Nutella..an addiction and now a new jewelry project!

Welcome to 2011! I hope everyone's New Year was blissful and surrounded by family and friends. At home, ours was quiet and my daughter fell asleep 15 min before midnight. The infant stayed up though. My hubby and I kissed in the new year with sparkling grape juice (i'm nursing so bubbly will have to wait another year or so). New Year's is always special for the hubby and I because it's the anniversary of our first date. So it's always a romantic and special night for us when we kiss in the new year.

If you haven't had Nutella, a rich chocolaty hazelnut spread of uber goodness, then you are missing out on one of the best tastes of the world! I cannot tell you how wonderful this stuff is! It has caused a sensation in our house and has litterally spread throughout the rest of my family as a wonderful treat turned addiction. My husband equates it to that of a drug addiction and claims I'm his Nutella dealer. Whatever my darling you need  to say in order to come clean about being a Nutella-holic. That being said, my sister in-law is a nutella nut as well. In fact she's worse than i am she has the little 1/2 oz. packages in her purse! OMG and i thought my hubby was bad. Well to that end the addicition has provided me with a way to make her Bling that will go along with her love for the wonderful hazelnut spread that is Nutella.

I have found a wonderful seller on Etsy that has Nutella jar beads! Yes you read right Nutella Jar beads! I plan to make her a bracelet to celebrate her love of Nutella. This will be so cool and give me the opportunity to use some chocolate pearls and shades of Topaz and brown Swarovski crystals. My pearls are just wonderful and will look great with the theme of  chocolate.

 

The shade of Swarovski crystals I plan to use are the following: 

Smoked Topaz

 Crystal Golden Shadow

 Light Smoked Topaz

 Mocca

I think that mix will be a nice accent to the jar beads. I still need to find a clasp that will do though. Antiqued Copper would be nice and coordinating head and eyepins. This is going to be great.

Bling Element: Hematite

Metallics abounding in fashion magazines for winter season, I decided to make a pair of earrings that are metallic and smokey. I used hematite beads and sterling silver parts. At 1.5 inches these little hematite danglers are perfect for a night out and reminds me of New Years' Eve.

Hematite, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, is an iron ore. Ferric Oxide to be exact. The Greeks gave this mineral it's name due to it's red properties that reminded them of blood (think rust). The steely gray color is just one form of the minerals color spectrum. The gray color also occurs because of it's crystaline structre which make sit different from rust, though the two have the same chemical formula. According to NASA, hematite is an indicator that Mars may have had water on the surface at one point. Back here on Planeta Terra, the stone is noted for it's magnetic and healing properties. Often thought to purify the blood, During Victorian times the dark stone was worn during mourning periods. Another said use for the stone is to help with mental organization. Maybe i should wear it more often..my whole house needs to be better organized. Hematite is also associated with root chakra to ground and balance the body.

For me it's a beautiful dark stone I love using in design and wearing. In fact one of my most treasured pieces of jewelry is a hematite arrowhead necklace made by the Pueblo Indians from New Mexico that my then boyfriend, now husband bought for me.

Add a piece of steel gray bling this winter to your wardobe!

New Look To my Artfire Store

So the look to my blog has changed and now so has the look to my Artfire.com store. I have renamed my Shoppe and called it Encantada Creations by Christina. I really love the look and found an artist on Artfire who could supply me with a fabulous banner and avatar. Really looking forward t relaunching and getting the word out. I have a few more earrings i want to add to my store offerings and am very excited about.

If you click on the box that has an "EC" on the right hand bar it will take you to my shoppe. On the left hand bar is my Rapid Cart where you can click and purchase straight from my blog. No sign-up to artfire needed. yay! so excited!

Strawberries!

Strawberries are my fave fruit on the planet. My mom said when we lived in California that we'd go out to the strawberry patches and buy them fresh from the growers. Going home with Strawberries my parents had to buy me my own case because I'd go through it on the way back to Ft. Irwin. Mind you I was only 3. Well almost 27 years later it is still my fave fruit when market prices are great and they are from California.

So my post today will have some awesome recipes and jewelry that is strawberry themed.

The fragrantly sweet juiciness and deep red color of strawberries can brighten up both the taste and aesthetics of any meal; it is no wonder they are the most popular berry fruit in the world. Although strawberries have become increasingly available year-round, they are at the peak of their season from April through July when they are the most delicious and most abundant.

While there are more than 600 varieties of strawberries that differ in flavor, size and texture, one can usually identify a strawberry by its red flesh that has yellow seeds piercing its surface, and the small, regal, green leafy cap and stem that adorn its crown. In addition to strawberries that are cultivated, there are also varieties that grow wild. These are much smaller in size, but feature a more intense flavor.

Recipes:

Strawberry Tiramisu for 2

Ingredients

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
• 18 ladyfingers
• 1/3 cup chilled espresso
• 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Cut off the tops of the strawberries and slice the berries. Reserve 2 large whole berries for garnish.
2. In a blender, place 2 cups of strawberries and 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar; blend to puree and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and liqueur; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until thickened.
4. Place 6 ladyfingers on a serving plate and brush each with approximately 1 teaspoon cold espresso coffee. Spread or pipe out 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the ladyfingers, and layer with half of the sliced strawberries.
5. Repeat with the next 6 ladyfingers, espresso, remaining cheese mixture, and sliced strawberries; top with remaining 6 ladyfingers.
6. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just whipped, approximately 1 minute. Spread cream evenly over top layer of ladyfingers.
7. Dust cocoa over whipped cream, and garnish with 2 reserved strawberries. Pour strawberry puree onto two serving plates. Cut tiramisu in half, and place onto puree.

Recipe: Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

Found this recipe on the blog One Ordinary Day it's really great!

4-6 lemons, enough to equal 1 cup of lemon juice

1-1 1/2 c. simple syrup (recipe follows)

16 oz. container of strawberries, cleaned and hulled

1 quart sparkling water

mint to garnish (I just used small strawberries for garnish.)

Juice the lemons to get 1 cup of lemon juice. Blend the strawberries and 1/2 c. of the simple syrup in a blender or with an immersion blender, until smooth. Strain to remove the seeds. Pour lemon juice, strawberry puree, 1/2 c. simple syrup, and sparkling water into a pitcher. Add more simple syrup if needed to achieve the sweetness you like. Add ice and chill.

Recipe: Simple Syrup

(I only used 1 c. of simple syrup for my pitcher of lemonade. If you want it more sweet than tart, use 3/4 c. sugar to 3/4 c. water and add it all.)

1 part sugar to 1 part water

Combine sugar and warm water. Stir to dissolve sugar. (This can also be done on t

he stovetop, but I found this was faster and easier.)

My love of strawberries extends into my wardrobe sometimes. I have a Vintage Sarah COVENTRY Strawberry Ice Silver tone Brooch. That I found on ebay. It's so cute to add to a dress or hat. It is just too cute.

My cup raneth over when i found a pair of D'Orsay style heels with strawberries on the toe. They are so one of my ultimate faves.

I just find them lovely.

Finally a throw back to 1983 i found this pic on photobucket. This is the tricycle i had when i was three! However i think mine was all red.

A Strawberry Shortcake Trike! I remember there was a big wheel gang and i had my trike! it was awesome times! up and down the block all day.

As we move into Spring i look forward to excellent Strawberries in all the foodie forms chefs and home cooks can think of. In salads, on shortcake, Ina Garten's strawberry country cake, Paula Deen's Strawberry cake, and just plain with fresh heavy cream and vanilla. One of God's greatest creations..The Strawberry!

Meet Mark

Okay in my love for makeup and jewelry I have decided to join the mark team. The makeup is trendy and very cute. The skincare is affordable and the jewelry is very stylish. Most important it's very budget friendly.

I just signed up today for only $20. They are mailing my start up kit and it comes with makeup, skin care, magalogs (catalogs) and a get started manual. Along with the $20 price I got a free eboutique! That is a biggie since with other companies it costs to have a website up to almost $200 a year.

I hope this endeavor will help me make some extra cash while providing customers with cute makeup and jewelry. If you'd like to check out my shop click on the pink mark Logo. If you have any questions let me know i will be more than happy to answer them.

My fave item right now is the Vintage Bloom Ring. It's so cute and come in two colors Nude and seafoam. This a great statement ring for a cocktail party or just to wear with jeans. The throw back to old glamour is huge now and this is the prefect peice to start a collection.
Check out my store at: http://creedy.mymarkstore.com/
Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

New bracelet!

Creativity continues to flow. I have a new bracelet i made ( actually had materials to make 2 of them). I call is Alma de Tierra because it has these beautiful faceted turquoise beads and these cool Capri Gold Czech glass beads to compliment them.

I just put them up in my Artfire store. Even thought he beads say they are gold in color it looks more like a high shine copper...almost like copper foil. Delicate against the strong turquoise beads which look great faceted. I hav a thing for faceted beads they just have such great dimesnion and i LOVE the way they catch light.

Still Trying to close up the necklace in progress and i need to get some suede cord for the turqouise pendant i have. If it seems like i'm a bit turqouise obsessed..yes i am. I do plan on moving on eventually out of my Turquoise Phase if you will.

The turqouise is more blue because of copper present in the vien wher eit was extracted. when turqouise is more green the more Iron is present in the rock surrounding it. I happen to love Turqouise in all it's forms and colors. which is why I create with it so much. Being inthe southwest there is a definete market for it and I just love how it looks on all skin types. Will post more jewelry when it's created. Until next time!

Artfire.com Store

I have entered the world of handmade crafts!

My new store on Artfire.com is sweet! Need a logo to be done but that is not difficult. My store name is going to be A Different Shade of Me. My colors will be Raspberry and a dark purple and gold. Lovin' it! The name is inspired by all the different ways a woman can choose to change her look. Since i do that with color a lot, i wanted to incorproate that and came up with shades of color and then the light bubl inmy head became ever so bright and the name to my store was born. why the choice of "Me" instead of "you"? I wanted to make it personal. Different Shades of You is like looking at the woman and it seemed so impersonal while A Different Shade of Me make it personal, like the product could reflect any mood at any given moment. So if i want to be elegant today there would be soemthing in my store to fit that shade or persona of a client. If she wants to reveal her bold side, then there would be soemthing to reflect that shade of her peronality. It's just wonderful.

I've already got items up and am planning to create some more. I also take custom orders for those who want soemthing unique or woudl like an item in a specific color to suit thier shade or desire of the moment or occassion ( like a wedding, quinceanera, sweet 16 etc) Stop by take a look and if anything fits your shade, make a purchase.

Better Pictures & Bookmarks

Learning to take better pictures and taking advantage of the Texas sunlight is a very good thing. Big bonus is i do not have to purchase a light box and all that jazz yet.

so here are a few bookmarks I've made and i know I've posted a few of them already but, i think the photographing is better this time around.

Decided to call this on Blue Midnight. It has Black Onyx faceted beads and a aquamarine Swarovski Bicone bead with Daisy Spacers. I love the way the trees are reflected in the silver bookmark.



This one is by far my fave. Love the filigree metal bead and the colors used. Have a thing for the olive color family it seems. The name of this bookmark is simply Butterfly.


This bookmark just has charm. The sweet color palette inspired the name of Sweet Love. It has quite an innocence about it and is soothing.

I so need to retake photos of my ribbon bookmarks and decade rosaries. Can't wait to share them.
Fun!

Bead Swap August 2009 Part 2

Okay the Bracelet and matchign earrings are finished!

Thank you to Cathy Dailey of CathyDailey's Handcrafted Artisan Findings for the wonderful Hammered Links and the S clasp. Will so order more, my mom wants me to recreate this bracelet set for her.

Here they are:



This experience has been wonderful. I enjoyed creating and making this bracelet and then had to make earrings.

Tropical rainforest, with colors that can go into fall and winter seamlessly. They would so look great with jeans and a cute top (See previous post to see the inspiring plants that helped make this creation possible.). Could een go with a simple black dress.

Getting better at Photo editing and lighting. These were taken outside and i just love the pictures. So happy with the results. This rekindled my passion for creating jewelry. Hope to open my own Etsy or Artfire.com store.

Beadswap August 2009

This month i joined a beadswap in the Yahoo group i belong to. The group is called Beadingaholics.
Beadingaholics is a support group for anyone addicted to beading, stringing, wire working, PMC jewellry, Polymer clay, wire crochet knitting, chain maille, gemstones, seed beads, lampwork, all other types of sparkling jewellery adornments. Our family of friends is always here to help you with any problems you might be having, lend advice creativity, to help you develop your craving for more beads beautiful jewelry!

The theme is Tropical Rainforest. I had been looking for pictures that would take into consideration the coming fall trends so that the bracelet could be worn for months to come. so i considered the rainforest in the Northwestern US and did find some promising pictures but could not find beads or the right inspiration to compliment my vision.

I had gone with a sketch of something that had bright tropical colors out of frustration and even purchased $20 worth of matierals to compelte the multi-strand bracelet. Still, not happy with what I had.

So to my bead stash i fly. I had these huge almost 30mm long acrylic beads that were just sitting in my bead box. There was start of my inspiration.. Pulling ovlie beads and jade and pearls and faceted glass beads and some new metal beads this is what resulted:


I have my acrylic beads then lemon faceted jade, purple peacock pearls, olive Czech glass, Silvertone Hibiscus bead.

Then it slightly changes to accomidate a more opaque acrylic bead with gold shimmer in it.


The bead at the most left is the the change but it's beautiful. It also makes the skin kinda glow.

my inspiration was these pictures i found of a terrarium on this orchid forum i stumbled on to:

OrchidBroad

Here are the 3 pictures i took great inspiration from:



This was just a burst of inspiration and i'm so glad i could use beads i already ahd. now i just need to string and get a clasp.

Bling accomplished! will post finished product soon!

Beaded Bookmarks...Bling for your books!

Okay so i am a bibliophile.

I love books with great covers and great stories..who doesn't?

i find myself trying to coordinate my bookmarks to the story or to the cover...most times the cover...i love great cover art.

So i have made a few beaded bookmarks with Silver Plated Shepard's Hooks. Just so easy to threat a headpin and attach to the hook. Simple and an elegant look.

I'm going to add some to my Ecrater Store. It's hard parting with some of them because i get attached to the look.

I hope the photo editing stuff i Dled from Picasa helps.


This is so pretty. It's got cracked glass and a huge acrylic faceted bead with silver spacers. Every time I look at it, the word that comes to mind is "elegant." Though in the picture it looks very earthy. Any suggestions for a name?

Here is another one with glass beads and swarovksi beads. I have this one in copy of The Hindi-Bindi Club. Great read and has wonderful recipes too! I'm giving Indian cuisine a whirl this week and it's really flavorful! Using cilantro in a new way is so much fun. The flavor just feels so different with masalas. Yum!

I'm also reading a vampire novel and i have these dark burgundy czech beads that i wan tto use for the book. Then there are a few more i just made on a whim. Will post as soon as i can get them scanned and edited. Any suggestions on how to make the beads clear and beautiful would be great. I'm still new to the whole photo editing thingy.

I do take custom orders so if there is some biblio-bling that i can make for you let me know!

Happy Blingn!

Jewelry for the anniversary

With my 6th wedding anniversary coming up at the end of this month I wanted to do a post on jewelry appropriate for the occasion. Anything that sparkles is always great with me, however there is a new list of specific gemstones that one can present on such a grand occasion as a wedding anniversary.

Anniversary Year Stone or Precious Metal

1st Anniversary Gold

2nd Anniversary Garnet

3rd Anniversary Pearl

4th Anniversary Blue Topaz

5th Anniversary Sapphire

6th Anniversary Amethyst

7th Anniversary Onyx

8th Anniversary Tourmaline

9th Anniversary Lapis Lazuli

10th Anniversary Diamond

11th Anniversary Turquoise

12th Anniversary Jade

13th Anniversary Citrine

14th Anniversary Opal

15th Anniversary Ruby

20th Anniversary Emerald

25th Anniversary Sterling Silver

30th Anniversary Pearls

50th Anniversary Gold

60th Anniversary Diamond

65th Anniversary Star Sapphire

75th Anniversary Diamond

As you can see, a few of the gemstones are used for more than a single anniversary. Perhaps this is in part due to the widespread popularity of the particular jewel or gemstone.At any rate, most women love jewelry, so the gift of a brilliant gemstone on her wedding anniversary is sure to be appreciated.

Son weather it's a ring, necklace bracelet or other piece of jewelry I'm sure this list will greatly help your loved one find the perfect piece with a stone or metal that is appropriate for the year. also saves from over stimulation and indecision. Can't go wrong with a guide.

April the Diamond

The April gemstone is one of the most coveted of all the gemstones on the planet. It is the rock we all look forward to getting from a guy on bended knee. It is the subject of wars and fair trade. It sparkles and shimmers and catches the light in such a wonderful way that one cannot help but smile when that sparkle greets our eyes.

All you lucky April babies are blessed to have a stone that comes in a variety of colors and shades and are still called diamonds. Cognac, chocolate, black, blue, champagne, canary, pink, etc. They are all wonderful examples of the beautiful carbon stone. In fact, the varieties of colored diamond have a higher value than their colorless sisters. Whether it's in a ring, a necklace, a bracelet or any other peice of jewelry, diamonds are a joy to have in any collection.

Myths and legend behind the stoen suggest that Cupid used diamond tipped arrows and thus the reason why the stone is coupled with love.

The Hope diamond is NOT i repeat is NOT the largest diamond on the face of the planet.
The Golden Jubilee, with the weight of 545.67 carats, is the largest faceted diamond in the world. Rough stone weighed 755 carats and was discovered in Premier mine, South Africa in 1985. The Golden Jubilee was presented to the King of Thailand in 1997 for his Golden Jubilee - the 50th anniversary of his coronation. Prior to this event, the stone was simply known as the Unnamed Brown. Estimated value of the Golden Jubilee is $4-$12 million.
My favorite diamond is the Star of Africa:

The Cullinan I, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats is also known as the Star of Africa. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm, and has 76 facets. It's called the Cullinan I because it is the largest of 9 large stones cut from the 3106 carat Cullinan Diamond. Cullinan I was placed by King Edward in the Sovereign's Royal Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of London. Estimated value of Cullinan I is over $400 million!

But those are for royals. How can the everyday girl indulge in the April birthstone on a more realistic budget?

At Amazon diamond earrings can be quite reasonable at $59.99.

Kohl's Sterling Silver Diamond Circle Bracelet is a good investment piece at $75

Macy's has 14k White Gold Diamond Dragonfly Pendant (1/5 ct. t.w.) on sale for $179

jewelry can be fun and worth investing in since we wear it so often and it makes us feel great!

Find your diamond and let it shine!