Saturday Morning at the Market & My Most Favorite Dog

I love going to the market and purchasing locally grown vegetables. I totally believe in supporting local businesses and would rather eat fresh than frozen. The Rochester Public market is the largest in our area and a very good market.....I go there often and its great because its open in the winter.  But..........my favorite is the Fairport Public Market! I think in part because I have this love for Fairport....kinda like Mayberry.....and the fact that its all local farmers & growers plus its smaller in scale. Plenty of vendors.......plenty of variety.........all with that sweet home town charm.

So after my morning walk I drove out the the Market and picked up only a few items.

Could not resist the bouquets of flowers. Picked up a bunch of Sunflowers (my favorites), a bunch of SnapDragons and some Zinneas. Flowers just have a way of making you feel good.

I also got a few tomatoes, a zucchini and some blueberries....I like eating handfuls as a snack. To top off my market stroll, I got my absolute favorite thing to eat (drum roll...................) A carrot dog!!

I attempt to get everyone to love these things just as much as I do. I tell everyone I know about them. This guy who sells them has probably done very well from all the word of mouth I give as well as from others. I love them so much that I now make them myself just about once or twice every few weeks. I do get plenty of eye rolls from men especially but once they give it a chance they learn that these are quite good. Here is my recipe that I figured out on my own (the original carrot dog guy wasn't giving up any of his clues to how to make them).......so simple

Carrot Dogs:
Large carrots- as many as you'd like to make
Cut carrot ends off and boil in water until tender (I'm guessing about 20 minutes)
Remove and marinate in Italian dressing- I use Parmesan Italian dressing- for either a few hours or overnight.
Grill just as you would a hot dog. You should get some nice brown areas
Grill your bun (I like whole wheat)
Put on the bun and add your favorite toppings. I love mustard and onions!!

I tried to get our lunch ladies at school to serve these but again.......the eye roll.

On to beads........I will be making some beads today of course. A few hearts but also some other items. I really need to get going on prepping for upcoming shows. Tomorrow I should be posting new items to my Etsy Shop as well.

My flowers are sure to influence some Art Journaling today too.

Studio Monday

Yes my studio is messy. But this is how I work. Yesterday I made a few pendant beads and was experimenting a bit too. Show and tell will come later.

Really...its an organized mess. If I were to clean it up I don't think I'd be able to find things easily.

Love using murrini. When I have time or the interest I make it myself. Otherwise I purchase my murrini.

In between beads I played around in my Art Journal. Listing colors of some new watercolor crayons and pastels.

Lunch at the pizza shop and noticed the beautiful mural that is being worked on across the street at the floral shop. To bad no one was actually working on it at the time. Can't wait to see the finished result!

What was your Monday like?

The Heat is On!

This past week has been very hot with one of the days being labeled "excessively HOT"...where I live we reached 104 degrees with horrible humidity! So, as you might guess, this has put the brakes on beadmaking! I did tough it out yesterday in the 92 degrees but it was only for a short time to get components made for a necklace order.

Since I have a hard time sitting still and not creating something, I've been devoting my time to painting and Art Journaling. One night I spent sometime with my friend Joanne and she had a group of us create large paintings that we transformed into books. A nice night of mess making. Pictured above is my large painting and as you can see, I love circles! This seems to be a theme I've been working with rather unconsciously in both my paintings and my beads.

One evening I hosted an Art Therapy Night where a few ladies came over to paint and make some pmc charms......it was fun.....Hot Fun being that it was a sultry evening!

On Wednesday mornings I host an Art Class for Kids. We have hours of fun painting and other sorts of art making...

My sister and I went to a Red Wings game one eveing and had a great time reminiscing when we worked at the ball park as teenagers. It was suppose to be a group of 6 of us but everyone bailed out so it was just a sister thing that night. Check out my picture of the horse made from baseball mits....anything can be used to make ARt!

Today I think I will continue on with some painting and also tough it out once again to make a few beads. I love the warm weather but the humidity is not fun....my hair is a complete crazy mass, I move like a snail and I don't feel like eating a thing......visualize that!

What do you do in the heat??

Trying New Things

Its so much fun exploring new things. The summer gives me that time to do just that....I've been painting- working with plaster- Art Journaling- beading with seed beads  (generally not my thing) and taking classes. Art journaling has been so relaxing. I'm not much for planning so the "happening" approach to working with my journal pages has really suited me. I'll have a picture next time of what I've done.

I just took a class with Barbara Becker Simon and learned how to create her amazing bangle bracelets. Everyone in the class used Bronze clay but me being the odd ball...I used PMC Pro. This pmc has less silver content (90% rather than .999% like the other silver pmc's) but fires to a stronger hardness so I'm told and able to withstand punishment that goes with wearing a bangle. I'm pretty happy with my result....a few people in class ended up with broken bracelets due to firing issues...so I'm really happy I actually have something I can wear.

 This is the seed bead bracelet I made yesterday. Like I said-this typically isn't my thing but I really liked this bracelet. Apparently its all the rage right now and really simple to make. The part that took the longest was adding the little clearish seed beads just because of their size.......really a quick bracelet once you know what your doing. A very similar bracelet but with just one row (think just my green beads in the center as one row) appears in the Sundance cataloge for a pretty big price. The bracelet in Sundance does wrap around the wrist 3 times but its this same concept just long and narrow.

Hearts for Hannah- To Know Someone

The check has been cut and we are just waiting to pass it onto Joining Hearts and Hands! Summer schedules can be hard to coordinate... but it should be very soon that we can personally present the check!

 I wanted you all to know what a hugh success Hearts for Hannah has been. I am so thrilled that each year I have done Hearts for Hannah, the response has grown and grown. This year we made as much as we did the 2 previous years combined! It was so close to 2000.00...1800.00 to be exact! That means I made about 92 hearts!!! 

Hannah's family is so appreciative of this event I hold each June to honor their daughter & sister. The Congdon family passed me this writing piece that Hannah did as a writing assignment Senior year. This speaks volumes as to the nature of Hannah and her wish for love & kindness. I thought you'd like to read it...permission to post this was given by the family...

About Me                                                                                  

by, Hannah Congdon  

I like to smile, be loud and bubbly

But there is more to me than what you see

I am not just a cheerleader who’s really preppy.

I believe I am here to make a difference

To help those who need it the most.

To give them strength and comfort when it is needed.

I miss the times when I could sleep forever

And had no worries in the world.

I could play all day and just be me.

I fear the world I do not know

And what only time will tell.

I don’t like not knowing what happens next

Or what is in store for my future.

I love to love.

I think all the world needs is love

And for everyone to get along.

I don’t like war and hope for peace on Earth.

I hate when people don’t get along

Or fight over stupid reasons.

Life is too short to be caught up in drama.

I wish people would treat others with respect.

Listen when they are talking

And don’t talk while they are talking.

I like to be known as a cheerleader

But there is more to me than that.

I hope to someday make a difference in the world

So it will be a better place for everyone.

Peace, Love, Happiness. 

I certainly hope that by reading this you feel wonderful about being part of Hearts for Hannah. This was Hannah's dream....to make a difference and that is what all of you are doing by purchasing a heart designed by me each June. Thank you.

Garden Art and Walkabouts

I love garden art. After the warm weather months have ended, I like to bring a few of my outdoor items inside to enjoy. This fall we will have our new 3 season room to enjoy along with my pebble fountain pictured here.

Every morning I begin the day with a walk....a walkabout! Its peaceful and meditative. My husband has been joining me most mornings and I think he is really enjoying them too. 

We live near a park so some of the times we will walk thru the park to see what we see. Here is a beautiful piece of driftwood that someone placed in this perfect clearing. Love the organic shape of it!

Onto Bead News: My latest pendants are what I call playful shapes. I have a few in my Etsy Shop right now that you can peek at. Just a pleasing shape with plenty of color and designs. I'm on my laptop sitting outside writing this post and I don't have my photos on here....please take a look. I love them and I sure hope you do too.

Second Saturday Open Studio

What a fun day. It was a perfect weather day too...sun shining...not too hot...just beautiful. This gorgeous  day was also my first Second Saturday Open Studio. I will be doing this most every second saturday of the month and will feature different things....maybe a "Quickie" class or "Bead Special" or whatever I dream up. Today I had people coming and going from 11:00- 2:00...never a dull moment.....the feature was a Quickie PMC class and I had many taking part in this bargin of a class. Just a great day to hang out and play.

Last night I made a few of these new pendants...I love organic shapes!

I also had more hearts but as you can guess.........they are gone :) I'm going to put a few of these in my etsy shop to see how they do. I like this one......actually there are a few I'd like to keep for myself but of course I won't

Please visit my Etsy Shop to see what I have...Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!

More Etsy Updating

I have really been focused on my Etsy Shop updates this last week since I've done such a poor job of it prior. Today I will have the hearts shown below available along with some beads and buttons. Look for these items later today....around 4:00.

I'm on a butterfly theme at the moment....love them!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy fourth everyone! For many of us, today is a day of parades, picnics and fireworks all in celebration of our nations independence! When I was growing up our Fourth of July weekend began with a weekend garage sale, trips up to the Town Hall for the festivities,  parade watching on the fourth (I actually was in many of the parades for one thing or another) and then a family picnic. These are some of my fondest memories since we generally gathered at our home because of our big backyard and pool.

Our picnics had the typical foods but what was really special were the desserts my mother made. Yesterday when I was cooking for our picnic with the neighbors, I came across a recipe my mom had written out for me years ago called, Our Delight. I must have asked her for this recipe for a dessert contest I must have been in since the post script said, "I'm sure this will take first place". So, yesterday I made this dessert and it was a hit with everyone......including the neighbor who claimed to not be a dessert person!

Here is the recipe. I hope you'll try it out.......it was wonderful! I had it for breakfast this morning :)

Our Delight

Crust:

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup butter- melted

Filling:

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

4 oz cream cheese- room temp.

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 3/3/4 oz boxes of instant vanilla pudding

21/4 cups milk

2 bananas - sliced

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup flaked coconut (I didn't use this since I forgot to get it when I was at the store)

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350

Combine flour, pecans and butter

Pat down into 9x13 baking dish & bake until light brown- 20-25 minutes

Let cool completely

For Filling:

Beat 11/4 cup cream with cream cheese and sugar until thoroughly blended (kinda like soft peaks)

Spread over cooled crust and chill

Mix pudding packets with milk until thickened.

Spread over cream cheese mixture & chill

Thinly slice banananas and arrange in a single layer over pudding

Whip more cream and spread over bananas ...sprinkle with coconut

Chill & serve!

Etsy Shop Update!- Day 3

I have several more hearts to place in my shop today. I've included a patriotic heart that I just love.....a few rainbow hearts and some others. Although this is a holiday weekend I hope you'll try and visit my Etsy shop for a heart of 2 :)

I'm actually going to take today off from beadmaking to enjoy some picnicing with friends. I'll be back to work on the 4th for a little bit but today is just fun fun fun.........Oh ..my comma key is broken so I have to use ...

Etsy Shop Update!- Day 2

Its always good to stick with something when your on a roll. I've been making hearts daily now for over a month and I just can't stop! So, with keeping my focus on updating my etsy shop, here are more hearts. This is a group shot of what will be in later this morning...visit my Etsy Shop shortly for these hearts.

I'll post more tomorrow but will be taking the 4th of July off. Fireworks, picnics and fun will be the order of the day come Monday. 

Tomorrow I plan on getting back to my Sketchbook Sunday.....I will post hearts but will also be writing about my Sketching. Hope you'll check in with me tomorrow too.

Etsy Shop Update!

My shop has not been a priority as of late but I am now dedicating some time to it! Since my Hearts for Hannah fundraiser is completed for this year, I will now be placing hearts in my Etsy Shop. Here are the hearts that are going up today......actually right after I make this post!

These hearts will remain the same low cost of $20.00 for the month of July and then go up slightly (still an awesome price) in August to $25.00. Hope you will pop over to my shop and grab a heart or 9 :) I will have more to post tomorrow along with some other things. Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!