This is the last post in this blog. I moved to a new blog!

For all future posts please visit my new blog:

http://greensubjective.blogspot.com/

You can follow this new blog and/or subscribe via email or RSS feed. Just check the sidebar for all options.

I hope to see you there!

This blog was long overdue for a change, and my new blog is themed and will be better updated and organized with specific topics. New spaces = exciting new habits and changes for the better.

I also will be starting a new blog on my website that will be all things pertaining to my jewelry business 1337art. I will post that link here as soon as it is live, or you can visit www.1337art.com

Wordless Wednesday - March 14th, 2012

credit.

I want to make my hallway into a gallery.

With the natural lighting of the skylight along with the light that comes through the window in the door, and the two little night lamps on the wall, this space would make a beautiful art gallery.

The wall space is huge, and I could fill in all of that white space with original artwork and prints.

I can collect artwork from Deviant Art, Etsy, and from my own work, and I can find frames at dollar stores and thrift shops.

It would be a great conversation piece at get-togethers, and it would feel so nice, inspiring, and fresh to walk down the art covered hallway.

Hubby and I have lived in this house for 6 months, and drab blank walls are no longer acceptable.

I can't wait to get started. I'll definitely post pictures as I start to add art to the walls. Do you have a gallery in your house? I'd love to see a picture of it. Please feel free to post links to your pictures in the comments.

Vegan and Dairy Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

So delicious the inlaws said it tasted just like their recipe. I cruised the internet looking for a simple peanut butter cookie recipe that did not contain dairy, and after some tweaking I finally found one that my picky hubby will eat!

Vegan and Dairy Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups natural cane sugar
1 jar organic peanut butter
(I used the green Private Selection brand)
2/3 cup apple sauce
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp ground flax seed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients in bowl until well blended. (Due to the nature of the ingredients it's best to refrigerate the dough until it's cool. Otherwise the dough is too sticky to roll into a ball so you can make drop cookies instead, which is what I did.) Place (and flatten) your balls or dropped dough blobs onto a baking sheet. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown.

These cookies are so moist they need a moment to cool on the sheet or they will break apart. Even after they cool they do tend to break a little, so if I find a solution I'll be sure to update this. I'm thinking more flax seed.

Some random tidbits of info:

* 1/3 cup applesauce is a great substitute for 1 egg.
* consume ground flax seed otherwise you don't get the same nutrients
* the cookies will taste the best if you use a very simple peanut butter. The one I used has the ingredients listed as: organic peanuts, organic palm oil, natural cane sugar, and sea salt.
* use parchment paper for easy removal of baked goods and super easy clean up

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you try this out and enjoy.

New website is up!

After some technical difficulties and an endless amount of mind-changing, I'm excited to say that my new website http://www.1337art.com is open for business! As I continue to add inventory to the site you will have the option to pick and choose which color and size options you want without having to wade through a lot of similar listings, as it currently is in my Etsy shop. You can also purchase an item without having to register for an account with the option of paying via PayPal or Google Checkout!

For my blog readers please use the coupon below to get Free Shipping at http://www.1337art.com this includes my International readers too.

freeship12

I can't wait to get back into my studio to make many more (and new!) designs. I am currently taking custom orders in case you want to get a personalized/custom piece of jewelry for yourself or a loved one. Click here for more info.

Looking for an Etsy or Artfire alternative?

It's not easy to find a venue to sell your handcrafted items, your craft supplies, or your vintage finds. Sometimes a major venue like Etsy.com or Artfire.com can make major changes that will effect your business negatively.

Some people feel that there are no alternatives out there for selling their items other than Etsy, Artfire, or even Ebay. But there are two sites out there that are slowly gaining momentum, and they both offer great tools to help you succeed with your business.

The first alternative is Zibbet.com. It is Australia based, however, anyone in the world can set up shop. They currently have a free basic account where you can list up to 50 items for free, and they also have a month-to-month premium account as well as a yearly premium account. Currently their monthly price is $9.95 and their yearly price is $79.00. At the time of this post they are offering a free 45 day premium trial using code 45FREE, and it expires in 3 days.

To check out their complete list of features follow the link below:

http://www.zibbet.com/sell

I opened my Zibbet Shop in 2009, and to date I have sold 2 items. They do not have much internal traffic, and their site can be slow. But their admin is quick to answer questions, and there are a lot of great items for sale. The listing process is easy, and you can import your Artfire and/or Etsy shop items into your Zibbet shop using their free importer.

The other alternative is Craft is Art. It's a fairly new marketplace that accepts supplies, vintage items, and handmade items. They offer you the option to accept payments via Google Checkout, Amazon Payments, Authorize.net, PayPal, and Checks/Money Orders.

They have a basic pay as you go account as well as a premium monthly or yearly account. Premium accounts can offer multiple quantities, variances (colors, sizes, etc.), and so much more. You can either pay a monthly fee of $8.99 or you can pay for a year for only $79.99. You can also import your Etsy and/or Artfire shop items into your Craft is Art shop as well as your feedback score if you choose to.

They also offer you the opportunity to have a free for life account if you refer 5 people to open a premium shop. I need only two more people to use my referral codes, and my shop there will be free!

If you plan to go premium there (either monthly or yearly) please use one of my referral codes:

7H5C6

85FUY

To check out their full list of options and tools follow the link below:

http://www.craftisart.com/1337art/sell

Craft is Art is very quick to submit your products to Google, and you can set up your Google Analytics account so you can track your traffic. I've sold 3 items there to date in my shop, and I get a lot of internal traffic as well as traffic from search engines. I only have 17 items for sale there at the moment, but I have very high hopes that my business will be successful on this venue.

Etsy and Artfire succeed through their sellers, but if their sellers leave to other venues, these new venues can succeed too. It's the beginning of the year and now is a great time to think long and hard about your business, and what you believe will help you succeed.

Bored on the job at the office?

If you haven't stumbled upon the pure awesomeness that is toothpastefordinner you are missing out!

I've been following this web comic for years. It helps you get through an especially long, drawn out, boring, awful, slooow work day.

Click here to see the comics.

You're welcome.

My cat is actually a dog.

Or she acts like she was a dog in another life. I bought her a pack of plastic coil toys, and she loves them so much that she actually fetches them and brings them back to me like a dog.

Katniss's favorite color appears to be blue, because that's the toy she plays with the most. If I pick up the blue toy I have her immediate attention, and when I throw it across the room she runs, picks it up in her mouth, and runs back over to me.

Of course I have to take it and throw it again because it's just so darn cute. Sometimes she gets smart and when she comes back over she lays on the toy so I can't get to it.

Sometimes I throw it to a tough place, and she can't reach it so she will circle the area and cry until she can find it.

I bought these toys from Vitacost. My husband didn't believe the cats would even play with them.

In another life I'd want to be...

An amazing cake decorator. I suppose it's doable now, but I've missed so many years of practice.

One year for my mom's birthday I decided to make her a three layer cake. Unfortunately somehow it fell in on itself, and it was so odd my brother that eats everything didn't even want it.

One year for my anniversary I made my husband some cookies with monkey and dragon shaped cookie cutters. Somehow they didn't hold their shape so he had to go by my word that they were in fact the monkeys and dragons...only blobs.

Apparently baking is just not my thing, but I still enjoy the attempt. I think the closest I will get to be an amazing cake decorator is the fun of making shaped baked goods for my husband's birthday and future kids' birthdays.

I think I'll stick to the beads. :]

The picture is a dog cake from Albertson's that I bought for my mom's birthday last year.

New Unique Clip On Earrings

I've been meaning to make more clip on earrings, and I've finally done it! These clip on earrings are made with hand blown glass beads that sit inside of a silver plated brass spiral cage.

There are blue with black spiral stripes, red with black and white spiral stripes, and brown ones with black spiral stripes.

These earrings are truly fun and unique. Each bead varies in color, shape, and size, and the silver spirals are slightly different than the others.

Looking for a gift for someone with unpierced ears? Look no further! These clip on earrings are available in my Etsy Shop.

Thank you so much for looking! I hope to make more clip on earrings in the near future.

PIF - Pay it Forward

My brother shared this video with me last night. It's a live demonstration of PIF (Pay if Forward). Now if only the world would follow this example.

10 Interesting Facts about Rabbits

I took this picture of a wild rabbit that was eating under the willow tree in our front yard in the early Autumn. My friend named him "Hugo" and he used to come out everyday to eat by himself. I used to have a pet rabbit so it was hard not to try to pick him up.

I came across this picture, and I decided to find some interesting facts about rabbits. Below are some of the things I found:

1. Rabbits can be litter trained.
2. Rabbits can purr similar to cats.
3. They have 28 teeth that never stop growing.
4. They can jump 36 inches and higher.
5. They can literally be scared to death by predators.
6. Domestic rabbits cannot breed with wild rabbits.
7. They only sweat from the small pads on their feet.
8. They can weigh between 2 and 20 pounds.
9. Rabbits can have false pregnancies.
10. Rabbits can recognize their name as well as a few simple words.

5 Things I've Learned from Playing The Sims 3

The Sims 3 is an awesome simulation game where players can control the lives of characters that they create from choosing their careers to making them talk to strangers or go see a movie at the cinema. Not only that, but you can design your character to be fat or thin, muscular or skinny, a baby or an adult...the possibilities are endless! You can control what your character looks like right down to what pajamas they wear to what shape their eyebrows are.

Now I've compiled a list of 5 things I have learned [about life] since playing this game.

1. There's always something else to do. Depending on your interests you can watch tv, go for a jog, learn to garden, take a walk into town, talk to strangers at the library or park, take up a part time job at the salon, bookstore, or grocery store, read a book to learn a new skill, redecorate your house, go fishing, overclock your computer, talk into the mirror to improve your charisma, take classes to learn a new skill, and the list is pretty endless.

2. Random bad things happen...but so do good things. A burglar can break into your house and steal your stove before you can wake up to call the police. You can be on a date at a restaurant, join in the table next to you that's singing "Happy Birthday," and get a raise because it turned out to be your boss's friend's birthday.

3. You can make a living off of gardening, fishing, mooching money and food from people, selling paintings, and writing books/articles.

4. If your basic needs aren't met chances are you're angry or depressed. Who would be happy if your house is cluttered, your fridge is empty, your bed is uncomfortable, your shower only puts out cold water, your walls are bare and ugly, or you just haven't been getting enough social interaction.

5. I take life very seriously. I tend to play the game the way I want life to be in real life. Everyone in the household has a stable job, everyone gets along and has good personality traits, the house is big and beautiful, everyone likes to cook and use the computer, there is enough money to go shopping or out into town, etc. My characters tend to be normal and do what is expected of them...most of the time.

I must warn you that if you have not yet played this game it is highly addicting. When I first started playing The Sims 2 for the playstation I somehow stayed up playing 6 hours after my bedtime. The Sims 3 is much more addictive because there is just so much to do.

2012 - Why Change for This New Year?

I want to wish all of my readers a very Happy New Year where your good luck and karma are actually on your side.

I'm not going to be making any New Year's Resolutions because I was already on track to where I want to be in 2011 so there is no use changing that.

But, it is a new beginning, and it wouldn't be wrong to wake up each morning from this day on viewing each day as an opportunity for something amazing.

Quick update.

I've had a very busy holiday season this year. Thank you so much to all of my customers!!! I have a lot of plans for 2012, and I'll be busy with organizing my craft room so that I can make all of the new designs that I have written down on random pieces of paper.

I'll get back to blogging more regularly soon. Now that Christmas is over I can focus more attention on my blog and designs.

Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!

New members of the family.

After a year of sporadic begging we were able to finally adopt two kittens!

We went to the Kitsap Humane Society during a free adoption sale. (saved about $300!) There were kittens everywhere. Most were adopted or weren't ready to be adopted yet.

We spotted these two lovelies in a cage together, and they were the only kittens that were playing and wrestling. We wanted playful kittens, and I loved how the tortoise kitten had a half black and half orange face. We just had to have them. Unfortunately they needed to get surgery (spayed) before we could take them home so we had to wait a whole weekend for them.

The tortoise shell's name was Moon Beam, and we decided to change it to Katniss (from The Hunger Games) The Siamese's name was Sally, and we changed it to Rue (also from The Hunger Games) Their new names fits their personalities. Rue likes to sing and be in high places, and Katniss is a crazy offender and very very playful.

I could go on and on, but in summary: they are so very cute and playful and "melty" I'm sure I'll post many pictures of them in the future. <3

There is a Winner!

We have a winner for the recent My Memories Suite Scrapbooking Software Giveaway I hosted.

Congratulations to Teresa from POP embroidery!!!

Fun key fobs, original key straps, embroidered gifts and personalized ID badge holders ALL available at POP embroidery!

She's also on Facebook. Be sure to like her page.

I hope you have an amazingly fun time trying out the software. Beware - it's addicting!

Inspiration Behind the Piece: Celestial Watch

There is something calming about the night sky with the moon and stars hanging in balance in all of the nothingness that is the universe.

I created this Celestial Watch in different stages. I first found the watch face and bought the star beads to match it. I knew I wanted to use black and silver and eventually found the perfect beads. They are dual colored, and they match perfectly with the other components of this watch.

I didn't know I needed to use the gunmetal stardust beads and the antiqued silver pewter spacer beads and the swirl toggle clasp until I sat down and placed the components alongside one another. Everything about this watch design - the colors, shapes, textures...all happen to be a beautiful contrast, but yet one and the same. Silver, black, and grey; just like the universe above and around us.

Thank you so much for reading. This Celestial Watch is currently available here.

Free Software Giveaway!

Today I have the honor to give away some digital scrapbooking software from My Memories Suite to one lucky reader! There is no catch, just a simple and easy giveaway. With this scrapbooking software you can create cards, photo books, scrapbook pages, and more all on your computer. It's not just for scrapbooking. Their website offers templates, kits, papers, and embellishments for very low prices, and they even have a free page!

I took a little bit of time to play around with my free copy of this software, and it was really fun and easy to learn. Between what was already included in the program as well as the free kits I downloaded from their site I had so much to work with.

Right before I was contacted to do this giveaway I was starting to look into how to make collages and cards digitally, and this software is the perfect thing. I included my partially completed collage. It started out as a blank white canvas, and it was so easy to turn it into what you see. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to collages so I might not be done with this one for a while longer.

If you take a look you will notice the fonts. The program has WordArt incorporated into it, and I can choose from a ton of fonts and colors. It's digital so I can rotate the font backwards or to a 90 degree angle if I wanted to.

Once I place an embellishment and start working on something else I can easily go back and change it. I decided to fade the snowflake decoration on the left side of the collage instead of it being a solid white like the notebook. And speaking of the notebook, those are beads! Cute colorful little beads, which is one whole embellishment.

This collage is just one of the many things you can do with this digital scrapbooking software. You can use any .jpeg or .png file to import your photos right into the software so make a lovely scrapbook page or a Christmas card with a picture of your family on the front.

And if you download digital scrapbooking kits and images from other websites this software supports those! Unfortunately their terms of use do not allow finish products to be sold.

So how does this giveaway work?

1. Visit My Memories Suite and check out the Digital Scrapbooking Kits. Pick out your favorite one and leave a comment on my blog with a link to that item with a brief explanation of how you would use that kit. Remember to include some way for me to contact you.

2. For an extra entry tweet this blog post on Twitter, and include your Twitter account in your comment entry. You can tweet this as many times as you would like, however, it will only be counted as one entry.

3. Only one entry per person (with the exception of those that Tweet.)

Be sure to follow my blog so you can find out if you're the winner!

For more information on My Memories Suite check out their social links below:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter

They also have a YouTube Channel.

My readers can also use this exclusive code: STMMMS8587 for $10 off the MyMemories Suite v2 scrapbook software.

Not into scrapbooking, card making, or other digital crafts? You can still enter this giveaway for a friend or family member...the holidays are coming up.

Thank you so much for reading this post. I hope I inspired you to enter the giveaway for a chance to win this great software. Remember the giveaway ends Wednesday, November 9th, 2011. The winner will be announced shortly after.

3 Quick and Easy Halloween Recipes

I was browsing online for a quick Halloween themed recipe that I could surprise my hubby with since we both work that day and won't see each other. All three recipes courtesy of AllRecipes.com

On this quest I found 3 quick and easy recipes that you still have time to do!

The first recipe is Green Grog. 25 8oz servings

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen limeade concentrate
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate
• 2 (2 liter) bottles lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle rum
• 2 quarts lime sherbet

Directions

1. In a large pot, combine limeade, lemonade and lemon-lime soda. Stir in rum (add more to taste if desired.) Mix in the lime sherbet.

The second recipe is S'mores Apples. 6 servings.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 Granny Smith apples
• 6 wooden sticks
• 1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple. Place apples on a cookie sheet covered with lightly greased aluminum foil.
2. Combine caramels and water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until caramel melts and is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Dip each apple into the caramel and gently run apples around insides of saucepan to scrape off some of the caramel. Scrape excess caramel from the apple bottoms using the side of the saucepan.
3. Combine the miniature marshmallows and graham crackers on a dinner plate. Roll the apples in the mixture to coat. Place on the aluminum foil and chill.
4. Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Drizzle over the apples and return them to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

The third recipe, which is the one I might make on Monday is Mud and Worms. 4 servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (3 ounce) package gummy worms candy

Directions

1. Place the chocolate sandwich cookies into a resealable plastic zipper bag, and crush with a rolling pin into crumbs. For a more mudlike appearance, untwist the cookies and scrape off the creme filling before crushing cookies.
2. Whisk together the chocolate pudding mix with the milk in a bowl, stirring for 2 minutes. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the crushed sandwich cookie crumbs into the bottom of a serving bowl, and spoon the chocolate pudding over the crumbs. Smooth out the top of the pudding, then top with the rest of the chocolate cookie crumbs to resemble dirt. Poke gummy worms halfway into the dirt. Refrigerate until serving.

These all look delicious. Are you planning to cook or prepare any treats this Halloween?