The Best Part About Being on Etsy

. . . is the amazingly wonderful people I've met! I happened upon a really nice blog post that one of my customers wrote about my shop. I'm extremely touched ~ thanks, Natalie :) I absolutely love Blogs and I find them so fascinating. It would be so easy for me to get pulled in and spend hours surfing the web and reading Blogs that interest me. There are so many talented people out there in the world! On that note, I'm reminded of my artistic friend Kay, who just started her own blog, called "Kacie's Kreations", and I'm so excited for her! Kay has recently fallen prey to the beading addiction and she has ventured into the world of wire rings. Check out her blog ~ she's got some great stuff!!

The "Carnival" necklace (pictured above) is one of my favorites. Its bright colors are perfect for the warm weather days that will soon be upon us.

Mmmm, Samosas!!

It was an extremely cold day weatherwise, with temps only reaching the single digits. So, I decided it would be best to spend the day cooped up inside and away from the elements. I recently found a book called "150 Things to Make with a Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast it" by Tony Rosenfeld. There are many simple and delicious sounding recipes in it, but one that most sparked my fancy is a recipe for "Curried Chicken, Potato and Pea Samosas". For those who aren't familiar, Samosas are much like little pot pies or empanadas. In Indian cuisine they are usually filled with potatoes, peas and sometimes meat such as lamb, or they are vegetarian. These called for chicken, which sounded interesting. The ingredient list was relatively simple; the only item I didn't already have on hand were the wonton wrappers needed. Overall it took me about two hours to make these, including clean up time. The recipe states it will make 16, but I made 24, and still had filling left over. Next time I think I would use egg roll wrappers, since they are larger. Every step was pretty simple except for filling and sealing up the wrappers. That was a bit tricky for me as a first timer, but nevertheless I was quite pleased with the end result. I don't often deep fry things in oil and I tend to get a little paranoid about doing so. With patience and care, I managed to fry the little dumplings to a lovely golden brown. Tony and I gobbled up the first eight right away, then I saved a few to be eaten later on. I sealed the rest up with my vacuum food sealer to be frozen and enjoyed at a later date - like when I get a hankering for a Samosa and don't have two hours to devote to making them.

The Real Deal

Feast your eyes on a recent Etsy purchase I made from Janine King Designs of NY. This very chic, stylish laptop bag is 100% handmade~no designer knock offs from some foreign land here!!! The fabric is lucious. I inspected every nook and cranny of this bag and could not find one single flaw. Not that I'm a pro when it comes to sewing, but I do know quality when I see it. I tend to be hard on things but I have a feeling this treasure is going to stand up to the test of time with me. The material, workmanship and stitching is top knotch. Aside from being absolutely gorgeous to look at, this bag is durable and made to last. It was well worth the price~$49 ON SALE~who can beat that?!?

More Owls!

I'm having a big fascination with Owls lately. I just added these cute beige and gold owl earrings to my Etsy shop. They are a little different than the blue ones that I've sold in the past, but I think they're pretty cute!

Speaking of Etsy, last night I did a little holiday shopping (for myself) and I purchased this "So Delicious" Whipped Clean bath stuff. I cannot wait to try it!!

We Have a Winner!!

Thanks to all who participated in my first ever Earring Giveaway!! The lucky winner is Jessica from Milwaukee. I was touched by all the responses I received, and I plan to do more of these in the future. Be sure to check back!

Earring Giveaway!!

The holidays have officially begun and I'm feeling generous :) So . . . I'm putting up for grabs this very unique pair of earrings featuring ornately patterned Vintage beads (they're plastic, but you'd never know it), red and blue Czech glass and genuine Sterling Silver. They are a total of 1 3/4" long, not including the Sterling Silver french hook earwires. These are truly beautiful and one-of-a-kind, and they'd go for at least $20 in my shop, but I'm giving them away FREE to one very lucky winner!!!

I was Blogged about!!

About a week ago, Michelle from Scribbit was kind enough to review my shop. You can read about it here. I am very appreciative for her super sweet words :)

Our Adventures in Memphis

October was a busy month for us. The highlight was our trip to Memphis, TN. We had been planning a visit to this city for quite some time, and it finally came to fruition. We had a fabulous time! I don't believe we left one stone unturned in that city! As the photo shows, we checked out Graceland but we did much more than that! We partied on Beale Street, enjoyed delicious Southern BBQ and other cuisine, listened to some excellent music, and visited such places as Sun Studios, The National Civil Rights History Museum, the Memphis Zoo, and the former site of Stax records. There is no shortage of things to do and sites to see. It was a truly memorable trip, and I just can't say enough positive things about it!

Welcome Fall

It's the first day of Fall, although it feels more like Summer. I'm not complaining, though. I do love this time of year. I can hardly wait to take a trip to the Apple Orchard for some fresh cider and donuts!! It needs to be just a little bit cooler though.

These are some earrings that I recently made and will be posting in my shop very soon. The colors are very reminiscent of the Season, don't you think?

A weekend of Wineries

Living in SE Michigan, we are lucky to be within a stone's throw from our wonderful neighbors "to the North" (but did you know that Detroit is actually North of SW Ontario?!?). The Southwestern Ontario region provides the perfect environment for grape growing, thus there are over a dozen wineries located there. A few years ago, we were fortunate enough to discover them, and ever since then we've been making a pilgrammage to the area to tour the wineries and vineyards that produce some of the most excellent wines we have ever experienced.

This past weekend, we ventured over there with our good friends, Kathy and Paul. We stayed two nights in the "Wedding House" Bed and Breakfast, which was originally built in 1905 in the town of Kingsville. We had a fabulous time!

Everyone Loves Earrings

Or at least it seems like it, since they are one of my biggest sellers. I just made a bunch of new ones that I will be adding in the upcoming days to my shop. Here is a sneak preview:

Look Down

Scroll down to the end of my blog, and you'll see my Etsy mini . . . how cool is that?!?

Best Summer Ever!!!

While I don't recall ever having a summer that sucked, I must say that the Summer of 2007 will go down in the record book as the best I can remember!! Seriously, it's been GREAT, and I will be sad to see it go :( But I do love and look forward to those cool, crispy autumn days, so it's not all bad.

We spent the past weekend up North with Annette and family. It was my niece's 8th birthday, and I am super glad we were there to celebrate with everyone! It was great to spend some quality time with the kids. They have such personalities!! Here's a pic of Hannah and her little gal pals. To give you an idea, it was only 60 degrees TOPS that day, yet the kids frolicked in the lake like it was 90 degrees. I sure don't have that much tolerance to the cold!!

New Items on the Way!!

Just when some of my regular customers thought I had run out of ideas . . . I've been busy creating and will be adding new items to my shop in the coming days!! I've actually already started. The necklace pictured is just a small sneak preview of what's to come. I'm excited!

Why YOU should buy handmade

It seems we've been hearing a few too many stories in the news lately about product recalls of goods made in China. Here's the FDA warning about toothpaste made in China. Pretty freakin' scary. As recently as yesterday, there were claims of bad seafood that made it into American stores, and talk of lead based paint being used in children's toys. It also seems to be getting more and more difficult to find goods that are made in the U.S. This is why I am plugging the hell out of Etsy. I hope to spread the word about this fantastic site that features wonderful handmade goods by creative, honest and hardworking people. More people need to know about it! Seriously, it is a treasure trove of wonderful, high quality (and very fairly priced) goodies!! Now, more than ever, it is super important to know where the stuff you use and consume on a daily basis comes from. Tonight I made some purchases from a few awesome Etsy sellers. I bought some soap, lotion and other bath products. I will be reviewing these once I receive them. I am super excited to try products that aren't commercially made!