Embroidered Olive Oil

For the past few days I've been working (off and on) on hopefully the beginnings of a new line of items in my shop.

I'm a pack rat. I can't seem to throw things away. And one thing that it always pains me to throw away are bottles...specifically bottles that have an interesting shape to them. But for the longest time, I just couldn't think of what I would like to do with them. I wanted it to be something unique!

And then about a week ago, I decided...why not cover the bottle using old newspapers as a start? I love the look of old torn up newspapers and when you cover the bottle, you really highlight and bring out the beautiful shape of it. But really....that's not anything new. So then I thought, why not take what was originally in there....and redesign the label....but in a more tactile, handmade way.

So here's my first Olive Oil bottle:







Would love your opinions! I'm very happy with how it turned out and I'm so excited to make more! So many possibilities!!

Etsytwitter Shop of the Week - RoseBush Designs

Beth Wietrzykowski is the guiding light ( and hand! ) behind RoseBush Designs' beautiful cards, gift bags, journals and accessories. Beth's designs ship internationally as well as in the US, and offer the beauty and individuality of a hand-crafted card for any occasion, something many of us wish for when confronted by racks of mass-produced cards.

"All of what I make is something I would give to someone myself. I cut, stamp, color and put all these together by hand. I do not have any kind of printing machine or mass produce cards (wouldn't it be nice though!). All of my products are available in multiples and I'm happy to do custom orders or change colors if desired. "




A stay-at-home mom to two boys, Beth finds creating an outlet for her inner girl.

"Most of the time, we are playing outside getting sweaty and dirty so being able to play with ribbons and glitter is a nice treat for me.

My inspirations come from anywhere! I get ideas from nature, magazines, friends, anywhere really. I'm still learning every day about new techniques, ways to make my product better, ways to photograph and edit my pictures as well as new crafting products. It's a never ending lesson for me and I think that is what keeps me going and excited about my craft. "

Beth also has great tips for using Twitter as a means of promoting your work:

"I try to engage. I see it as a big room full of people who want to chat. When I see something that is funny, sad, inspirational, odd or whatever, I comment on it. I try to be fun and lighthearted. I don't see twitter as a forum to air my, or anyone else's, dirty laundry. I promote items that I buy, items I want, my fellow twits on the team and my own items. "

Just Peachy!

So like I side, I finally had a chance to play over the last couple of days. I don't have a huge amount of things to show as far as "creating" and the shop is concerned, but it's still been a wonderfully productive last two days.

And I do have some pictures to show from my kitchen. It's so fun now that I've actually decided on a color scheme....which was purely by accident and on the fly by the way.

We went to Macy's earlier in the week so Willie's mom could get me my birthday present (early, it isn't until July). I had no idea where we were going at the time. I was just following. Once we reached Macy's and headed for the Homewares department...I had a few ideas. And once Willie pointed out my new blender....I was squealing (on the inside...I don't like making a scene, people!). This is my new Cuisinart blender (which makes smoothies!!):



After showing me that, she then told me to pick something else out! So I decided I wanted to get a hand mixer. I've been in desperate need of a hand mixer. The one I have right now is a Michael Graves one that unfortunately just is TOO fast on the lowest setting. So I picked out a Kitchenaid one. But of course...then the decision was down to color. I tried to find a red one to match my standing mixer but they didn't have one. So at first I chose one with a brushed metal finish. Until I saw the special edition Martha Stewart blue one. I honestly could care less if it's a Martha Stewart edition...it was the teal blue I fell in love with! And I just fell in love with the color combo of teal and red!



So there we are, waiting to pay and me talking about how I want to do the whole kitchen in this color scheme, when Willie tells me to turn around and there it is....an entire section devoted to all kinds of kitchenware in teal and red. Are you kidding me?!? Is this fate..or is this fate? So then Willie decides to buy part of my birthday present there and lets me pick out a few things to go in the new color scheme.



And I did get to make some magnets using some of my buttons. I threw in a little yellow just so the teal and red doesn't get too repetitive.



So yeah...it was a fun night. And I have new toys to play with in the kitchen. So tonight I made a smoothie for Willie and I. Results...the smoothies themselves could have been a tad sweeter...still very yummy though! And the blender....I ADORE it!! It's so neat to just choose the smoothie setting and it just does it's thing!

Sorry, but I was so excited about my first smoothie that I forgot to take pictures of the yumminess before it was all gone! So here's an after....



Peach Melba Smoothie
A simple peach smoothie with a raspberry coulis rippled through, giving each sweet mouthful a sour edge.

for the coulis:
1/2 cup raspberries
squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp honey

for the smoothie:
2 peaches, peeled, pitted, and quartered
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/4 cup milk

Place the coulis ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour out and set aside. If you do not want any seeds, pour the coulis through a mesh strainer. Don't worry about washing the blender, as it will give the peach smoothie a lovely pink color.

Place the smoothie ingredients into the blender and blend the mixture for 1 minute or until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, swirl in the raspberry coulis, then pour into a glass to serve.

My notes: I used all frozen fruit. I just couldn't find any fruits at my grocery store that were nice and ripe. I added a bit of honey to the smoothie mixture as I found it a bit too tart. In hindsight, I think that this recipe would have been even better using low fat vanilla yogurt instead of plain. I think that would have made it a tad sweeter. It was still very yummy though!

Where'd you go?

Sorry, Willie's mother and sister have been visiting for the past week so I haven't had any time to blog OR create! I've finally had some down time tonight so I've been able to play around a bit with all of the ideas I've had running through my head this week. Fun stuff! I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Willie and his mom went to the Yankees/Mets game tonight (GO METS!!) so he has the camera. But I can't wait to show off my newly organized kitchen (thanks to Willie's mom). And just because I can't leave this post without a picture, here's a hint:



1. Red and teal mary janes with sleepy moon motifs, 2. Slouch Hat in Teal and Red, 3. red and teal buttons, 4. Red Tulip, Teal Butterflies, 5. Dressing room, now teal, 6. Vintage Tree Print Cards, 7. Windsor Stripe Red and teal, 8. "Bunny Love" (Teal, Red) - Mixed Media Painting, 9. teal red, 10. Smash cake, 11. POD necklace - red and aqua. (TTV), 12. Cherry Who Earrings , 13. Teal and Red Floral, 14. Teal and Red, 15. Spoon rest and plastic cup, 16. handmade ornaments

New card holder!!

I made my latest purchase for Unique Women In Business and decided to go with a card holder from LMcreation and I am so happy with it! It is extremely sturdy! I will never have to worry about my cards getting bent when I put them in my purse. And bonus...it has a little key ring on it too! How gorgeous is that pattern! Happy girl!

Cupcakes and Wine

Thursday I went with some friends to a cupcake and wine pairing where Cupcakes Take the Cake had teamed up with Swirl Events to put this whole thing together. Let me say right off....I didn't take pictures. Sorry! Once I started consuming the alcohol...well it just sorta slipped my mind.

There were 3 stations set up. Each station had 2 wines and either a cupcake paired with it or a cheese. There was a Rose station, a White and a Red. We hit the Rose station first and this really is the only wine I took serious note of (and apparently so did everyone else there, it was all gone by the end of the night....never got seconds). It was an Emeri pink moscato from Australia. And was paired with a strawberry cupcake. This was the 2nd sweetest wine I've ever tasted. The first being a dessert wine I had when Willie took me to Le Bernardin. I could see how this wine could be dangerous. You can really trick yourself into thinking you're not actually consuming alcohol! It really is that sweet! The other wine was paired with a chocolate cupcake. But as I said before, they also had a cheese set out at each station as well.

Now, let me just say that honestly....I was a bit disappointed in the cupcakes. They weren't really anything too incredible. And maybe that's the point, so they don't overpower the wine. I don't know. But they were just very average. The strawberry was meh, ok. The chocolate tasted like it came from a box. And if they got these from a bakery...well that's even more disappointing. Other cupcake flavors were carrot cake (not really cream cheese frosting), caramel (probably my fave of the night) and a pineapple (which I didn't try but a friend said tasted just like vanilla). I guess I had higher expectations that we were going to be tasting some interesting cupcakes. After seeing the way the cupcake trend is going (savory, maple and bacon...etc) I was hoping to see something like that going on here. In the end...we wound up enjoying pairing the cheeses with the wine more than we did the cupcakes. There just really was nothing special about them. And when it's a CUPCAKE and wine pairing, it's not good to have mediocre cupcakes.

Just so I don't end this all negative-like...I really did enjoy myself. Even with mediocre cupcakes. It was alot of fun just standing around trying some wine, eating some cheese...getting JUST tipsy enough that I became a chatty cathy (happens EVERY time I drink...I become a total motor mouth), and having lots of laughs with some girl friends. So yes...still a fun night! :)

Aunt Star?

I'm gonna be an auntie!!! Meet my nephew: