Roll with the Punches

Here it is, the last week for businesses to truly get orders shipped before Christmas. I actually have an ad / promo running since Saturday...oh...& my computer's been dead just as long. Frustration.

I'm fairly handy with the computer & thought that it was just the power supply, but on Sunday when that didn't work..yeah--then I was irate.

Oh well. I've got someone looking at it later today & I've been able to keep on track with orders, etc at work (shuuuussh)...but since I'm not able to list new items or browse, I've forced myself to just chill --for me.

Hah..we were taking our time at Target last night & I happened to pass by a display of Guitar Hero games on clearance. Oooh. $12 for the game + 2 of the "guitars" (was $90). I know quite a few musicians that      

d.e.s.p.i.s.e. these games. But considering my music instrumental ability is right between zero & nothing, it works! I'm almost embarrassed to admit that my hand is a little sore this morning because I was so amused with the plastic guitar.

Some things you can control & other things you can't. The computer will be fixed soon & for now I can deal without being in a constant up-to-the-minute state of control. Not such a terrible thing every once in a while.

'til next time

♥-Kat

Design Fix: Quick DIY Artwork Idea

Okay...DIY--I'm referring to the 3 pieces of "art" to the right. The one on the left is a drawing I did going on 6 years ago back in college. It's one of my fav's that I finally decided to slap in a frame so it wouldn't be ruined!

DIY Idea: Stretched Fabric Art

This is a very quick & inexpensive* project. And little skill required - yea!

Materials:

Fabric

Assembled Stretcher Bars*

Heavy Duty Stapler & Staples*

*I had everything on hand except the stretcher bars, so my cost was about $10 total as I bought those on sale. Stretcher bars can be found in the art dept. of most craft supply stores-- Hobby Lobby, Pearl, Dick Blick. I've had my Stanley stapler for years for light upholstery--from the hardware section at Walmart.

I worked in a frame shop in a past life (prior to graduating) for a couple of years & I went to the Art Institute of Atlanta.  One of the things that I learned about was stretching canvas. Well, this is mucho easier. For those of you that are also familiar with stretching canvas...I actually recommend NOT using canvas pliers. They can easily rip thinner fabric & distort patterns easily.

For those of you not familiar with stretching canvas, follow this link for a good tutorial that will show you what to do. For our purposes, you can omit using the pliers and wood chips/keys (last step shown). Just keep the fabric pulled taught without distorting the design.

Quick hints:

•You could mount these into open-stock frames. Hobby Lobby has a decent selection, often at 50% off, & their frame shop will often assemble it for you while you wait gratis. If interested, stick with standard frame sizes when picking out fabric/stratcher bars (i.e. 11x14, 16x20, 18x24, etc). Otherwise, you'll have to do a custom frame & your price for this project just rocketed sky-high!

•Allow a good 4-ish inches of fabric beyond the stretcher size so that you can easily pull/wrap the fabric around to secure. It also allows you play room to adjust if the design starts to distort.

Fun with fabric & a stapler, hooray!

♥-Kat.

Ornament & magnet gift sets now available @cardinalhouse shop:

More colorways available!

Friday Treats: Lazy brunch pie!

This is a take-off of a recipe I found in my clippings (can't tell what magazine it came from). I actually made this Thanksgiving morning & used a frozen pie crust for ease. It turns out so moist, yet still slices well!

(9" pie shell - ever how)  

6 eggs

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

2 oz pancetta*

2 oz cooked ham*

1 green onion, sliced

2 Tbsp. torn (or snipped) Italian parsley

*pancetta & ham...thickness is personal preference....I like to buy from deli in thicker slices if I know I'm going to make, but can use the thinner slices for sandwiches, etc if on hand or use the pre-packaged (typically thin) if the deli line is too much.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl stir together eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheeses, pancetta, ham, green onion, and parsley. [I also toss in a twist of sea salt, a pinch of white pepper & ground nutmeg] Pour into unbaked crust. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil during baking to prevent overbrowning. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

So Yum!

♥-Kat.

Stepping Stone: cardinalhouse has 500 Etsy hearts

Wow!

Thanks to all!

♥-Kat.

Thank you for not being a sell-out, Laurell K. Hamilton.

I'll try to keep this short & sweet because this may only mean something to me. I've mentioned before that I read the Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton & Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. Yes, read the Anne Rice books back in middle school, too. I still stand by the fact that I love these books, not because of vampires, etc...but that they really are about humanity. Our struggles with faith, relationships and whatnot. LKH & CH both have a strong female heroine that I can relate to in some aspects---but again, they're not for everyone. I just can't get into the Twilight books/films because the maturity levels of what's being discussed are, well, geared towards an audience that haven't had to deal with adult life. Yeah, there's drama...but, to me, it's just teenage angst.  I'm sure this may make some folks angry with me...we can always agree to disagree!

Anywho...the point. Twilight and True Blood (based on CH's books) have come to big/little screen with success. I've watched both seasons of True Blood and am kosher with what Alan Ball's done. He's made fitting changes based on baiting his audience--but has stayed true to the essence of the books. The Anita Blake books were in the works to air on IFC in the coming year or two, but according to LKH's most recent blog post...it's off. Essentially, she didn't like the changes that they were proposing & couldn't stand to watch her work being turned into something only to reel in a target audience. That takes guts when faced with a nice pay-check.

The Anita Blake books go back into the early 90's & she's working on book 18, I think it is now. I wondered how they would do the TV..even on IFC. The first couple of books, okay..doable. But they're definately for a mature audience...& could also be ruined by bad special effects. Considering there are zombies, vamps, were-animals, ghosts, etc...it would be much more difficult from a production standpoint. And from what I've seen from the TV previews, the CG on Twilight doesn't look that impressive. Next season of True Blood will also begin the were-wolves involvement on the show. If the CG is bad...it could be a deal-breaker.

Thanks for putting up with my rambling & here's to an artist standing up for their work!

♥-Kat.

How-to: DIY stickers made from recycled wallcoverings (or scrapbook paper).

I came across a cardinal paper punch at Jo-Ann's with their holiday crafting gear. Tee-hee...a cardinal...I might have jumped up & down with my son shaking his head beside me. "Yeah, Mom..I get it"...Sigh, it really does come down to the little things, huh?  So, my little birdies will be used in the packaging at least since I've opted for a more recycled/handcrafted aesthetic.

Make your own stickers..it's really easy & fun (& addictive)! Here's how:

Materials: scrap paper (I recycled scrap wallpaper), scrapbook sticker maker with adhesive (I used Xyron/permanent), paper punch(es)

Punch out shapes using your paper punch

Okay, here's where it starts to get difficult (hah!). Insert the cut-outs into the sticker maker.

Pull on the adhesive roll & check positions of cut-outs so that they're not touching.

Once you tear off a strip of stickers, rub & smooth down to help bond with adhesive.

Peel off film...

& voilà!

Merry sticker making!

♥-Kat.

events. 11.20.2009 (That don't involve Twilight movies-bah)

Calloway Gardens Fantasy of Lights opens this weekend

Lake Lanier Magical Nights of Light

Spruill Gallery Holiday Artists Market (Dunwoody)

Atlanta ICE Holiday Shopping at Ambient Studios

Ice skating @ Centennial Olympic Park (through 1.31.2010--wow, 2010..seriously?!)

Radio City Christmas Spectacular/ Rockettes at the Fox Theatre (through 12.06.2009)

♥♥World of Coke is featuring Paula Deen this Monday (11.23.09);

unfortunately...the event's sold out :( ...but I'm sure that at least a few pounds of butter are endanger come Monday!♥♥

Have Fun!

♥-Kat.

Beginner's food tip: How to keep sliced fruit from turning brown.

My grandmother & mother had me help out in the kitchen when I was a little squirt. Apparently, this tradition seems to be a not-so-common thing these days & I'm not sure if that makes me mad or sad. For those of you that do spend time in the kichen, you probably know this one...but just in case...

After you've cut up your fruit, sprinkle lemon juice over it. Do me a favor...if you're using lemon juice à la bottle...please make sure it's real lemon juice at least...not the imitation kind or from concentrate or whatever else such non-sense..Sorry for the little rant but, trust me, it really does make a difference (in any recipe, not just this).

*Note: You should be able to use other acidic juices (orange, pineapple, etc). There are other products in canning/preserving aisles that would work (Fresh Fruit) if you don't like the taste, but we (the fam.) love the flavor mix & that it's easy/natural. It all comes down to personal preference, I guess!

Yum!

♥-Kat.

Is it Friday yet?

New Rosa necklace with vintage olive beads

I'm so very happy tomorrow is Friday. Almost everything that I've attempted this week ended up being harder than it should be in general. Multiple computers have thwarted my best laid out plans (at home and work)! Eh...c'est la via, n'est-ce pas?

But tomorrow is Friday & the weekend is supposed to be beautiful here in Atlanta. Sunny and around 70...in November. Tis the season to be finicky with the weather, Mother Nature! And, I'm proudly going to toot my boy's horn. Tomorrow morning, I go in for a little recognition ceremony to watch Alex get his Student of the Month certificate. So very much work went into turning around his behavior at school (& he wants to up the ante for his upcoming birthday and Christmas). Half of his Toys-R-Us catalog is circled; any one else have that current problem?!

♥-Kat.

Latest listings @ cardinalhouse:

Children's Book Nook: Willy's Pictures by Anthony Browne

There are a number of books out by Anthony Browne featuring Willy the chimp.  This book, like Willy the Dreamer, isn't so much a story book.  They are very creative & are great for jump starting the kiddies' imagination. Willy's Pictures also seems like a kid-friendly intro into art appreciation.

& who am I kidding?! Alex liked it because Willy's dressed up in clothes painting himself into all these strange pictures & one of the character's name is Buster Nose. Oh, in case you were interested: per Alex, Willy's version of the Mona Lisa is most definitely smiling & ladies can't have trees growing out of their arms for real. Kill joy. He also stopped believing in Santa Claus over a year ago. Thank you, ladies and gentleman...I'm out!

 >>>US Residents, follow this link to find your local public library: http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html

Happy reading kiddies of all sizes!

♥-Kat.

Studious Reflection. Demolition Time in the Craft Room!

So today I brought home 5 more fabric books from the office that would otherwise have ended up in el trash can. In theory, I'm trying to go ahead & use these smaller fabric pieces since they don't yield many flowers. Also, I can determine what's actually salvageable right away & save precious space.

For those of you that don't have easy access to a design library...you might talk to a local Joann's or Hancocks that carries special order fabric/wall coverings to see what they do with their discontinued books/samples.  My son's teacher loves to get some fabric scraps. I've completely overwhelmed them in the past beyond their capacity & that's when I started to accumulate so many at home...& why so much of my jewelry involves fabric!

Anywho...here's my great stress reliever. If you try this at home...be cautious. The staples that hold the fabric books together can cause some real damage. I've learned the hard way...

Typical fabric book

1st round of mega-staples

& more mega-staples

Then there's paper that may or may not come off

Fun stuff, huh?

♥-Kat.

New Rosita pins that double as gift hang tags!!!

Carrot orange Rosita pin (ships attached to gift tag!) 

This will be such a sweet addition for a special someone's gift (& not just during the holidays...) & VERY AFFORDABLE! Brooch easily detaches from gift tag to pin to a lapel, purse or string a 5/8" ribbon through & wear  as a choker!

Recently listed @ cardinalhouse:

Rosita pins (/gift tags!) now at my Etsy shop here!

Enjoy!

♥-Kat.

New packaging!

Soon, all new gift boxed orders will be shipped in kraft brown pillow boxes (versus the stark white ones). These boxes are also a little bigger & sturdier than their predecessors. There have been various fabrics that are too thick, etc & don't work well into the roses...so it dawned on me a few weeks back that they would look nice wrapped around the boxes (hence, recyling it too!). Since these are recycled pieces of fabric, the colors and patterns will vary.

Latest item(s) listed @ cardinalhouse:

Ruby-brick Rosa necklace

Holiday envelope seals

Enjoy!

♥-Kat.

No rest for the weary...or should that be wicked?!

Retriever Ring by Kristin Lora

Do you ever have one of those moments when you could just disappear? Run away...vamoose...split like a banana (instead of acting like one)...yeah..that's been the past couple of weeks for me. Stress levels up through the roof & today I almost lost total composure a couple of times at the office. NEVER a good thing to let it get that bad. Serenity now, serenity now...& tomorrow is another day.  Whew...so the jewelry & definately the blog have been pushed to the backburner for my sanity.

I've had some things that I've been wanting to write about, but I'm not going to get to them tonight. So here's what's coming up (& I write these down now more so I can look over & remember what I had in mind!):

•How-to DIY stickers...please tell me I am not the only person just discovering this phenomenon! I was so giddy making stickers last night. I bought the supplies to make handmade seals for my packaging, which also functioned as a means to recycle all of the rolls & scrap sheets wall covering I have taking up space (saved from being tossed, just like all of the fabrics I use..for more see previous post here). I'm thinking about selling some in the Etsy shop to de-stash asap!

•Focus...which I was doing fairly well at until I started playing with that damned sticker maker!

•Reviews...books & products

•Little (Indie Shop) Black Book (of resources, tips, etc)

Latest necklaces listed @ cardinalhouse:

From top to bottom: Plum pumpkin Rosa; Mint mojito Rosa; Midnight Blue Rosa; Sienna Rosa;  Embroidered ivory Rosa

Farewell for now & serenity now!

♥-Kat.