On Storms and Paying it Forward

Leonid Afremov on Etsy
Find him HERE

It's storming again as I write this. Yes, AGAIN! This has been a rough month storm and rain-wise. If you remember the bread and butter business is in Construction, rain makes for downtime lots of downtime. Downtime means the bills run late because you need to work to make money. Which actually brings me to todays topic believe it or not.

I’m sure I mentioned I’ve taken a part time job recently. Our expenses have increased just enough that it was becoming a strain on the hubs, especially with the weather we've been having, and I wanted to help take some of that stress off. I've also been going a little stir crazy cooped up on this hill all by myself for so much of the time.  So, I’m working as a cashier at our local Dollar General. 

My In-Laws insisted I was going to hate working there, but I am really falling in love with this job. It’s a lot of hard work I’ll admit. Stocking shelves between customers can get to be a heckuva  work out. I was working on sky boxes (we keep over stock on the top shelves) the other day and I joked it was the best leg work out I’d had in a long time - up and down the ladder all day long! 

My customers, though, are the reason I love this job. They are just amazing people. They make me smile on days I don’t want to. They make me laugh when I think there is no more laughter. They love one another and me. I get teased for being short and for no reason at all. I even have customers who will come along behind me and place things back up on the top shelf after I’ve pulled them down to restock shelves. Best of all I regularly get to see acts of kindness and pay it forwards that genuinely warm my heart. 

I have missed this so very much! What I see of the world lately on Facebook isn't so nice. It's political and personal, angry and sad, and that wears on you, it wears you down and I was feeling it. It took its toll on my marriage too. I can't tell you how much I needed to have my faith in humanity renewed and my customers have done that in a big way.

Be kind to one another, commit random acts of kindness and pay it forward. The love and compassion you share has an amazing ripple effect. Those acts touch many other people as well and that’s a VERY good thing. It's what makes my job a joy, thank you!

I haven’t made anything new lately, but that doesn’t mean I’m not making. Amazon sales have remained steady and I make to order most of those. Once I get my routine back in order I’ll get back to new goodies again I’m sure. Those “leg days” are kind of whooping me lol

Thanks so much for stopping by!

We'll see you next time!

Week 19 Year of Jewelry Project

I made this pendant a few weeks back, posted it as an in progress piece on Instagram and then immediately dropped it and busted it in two pieces. sigh Alan bought a new torch for me a week or so ago and it works a charm! However the heat of the torch did darken the Ruby in Fuchsite a bit. .....Note to self invest in some Jool Cool if you think you might ever need to apply heat to a cab again......

I also make a crown ring using the same bezel wire, it's my second best seller on Amazon right now.  I've also sold several on Etsy.  I'm really starting to enjoy rings and may have to think about a bezel set ring or a saddle ring soon.

Short and sweet this week...... I've rejoined the workforce after 30 plus years of self employment and it seems to take up a lot more time than I remember, or maybe I was just a bit younger and had a lot more energy. 

Be kind to each other!

See ya next week!

Hand Crafted Holidays 2015 : Week 4 Mixing Bowls

The Hand Crafted Kitchen

As you know, my daughter is a ceramicist and she has made several bowls for me that I use in the kitchen on a regular basis. There is nothing quite like a hand thrown bowl to mix in, you just know anything made in a hand thrown bowl is made with love. 

A hand thrown mixing bowl is just heavy enough to bring back all sorts of memories of helping Grandma in the kitchen, whether taste testing, measuring ingredients, or as head stirrer of the bowl. That solid bowl is a keeper of some of our best memories.

So I have poked around Etsy and Amazon to bring you just a few of my favorites today.

Leslie Freeman Designs on Etsy

Gentlemanly Pursuits on Etsy

Jan Fairhurst Pottery on Etsy

Paige Hickey Pottery on Amazon

Theresa Chang Ceramics on Amazon

I hope you make many new happy memories with them as well.

The holidays are about sharing and caring, and I’d like very much to get the word out that hand made is heart made as is the holiday season. 

SO, If you like this post, and I hope you do! Please feel free to share it! Blog about it, Tweet it, Pin it, Instagram it and give it a shout out on FaceBook. Don’t forget to come back each week for another post in this years series: The Hand Crafted Kitchen

Thanks for stoppin by!

We’ll see ya next week!

Week 1: Vanilla = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-hand-crafted.html

Week 2: Aprons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-2-aprons.html

Week 3: Mixing Spoons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-3.html

Week 4 Mixing Bowls = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-week-4.html

The Hand Crafted Kitchen: Week 3

Week 3: Wooden Mixing Spoons and helpful accessories

The official countdown has begun!  Christmas is in just four weeks.

This year I’m focusing the series in the kitchen, and today we’re talking spoons and wooden push pulls.

My oldest has moved out again and is refurnishing her kitchen. She found some spoons on Pinterest that she loved and hinted I should buy them for her. After doing a little hunting on Etsy I found some really beautiful spoons anyone would be happy to receive.

 

Gorgeous Burned Spoon from Portugal  ArtisIgnis on Etsy

California Walnut At Kitchen Carvings on Etsy

Hand Carved from Italy The Wooden Caravan on Etsy

Fun Spoons at Sue Made That on Etsy

While looking around I also found this amazing little gadget I didn’t even know I needed, but man do I want one! This little guy pushes and pulls the hot rack in the oven, no more burns! I’m all for that!

Walnut Push/Pull from Wooden It Be Nice on Etsy

I don't know where this thing has been hiding all my life but I really really want one! I also kinda want some of these spoons!

The holidays are about sharing and caring, and I’d like very much to get the word out that hand made is heart made as is the holiday season. 

SO, If you like this post, and I hope you do! Please feel free to share it! Blog about it, Tweet it, Pin it, Instagram it and give it a shout out on FaceBook. Don’t forget to come back each week for another post in this years series: The Hand Crafted Kitchen

Thanks for stoppin by!

We’ll see ya next week!

Week 1: Vanilla = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-hand-crafted.html

Week 2: Aprons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-2-aprons.html

Week 3: Mixing Spoons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-3.html

Week 4 Mixing Bowls = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-week-4.html

The Hand Crafted Kitchen: Week 2 Aprons

The countdown to the holidays has begun! Thanksgiving is this week and Christmas follows (as usual lol) just four weeks behind.

This year I’m focusing the series in the kitchen. What says kitchen more than the Apron?

It doesn’t matter if the kitchen is indoors or out, an apron means business!

Hand Embroidered, My Grandmas Apron

I received a most wonderful gift from my Aunt (Dad’s sister) recently. She sent some wonderful old family photos of my grandparents, aunts and uncles and some of the grandkids (my cousins, me included) But she also included my Grandmas apron. Pristinely white with hand embroidered flowers. Tucked in with the apron were hand tatted lace edged hankies and pillow cases my Grandma had made. Lace making amazes me, it isn’t something I ever picked up. Makes me wish I had.  

Once upon a time all of our kitchens were hand made!

As much as I LOVE my Grandmas apron I would be heart broken if I stained it or tore it somehow. Off to Pinterest to find the apron patterns! I am forever dropping beads and jump rings in my studio. That means umpteen hours on my knees with a flashlight hunting down the little um buggers under the armoire and dressers i use for storage. An apron might could catch those runaway items before they could ever hit the floor!

My kiddo as you know is a potter, she needs one that covers front and back - muddy hands!

I have two patterns tucked away on my boards that fit our needs beautifully.

They can be found here: on my  Pinterest Board

If you don’t sew or just don’t have the time this year, I took a few minutes to poke around and found some wonderful Handmade Aprons available for purchase.

Etsy

Bonnies Sew Crazy on Etsy

Misses Country on Etsy

Linen Sky on Etsy

and on Handmade @ Amazon 

Victoria Eggs on HandMade @Amazon

HardMill on Handmade @Amazon

Oh my I LOVE this apron, perfect for my studio! It’s a bit out of my budget for right now, so I’ll have to save my pennies and wait on it a little bit. 

In the meantime I’m pulling out the sewing machine…….just as soon as I find some suitable material. I haven’t quite decided, duck cloth or ticking or just a heavy cotton…… decisions decisions!

The holidays are about sharing and caring, and I’d like very much to get the word out that hand made is heart made as is the holiday season. 

SO, If you like this post, and I hope you do! Please feel free to share it! Blog about it, Tweet it, Pin it, Instagram it and give it a shout out on FaceBook. Don’t forget to come back each week for another post in this years series: The Hand Crafted Kitchen

Thanks for stoppin by!

We’ll see ya next week!

Week 1: Vanilla = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-hand-crafted.html

Week 2: Aprons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-2-aprons.html

Week 3: Mixing Spoons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-3.html

Week 4 Mixing Bowls = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-week-4.html

Hand Crafted Holidays 2015 : The Hand Crafted Kitchen

A Little bit of a Woven Ribbon Heart

If home is where the heart is, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and hand crafted is heart crafted, it just makes sense that this years Hand Crafted Holiday series be a Hand Crafted Kitchen.

The countdown to the holidays has begun! Thanksgiving is in just three short weeks and Christmas follows (as usual lol) just four weeks behind.

This year I’m starting the series off with Hand Crafted Vanilla Extract. It may seem a bit early but  vanilla extract takes several weeks to make and I wanted to give you ample time should you choose to make it yourself.

If like me you love the smell and taste of real vanilla extract, you can imagine just how deliciously good a made with love batch tastes. We have a family member who makes it every year and mmmmm it’s good!

In the spirit of the holiday season I thought I’d share that home made goodness with you. 

I’ve found recipes and kits, bottling supplies, labels and ways to decorate your bottles so that they’re as unique as you are! And I’ve also found a wonderful new shop on Etsy that sells A Beautifully packaged extract that has been aged for an entire year. 

I found a recipe at Tidy Mom that looked super simple to follow: http://tidymom.net/2012/recipe-for-vanilla/

and another here: http://theimprovkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/12/worth-extra-step.html  and this one also includes Vanilla Sugar, imagine that on some Cinnamon toast, or Cinnamon Rolls! mmmhmmm 

I just got this e-mail from King Arthur Flour with a kit so you don't have to hunt down vanilla beans:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/make-your-own-vanilla-kit

and another kit on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/254560165/

If you prefer to use the recipes above and source the beans yourself, I've found some fun bottles for your finished product:

Apothecary Jars
Available HERE

Brown Glass Jars
on Etsy

You could use the really pretty labels provided with the recipe above but I also found some really Great DIY labels over at http://www.thebudgetdecorator.com/diy-label-projects-and-free-printables/   you might like to try.

DIY Labels found on
Budget Decorator

DIY Labels found on
Budget Decorator

I poked around on Pinterest some more and found some great tutorials on decorating those bottles:

Step by Step Photo Tutorial
found on this BLOG

Bottles Etched Using Martha Stewart Doily Stencils

If after all of this, you'd prefer to purchase your Artisan Vanilla rather than make it I found a cute little shop on Etsy with some wonderfully packaged Vanilla.

Artisan Vanilla Found on Etsy
HERE

LOVE this vintage Vanilla signage found on Etsy
HERE

While I don't have any extract in my shop I do have some Smokey Quartz 

= Jewelry with gorgeous rich and smooth vanilla extract coloring =

Found in my Etsy
HERE

Found in my Etsy
HERE

Found in my Etsy
HERE

The holidays are about sharing and caring, and I’d like very much to get the word out that hand made is heart made as is the holiday season. 

SO, If you like this post, and I hope you do! Please feel free to share it! Blog about it, Tweet it, Pin it, Instagram it and give it a shout out on FaceBook. Don’t forget to come back each week for another post in this years series: The Hand Crafted Kitchen

Thanks for stoppin by!

We'll See ya Next Week!

Week 1: Vanilla = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-hand-crafted.html

Week 2: Aprons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-2-aprons.html

Week 3: Mixing Spoons = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-hand-crafted-kitchen-week-3.html

Week 4 Mixing Bowls = http://magpieapproved.blogspot.com/2015/12/hand-crafted-holidays-2015-week-4.html

What’s on the Desk Today

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a post on what’s new around here and I thought it might be a good time to share.

As you know I’ve been taking new photos of those items I’m listing on Amazon and some of those photos have found their way into their sister listings on Etsy. I have to say it’s giving me little glimpses of a look I think I really like. 

Even though both shops share listings I want each storefront to have it’s own unique offerings as well. To do that I’ve had to come up with a few pieces to put exclusively on Amazon.

So far I have some skinny bangles in aluminum and copper. While I was trying to get a decent photo of one of the necklaces I offer on Etsy I thought “maybe I should just remake this one, it’s just not hanging the way I want it to.” Which is REALLY funny because I had at least 10 good photos of it by that time! Shows you just how tired I was after taking over 500 photos lol

You might remember the hubs bought me a pretty good sized baggie of gemstone hearts from an estate sale some time back. Yup, I have THE best hubs ever! He buys some really fun tools for me too!! I’ve since transferred all those hearts from the baggie to a mason jar tied with a ribbon which sits on my desk just as pretty as can be. I caught those hearts out of the corner of my eye and knew they were just the thing for a remake so I grabbed my jar…….. a hammer, my torch, and a dapping block……

….. and I made these! The fun thing is I can keep making these until I run out of hearts in the jar and I get a really cute necklace for my HandMade Shop on Amazon and if you want, you can even pick your heart!

I’m really happy with my Caged Hearts and you’ll be able to find them exclusively on Amazon just as soon as I get them listed.

Thanks for stopping by!

We’ll see you next time!

Goings On....

I’ve been hinting at lots of things keeping my attention away from blogging and making. I’ll admit it one too many things in the air and something is bound to get dropped, I know my limits and while I do push them they always push back lol So today, I’ll tell you about a couple of those wonderful things that have been perking around and about.

One: College finances have had me running in circles. My youngest is about to graduate, he’s been on scholarship this whole time but one of the rules to his scholarship is you apply for a Pell grant. They want to be sure you have every financial opportunity to help you succeed. This year the rules have changed a little bit on the University side of things, they want a whole lot more paperwork and we’ve had to jump through hoops as we’re self employed and just don’t have the paper work they’re asking for. I have provided all the alternatives necessary but it’s a pain to have to go round and round (especially when it’s ALL on file already) and it’s just emotionally draining and pretty stressful when they start talking about making him drop because the paperwork isn’t in order. But, he’s graduating this year! woo! I'm so Proud of the kid! He’s worked very hard for this.

Paige's Pottery She's on Etsy too HERE

Two the kiddo, my middle, graduated last school year, has finally gotten her kilns (yes TWO of them!) and has been ordering all the goodies she needs to get up and running. We have boxes everywhere right now, it almost looks like Christmas has come and gone! I’m excited for her, she’s been a little down, not being able to play in the mud but her face is becoming full of happy again and that makes me very happy! — first firing delayed there’s a problem with the plunger that turns the kiln on/off and the second kiln has the wrong plug, both fixable just means a few more days until her first firing, and she has boxes of clay calling her name. 

Three, The Artisan Group. I joined nearly a year ago. I’ve sat back and watched how things were done. Felt overwhelmed at times, felt so not ready at others and I have learned quite a bit. Enough so that I  took the plunge and sent some things in to stylists for Bones and Mariah Carey’s newest movie project. I have no idea at this point if either will use what I sent, but it’s very exciting for me to even be considered.

Four Amazon! I’m thrilled to announce HandMade at Amazon is now Live! You’ll now be able to find me there as well as on Etsy. This has thrilled and scared me simultaneously and so far it’s a been very very good thing!  I’ve been contemplating Amazon for quite some time now, I’m thrilled they’ve opened Hand Made and that I’ve taken the plunge. I’ve made several sales already and I gotta say I’m really enjoying that! I get the feeling this is just the tip of the ice burg….. lots of good things coming!    My Shop:  Wind Dancer Studios

It is by no means finished, I’ve taken over 400 photos, edited most of them and have only managed to list a handful of items. But, now I want to overhaul my Etsy too. After 400 clean no prop photos, my Etsy storefront feels….. cluttered. So my mission is to continue loading Amazon with pretties I think will do well there and now freshening the look on Etsy. Eventually I think I may want them to be unified in look and that may keep me busy for quite some time! 

And now that we're mid-way through October I really need to get my mind wrapped around the upcoming holidays.  Pull together some wonderful handmade goodness to share with you.  I've been sharing my inspirations lately, I think holiday gifting ideas will blend nicely. I hope you've had a chance to see all those gorgeous photos I've been sharing on my FaceBook page if you haven't, why not? lol 

So that's just some of what's been going on around here, never a dull moment it seems. 

Thanks for stoppin by!

We'll see you next time!