New Shop

I am super exited to announce the opening of my new shop!

A while ago, I decided that joining the 

Artfire community is a great way to 

expand my business. 

I've had it up and running, 

and now I think it's ready to be pounced upon 

by unsuspecting jewelry fanatics!

(This means you. Haha.) 

http://www.artfire.com/users/CWinspirations

So far I don't have much up

(hard to decide where to list each item)

But there is definitely more to come!

In other news:

Since we all know how great (in a sarcastic voice)

I am about updating...

We have a new inspiration on the way!

I am about 4.5 months pregnant :)

We will find out if it is a boy or a girl next week. 

This does mean, however, no coffee

for a while. I am trying to do this

as chemical free as possible, 

and that includes caffeine.

So all of you will have to indulge for me! 

Canned Pumpkin Bread Recipe

For my friends over at Plurk...

(drumroll please!)

It's the Canned Pumpkin Bread post!!!

There are lots of pictures so I'll try to keep the jabber to a minimum. 

Here are the Ingredients you need. 

They Include...

2/3C shortening, 

2 2/3C sugar,

4 eggs,

2C pumpkin (I used canned, shame on me)

2/3C water

3 1/3C flour

1/2 tsp baking p0wder

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

2/3C nuts (optional, and I didn't because I'm allergic)

Now for the mechanics!

I want to introduce to you 

a friend of mine, and the guest chef for today!

His name is Tyler, and he did a bang up job! 

Step 1:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Step 2:

Cream the shortening and sugars, then beat in the eggs, 

pumpkin, and water. 

Step 3:

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture.

Stir in nuts after this step if you choose.

Step 5:

Grease 7 wide mouth pint canning jars. (we used shortening)

Fill each jar 1/2 full with batter. 

Make sure to wipe the mouth of each jar when you are done,

otherwise they will not seal.

Step 6:

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

When a toothpick comes out clean you are good. 

During last 15 minutes of cooking put all your jar lids

and rings into a pot on the stove to boil. This will disinfect them.

Step 7:

When they are done baking take them one at a time out

of the oven and put a lid and ring on it. 

They should seal fairly soon.

If they don't seal for some reason, 

they can also be frozen. 

Shows and Snows!

Hey! Sept. 26th marked a very special day for me. 

I did my first jewelry show!

It was held in St. Croix, Wisconsin for their 

Autumn Festival. 

It went well, and I already have another show

planned for this coming saturday! 

Here is me at my stall

At the show, I also debuted 

my new bracelets.

I call them "Squiggly Bracelets"

What do you think?

Today marks our first "real" snow here in Wisconsin.

Here are a few pics I snapped. 

Good thing I dug the potatoes last night... !

Here is what the garden looks like now!

After the show this Saturday, I have no idea

what is coming next for me. 

I have been holding out on listing items

until after the show, so look for new things next week in 

both my Etsy and my Artfire! 

Are you following me on Plurk? 

Next post: making canned pumpkin bread! 

Just An Update

Let's see, where to begin. 

I finally got some much needed days off 

that quickly got eaten up by doctors' visits and sickness.

One of which was for the first migraine I've ever had. 

It was TERRIBLE!

I got a custom order for wedding jewelry this week.

I absolutely LOVE what I came up with for it,  

I may just keep it! 

I also have a craft date with one of my friends tomorrow...

I am so exited! 

I don't have many (non-online) friends that share my

jewelry interests, so when I get to have a day to go to the bead store

and just veg out with some beads... just marvelous! 

I bought a sit up bar-thingy at a garage sale today. 

I figured for one dollar I could at least sit in it and pretend to 

do sit ups while I watch TV... :) 

Got to spend some time with my little sister in law today.

It amazes me how smart she is. 

We made a necklace for her, and went garage saleing for hours. 

I think that's about all that's going on in my world at the moment. 

I'll update later with pics of my bone work, 

which I haven't gotten many days to work on

since it's been raining here a lot. 

Kitchen Remodel

Hi Everyone! 

I thought I'd show off what we've been up to the last couple weeks.

We painted our kitchen and redid the cabinets!! 

This is what it looked like before:

Here is after we started the remodel:

And we're not quite done yet, the doors have to be put back on. 

But at least with these final pics you can see the new colors, and get an idea.

I will have to upload the "all done" pics when we finish 

(hopefully this weekend)

So you can't really get an idea of what the cabinets look like, sorry. 

But I promise more pictures are coming. 

Another thing I'm working on is carving bone. 

I will be making beads and maybe some small statues. 

I'm still practicing, so I don't have any pictures for you yet. 

P.S. The bones being used are from animals that died of natural causes 

or road accidents. Every precaution was made to keep the process of 

cleaning as natural as possible, including leaving the bones in the wild until the meat 

and usable parts by animals were gone. 

Reasons to Have a Light on your Vaccum

1) In case a deer runs in front of you while you are vacuuming.

2) In case the guy robbing your house forgot a flashlight.

3) So you can vacuum your kids' bedrooms while they are sleeping and not have to turn on the light. 

4) Because it's really dark on the floor... 

5) Just in case you are afraid of the sun (and lamps).

6) To create the proper ambiance during household chores. 

7) So dogs and husbands can see the vacuum coming toward them and move.

8) Just in case you decide to rig the vacuum for road travel... 

9) So your children can pretend it's a UFO. 

10) To give me something to think about while cleaning the floors. 

Enjoy! 

The News

I wanted to write about a new recipe I like, 

but that will have to wait. 

Instead I am going to have to apologize for both

the lack of activity in my shop, 

and the lack of activity in my blog. 

This week my grandfather passed away of lung and

throat cancer, and the next morning I got word

that a friend of mine and my husband's

passed away in a boating accident.

 Also, my mother's best friend got in a car accident

this week, and is in the hospital with

non-life threatening injuries, 

but is at risk to lose a foot if she gets infection. 

Needless to say, I am a little stressed and

over stretched right now. 

I am still working on new pieces, 

some amethyst chip pieces are what I am working on right now. 

But I will probably not be uploading 

this week.

I will still be reachable by email 

cwinspirations.hotmail.com

twitter

and plurk, 

as well as checking my shop daily and 

answering any conversations.

Oh heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, 

answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains - Kahlil Gibran. 

Quote from here