Frothy

The randomly sized circles on this pendant reminds me of bubbles. Bubbles are fun, so naturally wearing this necklace will lead to fun times :)

Here is a long chain I'm working on. I love long necklaces because of their versatility. They can be worn long or doubled up, and they also look great layered with other necklaces.

My First Successful Hat

After a few failed attempts at knitting a hat, I finally succeeded in making one that a.) fits and b.) I would actually wear. For Christmas, my boyfriend got me this really cool colorful hand spun yarn from Marajane on Etsy. I'm really happy with how it turned out... and I'm glad that I can now make more than just scarves.

I had this cool idea to make wrap around scarf-things hanging down from the sides... but some ideas look a lot better in my head than in reality. They may come in handy if I'm going to be outside in a snowstorm, but until then, I think I'll just leave them off :)

Little posts

I finally got around to listing some of my new post earrings in my Etsy shop. I really love these as casual everyday earrings. I made myself a pair of the Trellis earrings, and I've been finding myself wearing them a lot. They are especially great on cold days when I'm all bundled up in my scarf or big turtle neck and don't want dangly earrings hanging down and getting in the way. I've had a lot of fun making these, because even though they are small and simple, there are so many possibilies for different designs.

Pebble Earrings

Trellis Earrings

Jane Earrings

Loose Leaf

I'm sitting here enjoying loose leaf for the first time in my life, so I thought I should share how delicious it is. I'm normally a coffee drinker, but I've been intrigued by loose leaf tea for some time now. I was really excited when I opened a Christmas gift from my parents that included an adorable teapot/cup and loose leaf tea! My mother brought some Darjeeling tea back from her trip to India. I was a little skeptical drinking it without sugar or honey, but it actually has a really nice flavor, and I don't feel it needs the added sweetness.

Here is the cute little teapot my mom picked up in London with painted scenes of the city. The cup fits under the teapot, which warms it before pouring the tea into it.

I'm really looking forward to trying lots of other kinds of teas. What a nice, relaxing way to start the weekend!

Christmas is Fun

After the Christmas rush died down, I was able to spend some time in Lancaster, PA with my boyfriend and his family. It was so great to be able to just relax without worrying about what time it was. I love to cook and bake, but I don't often have the time or opportunity to make anything really special, so Christmas Eve I decided I would make a nice breakfast. My family exchanged gifts on the Saturday before Christmas, and my sister-in-law got me an awesome cookbook called For Chocolate Lovers by the Tanner brothers. Definitely an appropriate gift for me. The very first recipe caught my eye immediately: "Banana and Chocolate Souffle Pancakes". I decided I needed to make this, and Christmas eve would be the perfect time. It ended up being a little time consuming, but that was okay, because I was having fun.

Here they are right before going into the oven. I made the pancakes larger, and perhaps thicker, than I was supposed to, since it was supposed to make 12 and I only got 4 out of it, but that was okay. I also think I filled them a little fuller than I was supposed to, but that was okay, too, because the filling was heavenly.

Here they are right after they came out of the oven. Mmmmmmm... melty, gooey, banana and chocolate goodness!

Even my mug of delicious coffee was eyeing up the goodies:

Hopefully the next time won't take me as long to make them, since I'll know what I'm doing.... and there will be a next time!

Christmas Rush

Well, I'm definitely feeling the stress of trying to get all of my orders filled and shipped out so they arrive by Christmas. My custom linked bangle bracelets have become quite a big seller. It's exciting, but it's more time consuming getting those orders shipped out than items I already have in stock, since each one has to be made specifically for each customer. It's fun to be able to make something so personal that will have special meaning to the person giving, as well as the recipient.

I'll leave you with an image of my messy workbench...

Mmmmm, Felt

I'm very excited about the coming year. I have some new ideas for my jewelry that I'm excited to get working on. Plus, I can't wait to release my new line of felted pillows!! I really wanted to get them out this year, but I decided it was getting too close to Christmas, and I wanted to take my time to tweak a few little things before releasing them. But, I'd thought I'd give you a little teaser by showing some of the pieces I've done.

I LOVE felting so much! It's like having a blank canvas that has endless possibilities. I just wish my time was endless, so I could work on all of my ideas!