Miss Val's Creations

This Week's Blog Post

2012-02-11T07:23:00.017-05:00

New Lanyard and Eyeglass Chain
This stone is called chrysanthemum stone (I guess because some mums can have similar colors?). Its earthy coloring includes grey, brown and rust.

The gold complements it beautifully but I will also make these in silver which will give the stone a different look! These are available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Bucket List Additions
I added 2 destinations to my bucket list this week. This is Maho Beach in St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

The jumbo jets fly right overhead. How amazing and scary would it be to be lying on this beach with the planes flying over? What a rush! Apparently you feel the heat of the plane and winds of 100 miles per hour!!! This probably includes a slight sandstorm as well.

Jurassic Coast is in Dorset and East Devon, England. Here there are well preserved dinosaur fossil and footprints.

How insanely cool!!! This coast also boasts fantastic rock formations! I think I will be able to talk Jim into both these trips some day. The photos are from Thinkstock.

Organic Wines
There is a wonderful local wine store called the Wine Connextion which Jim and I typically visit on Saturday afternoons when they have complementary wine tasting. Usually we do not discover anything that we love more than our regular red wine favorites.

However this past weekend we both enjoyed 2 imported organic red wines!
We left with a bottle of each and polished them off that night! Good times!
The Conno Sur Cabernet/Carmenere is a 2009 from Chile. The Juan Gill Honoro Vera Monastrell is a 2010 from Spain. They are both bold and full flavored and best of all, under $9!!!!

Pizza
I am pizza obsessed….always have been. This photo was taken after eating a piece! I had not intentions of blogging about it but it was so mouth watering that I had to share it with others who may like pizza topping ideas!

The crust is whole wheat. Then I added a little red sauce and some shredded mozzarella. Then I added baby spinach, chopped jarred marinated artichokes, chopped jarred roasted red pepper followed with more shredded mozzarella and topped with feta cheese. Delicious and much healthier and a restaurant pizza!!!

Glee
Is it me or does Ricky Martin get better with age?

It does not matter that he bats for the other team. He and Naya Rivera did a fabulous duet of Madonna's La Isla Bonita this week on Glee. The writers left things open enough that he should be back! I am so happy to have become a Gleek. The show makes me laugh, it inspires me and makes me want to dance and sing. You never know what song they will sing next!!!

The Safari Chair
This is my safari chair which I had custom made 10 years ago. The fabric was supposed to be for toss pillows only but I insisted on having the fabric put onto this big cushy chair frame.

Of course, Emmett and Alice own it now. An African safari is my dream trip so hopefully someday this will happen (I may need to hit the lottery first).

Thank you for stopping by! I wish you all a week of smiles!

This Week's Blog Post

2012-02-04T08:30:00.021-05:00

Copper Stamped Pendants
So I played with my metal stamping kit! Here are my first attempts!

These are for my nieces and nephew for Valentine’s Day. I used a heavy duty 20 ounce hammer per a video recommendation watched on metal stamping. What a loud activity this is!!!

Valentine’s Day Cards
Speaking of Valentine’s Day here are my latest Etsy card purchases for the kiddos!

The illustrator is Joy of Sugar Beet Press. I love the whimsy in her work. It just makes you smile! The alien is my favorite!

This butterfly is so cute!!!

How about this big dinosaur holding a little tiny gift! So fun!

This card is great to give to someone with a devilish side!

The Bearded Lady is quite unexpected! It would certainly get some laughs!

Joy also has a sweet selection of baby announcements!

Visit Joy’s website, Etsy shop and blog!

Fruit and Vegetable Curry
Jim and I made a delicious curry. If you like to excite your taste buds, this will do it! We started with 2 chopped potatoes in 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 2 cups of veggie broth and some water.

We added 1.5 teaspoons of ground coriander and ground cumin. We played with the flavor and heat adding cayenne pepper. When the potatoes were almost cooked we added a frozen bag of each chopped squash, peas and cauliflower.

The dish started to dry up a little and we dumped in some red Cote du Rhone that Jim picked up at the store and we did not care for. This way it did not go to waste. Once the veggies were all ready, we added a fresh chopped mango and a chopped apple (with the skin). Before serving we mixed in cashews and jasmine rice.

It was super tasty and prep was really easy using the frozen veggies. So many things can be substituted in this and no recipe is needed! It can be made hot and spicy or mild depending on taste buds. If you attempt something like this I would suggest onions too! Maybe raisins! We strayed far from the original recipe I had which included carrots, fresh ginger root and creamed coconut.

Silly Pet Photos
I am sure these guys are gentle giants but I feel a little nervous for this baby!

This photo is from the Ellen website. If you are a cat person or a dog person you will love these since it is about half and half!!!

Since I am a cat person I am throwing this one it too! The hairy ears are a riot!

Thank you for stopping by and have a great week!!!! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2012-01-28T07:28:00.010-05:00

Red Coral Earrings

Red coral has been a popular seller lately so I wanted to try a different bead. These little branches are so sweet! The earrings are available at Miss Val’s Creations.

A Tribute To My Neighbor
My neighbor, Fred, passed away at 79 years old. He was such a sweetie! He fought a short battle with cancer so it was too fast!

Fred was a retired boiler man and used to do my annual clean outs for me so I did not have to get stuck in a contract with an oil company.

He was also an avid gardener who gave me tons of lily and iris bulbs a couple of years ago which I have spread out on my property to enjoy for many years to come.

I just wanted to do a little tribute to him here.

I told his wife at the wake that his legacy will live on in my yard. Wakes are so awkward and I never know what to say! It was wonderful to have you as a neighbor Fred!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
If you are a reader and have not yet read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson , I highly recommend it! The book has a little of everything including a murder mystery, corporate corruption, a love story, complicated characters, a psycho, a dysfunctional family and more!

I recently finished this one and want to see the movie but I am quite concerned that the film will not do the book justice. I may opt for the original Swedish version since I love a great foreign flick and that version won awards! My local library does carry it but it is currently checked out. I will get me hands on it eventually!

Saving Water
As mentioned in prior posts I do try to live as “green” as I can. With water consumption this includes full loads of laundry, being conservative when washing dishes and turning the water off when brushing my teeth. I do not even water the lawn since that is such a waste of water and let Mother Nature do her thing. Yes, sometimes she wants my yard to look like hay. My plantings are hearty ones that can handle a lack of water.

The one guilty thing here is my showers! Being and feeling clean are just as important as saving water. So what I have started doing is shampooing and conditioning with the water at full blast as usual. Then my water saving technique has been to turn the water down half way afterwards for the rest of the shower. I now feel less guilty and still feel totally clean!

I know the picture has nothing to do with water consumption but it showed up in my search for running water and I could not resist posting him. It was found via Yahoo Images with no credit so I do not know this fun photographer’s name.

Gargoyle
Jim pointed out that Emmett looks like a gargoyle on top of the fridge. What a good boy warding off evil spirits in the kitchen!

Notice how there is barely anything on the fridge. This is due to the fact if something is anywhere else in paws length Emmett will do everything he can with those long legs to push whatever is there onto the floor! He is a pain in my ass, but I love him.

Thank you for stopping by! I always love reading everyone's comments. Have a great week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

2012-01-21T09:38:00.010-05:00

The Golden Globes
I forgot the Golden Globes were going to be on last Sunday until I saw something on the internet. I did not want to miss Ricky Gervais after his roasting last year! Ever since watching the BBC Office I have been quite a fan. I love his attitude of not caring what others think of what he says which makes him a perfect host for the show. Unfortunately this year he was given too many rules to follow so he was nowhere near as harsh as last year. I cannot wait to see the episode of this new show with sexy man Johnny Depp!!!!

Anyway, how about those gowns?!?! I just wanted to share some of my favorites (I will refrain from pointing out those which I thought were hideous)!

My favorite was Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace. This gown is perfection. She made a statement with the red clutch and lipstick. Luckily she went with a neutral shoe. A red shoe would have taken away from this Versace number.

My second favorite was Claire Danes although this photo does not do the gown justice! I have loved her since My So Called Life. This dress was gorgeous with its amazing lines and the open back to the gown was so sexy!

This gown did not rate high on the fashion experts lists. However I was enthralled with it. Missi Pyle is wearing Junko Yoshioka. I am not too sure what is striking my fancy here….is it the color or the magnificent fabric over the skirt? I don’t know but I love it! It is also a great gown to pig out in since the stomach is hidden.

Madonna! Love her or hate her (I happen to love her), this Reem Acra gown is perfect for her! Both the top and the bottom are fabulous and together make for a flawless look!!!! The cross is just the right neck piece. She has that similar Ricky Gervais attitude of not caring what others think. I always admired that about her.

Lea Michele is my favorite Glee cast member so I will miss her dearly when her character graduates. This gown is extraordinary! Love the simple ring with color. The poor girl looks terribly uncomfortable and I have no idea how she walked in this slinky dress but I love her risk taking.

I usually do not get too excited about a solid black or white gowns but this Zac Posen dress on Elle MacPherson is ridiculously beautiful!

Metal Stamping
New toys are always fun! I have been wanting to try my hand at metal stamping for some time now. It opens up so many options for jewelry customization.

This kit I received comes with the alphabet and numbers as well as the “and” symbol! It also included the hammer, block and metal cutters. Now I just need to carve out some time to give this a try!!!! I did watch a tutorial on beaducation.com already so I feel somewhat comfortable about this craft.

40th Birthday Card
I received this card from shopflytrap.com.

This website is hysterical to browse with incredibly sarcastic cards that I could never imagine giving to someone since they are that harsh! This card is for a surprise 40th birthday party this weekend. It lists many things that happen to us as we get old. The inside reads “Congratulations, you’re one step closer. And Happy Birthday.”

They also have great naughty adult cards for Valentine’s Day and more! In the package they included this magnet and generic packing slip that made me laugh. This magnet reads “Things that prove you aren’t stupid: You know the difference between there, their and they’re. You never substitute “UR” for “you are”. You don’t do crack. You know the square root of 81. You read books. You don’t watch Jersey Shore. You shop at www.shopfly.com.” Apparently I am stupid but am not going to elaborate on this!!!! LOL. Their generic packing slip cracked me up!

Lizards

Leaving you now with this funny image of a lizard saving his buddy from a fall! This photo was taken by Alexey Tymoshenko for Cater News.

Have a great week!!! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

2012-01-14T07:19:00.015-05:00

Rose Quartz and Copper
This week a customer asked me to change a pair of my rose quartz earrings from sterling silver to copper.

This was my first time pairing rose quartz with copper. So gorgeous together!!! I would typically pair copper with earthy tones so this certainly has brought me out of that box!

Tie Tacs
I think I am going to start selling my tie tacs in sets instead of individual listings.

This is my first listing including black onyx, natural mother of pearl and blue paua shell. A great set for a man with style!

eBay Purchase
I refueled on my body mist this week via eBay! I recently switched to Victoria’s Secret’s Bombshell which I love!

I did save a few bucks off retail as well as a trip to the mall which I do not have time for!!!! This yummy fragrance is a blend of passion fruit, peony and vanilla. It is made in the USA too which is a nice sentence to read on a product these days.

Puppy Love Creations
I attended a baby shower last weekend where I gave this super sweet card to the mom to be.

This was made by Deana of Puppy Love Creations on Etsy. Her cards are adorable. Besides other cute baby cards like this one

She also makes wedding cards.

and beautiful sympathy cards.

Deana also does cross stitch that is ready to frame! This piece is gorgeous!

Stop by Deana’s shop next time you are in need of a sweet greeting card!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2012-01-07T07:51:00.016-05:00

Elegant Lanyard

This pretty lanyard is made up of beige and pewter colored glass pearls and accented in gold for a chic lanyard that will dress up any outfit! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

eBay Purchase
I love when I find a great piece of used clothing. So much pollution goes into 1 garment of clothing during production and shipment so it makes me feel good to make this type of green purchase. I know used clothing creeps some people out, but not me! My work wardrobe typically includes a little jacket. These staples are great with pants, skirts and jeans so I always get my money’s worth.

I found this sweet green jacket on eBay. It’s label is Kay Unger which I had never heard of. So when doing my research I discovered this is a somewhat luxurious label. Her jackets are sold in the stores I can not afford like Saks, Neimans, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, etc. The lining is 100% silk! I have never owed a garment with such lining….it is heavenly! It had elegant touches too!

Vintage Cutting Board
Here is another green purchase I recently made. I purchased this cutting board as an after thought for Jim’s birthday (a gift that included wine and cheese)! This is from Dave of handmadebydave on Etsy.

Dave carved this cheese board from oak of an old barn in his home state of Virginia. What I love most is that the wood has been reused to create a timeless, useful item!

His newest handmade additions are K-Cup holders!

Dave also carries wine stoppers featuring handblown glass.

The shop also includes great other items like this Arabian coffee pot.

Or these amazing mother of pearl butter knives.

Stop by Dave's shop for unique handmade and vintage items!

I hope you all had a great first week of 2012 and wish you many more!!! As always, thank you for stopping by. ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

2011-12-31T08:52:00.012-05:00

Necklace
This is my belated Christmas tip for my hairstylist. Since having no hair appointment in December she will be receiving it this week.

I repurposed this pendant which had been on a black velvet choker and needed updating (it was very 1990's). The lilac stone and clear crystals accent it beautifully! Hopefully she loves it. It is dressy but would also look great with a white shirt and jeans!

Christmas Card

I received this beautiful Christmas card from Vicki’s Card Creations on Etsy. This was given to Jim. I love its romantic feel! It is beautifully crafted with embossed shiny berries and multiple layers. Even the inside has 2 additional layers of paper!

Vicki also included these gorgeous tags which I will safely tuck away for next year since my wrapping was already completed.

Vicki also makes these wonderful hanging pine cone ornaments.

She makes cards for different occasions. All made with the highest quality card stock and embellishments.

These vintage style tags are wonderful!

The greeting cards can be customized inside if you wish to have something stamped with a personal message.

Stop by Vicki’s shop next time you are in need of a beautiful card! Visit her blog too!

Have a happy, safe new year! ABC is airing a marathon of Once Upon a Time Sunday night which Jim and I plan on watching.

I have been watching it from the beginning but he has not…and wants to see it! The show makes me feel young again!!! Have a great New Year’s week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2011-12-24T07:52:00.013-05:00

Fun Necklace
Last week I mentioned wanting to make a necklace from those fun star charms for my niece.

This is so cool. I used 2 different gunmetal beads which give it an edgy look!

Journal
I have been wanting to journal for a while now and have finally decided to start! My Etsy search brought me to the shop of Steven James Keathley. He sells his original artwork on the journals. This is my journal! I love nature paintings with a touch of whimsy.

This beautiful tag was also included.

I am not too sure what the content of my journal will be yet but I presume that once I get started it will take on a life of its own. It will likely contain ideas and goals for my personal and professional lives.

Besides the other nature themed artwork he sketches animals like this one:

Steve has pet themes like this one that can be personalized.

Inspirational journals. I love this one!

He also has large original acrylic on canvas paintings available for sale. Orange always grabs my attention so I love this one!

Stop by Steve's shop next time you are in the market for a journal!

I wish everyone who celebrates a joyous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

I am looking forward to Christmas Eve with a group of friends this year. I have always been with family this night but it will be fun to mix it up this year!!! It is always great fun to hang with friends and simply laugh about whatever! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

2011-12-17T07:27:00.014-05:00

Fun Earrings!
I worked on my 9 year old niece’s Christmas present. She requested a bunch of earrings. A couple of months ago she texted me that blues and greens are her favorite colors so that deemed to be useful information!

I love these abstract star charms. I am hoping to have enough time to make something else for her with them before the holiday!!!

Jim's Birthday
So it was Jim’s birthday on the 14th and I got him this wine which we both love but since we are paying attention to our spending, we have not had in a long time! Earthquake cab is $23/bottle but worth every penny! I also got him the Michael Buble Christmas CD! We both adore him.

He loves cheese with his wine so I got these…roasted garlic chedder, brie, gruyere and plain chedder. I am so jealous of him since I am lactose intolerant. Of course my taste buds love cheese. Total curse.

The moment I knew my fabulous Jim was different from other men was when after date number 2 he called me to say he got us tickets for the Buble concert in Boston. The date of the concert was almost 2 months out and I remember thinking…wow this guy really believes in us! I have learned from this relationship that believing in it is key. I always thought trust was the key…and it is, but beyond that we need to believe in our relationships. It removes any doubts we may have!

Christmas Party
We attended a Christmas party last weekend and I was excited to wear these vintage costume pearls.

They had belonged to my great aunt and I have had them for quite a while but this was the first opportunity I have had to wear them! I will have to find some new tops that work with the necklace. I feel like it is too dressy to wear down….maybe if there was 1 less strand I could pull off a casual look with them.

New Mailers
I get excited about the strangest things.

I have used 2 different sized padded mailers for the longest time and I just incorporated these adorable little mailers into the business! I never thought I would ever use the word adorable and mailers in the same sentence! They will be perfect for when I just ship small findings orders. Their length is about the length of a pen!

New Boiler!!!!!
My new boiler was installed Thursday! Hallelujah to future savings in oil consumption and electricity!!!! It is not a pretty contraption and it cost a significant amount of money but I am excited about this too! It is so tiny compared to my old rusty unit from 1960. This thing looks confusing to me and the installer asked me if I had any questions. It made no sense for me ask any since the answers would have gone through 1 ear and out the other! I have the manual and their phone number which should suffice!

The installation went too smoothly so I had a bad feeling about that. I awoke the next day in a sweltering hot house!!!! The thermostat was turned down to 62 overnight and the house was over 70 degrees! Luckily the contractor came back Friday and now it is normal.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season! Before we know it, the new year will be here! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2011-12-10T09:09:00.012-05:00

Another Busy Week!
It has been another busy week of trying to maintain my inventory levels for the holiday season!

These sweet lapis lazuli dangle earrings are available at Miss Val's Creations.

Zebra Pillows
My 5 year old niece wants zebra toss pillows for Christmas. I bought these fun ones from CDHD (Custom Design Home Décor) on Etsy. The fabric is cotton and the shams are removable for easy cleaning!

These were fun to shop for. There were so many to choose from including those with initials and/or fringe! I thought for the age I was buying them for it is best to play it safe since the toss pillows will likely be tossed around!

Chocolate Bar
Someone gave me this bar at work as an early Christmas present. I have not tried the Maya Gold yet and am waiting to indulge with Jim. He typically just eats the Green and Black’s high percentage of cocoa for the antioxidants.

The Maya Gold is only 55% cocoa but sounds delicious. This one is “infused with subtle flavors of orange and delicate spices”. Mmmmm!

Winter Lanyard

This happy snowman is part of a new winter lanyard available at Miss Val's Creations.

The Housemates
I was walking by my bedroom this morning and Emmett and Alice were watching me!

They crack me up!

I wish everyone a great week! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2011-12-03T09:53:00.017-05:00

Tis the Season!
It has been busy! Each time I sell a beaded item I make something to replace it. Sales have picked up for the holiday season so I have been beading, beading and more beading!!! I just added this sea opal glass and blue lace agate bracelet available at Miss Val's Creations.

Comfort Food
This is pure comfort food!!! I covered half a bag of lentils and 1 large chopped potato with a can of vegetable broth and water and cooked these for about 20 minutes until almost ready.

Then I added a large chopped zucchini and a can of chopped tomatoes along with crushed red pepper and red curry powder. At the end I added baby spinach. Mmmmm!

HIV/AIDS Awareness Month
I have sold a couple of these red awareness ribbon lanyards recently not realizing it was HIV/AIDS Awareness Month. It is amazing how far we have come in dealing with this horrible virus. This one I just restocked at Miss Val's Creations.

I remember being a child in the 80’s and everyone panicking about this thinking it was easy to contract the virus. People were afraid to use public restrooms then! Ryan White, the boy with AIDS in Indiana was all over the news. I believe his story was the first time I heard of virus. Obama talked hopefully about this stating that we can now have a new generation of HIV/AIDS free children. Apparently there is a treatment for pregnant women so they do not pass this along to their unborn child. Amazing!

New hair style
It was time to change my hair.

This is a new look for me since I have never had a heavy bang with a short bob before!

Speeding Costs Money!
So I got a speeding ticket this week for going 46MPH in a 30MPH zone! Oops! I am still getting used to my “new” car. That was a lesson learned. I was fortunate enough to have a nice officer who only charged me $50. Jim tells me 1 offense will not affect my insurance premium…I hope so. This is the only speeding ticket I have received in my 20 years of driving!

New Bali Clasps

I will be posting these new Bali sterling silver clasps this weekend! They are beautiful and will be sold in packages of 2.

Have a great week and enjoy getting ready for the upcoming holidays! ~Val

Happy Holiday Season!

2011-11-26T08:32:00.024-05:00

Festival of Trees

The building I work in is home to the Methuen Festival of Trees. This Festival works as a fundraiser for our historical society and has expanded to nearby towns. This is open to the public at nights and on weekends. The trees get all lit up and the Christmas carols play!

Businesses and members of the community have the opportunity to donate a “Christmas tree” to be raffled off. I put this in quotation marks because they are not always Christmas related and sometimes not even a tree! Such as these Halloween themed pieces:

If you win a tree you get everything with it. Many trees also offer gift cards and more that also go to the recipient. The creativity for themes is endless like Betty Boop.

Disney.

Adorable polar bear.

I love this one….mischievous elves.

This is beautiful with all the flowers. Notice the tree topper is a watering can! There are categories for awards and this one won best tree topper.

This science theme is tons of fun!

The harvest theme is gorgeous!

This peacock one is a favorite of mine, although the picture does not do it justice.

As a wine lover, I was quite attracted to this wine themed tree. It is a wire tree which does not photograph well but here is the topper….Santa with his wine glass!

My boss and I also do one for our office. The tree is nothing special which is why I have not included a photo. However we receive donations from other offices in our organization to fund ours and this year we received almost $1,200! I was shocked since none of our offices are exactly rolling in the dough. With this money we decided to purchase a $450 gift card to Target and a $450 gift card to Stop & Shop (grocery store). So the individual who wins our tree will receive $900 in gift cards along with our tree and a handcrafted wood mudroom bench!!!!

This lanyard was made using these cool plastic beads from some old jewelry that belonged to my great aunt. They vary in color and markings and some of them look like agate! I used green aventurine in between them which is a customer favorite. The result is elegant and beautiful!!!! This is available at Miss Val's Creations.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

2011-11-19T07:27:00.013-05:00

Peace Sign Earrings!
My 9 year old niece requested neon green peace sign earrings. Sadly I could not find neon green peace sign charms! But I made these adorable earrings and accented them with snowflake obsidian which is a cool black stone with grey markings. She will receive them on Thanksgiving day.

Liver Cancer Awareness Jewelry!
A family member is helping out with an auction for a friend’s family member who is experiencing a very difficult battle in the advanced stages of liver cancer. His story is heart breaking being a husband, father of 4 children and also a grandfather. I made these 2 bracelets and earrings to be donated at an auction/fundraiser for the family. It always feels good to contribute to something that is going to help others.

On Rue Tatin
I just wanted to mention this delightful book I just finished about an American chef who has moved to Louviers in Normandy, France. Susan Herrmann Loomis wrote this book about her career which ultimately brought her and her husband to France and ended up staying their permanently. I have always dreamed about uprooting to another country and immersing myself in another culture. Although this dream can become a reality I am not sure I could just leave my life here!

Reading about Susan’s challenges is very inspiring and entertaining! She and her husband renovated and live in an old convent!!! Of course I had too Google Loomis. She actually holds cooking classes in her house! It sounds like she is living a dream! The neat thing about this book is that she inserts wonderful French recipes that she has learned while living there.

This is Notre Dame in Louviers. Susan mentions that her son goes to school at Notre Dame so I am guessing this is a school as well as a church. So gorgeous!!!

Zucchini Lasagna?
I am not sure what to call this dish. Jim and I had some delicious zucchini rollatini in a restaurant recently and thought it could be fun to recreate. That did not happen. How do chefs get the zucchini thin enough to roll?!? Anyway the slices of zucchini were layered with ricotta cheese, mozzarella and pasta sauce. Then baked. The result was delicious!

Honey Bee After The Frost!
Jim took this photo with his cell phone while sitting in the car waiting for his son to get out of school. It seems strange for a bee be hanging around after we already had 2 snowstorms. Jim tells me bees can freeze and unfreeze no problem. I am not sure if he is making this up for not. LOL. So maybe this bee was frozen already and came back to life. The photo looks funny. …..oddly large in perspective to the rest of the picture. I suppose the windshield distorted it. Either that or the bee was dinosaur sized!

This week I will be getting a couple of estimates on a new furnace. It will be such a relief when this replacement is complete!!!!

I wish all my readers a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate! Have a fantastic week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

2011-11-12T07:31:00.015-05:00

New Dangles!
This bead is dyed mountain jade. Its color is a dark blue…almost purple in some light. I love these Bali ear wires! The earrings are available at Miss Val's Creations.

Spoiling The Cats!
I had accrued some credit card points and decided to spend them on my feline friends. Since they are only indoor cats I try to ensure they stay entertained and get their exercise! So it was a fun week for them!

They have a couple of new wand toys which Emmett loves.

I got some funny colorful things for Alice which are what she is into. She is still apprehensive like she is with anything new in her life but I am sure she will warm up to her new toys.

This toy is cool which they have had. It is filled with balls and mice (artificial). They are challenged by trying to remove them from the holes. This is funny to watch as a human.

Quick Soup Idea!
With this I chopped up 1 sweet potato and 1 baking potato and covered them with a can and vegetable broth and water (to keep the sodium count low). I brought that to a boil with some spices like crushed red pepper and bay leaf. I added a can of crushes tomatoes and left the soup to simmer.

When the potatoes were in an edible state of being I added a bag of frozen pea. Once the peas were ready I topped off the soup with a can of cannellini beans. So easy, healthy and tasty! Onions would be great in this but my stomach does not like onions!

Furnace issues!
Friday morning I went down to the basement and discovered a bit of water surrounding my ancient furnace! Yikes! I had a plumber temporarily take care of the problem but it is definitely time for a new unit. The house was built in 1960 and it is believed this is the original. Talk about long lasting!

It costs thousands of dollars for a new one but with the costs of heating oil these days it should pay for itself within a handful of years with today’s efficiency. When I bought the house 3 years ago I knew this day would come! In retrospect I should have been more proactive and taken care of this in the summer before a problem occurred!!!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Crazy Weather!

2011-11-05T08:18:00.013-04:00

This large swan pendant was a piece in my Great Aunt’s jewelry box that I felt a need to keep! It is gaudy and large but for whatever reason I love it! So I beaded a strand with white glass pearls to make a classy choker.

If you live in the Northeast you probably dealt with that crazy nor’easter last Saturday night! A week later this white stuff is still here. Ugh!

Amongst the leaves! The storm has also left some large tree limbs in my yard so leaf clean up is going to include tree clean up as well this year!!!

Luckily these boots came in the mail this week. This was a great eBay auction…won them brand new at $37 and they have a retail of $95!!! The label is Mountrek and they are supposed to be really warm and waterproof. I found some great reviews on Amazon for them but their price was $95. Bargains make me really happy. I love the shiny, strange fabric. They are super lightweight too! Perfect for winter wear to work and for errands. Hopefully they are grippy on ice too.

These are my dusty Sorels (they have been in a closet all summer – apparently it is dusty in there)! I bought them when I moved into my house since I have a large driveway to shovel. These heavy duty boots keep my feet extremely warm and dry. They are wild looking too! This is perfect for anything categorized as a blizzard or a snowy nor’easter.

I may as well show off my new coat too. This was another great eBay deal. I love the style. This green was not my first color choice but the color I wanted was not available in my size. It turns out I really love this one though! It looks great with the top button either buttoned or unbuttoned.

Due to the aftermath of the storm, trick or treating was postponed from Monday to Wednesday as many in my area were left without power for days and I am sure there are some still without it as I write this!!! I was fortunate enough to have only lost power for less than 24 hours. If this is any indication of how our winter will be, we are in for a doozey!!!!!

I stupidly purchase the candy I like every year for the kids. Why do I do that to myself? I have no will power around classic American chocolate bars!!!

These fun witch lanyards are on their way to the U.K. My customer purchased 2 prior and I figured they were for Halloween. Then she requested 2 more and come to find out they are Christmas gifts for co-workers. They are in a clique names the witches. How fun!

Thank for stopping by!!! I wish you all a great, stress-free week. ~Val

A Good Week!!!

2011-10-29T07:02:00.020-04:00

It has been a while since I made any whimsical lanyards so I made this adorable toad lanyard.

Then this cute cat one.

The foliage is not that great this year however my next door neighbor has this beautiful maple.

Looking forward to the leaf clean up (sarcasm). My driveway is covered in leaves!

This PJM in my yard has some great burgundy coloring!

I attempted to catch Miss Alice in the act of eating my flowers. She is too quick for me and did not want evidence on film. She definitely looks guilty in the photo though!

Jim made a beautiful Margherita pizza last weekend.

We learned of a local wine store, The Wine Connextion, that has complementary wine tastings on Saturday afternoons! I recommend this to any local reader. It is a great way to try new wines instead of blindly picking up bottles and offending our palettes (this has happened multiple times to Jim and I). They provide visitors with a book and pencil so we can mark down what we would like. The book has the bottle prices listed which is great.

We both liked this on: The Flying Wine Maker Zinfandel which is only $8.99 a bottle!

This is what I woke up to on Friday 10/28/11.

Seriously Mother Nature?!?!?! It is not even Halloween yet!

I thought this white stuff was going to simply wipe off the windows....NO! It required muscle to scrape off!!!! There is talk about inches of snow falling tonight. Winter sucks! I apologize for the venting, but I had to let it out!

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week! ~Val

What a Week!

2011-10-22T08:21:00.014-04:00

I added this new amethyst necklace. It has a great edgy look with the oversize chip beads! Available here.

One day when coming home from work this week there were 4 police cruiser with lights flashing on my peaceful street. There was no indication of an accident or someone in distress so this was quite odd! Turns out they just successfully completed a foot chase of a 24 year old heroin addict responsible for recent break-ins in the area. I live in a nice family oriented neighborhood so this caught me by surprise. Since I only have a cell phone, I never received the warning phone call from the police to be aware!!!

Anyway, the kid apparently ran through my backyard and hid under my neighbor’s swing set just before I got home. The scary part is that when I read the article in the local paper the next day, the police are quite sure there are a few more individuals responsible for the break ins…….they are still free! Yikes! Luckily I have great neighbors and we do keep an eye on each other.

On a positive note, Jim gave me a gorgeous bouquet for our anniversary!

I always love these lilies that look so perfect that they appear artificial!

Also this week I graduated from a Bronze Powerseller to a Silver Powerseller on eBay!!!! Woohoo! I have been super busy. Monday thru Friday starts with the alarm beeping at 5:20am to package up orders. Then I go to my full time job and when I get home I work in my home office until 7pm! My days are long but it is very rewarding and I am so proud of the business I have built. It started as a hobby in January 2007 and I never would have expected to be so successful!

The cold weather bedding came out! Each year I have a goal of not turning on the heat until November 1st…..this never happens. I have already turned it on and started burning up expensive heating oil!!!

I made this delicious soup! It doesn’t look too pretty due to the spinach! I wanted to use up salsa that was in the fridge and I thought…Mexican style soup! It was super simple….2 cans of veggie broth, can of corn, can of black beans, can of chopped tomatoes and a bag of chopped spinach.

I mixed them all together on the stove and added the salsa, black pepper, crushed red pepper and chili powder for heat!!!! I was afraid it was going to taste bad with too much spinach but it was perfect. The white stuff is melted shredded cheddar. Mmmmm! I bought canned soups in the past but I think I am just going to stick with homemade soups going forward. They are so easy and serving size portions can easily be stored in the freezer for a future dinner!

I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

Gloucester, MA

2011-10-15T08:10:00.032-04:00

I just want to show off my latest jewelry set first!

These coin shaped beads are brown lava stone which is really unique with its natural voids! These are complemented with mauve crazy horse stone. The set includes the necklace, bracelet and earrings available at Miss Val's Creations.

Jim and I took a ride along the Massachusetts coast last weekend through Ipswich, Manchester by the Sea, Magnolia and Gloucester. These are towns I never visit but Jim has spent a lot of time in so he was able to show me around! Gloucester is the fishing town where the true story The Perfect Storm is based. That was the intense movie with Mark Walhberg, George Clooney and other great stars! This is also where Gorton's fish sticks come from.

This is the Fisherman’s Memorial Statue sculpted of bronze in 1925 by Leonard Craske. The inscription reads “They that go down to the sea in ships.” 1623 – 1925

The Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives Memorial is a mother with 2 children waiting for their dad to come home from his fishing trip. This was sculpted by Morgan Faulds Pike. Amongst the statue are donated walking stones with inscriptions written to loved ones working as fisherman or who have passed on.

We walked up to late maritime artist Fitz Hugh Lane’s home (1804-1865). This cool statue of him sits by the old home.

We strolled through Rocky Neck Art Colony which is charming with little homes and shops decorated with lots of flowers and plants. Fortunately, some flowers are still blooming in October! There is a bee still pollenating!

This colony is set in a charming cove.

The same beautiful shrubs were here that we also saw in Maine, although with less blooms!

This place Latitude 43 has a really cool restaurant and bar. We just hung in the bar and shared a seriously large plate of nachos!

I love seeing cool things like this solar compactor! The bottles and cans get their own bin too. I do believe if we all make an effort we can improve the environment we live in.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great week! ~Val

Treating Myself!

2011-10-08T10:16:00.013-04:00

This set is new this week available here. The leaf pendant is a copper electroplated chrysanthemum leaf which has a wonderful delicate feel! I accented this with autumn jasper.

I rarely buy myself things (with the exception of the car recently which was more of a necessity!). However this week I received some treats in the mail!!!

Since the price of silver is finally starting to come back down I decided to purchase a bunch of sterling silver and vermeil findings from Bali, Indonesia. When doing so I started browsing the rings and just had to treat myself! This adorable butterfly has a garnet in the center!

I love this shiny flower!

What is fabulous about these is they are adjustable!!!! That is great for me because I tend to have a difficult time with rings. My knuckles are much bigger than where a ring sits. I am actually debating on carrying adjustable rings in my inventory. Since they are not beadable, they do not quite fit in with my shop. However, the quality is fantastic and the prices are just right so maybe in the near future, rings like these will be in my shop.

Another item I received is this adorable J Crew handbag! It was second hand on eBay, but in perfect condition and totally my style. The hardware is super heavy which caught me off guard. It is so cute with the wool pinstripe fabric!!!!

I am looking forwarded to a beautiful long Fall weekend!!! The leaves should be vibrant right now but the change is so behind this year! Columbus Day weekend is supposed to be the peak for leaf peeping....maybe that will be next weekend. Enjoy your weekend! ~Val

A Great Relaxing Weekend!

2011-10-02T12:34:00.017-04:00

Halloween is almost here again! So I have posted a few Halloween inspired lanyards in honor of the fun holiday! Available here.

My parents came over last night for dinner. Jim made his perfect eggplant parmesan and I made stuffed mushrooms but I forgot to get out the camera since we were having too much fun cooking!

I made an Italian herb bread and Jim marinated spices in olive oil for dipping. Mmmmm!

Jim brought over organic heirloom tomatoes which he grew. Wow, do these taste better than the genetically modified ones in the grocery store! For lunch today I cut up 3 of them and added them to the leftover pasta and dipping oil. More mmmmmm!

My hydrangeas are looking pretty with their fall color flowers!

I started composting food waste in the spring.

Each week I take what has accumulated in a bowl in the fridge and bury it in a pile in the woods. This includes coffee grounds, vegetable peels and egg shells!

It gets covered by my grass clippings as well. I do not turn it or do any work with it but am hoping that next spring I will have some nice, nutrient rich soil to work with!

My parents brought over 2 bunches of this plant that has expanded too much in their garden. The flowers have already passed but they are a real pretty pink and grow tall and strong although you can not tell from my planting job! I am confident they will look gorgeous next year!

Have a great first week of October! ~Val

Emmy Gowns!

2011-09-25T13:53:00.012-04:00

Happy Autumn everyone! This is the time of year my autumn jasper pieces start selling regularly! This eyeglass chain is available in both gold and silver in my shop.

If you watched the emmys last week you saw all the fabulous red gowns!

Kerry Washington wore this amazing Zuhair Murad runway gown! It is so sexy with the sheered bottom.

Kate Winslet always looks classy and did not disappoint this time in an Elie Saab number!

Nina Dobrev's was my favorite red gown of the evening in this Donna Karan stunner!

Kathy Griffin did a beautiful job showing off this Oscar de la Renta dress!
My favorite dress of the evening however was not red. I love, love, love this gown which Heather Morris wore.

Oddly enough I was unable to find the designer on this one. I just love the neckline and the diagonal ruffles. The understated color is beautiful with her hair and skin tone.

Jim and I made a fantastic vegetable hot pot that I would love to share with my readers who love tasty, healthy, hearty meals!

The recipe calls for the following:

2 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
1 pound potatoes, roughly chopped
1 pound celery, roughly chopped
12 ounces of carrots, roughly chopped
12 ounces of leeks, roughly chopped
8 ounces of mushrooms (halved if large)
¼ cup all purpose flour (optional)
2 ½ cups vegetable stock
14 ounce can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
14 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

What is great about this recipe is it can be modified in many ways. We actually left out the garlic and onions because my body does not digest them easily! We added a roughly chopped zuchinni and sprinkled in curry powder and coriander for heat. We substituted sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes for better health benefits. The sweet potato is fantastic with the hot spices!

Sauté the onions and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until brown. Then stir in the chili powder for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, celery, carrots, leeks and mushrooms cooking for 3-4 minutes. Then add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste and thyme (other seasoning you would like to add too). Then bring to a boil while stirring. Then lower heat, cover and cook until the veggies are ready! This is a great fall and winter dish! Makes 6 servings!!!!

Have a wonderful week! ~Val

My New Car!!!!

2011-09-17T10:34:00.016-04:00

This was an exciting week! New car!!! After driving my beloved 1999 Honda Civic for almost 14 years (I bought her in November 1998) it felt like time to trade her in...before the winter months! She was a fabulous dark green.

My intention was to purchase a new Civic to drive just as long since these cars are built to do so! However after going to a couple of dealerships, I learned that it is quite difficult to get your hands on a 2 door since the factories in Japan are still struggling due to the tragic tsunami.

Jim and I were driving by a Jeep dealership by my house and he spotted this gorgeous dark blue 2008 Civic out front! Thanks Jim! While I had not intentions of purchasing a used vehicle we stopped over to check it out since it was exactly what I wanted....fully loaded too!

Needless to say she is mine now! Love the Civics! I learned that someone already wanted my old car before the dealership even had ownership of the vehicle. It feels like I drive a space ship now where I was so used to driving such an old car! My favorite feature is the cup holders which actually hold cups in place! No more holding onto my cup when making a turn!!!!

A sad thing for me though was saying goodbye to my license plate. This has been my plate for 20 years and has been on 3 cars! It is a mess with tons of cracks and a million stickers on it. The state now allows old plates/registrations on be cancelled online so I do get to keep it!

Jim and I discovered a new wine we both like! There is a great Italian restaurant nearby named Tuscan Kitchen. We are sort of regulars there on Saturday afternoons. It is one of those restaurants where you need to make reservations as least 2 weeks in advance for Saturday nights. But in the afternoon we can sit at a quiet bar and order whatever we want. Their bartenders are wonderful! When we were there last weekend our bartender gave us a couple of samples, one of which was this one!

We typically drink California or Washington state wines but we love this imported Montepulciano.

When we food shopped that night, we came across it in the grocery store. How convenient!

New in my shop this week is this pretty pearl set. The pendant disc was handcrafted by the Karen Hill Tribe with 3 loops for dangles. I thought, why not elegant pearls!!!!

Thank you for reading! ~Val

Pookie Creations!!!

2011-09-10T11:25:00.019-04:00

I just received this fabulous handmade tote bag from my dear friend of over 20 years, Melissa!

It is reversable too with a plain brown fabric inside! Coffee is one of my favorite treats so this java theme fabric is perfect. Unfortunately I am sensitive to caffeine and have to limit my dose to 1 cup a day!

This bag is big and roomy for bringing my daily parcels to the post office! This is my first load.

Check out Melissa's shop Pookie Creations on Etsy!

She makes the most adorable coin purses like this one!

Her pouches are great for carrying all sorts of things!

Her owls make me smile!

Pretty clutches too for a night out!

You can also find Pookie Creations on Facebook and her blog!

New in my shop are copper and gunmetal findings. These are sold in sets of miscellaneous findings.

I wish all my readers a great week ahead! I am looking forward to picking up a new car this week after driving the same one for 13 years!!! Woohoo!!! ~Val

The Week in Review!

2011-09-03T08:12:00.023-04:00

This week was not too exciting which is good sometimes!

I made these pretty carnelian and sterling silver dangle earrings. This is such a great fall gemstone! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

I started working on an order of 10 pink awareness ribbon lanyards for a fundraiser put on by The Cancer Society in Atlanta, GA. It feels good to make items with meaning that can be used to raise money! I do carry these as regular inventory here.

This sweet plant is blooming. My parents gave me 3 batches of this from their yard which we planted last October or November. This is the only batch that survived!

They said it is lavendar although it does not look like lavendar. It is pretty!!!

I got a kick out of this frog who was hanging out on the outside of my kitchen screen door!!!

When scrolling through the Snapshots of The Week on Yahoo I fell in love with this one! It was taken by David Cerny at the Vltava River in front of Prague Castle on August 31st. This is one of the many place I would love to visit someday.

My buddy Emmett loves to bask in the sunshine! I always want to rub that white tummy of his but he gets too playful and his claws are razor sharp. Clipping his nails is next to impossible since he has a need to bite the scissors when I am attempting to do so!!!

Pretty girl Alice stayed still long enough for me to snap a photo!

Have a great week!!!! ~Val

Cape Neddick Lighthouse in Maine!

2011-08-27T07:18:00.024-04:00

Jim and I rode up the coast last weekend to Maine. He brought me to see the Cape Neddick Lighthouse which is on Nubble Island.

The rock in the background was covered in these wonderful black birds. I was hoping for puffins since I have never seen one….but no luck.

The seagulls love it there!

This lighthouse has been in use since 1879. The top of the lighthouse stands 88 feet above sea level!

These neat shrubs were everything and appear super hardy. They had both a fruit and flower on them and a rich thick green leaf. I have no idea what they are though.

The waves were crashing against the rocks!

When we got back to the car, these guys were waiting for us!!! I know seagulls are a nuisance, but they are really beautiful!

I made these adorable necklaces for my blogging friend Claudia. She is giving 1 to her son and the other to her nephew!

I would love to start a line of children's jewelry but there just aren't enough hours in the day!

My brother gave me some fresh organic peaches from his tree. They were delicious. The fuzz was so thick that I had to peel them! Maybe that is how they are when organic!

We are bracing for Hurricane Irene!!! Ugh!!! Good luck to everyone in it's track!

Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

A Day in Boston Part II

2011-08-20T07:38:00.023-04:00

First I would like to thank two of my blogging friends for doing features on me!

Check out Claudia's blog Titled Moncy3!

Here is Kristi's blog Titled Kristi Bowman Design!

Thank you guys! I really appreciated it!

Now for Part II of my day trip to Boston with Jim. Here are some cool photos of the architecture.

I love the Brownstones. We were driving when I took this one so it is not the prettiest. I love the heavy black iron fences and window cages!

This sweet atrium is right on the water where couples can be married!

I love the old streets like this!

This photo is of the North End Italian neighborhood.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Boston!

New this week is this neat jewelry set.

The vintage beads and findings were taken from strands of old jewelry that had belonged to my Great Aunt. I love the antiqued bronze flower bead caps! The graduated white beads offer a great contrast to the findings! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great week! ~Val

A Day Trip to Boston - Part I

2011-08-13T07:28:00.035-04:00

Jim and I took a ride to Boston last weekend for a great day! He has been wanting to take me to a restaurant in the South End named The Beehive. Their jazz brunch goes until 3pm! I guess people sleep later in the city.

We shared a carafe of 14 Hands Cabernet Savignon. Wine at noon on a Saturday is a wonderful thing!

This fabulous painting was next to us. It looks like these cute kids are sharing their first kiss in the Fall. I love the untied shoelaces!

The musicians were next to us too!

This fabulous chandelier was above us!

Outside The Beehive is this tunnel sculpture. One of the things I love about cities is the random art and sculptures that are placed for the public to enjoy!

Then we drove over towards the harbor and scored finding a parking garage for $10 all day on the weekend!

This cool tunnel is part of the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park.

The Tall Ships come to town once a year but I believe this one is a city fixture.

We squeezed our way through the Farmer’s Market. I was shocked how inexpensive the produce was!!! The same pint of strawberries I saw in the grocery store that morning cost a third less at the Farmer's Market!

Boston’s North End is the Italian neighborhood with amazing restaurants. This is a residential section that is lit up at night.

There is a Feast every weekend here in the summer. I feel bad for these residences!

We walked over to Fanuel Hall which is bascially a Tourist Trap and a great place for people watching. There are tons of shops and street performers. It reminds me a lot of Covent Garden in London so maybe it was fashioned after that.

We watched this guy balancing on a ladder for a little bit. It was anti-climatic so we left!

Boston would not be Boston without a monument to Paul Revere!

It was a warm day so the water parks were in use!

The children were loving it (and I think the parents too)!

Next week I will post A Day Trip to Boston Part II which will be architectural photos.
New this week is beading wire in bronze and gunmetal finishes! Available here!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into Boston! Have a great week! ~Val

Birthday Fun and More!

2011-08-06T08:03:00.011-04:00

My niece's 5 year princess themed birthday party is coming up! I made these sweet bracelets which will go in the guests' goody bags! One is inspired by Cinderella and the other by Rapunzel! So cute!

My Rose of Sharon is starting to bloom! She was small plant when I got her a few years ago and she is doing great!

I tend to be more intersted in the bulbs just before they open rather than the flower. How neat are these?

Variegated leaves are so beautiful to me which is what attracted me to this particular one. My pink winky is doing well and it about my height (5'2)!

These blooms start off white and turn pink.

Going into the fall, the flower develop a really pretty burgundy tone. Love the budding on this plant too!!!

Here are some of my new postings this week.

These are new crackle glass beads I used for the eyeglass chains. They are really cool looking and have a bit of shimmer!

Thank you for reading! ~Val

Adorable Greeting Cards and New Jewelry!

2011-07-30T07:55:00.015-04:00

My niece and nephew’s combined birthday party is coming up. She is turning 5 and decided on a princess theme party. He is turning 7 and chose a Harry Potter theme. So I was on a mission to find a seller who made cards for both! I came across Blowfish Bizaar on Etsy.

How cute is this princess card? It is not just a card….it opens into an easel and has a little pad of paper inside!!! She is going to love it! Perfect for practicing writing her name!

I am also in love this with Harry Potter card! How cute are Harry, Hermione and Ron?!?!?
Check out this shop for adorable card sets like this one! I am a sucker for sarcasm.

Also in this whimsical shop are amigurimi characters and clay figures like this Yoda! Be sure to check it out here!

New this week is this fun set! The rose is black obsidian. I love to mix gemstones and a variety of colors are represented here.

Since the necklace is a little on the loud side I just used 1 bead for the earrings so they are understated. This set is available here!

This week I was excited to see these new blooms! My parents gave me 2 of these hibiscus plants last fall from their garden which we planted then. I have been curious about the blooms and now I know what they look like!

The flower is gorgeous and huge! The buds are funky, cool too!

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful beginning of August! ~Val

Winner Announced and Lilies are Blooming!!!

2011-07-24T08:30:00.023-04:00

The winner of the silver needle agate necklace is Kristi Bowman! Congratulations!!! I hope you love your beautiful new necklace!!!

My lilies are in bloom! So many colors!!! These orange lilies are from my parent’s garden which they gave me a few years ago.

My neighbor gave me tons of bulbs last summer when he was cleaning his garden.

So I planted them and waited patiently until this summer to enjoy them.

I love the variety of colors!

I also love their hardiness since I have been so busy this summer and have not spent time gardening. Hence a lot of weeds out there!!!

I made these sweet dangle earrings for my hairstylist. I gave her a fabulous pink cats eye necklace with a super large butterfly pendant for Christmas and she just requested matching earrings. I would love to make these for my shop but since the cost of silver is still out of control they would be too expensive. I like to keep my prices affordable to everyone!

New this week is this adorable set. The focal piece is of carved bone with a beautiful nature scene. Available here!

Thank you for reading! Until next week!!! ~Val

Weekend Getaway!

2011-07-16T07:20:00.030-04:00

First I would like to mention my blogging friend Claudia. I won these darling pencils!

She wraps pencils with scrapbooking paper for a custom look! They came all wrapped up! This set is called "Office Lady".

The pencil were sewn up in paper! I always love the look of sewn paper!

Check out her shop at Etsy ! Claudia makes all sorts of darling stationary and stickers. Visit her adorable blog here. I enjoy reading about her sweet family! I love these:

Last weekend, Jim and I had our first weekend getaway! We spent 2 nights at this historic charming Inn in Portsmouth, NH.

The Sise Inn was built in the late 19th century right in the downtown area! We did not take too many pictures this time we we took tons on our previous day visit.
This is my favorite since it looks like a postcard! The sky was perfect for taking this photo.

At Prescott Park free plays are performed. They happened to be performing The Wizard of Oz when we were there. These plays are free to the public....just bring chairs or a blanket and enjoy!

We just stopped by and watched a little of the play. The organization did a wonderful job!!!

Here is some street art in part of the street art museum that we missed last time. The cat one reads "He might look scary but he is my best friend". That piece has such a sweet vibe to it.

We came across this neat serpent in a garden created with a rock formation.

Another garden we walked by was so sweet. The plants were labeled by a rock with the name of it handwritten like this one.

This garden had little "critters" in it for children to seek out. Very cute!

The city was in bloom!!!!

A perfect weekend with my man!!!

If you have not entered the giveaway for this silver needle agate necklace click here for the rules of entry!

It was a busy week for sales! Here are some of my newly posted items:

I love the blue lace agate and sea "opal" glass for summer wear!!!
Thank you for stopping by! ~Val

Silver Needle Agate Necklace Giveaway!

2011-07-08T08:05:00.015-04:00

Since I reached 100 sales in my Artfire shop I figured it was time for another giveaway to celebrate!!!

This fabulous necklace is up for grabs! These nuggets are called silver needle agate. The markings are so pretty. Its color is a silvery blue with light brown markings. The average width of each is 13mm!

Between these nuggets are 6mm sun quartz beads that accent beautifully. When deciding to use the quartz, my thought was coming up with a complementing color which would create a necklace that can be worn year round.
The length is 17.25”. The strand is finished off with this cool sterling silver hook and eye clasp.

You may enter up to 6 ways.
1. follow my blog.
2. like my Facebook page.
3. follow me on Twitter.
4. blog about the giveaway.
5. link to the giveaway on your Facebook page.
6. link to the giveaway on your Twitter account.

Please leave a comment on this post on the ways you are entering and leave your e-mail address in case you are the lucky winner! The winner will be drawn on Sunday July 24th the old fashioned way with names in hat. Good luck!

I feel a need to mention my new kitchen toy! Have you ever done something the same way forever since it was the way your mother carried out the task? This was the case for me with lettuce washing. My mom would always wash it in a colander and spread it out a towel to dry. Of course Jim commented on this since it is apparently strange! So I picked this OXO salad spinner from www.amazon.com since it had great reviews!

I love it….just rinse the lettuce in the colander that is inside and put it back in the bowl to pump the spinner until the lettuce is dry!

I wish I bought one of these many years ago since I eat a lot of salad!!!! Thank you Jim! I purchase only organic lettuce now after learning more and more about the disturbing chemicals in our food.

I experience days with stomach discomfort which I am starting to believe is from the chemicals. Now with the organic lettuce I have actually been feeling better. It is worth the extra money! I have also switched to organic apples since apples are now the most pesticide ridden produce on the market! Ugh!

Have a great week everyone! I will be a taking a couple of much needed days off over the weekend!!! ~Val

Newburyport, MA!

2011-07-02T07:31:00.030-04:00

Jim and I took a ride up to Newburyport, MA which is a quaint fun town to spend a sunny day! Ok, it wasn't exactly sunny, but we had a perfect day. We only got rained on when we were leaving!

We started at this cute little coffee shop that is off the main road. There are cushy sofas and chairs in the dimly lit back which we love!

Cappucino is always a treat for me when I am out since I do not make it myself!

We people watched in the center of town with gelatto!

We stopped at this cool antiques barn. They have everything and it is very entertaining to browse!

This Ford was sitting outside in the lot!

This town which settled back in 1635 is on the northern side of the Massachusetts coast.

The wealthy people dock their boats here in the summer! It is a beautiful place to walk along the water.

We grapped a bite at Not Your Average Joe's which is a restaurant with an eclectic menu. Here was the view from our outside table. It has a perfect view for people watching and gazing out at the boats!

Here is the view facing where we ate. So beautiful!

We stopped in The Black Cow where I had fabulous blueberry beer from the Wachusett Brewery (blueberries included)!

Here is a neat playground where you can hang out and the kids can play!

This dog was enormous....like a horse!!!!!!!! Its legs are almost as long as mine!

He appeared to be a gentle giant!

Restocked this week are clear lanyards in both gold and silver. These match everything in the wardrobe! Available at www.missvalscreations.com. These are great for wearing ID cards, transportation cards and more....and looking pretty while doing so!

Well I hope everyone who is celebrating has a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! I am looking forward to cookouts everyday with friends and family!!!! Enjoy! ~Val

My Work Space!

2011-06-25T11:20:00.015-04:00

So I realized I have never blogged about my work space! It is where I spend most of my waking moments at home! Here is where I am sitting right now as I type this.

Before I moved into this house, this bedroom had 2 young boys living in it with bunk beds. This resulted in crayons on the ceiling, green slime on the walls and other yuckiness! I used this beautiful tapestry as inspiration for the room color. I would love to have a backyard like this!!!

Here is my work table where I tend to gaze out the window! This heavy duty table was left behind in the basement and has been perfect for my needs. I had to remove the grommets from the table though since Emmett had an obsession with removing them thinking it was some sort of game.

This antique buffet had belonged to my great aunts. My brother used it for years and then it was passed on to me. It is perfect for storing finished product, beads, findings and more!

These media towers once held my CDs, DVDs (and VHS...dating myself) but now house tons of inventory!

The closet came with an organizer in it already which has worked out great! I store boxes, padded mailers, inventory and more in here!

This is the warmest room in the house as the afternoon sun beats down on it! Jim helped me install this ceiling fan recently. Although the weather has been horrible the fan has been a savior a few times this year.

For those of you thinking, that work space is too neat....yes it is like this all the time when I am not beading or sorting through an order of product. I am extremely anal about my neatness....a little OCD perhaps. The other reason it is always neat is to keep it kitty proof since my feline friends LOVE sitting at both windows watching the birds, squirrels, bunnies and such!

New in my shop is this pretty bracelet! I love these bronzed freshwater pearls. They go beautifully with this 14kt gold filled metal! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

I hope you all have a lovely week! I am hoping for some sun and warmth tomorrow so Jim and I can do something fun since we usually only have Saturday nights and Sundays together!!! ~Val

Eggplant Parmesan With a Twist!

2011-06-18T08:13:00.023-04:00

Jim and I made this amazing eggplant parmesan with a twist!

I was never into eggplant but I think that was due to the skin. Jim peels it before slicing! Then the slices are dipped into an egg and Italian breadcrumb mix.

Then the slices get fried up in olive oil until golden brown!

Then the oils is soaked up with papertowels.

Time to layer the eggplant with red sauce and mozzarella!

Now here is the twist! The plan was to make a caprese salad so we had the ingredients. Instead we placed the mozzarella, fresh tomato slices and fresh basil on top before baking!!!

Since we are both huge margherita pizza fans, this was perfect....like a combination of eggplant parmesan and our favorite pizza!!!
We enjoyed it with this great inexpensive bottle of red called 14 Hands, Hot to Trot. This is a blend of merlot, cabernet, syrah and petit verdot from Washington state. Mmmm!

Emmett stayed out of our way most of the time. But his obsession with the kitchen sink did tempt him at one point!

This little cutie was hanging out, enjoying the grass one day when I was pulling into my driveway. He was so adorable stuffing his face!

New this week in my shop is sterling silver filled wire! This item is becoming popular since the price of silver is at an all time high. It is created with a copper alloy that has been coated hundreds of times with sterling silver so it is tons better than plated wire! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Have a great week!!!! ~Val

Portsmouth, NH!!!

2011-06-11T08:16:00.033-04:00

Jim and I spent a spontaneous day in Portsmouth, NH last weekend! This is one of those perfect New England seaside towns with great food, fun pubs, tons of culture, beautiful flowers, lots of history and much, much more!

We started our day of at a whimsical place called the Friendly Toast. This restaurant is covered with vintage memorabilia! The diverse menu caters to everyone and includes breakfast all day too (love that)! Their sweet potato fries are amazing! They have many vegetarian options which makes me happy!

This object was floating in the upper corner of the restaurant. There were other creepy large plastic boys strewn about.

The back of this booth is covered in vintage prints. It appeared all the seating was vintage too!

It turns out there is one of these restaurants in Cambridge, MA too which we will need to check out!

After some nourishment, Jim got a little silly!

We strolled around the city. One stop was the Portsmouth Brewery which was celebrating its 20th anniversary.

I had a lovely summer ale and Jim had a dark brew which I did not care for.

We walked the perimeter of Strawberry Banke. This 10 acre museum has perserved old homes/buildings, keeping it a village like it would have been around late 1700s.

Actors are within the homes explaining lifestyles and demonstrating cooking and gardening activities of long ago (well, long ago in American eyes).

We did not go in the museum grounds but I remember going as a child on a school fieldtrip and being fascinated. The simple ways of life back then have always intrigued me! Life is so complicated now with an overwhelming amount of stimulus from crazy world happenings to reliability on technology!!!

We walked by the oldest home in New England, circa 1702! It is actually on the market. What a neat home that would be to own!!! It had been built by the Richard Wibird, an officer in the British Royal Navy, a merchant, a member of The King's Council and a benefactor of Harvard College.

We also stopped at the Gaslight. This pub has an outdoor patio. A talented man was on stage....just him and his guitar performing many current hits with is own spin on them! We enjoyed DELICIOUS blueberry beer which is from the Sea Dog Brewery of Maine.

We walked the 10 acre Prescott Park and approached this beautiful formal garden. A nice man kindly offered to take our photo for us!

Love the Japanese crabapple trees! The 3 fountains in here make it a perfect spot!

We checked out this 2 year old Street a.k.a. Museum which had deep, dark art within!

The neat part of this museum was that it included actual street art throughout the city which you could look up on a map. Here are some that we found. Next time we will have to find the rest of the artwork!

Pretty flowers by the sidewalk. I believe these were on someone's private property but since they were so perfect and huge, I had to take photos!!!

So we LOVE this city and plan on a 2 night stay in July. It will be romantic and fun since we will get to check out the nightlife and not worry about driving!

Have a wonderful week! We have finally started having summer-like weather in New England so hopefully it continues. ~Val

Earrings Winner Annouced!

2011-06-01T18:05:00.028-04:00

The winner of the pretty pearl dangles is Claudia! Congratulations!!! I hope you love them!

Jim and I went to the Nashoba Valley Winery last weekend!

Massachusetts wine is not really our thing, but wine tasting is always fun!!! Plus, California is 3,000 miles away and Tuscany even further!

The weather was wacky that day but fairly decent when we were at the winery. The place is beautiful and relaxing. We sat under grape vines here as we sipped the wine.

In addition to wine they make spirits and beer. Jim did try some brandy which he discreetly dumped on the ground. We need to stick with wine! Next we will be checking out a nearby winery in New Hampshire for some more tasting fun! This is a wonderful place to hang out. We saw families there, people having picnics and a wedding shower. They have a fancy restaurant on site and also host weddings!

We also attended a super fun friends' wedding! It was an opportunity to wear this amazing vintage necklace that belonged to my Great Aunt! It is 4 strands of graduated AB crystals!!! I look high in this picture, but trust me...I wasn't!

The camera did not pick it up too well but here it is in all its glory! The largest bicone is 12mm wide!

I also inherited a great 4 strand necklace of graduated costume pearls that I am dying to wear!

The garden is coming along!

This is the side of my driveway. When I purchased the house, this was just weeds, dirt and some unattractive grass. In an effort to reduce my mowing activities and live more green I have created tons of work for myself digging up this area, mulching, planting and putting up a fence. It is coming along!!! I purchased boxwoods, wegelia, euonymus and red roses for this area and the rest is flowers and plants which people have given me! I imagine that 5 years from now this will be a very lush area!

New this week is this fun dog lanyard!

Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Have a great week! I intend on having my next 2 giveaways when I reach 200 "likers" on Facebook and 100 sales in my Artfire shop! ~Val

Loving Spring!

2011-05-26T18:21:00.022-04:00

I made these pretty rosary beads for a First Communion happening this Sunday!

The lucky girl's birthstone is amethyst, hence the purple Swarovski crystals! I adore this cross. It is such a gorgeous piece of sterling silver. Her mom requested a matching bracelet too. The little crosses are so sweet!

My wegilia has pretty little flowers!

I have 4 of these which I bought through the mail 3 seasons ago and they are flourishing. Still clearly babies though! I originally had 5 but after attempting to move one, it died. :( I am a huge fan of variegated leaves which is why I needed these plants!

Some of my irises have opened!!!

I have a wondeful old neighbor who is quite a gardener. He is overwhelmed with irises and lilies and gave me tons of bulbs last summer which I planted. It is much more special when someone gives you flowers from their garden and then you get to enjoy them.

Remember last week's bouquet? The lilies opened up beautifully and took over!!!

Don't forget to enter the pearl earring giveaway in the post below! The lucky winner will be drawn Sunday 6/5/11. Link here.

New this week is a red agate and carnelian necklace.

I have always loved the look of striped agate! This is available in my shop!

I have to sign off with this picture of my housemates. They are never looking at the camera at the same time!!! Love the scary eyes!!!

Thank you for reading! ~Val

Earring Giveaway!!!!

2011-05-21T13:38:00.015-04:00

My blog now has over 200 followers. To celebrate I will be giving away this pair of earrings!

These are made of cultured pearls and accented with sterling silver. The leveback ear wires will ensure that you will not lose these when dancing! The length on these is 1.5".

You may enter up to 6 ways.
1. follow my blog.
2. like my Facebook page.
3. follow me on Twitter.
4. blog about the giveaway.
5. link to the giveaway on your Facebook page.
6. link to the giveaway on your Twitter account.

Please leave a comment on this post on the ways you are entering and leave your e-mail address in case you are the lucky winner! The winner will be drawn on Sunday June 4th the old fashioned way with names in hat. My man will have the honors! Good luck!

New this week is this cool set.

This wood focal piece is of benguet pine. Its grain is really unique! The wood is accented by shiny and antiqued copper. Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Jim was really sweet this weekend. He gave me this beautiful bouquet since there has not been one on my blog in a while! I will have to do a follow up photo when all those fabulous lilies open!!!

These cool purple flowers are really neat. They are dyed of course....but dyed a gorgeous color!

Have a wonderful week!!! ~Val

Pretty New Items!

2011-05-15T13:25:00.008-04:00

I made a couple of new items this week! This bracelet has sweet little garnet pebble beads and multi-faceted citrine and peridot. I love this little toggle clasp that was crafted in Bali. It is the perfect size for a delicate design.

Fun stone notes:
Garnet is associated with health, removing negativity & awareness.
Citrine is associated with intuition, comfort, protection & mental awakening.
Peridot is associated with warmth, friendliness & understanding.

Not much is happening in the garden world. Things are between blooms!
My Rose of Sharon survived the winter with no problem! This shrub is only a couple of years old and produces variegated leaves and very pale pink flowers. I am waiting patiently!

This shrub is called Pinky Winky. Yes I purchased it partly because I love the name! It is a form of hydrangea which produces really neat blooms. Pictures to follow when the blooms arrive! The several feet of snow which sat on it over the winter did affect the plant but it seems to be bouncing back.

Thank you for reading! Be back next week! ~Val

The Week in Review!

2011-05-08T11:37:00.013-04:00

This past week was nothing exciting. I do feel a need to share my fabulous corn salsa recipe though! I made 2 batches for a Cinco de Mayo party over the weekend....one for a side dish and the other for a chip dip!
It is so easy. Start with a can of black beans and a can of corn:

Then add diced tomato and avocado:

Lastly add scallions, cilantro and dressing then mix it up!

So delicious and healthy!!!
Here is the recipe:
3 tomatoes, diced
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed
1 can corn (11oz, drained)
2 avocados chopped
4-8 scallions sliced (depending on your tastes)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup Italian dressing (I use low calorie)
Great for cookouts!!!

New to my shop are 24kt gold vermeil jewelry findings that were crafted in Bali.

Available at www.missvalscreations.com.
I am quite excited that this tree survived! It is called an Eastern Red Bud. My dad raised this one from an offspring of his 40 year old tree. It was planted last summer and survived the brutal weather!

It has these pretty pink buds all over the branches which will soon turn into leaves.
My little azalea is starting to bud too!

Hopefully by next weekend there will be more of this fuchsia bud popping up!!!
Thank you for reading! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. :)
~Val

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-05-01T07:55:00.014-04:00

I feel like when tulips bloom it is officially Spring! These lovelies opened up this past week!

I planted geraniums in the urns by my front door. I love these flowers since they keep blooming from Spring all the way through Fall!!!

Some of my rhododendrons are blooming too!

This is what the shrub actually looks like....a bit sad. The winter was so brutal that I am lucky it even bounced back since it is still a baby. It will take some time to get back to the fullness is had last year!

This weather change gave me the urge to work with shells!

This necklace features a cool focal bead of resin with brown lip shell incorporated into it! Available at Miss Val's Creations.
Happy Spring! ~Val

Lovely Vintage!!!

2011-04-23T11:14:00.013-04:00

We visited my grandparents last weekend for my grandfather's 96th birthday! They have been slowly giving things away since the reality is they will not be around much longer (my grandmother is turning 94 this summer).

She gave me 3 large jewelry boxes full of stuff that used to belong to my late great aunt. This is just a taste of some of the goodies in there! I love old brooches but rarely wear them because I do not want to intentionally put holes in my clothes.

There were more clip on earrings than anything else!!! These I do not wear since I feel like they look too big on me and I am petite! The variety here is amazing...again this is only a small percentage in the boxes.

Neat necklaces! I love the large heavy metal pendants which I may incorporate into one of a kind necklace designs.

I discovered many sets too!

These require some research. I am guessing the code of arms belongs to her name "Kydd" which is different from mine. The other symbols I have no clue about! Her high school class ring from 1932 in Somverville, MA was also in there. That I gave to my dad who has a place to display it.

These pieces I plan on keeping since they relate to my Scottish heritage. The bagpipes and spoon are sterling and I love the patina on these.

There were a bunch of beaded strands that were not that exciting. However I took them apart and cleaned the beads. These will make fun, one of a kind lanyards!

Also in there is a very old pin of Felix the Cat. This is stamped although I can not quite make it out! My guess is it is from the 1930s, back when he was creepy looking. Likely the most valuable piece in there!

I have been wanting to make Autism awareness lanyards for a while now and have finally created one! The colored beads accent the puzzle pieces. I love how it came out!

Thank you for reading! Until next week. ~Val

Birthday Fun!

2011-04-17T07:44:00.018-04:00

My niece celebrated her 9th birthday party this weekend! There was a basketball theme which meant the Boston Celtics!

My sister in law asked me if I could make bracelets for all the girls attending. How cute are these? Yes the Celtics colors are green and white but they have incorporated black in some of the merchandise. Black is cooler than white at this age anyway!

The birthday girl got bonus pieces! She also received a matching necklace, earrings and bookmark!

The prior weekend I celebrated mine! It was a great weekend spending it with friends on Saturday night and family on Sunday. Jim gave me the most beautiful bouquet yet!

He also got me a 3 sexy little dresses which I joke are more for him than me! Here is one of them.

I can't wait to wear these!

More flowers are blooming this week in my garden!

I'm looking forward to my tulips blooming!!! Some of the bulbs look close to opening! Until next week! Thank you for reading. ~Val

Fundraiser Creation!

2011-04-08T10:38:00.015-04:00

I was approached by one of my relatives who is on the Board with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless about donating for an upcoming fundraiser.

This focal piece is a huge unique rough chunk of pink opal that is mainly dark gray in color. I paired it with rose quartz, black obsidian and gunmetal (to complement the gray on the pendant). The winner is going to have a one of a kind creation sure to receive many compliments (I hope)!

The fundraiser is called "What's in the Bag" and is a handbag/accessories theme! I'm sure the female attendees will love this fundraiser!

The weather is gorgeous this weekend! I have all sort of lilies, tulips and irises working their way out of the ground! So far crocuses are all that is blooming:

These are really sweet...petite sized. I do have some leaf clean up to take care of though!!!

Thank you Lu from Crocheted Little Things for picking my blog for this fun questionnaire!

~*!*~List of Fours~*!*~

1. Four shows that you watch:
~ Mad Men
~ Breaking Bad
~ Glee
~ Celebrity Apprentice

2. Four things you are passionate about:
~ laughter
~ travelling
~ jewelry
~ cooking

3. Four words/phrases you say a lot:
~ whozejigger (a family word, no idea how to spell this! it is a term used to describe an item....any item)
~ seriously?
~ that's crazy!
~ I love pizza.

4. Four things you've learned from the past:
~ It's easiest to go with the flow and accept things as they come!
~ I have an anxiety problem.
~ Go with my gut!
~ Enjoy the little things in life.

5. Four places you would like to go:
I have been fortunate enough to have travelled a bit in my 20s so I have seen some great places. Still on my list are:
~ The Grand Canyon (I want to ride a donkey down like the Bradys)
~ Barcelona (my friend attempted to visit here twice, but the first time the cruise line we were booked on folded and the second time was the day of the bombing in Madrid...ended up in London that time)
~ Africa for a safari
~ Hawaii

6. Four things you did yesterday:
~ chores
~ went to the gym
~ had dinner with my friends
~ discovered a local wine bar with my man

7. Four things you are looking forward to:
~ going to sleep tonight after a perfect weekend
~ my next vacation (although not planned)
~ looking forward to the day when I am sharing a house with more than 2 cats...human interaction would be nice in the household
~ retirement

8. Four things you love about Winter:
I really dislike winter so this is difficult to answer!
~ homemade soups
~ sweaters
~ snow days (rare for an adult but I did have a couple this year!)
~ being near a fireplace

Until next week! ~Val

My Latest Etsy Purchases!

2011-04-03T12:29:00.021-04:00

I found the cutest things on Etsy for my nieces and nephew for Easter!

These are I Spy Bags made by Kimberly of KNH Designs.
The kids have to find the items listed on the card within the window!

Photos are on the back for the little ones!

The oldest who is turning 9 this month, has a more difficult version. In addition to the items listed, she must also find 11 individual white treasures that are not listed....tricky!

Visit Kimberly's shop at www.KNHDesigns.com or on Etsy. She also makes wonderful quilts, blankets, hooded towels and more. Such great gift ideas!

Also this week I received a fun crocheted scarflette from Maria of 365 Bags.

This is 10 feet long and can be wrapped in a variety of ways for a unique look. Maria also makes these in other colors!

She makes adorable accessories. I love her hats!!!

This flower headband is perfect for Spring!

Check out Maria's shop on Etsy. She also has a blog.

So the last pottery class is Monday night. :(

I love how my plate came out. I have no shame in admitting that it came out perfect...uniform and level! The glaze is super funky! The first glaze did not take all the way since I handpainted it on. I like the look of it though so I just put a coat of clear on top of it!

This other piece came out cool. It is a plate/bowl....somewhere in between!

I have 2 more pieces that were being fired that hopefully look great! I used a stamp around the pieces which created a cool design! My fingers are crossed! Thank you for reading....Until next week....Val :)

Pottery Class is Almost Over!

2011-03-27T13:02:00.017-04:00

Our last pottery class is April 4th.

This little bowl came out perfectly. I love the detail near the base.

We made some random free hand dishes by rolling the clay and imprinting it for texture. The color did not come out as anticipated.

We have learned a lot, such as not dropping your pieces in the glaze like I did with this one! It messed it all up! I left it this way for the kiln since I thought it would be interesting....which it is!

The screw up created some neat texture!

I'm looking forward to the next class. My plate should be complete. It is totally even....shocker! I also have a bowl/plate (not sure which to call it) coming out of the kiln which hopefully looks cool glazed.

I have 2 more pieces to prep for their first firing too. One is a vase which is not that great, however I'm hoping to tool it in a way that it will be useful! My intention was to create an in between sized vase. I have a large crystal one perfect for the beautiful bouquets Jim gives me. A week later though some of the flowers have passed their prime and I need a smaller vase to transer the healthy flowers to so I can continue to enjoy the bouquet. The only other vase I have is a bud vase. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I love this stone which is natural fossil stone. It is a wonderful earthy tone! Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Adorable Easter Cards and A Storewide Sale!!!

2011-03-20T10:07:00.010-04:00

Storewide sale at www.missvalscreations.com now thru Saturday March 26th. 10% off all finished jewelry and jewerly making supplies, tools, etc.!!!!

I bought these sweet Easter cards for my nieces and nephew from Karen of The Blueberry Basket on Etsy!

2 of them have a small card that opens on top to write a note in....love it!

The blue card opens up to pretty details inside including rabbit ears!

Check out Karen's shop on Etsy for a great selection of greeting cards and gift card holders! Karen also makes fun composition books such as this one.

She has a blog for her photography here!
I enjoyed looking at her pictures! This eagle is stunning!

Hawaii!!! This desination is on my bucket list!!!

She has taken beautiful shots of hummingbirds too! This must have been difficult to capture!

New Eyeglass Chains!

2011-03-13T15:32:00.005-04:00

With spring around the corner I wanted to work create some new eyeglass chains!

These are cat's eye glass beads in a variety of colors! I love the vibrant blue and green!!!

Saturday night was perfect! Jim and I went out for a margerita, then food shopping, then home to cook! Jim just learned how to make fritatta from his sister who recently returned from a trip to Spain where she learned how to make these.

I watched while enjoying my wine! This fabulous dish has 10 eggs, chedder & monterey jack cheeses, petite bello mushrooms, zuchinni, spinach and broccoli. It was topped off with cherry tomatoes that cooked up perfectly on top!!!!

Delicious!!!! Next time he is going to try asparagus in the fritatta. Mmmm!

So Sad!

2011-03-06T10:54:00.014-05:00

I came across this vintage handbag a couple of years ago at the local Salvation Army store for only $3! I love it...circa 1960 and so very Mad Men!!!!

What is sad is that it is time to retire it. :( The handle is done!!!

It's just heart breaking! On another note....
I took a class in precious metal clay a while back but never blogged about it. Probably because I was disappointed with my work!
We worked with PMC3 and here are my pieces before being fired. I know....they look like crap!

The instructor was new to PMC and she expected the pieces to come out of the kiln black and I wanted my pieces to look rough. The opposite happened and they came out white...looking like chaulk.

The clay is not easy to work with. I forget how many ounces there were but the piece was so tiny and tricky to add designs to. Was I expecting a huge clump of almost pure silver to work with?! Who knows!

After being fired, the pieces needed to be sanded with several pieces of paper from extremely course to very fine.

After sanding, I sort of like my hearts. I may make a little necklace and earrings set with these pieces....not sure yet.

Classes are great. I learned that PMC is not for me but I did have fun in the class! It has also given great respect for those of you who do work with PMC! Pottery is more up my alley. I should have some cool pictures in April to post of our creations!

I wish my saturdays were this relaxing!!!!! Do they know how great their life is? Emmett looks angry that I disrupted his slumber!

Latest Commissioned Order!

2011-02-28T08:28:00.006-05:00

My customer requested this beautiful set! She was looking for a strand of turquoise and a strand of red coral that she could twist together for a fabulous look!

These 17" strands can also be worn alone.

Another way she could wear them is by clasping the decorative toggles together to create a 34" necklace symmetrically or asymetrically!

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

2011-02-24T15:00:00.010-05:00

First I just wanted to share a wonderful blog post by fellow blogger friend, Liberty. She received a pair of pretty peach dangles from my shop and I am very happy she loves them!

Take a look at Liberty's Etsy shop for super cute coffee cozies like this one! Here is her blog!

Thank you Liberty!
Aspenfire Designs has featured my teal awareness ribbon lanyard in their Artfire Collection titled Ovarian Cancer Awareness. This cancer is the fifth most common in women and we need to pay attention to it.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Curated By: aspenfiredesi...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

I checked out Aspenfire Designs shop which features jewelry including southwest inspired, earthy, sand & surf, oriental, spiritual, whimsical and gothic! Such a great variety!

This piece really caught my eye!

Back in stock is bezel wire!

When Irish Eyes are Smiling!

2011-02-23T15:08:00.003-05:00

This is my pretty girl Alice. She is difficult to get a picture of since she suffers from feline paranoia! She is such a sweet, loving girl but I have a feeling she was abused as a kitten. She has a great life now with me and her fellow adopted friend Emmett. They were rescued from the same 'hood in a tough city near me so they have quite a past together!

My green aventurine eyeglass chain was featured in an Artfire Collection titled When Irish Eyes are Smiling by 3ddoodles.

When Irish Eyes are smiling

Curated By: 3ddoodles

ArtFire.com

Handmade Jewelry

3ddoodles is a handcrafted jewelry shop. I love this piece!

Thank you 3ddoodles!

Post Valentine's Day Post!

2011-02-17T09:51:00.010-05:00

I hope eveyone had a great Valentine's Day!

I made these pretty little necklaces and mailed them to my nieces who are 4 and 8 years old. They each got their own package with a card and a box of candy conversation hearts!

My nephew, who is 6, got this adorable boyish necklace! It is not that easy to come up with a boy's necklace! I've made him heishi shell necklaces before but wanted to come up with something different. I'm sure the kids loved opening their own packages that came in the mail!

My man, Jim, gave me a beautiful mixed bouquet. He always picks out such pretty combinations.

These yellow flowers are my favorite in this bunch!

We had fun in our pottery class. I accidently created a plate! The instructor told me those are difficult to make so I found that funny! Jim accidently created a candle holder that is shaped like a dish with a cup-like holder in the center. We were both aiming to create fruit bowls!!! I will be sure to post pictures once we have completed our pieces. Next week we will begin to learn glazing!

New in my shop are 10mm gemstone earring studs. I have been making 8mm studs for a couple of years but occasionally receive requests for larger ones. 10mm was doable. The size is bold and beautiful! The aventurine and turquoise already sold so I need to make new pairs already!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:13:00.009-05:00

I wish you all a wonderful Valentine's Day!

My boyfriend and I have pottery class at the Essex Art Center on Monday nights so it will be a fun night (preceded with Margherita pizza)! We had our romantic dinner Saturday night at a cozy local restaurant called the Black Water Grill. This was our table in the middle by the wall.

I'm not that great at pottery, but my man got the hand of the wheel right away (jealous). Apparently it takes relaxed hands to use the wheel....this is a struggle for me. I will be sure to post pictures once we have created blog worthy items!

New in my shop are awareness ribbon beads. These are great for various jewelry designs and crafts that have meaning. Each color has multiple meanings.

Artfire Collections!!!

2011-02-09T07:42:00.010-05:00

I'm Not Irish, But Kiss Me Anyway is a fun Collection by missteacherlady that includes my Celtic knot lanyard!

Im not Irish, but Kiss Me Anyway!

Curated By: missteacherlady

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Miss Teacher Lady creates fun scrapbooking embellishments, bookmarks, tags and more!

I love these embellishments from a vintage book!

Find Miss Teacher Lady:
Etsy
Flickr
Artfire
Facebook

Think Red For Valentines Day is a Collection by Omisilver featuring my red fossil stone bracelet!

Think Red for Valentines Day

Curated By: Omisilver

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

Omi Silver is a wonderful shop featuring sterling silver necklace, bracelets, earrings, pendants and rings. Most are made of Argentium silver which is as pure as sterling but does not tarnish!

I always admire chainmaille work. How amazing is this piece?

The color of this Calcedony is fantastic!!!

Omi Silver can be found here
Artfire
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Thank you ladies for the features!!!

Pookie Creations!!!

2011-02-04T08:09:00.019-05:00

I would like to introduce everyone to my friend Melissa's shop Pookie Creations! We have been friends since our teen years and she has always been creative. I'm so happy for her starting her crafting business!!!

Melissa makes adorable coin purses, checkbook covers, handbags and tile coasters!

I love the fabric on this one! It makes me chuckle!

Wooden handles are so fun!

I love these wild coasters!

Melissa can be found on Facebook, Etsy and Artfire.

On another note, I am honored to be part of a heart loving Artfire Collection!

Pale Moon Creations has featured my heart disease lanyard in her Collection titled Love Your Heart!

Love Your Heart!

Curated By: PaleMoonCreat...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Pale Moon Creations makes wonderful jewelry pieces including chunky bracelets, altered jewelry art, earring, necklaces and more!

I love this Tree Of Life bracelet!

Check out Pale Moon Creations:
Artfire
Facebook
Etsy

Love This Artfire Purchase....Also A Feature!!!

2011-01-31T07:49:00.006-05:00

I bought this fabulous brown sugar lib scrub from Michelle of Cozy Moments on Artfire. It is all natural made up of shea butter, brown sugar, pure cane sugar, jojoba oil, coconut oil and vitamin E.

The sugar scrubs any dead skin off beautifully. The softening ingredients make the lips silky snooth!

Michelle also included a sample of her pink coconut creme goat's milk soap which smell delicous and leaves my skin all moisturized!

Check out Cozy Moments for variety of skin care items including boby butters, perfume, hair care, shower gels and more!

My peacock pearl earring have been featured in Pretty as a Peacock by OHMYCREATIONS on Artfire!

PRETTY AS A PEACOCK

Curated By: OHMYCREATIONS

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

OHMYCREATIONS has a wonderful assortment of perfumes, room sprays, jewelry, oil lamps and more!

I love the oil lamps!

Thank you Donna and Joe for the feature!!!

A Great Book on Natural Remedies!!!

2011-01-25T08:31:00.012-05:00

So I wanted to give my boyfriend a cool book on herbs since he is into healthy eating and is curious about the health benefits of various foods and spices. In my search I came across this book:

It was on the Barnes and Noble website with no buyer reviews. I am all about reading reviews before buying many things! This book is titled The Illustrated Guide to Herbal Home Remedies by Jessica Houdret.

It sounded perfect so I took a chance! The book is wonderful! It contains over 750 colorful photos making it a more enjoyable read!

It explains how to grow the herbs. There is an index of 235 herbs...many I have never heard of. Since it was published in England there may be herbs that we do not have here in the states. The book talks about each herbs history, its uses, benefits and more!

The books has write ups on ailments that many of us experience and how to naturally deal with them. This includes everything from indigestion, the common cold, headaches, poor circulation, etc.

I am not at all affiliated with Barnes and Noble or the publisher, but just wanted to share this discovery with others who may be interested in such a book. My man loved it! I have since written a brief positive review on their website for future shoppers!