I'm a wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, friend and lawyer who loves to design and make jewelry. This is a record of my day to day ramblings about life in general and my jewelry design business.
Recently, I've been struggling with chronic back pain so I've been finding it difficult to be very creative. I still have a billion ideas in my head for what I want to make. However when I get started on my projects, it only takes a short time until my pain forces me to stop working. I hate it!
At any rate, I have managed to get a few new items ready and posted. On , I'll be going to my first accupuncture treatment. I'm really hoping to get some positive results that will help me get back to my old self. Keep your fingers crossed.
Here are my newest items:
This is called Citrine Bling. It was created with the lushest, cleanest, citrine briolettes that I have ever found.
Next is a pearl and sterling necklace that is one of my husband's favorites.
A couple of pairs of earrings that coordinate with the pearl and sterling silver necklace.
Finally, my newest bracelet which is made from memory wire.
Head to my Etsy store (www.etsy.com/jillsjewelry) if you'd like to get more information on any of these pieces. As always, please feel free to email me with any questions you might have.
My wonderful husband turned 63 yesterday. I certainly doesn't seem possible that we are old. Of course, he is definitely older than I. We are still celebrating birthdays! Being old doesn't always freak me out but sometimes it does. For example, when you are sitting on the couch watching your grandkids, it seems like only yesterday when my kids were that little.
It is a birthday tradition in our house that the birthday boy/girl gets to request whatever type of cake he/she wants. Every year, without fail, Marty picks Paul Prudhomme's chocolate cake with mocha icing. It is a masterpiece!
Hear is the recipe:
2 2/3 cups of sifted cake flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup, packed, dark brown sugar
3/8 pound (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 T vanilla extract
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm (110 degrees on a candy thermometer
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium-size bowl and set aside.
Place the brown sugar in a large bowl of an electric mixer; beat on high speed about 10 seconds to break up sugar. Add the butter and beat unti the mixture is the consistency of wet sand, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended, about 10 seconds each time. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 5 seconds. Beat in the cooled chocolate until well blended and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes, scraping bowl sides well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with flour and beating after each addition just until smooth. Pour equal amounts of the batter into 3 8-inch round, greased and lightly floured cake pans (1 1/2 inches deep). Bake at 350 until centers spring back when lightly pressed, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans to a wire rack and glaze while still hot. Cool thoroughly. Spread generously with icing between layers and on top of the cake.
Glaze
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla extract
In a small saucepan combine the water and sugar; bring to a boil. remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. With a pastry brush, brush hot glaze over the surface and a little on the sides of each cake layer, using all the glaze. Makes about 1 cup of glaze.
Mocha Icing
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (1 1/2 pounds)
1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 T instant coffee powder or crystals
2 t unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
Cream the butter in a large bowl of an electric mixer on high speed unti8l very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine 1/3 cup of the cream and the remaining ingredients, stirring until thoroughly dissolved. Add cream mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until well blended and sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl well. Thin with a little more cream if desired. Makes enough frosting for one 3-layer cake.
If you make this cake, you will NOT be disappointed. This is a special cake for special people.
I had been planning a trip to visit my son and his family for a long time so I was excited when the time finally come for us to go to Cincinnati. It is hard to explain the attraction to grandkids. They are way, way better than kids. Maybe it is because they look like your children when they were young or maybe it is just that blood is thicker than water, who knows? At any rate, I'm crazy about my grandkids.
I have three. Sophie, who is a three year old diva, and Owen and James who are one year old and absolutely perfect. The twins had a rough start in life but they fought through it all with an energy and commitment to growing strong that was unbelievable. Although they are still tiny compared to other one year olds, they are strong and healthy. What a gift they are!
However, when I finally got to my son's house to see them after 2 months without seeing them, Owen, who has always given me a big smile when I showed up, began to cry and reach for his mother when I reached out to pick him up. I was devastated. Of course, I know that he is just a baby and that all babies go through a stage where they are leery about going to strangers. I'm not a stranger! I'm his grandma who has always loved and wanted the best for him. Of course, after we were there for a few hours, Owen was crawling all over my lap and showing me all the new things that he could do. But throughout the weekend, he was crawling away from me looking for his mom whenever he was upset. Understanding what is going on is very different from not being affected by it. It was heart breaking when he cried and crawled away from me.
James, on the other hand, was willing to let me hold him right away and gave me a great big smile. James looks almost exactly like my son when he was a baby. He has bright eyes and an engaging laugh. What joy he brings to my life. James is completely focused on climbing and rarely has his feet on the ground. The same is true of Owen. Always focused on the next big thing he is learning.
Sophie, my first born grandkid is simply amazing. She is loving and smart and beautiful and funny and headstrong. She has known exactly what she wanted ever since she was born. She is three going on 18. She is wise beyond her years. Sophie loves her brothers and is always glad to see me. We have spent many hours having tea parties and dressing up and coloring and going for walks, etc. I have been able to forge a special bond with her. Sophie never cried when I picked her up and her face lights up when I come into the room. I am so thankful for having such a good relationship with her.
I know that kids will be kids and always do and say what they think. And, I'm actually very grateful for that. Their unexpected pronouncements are always so entertaining. I hope that Owen quickly outgrows his fear of me and that James never gets it. Of course, if he does, I'll be disappointed and hurt just like I was when Owen did it. However, I will understand that it is part of the growing process and not a reflection of his feelings about me.
Still and all, it was horrific seeing the fear and panic in Owen's eyes when I reached for him. I hope I don't ever see that in his eyes again. If I do, I'll deal with it but it isn't easy to let it go.
Well, I think most of you know that I haven't yet found the perfect bead store in my new city of Baltimore. Good bead stores are very hard to come by and if you are lucky enough to have a good one near you, you should do whatever you can to support that store.
Whenever I get some free time, I continue to check out bead stores in the greater Baltimore area. I've been fairly disappointed in the quality and variety of beads and findings available here. However, yesterday I ventured out to Columbia, MD and discovered a pretty nice bead store. It is very convenient, just about a mile off 695.
The store is the Ambrosia Bead Shop located at 9143 E. Red Branch Road, Columbia, Maryland. you can find their website at www.ambrosiabeadshop.com. The store is small but they have a fairly good selection of high quality gemstone beads. In addition, she has a couple of rotating trunk shows that she changes about once a month. She generally doesn't have any idea what will be showing up in the trunk shows but it is usually something interesting. She also stocks a few gold and silver plated findings along with vermeil and brass findings. I also found glass beads and Swarovsky crystals. A small bit of bead stringing materials are on the wall as well. I didn't see any sterling silver wire but I found silver and gold colored wire. She doesn't carry any seed beads at all.
By far, the best part of the store was their gemstone beads. In addition, her pricing was ok. However, she doesn't currently sell wholesale but is trying to figure out how to give discounts for purchasing in bulk.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am. - 5:30 pm. except for Saturday when they close at 5:00.
One very positive comment I need to make about Ambrosia Bead Shop is the the store is very clean. There was no dust accumulating on anything in the store and the beads were sparkly clean. It's very difficult to keep your stock dust free but Ambrosia has succeeded.
I still haven't found the perfect bead store in or around Baltimore but I'm planning to continue my search. I suspect I'll not find a replacement for Scottsdale Bead Supply (which I've blogged about in the past). Rather, I'll end up with several different stores for different things. Of course, there is alway online but I'm one of those folks who want to touch my beads before I purchase them.
Do you have a favorite bead store in the Baltimore/D.C. area? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
My grandson, Owen, took his first steps today. The best part of the video for me is how excited Owen is. He has a twin brother who hasn't yet taken the plunge.
Unfortunately, my daughter-in-law was on a Girl's Trip to Chicago with a pack of her friends and didn't get to see his first steps. I think everyone understands that you cannot also be there for all the firsts but it is so disappointing when you find out you've missed something big.
Have a glass of wine Kara and enjoy the rest of your Girl's Trip.
I turned 55 today. I really don't even think that it is possible. When did I get so freakin old?
I feel like the same person I was 50 years ago. I still have all my insecurities. I still struggle with my weight. I still want to go to Africa.
It seems that the majority of my life is behind me. Oh how I wish I could just start over again. Some things I would do differently but mostly I'm happy about my life. I only want it to last a lot longer.
Hopefully I'll have another 30 or 40 years to watch my grandchildren grow up and see the fine adults they will become.
Who knows, maybe I'll get to see my great grandchildren!
I seem to be a bit spacey these days. For example, I recently made a green kyanite and lampwork necklace using some beads that I found a couple of years ago at the Tucson show. It was really the first time I had spent more than $200 per strand for gemstone beads. The green kyanite is spectacular! In fact, I liked the green kyanite so much that I couldn't decide what to make with it. I finally decided to make a simple wire wrapped necklace. Here is the picture of the finished necklace.
I didn't notice until a photographed the necklace that it wasn't right. The clasp in the front didn't lay right and it looked very asymmetrical. It wasn't at all what I wanted it to be. So, it was back to the drawing board for this one.
After cutting apart all my wonderful wire loops, I began again. Sometimes, I have had to remake a necklace several times before I get it right. This time, however, the second time was a charm. Here are some pictures of the remade necklace that is now on sale in my Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet shops.
