absence

Whoa there. So I don't know where my time has gone lately or my life for that matter. I have been helping plan some awesome parties which has kind of become my new passion. And I got frustrated with trying to reclaim my artistic side with like 20 minutes a week and declared that I was quitting. And on top of that a busy fall at work combined to mean that I haven't done a thing in the beckley realm for some time. And I discovered Pinterest which is a consuming dreamland for people like me. I feel like I've become their new spokesperson but honestly if you haven't joined in yet and you are at all artsy-craftsy you MUST go now! You will see and agree.


Here is a random assortment of what I've been up to. All the good photos haven't been edited yet so, sorry.

minimal etsy shop activity

I made a piñata. It was amazing.

I'm crazy so I stamped napkins by hand for our 2 year anniversary party

Helped put together a birthday party for my brother & sister-in-law

Ta-da! That's what you missed.

phew!

Wow my life has been so hectic lately! But my house is finally somewhat clean and things may settle out for a while. So I just wanted to add a note that everything in the beckley etsy shop is 20% off now through October 1st. Happy shopping!

yosemite

is so gorgeous! For my husband's birthday I planned a surprise camping trip to Yosemite. Turns out planning a surprise camping trip with an unknown quantity of people can be a bit stressful. It all worked out perfectly though and we had an amazing trip! If you have never been to Yosemite I HIGHLY recommend you go-words can't describe it's beauty. Here are some of the highlights of this trip:

This is Dog Lake-not a very impressive name, but a phenomenal lake! From the Lembert Dome parking lot up in Tuolumne Meadows it's about an hour hike (uphill the whole way) but totally worth it. It's at just over 9,000 elevation with only a few peaks in sight that are any taller. We took a dip in the lake (beware of the mushy bottom) before heading back down. 

  This little fella wasn't afraid of me. Came cruising across my path while I was hiking along the river in the Tuolumne Meadows campground. There are also black bear in the area, but you rarely see them. Mostly you hear them at night when you are trying to sleep and hiding in your tent with your sleeping bag up over your head.

 This is Ellery Lake in Tioga Pass just outside of Yosemite National Park if you come in from the east. It's a beautiful precursor to the all the gorgeousness in the park. 

Too bad I found this on the last day! We ran out of time to jump into that lovely waterfall-boo! It's definitely on my list for next trip!

the rest of august

I don't know where it went! We had a pretty busy end of the month with a few birthday parties, overnight guests and some extra work. Here is a bit of catch up.

Cookie of the Month Club: Oatmeal Raisin

Fresh Fish Chalkboard sign #2 completed

Trying to refinish/repaint an old picture frame-more photos to come!

Last evening we got back from a fabulous trip for my husband's birthday (I will post photos soon) and it's back to work this morning. I'm hoping to squeeze some creative projects in soon-I'm starting to go through withdrawals!!


Happy September everyone!

chalkboards

I've been working on my second set of chalkboard signs for a local restaurant. This one is pretty straightforward & simple-just some clean lettering. It's a pretty easy project-could be fun to do one for the house. A few quiet hours just working on a project alone can be just what I need sometimes.

pencil, paper, tape, square...tools of the trade

before

 The pattern is on & ready to trace

 I love paint pens!!

Here is the finished product. One down, one to go.

new stuff

finally up in the etsy shop!

2 years

My husband and I come up on our 2 year anniversary in October and I have been dreaming about doing an anniversary party with all the fun details and creativity that our wedding allowed me to play with. I will post more when I come up with some cool ideas. Here are some from our wedding preparations back in 2009 :)

number 1

just sent out my first official etsy shop sale!!! Yay!

rock my world

necklace by Eugenia on Etsy. Isn't it wild? I love how unique it is with all the rocks all gathered together at the bottom. My husband says that I haven't been posting much of my own work. Which is true because I haven't had much time to be very creative lately :(. Maybe sometime soon though! Happy Tuesday!

recycled road map

This super cute recycled idea brought to you by Design*Sponge. It's a DIY recycled road map cork board which is a great way to use something that I love: old maps! Check out their site for all the details. Happy weekend!

cookie of the month club: classic chocolate chip

The Cookie of the Month Club was deplorably late in July. Shame on them. However, July was Classic Chocolate Chip (recipe from the back of the bag of chocolate chips) and they were delicious and so very worth the wait. 

(This is the my most favorite timer from Anthropologie. It's so cute I had to throw in a photo.)

The recipe is for Original Nestlé Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsel Cookies.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour ***I usually do 1 1/4 cup white flour & 1 cup wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter ***no wonder they taste so good!

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 t vanilla extract ***I usually do 2 t

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts ***I never do this because my husband doesn't like nuts in his cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine flour, baking soda & salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar & vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Makes about 5 dozen cookies ***I think my scooper is too big because I probably only get 3 or 4 dozen.

Yum!

shag pillow

I had found this article on making a shag pillow on V and Co.'s blog and thought I'd give it a try. The article had said that you buy jersey fabric in such and such dimensions which would have made everything so simple. However, I always try to recycle stuff which usually just makes everything more complicated and time consuming. So of course I am trying to make it out of some old t-shirts. 

Which went fairly well except it got a little sketchy around the neck and sleeves. And the fact that it won't be all nice and uniform colored like hers. But I have a great pile of blue t-shirt strips in the meantime. I will keep you posted on how it turns out!

let there be light!

I have been thinking about making a new artsy light fixture for our bedroom (shh...don't tell my husband). It just seems like it would add so much character-right? Although my lamp project was a bit of a failure, I am undaunted and think that my second attempt at lighting will be better. Here are some inspiration photos. 

from here

from here

from here

Remember this one? From here

What do you think? It's hard to choose a style. The floor lamp looks totally doable, right? But the huge rhododendron chandelier is so much fun! But it would swallow up all remaining space in our tiny bedroom. I might need to think about this one for a bit. 

new...

necklaces will be in the etsy shop soon! The combination of vintage chain and upcycled accent pieces made these fun to work on. I usually second guess and make a ton of revisions, but I just went with my instincts on these ones. 

fortune

I am loving Fortune by Kim Dulaney's jewelry creations! I just discovered her etsy shop the other day and she has a wonderful collection of one of a kind or small quantity necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The jewelry is made of rare and vintage materials, so each one is very unique and eclectic. Gorgeous!

cherry

Besides the mandatory watering, I've been neglecting my little balcony garden for a while now. So cherry tomtoes are about the only thing happening right now. However, with fall on the horizon I'm getting reinspired. Maybe doing some herbs or a legit salsa garden? 
Photo from here

and the beast

After a lot of hard work and late nights I finally got the stained glass window panel for the Beauty & the Beast play done. Phew!

yes please

I want a huge box of yummy popsicles! From here

food photography

Photographing food is kind of a challenge. Without the right light or arrangement, a delicious treat can look gross. Raceytay has some lovely food photos that actually do justice to their subjects, like this fabulous bowl of figs.

a sneak peek

of what's new in the etsy shop. Check 'em out!