Bad Blogger! Bad! Tsk!

I have not made a blog post in 6 days -shame on me. So I have been thinking about what to post about and nothing's jumping out at me. I thought about mentioning my favorite eco cleaner (BioKleen) but it's Friday and I don't want to blog about cleaning on Friday. I also thought about writing something informative like the difference between true cinnamon and the other cinnamons (which is what's on most store shelves). However, cinnamon does not strike me as a Friday post either. Let's see, I did not make any new jewelry yet but I'm going to next week so that I can re-open my etsy shop.

I did finish my skirt and it came out ok. Dig the contrasting zipper! Nice huh? Just kidding, I put that zipper in because it was the only one I had lying around and I did not want to make a run to the fabric store or rip one out of something else.


Oh! and I got new phone. I have been wanting a new phone for a while now and I finally got one. I was trying to decide which phone to get but the $99 iphone special decided for me. And believe it or not I never really even wanted an iphone (Gasp!) but I just could not beat $99. Plus, my old bad phone was really a sight to see. The keypad on my old phone would come off frequently and at some of the most inopportune times. I was embarrassed to take it out in public. When making calls I would dial the number (with my phone still in my handbag) and then put it to my ear really quickly so that no one would see the phone. And texting? In public? And risk the keypad coming off? Forget it!

Old Bad The infamous keypad


New better


Oh well, I know this does not make up for 6 days of non blogging but it was worth a try. Right?

Maybe I'll Give False Eyelashes Another Try!

I have tried and failed time after time with trying to apply false eyelashes. I have used the strip versions, the clusters, and the individuals and I always manage to make mistakes while putting them own. I either apply them too high on the lid, or too low and I just end up looking like a clown - especially with the strips. Needless to say I have pretty much given up on the false eyelashes. Besides, I just wanted to try them out for fun so it's not such a big deal. However, I came across these (below) videos that someone posted on a blog and they were a bit long (like eight minutes or more) but they made me want to give false eyelashes another try-if he can do it, why can't I? Right?
So I will give another go and I'll make sure to post pictures If my umpteenth attempt. Hopefully there will be victory.
P.S. the music and the intros make me laugh just because I'm silly.

Dusting Off My Sewing Machine!

I have not had the urge to sew for quite a while. In fact I have been so not in to mood to sew that I put off hemming 2 pair jeans (I'm 5'4 and the jeans were cheap but long) for almost a year. And this is a little sad because I have a fashion design degree so I should love to sew right? Wrong! And I got that revelation a few years ago when I decided to make a dress from scratch and found no joy in it. I think that I got tired of all of the steps i.e. cutting,basting,notching,marking,etc... I also think that all these steps are what drew me to jewelry making which require fewer steps - except for metalsmithing. Plus making jewelry just came so naturally to me and I love shopping for gems.

Anyway, and few days ago I was kind of bored and decided to pull the sewing machine out. The main goal was to hem the 2 pair of aforementioned jeans because the jeans I was currently wearing started to show some wear and tear-literally. So, I hemmed the jeans and then suddenly a miracle happened-I felt inspired to sew something else. I looked through my old stashes and found some denim fabric that I was going to use to make a tote. I decided against the tote and thought that making a really simple a-line skirt would be cool. I then found an old torn denim skirt and decided to use that as the pattern. I laid it out, cut out the pattern and sewed the pieces together and now I am almost finished. I just need to add a zipper and maybe a waistband or facing and hem. I must also mention that I have gotten some extra inspiration from Threadbanger.com which has all types of sewing projects and tutorials. One of the tutorials that I found really cool to watch was the d.i.y body form in which a body form was made using water activated packing tape. I probably won't be making a form anytime soon but it made me realize that there is always a way to do it yourself.

One Lovely Blog Award for me! Yay!

I am happy to announce that I have received the One Lovely Blog award. This award was given to me by Gloria's Jewelry Box blog (Thanks so much). And please be sure to check out the Gloria's Jewelry Box shop on etsy where you will find some really beautiful jewelry featuring gemstones, crystal, brass and more.

I gratefull accept the One Lovely Blog award and in doing so I will post the Rules of Blog Award Acceptance:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

And I am passing the One Lovely Blog Award to:

Leandrea
T.Allen-Mercado
Silver Rose
Georgia
Judy
The Apple Hill Doll
Raevyn
Joyce
LillyShayStyle
Michelle
SharonKay
Patricia's Art
Rachel DeJohn
BOWquet
ShellyStout

Another Fave Online Shop!

Yup! I have found yet another online shop to burn up my cash. The name of the shop is RawGuru.com and it specializes in raw foods and is also a community network for people who are interested in or already live a raw foods lifestyle. They sell all types of raw food snacks, nuts, dried fruit, superfoods, vitamins, supplements, teas, dehydrators, sprouters (getting one soon-tired of paying top dollar for sprouts), etc... Now, I am not one who only eats raw or organic but I do include raw and organic in my diet. And I especially like some of the snacks that I have found on rawguru like the Gopal's Goldenberry Brazil Nut Cookie (made with only brazil nuts, agave nectar, and organic goldenberries) which does not taste exactly like a traditional cookie but it tastes good to me. In fact, most items of the raw items I have tried do not taste exactly like their traditional counterparts (cookies, chocolate bars, jerky,etc..) but I still like them. And besides, many of them (raw snacks) are a little healthier and have more nutrients for the calories. Needless to say I am gonna be doing a little more shopping on rawguru.com in the days to come.

It's June Already? Wow!

It is June 1st and I can hardly believe it. Time seems to be moving so fast and I seem to be moving so slow. I have so many things that I want and need to do i.e. get my own e-commerce website for my jewelry, participate in some art fairs, re-open my etsy shop (it’s on vacay), find or create some unique displays for trunk shows, etc... And the list goes on. Also, I usually do one of a kind pieces but I feel that I need come up with some base pieces of jewelry that will always be available to customers. I feel this way because I think having base pieces or “standards” work well for websites. Plus it is sometimes easier to re-create than to come up with something new. And although I have always said that making something over and over would take the fun out of creating- I feel like a could use a few hours of mindless work. Needless to say I have a lot (or what seems like a lot) on my plate. I guess I will just take it one day at a time and hope for the best.

My Latest Creations

Here are a few pics of my latest jewelry.

Green Amethyst Silver Chain Necklace


Green Amethyst Gold Filled Necklace


Green Amethyst Silver Earrings


Green Amethyst Gold-Filled Earrings



Iolite Gold-Filled Bracelet


Iolite Gold-Filled Earrings


Labradorite Gold-Filled Necklace

My New Fave Morning Tea!

I usually start the morning with a cup of tea-usually something caffeinated like black, green, or yerba mate which has a natural caffeine. Recently, I stopped at the Numi tea booth at the Green Festival and picked up a few free teabag samples and some info about Numi. Within this info was a advertisement for their new line of Puerh teas and I thought they looked pretty interesting. A few days later I was at a World Market and saw the Numi Puerh teas and decided to try one. I picked up the Emperor's Puerh which is a black tea and the description on the box said it was rich, bold and malty-those three words are what made me buy it. Also, I thought it was $5.69 which is less than some other teas I have bought. Then I found out later (when I got home because I was not paying attention when the cashier was scanning) that it was 8.99. Oh well, buy the time I looked at the receipt, I had already had a cup of this tea and I really liked it a lot. I like it enough to buy another box although there is only 16 bags per box. Plus, I saw it for cheaper (about $7.59) at Whole Foods so I will def buy it again. And maybe I will try one of the other options too (Chocolate Black, Mint Green, Magnolia Black). Here are a few health benefits of Pu erh teas.

Green Festival Weekend!

This past weekend the beau and I went to the Green Festival at Navy Pier. I was able to get free passes and we took the CTA Orange line (public trans.) downtown instead of driving because parking (especially garages) is just too costly and finding a park is a game of chance it is the eco thing to do. It was the beau's first time on CTA so he finally got a taste of my frustration with public trans particularly on the 29 bus (orange line train was rather quiet) which goes to Navy Pier-it was pretty crowded.

Anyway, we got to Green Festival and walked around a bit or a lot rather. We picked up plenty of free samples, coupons, and pamphlets. We also saw a few demonstrations including the AOK Alimtox ( detox foot bath) which was pretty darn gross. And I say gross because the AOK Alimtox is suppose to draw toxins out the the body and the water or solution in the foot bath changed colors depending on what toxins were coming out of the person. Needless to say there was some pretty funky looking water in those foot baths.


We were both determined not to spend much money so the only things we bought a Green Monkey brownie and cup of Kombucha. And I also bought a Blissoma sprayable lotion and some raw vegan Cru Cacao truffles which were really, really, intense.
Cru Cacao


Blissoma Spray Lotion


That was pretty much it. We walked a little more, picked up a few more samples, and got more information on some local organizations with green missions and then we left.

I love These Soaps!

I love soap and I always have. Especially pretty, handmade, natural,organic and imported soaps. I am one of those people who never runs out of the stuff. In fact, my dresser drawers are lined with bars of soap from all types of health food stores, apothecaries and online shops. You know how people make grocery lists or to do lists? Well, I make to buy and to try lists and soaps take up quite a bit of space on this list. Oh, and I have heard about that soap scum stuff but I just ignore it. Anyway, my latest soap finds come from a couple of etsy shops (2 of which are on vacation now-sorry but I needed a blog post) that I have been eyeing for a while. One shop is called Savor and I bought two soaps from this shop which were great: Red Lychee Bubble Tea -- Olive Oil Soap and Hawaiian Orange Alaea -- Salt Bar

Red Lychee Orange Hawaiian


Another etsy shop that I bought soap from is naiad where I bought Cardamom Vanilla Marshmallow Cream soap (which smells awesome).

Cardamom Vanilla


Lastly, but certainly not least is a shop called dirtysanchez where I bought noncommittal which is a sampler (5 ample slices) and you get to choose which samples you want. The samples I got were hay, pollinator, special delivery, irish wedding and nostalgia. They all smelled wonderful and I will definitely be back to dirtysanchez to buy full sizes. Plus this shop and cool, funny and full of sarcasm.

Noncommittal

I'm Taking a Day Off!

Yup! A day off and I need it. I have spent the last couple weeks making new jewelry for the trunk show I had this past weekend and I need a break. I stayed up many nights into the morning trying to come up with new and interesting one of a kind pieces. Some nights were successful and other nights resulted in good ideas gone wrong and gnarled up (and snippets of) wire everywhere. However I did manage to make some pieces that I really like.
The trunk show went just as well as the others I have had. I made some sales which is good and I got some contacts too. Plus, I got many good compliments and promises from people planning to come to my next show. So I am pleased overall and I am just gonna chill today. I might go see that Star Trek movie too-we'll see.

Trunk Show This Weekend!

I'm having another trunk show at Bloomingdales in Skokie, IL (Old Orchard) this weekend. The show will take place on Saturday, May 9th from 11am to 4pm. That's one day before Mother's day so hopefully I will get some Mother's Day sales.

Eco Furniture Ideas From Milan!

Check out this very cool slide show from Treehugger.com. It features items from a Milan furniture fair that are truly revolutionary and earth friendly. I only wish that my mind would come up with such brilliant things. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Motion Sensor Chandelier made with
recycled PET bottles and LED lights


Partition made from recycled PET
bottles


Green Pockets-Planters in walls


The Ombrello (I was honestly trying to figure out what to do with old umbrellas just the other day. Honestly!)


Flat Chair


Table made from leather scraps