30 March 2012

Things I made: bracelets and earrings, oh my!

Earrings with heart beads, blue and white on silver.

Earrings made for my mom - made with some purple wired beads I had left over from another project (and had no idea what to do with!) and silver wire. I think these turned out quite nicely!

Locket with heart charm and pearl

Bracelet with aqua pearls and navy blue ribbon. This was an experiment - still not entirely sure how I feel about the result.

Here is a little fun I had with charms and beads in bracelets. It should be said that I am very open to requests re: colours, themes, etc, so if you have something in mind I can make it happen!

Blue with gold shimmer "Create" bracelet and yellow cats-eye "Believe"

Red beads with owl charm

Hot pink beads with tea set charm - I couldn't resist the tea, how cute?!

Charms and beads galore! I make these bracelets with elastic cord, so they are easy to take on and off (no fumbling with a clasp!) and look seamless.

25 March 2012

Thing I made: Ridiculously healthy banana bread

Ok, so, this is among many recipies I have encountered on Pinterest (my guilty internet pleasure). My roommate buys bananas way too often and when they ripen too fast, as they always do, they end up in my freezer for baking experiments. My all time favourite recipe using bananas is my Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip cookies (Pinterest - seriously where would I be without you??), which I promise to share in time! But since I've still got half a jar of those cookies left from the last time I made them, I needed to try something new with all these bananas. This bread was super easy to make and is RIDICULOUSLY healthy - oil free, sweetened with bananas and dates, using flax as an egg replacer (this bread is vegan!), using whole wheat flour and topped with sesame seeds.

This recipe was taken and modified slightly from http://www.lovefoodeat.com/healthy-banana-bread-whole-wheat-vegan-oil-free-and-sugar-free/

Directions:

1. Set oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix 2 tablespoons ground flax with 6 tablespoons of water and set aside - the mixture will thicken and become gooey.
3. Mash 3-4 overripe (or thawed from frozen) bananas (I used 3 for this bread and it could stand more banana)
4. Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt in a mixing bowl
5. Add 3 chopped dates (I used fresh but you could also use dried dates) to the flour mixture
6. Mix mashed banana and flax mixture in with the flour mixture and stir until combined into dough
7. Place dough into loaf pan and sprinkle top with sesame seeds (optional)
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes until it has risen and outside is browned. My bread stayed quite flat as the pan I used was a bit large for this recipe.

Voila! Easy, healthy, and delicious. The only real time it takes is waiting for it to bake (during which time I started to make some new jewelry - stay posted!)

22 March 2012

Things I made:
(I've also got one more earring/bracelet set that I will post once it is given to someone as a gift!)

Earrings with shell, coral, and gold

Bracelet with beads and gold wire

Beaded necklace - coral and light blue

19 March 2012

Things I made: necklace, earrings

 

Necklace: Beads with wire, ribbon

Earrings custom-made for Haley (credited as a model!)

17 March 2012

Today I made: 3 sets of earrings, 1 necklace, 1 bracelet.

I am still waiting to finish another necklace which will hopefully be up shortly, I am having a tiny bit of trouble with some of the finishing touches...it's an experiment to say the least! I did however get to make a few cute little pieces this morning. Again, the colours don't show up extremely well in the photos - apologies!

Light rose heart stones with crystal ends in gold

Earring and bracelet set - similar to the coral with light blue but this time with turquoise

Clear with blue stones in gold, the colour can be seen better here:

Necklace made for Megan using antiqued gold chain and her mother's locket, earring, and pearls. A closer look below...

14 March 2012

Things I made: 3 pairs of earrings, 2 bracelets, 1 necklace

I spent way too much money today at the bead store but came home and spent two hours making jewelry - a lovely evening! I had tried to make some things on Tuesday night and was not feeling inspired at all, so it was nice to get back into things. Apologies as I still haven't entirely figured out how to get things to look properly in photos or a good way to display them!