Month: June 2015

beautiful beads.

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Reporting from Blue Door Beads! This is my favorite bead store ever, and I’m one picky lady. Knowledgable and friendly staff, a large assortment of beads and findings, great lighting (makes for clear, creative thinking!), reserved customer parking (!!!), …. The list goes on and on for why I enjoy every visit here. I stumbled upon Blue Door Beads shortly after they first opened their doors in 2012. I had taken a pilates class down the street and discovered the bead store while walking from where I parked. I had to go inside after class! I was greeted by the owner, and little did I know she would make a point to learn my name. Talk about feeling at home… Owner Sara and her crew are curators of lovely things. My favorite beads are anything gold, copper, or blush colored; Czech glass; and jade variations like these dyed ones: I love making jewelry pieces that have a pop of color or that perfect bold accent bead. You can find all types of beads to work with here. Check …

play with clay.

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It’s time to play with clay! I hadn’t touched clay since maybe high school and so I had very low expectations for what I’d end up making at the evening’s festivities. All I knew was that with resident maker Terri teaching, it would be a fun and supportive environment! First off, clay feels amazing. It’s cool to the touch and has soothing properties the moment you place some in your hands. I felt very much at ease as I rolled, molded, and mushed the clay. We first started our lesson by making pinch pots and learning how to feel for the thickness of the clay and how to tell if the clay was being overworked. I also ended up making a larger bowl made of circles. Some of us were in the advanced class and made more than just bowls. Check out this mask! We still need to let these pieces dry before firing and glazing. I’m looking forward to painting my pieces and then using them as functional works of art! Have you played …

hoop, there it is.

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My friend gifted me an embroidery hoop so I made a pendant. Obvi! For this project I used: one embroidery hoop fabric to fit the hoop needle embroidery floss pendant setting (from Etsy shop Kailea.) fabric scissors All you do is: Place the fabric in the hoop. Embroider with design of choice. Fit the design/fabric in your pendant. Attach your pendant to chain or cord to wear as a necklace or leave as is and call it art. These would make super cute gift tags, too! What other designs would you create? Share below!

etsy craft party!

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What better way to kick off the weekend than with a craft party Etsy style! What is an Etsy Craft Party, you say? Etsy Craft Party is a global celebration of meeting and making, held every year since 2010. This year’s theme was Kaleidoscope: Paper Taking Shape. Our local street team – SF Etsy – collaborated with Creative Live to host a fun-filled craft party for team members and the community. We made paper gems using these nifty templates printed on wall paper! Paper gems have been on my craft wish list for some time now. You can imagine how excited I was when I found out they were the project for the evening. Bling-bling! Imagine if we walked about with giant gemstone jewelry… Of course, there were treats, stickers, and goody bags… …and fun with friends, new and old. This crafting community is so welcoming and supportive. I look forward to the next gathering! Thanks for a lovely party, SF Etsy and Creative Live! Did you celebrate craftiness this weekend at an Etsy Craft Party? Tell me …

pocky vs. pocky.

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I love me some Pocky. Don’t believe me? Well, here I am with a giant balloon Pocky that I got for free with Pocky purchase. Do you believe me now? My favorite flavor: PANDA. Well, actually they are cookies & cream flavored with a panda on the box. And while at the market to pick up some Panda Pocky, I discovered the non-Panda-on-the-box cookies & cream Pocky and wondered what the difference could be. I had to do a taste test! First off, the price was the same. The Panda Pocky is made in Japan; the other made in Thailand. Packaging-wise, Panda Pocky wins. The plastic tears much easier…and there are happy pandas on the wrapper. And inside, non-Panda Pocky had ten more sticks. Side by side, you can see that the Thai version (left) is thinner and longer than the Japanese version (right). The Thai Pocky biscuit is lighter in color and the cream has a tan hue. The cookie bits were similarly sized and distributed. Let’s eat them! The Thai cookies & cream was definitely sweeter, more …