Grace filled evenings

 
 
 
 
 

On the treasure hunt!

The weather here in Northern California has been just lovely as of late.  We have been busy tending to our garden and doing a bit of late spring cleaning.  I finally cleaned up my work area and it has given me a bit of a creative push.  I was able to move my sewing machine out of the closet and have been working on this mixed media piece.  I have been collecting antique and vintage prayer cards for a while now and decided that I would use one in this piece.  I took some old cards and copied them onto printable fabric.  I used some burlap for the background and stitched around it.  The top lace is part of a vintage goodie bag I picked up at my favorite antique store.  I also added a medal to finish it off.  I am pleased how it turned out.

I also found some great antique and vintage jewelry pieces that I have added into my jewelry.  Here is a sample!

Here are few rosaries that I have finished as well for my friend, Judy.

Busy Life!

 

I can't believe how fast this year is going.  My boys are busy, busy, busy!  Which means we are busy as well.  Our oldest is finishing up his first year in high school.  We now have two teenagers in the house and our little guy isn't really little any more.  I was watching all the young families at Mass this morning and remembering how fun that age is with children.  I also remember how exhausted I was as well.  This age come with its own set of challenges!  Oh boy! 

I have been busy with make many rosaries.  My new passion is scouring antique stores for vintage and antique medals and crucifixes to put into my pieces.  The top rosary is made from beautiful vintage Japanese glass beads in a rich butterscotch color.  I love the little variation of shade on each bead.  The next rosary is also vintage Japanese glass beads, but in green.  The yellow rosary is made from some yellow agate beads that reminded me of amber.  The  blue rosary features hand blown lamp work beads that are really sweet.  The last rosary is made from vintage stars and vintage striped Pater beads.  I love the color of this rosary.

Fun Stuff

My friend Jamie and I went to the local bead show a few weeks back.  We had a blast looking and oogling at all the pretties.  I ended up buying a good amount of beads.  The top bracelet is a triple strand of silver pyrite beads and a mix of stones.  I added some labradorite drops to add interest in the bracelet.  The second bracelet is also silver pyrite and just a mix of stones.  I like the simplicity of both.  The second bracelet was inspired by a bracelet I saw in the Sundance catalog.  It is my interpretation.


I was fortunate to be able to take a class this weekend to learn a new technique.  My class was on viking knit.  It was really fun and I love the look of the knitted piece.  The best part of the viking knit is pulling your piece through a draw plate and watching it get smaller and prettier. 

Moments

I have been trying to fine the time to do more jewelry work.  I have had these beads for quite some time.  The lava looking blue beads are from one of my mother in laws necklaces that I inherited.  I love the quirky look of them.  I little book pendant I found at my local antique store.  I love the patina on the pages.  The rest of the necklace is filled out with kyanite and Yayin beads.  I love the glow they give off. 

My friend Georgette brought these beads to me to make a rosary for her.  They are the millefiori style beads for the Aves and just red glass beads for the Paters.  The rosary turned out very nicely.

A New Necklace and My Mom

I have been working on some of my jewelry lately.  This piece is one I have had in my head for awhile.  The pendant is of Our Lady that was fashioned out of an old coin.  It was part of my mother-in-laws collection.  I like the blue accents on the necklace as well as the clear vintage rosary beads.  I am beginning to feel like life is getting back to some normalcy.  My mother passed away a month ago.  It had been a long, long fight with cancer and she succumbed to the disease mid last month.  It is still is hard to believe she is gone.  Yet she really was gone for me two years ago when they did brain surgery to remove the tumor and then whole brain radiation.  What an awful thing whole brain radiation is.  It took the women I knew as my mother away from me and my family.  Of course I loved my mom up to the end and I will always love my mother, but the essence of the women she was was gone after that.  I am sure it will hit me at some odd moment and I will break down, but I really feel I did a great amount of mourning two years ago.

Two of my new favorite recipes and perfect for warm weather entertaining.  The top pictures is from Dorie Greenspan and her cookbook Around My French Table.  It is a Savory Cheese and Chive bread and it is fabulous.  I have made it twice, it is very easy and the texture is so tender.  The key is to not over stir.  You can vary the flavorings by using different cheese and herbs.  The first time I made it I used Gruyere and Cheddar cheese.  This time I used Gruyere and Comte cheese, both were delicious!  I can't wait to try more recipes in her cookbook. 

The second picture is my new favorite salad.  I clipped the recipe out of our local newspaper.  It is a recipe adapted from Jacques Pepin.  It is a warm bean and bacon salad.  How can you go wrong? 

Warm Bean and Bacon Salad (adapted by Jacques Pepin)

8 ounces of Pancetta
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
two 15 1/2 ounce cans of Navy or small white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 avocados
1 lemon

Place pancetta or bacon in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Saute, covered, for about 8 minutes until the meat has rendered and is crisp.  Add the onion and garlic and cook, until soft and translucent.  Take care not to burn the garlic.  Transfer the contents of the saucepan and 1 tablespoon of rendered fat to a large bowl. 
Add beans, salt, parsley, vinegar, oil and pepper.  Mix well then serve warm or at room temperature.  Slice avocados and toss with fresh lemon juice.  Add  alongside the salad of toss with the salad.