Another Day in Paradise

Saturday was a fabulous day at the Scappoose Farmer Market. The sun was out and attendance was up over the week before. Sales were good and I'm anxious for Saturday to get here so I can do it all again! Bracelets were the hot item this last weekend so I'll be replenishing my stock this week. Here's a couple of my favorites, both made with my lampwork and Hill Tribe silver.




On a different note, my husband has been having a blast catching albacore tuna off the Oregon coast so I've been canning tuna like a madwoman. He also got a couple of salmon this past weekend so we'll be having some cedar-planked salmon for dinner. If you've never had salmon cooked on a cedar plank in the grill, you have no idea what you're missing. It's fantastic! Very easy to do too.

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon
Soak a cedar plank in water for at least 30 minutes.
Marinade your salmon in a mixture of maple syrup, spicy mustard, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar (I just throw it all in a ziplock bag and put the salmon in there for about 30 minutes). I don't measure anything, just mix it to taste.
Put the salmon on the plank and put it directly on the grill rack. Cook until salmon flakes with a fork.
It doesn't get much better than this!

Playing with my homemade lightbox

I've been struggling to take decent photos of my jewelry for awhile now and I thought a lightbox might help. Since I'd rather spend that money on glass or jewelry supplies, I decided to try my hand at putting one together with some things I had on hand.

I took some artist canvases and removed the canvas, then covered the frame in white muslin. Some simple fun foam on the bottom provides a nice non-shiny surface and my Ott light gives a nice light so I don't need the flash on the camera. I took these pics with it and think they turned out pretty well. Better than waiting for a sunny day so I could take photos outside! I'm going to add another light source opposite the first one so I can eliminate some shadows too.

Without further ado, I give you a bracelet made with some wonderfully swirly Gaffer glass in blue and a pair of earrings made with pink Gaffer glass and stick pearls.





I also made a pair of earrings to give my friend KP for her birthday. She loves brown tones so I used some of my "magic" glass and reduced it for some swirly color. They show up a bit more reddish in the photo (didn't use my newfangled lightbox!) I added some Swarovski and a sterling flower dangle for a little bling. Hope she likes 'em!

First Time at the Local Farmer Market

Last weekend marked my foray into the world of farmer's markets. I had a booth at the local market and displayed my jewelry for the first time. I had a great time and despite rain and low pedestrian traffic, I sold some pieces and received alot of positive comments. Being a night owl, I find it hard to function early but managed to get the booth set up before the shoppers arrived. Okay, the coffee shop across the street helped alot! The weather looks more promising this weekend so I'm hoping for a bit more traffic. Here's a photo of my booth setup. Nothing fancy but hey, not everyone has those neat pointy stick things! Gives it a tropical kind of feel, don't you think?

Etsy Treasury

A fellow TBO member included one of my bracelets in her Etsy Treasury. I'm excited because it's one of my favorite bracelets and I'm honored to be included with the other great jewelry artists that she picked. You can check it out here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=4073

Here's a couple of pics of the bracelet just to whet your appetite. It's made with my glass beads, some freshwater pearls and Hill Tribe silver.

TBO on Etsy

I'm a member of a wonderful group of bead and jewelry makers on Etsy, which is where I have an online shop. I've included some links to other TBO member blogs and encourage everone to check out not only their blogs, but also search for TBO on Etsy. You can find Etsy at www.etsy.com and if you search for "TBO" in the tags and titles, you'll discover how incredibly talented and creative these members are.

Tiptoeing through the Blog

First post - wahoo! I'm a total newbie here so please be patient. I'm hoping to figure some of the bells and whistles out before too long but I'm not know for my patience at learning new computer things. Bear with me as I embark on the Great Blog Adventure!