Curious Mess

Etsytwitter Shop of the Week - LMCreation

2009-07-11T09:17:00.003-04:00

Lisa Murdin is the creative genius behind the rainbow array of wristlets, pouches, purses and more at LMCreation. Whether from fabric, vinyl, or occasionally leather, the store's creations add a splash of whimsy and color to anything you wear.

Lisa's aim is to make "the best quality piece that I can in my own style and with fabrics that really appeal to me. I also aim to provide the best customer service that I can, the same kind of service that I would like to receive as a customer." Inspired by the beautiful variety of fabrics available, Lisa, like many textile artists, often feels that the fabric "tells me what to do, so when I see the right fabric I just know that it will make a special bag or wristlet or whatever."

I've actually purchased one of her card holders and blogged about it before. Her card holders are awesome!! They're very stiff which means great protection for your business cards when you put them in your purse. No bending, no scratching. And they different patterns and designs are just gorgeous! You really must check out her shop!

Special Deal Offered : 10% discount offered to Twitter customers until July 12. Use code "EtsyTwitter" in the Message to Seller and 10% of purchase price will be refunded.

Back from Missouri!

2009-07-08T21:03:00.004-04:00

I actually got back on the 29th of June. But I'm only just now getting a chance to sit down and post something! Whew! Right after I got back, we went upstate for the 4th of July. So I've just been going and going.
If anyone is interested in seeing them, I've posted pictures from my trip on my Flickr.
I had alot of fun going to flea markets and yard sales. Found quite a few things I can use in future projects.
Our first flea market, we spent almost 3 hours in there! There's just so much to see, that I will never see here in the city!
It was really wonderful to see my family and especially my mom....

She decorates her kitchen in chef stuff so she was very excited to find this at the flea market.

Anyway, right now I just feel like relaxing for a bit. I do need to start buckling down and updating my shop more often so at some point, I'm hoping to come up with some sort of a game plan because what I'm doing right now, is SO not working!

Embroidered Olive Oil

2009-06-16T19:00:00.005-04:00

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

2009-06-16T11:17:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-06-14T22:51:00.007-04:00

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?

2009-06-13T19:59:00.003-04:00

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!!

2009-06-07T13:27:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-06T09:05:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-05-31T11:56:00.003-04:00

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

Treasuries!

2009-05-31T11:42:00.005-04:00

I was able to grab another treasury yesterday so I continued with my alphabet series. The Letter H! Now this one I not only kept to the letter theme, I was able to stick to a color scheme AND make it all Etsytwitter Team members! Whew! But I think it turned out well. Go show it some love!

I've also been lucky enough to be included in two other treasuries:

Love and Romance

Something Old, Something New

A call for macarons!!

2009-05-30T20:46:00.001-04:00

1. Macaron days, 2. macaron success!, 3. Macaron # 4, 4. Blood orange poppy seed macaron, 5. Macaron Architecture Lesson..., 6. Macaron days, 7. my first macaron!, 8. Macaron.... at Macaron, 9. Macaron days - Please take one !, 10. rose macaron, 11. Macaron tower, 12. Macaron, 13. blue macaron, 14. Cashew Macaron, 15. Peaches & Cream Macaron, 16. I miss these !!!!

In August I'll be taking a class on how to make macarons at the Institute of Culinary Education here in the city (thank you hubby!!). So I'm already getting super excited! Would love if any of you have some macaron recipes you would like to suggest. I'm sure once I take this class, I'll become quite obsessed and want to make all sorts!

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: A Cagey Bee

2009-05-26T20:46:00.001-04:00

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: A Cagey Bee

This week's shop of the week is Kris from A Cagey Bee! Another artist I've admired for awhile. I really adore her style!

About her work, Kris says: “I'm a painter, so my first love is creating the actual paintings - from sketching to swirling the paint around my canvas. But because I know a lot of us can't afford to buy original work, I try to offer a variety of lower cost reproductions: prints, notecards, and even little pendants with my characters!

I want my customers to know how much heart and soul and pure joy is poured into my work. I think most of my customers *do* know this, but it's not always easy to get a sense of who someone is via the internet. I was a very quiet, shy child and spent years creating elaborate stories for my imaginary friends. It's really no wonder that I've started to bring some of them to life in my paintings. The idea that I get to share that with my customers? That new friends from all over the world look at my girls and smile? I couldn't have dreamed up a better possibility for my life. :)”

Read her blog at www.acageybee.com
Follow her at Twitter: twitter.com/acageybee

As a special thank you to her Twitter pals, all prints in her shop are 2 for the price of 1 this week. Buy one print and simply enter the name of the second print you'd like in the notes to seller box. Double the cuteness!

Magazine Face Off!!

2009-05-24T17:14:00.002-04:00

I may finally have a contender for my favorite cooking magazine spot! For the longest time it's been Cook's Country....no contest!

The covers are always SO beautiful, and even better yet...NO ADS!! I can't remember how they said they do that, but I love it! It makes for a thinner magazine but you aren't wading through a bunch of annoying ads. If you have not checked this magazine out...you absolutely must do it! Not only do they have some wonderful recipes, but some really ingenious tips from the readers. And I do mean ingenious. Stuff that will make you wonder why you never thought of that before and will make your cooking life just that much easier.

But anyway...back to the main reason for this post..the competition:

This is still your typical cooking magazine format, but I just love the inside stuff with the shows, tips, interviews and so many amazing recipes! I really don't think it will overtake Cook's Country....but it's definitely up there! And it really is chock full of so many yummy recipes.

I think I'm all gushed out so I'll end on that. :)

Stuff Under Twenty Giveaway!

2009-05-24T10:43:00.002-04:00

Check out this yummy giveaway from wynndrew on Stuff Under Twenty!

You could win a lime and cranberry soap and body butter combo! Mmmmmm.....

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Tamdoll (SILVER Mountain Originals)

2009-05-24T09:35:00.001-04:00

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Tamdoll (SILVER Mountain Originals)

Tammy Gross, of Tamdoll.etsy.com, also known as SILVER Mountain Originals, creates “an eclectic mix of unique fabric jewelry, the occasional art doll (and a couple of original sewing patterns for those), purses, totes and wallets – many of those 'upcycled' from repurposed fabrics.” She also has a few woven ribbons for sale that are quite unique.
She has such a wonderful eye for color and her style is really fun!

Special for the Week: Free domestic shipping on non-ribbon items. You will receive a PayPal refund for items not already specially marked as part of the sale. There are some items sprinkled about the shop that have SALE in the title and are specially priced through the springtime.

Expressions

2009-05-23T09:33:00.007-04:00

I started on some new artwork this week. I've kind of taken a break from the fabric bowls. Although I do have a new idea that I'm very excited about. Maybe next week. In the meantime, how's about some in progress shots?

Through my entrecard wanderings, I found a blog that has a challenge going where you take a page from a book and using only a black sharpie, create artwork isolating text from the page...drawing...etc. I don't remember the blog but as soon as I find it, I'll link back to it. Anywho, I gave that a try and came up with a lovely little page that I really like!

I like it so much that I'm working on turning it into some wood artwork:

Then I also started a much smaller wood piece that's meant to sit on your desk, mantle..etc...rather than hanging on the wall.

I'm working on prepping the "canvas" right now. Using colored wood pieces to finish the edges. I haven't decided yet whether I will leave them the original colors, or paint them brown.

Then we have the makings of flowers to go on the above "canvas"!

I also got ambitious and decided to try to clean my work space. Buuuut, I came across a sketch book that has yet to be touched and decided to sit down and doodle a bit. This little guy came out of that (and yes, the work space is still a mess):

Etsytwitter Sidewalk Sale!

2009-05-17T09:42:00.005-04:00

The Etsytwitter Team is have a Sidewalk Sale!! May 17th to May 23rd! Go here to see the full list of all shops participating and their sales.

For my sale...I will be offering free shipping worldwide!

Here are just a few of the awesome items you will find in this sale:

Sumikoshop

Inmyheadstudios

Acageybee

Now that's just a taste of what you'll find! So go check it out!

A bit o' fun with buttons

2009-05-12T22:31:00.003-04:00

I realized it's been a while since I did some wood artwork. This was alot of fun and I'll probably make a few more of these (maybe in different designs). Plus it feels good to use up some of my many many buttons. Funny though, I'm planning a trip back to Missouri at the end of June to visit my mom and hit some yard sales and what do you wanna bet I'll be bringing back some more buttons. :)

Available here in the shop.

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: South Paw Studios

2009-05-11T05:35:00.001-04:00

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: South Paw Studios

South Paw Studios offers an ever-changing selection of handcrafted jewelry designed by self-taught, Toledo, Ohio, jewelry artist, Katy Mims. She designs necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. She also offers a bridal line and a wholesale line.

I really love Katy's work but you know what else I love? Her photos! She takes nice crisp photos and I love the background that she takes them on. Her shop is just very consistent too! Lovely!

Special for the Week: 15% off your TOTAL order plus free worldwide shipping. Enter code "EtsyTwitter" in Message to Seller and all discounts will be refunded promptly via Paypal!

Turning Japanese Part 2

2009-05-10T15:17:00.002-04:00

So after my last post I decided my next treasury would be a japanese one. So please go show it some love and click and comment. :)

Turning Japanese

2009-05-09T23:29:00.005-04:00

Does anyone speak or read Japanese? I want these badly!!

Actually ever since our trip to Japan, I've been obsessed with Japanese fashion. I love it! But it seems very tricky getting your hands on some of the items. Like these shoes! I want!! I would certainly settle on a cheaper version....$756...eep!!

I'm thinkin'

2009-05-08T19:50:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking that I want to join a CSA! There's one in our neighborhood and I've just been dying to join one since last year. Just the idea of getting a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies every other week (there's only 2 of us so we would have to get a half share) is very exciting to me! Plus it would force me to cook new things as well. Potentially getting veggies I don't eat on a regular basis. Yum!!

The CSA I'm thinking of joining is Jewish but they accept non Jewish members as well. :)

Well we'll see.

Another thing I'm wanting to get into is teas. Specifically loose leaf teas. I bought a Tasting Notes app on my iphone where you can set up different types of tasting note journals (wine, cheese, coffee, tea etc). This is just another thing I've been thinking about for awhile. I guess one thing at a time.

But I'm definitely keeping my eye out for a good teapot! A small one preferably because I'll be the only one drinking it. I'm not really sure what makes a good teapot. I like the look of these:

I've been following a blog called Lainie Sips, which of course has only made me more curious about trying different teas!

I think a really great way to get introduced to tea is a tea of the month club. With this particular choice, I would also get a teapot. Oh I'm getting excited just thinking about getting started! ha!

Purple Petals!

2009-05-07T05:35:00.001-04:00

Newest bowl in the shop!

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Bellflower Textiles

2009-05-06T19:42:00.001-04:00

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: Bellflower Textiles

Bellflower Textiles is the Shop of the Week!!

Megan makes bright and cheerful fabric products for you, your home, and your children. She combines quilting techniques and a love of vibrant color to create modern and quirky children’s tees, crayon and pencil rolls, reusable coffee sleeves, tooth fairy pillows, and hair accessories. She works out of her home in Seattle, Washington, where she also tends to her two year-old daughter. Selling on Etsy since August 2008 has garnered her close to 300 sales. And I can see why! Gorgeousness!! So many fun and colorful items!

Special for the Week: Free Shipping!! Mention “Twitter” in your Notes to Seller and she will send an updated invoice with free shipping or refund your shipping price if you’ve already paid.  

Heads or Tails?

2009-05-05T20:49:00.004-04:00

So as I mentioned before, a positive to going back to Missouri last week was being able to see family that I haven't seen in awhile. One of which was my little brother. This is still something that is odd to me. I'm almost 30 years old and I have a little 9 year old brother. From my dad's second marriage.
Anywho, he was extremely excited to see me and was very attentive and constantly nearby at all times. Which was great! It's been....probably about 4 years or so since I saw him last. And what a crafty little guy he is! He's been wanting to see Twilight and read the books....um, dad if you're reading this...no. So he made a Twilight sign out of a foam sheet and pipe cleaners. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that.
But he knows I have a pug and he made me a pug out of pipe cleaners too!

Any opinions on which is the head and which is the tail? I say the head is the white piece. Only because he made a point of saying it's a pug and pugs have curly tails! :)
Either way, I love it and think it's super precious!