Business Lady!

Woooooooo!!!

(That means I'm excited, because I'm now the proud owner of a small business.)

I've been making jewelry for awhile now - I started sometime during college. I've always been creative and impulsive... One day, I went to the craft store, bought some tools, and started hammering the heck out of some old coins I had laying around - and Viola! I was suddenly a jewelry maker.

And I just sorta kept going. Whenever I was home from college I would take out my supplies and make something. I never really sold on a large scale, I just hosted a few selling parties for the ladies at church, and once at my school.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I bought a black maxi dress and needed something to go with it - I started sewing a triangle of burlap and stitched on some amethyst and cherry quartz stones. That got me thinking of so many different things I could do. Inspiration time!

I ended up with a ton of ideas, so I decided to do a new line. Then I decided to open up an Etsy shop. Then I decided to open a Sole Proprietorship. (I was going to go the LLC route, but here in CA, there's a minimum of $800 franchise tax per year. Youch!)

So the last two or three weeks have been full of trips to the bank (Shoutout to Malik, my business banker! He's a doll.), supply shopping, photographing, listing, and working on the new stuff.

Everything has gone well so far! (Well, except one thing. I got a parking ticket while I was filing some paperwork at the courthouse. According to the ticket, I parallel parked outside of the lines. Embarrassing! But I maintain that it was the car in front of me's fault, because I just parked behind them.)

They really don't mess around with parking violations out here. I don't have a very good track record. (Two tickets and a towing, and another ticket for Colton.)

Anyway, it's open! You can see my shop here: www.etsy.com/shop/Whisperwill

Right now I'm having a clearance sale on all pieces from past seasons - 50-70% the original price!

In the meantime, I'm working hard on my new line, with influences from Native American culture and Geometric patterns and shapes. I'll be sure to post a few sneak peeks soon!

Beads and Sitting Bull.

I love learning a new skill!

As some of you know, I'm making a new Native American inspired jewelry line with a geometric twist. Although most of my designs are based in leather and natural stones, I have a few ideas with more traditional Native American beading. It's not exactly difficult, but man is it tedious. Last night I began working on a pair of earrings. I had about four rows done, but then I accidentally broke one of the beads with my pliers while pulling my needle through... Nuts! I'll start over once I get back from the bank this morning.

Here's a tutorial on the method I'm using. On the same site are downloadable bead pattern sheets (sortof like little graph paper), which you can print off and make your own design! It's very fun once you get the hang of it :)

Today, I'm going to be awesome, like Sitting Bull.

Today at home :)

Since Colton was working on a shoot in Chinatown today, I had a day at home by myself!

I love that my husband gets to stay at home with me alot of the time, (that's just how it is with film - you could work solid for a month, then get a 3 week break) I find that it's alot harder to get anything done while he's around - I just like to hang out with him! It makes me a little lazy :)

Here's what I did:

- Washed the dishes (yuck!)

- Drove to Chinatown to drop off the camera charger and battery (Very proud that I found the studio without a gps!)

- Washed the laundry (yuck!)

- Ate an entire pizza from Reno's down the street (with pineapple... my favorite!)

- Watched a few japanese game shows (I'm a sucker for them. Ninja Warrior!!!)

- Got my leather scraps in the mail (yay!!! That means I get to start in earnest on my new line of jewelry... it has festival and Native American influences... I'll be sure to post a link once my etsy shop is up and running!)

- Hung out with my neighbor and her son, talking about jewelry, animation, illustration, rubric's cubes, and Minecraft. (My neighbor is awesome. She's some kind of bigwig in the india/pakistan garment industry, and illustrates children's books. Her son goes to tech school, was recently bar mitzvah'ed, and loves video games.)

Not a bad day!

(Now I'm hanging out on the couch sipping on a pretty bizarre drink concoction - tropical frozen concentrate I made, gin, and tonic water. Pretty good, actually!)

I'm very much looking forward to going stone shopping tomorrow - I've got my eye on some gorgeous druzy quartz, and hopefully a good supply on focal jasper slabs, and maybe some labradorite. I love rocks!

How was your day?

For the love of cheese, make this soup!

I don't know about you, but I love cheese. I also love soup. I also love broccoli. (Well. Sometimes.)

This soup, which I found on Tracey's blog, is a no brainer. It's easy, pretty quick, and so very yummy! If you like Panera's broccoli cheddar, you'll love this. It's a little better, in my opinion. Hint - don't skip the nutmeg, and make sure you use a good quality cheddar! I used an Irish country white cheddar in mine. And for pete's sake, don't buy pre-shredded!!! Originally hailing from a small town in Tennessee, I understand the woes of having too few cheeses to choose from, but even if you have to buy Bi-lo brand, block cheese is always the better choice - it tastes better and once shredded retains more moisture, so it melts easier into soups :)


Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups broccoli florets
1 large carrot, diced
8 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) grated sharp cheddar cheese

Add the butter to a large saucepan or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the flour to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes (or until golden), whisking frequently. Gradually add the half-and-half, whisking constantly - the mixture may look lumpy at first, but it will smooth out. Stir in the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper then bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli and carrot to the soup and continue simmering until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Turn off the heat under the pot and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or, if you don't have one, in a traditional blender - you'll probably want to do it in a few batches.)

Set the pot over medium-low heat and gradually add the cheese to the soup, whisking constantly to melt and incorporate. Adjust the seasoning to taste then serve.

Redecorating!

Just realized I never put up any picture of the new bedroom!

Perhaps a month ago, Colton was in the Bahamas AC'ing (that would be camera assisting) on a movie. He was going to be away for a bit over a week, which is the longest that we've been apart since being married. I decided to embark on a big project which would simultaneously distract me from loneliness and give him a nice surprise upon his return! So here's what I did :)

I was very proud of myself for being so handy. Everything you see I did myself, and everything is new! (Besides the mattress and bed frame.) Thanks to my friend Kaity for the lovely table - it was taking up room in her studio apartment, so she was glad for it to have a new owner. I decided to sand and paint it, and it ended up going beautifully with the room.

I'm very happy with how it turned out - very simple, clean, and calming - exactly what I was going for! It's a new direction for me, as I tend to like clutter, bright colors, and quirky details.

What have been some of your own decorating experiences?