Weekend Projects

Well, this was my project from last weekend.

My old purse had started to fall apart. Literally. I caught the strap on a door knob and ripped it right out. But it had a good long run, and is now in the drawer that holds old purses I've made and no longer use (yeah, I have a drawer for that). The fabric is Moda.

I also had an idea for a new pair of earrings.

Once again, I've forgotten the name of the green stone (I'm going to be better about that from now on though!), but the stones dangling from the bottom are faceted moonstone. What do you think?

Lunch Time

I'm about half and hour away from lunch and Elise's recipe is making me hungry! Potato Skins, anyone?

Also, this idea is awesome/hilarious.

I'm gonna have to make a BLT just so I can try that!

Okay, now I need to stop looking at food.

Beauties from Blogland

Well, I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend. I know I did! Friday night I tried to replicate the recipe for PF Changs Shrimp with Candied Walnuts (seriously, get it the next time you go, it will change your life). It turned out pretty good, but the recipe still needs some tweaking. I'll post it here when it's perfected.
Brian had to work Monday so I kept myself occupied with a sewing project and new jewelry(which I'll post about later).
And Jordan, I mailed your earrings yesterday, so keep an eye out for them!
For now, here are some pretty things from the Blogosphere.

Pretty Cards and Gift Wrap from Julia Rothman

found via design*sponge


This cool kitchen make-over

found via design*sponge

These fun Valentine's Cards

Both Found via Oh Happy Day

And the Winner is...

Well, after a weeks worth of comments, I collected the names of all interested parties in a red cereal bowl, and had my husband draw a name. The winner is (drum roll, please)...Jordan who said:

"I am a friend of Karla's and am so happy that she linked to your site. I love your creations! They are all so beautiful!"

Congratulations Jordan! Please send me an email [angelajewell(at)gmail(dot)com] letting me know if you want the pair with topaz or pearls, and your address so I can send them to you. And remember, if you didn't win them, you can always go to the shop and buy them! :)

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented. You have no idea how much every word made me smile. And a special thanks to those of you who posted about me on your own sites. You are all so kind. And I'm thinking of making the earring give-away a more regular occurrence, so be sure to come back regularly!

Odd Etsy Item of the Week

This week's Odd Etsy Item comes to you from...Me! That's right folks. I've been talking the big talk for a while now, and I finally got the guts to post my stuff on etsy. Check it out here. And for all you loyal fans out there...a give-away! Comment on this post by 12:00pm Friday, the 18th and you could be the winner of a new pair of earrings! Should you be the lucky one, you'll get to choose between these

And these

I wish I could tell you what that blue stone is, but I'm afraid I don't know. The top pair is accented with pearl, and the bottom pair has topaz. Tell your friends, and help me spread the word! Let me know what you think of the shop.

Make Sure it's Really Good...

This post may sound a little like an Austin style rant, but as a caveat, I would like to say that I enjoy Ina Garten. She seems like a very nice lady, and the food she makes generally sounds appealing, otherwise I'd stop watching her show. That being said, she has some eccentricities that crack me up. Today she was making Asian Marinated Salmon, and the marinade had three ingredients. I kid you not, as she was adding each ingredient she said the words "really good".

"Start out with three tablespoons of really good Dijon mustard. Add one tablespoon of really good soy sauce, and as you whisk those together, gradually add one cup of really good olive oil."

The mustard and the oil I could maybe justify, but really good soy sauce? Is there such a thing as really bad soy sauce? Does the distinction need to be made?

I've also decided that they must have some really interesting hardware stores in the Hampton's, because she manages to buy everything under the sun at the hardware store. Today she was using a food mill, talking about how it was one of her favorite kitchen tools, and she said "And the best part is, you can just pick them up at the hardware store." Really? I'm pretty sure they don't carry food mill's at Home Depot or Lowe's.

The other day I was watching an episode where she was making something with mozzarella in it, and she said "And make sure it's really good mozzarella, not that rubber stuff you buy at the grocery store". Huh? Where else am I supposed to buy mozzarella? Probably the hardware store.

Hot Air Balloons Make Me Happy

I caught the tail end of an episode of "Deserving Design" last night and this was the nursery they created for a baby boy.



Cute, huh? That chair is actually a gilder, and apparently the crib will convert to a "big boy" bed. Nice. But my favorite part are those hot air balloons. I think I want a few for me!

Handmade Christmas

Well, the word on the street is that the Christmas cards I sent out got pretty beat up in the mail. It's a bummer, but hopefully yours was one of the few that made it out alive. If not, here's what they were supposed to look like.

Of course, these were the ones I liked least, since I didn't send them out. Every one was different, with different shaped ornaments, paper, and card color. I hope you enjoyed them, even if they were a little worse for the ware. Lesson learned: Stick to using 2-D on your Christmas cards!

Photography is Art

Yippie! Karla and I just signed up for another class from the infamous Brian Niven through UVSC Continuing Education, and I'm pretty excited about it. Photography is Art meets Mondays from 5:15-7:15 for five weeks between March 17th-April 14th. Anyone care to join us? It's sure to be great!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! We spent the evening with family playing games and watching movies while enjoying all kinds of delicious snacks. It was so nice to have time off work, and to spend it with friends and family. I was particularly excited for 2008 to come so that I could put up my new calendar.

It's even prettier in person! It puts a smile on my face every time I glance over at it. It's definitely helping me get through this first day back at work in a while.

And now a random question for all the readers out there:
I made a cheesecake (Tyler's Ultimate Cheesecake, actually, but without the lemon zest, because my husband is anti-citrus zest) and baked it in a water bath. I always surround the springform pan with foil when I do this to prevent water leaking into the cheesecake, and usually this works fine, however this time for some reason, there is a dark deposit of some kind on the pan that held the water. I'm assuming it is somehow from the foil, but I don't know, and I can't seem to get it off. So far, I've tried soap and water, comet with bleach, and baking soda. Any suggestions for getting my pan clean? Your ideas are much appreciated.