But... since then I started making hairsticks. And I love the hairsticks! Last week, I sat down and made as many as I could before the adhesive made me feel a little squirrely.
17 February 2008
Why Did I Cut my Hair?
Last January I decided that it was finally time for a new look. I went to the hairdresser and for the first time since the second grade I went for a short haircut. Overall, I am pleased with the result. It makes my natural curls far more manageable, and it makes my very round face look a little less round.
But... since then I started making hairsticks. And I love the hairsticks! Last week, I sat down and made as many as I could before the adhesive made me feel a little squirrely.
But... since then I started making hairsticks. And I love the hairsticks! Last week, I sat down and made as many as I could before the adhesive made me feel a little squirrely.
14 February 2008
Happy Chocolates and Flowers Day
Chocolate shop window in Brussels.
Huge copper bowls of chocolate treats in Belgium.
A sidewalk flower shop in Paris.
Huge copper bowls of chocolate treats in Belgium.
A sidewalk flower shop in Paris.
3 February 2008
Beach Booty
HHhmmm... that really sounds like another of those ill-conceived fitness fads. Its not.
Gripped by a mean case of the February blahs and restless with cabin fever following yet another winter storm, I really needed to get outside today to take advantage of the fleeting sunshine. Unfortunately, by the time I had bundled up to go out, the fleeting sunshine had fled. No matter, it was fairly warm, just around the freezing mark and little wind. I drove to the Beach area of Toronto, figuring a long lap of the boardwalk would cure my ills.
Well, I didn't quite make it that far. I walked down to one of the breakers to watch the ducks for a couple minutes. I made the mistake then of looking down at my feet. There was a perfect little piece of tumbled beach glass. Pale blue, my favorite colour of beach glass. Then, wonder of wonders, another piece. And another. Another. What a find. Although there is little good to said of winter storms, there is one benefit. With the high winds whipping across Lake Ontario, come strong crashing waves. This results in all the lake bottom detritus getting pushed ashore.
On my walk, I probably only made it about 100 meters in total. The length of this, I spent bent doubled over, picking up bits and bobs of debris. In less than an hour I came away weighted down with a pocket full of treausures. Lucky for me, there were three very exciting morsels. Three sizable pieces of porcelain/china dishes with the pattern still intact.
Gripped by a mean case of the February blahs and restless with cabin fever following yet another winter storm, I really needed to get outside today to take advantage of the fleeting sunshine. Unfortunately, by the time I had bundled up to go out, the fleeting sunshine had fled. No matter, it was fairly warm, just around the freezing mark and little wind. I drove to the Beach area of Toronto, figuring a long lap of the boardwalk would cure my ills.
Well, I didn't quite make it that far. I walked down to one of the breakers to watch the ducks for a couple minutes. I made the mistake then of looking down at my feet. There was a perfect little piece of tumbled beach glass. Pale blue, my favorite colour of beach glass. Then, wonder of wonders, another piece. And another. Another. What a find. Although there is little good to said of winter storms, there is one benefit. With the high winds whipping across Lake Ontario, come strong crashing waves. This results in all the lake bottom detritus getting pushed ashore.
On my walk, I probably only made it about 100 meters in total. The length of this, I spent bent doubled over, picking up bits and bobs of debris. In less than an hour I came away weighted down with a pocket full of treausures. Lucky for me, there were three very exciting morsels. Three sizable pieces of porcelain/china dishes with the pattern still intact.
30 January 2008
Cotton Candy Anyone?
Remember gigantic fluffy balls of cotton candy bought at the fall fair? Sugar coloured soft pink and blue, spun onto a slender cone. You would dive face first into this soft, delectable mess, and in no time at all your senses would be buzzing, face and hands would be sticky, and hovering not far behind was a swarm of wasps waiting to pounce on the whiffs of sugar that floated away in the breeze.
Well, here is a less sticky version. One that will not attract those pesky wasps.
I needle felted some softly hued balls of merino wool, and turned them into these earrings. Simply styled and so lightweight. More to follow soon, so keep an eye on my IGotFleeced etsy shop for more.
Well, here is a less sticky version. One that will not attract those pesky wasps.
I needle felted some softly hued balls of merino wool, and turned them into these earrings. Simply styled and so lightweight. More to follow soon, so keep an eye on my IGotFleeced etsy shop for more.
29 January 2008
We All Scream.....
....for ice-cream!
Its been an ice-cream type of week here, although it is the dead of winter.
I made a batch of home-made ice-cream over the weekend. It was so yummy. Lovely, creamy vanilla. Yum yum!
And then today, I listed this super-cute treat on etsy.
It is made of 100% merino wool roving. Dark brown for the chocolatey coating, and little bits of pink along the bottom, and inside the bite mark on the top right corner. The tip of a wooden skewer acts as the stick. I again, turned this into a little lapel, bag or hat accessory.
Hhhhmmm.... looking at the photo, I may need to do a little bit of a better trim on some of those stray fluffs of wool. Nothing like seeing food with a hair on it.
Its been an ice-cream type of week here, although it is the dead of winter.
I made a batch of home-made ice-cream over the weekend. It was so yummy. Lovely, creamy vanilla. Yum yum!
And then today, I listed this super-cute treat on etsy.
It is made of 100% merino wool roving. Dark brown for the chocolatey coating, and little bits of pink along the bottom, and inside the bite mark on the top right corner. The tip of a wooden skewer acts as the stick. I again, turned this into a little lapel, bag or hat accessory.
Hhhhmmm.... looking at the photo, I may need to do a little bit of a better trim on some of those stray fluffs of wool. Nothing like seeing food with a hair on it.
28 January 2008
Not All About the Food After All.
So I took my mind off my belly and stepped away from the kitchen. And the result - I was able to channel my creative juices into jewelry designs. I have a couple of new favourites, both of which are now listed in my etsy shop:
Made with antiqued metal and guacamole and malachite coloured marbled Czech donuts.
Made with raw brass, irregularly shaped triangle connectors, and just a small cluster of matte black, faceted Czech fire-polished crystal beads.
I also listed these earrings, and happily they sold quite quickly.
These have antiqued copper kidney ear wires and simple ovals of fire jade, again with the guacamole colour, marbled Czech fire-polished crystal.
Made with antiqued metal and guacamole and malachite coloured marbled Czech donuts.
Made with raw brass, irregularly shaped triangle connectors, and just a small cluster of matte black, faceted Czech fire-polished crystal beads.
I also listed these earrings, and happily they sold quite quickly.
These have antiqued copper kidney ear wires and simple ovals of fire jade, again with the guacamole colour, marbled Czech fire-polished crystal.
Hearts
I'm not typically a fan of heart motifs. Hoping however, to capitalize on Valentine's jewelry sales, I thought it wise to put my own feelings aside and come up with some sort of design I could live with. And, surprisingly I managed.
I dashed into my local bead store the other to take advantage of a sale they had on some of my favorite beads and while browsing the findings section, I came across these simple antiqued copper heart links. Paired with simple red donut beads, I think these are appropriate for Valentine's Day, without being over the top girly. Best of all, I think that the design is simple enough that it can be worn the other 364 days of the year.
26 January 2008
Light and Airy? Success!
If I had ever intended for this blog to about my jewelry shops, I was clearly delusional. It seems lately that everything revolves around food.
And this post will be no different.
Lately, Saturdays seem to be devoted to stretching my culinary skills. Today I wanted to really challenge myself. The moody, unpredictable souffle was calling my name. I researched some simple cheese souffle recipes, and picked up my ingredients during my weekly trip to the St Lawrence Market here in Toronto. Sharp cheddar and mildly nutty Swiss Cantenaar cheese. Eggs freshly laid no more than 2 days ago.
I followed the first half of the recipe, which involved making a pretty basic cheese sauce. The second part was a test of will. I had 2 egg whites that needed whipping to stiff peaks. I considered pulling out the Kitchen-Aid, but it seemed a little excessive, and given the small quantity of liquid, it seemed unlikely that the whisk would immerse all the way to the bottom of the shallow pool. I have, hidden somewhere an old fashioned hand-mixer. It seemed like too much effort to find all the pieces, and my cheese was waiting to congeal. Instead I used the as-old-as-time-method: bowl and whisk. It took great effort and caused much bicep pain, but after an eternity passed, I had my egg whites standing tall with stiff peaks.
I added this to the cheese mixture, poured into my souffle cups, placed them gingerly in the oven, and tiptoed away. Twenty minutes later, dinner was on the table. Well, after a few quick photos for posterity's sake. I probably should have just rushed them to the table, because after the impromptu photo shoot, one souffle was slowly starting to deflate. No matter, by that time, I was ready to eat it.
Prior to baking:
After baking, and before slowly sinking back into itself:
Now... one quick word so that it doesn't seem like all I do is eat, and that this blog still has some relevance in regard to my crafting.
I hit a milestone on etsy the other day. 50 sales! Whoo! Not a huge milestone, but one that I am nonetheless quite proud. I had seemed to stall in sales after Christmas, and I thought that I was going to end January with 0 sales. As it turns out, on Monday I am sending four pair of earrings to France, one to the US, and one cross the city. And I will clearly need to be adding some earrings to my shop again soon. So stand by, plenty more to come.
And this post will be no different.
Lately, Saturdays seem to be devoted to stretching my culinary skills. Today I wanted to really challenge myself. The moody, unpredictable souffle was calling my name. I researched some simple cheese souffle recipes, and picked up my ingredients during my weekly trip to the St Lawrence Market here in Toronto. Sharp cheddar and mildly nutty Swiss Cantenaar cheese. Eggs freshly laid no more than 2 days ago.
I followed the first half of the recipe, which involved making a pretty basic cheese sauce. The second part was a test of will. I had 2 egg whites that needed whipping to stiff peaks. I considered pulling out the Kitchen-Aid, but it seemed a little excessive, and given the small quantity of liquid, it seemed unlikely that the whisk would immerse all the way to the bottom of the shallow pool. I have, hidden somewhere an old fashioned hand-mixer. It seemed like too much effort to find all the pieces, and my cheese was waiting to congeal. Instead I used the as-old-as-time-method: bowl and whisk. It took great effort and caused much bicep pain, but after an eternity passed, I had my egg whites standing tall with stiff peaks.
I added this to the cheese mixture, poured into my souffle cups, placed them gingerly in the oven, and tiptoed away. Twenty minutes later, dinner was on the table. Well, after a few quick photos for posterity's sake. I probably should have just rushed them to the table, because after the impromptu photo shoot, one souffle was slowly starting to deflate. No matter, by that time, I was ready to eat it.
Prior to baking:
After baking, and before slowly sinking back into itself:
Now... one quick word so that it doesn't seem like all I do is eat, and that this blog still has some relevance in regard to my crafting.
I hit a milestone on etsy the other day. 50 sales! Whoo! Not a huge milestone, but one that I am nonetheless quite proud. I had seemed to stall in sales after Christmas, and I thought that I was going to end January with 0 sales. As it turns out, on Monday I am sending four pair of earrings to France, one to the US, and one cross the city. And I will clearly need to be adding some earrings to my shop again soon. So stand by, plenty more to come.
23 January 2008
50 Books.
I made a pact with myself at New Year's that I would give myself more time to read this year. I promised myself at least a half hour per day. Sometimes I make it, sometimes not.
From the time I was able to sound out words on my own, I have been churning through books at an alarming rate. The past year however, I found myself tight on time, and books were left collecting dust on the shelf. The scary thing is that I did not stop buying books, and now I am faced with a bookshelf that is sagging under the weight of 1000's of pages of literature.
Now I hate to make reading seem like a chore. I don't want to take the sheer enjoyment out of it. But, I do like a challenge. So I decided to challenge myself to read 50 books by the end of the year.
So far, I have two down; forty-eight to go.
I'm going to keep my running tally on here:
1) Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
2) A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
3) The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
4) A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City; A Diary - Anonymous
5) Fire in the Blood - Irene Némirovsky
6) The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold
7) A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine - Marina Lewycka
8) The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
9) The Wreckage - Michael Crummey
10) April In Paris - Michael Wallner
11) The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
12) Little Women - Louisa May alcott
13) The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman
14) Remembering the Bones - Frances Itani
15) Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden
16) Afterwards - Rachel Seiffert
17) Blindness - Jose Saramago
From the time I was able to sound out words on my own, I have been churning through books at an alarming rate. The past year however, I found myself tight on time, and books were left collecting dust on the shelf. The scary thing is that I did not stop buying books, and now I am faced with a bookshelf that is sagging under the weight of 1000's of pages of literature.
Now I hate to make reading seem like a chore. I don't want to take the sheer enjoyment out of it. But, I do like a challenge. So I decided to challenge myself to read 50 books by the end of the year.
So far, I have two down; forty-eight to go.
I'm going to keep my running tally on here:
1) Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
2) A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
3) The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
4) A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City; A Diary - Anonymous
5) Fire in the Blood - Irene Némirovsky
6) The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold
7) A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine - Marina Lewycka
8) The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
9) The Wreckage - Michael Crummey
10) April In Paris - Michael Wallner
11) The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
12) Little Women - Louisa May alcott
13) The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman
14) Remembering the Bones - Frances Itani
15) Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden
16) Afterwards - Rachel Seiffert
17) Blindness - Jose Saramago
22 January 2008
Roving and Felting
This is my newest felted piece. I listed it in my etsy shop (http://IGotFleeced.etsy.com) yesterday. I had made a little mini version some time ago, but it was a little too tiny to be of much use. This version is more substantial and in my opinion would act as a welcome addition to a coat lapel, bringing a little wish of spring to a gloomy grey January day.
I do wish that I had known that I would have my brief and unexpected lesson in felting. When we were in Belgium a few months ago I happened upon an artist's shop in Ghent, with a front window laden with bundles of beautifully coloured roving.
Ahh, to have this at my disposal at this very moment.
I do wish that I had known that I would have my brief and unexpected lesson in felting. When we were in Belgium a few months ago I happened upon an artist's shop in Ghent, with a front window laden with bundles of beautifully coloured roving.
Ahh, to have this at my disposal at this very moment.
20 January 2008
Finding Inspiration
The other night Darcy and I decided to watch the movie "The Holiday". If you aren't familiar, it is a romantic comedy. A not very romatic, or comedic, romantic comedy. It was about 90 minutes that I will never get back.
When not marveling at Cameron Diaz's ability to sprint in stilettos, I spent most of the movie examining the jewelry that she and Kate Winslet were wearing. At one point in the movie I was looking at a necklace that Kate was wearing and was thinking in my head, "Do I like this necklace? Not really. I guess its ok. No. It isn't. I really don't like it. But what if...."
I bolted off the couch, grabbed this copper chain that I bought the other day, and examined it quickly. I had originally imagined it as a bracelet, but hhhmmmmm, a lariot. This decorative copper toggle would be a great addition. Let's see, this would look AMAZING with some Carnelian drops. But I don't have any of those. Green always looks amazing with copper. I didn't have time to rummage through all my beads so I made a quick sketch and went back to the movie (the remainder of the 90 minutes I will never be able to recover.)
I finally did get time to rummage through the bead stash and found these amazing green stones that I had left over from a previous project. Here is the final result. I like it. It is a little heavier than a lot of my other pieces. A bit of a departure.
At least the movie was good for something.
When not marveling at Cameron Diaz's ability to sprint in stilettos, I spent most of the movie examining the jewelry that she and Kate Winslet were wearing. At one point in the movie I was looking at a necklace that Kate was wearing and was thinking in my head, "Do I like this necklace? Not really. I guess its ok. No. It isn't. I really don't like it. But what if...."
I bolted off the couch, grabbed this copper chain that I bought the other day, and examined it quickly. I had originally imagined it as a bracelet, but hhhmmmmm, a lariot. This decorative copper toggle would be a great addition. Let's see, this would look AMAZING with some Carnelian drops. But I don't have any of those. Green always looks amazing with copper. I didn't have time to rummage through all my beads so I made a quick sketch and went back to the movie (the remainder of the 90 minutes I will never be able to recover.)
I finally did get time to rummage through the bead stash and found these amazing green stones that I had left over from a previous project. Here is the final result. I like it. It is a little heavier than a lot of my other pieces. A bit of a departure.
At least the movie was good for something.
16 January 2008
Bread.
A few weeks ago I stated that one of my New Year's goals was to spend less of our time and money in the grocery stores and instead use some of my time to prepare more of our own staple foods. In an ongoing quest to move away from mass-produced items, I decided a good place to start was with fresh home-made bread. After all what could possibly smell better than fresh baking bread, and what better reward for hard work than a fresh warm slice of buttered bread.
I probably could have picked a simpler project to start. Luckily though, my first couple attempts have been mostly successful. Not to say that there haven't been a few hiccups. For instance, I couldn't understand why my first 1/4 teaspoon of yeast wouldn't dissolve. After further invesitagation, I discovered I had actually added little tiny grains of quinoa to my water instead of yeast. Once I tossed the quinoa-not-yeast-water down the sink, things started looking up.
Happily, we ended up with two loaves of fresh white bread that day. And as hoped the smell was heavenly, and warm bread with melty butter was all we had for dinner that evening.
A week later I decided to redeem myself from a previous pizza dough making disaster. I mixed together my whole wheat dough ingredients but remained sceptical. I anticipated a monumental failure so decided to cover my butt and threw together a white dough recipe as well. To my surprise both worked and we actually had a choice of pizza crusts for dinner. It was a little crisper than pizzeria dough but that may have been due more the fact that I got so engrossed in Playstation that the pizza was in the oven longer than necessary. OOooooops.
That was an ambitious day. I also made rosemary-olive foccacia. I loved this. The way the dough puffed up out of the bowl was so exhilarating. And again, the end result was very tasty, though the loaf itself was a little unusual looking. Next time I will also be more liberal with the rosemary and the salt sprinkled on top.
Tomorrow I am going to try a whole wheat bread. This one scares me. I shouldn't just assume that I am going to fail miserably, but if I do, I can chalk it up to a learning experience.
Post-script:
The whole wheat bread turned out great! I even decided to try a few substitions in the recipe. I subbed some of the whole-wheat flour for spelt, and also add some wheat germ, ground flax, poppy- and sesame-seeds. It was so yummy! I think I may be getting the hang of this.
I probably could have picked a simpler project to start. Luckily though, my first couple attempts have been mostly successful. Not to say that there haven't been a few hiccups. For instance, I couldn't understand why my first 1/4 teaspoon of yeast wouldn't dissolve. After further invesitagation, I discovered I had actually added little tiny grains of quinoa to my water instead of yeast. Once I tossed the quinoa-not-yeast-water down the sink, things started looking up.
Happily, we ended up with two loaves of fresh white bread that day. And as hoped the smell was heavenly, and warm bread with melty butter was all we had for dinner that evening.
A week later I decided to redeem myself from a previous pizza dough making disaster. I mixed together my whole wheat dough ingredients but remained sceptical. I anticipated a monumental failure so decided to cover my butt and threw together a white dough recipe as well. To my surprise both worked and we actually had a choice of pizza crusts for dinner. It was a little crisper than pizzeria dough but that may have been due more the fact that I got so engrossed in Playstation that the pizza was in the oven longer than necessary. OOooooops.
That was an ambitious day. I also made rosemary-olive foccacia. I loved this. The way the dough puffed up out of the bowl was so exhilarating. And again, the end result was very tasty, though the loaf itself was a little unusual looking. Next time I will also be more liberal with the rosemary and the salt sprinkled on top.
Tomorrow I am going to try a whole wheat bread. This one scares me. I shouldn't just assume that I am going to fail miserably, but if I do, I can chalk it up to a learning experience.
Post-script:
The whole wheat bread turned out great! I even decided to try a few substitions in the recipe. I subbed some of the whole-wheat flour for spelt, and also add some wheat germ, ground flax, poppy- and sesame-seeds. It was so yummy! I think I may be getting the hang of this.
13 January 2008
Introducing....
My sister shop on etsy:
http://IGotFleeced.etsy.com.
I opened it a few days ago, and have been slowly adding in little felty bits. So far I have only a few pins, but have loads of doodly-sketches of other items to try. We'll have to see if I am actually successful at poking the roving into the desired shape.
http://IGotFleeced.etsy.com.
I opened it a few days ago, and have been slowly adding in little felty bits. So far I have only a few pins, but have loads of doodly-sketches of other items to try. We'll have to see if I am actually successful at poking the roving into the desired shape.
10 January 2008
New Year, New Resolutions
Typically I don't like to make resolutions, as I really do believe that resolve will only last for a couple weeks and then once the shine of the New Year is gone, so are the lofty goals.
I do however, like to use the New Year as a chance to reflect on the past year, take stock of where I currently am in life, and determine the direction I would like to steer my life this year.
So to start, 2007 was a year of big change for me. I started my ETSY shop, found homes for my jewelry in a few B&M stores, and quit my day-job. I didn't make millions through these changes, but I didn't expect that. I did find an increased sense of inner calm, and reduced the stress level in my live.
This year, I plan to continue building String Me Along into a profitable business. As well I plan to explore further the craft of needle felting. I also have plans to take hand-made to another level in my life. I did very well over Christmas at giving only handmade gifts, but how can I adapt this further into my own life? Well, there is more handmade food. I love to cook, so much of what we eat I cook. But I want to spend more time making our staple items... bread, pasta, etc. For some reason, many of these items have scared me in the past. Time to get over it. I would love to be able to grow our own food, but being in an urban apartment has its limitations on this front.
So looking forward I guess what I really want to do is look back. My goal is to return to a pre-Walmart era lifestyle. I'm not so concerned with convenience. I want a return to food that tastes like food, items that are not going to be recalled in 5 months, or that have been designed to fall apart within a year. I enjoy knowing where my items come from and getting to know the faces behind its creation. Be it the carrots I buy at the market, or crocheted hat that I bought for my niece's birthday.
And well, just for good measure, I also resolve to go to the gym more often, and read more.
Read this book:
http://www.inpraiseofslow.com/slow/index.php
I do however, like to use the New Year as a chance to reflect on the past year, take stock of where I currently am in life, and determine the direction I would like to steer my life this year.
So to start, 2007 was a year of big change for me. I started my ETSY shop, found homes for my jewelry in a few B&M stores, and quit my day-job. I didn't make millions through these changes, but I didn't expect that. I did find an increased sense of inner calm, and reduced the stress level in my live.
This year, I plan to continue building String Me Along into a profitable business. As well I plan to explore further the craft of needle felting. I also have plans to take hand-made to another level in my life. I did very well over Christmas at giving only handmade gifts, but how can I adapt this further into my own life? Well, there is more handmade food. I love to cook, so much of what we eat I cook. But I want to spend more time making our staple items... bread, pasta, etc. For some reason, many of these items have scared me in the past. Time to get over it. I would love to be able to grow our own food, but being in an urban apartment has its limitations on this front.
So looking forward I guess what I really want to do is look back. My goal is to return to a pre-Walmart era lifestyle. I'm not so concerned with convenience. I want a return to food that tastes like food, items that are not going to be recalled in 5 months, or that have been designed to fall apart within a year. I enjoy knowing where my items come from and getting to know the faces behind its creation. Be it the carrots I buy at the market, or crocheted hat that I bought for my niece's birthday.
And well, just for good measure, I also resolve to go to the gym more often, and read more.
Read this book:
http://www.inpraiseofslow.com/slow/index.php
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