Friday, July 10, 2009

Shop Restocked!

I received my jewelry back from my friend in Vegas, and what didn't sell has been listed back in my shop. I'm OPEN for business :) I hope to add some new pieces to my shop this weekend as well.



Since I don't have any new jewelry photos to share, I will share a few photos from our recent trip to Vegas:


View at Red Rock Canyon

Goofing around in the canyons at Valley of Fire State Park

Cute little rabbit at Valley of Fire State Park

Mark and I at Red Rock Canyon

Cool petroglyphs at Valley of Fire State Park

Monday, July 6, 2009

Sweet Bead Studio

Cindy of Sweet Bead Studio is having an amazing giveaway this week! She is picking 3 lucky winners to win one of three awesome prizes. There are many ways to enter, and there is still time left! The deadline to enter is July 8th. The prizes consist of a small embossing hammer from Bill Fretz:


A mixed metal stamped heart pendant:

and a stamped copper, wirework and lampwork bracelet


Cindy makes really cool jewelry, and hope you will take the time to check out her Etsy store, and enter here for a chance to win!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Etsy Owls Spotlight!

As I've mentioned before, I am a member of the Etsy OWLS team (Off the Wall Ladies). The members take turns writing a spotlight blog post each month, and I did my first one today. You can go to the team blog to see it. I decided to share the post here as well because I thought everyone might enjoy it. You should still go check out the Etsy OWLS blog though, there are many talented artists on it! The idea of the spotlight post is to get members involved in sharing something on the blog that might be of interest to everyone. I decided to post about Cooper, my loveable, not so little anymore puppy. Since he is such a good dog, I decided the other day that he deserved some really good treats. I found a recipe in Cooking the Three Dog Way by Mark Beckloff and Dan Dye, the owners of the Three Dog Bakery (Cooper's favorite store, by the way!). You can check out the book and recipes on Amazon here. I decided to make Belly Rub Brownies because what dog wouldn't want these?! Here is the recipe:


Belly Rub Brownies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons carob powder (I bought mine at the health food store)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup canola oil (I didn't have any, so I used vegetable oil instead)

3/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with nonstick vegetable spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and carob powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk honey and oil together. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine well. Spread the batter into the baking dish. Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes or until set. Let cool to room temperature, then cut into squares.

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

Wet and dry ingredients



Ready for the oven! I tasted the batter, while Cooper got to lick the spoon, and we both agreed it was yummy even before baking!

Ready to eat!

Are those for me? Really? Is this a joke??

I will do ANYTHING you want...ANYTHING!!

Can I has just one more? PLEASE!!

As you can see, Cooper really enjoyed his treats! I have to say, he never performs his tricks as well as when I am holding one of these brownies! If you have a dog, I hope you try these yummy treats, and if you don't, surely there is a neighbor or friend with a dog who would love these! Enjoy!!