Each time a girl gets baptized in our family, they get a special bracelet as a comemorative of their important day. This is the one I made for my niece:

I love to add special elements to these important event bracelets. A personal love of mine is Thai silver. So for these I add a lovely heart dangle as a symbol of love:
These hearts have a way of adding charm, beauty, and simplicity as the same time. Combined with crystal. Just beautiful:

As of yet, these are not offered in my boutique, but I am offering them to you as a special order (which I don't usually do either). So for only $20-$25 (depending on name size) a piece and free shipping, just e-mail me and get that woman or girl in your life something especially sweet for their special day of rememberance.

XoXo!

Syrupy Sweet

It's finally summer here. Now what I mean by summer, is that it finally got hot here. Now I realize that many of you are back in the swing of school, schedules and things; your summer has been hot and dreadful and you are ready for warmer temperatures. For us, we had an unseasonably cool July and are finally enjoying temperatures in the 80's, still dipping into the 50's overnight. I'm definately not complaining, but this means I am just barely enjoying all the summer activities that come with warmer temperatures. This would also explain my neglecting my boutique and not posting as often as usual. We are bound and determined to enjoy the last few weeks we have left of summer since we are happy to say that school still doesn't start until after Labor Day. {*Phew* I have time!} But since berry season is well underway, we have been doin' some jammin' around here. In getting ready for the winter, I always stock the pantry full of my honey's favorite Marionberry Jam, but what I wanted to share today is what I do with the seedy pulp leftover from making our Jam seedless. Here is my not so secret recipe to:

Berry Syrup

ingredients:

1 C. granulated sugar
2 C. corn syrup

Discarded berry pulp (I used marionberries)

directions:

-Heat pulp and corn syrup over med. high heat until syrup is watery and slightly boiling.

 -Strain out pulp from syrup into glass or metal bowl and return syrup to pan. Stir in sugar and heat until sugar is disolved. Pour over pancakes or waffles with favorite toppings. 

                                                                        *Mmmmmm!

-Watch devouring take place while wishing you'de made more. Enjoy!

And hey, maybe someday I'll share my ever so deliciously timeless Belgian Waffle recipe.

Just maybe! ;)

Shimmer Me Happy!

 I've been doin' a lot of junkin' lately. I call it "junkin'" because if there's a yard sale I won't stop unless it looks like there is a lot of junk with the potential of being cheap and restorable. Then, I will stop and ask the kids, "wanna go junkin' with me?!" and they all get excited and scream "yes" looking as giddy as I feel while they leap from the car wondering what kind of goods they themselves can make off with. Anywhere I can find something with potential, I'll stop and check out. Yard sales, Thrift stores, trash bins (yes I'm humble enough to watch those too), recycle centers, even yard waste places where we drop off our truckloads of debris. A few weeks ago I found this little deal at a yard sale:

For TWO DOLLARS !  

Two Dollars folks!! So sincerely, I picked it up and didn't let it out of my grasp for the rest of sale browsing.

 I paid the lady and took that baby home and got busy.

First I gave it a good coat of Burnt Sienna Acrylic paint from my tole painting days stash:

  

                                                                     Better already, Eh!

Then a coat of the Metallic Champagne I must have gotten for another idea ( I'm sure I never actually created) since it's that pretty shimmery looking paint I'm always hoping to use on a lucky project:

  

Then I painted the top in just the Opaique look. I was origionally going to cover it and decided to paint it before doing so. I'm not much for the look of these kind of chairs usually.

I really like the way it turned out. AND, as for now. . .

I don't want to cover it anymore.

Love it when a project ends up that way!

Picnic BBQ Sandwiches

Summer meals for us means flexible, quick, easy, & little preparation. This dish is a personal family favorite and the flexibility of it makes it a tasty dinner turn to with little or no thought whether it be in the oven, crockpot, or over a campfire; on buns, or without, on rolls, or alone with a favorite side dish; using pork, chicken, or beef. Anything goes! Here's our favorite BBQ sauce recipe-or you could just use bottled sauce!

Picnic BBQ Sandwiches

4 large chicken breast or pork

1 Cup ketchup

1/4 C vinegar

1/2 C Worcestershire sauce

2 T. dry onion (or 1/4 cup minced fresh)

2 T. brown sugar

1tsp. crushed red pepper (or to taste for extra spice)

1 package sesame seed buns

-Set oven to 375 degrees.

 Mix all ingredients (except for chicken and buns) in a bowl.

 Place meat choice in covered baking dish and pour sauce mixture over top of meat.

 Bake for a minimum of 1 hour. Serve on bun with cole slaw, baked beans, and refreshing beverage. Que Provecho!