New Item!

The gorgeous new amethyst and freshwater pearl necklace I've recently added to my Etsy shop has been made for quite a while, I just hadn't had the time to photograph and list it with the demands of lab work and getting everything in order to start my PhD program in the fall. This week has been rough for me as well, as I've been in somewhat of a physical, emotional and mental rut. I guess that happens when you get about $1,000 worth of bills in one week, which is going to be painful to pay on my measly graduate student stipend. I've been seriously questioning my financial ability to keep making and selling jewlery, especially since I haven't even broke even with my initial investment to start my Etsy shop. After much thinking, and many tears I've decided to stick with it...I won't be able to post as many new products as I had wanted, but I am hoping the fall and the holiday season will bring me some sales! I'm also doing a craft show in Connecticut in September with my Mom (she does original artwork), which I'm hoping will be a success for both of us!

Well, enough of my sob story. Here's a few photos of my new creation. Enjoy!

My First Etsy Treasury!

I'm so very excited to announce that I've finally gotten an Etsy treasury! It features pink and green items I enjoy from some of my favorite sellers on Etsy! Below is a screen shot of my Pretty in Pink and Green Treasury, and you can view it directly here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=74116

I LOVE Baking!

I have three passions in life...spine research, making jewelry, and food. My favorite thing about food is making it, and cooking and baking are two of my favorite hobbies. Last night I baked these delicious banana nut muffins, going by a recipie I found on the Food Network. Here it is:

~

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

~

Warning...these muffins may dissapear nearly instantly! My boyfriend ate 3 in a row.

A Creative Weekend

Happy Monday!

I had a very crafty weekend! Saturday I photographed my lovely new Chrysoprase necklace I made. I tried out some new camera tips, (whitebalance and playing with the exposure settings) and I was very pleased with the result. I was delighted to discover that lowering the exposure is the key to capturing the beautiful shimmer of the pearls, without them ending up like a glaring white blob. The necklace is listed here in my Etsy shop:http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28380623

I also made a trip to the craft store this weekend and bought some sterling silver earring hooks and head pins for some earrings! I made two pairs, a pair to match the custom kyanite necklace I did last week, and a pair to match the black agate shell necklace and bracelet I have in my shop. Pictures to be posted soon! Completely unrelated to jewelry, I also made some fun beer bottle cap magnets to decorate my refrigerator! My boyfriend has collected all the beer bottle caps from most of the beer he drank in college, so we have a huge bucket full of bottle caps in the back of our closet. I picked out some of my favorites that we drink often (Blue Moon, Guiness, Shipyard, North Coast Brewing, Sam Adams) and super-glued magnets on the back of them. They look great on my previously bare refrigerator!

I'm also excited to say that I made my first Etsy purchase yesterday! I bought a beautiful lampwork bead for my Pandora bracelet from TheSassyBead2. I received a Pandora bracelet as a graduation present from one of my cousins, and I only have one sad little bead on it! The glass beads Pandora sells are so expensive and un-original, so I was very excited to find TheSassyBead2's shop on Etsy. Her Pandora bracelet-sized beads are absolutely gorgeous...they are little works of affordable art. I can't wait to receive mine!

New Item...More Kyanite!

Kyanite has probably become one of my favorite stones to work with. The newest item in my shop features this gorgeous rough kyanite focal stone, offset by freshwater pearls and shimmery blue seed beads. I love all the different cuts of kyanite out there, from this unique rough chunk to the polished beads I used in my recent custome order. The wide range of blues in this rough kyanite piece and the black inclusions take me back to a night on the ocean...(I miss the ocean!)

Check out the listing at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28312088

Custom Order!

I just finished up making, photographing and posting my very first custom order. It's a gorgeous beaded kyanite necklace, accented with freshwater pearls. I love the irridescent blue color of the kyanite, it reminds me perfectly of a clear day at the beach. As accent beads, I used a few freshwater pearls to highlight the kyanite pendant and clasp. I'm very pleased with this piece and will be sad to see it go...it's truly one of a kind!

Happy Tuesday!

So this morning I was planning on photographing my two newest necklace creations, only to wake up to discover that it is dark and gloomy outside. I keep hoping the sun will come out, but it's a rare day when it's perfectly sunny here in Troy, NY. Tonight I'll probably spend creating my mom's custom order necklace out of these beautiful kyanite beads. She wanted something really simple, just a string of polished kyanite with a small kyanite pendant accented with some freshwater pearls. The beads are gorgeous, and I can't wait to see how it comes out. Kyanite is actually a great stone to balance the chakras and is ideally worn around the throat in a necklace, as it will promote the ability to speak more easily and express oneself more clearly.

Instead of making jewelry last night, I indulged in one of my other favorite hobbies...baking! I have a lab meeting this afternoon, and treats are always appreciated, so I thought I'd try out this oatmeal chocolate chip recipe I found on this great baking blog:http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/08/cooking-school-oatmeal-chocolate-chip.html

They turned out oh so yummy! Here's a picture of them...as you can see some of them have already mysteriously disappeared (my boyfriend and I are to blame for that...)