Something new and different!

Mixed media jewelry has always been intriguing to me but I have only tried my hand at it a few times. It also requires that you have lots and lots of cool found objects, paints, trims, stamps and what-not around (or at least I think it does!) and space is at a premium in our house (we do live in 750+ sq/ft, after all). Some of you know I've been whining because of a creative slump (not to worry, I hate whiners, too!!) but the other day I finally tried pulling together a bunch of beads and fibers and such to create a new piece. Well... here it is! It didn't turn out exactly as I had thought but that's OK, right?? I'm thinking I'll keep this one to wear myself so it doesn't matter that much that it's a bit off-kilter :) I think it will be truly cool worn with an orange t-shirt and a jean jacket.

Call me crazy...

...but I'm back to selling some items on eBay... :-P

I had sworn I would never sell there again - the fees are too high, every time you turn around their terms of use are being changed... I used to make a pretty good living on there a few years back but things just got strange and so I quit. Thank goodness for Etsy!! I really do love Etsy! You always know where you stand with Etsy!

So, anyway, I have relented and started to list some things on eBay again. Mostly just lots of junk jewelry for crafting - I was feeling like things needed a bit of hoeing out again and sorted and sorted - here's what I found that just needed to find another place to reside! Opening bids for these lots is just $.99 so if you see anything here you like, visit me on eBay at http://myworld.ebay.com/carawaycache and try your luck :)

Treasuries for Thursday

Here are some lovely treasury collections my Etsy shops were included in over this past week or so:

I don't often group them like this but I think you can really see the elements that tie the items together when you look at them in a small version. Feel free to click on them to see the larger version of the screenshot.

Now here are the 5 items from my Etsy shops which were included in each one

(click on the photo to go to the listing):

And, finally, some items from the curators of the treasuries!

Please be sure to click and make a visit to their wonderful Etsy shops!

gr8jewellery 

SingularGirlDesigns

GetReadySetGO

MurderMitten

hiyapapaya

Mushrooming

So, this post will be an attempt to catch up on some pretty cool happenings of the past month or so. There are lots of times I take pictures of an event or trip and they get filed in my "someday-when-I-don't-know-what-to-write-about-I'll-blog-about-this" folder. I don't know why they get reserved for "someday" but that "someday" has arrived!! Yay!

Mushrooming is probably my absolute favorite Spring activity! I look forward to it every year and start saving "mushroom bags" (aka. bread bags) in December. My father-in-law and I get pretty competitive when it comes to finding the elusive morel mushroom. It's a woodland delicacy around here and we love findin' 'em as much as we love eatin' 'em! Here are some shots from our first successful mushrooming venture of this season which was on April 18th. It was the earliest by a week that we had ever found them - how much more evidence do you need that global warming is real?? Morel season has passed but I can still share these photos with you.

Here were the main players:
Dan -

Father-in-law Dale -

Mother-in-law Lovell -

And myself - Did I mention that I found the FIRST mushroom of the season?? :) I was pretty happy about that (Dale... not so much...)

In the end we found a bucketload of morels and some Dryad's saddles (also edible - they smell a bit like melon and have a fresh taste - they're good raw as a salad topping)

After Dale got finished worshipping at the mushroom alter...

...we cleaned them up and cooked them for dinner. Some we simply sauteed in butter and others were breaded in egg and cracker crumbs and fried. (**Warning - this is NOT health food!!**)

We had them alongside some fresh steamed asparagus! (**FYI - This IS health food!**)

Another great things about mushrooming is getting to be out in the woods in the early springtime. The shades of green are so fantastic and the flowers are just starting to pop up. When all the 'shrooms had been picked, I took lots of photos of other pretty stuff. Here they are - Enjoy! (Click on any photo to see the larger version)

A New Project.... maybe... finally....

Well, I finally just got tired of being a creative slug yesterday and started gathering supplies together for a new project. It has been a while since the inspiration to create any beadwork has struck. I have several UFOs (UnFinished Objects) in my studio but I've just lost the momentum. So, since beadwork isn't feeling right at the moment, I decided to try my hand at some mixed media jewelry. There are beads that will be incorporated into it but they will not be the major component. After visiting the Coldwater Creek website for some color inspiration, I put together a bunch of materials in a color palette based on turquoise, green and orange. I hope it gives me a little jump-start!

Treasuries for this week

Here are some of the Etsy treasury collections I found items from Etsy shops in this week. As always, I feature an item from the curator's shop - I hope you will make a visit to their shops and take a look around!

Modern Steampunk Style
This collection was put together by Lunettes. Here Etsy shop is dedicated exclusively to earrings and she certainly has some lovelies there for you. Here are some shots which include the treasury, "Seagull" from my caraway jewelry store and one of my favorites from Lunettes - Portrait of an Edwardian Lady earrings

Mocca and Champagne
Lorainne of Trinitydj is a master treasury-maker! She makes several a day and is such a wonderful supporter of Etsy artisans! I was pleased this week to see that she had included "Seaside Wedding" in a collection called "Mocca and Champagne".  Here are some shots which include the treasury, "Seaside Wedding" from my CindyCaraway jewelry store and one of my favorites from Trinitydj - Royal Princess (yes, saying something like "Wow!" or "Holy Cow!" or just staring with your mouth agape while looking at Royal Princess is perfectly fine!!)

Everyday Atomic
Anyone who knows me very well knows that I have a real thing for mid-century modern design and architecture. This treasury collection curated by EmpireFashions. I was so pleased to see the sparkly casters from my vintage shop - CarawayCache - in this group! Here are some shots which include the treasury, the casters and one of my favorites from EmpireFashions - Jetsons Boomerang Side Dish Pair