

4 cups vegetable broth

3 cups canned crushed tomatoes -drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped garlic (I love garlic)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried

1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried

Add ground pepper to taste 

Saute' the beef in a pan with a little oil over high heat, until beef in browned.

Add the cooked beef and all the other ingredients to a crock pot. Cook for 8-10 hours on low.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese...

Have a cozy weekend...

xo

NEW Design of the Month {November}

 ~Angel Dust Necklace~

I'm a little late with November's Design of the Month...better late than never...right?

You can check out the details here.

xo

Home again

Home again.

No matter how comfy hotel beds are, it always feels good to come home to your own...doesn't it?

When we left home the temps were in the low 80's, feeling a lot like Summer. But, we came back to a light dusting of snow on the mountain tops around us. What a difference a week makes.

I love walking around Vegas at night. It's a visual overload. Where else can you go from New York New York to Paris to Venice and then to Egypt all in one night.

The Bellagio fountains are always fun...

Friday after SEMA we headed to the race track for the invitational Optima Challenge. Let me just say, Kurt had a BLAST! Kurt use to drive race cars back in the day, so he was definitely in his eliminate. The event was televised by the SPEED channel, not sure of the air date yet...

l

Speed TV putting cameras in Kurt's Tahoe.

I had my pocket camera with me, so I took a quick shot of Kurt coming out of one of the turns.

Colby Donaldson (from Survivor) and Molly (Molly's a Survivor fan, wink wink)

Today I hit the ground running. So much on my to-do list this week, so I hope it's a productive one.

Have a great week!

xo

Vegas Baby

(Kurt's TV interview) 

We've been in Vegas this week (SEMA show for Kurt) 

While the guys have been at the show during the day, Molly & I had crafty time in the hotel. I found a Hobby Lobby here (first time I've been to one...omg, fun store!) and bought a block of paper clay and have been making lots of fun things! Can't wait to share...I also found a huge bead store yesterday! HUGE...I spent 2 hours there yesterday...fun fun!

I was packed and ready to head home today but Kurt has been invited to The Optima Challenge, which will be televised on SPEED™.

So instead of packing up to head home, we are packing up and heading to the race track. 

See ya next week

xo

Happy Halloween

Ray Villafane is one amazing pumpkin carver!

Have a Happy Halloween...

xo

So tiny

When my one and only was just a couple days old we had his hand cast in plaster.

I wanted to remember just how tiny his little hands were in the years to come.

It's hard to believe looking at his hands today, that they were ever so tiny.

We will help him celebrate his 24th birthday this weekend...
Happy Birthday Anthony!
xo

The Mosses Crawl

 

These Fevered Days...to take them to the Forest
Where Waters cool around the mosses crawl 

And shade is all that devastates the stillness
Seems it sometimes this would be all

~Emily Dickinson~

The Mosses Crawl Necklace is available here (with free shipping)

An Amazing Harvest

ok, you maybe thinking amazing harvest? 4 pumpkins, really?

But what if I told you I did not plant pumpkins this year...not one!

These pumpkins sprouted in the garden after I added my compost which contained all the garden recyclables from last year. Instead of plucking the sprouts when they sprouted in my tomato patch, I decided to let them do their thang. Although each vine only produced one pumpkin each, it turned out each vine was a different variety, which was pretty cool...

Left to right-Long Island Cheese, Jarrahdale, Kakai, Winter Luxury.

 A week in review...
Lots of snuggling with Molly (she REALLY missed me being gone for only 2 days, silly dog)
Working on cleaning the studio (WOW it looks like a hurricane went through, shows can do that)
Managed to give myself a black eye (fell face first on the tile floor, OUCH)
Canned the rest of my tomatoes from the garden (it was a great crop this year)

P.S. if you know of a good under eye concealer, I'd love to know. Mine just makes my black eye a light bluish gray color. Which might look good for Halloween, but not going to the grocery store.

P.S.S.
I added a few Fall acorns to my site.
xo

He did it again!

A few weeks ago at the Halloween and Vine show, I thought the iron gate Kurt made me for my table-top display got somewhat lost because it sat to low on my table...

I wanted it to sit higher (to show it off you know)

So I placed it on a old wood crate, which brought it up to the level I wanted. But then it needed something else...

So I asked Kurt if he could paint me a sign in the same colors of my business cards, before my next show... (which was only a couple days away)

It turned out perfect!

Plus, the back of the crate is a perfect place to hide things like, extra business cards, pens, receipt books, water bottles, etc... 

xo

A little glitter, a little garden

Wow, what a fun fun weekend! Glitterfest was an amazing show!

Thank you to everyone who came to visit...I so enjoy meeting people in person that I only chat with via the internet. I still have a sore throat from all the gabbing! It was a fast pace show, so the day just flew by...

One day we headed over to Roger's Gardens. Always a must when we are in Newport Beach. I still remember the first time my sister, Lynette took me there so many years ago. It's like Disneyland for gardeners! So much fun!

Here is just a little of what we saw (they were all decked out for Halloween)

Had to get a ivy bird cage.
I also loved the plants below them (green and lavender, yum) but I knew they would not survive my zone 7 temps. So sad.

Lots of pumpkins!

These were kind of creepy, but fun

LOVED the beaded spiderwebs!

Fancy...

So much to see

Bone chilling...

I see the moon.....

LOVED!

I HAD to get a few of these photos! 

They so reminded me of Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion. They are old looking photos that changed as you walked by....LOVE them!

So perfect for Halloween!

It was funny, it turned out the guy who makes them was selling at the Glitterfest show.

See, I told you Glitterfest was a fun show!

xo

Hope to see you there!

31...today

~October 11, 1980~

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."

~Winnie the Pooh~

Here's to the next 31 years...

xo

Have a Heart ♥

My dad is participating in the American Heart Walk this weekend in Santa Barbara to help raise money for the American Heart Association (a very worthy cause) 

Today I have a couple hearts that I'm donating to this cause. 100% of all the money from the sale of these hearts will be donated to the American Heart Association in your name. Once the purchase is complete, I'll donate the money in your name, which will show up on my dad's donation page.

Or if you'd like to make a donation to the cause (and skip the hearts) you can HERE. (thank you!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo

Binky

Binky necklaces...fun for the mommy and grammy to-be's.

A few weeks ago I received a special request for a necklace for a very special mommy-to-be.

It's been awhile since I've made my babies, this time I added little binky dangles for fun...

xo
Update, forgot to mention if you'd like one too, they are in my Etsy shop.

Through my front window

The other day Molly alerted me that we had visitors. You can't get anything by her...

And Halloween continues this week in the shop. 

xo