Chocolate is my new medium

I have been hard at work on some holiday gifts.  I'm really pleased with how the last two have turned out and I'm dying to share pictures with you.  But I can't, because one of the recipients may see it and the surprise would be ruined.  I have 3 followers, you know, so the gift could be for any one of them.  And there is always a chance that I have many followers who have not yet made themselves public.  To be on the safe side, I will wait until after the holidays to post pictures of the gifts.

I nearly forgot to thank my husband, sister, and best friend for being my first 3 followers.  Thank you, Mike, Sis, and Stacey!  Somehow, I thought my mom would make that list, but then I remembered that she doesn't have Internet access right now.  So, you're forgiven mom.

In addition to making jewelry, I did a little "baking" for the holidays.  I put baking in quotes, because my idea of baking does not involve an oven.  It involves chocolate and a microwave and things that taste good when dipped into melted chocolate.  I put a new twist on the baking this year by involving my two year old son in the process.  It was twice the fun, and twice the mess.  (Sidenote to anyone who may be eating the treats we made - he had his own bowl of chocolate so he was free to double-dip.  Don't worry - I will not serve you pretzel rods that were made from double-dipped chocolate.)

Since I can't share my jewelry pictures with you right now, I will share some pictures of our holiday "baking".  There is some crafting involved in this, as you will notice from the squiggles of chocolate that have been drizzled on top, so I think it's acceptable for me to share this here.  Please don't underestimate squiggle placement.

Preztels dipped in chocolate, rolled in peppermint or nuts

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls dipped in Chocolate

 

*Disclaimer - These are pictures of the treats that I made last year.  This year's treats are not quite as neat, due to the aforementioned toddler who was helping me.  I was also too lazy to take pictures this year.

The toddler looked something like this:

Crafting for life

I have enjoyed crafting for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was always asking my mother for empty coffee cans, egg cartons, and cereal boxes from which I would construct various pieces of artwork, homemade toys, and who-knows-what. (See - I had a passion for recycling and upcycling from a very young age.) The Childcraft "Make and Do" book was among my favorite books, though I enjoyed "designing" my own projects as well.

As a sidenote, I was thrilled to find an entire set of used Childcraft Books at this gem of a book shop a few years ago. I was so excited thinking that my son could grow to love and enjoy the same books that I did as a kid. But between you and me, I may keep them for myself because it makes me happy and nostalgic every time I glance at them all lined up on my shelf.

I'm happy to say that my passion for crafting has stayed with me as an adult. Over the years, I have dabbled in many different crafty projects...sewing, painting, drawing, cross stitch, knitting. Some have been successful, and some haven't. Some, like sewing, will go by the wayside for many months, until an idea pops into my head, forcing me to turn my dining room back into a sewing room for a few weeks. My latest whim has been jewelry. I started making jewelry right before Christmas last year when I needed some gift ideas for the women in my life. I discovered that I really, really enjoy it. I started off with simple bead stringing, like this:

I recently started to experiment with wire wrapping, and I'm finding that this could be my favorite design medium. I can (and sometimes do) spend hours looking at beads, wire, and jewelry supplies at the bead store. The possibilities are endlesss.

I purchased a bunch of supplies the other day, and they are calling to me. I have had a busy week and haven't been able to work on any designs, but I'm itching to get started.

Blog Beginnings

Welcome to my blog! I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time now. It seems that I often have a funny story or random observation, and I always think, man, I should write that down so I don't forget about it. But I don't write it down, and so I forget about it. Or, I'll write it on a random scrap of paper that disappears into the depths of the other thousands of scraps of paper on my desk, never to be seen again. According to my husband (and he's probably right), I certainly spend enough time on the computer that I should be able to manage a blog.

My hope is that this blog will become a place in which to organize my random musings, share some of my crafty projects, and log some of my latest hobbies. Or whims, if you will. I'm not sure what direction it will take, but I'm sure it will be fun. And so the blog begins.

Please follow me by clicking "follow" at the lower right hand corner, so you'll receive notification when I update the blog.