My Ladies

These two ladies are two of my oldest and bestest friends. Gretchen, on the left lives in Maryland now and was in town for Christmas. Susan lives nearby with her cute family, but unfortunately we don't see each other too often. I was lucky enough to see these ladies three times within about a week and a half over Christmas. That is what the holidays are really all about, aren't they?!

I became friends with Gretchen in 1990 and we have upheld a long standing Christmas tradition. Frank and I go over to the Schermerhorn house on Christmas evening to spend time with the whole gang and exchange gifts. I am so, so happy that this tradition has endured.

In the picture of us above you can see Gretchen wearing the scarf that I made her.

Gretchen got me this wonderful bag from a talented Baltimore lady whose business is called Pistol Stitched. I first saw these bags at Fiesta two years ago and fell in love. I'm thrilled to have one of my own. I love that the handles are handmade as well as the bags!

Susan made these delicious chocolate truffles for us. Aren't they pretty?!

Sarah Schermerhorn, the mama to these two is the maker of my wonderful quilt! Aren't I lucky to have such wonderful friends?

A favorite object

I'm participating today in a blog carnival, and the topic was to blog about a favorite object. I picked this Cloisonne Enameled pin that I made for my now husband Frank in 1999. Frank and I had just started dating and he asked me to make a pin for his guitar strap. I suppose I hadn't noticed yet, but Frank almost exclusively wears black t-shirts and jeans. He is not a bright color person by any means.

Obviously I am a color person, and this is the pin that I came up with. I had made the enameled piece in school, and turned it into a pin for my honey. Not only is it special because he asked me to make it for him, but because he wore it on that guitar strap for years, even playing gigs with it on. I'm sure this isn't what he was imagining when he asked me to make a pin, but he never let on that it wasn't his style. I should mention that this thing is not tiny, it measures 1 1/2" diameter. Obviously it has been well worn and loved, you can see the cracks in the enamel, but I treasure it none the less.

I did a good deal of enameling in school. I was lucky enough to study under Harlan Butt, a world renowned enamelist. I miss the enameling, and hope to get back into it this year, so this is also serving as an inspiration to me.

To see more posts on the topic of A favorite object check out these blogs:

Victoria Takahashi http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/
Danielle Miller-Gilliam http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
Stacey Hansen http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com
Rebekah Timlin Meddles http://lunasadesigns.blogspot.com
Sara Westermark http://sarawestermark.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com

Ring a Day #4

This is the ring that I started yesterday. I was inspired by those fuchsia carnation petals. This little vase ring could hold real petals, but I made some silk petals to be more permanent.

I have been meaning to mention that you don't have to be a member of Etsy Metal to play along. You can commit to a month, or the whole year like some members. Feel free to join our flickr group if you want to participate.

Dinner inspired rings

I started work on a "real" ring today, but ran out of time. I will finish that one tomorrow. For today I was inspired by dinner, and some of my fellow Etsy Metal member's food rings. The Poblanos are from my garden, harvested in an icy rain and were in need of roasting and freezing. I LOVE Poblano peppers, not too hot, just a bit of bite and lots of flavor. Luckily for me they aren't too hard to grow, though mine never reach supermarket size!

For the food rings, I cut a hole in a petite Poblano and modeled it for the camera. After roasting my peppers I take the skin off, take the seeds out and freeze them for later. I love the way the seeds are arranged on the seed pod and that became my second ring of the night.

Dinner, in case you are wondering is my version of Tortilla soup. It is not traditional, but that is what we always called it because we used to crush tortilla chips on top and add shredded cheese. The recipe has morphed over the years, but is basically a tomato soup with corn, onions, cilantro and poblano peppers. Tonight I'm going to top mine with Chihuahua cheese and avocado chunks. Um, now I'm hungry....

I should mention that I am so happy that I have joined this challenge, and hope to participate in more Etsy Metal Challenges in the near future. I have become quite inspired and did some sketching of new designs today. What a great way to start a new year!

Ring a Day Project

I have decided to participate in the Etsy Metal Ring a Day project. I missed yesterday's ring and may try to make up for it, but the idea is to make a ring a day for the month of January. I felt like crocheting today and this is what I came up with. Ironically I like the metalwork that took me much less time better than the crochet part! A reminder that I like simplicity? Stay tuned to see what else I come up with this month. You can see more participants' rings here.

2009 in Jewelry

I'm looking back over 2009 in photos. This collection of images is a selection of both finished and under construction jewelry. Sometimes it helps to see it all grouped together. I'm searching for inspiration and motivation. With no deadlines looming it is easy to wander away from my workbench for too long. These images are inspiring me to sit down, sketch out the images floating in my head and translate them into three dimensional metal objects.
Seeing a grouping of my jewelry in images also helps me to see that there is a cohesiveness to my work.

Hope's Salsa Recipe

I promised to post this recipe after getting several requests for it at our Christmas party. Thanks to a reminder from my cousin I am finally following through. This is Frank's mom, Hope's salsa recipe. I would wrestle my sister in laws for the salsa that Hope makes for us, it is that delicious. The bonus is, this recipe couldn't be easier, and can be adapted to your tastes. First I am going to post the original recipe as Hope makes it.

Hope's Salsa
(1) 28 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
(3+) Serrano peppers
Cilantro
Salt

Hope uses about two handfuls of serrano peppers, and her chile (salsa) is HOT. You can see chunks of peppers throughout her version. I love it, but you may want to start with fewer, you can always add more!

*Dump the can of tomatoes in your blender.

*Salt to taste. I don't measure, but would guess maybe starting with 1/2 teaspoon.

*I use about one half a bunch of cilantro. I just take the bunch, chop off the top half and throw it in the blender.

*Boil the Serranos and add a few at a time until the salsa is as hot as you like. I would say start with 3 or 4 and add from there.

Blend until everything is chopped, and voila, you are done. Gah-lee, wasn't that easy?!

Optional adjustments:
Tomatoes
In the version that I made for the party I used Crushed, Fire Roasted Tomatoes in place of Whole Peeled Tomatoes. The fire roasting adds a great flavor, and the crushed tomatoes makes a smoother and thicker salsa. Whole tomatoes, as in the original recipe make a chunkier, more liquidy salsa. Try all versions (whole plain, whole fire roasted, crushed plain, crushed fire roasted) and see what you like best. You really can't go wrong as they are all delicious!

Peppers
The version at the party also had Jalapenos instead of Serranos. That was only because I had Jalapenos from my garden on hand. I think I used four, and it was a very mild salsa. Serranos are hotter than Jalapenos, so keep that in mind. Don't forget to boil your peppers until the color changes and they become soft. The only other prep I do is to cut off the stem.

This is Hope with a pillow that mom and I made her for Christmas one year. You have this woman to thank for this wonderfully delicious recipe.