Resin, a blanket and magnets

Today I poured resin for about 25 cameos, man was that a crazy task. This was my first time working with something that had to be mixed perfectly and poured in certain circumstances with heat, non-dusty, yadda yadda. I'm not one for these kind of projects, we'll see if it sticks:) I hope the final outcome is beautiful and that will build my confidence with it and i'll be gung ho to do another round. I really want to hit my goal of 100 items in the shop by December 1st. With a wedding coming up in 2 weeks (yay for myself) and other things on the plate like recording a record this can prove to be a bit overwhelming. That's when all I can muster is sitting on the couch, watching some TV and clearing my head. I still like to be productive and knitting or crocheting is very therapeutic for me, so here's what I started last night when in a creative slump. I've been more of a knitter in the past, but crochet has my vote these days. Beginnings of a blanket -


Also, i've added a set of magnets to the shop. I'm quite enamored with magnets lately. These are from this design here. I want to get fabric made from this design, I'd be tickled pink.




Happy Halloween Eve,
Sarah

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Saturday Night = Staying Home

Man, does it take a lot to get me out of the house, I am such a homebody these days. My man went to see his friend Jeffrey Lewis play at The Artistery tonight and I just couldn't bring myself to leave, sorry Jeffrey. I was excited to try out a few ideas that have been swimming around in my head. Doing some knitting and having a cup of tea or a cocktail is my new "party time". I need to make some girlfriends here in Portland who would want to gather for crafty cocktail time or other crafty beverage gatherings. Give me a shout!

I got this framed and in the shop today. It reads "sometimes these antlers are a burden to me". I like that.



Carry on my wayward son,
Sarah

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Cameos

A sneaky little gander at what i'm up to, my next adventure to soon be in the shop...fancy! These are hand painted cameos, each one is one of a kind and ultra special. Perfect for some gift giving I must say.

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New Design

A new design I'm working on. I love these kind of designs with a vintage domestic vibe.



I'm so happy with the Project Runway turn out! Go Portland!
The special menu was Chicken with White Wine Sauce, asparagus, squash (from our garden) and garlic toast. Cocktail indulged was a White Russian, three favorite things of mine, kahlua, vodka and cream. Yum.

Back to get some work done folks.

Cheers,
Sarah

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Shop Update and Baking

The past few days, I've holed up in the house, painted and watched The West Wing Season One. I just finished and need to go get Season Two quickly! I love when you get into a series and there are plenty of seasons ahead of you to satisfy your dvd psychosis.
I baked a pear tart which is absolutely to die for and the perfect breakfast, afternoon and after dinner treat. There really isn't a bad time for pie. Yes, I know that I called it a tart, but that's only because "pear pie" sounds atrocious:) I don't use the regular ol' pie pan when making pies, I use a free form rustic style just putting it straight onto the cookie sheet. It gets the crust crispy and delicious.
Here's a photo and perhaps I'll share my recipe sometime.



I've added a few special pieces to the shop. Two brooches and two original pieces.
Here they are:


Happy Tuesday,
Sarah

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Brainstorming Project Runway Menu

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm so excited for Project Runway this week that my deary and I are going to have a special dinner and cocktails. I want a festive cocktail that won't give me a terrible hangover like those Mint Juleps that I made awhile ago. I made them so strong and served them in pint glasses, ouch. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
Sarah

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Harvest Time

So I've been in complete Autumn mode around my house. What thrills me to no end is making a fire in the morning and having a cup of coffee. I'm calling my mood of late "Harvest Mode" and my cooking definitely reflects that. Early this week I made my best vegetable soup yet, I'll share the recipe once I duplicate it and record it, proving to myself that it was not a fluke. Last night I made a recipe from Martha that blew our socks off! Chicken with White Wine and Herb Sauce, man o man it's tasty. I changed a few things to reflect what I did or did not have on hand, which is very much my style. This recipe is great because the prep work for the sauce can happen after the chicken is already cooking, so it's a great time saver and it's really delicious. I made sweet potato carrot mash and a green salad for sides. The mash was so good I had some later that night for a tasty snack. 1 sweet potato and 4 carrots boiled together till soft, drained, added a large pat of butter and about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, mash up. Makes 4 small servings or 2 huge servings. Yum.

Here are the substitutions I made -
green onions for shallots
no chives or parsley
I added fresh thyme instead

photo from Martha's site, I myself did not have time to set up a light box to photograph our supper:)

Serves 4-

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 whole (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
* 2 tablespoons very finely chopped garlic
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 1/2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock or broth
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in skillet, skin-side down. Cook until skin golden brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn chicken and transfer skillet to oven. Cook until chicken is cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a platter and set aside.
3. Place skillet over medium heat; add shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 30 seconds. Add wine and stir to combine. Cook until liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock and cook until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in chives, parsley, basil, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet. Using a spoon, coat chicken pieces with sauce. Serve immediately.

Please Enjoy Responsibly (aka with a glass of wine)

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Autumn Giveaway & Blog Love

I'm so pleased to be a part of Jessica's Autumn Giveaway on her blog Unconditional Love. Here's a photo of the one I'm in, it's the bunny brooch on the bottom left side. You can enter until Friday here, there are directions on what you must include in your comment to be entered...

Here are links to Jessica's shops on etsy, really really great stuff, please visit her:
Jessica Jane - Etsy Shop
Petite House - Etsy Shop
Unconditional Love - Blog

On another sweet note, a thank you to Pomegranates for featuring craftyFOLK on her "I Love Your Blog" award list. You can visit that here. I have to say that being listed right under Ordinary Forest is quite extraordinary:)

I'm off to work on a song I started today, I have to switch gears a tad to work on the EP...happy writing.

Here's a better look at the my brooch from the contest -



xo,
Sarah

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magnets in production

A little peek at what I was up to this evening. I'm up way too late watching some Cosby Show right now:) I'll get these up in the shop Monday, lots of fun magnet themes!

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Antler Creature Magnets - let the gifting begin

My first batch of magnets. Each is hand drawn and painted, one of a kind original mini art pieces, hoorah! Each is finished in non-toxic resin for a smooth shiny surface. These beauties are in the shop now. I'm trying to incorporate new items into my shop before the holiday madness begins. Lots of brainstorming going on...

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my holiday cards

Here's my first holiday card design. I'll be printing them up soon. I'm shooting for 4 designs and then i'll get them in the shop. I want to do old school sets of greeting cards with the box, cards and envelopes and maybe a fancy pen too:) Hmmm...

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my new studio

Today is feeling good so far, I have a few things on my plate that need immediate action
and I'm going to tackle them head on. One being my photo for the upcoming BUST ad in the Dec/Jan issue. It's due tomorrow and with my current camera that seems to give me one good picture out of forty it's going to be a bit of an uphill battle I suspect. Hmmm.
But I'm creating something new for the ad. Thinking of composition and color, something that will "pop" more and therefore bring my shop more traffic. I'm going with a brooch for the ad, seems the best choice for holiday shopping and the price is quite right on. The photos of a more square or round object seem to photograph better for the gallery sized horizontal photo format, so I'm making one with that in mind.

On a more inspirational note, here is my dream studio below -


Oh Martha Stewart, you've got my brain all in a tizzy over this studio. I want, I need, I must have this someday. Check out Martha's blog here, it's a good read.

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