Eat, Drink and be Merry!

It's that time of year again. It seems like it got here fast, doesn't it? I hope your New Year's celebration is safe, fun and fab! Cheers!

Be sure to click on the image to visit the shop it came from. I believe these are now on sale.

I'm in a treasury!

This treasury will expire in two days, so check it out! If it's already expired, you can check out my eco chic necklace here.

Merry Christmas!

It's today! Really! Merry Christmas. This Reinhog completely melted my heart! How cute is he? He looks like he's ready to lead the team of reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh!

Check out the other cute stamps at Rubber Hedgehog.

Extra Kind

I recently had lunch with a group of friends to catch up and celebrate the holidays a little early. We had a great time catching up on people's promotions at work, who's newly pregnant and so on. But something I didn't expect was everyone's "holiday drama". Many people think of the holidays as a Norman Rockwellian moment with family while, in truth, no one is having that idealistic moment.

Without revealing anyone's name or identifying details, there were cases of all of the following at our lunch table; families who have cancelled Christmas gift exchange this year due to the economy, people who have planned major surgery during the holiday because it is the only paid time of they ever get, a step parent who is trying to push an uninvited make over on their adult single step child, a family working on their house not being sure if there will be a space for their invited family members to comfortably stay with them (knowing it's too late to get a hotel reservation) and the list goes on and on. So please let this post be a reminder to show those around you this holiday season a little extra kindness. Everyone has their stressors this time of year and would appreciate a tiny act of kindness.

Smiling is free. Letting that person with one item go before you in line when you have a basketful of groceries to feed an army only costs a minute of time. Not battling your fellow humans for that last parking spot is being the bigger person and you get a little excercise walking across the lot.

Be sure to check out houseofharriet's lovely etsy shop where I found the beautiful blue and white ornaments. Have a Great Holiday!

My Fave Tweet to Date!

So, on twitter everyday one sees a lot of funny things and not so funny things. This is my favorite tweet to date.

Check out City Craft -- they have beautiful fabrics and obviously a great sense of humor! ;)

Clever Octopi

Get an eyeful of this clever octopus! This little guy and his friends have learned how to clear out and use coconut shells as shelter and a place to hide. This is a behavior that hasn't been seen in them before. Check out the whole story here.

Photo courtesy of AP

wondering about wrapping green for the holidays?

I love to re-use the comic section from the paper to wrap gifts any time of year. The black and white section of the paper work too with a bright colored ribbon. Recently, I came across this great post on Sweet Greens about green wrapping for the holidays. Check out these tips, they're great! :)

Who doesn't need one of these?

So, as I was poking around on Etsy, I found this pint coozy from yubomination. How cute is that? It even has a snowflake pattern! There's nothing worse than chilly fingers whe eating ice cream direct from the freezer -- we all know it tastes better that way! :) What a clever idea!

This finally got a forever home...

I love the movie Cider House Rules and the idea that the children there eventually get "forever homes." Sometimes my creations feel like children to me and I'm delighted when the find "forever homes."

This earth-friendly wreath got a forever home during the North Haven Gardens Event. We spent hours together while I was creating it and we got to be friends. Merry Christmas! :)

Custom order - the grid

I received this book in the mail today from a customer that has asked me to create a custom order for a Christmas gift. I'll show you the results after Christmas...I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise! ;) Can't wait to get started!

Feature: Texas Beadz

Here's my interview with the woman behind Texasbeadz.

Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff, fun stuff.

I'm Lynn from Dallas surrounds and I am an Etsy-holic. Yes, I do admit I am
a holic of the beading kind. I love everything jewelry so the best way to
feed the need is to make it...and make it...and make it. I have a shop on
Etsy that has items ranging from $10 to $150, fluff to fabulous. Favorite is
anything pearlie!

Apart from creating things, what do you do? Do you have a day job?

I actually wear several hats and when I'm not creating jewelry I also have a
travel business helping plan upscale cruise vacations. In my spare time
(hear the roaring laughter) I also help my husband with his consulting firm.
I love the end of the day when we chop wood and start a roaring fire (ok,
I'm going to tell the truth, it's gas). I head in to the kitchen with a
glass of wine and start my favorite pastime, cooking. My forte is rustic
foods and especially Italian cooking. With over 100 cookbooks the only time
they are touched is when they get dusted or I need a little inspiration.

When not creating, planning or cooking, I love to golf, hang with my best
friend husband and play with our friends. We are no longer travel bugs both
having to do international travel for a living over 20 years, so staying
home is the best place we can be!!

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

My inspiration comes mostly from the ocean. My love for water drives me to
the elements of and around the sea. Pearls are my favorite element and
second would be earth elements. I go for texture, color and is it appealing
to the touch. Then just sit down and away we go. No studying, no drawing, no getting up in the middle of the night. I just sit down and see what happens with the materials in front of me.


What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I think I would have to say my most cherished personally made item are my grandmothers faceted amber beads that I restrung last year. They date back to the 30s if not before and have such character. I don't really recall her ever wearing them because I think they have been broken since I was born (not telling)



What inspires you?

Internal serenity and peace. Sounds corny but it's really
true. I have a loving best friend of a husband that supports anything I do,
I live in a wonderfully quiet environment surrounded by nature. My life is
in total balance with fitness and health so with this combination, I have
nothing to muddy my mental waters and have complete clarity to create pretty
much on demand. Just wish I had more time to create and let the admin get
done by the fairies!

fungus among us

While I was at home for Thanksgiving we walked at the park each day. We saw this and had to stop and take a picture! It's a HUGE mushroom growing ont he side of a tree! How cool is that? It was there every day we walked. I'm surprised an animal hadn't eaten it by the last day. It just kept getting bigger and bigger!

For Me?

Some friends of mine recently bought this basket for their house. It seems that one of their kitties, Trixie, thought it was a perfect place to hang out! It makes me wonder how she'll get outta there when she's ready. If she was my kitty I might have to call her Mustache ('stache for short) -- check out that adorable milk mustache! :)

Club Med - Senegal

What a cool structure! A Sustaninable building that is a part of Senegal's Club Med. Read more here.

Here are some pictures from the North Haven Gardens Event that was this past weekend. The weather was not ideal as there was misty rain and cold weather. It was a great weekend for hot chocolate and hot apple cider which we had plenty of thanks to NHG.


We were grateful to be inside...it was a bit too chilly for outside set up. Here are a couple snap shots of the conference room where we all set up our booth spaces. These were taken from the doorway looking in.

And here's a peek from my perspective of the show from behind my table.


There were some familiar faces there including; Modest Ambition, Karma Crochet, Tefi Designs, The Pig and the Peacock, F is for Frank, Three Yellow Starfish, Eye on the Sparrow Designs, La Alicia, Cut Out and Collect, Millinerium and that's all I can remember right now.




Here are Ginger of Millinerium and Patricia of Karma Crochet chatting toward the end of the show.

Give it Forward!

Give it Forward is a cool giveaway put on by CosaVerde and their sellers. Check it out and suggest people to give the giveaways too. How fun is that? You can suggest people you know to receive the items being given away.