Vintage Beach Chic

I have always loved Andrea Singarella's jewelry.  I was recently drooling on her blog and saw that she is doing a Vintage Trinket Jewelry e-course where she actually shows you how she makes her gorgeous jewelry, and it's only $10.00. Seriously. So I signed up, and it was totally awesome!

This is my first necklace.  Even though I live in Virginia, I am a transplant from California, so I made a vintagy necklace with a beachy theme.  It has some shell beads, a starfish charm, and a By The Sea tag, which had a blue patina until I varnished it.  Grrrr.

Here is a smaller necklace I made to wear together with the bigger necklace.  It has a little turquoise starfish bead.

And here is a necklace I made as a gift for someone as part of the Facebook Pay it Forward challenge I did.

It says "Be The Change", short for "Be the change you want to see in the world." This is supposedly a quote by Gandhi, or an inspiration thought inspired by Gandhi, but I'm not certain of its authenticity beyond being a favorite Internet quote.

Regardless of who said it, it's still a good thing to say.

Game Card Bag

I recently sewed a gift for a good friend.  We taught her family how to play Nertz, so I made a drawstring bag to hold game cards.  (If you want to learn how to play Nertz, click here.)

I sewed an applique to the front with the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "It is a happy talent to know how to play."  The floral fabric is by Amy Butler.

The bag is completely reversible and this is what it looks like on the inside.

Cherry Kuchen Recipe

I saw the recipe for Cherry Kuchen on Pinterest yesterday, and I made some for our church's small group that meets at our house.  It was pretty amazing, and I'm really bummed I didn't take a better photo.  But 20 people walked in my house right when it finished, so this is the best I could do.  Served warm with a little vanilla ice cream ... pure heaven.

There are lots of beautiful photos on the blog where I found the recipe, Dear Crissy.

My Favorite Plumbing Tool

Forget baking soda and vinegar: when your drain is clogged, most of the time it is filled up with a hair ball and other miscellany. Ewww. You need to get that junk out BEFORE you clean the drain with baking soda and vinegar.  I bought the Cobra Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool, and I have used it for years on my sink and shower drains.

You just stick it down the drain, and the little nubs pull the hair back up. THEN you clean with baking soda and vinegar.  I will spare you photos of me cleaning out my drain because I think you get the idea.  If you need to see the filth or a demonstration, you can go to the Zip-It website and see what other people pull out of their drains.

This little guy rocks.