The Savvy Crafter

Breakfast Blog?

This is what happens when I can't show you what I'm working on jewelry and crafting wise.  Instead, I show you what I'm cooking---lots of us do it, eh?  Lately, it seems to be breakfast.  We love breakfast around here.  Is it because we've been deprived of our beloved small town Indiana Saturday morning diner trips for 2 1/2 years? THE $4.99 Special: Two eggs, toast with a side of bacon and coffee.  (Insert trumpets)

Yesterday, I whipped up my friend Krissy's breakfast casserole recipe to celebrate the weekend's arrival.   It's drizzly outside.  Nothing says lovin'like a hot sizzly casserole and the smell of coffee wafting through the air on a rainy morning.  I'm still working today and Botch heads out to the factory in a few minutes, but it's the thought that counts.  Secretly (but not anymore), I'd like to curl up with this book I've been slow to finish.  Bastard Out of Carolina.  Have you read it?  There's a movie too, but I've not seen it.  So far, so sad, but it's a must-read for me, so I will push on.  I think I'm almost half way through it.

Hey, want to make your own casserole?  The weekend's not over yet!

Krissy's Easter Morning Casserole, as she calls it. All though, she first made it for us at our 7AM Super Bowl party.  The girls ate it with fruit and Mimosas and the guys ate it with taco dip and beer.  Silly boys.

• 8 slices of white bread, crusted and cubed
• 1/2 lb grated sharp cheddar
• 6 eggs beaten
• 1/2 t. dry mustard
• 1 t. salt
• 2 C. milk
• 1 1/2 lb. link sausage, browned and sliced
• 7 x 11 casserole dish, greased

Layer dish with bread and sausage.  Mix the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard together and pour over bread and sausage.  Set in fridge over night.  Cover top with cheese and bake 1 hr. at 325-350 degrees.  I confess, I bake it as is and then put a tad of cheese on top (imported cheese is $ 6-7 dollars a bag here in Ch!na.  Ouch!)

Hope you're all having a great weekend.  It's time for me to get back to my little work room.  :-)

Earthquake Relief...

Horrifying stories about the earthquake in our neighboring province, Sichuan, were rolling in and we wanted to do something....  So, about a week after it happened, we were sitting at our friend Chuk's restaurant and I turned to him and said, "Chuk, have you heard of anything going down with fund raising for the earthquake relief?"  He says, "Oh, yeah, Loads!"  I told him about an idea and he said, "there's Kate (sitting at the next table) she's organizing some stuff at the international school." 

 

So, I hopped up, talked to Kate, explained my idea, she said when and here I am....repairing jewelry and stringing beads for donations to the relief efforts.  Don't you love it when things fall into place like that?  It really was meant to be.

 

I emailed all my pals and explained the scoop.  Kate put up signs, friends told friends.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I fixed around 25 pieces of jewelry---most repairs were easy like a loose jump ring, a charm that fell off or a broken clasp.  Each piece of jewelry had a story to tell---who gave it to them, how it got broke, where they bought it, why it was meaningful.  It was neat to hear all the stories.  Some people came by just to visit and chat.  Made some new friends too!

Then................the school bell rang.  School was out.  Beads were IN!  I brought a big bowl of beads and elastic in case some folks wanted a little craft therapy.  Man, we strung some beads.  Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, teachers, dogs (ok, not dogs) all stringing beads for good!

It was a blast!  After a few hours, there was 1400 RMB stuffed in my little donation jar!  The power of creativity and craft continues to inspire me.  Thank you to everyone for your support.  Thank you to QSI for letting me hang in the lobby and fix jewelry.  My heart goes out to all the victims-people and animals-of these disasters.  Hugs to you all.

Links for...

Katie's Beading Blog
Make a fun little winged thing from a handful of wire and beads.

Humblebeads
Flying to a fashionable ear near you, a free project from Humblebeads.

Hali Chambers

Linda at Make It Mine magazine
Make your own dragonfly top--check out the instructions and video!

Swelldesigner
You'll get butterflies when you see this summer-inspired necklace with butterfly pendant

The Insects are out
Insects are crawling out and about at http design this month as Helen and Michelle get clay happy with some cool designs.

Beading Help Web's DragonFly Anklet
Make this cute anklet for summer in just minutes!

Michelle McGee

Art Bead Scene
Dragonflies are all the rage, art beads & brass combine in a 1920's inspired necklace.

Ornament Thursday...Insectica

Happy Ornament Thursday!  This month’s Ornament Thursday theme is Insectica.  The next word that comes to mind is “bug.”  Bug.  Cute as a bug.  Bugs Bunny.  Bug, in a rug.  Bed Bugs.  It’s buggy out.  Snug as a bug.  Bug bite.  Don’t bug me.   Bug off. Love bug. Did I miss any?  Leave a comment if you think of one. 

Once upon a time, I was a bug.  It was my nickname when I was little…thanks to my dad.  My older sister was Daisy Duke, just in case you were wondering (she was hooked on the Dukes of Hazard). When I think about it, I’ve had quite a lot of encounters with insects and bugs.  It started in 3rd grade when I talked Grandpa into buying me a toy at K-Mart that was basically a small playground for bugs in a clear plastic dome…..dare I say Flea Circus.  99% positive I tried being a farmer of an ant farm.  I still miss the lightning bugs every summer.  One of my favorite memories was roller-blading through our river walk back home on a hot summer night with all the lighting bugs twinkling around us.  Very magical.  In college I took Entomology 309, a fabulously fun class with Chris Oseto (one of the best teachers on the planet).   This led to casting bees and beetles in bronze and silver in our spare time over at the metals studio.  Why?  Because we could.  (Note:  the beetles were long gone before we got to them---no beetles were hurt in the process)  I can remember three different bug boxes of mine.  Do kids collect bugs anymore?  I’m feeling a little dusty.  Poor bugs.

This month’s buggy ornament offering comes from the Candie and Jean (aka my mom) archives again.  My mom did the crazy painting of the bugs like this….

 

then I added texture and details with colored pencil, some sterling antennae and a little tie tack pin back like this….. 

Voila!  Cute as a bug…..on your collar! 

The Ting Tings...

Have you kids heard of this band? I'm loving them...especially their, That's Not My Name song.  Here's a link to their MySpace page.

Oatmeal Love...

Here Gram, I made you some oatmeal!  Every time I'm home, Gram and I have this discussion about how we fix our oatmeal.  It all started because of this yummy porridge mix she sells in her store:  Three Bears Porridge.  I always bring a couple of bags home in my suitcase.  There are also some nice oatmeal recipe ideas on the internet.  Generally, I make mine with cinnamon, honey, raisins, and fruit be it mango, a baked apple or banana.  Sometimes I even slap a dollop of yogurt on top.  You can add dry instant oatmeal to plain yogurt--like muesli kind of.  Very tasty with mashed berries.  Now I'm starting to sound like Bubba Gump, berry and yogurt oatmeal, banana oatmeal, oatmeal with dried fruit and almonds....I could go on and on.  I've always been a "flavored instant packet" kinda gal, but I think I'm hooked on "from scratch."  Anyway, Gram,  I was thinking about you today. I hope you like your oatmeal, made with love.

Saving the Animals...

You've all heard the terrible reports of the recent earthquake here and it keeps getting worse.  The people here have pulled together and are accomplishing extraordinary things and this is one of them...

One of the rescued dogs, Pi. 

I was listening to the radio today and caught the tail end of this woman's interview.  She founded and runs a bear sanctuary in Chengdu, near the earthquake's major damage area.  She and her team have been assisting with relief efforts since the beginning---helping people and rescuing dogs and cats.  They have saved over 50 animals so far and according to her blog, the gov't called and said they have more. Check out her blog for more incredible and courageous accounts.  You can imagine the costs that go with rescue.  If you have a spare couple of dollars, here's a link to her donation button.  I've poked around her site and what they are doing really is remarkable.  Thank goodness for angels. 

Picture from Jill's Blog at AnimalsAsia.org

This toast is Bananas!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!  Yesterday, I was on the hunt for a fun breakfast idea.  Botch left Thursday for Nanjing and got home late Saturday night so I wanted to surprise him with something different.  And now for something completely different (for us anyway):  Banana French Toast from Mr. Breakfast!  We're big fans of banana pancakes so I thought this might be a nice variation.  It's a mixture of pureed bananas, eggs, milk and I added in some cinnamon instead of dusting it on after.  I was a little leary at first, but it was so simple and had no sugar.  I will admit that I took a picture of the prettiest corner of the batch, because I was having troubles getting them evenly browned.  Luckily, the hod podge look didn't affect the taste because they were yum-meee!  We stood in our cracker-box kitchen and ate them right off the skillet.  No soggy French toast for us!  Sliced strawberries on top might be nice, but that idea will have to wait until November which is when strawberry season starts here.  Mr. Breakfast is my new best friend---check out the DIY stuff like print your picture on a cereal box and gift jar mix recipes. 

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy was having some major deja vu while reviewing this mainly metal jewelry making book.

Art Bead Scene
Do you love stamping? Check out Art Bead Scene for a review of metal stamps and a link to a tutorial!

Jewelry & Beading
Get your "Mental Gears" working...and win a free pendant!

Naughty Secretary Club
Anyone headed out to BEA (Book Expo of America) in Los Angeles next weekend? Stop by the F&W booth (#1351) to keep Jen company and to score a free Naughty Secretary Club T-shirt. You are going to need one for a project in The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Jewelry.

Savvy Crafter
Burn Baby Burn! Thinking about trying soldering? Candie tells about a great torch option...

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean explains why she loves a certain necklace she made for summer, and looks forward to writing about jewelry in the upcoming month!

Burn Baby, Burn....

I've been meaning to show you this slick little Berzomatic pencil torch I got awhile back.  I use it for soldering silver, copper and brass.  Back home I use a Smith torch which uses acetylene and air.  Over here I would have to buy an acetylene tank the size of the Empire State building and well, that doesn't really evoke a comfy settling feeling in my little studio---even if I drew a smiley face on the side of it.   I was thrilled to find this option and it runs off propane-everyone loves a short stubby tank that you don't need to chain to the wall, right?  If you live in the States, you can use those cute cannisters they sell for camping grills.  The bonus is you can buy them almost anywhere (this is nice when you run out of gas Sunday afternoon and you're hot to finish your project).  I think I paid around $40 (plus shipping) for the torch and then small cannisters are around $6 or $7 so it's pretty cost friendly. 

It's great for small pieces and simple jobs like soldering an ear post.  I have noticed for slightly bigger pieces like a brooch, I need to build up my fire bricks to make a little oven so the piece can stay hot, but that's no biggie.  If you are thinking about soldering, try this torch.  Accessible and small, I give it a 10. 

Birthday Boat Ride...

 

 

It was a good birthday---thank you for all the sweet wishes.  After I did some bead shopping for my book projects in Hong Kong, Butch and I met up for a little shopping.  Then we were sitting next to the water, taking a rest and saw this really cool mysterious boat pull up----the one that looks like a pirate ship.  As it turns out, you could take a spin on it.  And so we did.  Who can resist a boat that looks like the Black Pearl?!? 

The boat had very comfy seats and served drinks.  The only thing missing was Johnny Depp.  By the time the ride was over, we were so relaxed we didn't know what to do with ourselves.  Love it when that happens.  So we headed up to the Intercontinental for an early dinner and watched the sun set on the harbor.  It was a great day.

P.S. Like the first picture?  Make your own with this very cool photo time machine that I stumbled upon today.  Careful, it's addicting.

Happy Birthday....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick post before jetting off to Hong Kong.  It's my birthday today so instead of cake, I'm serving Raspberry Oatmeal Bars.  This is a recent recipe my friends and I tried.  Fabulous!

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

***Add raspberries to the jam layer for a little zing. 

Ingredients…

1/2 cup packed light brown

sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions…

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.

Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Recipe from ALLRECIPES.COM

Swan Link(s)....

I awoke to an email with this picture from my parent's neighbor John.  Thank You John!  My parents live just two houses down and every year these swans come around daily, knocking on cottage doors for bread.  Ok, they don't have to knock.  Are there one or two swan families this year, John?  We usually have a North and South clan...rivals, of course.  We've seen a few gang fights take place out on the middle of the lake too, staking territory.  Oh, I could go for a cup of coffee on Mom and Dad's deck this morning.  We've solved more than a few of the world's troubles looking at that lake and those trees over there....missing you guys today.

About.com Jewelry Making
Wire is a great medium for jewelry making, and with this new DVD review you can findout how you can turn straight wire into super cool bangle bracelets.

Art Bead Scene
Obessing over details leads Cindy Gimbrone to revise her MF Bird. No, she's not frustrated she means Modern Folk Bird.

Jennifer Jangles Blog
See the first ceramic beads Jennifer made.

Jewelry & Beading
What to do with those odd-shaped treasures you pick up on vacation this summer!

Katie's Beading Blog
Feeling the economic pinch in your purse? There are plenty of ways to make cool jewelry with stuff you already have.

Naughty Secretary Club
So many social networking web sites and so little time. Find out how Jen utilizes websites like My Space, Indie Public, Twitter and more to help promote her jewelry business Naughty Secretary Club and spread the crafty gospel.

PearlEsq.
Check out what blingy wonders Robin's been beading while recovering from her knee surgery!

Savvy Crafter
Need a card for your favorite beader? Candie may have just the thing!

Snap out of it Jean! There's beading to be done!
Margot will be posting in a cool crafting group but still visiting here. When I get the url, I will post it for that group. Until then, check out this repost of her fantastic pocketbook which I adore and treasure she made me!

Straight from the Heart!

50 Nifty Beaded Cards has a few designs by Candie Cooper in it.  ;-)  This Straight From the Heart card is one of them---Here's a link to the free project featured in Lark's new newsletter.  Looks like their newsletter is going to be loaded with fun inspirations and free projects each month.  Sign up for it here!

 

More scoop on the beaded card book here...  After all, everyone loves to get a card--especially a beady one!

Soup's On...

The family made Cream of Celery soup today.  That's right, it took all of us.  Lots of chopping, stirring and more chopping.  I used this recipe, but I opted not to pour the soup through a sieve.  Lose the vegetables?  No way!  But, I learned that you have to boil the celery a loooooong time before it becomes tender.  After about a half hour at a high boil, it still wasn't quite there, but we were hungry so we pushed on.  Butch set to chopping up the veggies (this is where you would normally puree them).  There were more than a couple clumps of celery flying through the air.  All the while, Rocker in position at the base of the counter----that's his strategy for catching small bits of cheese that might fall off the grater or a sliver of chicken, today it was celery.  I wasn't really paying attention until we sat down to eat and the poor guy had three green spots where celery had splatted on his nose and head.  What a mess this soup was to make!  I have to admit fantasizing about my Kitchen Aid stainless blender (Ooooooo) that's in storage back home.  That thing would have put this celery in it's place.  Never the less, it was all worth it because the soup was fabulous, especially on this cloudy day.

Hello...

This is my little work area...that I've been sitting at morn' til' night.  Sorry for the quiet blog-just working away on my book projects.  Wish I could show you, because I'm very excited about them...but we'll all have to wait until 2009.  Seems so far away!  I hope you're all having a good week.  hugs.

Links and Tea...

It's been a bit of a crummy day for various small reasons so I'm taking a break to eat something that's equally as crummy, but good---a pop tart.  One reason, I'm about 8 beads shy of finishing a necklace and the bead  mall is 2 hours away.  Hate it when that happens.  This is my new tea mug that I got in HK Saturday for a whopping $1 at the Japan Home Store.  Just looking at it makes me happy....ah, simple pleasures. Can we ever have enough of them on days like today?  Speaking of simple pleasures, here are the bead bloggers offerings for this week:

About.com Jewelry Making 
Have you noticed the jewelry supply trend at your local craft store? What does this mean for jewelry designers?

Art Jewelry magazine
Hazel, editor of Art Jewelry, "elects" to discuss the candidate's jewelry.

Jewelry & Beading
A focal piece can be a brilliant way to inspire new designs!

Katie's Beading Blog
Looking for beachy jewelry ideas? Take a peek at Katie's June Triple Take project for Simly Beads.

Naughty Secretary Club
Looking for a new how-to jewelry book that uses vintage gnome cupcake toppers, children’s eye glasses, doll house furniture and the occasional bead? Good thing The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry is available for pre-order on Amazon!

Savvy Crafter
It's been a charming week over at Candie's blog---charming bracelets that is!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean goes on a bit about tree cutting, and then gets to the point: some cool earrings she made!

Triple Take...

Triple Take copyright, DRG/Simply Beads Magazine

The new Simply Beads is out!  Here are the Triple Take Girl's projects for this month.  We used Fire Mountain Gems shell beads and charms.  Katie made the bracelet and earring set, Margot made the cell phone holder and I made the mirror (which I bought at the thrift store for 50 cents and revamped, yay!  See the Artgirlz charmz?).  Get your free instructions for the projects here. 

It's raining today and I'm off to Hong Kong for some serious supply shopping.  Better wear my galoshers!  Have a great weekend... :-)

Charmed A Little More...

Joanne's Bracelet...

Here are a few pictures of the charm bracelets from the intermediate beading class.  This was everyone's first attempt at making a charm bracelet.  Talking to them now, 4 months later, it's still a favorite.  Mine too.

Chris's Bracelet....

Love those ribbon charms!

Bridget's Bracelet....

It really is an anything goes bracelet, using whatever you feel like.  Throw out all the rules and you get fabulousness.  I promise.

Anything Goes Charm Bracelet...

If you've ever been on vacation or gone antiquing with me, you know that by the end of the trip, my pockets are loaded with this's and that's.  Nothing in particular, but a lot of somethings....if that makes any sense.  One of my favorite pieces of jewelry to make are charm bracelets.  They allow for working in themes or you can attach whatever makes your heart sing at the moment.  The latter is the route I took for this particular bracelet.  Some initials, a little white beaded dog, an old license plate key chain thingy, a blue glass elephant from Germany and a lot of other random bits.  You can basically make a charm bracelet out of anything by drilling a hole and connecting a jump ring.  This project was the final class in my four week intermediate beading class here---I showed them the bracelet two weeks prior to making it so they could be scavenging for special parts and pieces.  So tomorrow, I'll show you some of their finished bracelets...

Links and snapping...

Last night, we got our Mother's Day packages ready to send.  The little bags seemed a little plain so I grabbed my instant camera and headed to the kitchen where Botch was making dinner.  This is how the conversation went....  "What are you doing?"  "I'm taking pictures for our Moms."  "Oh, cool."  Snap, shake shake shake.  "My head looks to big!" Snap, shake shake shake.  "Now my head looks big!" Snap, shake shake.  "Ok, this is getting crazy." Last Snap, shake.  "For real, this was supposed to be easy!  Crikey!"  All the while giggling and a gasp or two at how tired we look.  But then again, it was 9 o'clock at night. We also now have a nice picture of our bare wall because I mistakenly hit the shutter button instead of the power.  There's one for the fridge.  Are your Mother's Day gifts ready? 

And now, for some lovely links....

About.com Jewelry Making
When is it a good idea to help a fellow jewelry designer out, and when does it cross the line into your territory?

Art Bead Scene
Getting Connected Tips from ABS!

Jewelry & Beading
Need more time? Set aside a few minutes to assemble this mixed media necklace called "Time to Run"!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie starts a new recurring feature on her blog: Books of Note. This week's review is Bead One, Pray Too.

Linda at Make It Mine magazine
Do your color preferences change as you age? Linda ponders Cathy Jakicic's thoughts on the subject.

Savvy Crafter
Candie and her lovely assistant whipped up a beady bookmark at breakfast this morning.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean was thrilled by the red carpet treatment she got from a cool magazine which hails from Australia, Australian Beading Magazine

The Impatient Blogger
Tune in to The Impatient Blogger to see the worldwide debut of The Impatient Crafter's first video! Phew. That is all.

Breakfast Bookmarks...

Rocker and I got up super early today---we've been batch'n it the past few days while Botch is in...well, come to think of it, I have no idea what town Butch is in!  That's nice.  I can't keep it all straight.  Anywho, we made some cinnamon toast and whipped up a bookmark while we nibbled.  Ok, Rocker didn't eat cinnamon toast...but he wanted to!  He is such a good assistant.  Don't you think he needs an apron?

I have a fetish for bookmarks and ribbons really do make the perfect bookmark.  They are pretty and flat---two very important bookmark qualities.  So many wonderful bookmarks round the craft-o-sphere.   Remember Martha's where she wove ribbon through ribbon?  Yum.  I'd love to make about 50 more of these----I have enough ribbon to make 3,000 probably.   

ORNAMENTEA's bird charms....

This is a great weekend craft and a perfect gift for your favorite reader.  Can't believe it's Friday already!