Springtime Happiness

Happy tuesday !!! So today was kind of dreary and cold and to be honest I just don't know how much more of this dreary weather my soul can take... I had an ok day nothing special just a ordinary day work day , kind of day where you sit at your job and look out the window and hope for a ray of sunshine a glimmer of warm summer days to come... so no sunshine here today I am sad to say. So when I got home I was happily greeted with these happy little lilacs and I thought to myself here is your sunshine today! You just have to find sunshine in all the beautiful things around YOU!

 

You know what else makes me happy? the ocean so when it's dreary here and I am feeling a little blue I just look at at all my happy beach pictures and I imagine myself on the ocean drifting along the beach collecting my thoughts! Voila I am instantly snapped out of my funk !

I hope you are having a good week. I am off to pour a glass of wine and relax by the chiminea with hopes of warm summer days to come... Until we meet again have a wonderful rest of the week. I have more little projects I am working on so I will post pics when they are done. So many ideas so little time, my creative juices have been a flowin!

The Art Of Pmc Clay

 Hello and Happy Wednesday all... I recently spent time with my Bestie in her art studio and she was happy to teach me the art of pmc clay. I just love being in her studio it's so inspiring when we get together in her studio we have so much fun bouncing ideas of each other. Our ideas just start flowing along with the vino hee hee, gotta have vino while getting busy creating. I have even more respect for handmade things than I already did before, wow a lot of time goes into making these bangles, not to mention the rising cost of silver. So here is a little recap of the process of making these little pretties... First you start of by rolling out your clay( pmc is precious metal clay) it's a process of firing the clay in a kiln and applying special material to the clay, amazing when you put your piece in the kiln it comes out as fine silver piece, now there are other steps in between but i won't bore you with all those other details. There is sanding the piece, polishing the piece etc... I also made the bangles (stef soldered them for me( which I am going to learn that next. I hammered each bangle and sanded and polished each one. I really enjoyed each process of making these bangles. I have some more ideas for my clay so stay tuned I will post those next! So here is a quick little step by step of the whole process, minus a few steps in between.
First step roll out your clay...

Punch out your pieces

Let your pieces dry

 Have a little glass of vino in between....

Friend and wonderful teacher

Finished beachy bangles I absolutely love how they turned out and I am proud to say I designed and crafted them myself!

“In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Turquosie Pillows and Driftwood Beach Sign

 Hello and happy day to you! I have been a crafting fiend lately I just got back from the ocean and that always get's me inspired to make beachy things.

 So I was at the craft store the other day looking for something completely different for a totally different craft project and I came across these cute little flower embelishments . All you need for these cute little pillows is the little white daisies which come without centers, scrapbook brads (those are the cute little centers of the flowers and some ruffle ribbon and ribbon glue. Just poke the little brads through the center of the daisy and glue on, it's that simple! There are a million adorable little flower embelishments and brads to chose from. Of course I picked turquoise because it's my favorite color if you have not figured that out yet.

Meausure out your ribbon and glue on.... project complete. I just love them,now all I need is a new white cushion for my wicker couch I just painted, it used to be black. I love when I can re use something I already have on hand cheap and a great way to recycle things. I also made this drift wood beach sign. My husband found this awesome piece of wood at one of our local lake Michigan beaches I L*O*V*E it if you look close enough you can see all the rusty nails I think that makes it look like it has been around for awhile and weathered and worn. I like to think  maybe it was part of a dock? or someone's deck? what ever it is I love it. For this I just bought some cardboard letters, painted them turquoise glues them on along with some little starfish. Oh and what do you think of my new floor in the sunroom? we painted the floor gray and did sort of a whitewash effect. I absolutely love how it turned out, thanks stef for help on the technique.

 

I'm off to make more pillows and a few other little craft projects,check back later I finished making some pmc bangle braclets just need a few more pics in the sunlight then I will share them. I am so excited to show you them. My friend taught me how to work with pmc clay and I have some other ideas I am working on ,can't wait to share them. Until we meet again I hope you are inspired to get busy crafting... What are you up too this spring and what has inspired you recently?

Hope you have a great weekend

Happy beachy blogging!

Drift Wood Candle Holder & Spring

 So we had a beautiful spring weekend here in the midwest! We reached 80 degrees woo hoo! I had so much energy I spent the whole weekend buzzing around the house and yard just tinkering away. The fish and frogs are finally getting active in my pond. So the pond doesn't look so great this time of year but I always like to post the before and after of the pond, it is quite a transformation. Spring is so exciting especially after a good rain , I love the smell , I think it intensifies all the other spring time smells. So remember this pic of my pond and stay tuned for when it is in full swing.I will post more pics when everything is happily a bloom :-)

 Look at Mr. Frog he happily greeted me with his presence this weekend. He even started up his croaking ! I think spring is has finally sprung ! So in honor of spring and the spring rain I went out and picked up these rain boots, I think they are just so happy, cute and practical! They are perfect for tinkering in the garden and pond.

 Speaking of happy things when I walked out into my alley these happy little daffodils were just waiting to say hello. I just love spring flowers. Take time to notice the small things in life, for it's the small things that so enrich our lives. So now onto one of my little projects .... Driftwood  I recently went to South Carolina to visit my sister and we made a trip to Hunting Island State Park and let me tell you I found a truck load of driftwood. You would have thought I hit the lottery that is how excited I was!!! I am telling you the possibilities are endless for craft projects with drift wood.

I just glued some drift wood to a vase I already had and threw in some seaglass and a candle that's it, it doesn't get much more simple than that. I have some other ideas for all this drift wood too... stay tuned I will post pics . I hope you had a great weekend and were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. My heart was so HAPPY let's just hope it's here to stay!

"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden.
On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth.
I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar."
-- Helen Hayes

I've Been Featured

Hello & happy Tuesday !
I just got back from visiting my sister in South Carolina for spring break and while I was there I was tinkering with my blog and came across a happy little surprise. I was chosen for a Versatile Blogger Award, that just made my day ! I was given this award by Emily over at http://girlof1000faces.blogspot.com/   

Now I am supposed to thank the person who gave me the award, THANKS Emily  

Tell you 7 things about me... 
1. I am obsessed with the color TURQUOISE
2. L*O*V*E the ocean
3. Have swam with Dolphins
4. Have backpacked 13 miles in one day with a 50 lb pack!
5. Have an Airedale Terrier named Molly
6. Married to my best friend for 17 years
7. Skin cancer survivor

My pics for The Versatile Blogger Award ...

Art at elements 422 

Walk where you like your steps
Xpose photos
Beach house etc. 

Love of the sea
Chic coastal living
Charleston cycle chic
Eat it drink it

Now I have to contact all the bloggers I chose for this award!

Oh and stay tuned I just got back from vaca so I will have a ton of beach pics to post! Yippie.

Hope you are having a good tuesday and always remember to give props to all those creative people out there! Inspire and be Inspired...

and as my good friend always says PEACE , L*O*V*E & ART !

I just love that quote.

Veggie Spring Rolls and Thoughts Of Spring !

 Spring is finally springing!!! I think ??? it has been a really hard winter here. I put on my best game face but let me tell you some days were just so hard. I never thought the madness would end, but somehow it always does and spring once again has shown her pretty little face. And what better way to welcome spring than these pretty little smiling faces. Daffodils and tulips a springtime favorite for me! The perfect little pick me up I needed.

So in honor of spring I decided to whip up these little lemon poppy seed butterfly cupcakes! how cute are they! They were so delicious now low fat ? not a chance, sometimes you just have to Live a Little :-)

I also made these new little wine charms to go with my new blue wine glasses. You can't have wine glasses without cute little beachy charms now can you?

So in keeping with the spring them I made these veggie spring rolls, so simple and so tasty. Just get your self some rice paper, which I found at my local grocery store, chop up your favorite veg ... which I used cucumbers, avocado, shredded cabbage, carrots, edamame , bean sprouts. For the peanut sauce just blend 3/4 cup of peanut butter of your choice with 1/3 cup cooking sherry a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1/3 cup of soy sauce, 1/3 cup water and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. That's it. What have you been up to this spring any new inspiring spring recipes? I am so looking forward to all the simple summer meals. Happy Spring ! Have you noticed my different size pics through out this post? blogger has changed the way you post pics and text so I am still trying to figure it all out, I hate when they go changing things, I am a creature of habit! oh well I will get it... Hope you have you have a good rest of your week I am so happy it's supposed to be 65 tomorrow YIPPEE I am breaking out the sandals :-) Spring is finally here!!!

Mung bean noodle stir fry & Spring wardrobe

Hello and happy Sunday to you! So spring is right around the corner and I don't know about you but I am tired of all the frumpy sweaters and boots! I am ready for all the cute dresses and accessories. How adorable are these dresses, and they are all in my favorite color TURQUOISE! they make me think of warm beachy days. I am dreaming of warm beachy days spent collecting sea glass and drift wood. I can't wait for the first warm spring day when the sky is vibrant blue, can't wait to take that photograph.

 

And how cute is this belt! I came across this while shopping online, I found it on etsy,  it's a snap belt and they cool thing is you chose the belt (which they come in various colors) and then you chose your buckle!They are interchangeable. I love them, so fun! I  found a super cute turquoise one with sweet little birds I have to have that one too! So what little accessories will you be incorporating into your spring wardrobe?

So now that spring is on the way I am thinking of all the light and tasty simple dishes I want to make. 

Mung bean noodles with tofu, shrimp and veggies 


What you will need...

One bag of mung noodles(which these noodles are hard to find) I get mine at my local health food store or use any noodle you like.

1 package of extra firm tofu

shrimp

veggies-
red peppers,mushrooms,broccoli,snap peas and
beansprouts

Cashews

sesame seeds

Prepare your noodles

dice tofu into cubes and saute in skillet until just firm

In a wok saute...

veggies and shrimp with teriyaki marinade 1tbs chili garlic sauce

teaspoon of honey

1-2 tsp of minced garlic

add in your tofu serve over noodles garnish with sesame seeds and cashews.

Serve with your favorite vino and enjoy~

What spring recipes will you be whipping up? 

Spring really is around the corner,a little birdie told me so... 

Tufted titmouse oh how I long to hear your spring time song

Peter Peter Peter! now that is music to my ears!