texture....new necklaces

rubber grapes, glass beads & filament, glass....see this piece in progress

vintage glass, plastic from a cabbage patch kid shoe

polymer clay, vintage button, found garnet...my starbucks partner-in-crime (also my neighbor) kati surprised me one day with a little bag filled with beautiful raw garnets. i love them...the geometric edges and intense reddish black color.  what a treat!!  some are loose and some are still comfortably positioned on there matrix stone.  there was talk of her folks finding them in either colorado or nevada.  well, i did some research on "found garnets" in nevada and i learned of garnet hill

sounds like a place to put on the list  :O)

polymer clay, vintage glass

....these should be posted in the shop in the next day or so.....

chocolate & pop rocks

i'm intrigued and must find time to make this curious little cake.....a chocolate cake made with pop rocks.  say what??? i found this recipe via cup of jo

click on chubbyhubby for the recipe

yesssss!!!

i saw one of these brussels griffon pups at an airport about a month or two ago.  he was being taxied around in a wheelie duffle bag and lovin' every minute of it.  the fuzzie bud was standing on his back legs with his head out the zipper and his ears and tongue flapping in the wind.  it totally made my day....so did this little guy.  yeah, scrunchie face.

picture from cuteoverload

sweet wee one...

a couple practice wee little rings i made this past week.  the faceted stones are a black diamond and a white diamond.......or a sapphire.  the clear stone i'm unsure of because it was amongst a hodge podge of stuff i had from years back when i was setting faceted stones amongst slices of sanded wood or rusty metal.  this was a little refresher course test & experiment to brush up on my faceted stone setting skills.  i am making a special gift for someone i love that will require using a small-ish faceted stone. i figured i would start small...i mean, really really small.  these stones are 1.5 and 2 mm or 2/32 of an inch & 3/32 of an inch...approximately.  if i can set these little ones then the slightly bigger one i will be using for the "gift" piece will come a bit easier.

sweet potato & tofu curry

sweet potato & tofu curry

**this recipe makes a lot of curry sauce so you can cut it in half if your not interested in freezing some.  i like making the full recipe since it takes a bit of time it's nice to have some leftover in the freezer for a last minute meal.

ingredients: 2 strips cinnamon bark 1 tsp cloves 6 cardamom pods 6 black peppercorns 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp mustard seeds 2 bay leaves

4 large onions--red preferably 10 medium tomatoes or 2-16 oz cans of chopped tomatoes 1 bunch of cilantro...sometimes i use basil 10 cloves of garlic 2 jalapeno peppers

1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp corriander 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2 cans of coconut milk salt to taste

4 sweet potatoes 1 package of extra firm or firm tofu

dry roast first 6 ingredients in a large pot sprayed with cooking spray. roast until the spices become aromatic....3 - 5 minutes.

blend the next five ingredients (all the vegetables) in a blender til almost smooth.  add to the pot and simmer over med-high heat.  cover with lid to keep mixture from splattering everywhere.

let this cook for about an hour or so to let the flavors meld and some of the liquid to boil off.

while the curry is cooking, remove skin from sweet potatoes & cook in the microwave(or boil if you prefer) once cooked and slightly cool cut into cubes. then remove excess water from tofu and cut into cubes.

next, add the last 6 spices and coconut milk and cook for another 10 or so minutes.

to serve: add a handful of tofu and sweet potato cubes in each bowl and pour desired amount of curry on top and stir a bit......eat up.  i love this yummy curry.  this is for sure a favorit of ours.  it makes such a good comfort food dish.

combine remaining sweet potato and tofu with desired curry and put in fridge for leftovers.  if there is any curry left put in freezer for another day.

*also try with regular potatoes. **to change it up a bit try with wilted spinach and chick peas instead of the sweet potato and tofu.

new work: gallery 360

gallery 360 in minneapolis will be receiving a new assortment of fall earrings and one new ring.  they should arrive by wednesday at the latest.  i am psyched about these earrings...i feel like they are the best ones i've made to date.  i hope to have a couple pair available on the site soon :O) p.s.--i spoke with merry and the new work has arrived, yeah!!!

pink inspiration

for more pink goodness and inspiration, check out this entry from my friend margaret's blog......love the pink crocheted bunny.  p.s. wish her a happy "pink" birthday....it's her birthday on monday  8-)

round top

one of my favorite events of the fall is round top antique and flea market halfway between austin and houston.  my folks typically come to town to visit and we all head to the best flea market around.  it's everything from grandma's attic goods and not-so-goods to high end antiques...there is pretty much something for everyone.  i love that my mom and dad come for this fun filled adventure.  my mom will look for vintage toys, quilts, or new additions to her flamingo collection.  chris will be on the prowl for pink rose of sharon depression glass for his mom and fine pottery pieces for himself plus whatever the rest of us are looking for.  my dad is interested in anything cowboy, leather or western related including books....when he finds his way into a book collection it's pretty tough to get him out.  my dad, is a looker....that's where i get my "i want to look, touch and read everything that comes in my view" approach.  as for my interests, well, they cover a fairly broad spectrum and include things like vintage linens and glassware, to vintage beads, glass & sequins, to vintage furniture, most old things that are pink, things with good texture, old dollhouse goods, and so much more. since chris and i have pretty much filled our house up with vintage or seconds furniture that pretty much leaves room for adventure to be all about items i can use in my work, the "vintage beads, glass & sequins, random plastic toys that can be cut and shaped.  i can pretty much go to just one little white house and spend all day there just digging and searching for the right textured and solid colored glass and plastic specimens for my work.  but, this time i decided to go there last just so i could enjoy the rest of the show as well.  did i mention my mom and dad are here with me too, yeah!!! :O) here's a few highlights from our all day extravaganza at roundtop....

the nicest fella from colorado runs this "coffee bug" and he serves up a fine glass of iced tea....so we can keep up maximum shopping stamina :O)

christmas, NO, vintage christmas, HELL YES!!!  this was the first booth i walked into as opposed to just glancing while walking past.  she had such a delightful assortment of vintage christmas goodies.  the collection was sweet and soothing and not strictly red and green which i loved  :O)

i couldn't resist these sweet little baby shoes.

some of my treaures:  some red bakelite buttons, a creme textured button, some gray/black found pebbles, an old peachy velvet powder puff, vintage photo that came with the old jewelry box, and an old velvet ring box.....i wish i had a whole collection of little vintage/antique ring boxes.  i have always liked small spaces & boxes, i use some of these shapes as well as shapes from vintage salt and pepper shakers as inspiration for my beaded boxes.

these were a steal.... i love vintage salt and pepper shakers, they are grouped amongst my affection for small containers that come open :O)

another vintage pink jewelry box with really awesome flip out sides to hold rings....the box was a sure pleaser!!! also a few old plastic curlers for a possible bracelet idea, some random shells, a found balloon, (did i mention i have a thing for found balloons), some single clip earrings with great plastic cabs. & a few empty matchbooks.

a new discovery in the little white house, vintage sequins from france.......can't wait to come up with some designs for this lil' babies

a real highlight was hanging out with these cute great dane puppies....if they didn't get 200 lb + i think we would have been bringing home a new baby.  the one on the left with the pink and blue eye was pretty fond of chris and i.  he was pretty irresistible!!! but would have destroyed our home...it's small and filled with a lot of breakable things.  i think brinkley would have loved him, though.  at just 7 weeks old they were already about 40 lbs. twice the size of brinkley.

more pics. to come.....

etsy treasury

yeah!!!! i was finally able to get on etsy and catch a spot in the treasury list for etsy.  here's a grouping of a few of my favorites....

grass green double pendant

this could be my new favorite color.....grass green, even better when accompanied by the smell of the spring, freshly cut version :O) made with vintage glass

susan collis

 

 As good as it gets (Detail)

2008

18 carat white gold (hallmarked), white sapphire, turquoise, onyx

 Paint job

2004

160 x 45 cm

Boiler suit, embroidery thread

Waltzer (DETAIL)

2007

127.5 x 37 x 11 cm

Wooden broom, opals, turquoise, garnets, seed pearls, mother of pearl, black diamonds, white diamonds, fresh water pearls, coral, black onyx, marcasite.

above works by susan collis.

i am excited beyond words to see this show open at the lora reynolds gallery here in austin.   in susan's work the seemingly forgotten or easily overlooked is a labor of love and is, actually, the artwork on view.  one may think when walking into a gallery displaying susan's work that the artwork has yet to arrive.  this flirtation with what is art or what is on view is just the stream of thought susan chases and fully captures.  the seemingly splattered paint on fabric or pencil line and hardware denoting the space where a piece of art work would hang is actually tediously hand stitched details on a pair of overalls or strategically placed and inlaid white gold wire and a carved coral grommet.

i enjoy the dance between using materials that are precious and mimic completely average, mundane materials with a material that one would expect.  susan's pieces that seem laden with dribbled paint like the construction broom or the table piece are actually precious materials like inlaid opal, turquoise & mother of pearl.    i use a similar vein of  logic, but in reverse, in my work.  rather than using the precious materials like gold and diamonds in my jewelry i am inspired by the every day and typically discarded materials of everyday that have a previous history or story.  some materials may be a found piece of plastic from a busy street or a fragment of glass from a car windshield. using the random and recycled materials in the context of jewelry i hope to offer viewers another voice to what is considered precious and beautiful.  my hope is to evoke a bit of curiosity.  this is what i love about susan's work, the element of seduction and surprise. upon first glance the instinct and expectation is one in the same, but with a bit of time and attention to detail you are given a broader story and in some ways a little secret.

this is my favorite show i have seen in austin to date.  susan's show at the lora reynold's gallery is her first solo show here in the u.s. WelComE SuSan!!!!!!!

bunns...

these made me smile with glee.....the bunny font, love the "i" find more clever bits at folksy

new blue double pendant

i'm trying to work ahead a bit on my inventory to get a jump on the holidays......geez, they are knocking on the door.  i'm a little freaked that it's already october...well, tomorrow it will be  :O).  BUT, first comes halloween, yeah!!!!! favorite holiday and favorite month  =) this piece is made with two vintage glass pieces

new necklace for inventory

i love using these "home decor" bits of glass in my work.  i picked these up at crate and barrel.  i especially like the milky pink interior of this one......it reminds me of so of the yummy pink depression glass that chris' mom has :O)