Good

Today I found a new magazine to love. This one is called Good and I found it while browsing the reading materials in an airport store, looking for an interesting periodical that I don't already subscribe to. Not only did the pink cover make me pick it up, but the great photo of the cow and the headlines had me sold, too. I read it cover to cover on my flight, absorbing its goodness and feeling the need to subscribe. Its even printed on good paper--paper I want to save and reuse in craft projects. Another good thing about Good--the subscription cost ($20) is donated to the charity of your choice and the magazine reports back on the goals and contributions to each charity. How good is that!?! This magazine is full of good stuff.

Bargain of the Day: Rx Glasses for $8

A friend recently sent me a link to a site where she said I could get prescription glasses, complete with lenses and ready for my eyes, for eight bucks. It sounded too good to be true. She had complimented a cute guy's trendy frames while standing in line for coffee and he told her about the site. Well, for eight bucks--I was willing to give it shot. I needed a spare pair anyway. I have now ordered three different pairs and sent the link on to everyone I know that's visually impaired. Shipping was about four dollars--for a total of 12 bucks--for a complete pair of glasses. (And the shipping cost didn't go up when I ordered two pairs at once.) I won't even go into the stories I've heard from others about how much they usually pay for glasses, so this is definitely the deal of the day. At this price, you can get a pair to match every outfit in your closet, and even consider donating some to charity! Check out your options at: http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

Wisdom

Thought for the day... "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
-- Reinhold Niebuhr (American theologian, 1892-1971)

Featured Artist / Etsian: Dawn Houser

I have THOUSANDS of rubber stamps. I kid you not. I don't use them much anymore, but I used to collect, buy, use, design, and sell them when I was in high school and I've never been able to part with my huge collection. It is nearly 20 years later and most of them are still boxed up. I have pulled a few out now and then, but I always tell myself that I can NOT buy ANY MORE STAMPS. I broke my own rule when I went to the Stitch fashion and craft event in Austin. I stopped at Dawn Houser's booth and snatched up several packs of the stamps she designed for Inkadinkadoo, including this set with an Asian theme, as well as some holiday stamps. I could not resist her style, and ended up adding about 10 new rubber stamps to my collection. (Aaack!)

I later found Dawn on etsy, the site where I sell my jewelry. Her etsy site [http://dawnhouser.etsy.com/] includes some of her hand knit items, gorgeously eclectic aprons (Oh! I wish I needed an apron!), and sometimes some of her art or collage materials are available. (My wallet is thankful that her rubber stamps have not shown up on etsy.) Dawn also has a wonderful blog about her life in San Antonio as an artist, mom, thrifter, baker, knitter, crafter, reader, and pet lover. Through her blog [http://dawnhouser.blogspot.com/], I discovered that she's also designed stationery for Crane's. I purchased several boxes of these lovely papers for holiday gifts. I hope to one day meet Dawn in person at one of her open studio tours in the Alamo City.

Pie

I had a random thought while I was eating my dinner tonight: My mom is the best! At Thanksgiving she makes a pie for every person who requests one, making sure everyone has their favorite. My favorite is her apple pie. But that's not what this blog is about. This past Thanksgiving, I was trying not to eat the high cal indulgences that the holidays revolve around and was having a bit of anxiety about being around eight different pies and being able to say, "No, Thank You." Knowing this, and indulging everyone with their own pie, my mom made me "Too Good to Deny Pumpkin Pie" from the Hungry Girl website, my go-to source for recipe swaps and tips on healthy restaurant options. This pie was DELICIOUS. And pumpkin is a vegetable, right? So, can I get my "five a day" with five servings of pie?!? OH MY! ...So, my random thought came to me tonight because I wish I had some pie. 133 calories per slice pie. Or any pie. http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1261

Superday

I can easily say that I'm not a super sports fan, especially when it comes to televised sports. When the "super" Sunday comes around at the end of football season, its a given that I'll be at my parents' house snacking the day away on the game day buffet and wishing I was at home crafting. Knowing this about me, my mom came up with a craft project for us to do while the game was on this year. I couldn't have been happier! It was a project she'd seen on one of Martha Stewart's television shows, which usually intimidates me because Martha's crafts tend to require precision, skill, immense patience, and a laundry list of exotic supplies. But this project involved stamping, a craft I mastered back in the 90's. The project was simple and I was impressed with the results. We made kitchen towels stamped with an apple pattern--using a real sliced apple. The materials included cotton towels (we used rectangles of muslin that mom hemmed), apples, acrylic paints, fabric medium for the paints, and a paintbrush. You just slice the apple, apply paint, stamp on the fabric, let it dry a bit, then draw on the seeds and stems. Voila!

Wasted

Is it a waste of a day to have an entirely "free" day and not make ANYTHING? It's Sunday, its after 9 pm, and I have wasted an entire day on the computer instead of in my workspace creating new stuff. I practically wasted away all of Saturday, too, with the exception of making a few new pairs of earrings for my etsy shop and taking photos of my latest jewelry, like these black rose earrings. The worst part of wasting these precious days away is that it was a beautiful weekend. We had gorgeous weather after a full week of rain, fog, and no sun. I should have been riding my bike, walking around the lake, or hiking in the greenbelt and absorbing some of the sunshine. But I just discovered Flickr...and there went my entire weekend! I uploaded photos, organized photos, joined groups, shared photos, searched other peoples photos, commented on their photos, and read comments that people left on my photos. In fact, its not quite bedtime--so I have another hour with Flickr before my weekend is over and I'm stuck in a different chair staring at a different computer.

Magnetism

This week was dreary, cold, and rainy for five days straight. There was no sun in sight and a definite chill in the air. What a great time for staying in and crafting! I dug back into my grandmother's button collection and made a new batch of colorful vintage button magnets--great for dressing up the fridge and posting my collection of lists. Making them is a process very similar to making the button rings. I just dig through the jar of buttons looking for interesting shapes and colors, then I start stacking them in various combinations. I put them together with a super strong adhesive, let them dry for a few hours, then use the adhesive to attach a strong magnet to the back of each stack. Voila!

Ring-a-Ding-Ding

A few days ago, these colorful buttons were trapped in an antique canning jar begging to be released. (See my post a few days ago.) Sure, they had storied pasts on old cardigans that traveled the world, on button-down shirts squeezed in the back of someone's overstuffed closet, or hidden for years at the bottom of grandma's sewing box.

After scoring this jar of stories at an antique mall in Wichita Falls, I couldn't help but dump the buttons out on my parents' dining room table to sift through them and see what pretties I could make. My sister and I made stacks and glued them together with a super strong adhesive. Then I put the stacks on adjustable ring bases, upcycling the old buttons into unique vintage button rings.

There are too many rings here to keep them all for myself, so as soon as the sun comes out and the dreary weather moves out of town, I'll be outside taking some well-lit photos and adding the bling to my etsy shop. I can't wait to share these with everyone!

As a side note, when I dumped out the jar there were a few interesting goodies in there that were not buttons, including a thumbtack, some marbles, a few beads, and a few bolts. Not one to let anything go to waste, I used the thumbtacks and marbles to make some mod-looking tacks. These beauties will dress up my otherwise boring bulletin board. I made them by stacking a few buttons, much like the rings are made, and topping them off with a brightly colored marble--giving it a bit of a "handle." [See top three pretties on the right in the photo above.] The whole stack was then glued to the flat-top of the thumbtack. Voila!

Hunting

I've only been back from our road trip for a full 24 hours and I'm already itching to do more treasure hunting. The problem is, my treasure hunting locally is never as fun as being on the road. I love stopping in small towns and discovering their thrift stores and antique shops. Last weekend the hunt was on as I brought along my handy-dandy Blackberry. Ah, technology... As my husband did the driving, I did the researching on the upcoming towns that we'd be driving through with a quick Internet search. For example, my search for thrift stores in little Evant, Texas yielded this awesome find--the Agape Thrift Store located in the town's main square off US 281. Their prices are super cheap and what could be better than a store with proceeds benefiting a charity?!?

Treasures

Some things in life are treasured in my book. Time with family, time off from work, time to be crafty, time with my friends, time to eat a home cooked meal... I am having a treasured weekend. My husband and I are in Wichita Falls visiting my new family--my mother and father-in-law, aunt, uncle--on a long holiday weekend. The drive to Wichita Falls is a long one, but we have learned to make it a treasure hunt along the way, taking our time to visit antique stores and resale shops in the small town squares along the way. My husband has the treasures that he hunts for and I have mine and we make our way through the narrow aisles of the overstuffed shops hoping to score riches for our various collections before we jump back in the truck and head further down the road. While we haven't scored many thrifty treasures so far this weekend (there's still tomorrow!) compared to other trips we've been on, we've had some quality time together with family, and that's pretty golden. Oh, I did score this fab old jar of vintage buttons in a barn in Bowie, Texas today--but would have missed out on it without my mother-in-law along for the ride. I walked right past it, but she saw high up on a shelf and remembered how much I looooove vintage button jars. Score!

South-by

I was so excited to look down at my calendar today at the office and realize that we're exactly two months away from South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin. While I'm not a part of the music industry, I am a music fan and this conference brings 100's of bands to town. The best part of this is that they converge not only for industry showcases, but also for unexpected shows all over town, like the time I saw Nickel Creek play in the alley behind a little folk art store. In fact, SXSW will always hold a special place in my heart because I met my husband three years ago during SXSW. It doesn't get much better than this. So begins my countdown to South-by.

Easy

I love to cook, but on weeknights it has to be something EASY. Nothing's easier than relying on my crock pot. Today's recipe is for Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken and it has two ingredients. How's this for easy...

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Bottle of BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Place frozen chicken in crock pot. Dump BBQ sauce in pot. Turn on low. Come back 8 hours later and serve.

My favorite EASY side dish is sweet potatoes. I put two of them in my little crock with a tablespoon of water at the bottom and turn it on low. Four hours later, they're cooked so their insides are so smoooooooth and creamy that no butter is necessary. TaStY! Serve the chicken and potatoes with something green, like steamed asparagus. This is a homecooked meal in 8 minutes or less (other than the crock time while I'm at the office). EASY!

Rings

Lately I've been a little obsessed with vintage buttons. A few weeknights ago, I dumped an entire jar of them on the countertop, dug through them one by one looking for fabulocity and coordinating colors, and came up with lots of delicious combinations. Then I put them on rings--awesomely kitsch vintage button rings. Oh, the novelty! This week I will start showing them off in my online shop and hope for potential buyers since I cannot possibly have these all to myself! Want one? I've got lots to share.

Grind

After a day back at the grind, how could I resist spending my evening adding new earrings to my online shop (look to the right, eh!) and taking the Etsy survey. (Would you like to participate in the survey and enter to win one of their five $100 shopping sprees? Click on...) As for the earrings, I had fun using some wonderful vintage German glass beads that I found while browsing Wimberley Market Days. They were in a basket outside of a little shop and they caught my eye immediately. They've been in my bead collection since summertime, but I brought them with me for our New Year's Eve in this beautiful Hill Country town and made lots of inspired glass earrings while my husband was fishing. I realized today while bathing in the glow of artificial lighting and a dirty computer monitor that a day of making earrings and watching deer in the yard is better than any day in the office...but don't tell my boss I said that.

Wildlife

My, how times have changed... How long has it been since I hoped I'd have a wild plan all lined up for New Year's Eve. This year's plan was less of a "plan" and more about the wildlife. My husband and I spent the extended holiday weekend in Wimberley, Texas. He tried to catch smallmouth bass in the clear waters of the Blanco River and I tried to catch deer in the camera lens as they pranced through the neighborhood. I also had the pleasure of seeing ducks cross the road to get to the river, turkeys hanging out in someone's front yard, goats gnawing on someone's grass, and lots of cows. When I wasn't lost on the winding roads and trying to find my way back to the delightful town square, I was making some new jewels to share with everyone and catching up on my magazine reading. We ended up spending NYE night playing Scrabble, drinking champagne left from our wedding, and eating the top of our wedding cake as first anniversary tradition dictated. [It was still surprisingly delicious, by the way!] This is my new idea of fun. Not exactly wild, but what can I say. Anyway, I won the game and victory made the evening even more fun. Teeehee! Best wishes for a safe and prosperous 2008.

Holidaze

This was my first holiday season with my jewelry posted for online purchases. I'm already anxious for next year. I am so thankful for my buyers and all of their great feedback, and I was tickled to be sending packages worldwide! Happy Holidays, All!