Spotlight on EtsyRain

Re-purpose, reuse, recycle - Entangle! Julia's jewelry is such testament to her love of making the old look new again. Old stretchy watchbands, enameled flower broaches, cameo pendants, buttons, charms, and chains all find their way into her hands and become fodder for her passion.

I sat next to Julia at an outdoor craft fair late last year. I watched as the few freezing patrons of the fair shivered past her booth, stopped, and noticed a piece. Comments would fly - "My mother had a pair of earrings just like this when I was little." Of course now that pair of earrings had be come just a single and found a home as a lovely addition to one of her eclectic necklace charms.

In a world, or maybe region, where the idea of a greener approach to living and vintage chic is oh so popular Julia's prices are a steal! Please take a look at some of the places you can find her, starting with her Etsy shop, Entangles. She also shares information on her blog about other crafters who have focused their talents on "up-cycling". You know what they say - "one woman's trash is another woman's treasure". Julia is making treasures for us all!

New Shop Open for Business

Well, it has been my intention since Christmas time to get a new shop up and running. I finally got around to bringing this idea to fruition. I still have a ways to go and product that needs concocting, but it is a start.

After all of the toy recalls and parents' wanting safer more natural things for their children to play with I remembered one of my favorite things as a child - homemade play dough! To this day the smell of the salty stove top toy makes me smile. My mom made it for my brother and I when we were little. She would squish it into a plastic hamburger patty maker to fashion perfect fat disks and then wrap them in plastic wrap. Each of us would get a stack of our own. I remember feeling so lucky to have a mom who would make me my own special play dough - none of that store bought stuff!

There are great recipes out there for other homemade crafty toy supplies and I plan on trying a few. In the near future I hope to list finger paints as well. I hope you'll take a look at my new Etsy shop and let me know what you think!

Swag Bag Sewing Bee!

Last weekend a group of us crazy crafters from EtsyRain - Puget Sound Indie Arts (PSIA is our new group name for use in the world outside of Etsy) had a Swag Bag Sewing Bee. What in the world is a Swag Bag Sewing Bee you may ask, it was an afternoon of sewin' and rotary cuttin' to make beautiful fabric swag bags for the first Puget Sound Indie Arts craft fair. Yay! A great little gaggle of us gals (and guy) got together. Some cut the pieces, some put together the pieces, others - more skilled at sewing- sewed up the bags just right, and then we put drawstrings on to finish.

These little bags will get filled up with awesome EtsyRain - PSIA swag and will go to the first 50 people through the door. When and where will we be giving these treasures away...? I thought you'd never ask! The show will take place May 10th, from 9:30am - 4:30pm at Artworks in Edmonds, WA. There will be 25 amazing artisans with wonderful handmade items to take home with you. So mark your calendars if you are in the Puget Sound area, and bring your mother for a one of a kind Mother's day weekend experience.

My Day Job

Most of the crafters I know have one, a day job that is. I would love to be able to support myself by selling my creations, but at least for the present time that just isn't happening! So I manage a high end flooring showroom in the Seattle Design Center. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Design Center it is basically two large mall type buildings in the Georgetown area of Seattle. Each space in the two buildings is occupied by vendors who supply a variety of home decor items to be sold wholesale to interior designers and architects. The items are then resold to their clients. Showrooms specialize in everything from exquisite furniture to unique lighting fixtures, fabrics, accessories, and flooring.

I have a background in graphic and interior design. Having worked in the interior design field since I graduated from college I decided last year that I wanted to try something a little different - and a little more steady - income wise. Becoming manager of the Rubenstein's Showroom back in July has allowed me to broaden my horizons and learn another specialty in the design field. Flooring is sometimes an afterthought for some designers, and homeowners for that matter. I have learned a lot in the last couple months, but I won't bore you with all the details. However, if you have any questions I would be happy to try and answer them. I don't claim to be an "expert" just yet, but I do know a few.

Anyway, last week was the yearly NORDEX conference at the Seattle Design Center. I'm still not sure what "NORDEX" actually stands for, but it is basically a two day event. During the two days there are different speakers, showroom open houses, and product introductions. I spent the week leading up to it trying to ready the showroom - cleaning, reorganizing, and reworking our displays. I really enjoy doing this kind of stuff including planning the flowers and food for our guests. I was really pleased with the way everything turned out. However, this being my first NORDEX event, I was disappointed with the turn out. I believe the lack of visitors was due to our current economic situation. These types of events target designer in the far reaches of Washington and beyond - not every state has a great resource for designers like the SDC. It seems those targeted might have decided to stay a little closer to home. Anyway, maybe next year will be better. It was a lot of work, but in the end I was happy to have put forth our best effort.

Spotlight on EtsyRain

Well, have totally neglected my blog the last week or so. I have just not been in the mood to write. Because of this lack of focus I didn't get around to doing last weeks "EtsyRain" spotlight. So in the spirit of getting things back on track I'd like to introduce two of my fellow Rain'ers. First, Martha of Dancing Monkey Jewelry has opened her Etsy shop for business. She has added a wonderful selection of beautifully crafted sterling silver and gemstone earrings. With a funky yet elegant style Martha's pieces would fit comfortably into any modern woman's jewelry box. I do hope to see her necklaces and bracelets posted soon. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Emmakat's shop another highlight of the EtsyRain community. Her pieces offer a delicate balance of seed beads, gemstones, and sterling silver. I particularly love the attention she pays to the pendant portion of her necklaces. Her construction and color pairings give birth to truly unique jewelry designs. Emma also has a few great gocco pieces and she still has two EtsyRain mystery sampler bags. Each Sampler listing contains five items, retailing for $10, from other EtsyRain artisan's, and you can purchase the grab bag for only $25. It's a great deal!


















Go take a look at both these great shops, and check back for information on other talented Seattle area artisan's.

Coming Soon!

Ok, so I have neglected my blog for over a week now. I have just been to tired or distracted to write, but now I have a back log of thoughts I need to post. But...right now I have work to catch up on (I hate when assistants quit and don't give any notice). Hopefully, I will have a chance this weekend to sit down and get it all out. Oh, and I will get to both this week's and last week's EtsyRain spotlight posts as well. Gotta support the girls! More to come...

Uplifting

I just saw this painting on an Etsy Artist's Live Journal. She says she is trying a new line of products and she is looking for feedback. I left her a message because this painting just struck me! I love the colors, the composition, and the lolly pop trees. I like all kinds of artwork, but this is one that just makes me feel good. She has some great stuff. Take a look at her Etsy shop...and what a funny avatar.

Cooking Journal - Entry 1

I don't always feel motivated to make a whole meal during the week now that it is just me, but I like to experiment with my own recipes on the weekends. Well I made something this weekend that turned out so yummy I thought I would share. It was essentially the marinade and dipping sauce that I am so proud of.

I started by putting together the marinade in a Ziploc, and shook to combine. Then I took a 1lb. flank steak, and punctured holes all over the front and back with two forks. I lowered the steak into the baggie and tried to get out as much air as I could - making sure that the steak would lay flat in the bag. I then put it in the refrigerator making sure to lay it flat and I flipped it once about half way through the time it spent in the fridge. (I probably had mine marinating for almost 24 hours.) When you are ready to cook it remove the bag from the fridge and pull out the meat. When you pull it out just run your hands down it to get the big chunks and most of the liquid off. Then pat dry on a couple of paper towels - it must be dry before cooking. I broiled the flank steak for about 5 min on each side. Let rest, then thinly slice.

I think this would totally work with Chicken or Pork Loin too, but I would just cook those on 350 instead of broiling. If you try it let me know how it works for you. A little sweet and full of flavor. I also put together a blue cheese dipping sauce that reminded me of one I've had at the Melting Pot and served with fresh white corn off the cob and red skin potatoes. Both recipes are included below. I hope you enjoy.

I am bummed I didn't think of taking pictures though. Maybe next time I will remember to photography the meaty goodness.

Move over BF Contessa!

Meg's Marinade
1 lg diced shallot
2 lg sliced cloves of garlic
¾ cup of Pineapple Juice (juice from one can of pineapple chunks)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce
2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of one Lime
2 tbsp Dry Parsley
½ packet of Good Season’s Italian Dressing
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Gorgonzola Dip (Serves 2)
1 1/2 tbsp Gorgonzola Crumbles
2 tbsp Sour Cream
2 tbsp Cream Cheese
1 tbsp Buttermilk
1 tbsp Chives
Pinch Garlic Powder
Pinch White Pepper
Heavy Pinch of Salt

*Mash together with a fork. Add buttermilk to achieve desired thickness.

ENJOY!