One of my preces sold on ETSY!!!!!

I am so excited that my adorable little bee pendent sold on ETSY. I have offered some of what I make for sale to support my art habit. I wish I had more time to promote and fine tune my ETSY shop, to maybe sell more. I was ecstatic when I got the e mail that this necklace sold. I packed it up and shipped it out immediately. I hope the buyer enjoys it as much as I did making it.

I am considering taking a PMC certification course in January. It will be an investment, but I will get discounted silver and other supplies. It works out that I already have the time off from my new job. Maybe it is a sign????

Lately, I have been busy making Christmas ornaments and decorating my home. I need to get some photos to post. I have made some very cute things!!!!!

Bread Pudding Recipe......Yum!!!

It's fall and time for some comfort food and of course apples! Here is a way to have both. Add a bit of coarse sea salt to the caramel sauce and have a swanky, upscale dessert being served in high end bakeries and restaurants. Enjoy!

Apple Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

9 cup stale bread cubes (about 12 slices)
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups milk
4 medium apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut bread into small pieces and place in bowl. Add raisins. Pour milk over bread and raisins. Peel, core, and slice apples. Cut apples in quarters and place over bread mixture.

In bowl combine sugar, eggs and melted butter; whisk until smooth. Pour egg mixture over apples and stir to combine. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

Sauce: Combine water and cornstarch in microwave-safe dish, stirring until blended. Add sugar and cinnamon and whisk until dissolved. Microwave on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened. Check and stir halfway through cooking time. Remove; add butter and vanilla extract. Stir until butter is melted. Serve sauce over bread pudding.

Follow the signs!

Here is recycling /re purposing at its best. I found this old wood in a pile in the back. They were the perfect size to make painted signs. I sanded them lightly, painted and distressed them. I thought long and hard on how to put the wording on. I finally used my sister's Cricut and made word stencils. I copied the stencil with a pencil and then hand painted them in. Then the fun began...the distressing! I sanded, crackled, hammered, scratched, stamped, until I had the worn chipped look I love. I used a walnut stain to further deepen the patina and sealed with a polyacrylic. I am very pleased with how they came out. I gave a couple as gifts and have a few more pieces of wood to work on when the inspiration strikes me. These were a lot of fun to do and urge anyone who wants a vintage looking sign like the ones you see in catalogs and in stores, for a lot less money.

Fall Vignettes....Better late then never.

Here are a couple of my Halloween/Fall vignettes. Included in one of the pictures is my DIY Mercury Glass lamp I made from a Goodwill find. Find the link to making your own faux mercury glass here.
http://www.kelleymaria.com/2011/04/diy-mercury-glass.html

Lots of DIY projects in the works. I am finally motivated to make my house a home that shows off what I love and that makes me happy. I will share as I finish them in future posts. Happy Fall!

Words to live by................................................

courtesy of

Home is where your heart is

It's funny..... when my life was in a turmoil, I could have cared less what color the walls were painted or making my house a home. I was just so concerned with surviving.

I saved this picture awhile ago. I am not sure where it came from, but I love this room! I could go in and sit and just relax! I am discovering my style, what moves me and what I want to envelope me. I have always loved anything rusty, chipped paint, fabrics and items with lots of texture. So this is my inspiration for creating my home. As I progress, I will post pictures. I still rent, so I am limited in what I can do. As I take inventory of what I already own, I have found I have already collected pieces that will fit into my vision. I just need to put it all together. So with fresh eyes and a new vision....I forge ahead.

Redefining my passion

I am at a crossroads in my life where I need to analyze what direction I want my life to go. Years ago my passion was dogs, and their care. I groomed them, I raised them, I showed them. They were my life. My personal life took a turn for the worse and I had to give it all up except the grooming job I have held since I was a teenager. The job I had, was very stressful and complicated, and ate away at the passion I had for the profession. Then my accident. Now it's 10 months later and am healed enough to think about what I want to do with my life. My divorce is finally final and I am free from the chain around my neck that was drowning me. With that, I have been able to enjoy things that make me happy and fire a passion with me. I have taken an interest in decorating my house. I just plain ole, didn't care before. I do now. I love vintage. I love re purposed items. I like unique items that one does not find in everyone else's home. I love my horses. Going to the barn is my church. It brings me peace and every stress in the world goes away. And I love to create things. I paint. I sculpt. I take pictures. I am enamored with mixed media. And thoroughly enjoy designing art jewelry pieces. Unfortunately, the things that I am passionate about cannot support my family. I have considered renting a vendors booth, and offering things I make and/or re purpose for sale through there. I am going to dabble in re doing furniture. As I do this I will post my progress on my blog. I have already done a few things and I will share pictures as I go. Maybe , in time, I will be able to make a living at this. I have included a picture of an item in my kitchen. I use it as a coffee station and it holds some of my larger pots and pans. It has a wine rack, but I rarely keep enough wine around to use that. I sanded the wood top and used a graphic from and my TAP transfer paper to put a french inspired graphic on the top. I spray painted the base a flat black with spray paint. All in all a very easy redo.

The before picture was in a previous post.

I have been doing a bit of reorganizing my craft/art studio and decorating for the season and having fun doing it. I will post pictures when everything is complete. So off the computer and on to some organizing and maybe some painting and then a riding lesson this afternoon. A wonderful way to enjoy this nice fall day.