Beaded Flower Basket Project

Just one more full day of dog sitting which means one more day of beading. I finally tackled the one design that gave me the most trouble. Daisies aren't' hard to make if you're not using wire. Yes, I made it harder on myself.  The basket is super easy and fast but it was the flower part that made me put this design on hold. I guess I could have switched to thread but not having any here with me I plowed along with wire. I don't even remember how many movies I had playing in the background while making these. I did use up all my brown beads which I take as a win. The next step is turning them into cards. 
 

Pumpkin and Candy Corn Seed Bead design

This pumpkin design took hours to get right. Not because the it's hard, but finding the right beads in my stash that were the right size. The newer size 11 beads are smaller than my vintage ones. Not sure but I'm guessing my newer ones are lower in quality as I'm finding more beads with very narrow holes. I had to change the original pattern several times so it didn't look like an orange skull. Lots of trail and error. It's funny as I know my halloween cards aren't a big seller so spending this much time on them seems silly. 

The candy corns are easy to make. Now I just have to find a sentiment that fits. Wondering if I should mail out Halloween cards instead of Christmas  cards.  I read that the mail rate is going up 51% this month. That's just crazy!

Do you mail out Halloween or holiday cards? 

Pet sitting projects - beading

When I'm pet sitting I bring along craft projects to past the time.  Most of the owners prefer that I spend as much time with their pets as possible. Many times I pack up projects but for some reason never get any of them done. It not like I'm watching TV the whole time even if I could figure all the remotes.

This week's babysitting project is making beaded charms. I still have my ladybug and cupcake kit out from my last class at FabMo, don't judge. 

It's going well and I'm actually getting things done! I even branched out and trying some new patterns. Thought this goldfish in a bag was funny. It's Obon season (Japanese festival) and every kid comes home with a gold fish. I also have the Amuse stamp (remember that company?) that says "best fishes". I thought that would make a fun card.   The sea otter pattern has been on my list for a long time. The light bulb went on when I realized I could add a little shell from my vast shell collection. Not sure what sentiment I will use but at some point it will come to me. :) 

 

Overall Jean Bag

Always interested in checking out bags made out of jeans. Another volunteer at the store had this huge tote bag which if I had to guess was made from overalls. I was surprised the maker didn't use the jean pockets on the bag.  

I've been learning about the different grades of jean material. I know that's the really random thing to learn about. Most of the fashion jeans made now can't be recycled. The spandex stretchy stuff added makes it unusable for even rags. We always get requests for 100% cotton jeans that are headed to rag bin. We rarely get any of those in but when we do, they're still sellable. Faded or worn spots are no big deal. 

Chocolate mousse tarts

This was the treats that Michael brought in on Saturday.  It's a chocolate mousse tart with whip cream. It was good but her brownies are still my favorite. Still I did bring a few home. :)

Dog sitting now and that means a new schedule to follow. I'm still trying to get home in the morning in time to take Posey for her morning run. I've found it's easier for me to go home everyday to shower and make my breakfast. Less things to have to pack up and move. I also have to water my plants, many that were rescued from the store bins. People donate pots with almost dead plants still in them. Not healthy enough to sell and we can't water them. So my household garden nursery looks a little sad right now. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll have a house full of happy plants. 

 

Aki's Pink Guava Cake Back In Town!

I finally found the link to the REAL Aki's pink guava cake!  I knew they did a pop up but I wasn't sure where or when. This is site (sorry can't link it)  Sue's Bites and Delights, if your interested. 

I know when they sold the bakery years ago the recipe was part of the sale. It was their biggest seller. I would also guess there was a non compete clause too. The people that took over the bakery didn't follow the recipe at all and of course lost all those loyal customers.  Another big guess is the non compete clause has now expired. The grandson is making the cakes again, but only once a month.  It's sort of a pop up style business but you do have to pre order / pre pay for your cake 8" cake is $65.00. I'm guessing here again but I think his mom went into the wedding cake business at some point in Santa Clara and that is where he's baking everything. 

One of the volunteer at the store is a great baker. Michael (yes that's her name) brings in some amazing stuff. I told her about the Aki's guava cake and she had only heard about it many years ago. Someone brought one in to work for one of the doctors. That person got really upset when one of the nurses took a slice (just one slice) to share with her department. I'm thrilled I can finally take the real cake into for her to try.  

I'm planning on visiting my son for his birthday next month but the pop up doesn't happen the week of his birthday. He said it was worth celebrating his birthday whenever the cake was available. :) Now fingers crossed it makes it up there in one piece. 

Morning Schedule

I don't know if all dogs do this but Annie always sat just outside our front door. Posey started chilling by the door after our morning run. 

She runs, I walk :) 

Now that I know when the sprinklers go on and the big field gets mowed, Posey and I have a nice morning routine. She waits for me to finish my coffee but the minute I start to get dressed, the barking will start.  

Early in the morning there aren't many dogs on the field. Posey would love to play but jumping up and down wouldn't be good for her back. Her legs are getting stronger so she's not slipping anymore when she runs but I still don't take any changes. To help with her weight I now give her carrots for a snack. It's not her favorite but being a true lab, will eat anything. 

 

Busy Month July 2025

I'm currently cat sitting and after this week head over to dog sit. Busy month for pet sitting! I don't cook much in other people's homes because I don't know where everything is. Plus trying to keep a stove that is never used clean is more work than I want to do. I either meal prep at my place or pick something at Trader Joe's. 

When I was at TJ there was a sign about something being recalled for listeria contamination. I asked the very young cashier how are they getting this information when the felon did away with this department? She said it wasn't a very popular product but she really didn't know. I didn't really expect her to know the answer but hoping it will get her to thinking about our country's food safety or at least where our food is coming from. 

Another display idea

I'm a night owl so my most creative time is late at night. My eyes tell me that's all good and well but they're tired and want to go to bed. 

I picked up this vintage bed tray because it spoke to me. Not that I needed it for anything specific at the time. As I was searching for interesting push pins for my jewelry board I came across magnet push pins. Hmmmm, I thought that would be interesting to use magnets instead of real pins. Went down the creative rabbit hole late last night. Thinking maybe using the tray as a display board would add that little touch of whimsy. I could do a theme of the vintage pins and earrings from the same era. Magnet push pins are pricey so I had to dig out all the magnets I have in my craft stash. Yes, I have lot for some reason.  Now I have to decide if I should dress up the magnet and how. 

Jewelry Display Done

I really like how my new jewelry display is turning out. I like it so much that I'm going to make a second one. Now I just have to decide if I should try and match the  color or go with something different. Since it's just costume jewelry, I think going with a funky color would be fun. The frame I have (dumpster find) is a custom size (13X15) so I will have to cut everything down to size. It's been fun to try and do the boards in theme, like doing a puzzle. 

 Selling jewelry isn't a big money maker even with having some nice sterling silver pieces. All the really junkie pieces are being stuff into jars and sold off, which helps reduce the bulk of my inventory. 

Revamping yet again - jewelry

I pulled all my jewelry out of Cottage Crafts this week to revamp how it's displayed or even if I should keep selling it. I use to get junk lots of jewelry at random times but not so much anymore.  It's not be big money maker and some of the pieces have been around for years. It's time to unload the dudes. Part of my plan is to fill jars just to get rid of the junky stuff. I was surprised on how much you can get in a jar!

I dumpster dived for this frame (the color caught my eye) and thought it would make a good back drop for the better or more interesting pieces. I may do it by theme, switching out once a month. The board is still a work in progress but I'm leaning toward doing it by theme.  What do you think?

Dumpster Diving

I go dumpster diving every week now. It's not the gross dirty ones behind stores but the Hope bins we have at the store. When other departments think something isn't worth selling or it's been on the shelf for too long, it will go into the bins. Really what I'm doing is getting things into boxes or trash bags as Hope requires. It makes it easier for the driver who picks up every week to load the truck. I also remove the things Hope won't take. Because of this, I see what's been tossed.  I find "good stuff" all the time. Most of the time items were priced too high and the volunteer in charge didn't want to change the price. Sometimes they don't know what they have and tossed it. This victorian vanity mirror was one of those things. Yes, the mirror isn't in perfect condition but it's interesting enough to resell. One of the unspoken rules when we dumpster dive is not to pull something out and tell that department we should try and sell it. There was a reason it got put into the bins. We get so many sets of fancy china (3 to 4 a week), we can't sell them fast enough. Everyone thinks they can be sold for top dollar but it's very rare for someone to buy a whole set. 

Being a crafty person when I saw the round tin with a clip in the bins, I knew it was an accessory to hold water for an artist palette. I was also surprised when I finally got the other tin open, it's a mini painting palette! I think it was originally designed to be an ash tray (Temu) but some company converted it to a traveling palette. Just another thing to add to my crafty "someday" collection. Maybe now I'll take the trip to the beach and paint. :)