The Black Walnut Ink Experiment

I purchased some black walnut ink from my friends Joanne and Alex a while back. Now that the holidays are behind me, I've had some time to experiment with the ink. I dyed some bone beads. You can see the results above. I love the way they came out. I have plans to throw a few more items into the dye pot.
There are a couple of pieces listed in my shop. You can find them here. And you can find the ink for sale here.
I am also going to dye with indigo. Stay tuned.
Until next time.....

Hearts and Flowers and Arrows

My Valentine's Day section is complete. I've been working on it since my last post. I'm always trying to come up with something different. Click here to see my selection of hearts and flowers and arrows.
Hope to see you there!
Until next time.....

Cyber Monday Sale

What better way to shop, than to be warm and dry. Curled up on the sofa. In front of the Christmas tree, lights on. Laptop in hand.
I'm having a Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy jewelry shop today. All items have been marked down 15%. Sale ends tonight at midnight. Hope to see you there.
Now to get back to some serious shopping. And staring out the window.
Happy Holidays!
Katie and Althea

Hearts For Sale

My Valentine Heart Jewelry is for sale for a few days in my Etsy shop, while supplies last. The sale is scheduled to end February 5th at 12:00 AM. Everything in my heart section is marked down 10%. You can find that section here.
In other news, we woke up to a dusting of snow. It looks beautiful! I'm planning on heading out in a while to take some photos.
Happy February!
Until next time.....

New Arrows

You know those times when you are in a creative rut? Well, I'm not in one. It's the exact opposite. I have a sketchbook full of ideas suddenly and plenty of time to work on them. I have pictures to take and pictures to edit. So, why did Picasa decide to mess with me now? I've been fooling with it for the last couple of days. So frustrating! Hopefully in the next few days, I'll fully understand what's been happening. I can't stand to have something unfinished and up in the air. It will work itself out in the end. It has too. Right?
Look for these earrings to hit the shop this week. Here's to a productive week for all.
Until next time.....

Cupid Draw Back Your Bow

Just in time for Valentine's Day. Hearts and arrows in my Etsy shop.

Thank You!

Thanks to those of you that stopped by my Etsy shop during my Black Friday ~ Cyber Monday sale. You rock!
On another note.....this is what happens when we try to take a photo for a Christmas card. Those cats that I see on Etsy product listing photos are so well behaved.
Until next time.....

Thanksgiving Goodness

We've been over the river and through the woods. We ate. We drank. We visited. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's been non-stop since Wednesday, when the roofers showed up to begin the roofing job. With holiday music cranked up loud, so as to mask the sound of nail guns and air compressors, I baked, and cooked and prepped for our holiday meal.
Usually we have a very traditional meal, but this year my sister in law suggested we get a deboned turkey stuffed with shrimp from New Orleans. So we did just that. And we made sides to go with that Cajun bird. I made Creole sweet potatoes, Black olive bread, cranberry sauce, sauteed kale with shallots and red jalapenos. Dessert was pecan pie. John made duck stew. Our cousin Susan, who is a vegetarian, brought a hazelnut loaf and gravy.  It was an excellent idea. The dinner was fabulous and the leftovers are just as fab.
Don't look for pictures. I didn't take any. Honestly, I didn't even think about taking photos. My camera stayed home.
I am having a holiday sale in my Etsy shop that I've yet to post about. It goes on until Tuesday night. Everything in my shop is marked down 20%. If you click on the snowflake, it will take you to the shop.
I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'll be decking the halls this week, getting ready to slide into Christmas.
Until next time.....

Full Circle

Twenty something years ago, when I started making jewelry, I worked mainly with turquoise. I couldn't get enough of it. So many beautiful shades to be had. Along the way, my interest shifted to working with vintage beads. A couple of months ago, I opened an email from my old gemstone supplier and got lost in the turquoise. I had to buy some. It's been too long since I held a beautiful strand of American turquoise. So, I bought two. One Sleeping Beauty (pictured above) and one Kingman. I listed a couple of necklaces with the Sleeping Beauty and have yet to cut apart the Kingman.
I love those 'full circle' moments in life.
Until next time.....

Holiday Baubles

I've been listing holiday themed jewels in my Etsy shop. Some are new. Some are old designs that I brought back. The ones in the collage are new. You can see my Winter/Holiday section by clicking here.
I need to shoot some more pieces today. Or tomorrow. But right now, I need breakfast.
Until next time.....

CIJ Sale Ends This Weekend

My Christmas in July sale in my Etsy shop ends this weekend. I've added quite a few new items to my sale section, including all of my anchor necklaces. So, if you've had your eye on them, you can pick one up for 20% off. They can be found in my CIJ sale section right here.
Enjoy the weekend.

Christmas In July 2012

It's time for the annual Christmas in July ~ CIJ ~ Sale on Etsy. This year I have a section in my shop dedicated to the sale. It runs from today until July 22. I'll be adding new items throughout the week, so check back often. You can see the section here. Hope to see you there!

In Between Gardening

In between the gardening, when it's too hot to be out there any longer, when I'm not putting up food or when the rain begins, I head for the studio and bring the designs to life that sprouted while tending the plants. I love this time of year and am happy to once again be settling into this schedule.

Memorial Day Weekend Sale

I'm having a sale in my jewelry shop this weekend to kick off the beginning of summer. All IN STOCK items are marked down 10% until Tuesday morning at 12:00 AM CST.
Enjoy the long holiday weekend. We're planning on chilling at home, cutting grass, gardening and firing up the grill. I'm also going to try and convince John that we need a pool. Wish me luck!
Those are mockingbird babies.

Pink

When I was a wee bit of a BlackStar, my favorite color was pink. I had a pink room. A pink carpet. My mother even painted my furniture pink. My stuffed animals were all pink. I had a pink and gray poodle that I would tie to the tree in the front yard. I would put him in a sitting position and there he sat, with a bowl of water. Blame my parents. They wouldn't let us have pets. Don't worry. I more than made up for it when I moved out on my own.

I outgrew my pink phase long ago. I'm more of an earth tone kinda girl now. Something's happening. I can't put my finger on it, but I find myself looking at pink things. Again. And I have several pink pieces in my shop. I don't think John will have to worry. I'm not planning on painting the walls pink. But I did have on a long sleeve pink t-shirt this morning. Actually, it was dusty rose. As long as I don't tie any stuffed animals out in the front yard, I think I'll be OK.

Worn

Some of the antler tips in my last order were chipped and worn, naturally. I know that some folks wouldn't be happy if I sent them a chipped antler necklace, so I make a separate listing for them. They hang from a nut brown suede cord and tie simply behind the neck at the length you choose. Worn antler tips. Easily worn.

About That Lion

This is the only lion we saw around here today. The unseasonably warm weather continues. Bulbs are blooming. Flowering trees are blooming or budding. Spring storms popped up yesterday and are predicted for tomorrow. And after all of the rain, frogs started singing.  But on this first day of March, all is calm and quiet and sunny. Very sunny. And warm. Althea is in need of a pair of sunglasses. Must check Etsy.
I got some onion sets in the ground before the rain yesterday. Today I started broccoli, onions, parsley and garlic chives in flats. I'll post some pictures tomorrow, when it's raining again.
Hope you too are enjoying an early spring.

Like a Rainbow

I've been in love with recycled glass beads from Ghana for a long time. The colors are so pure and vibrant and they remind me of beach glass with their worn, smooth surface. I went on a buying spree and picked up several new colors for spring. I was also lucky enough to find vintage chain that is thin enough to replace the antiqued brass chain that I've been using. I will be discontinuing the brass chain as soon as I run out of what I have on hand. Most of the necklaces in the collage are in stock or will be soon. They can be found here. I will also be listing earrings made with these beads. Soon come~

The Ravioli Experiment

Last Sunday, we decided to pull out our much neglected pasta machine and learn how to make ravioli. Equipped with a handful of recipes that I found online and a head full of ideas, we prepared the dough and fillings and began what turned out to be a 5 hour process.
We made three different sizes. Small. Medium. Large. Why not? After all, it is was the Ravioli Experiment. After each batch was finished, we sat down, ate them and judged them. Think Iron Chef.
Number 2, the medium size ravs won the taste test.
We took two of the large ones and dropped them in the fryer. I read about them online, the fryer was out from the night before and we thought "why not"? They were OK, but I won't be making them again. I felt like I was at a carnival, where it seems that they now fry everything under the sun.
We had some leftover pasta strips, so we formed them into bow ties, dried them out a bit and popped them in the freezer.
Turns out that ravioli is a lot easier to make than we thought. I can see more Ravioli Experiments in our future.

Wordless Wednesday