Swap Shop December 2012 (Part 2)

Since I sent the Swap shop package a couple of weeks ago, I am going to assume that it's alright for me to post photos I took of my wrapping of vintage items for Vicki of of Vic and Lily Vintage.Although I won't be sharing what I sent her just yet, please enjoy the photos of my gift wrapping:

Swap Shop December 2012 (Part 1)

Long story short, kind of. Danni from Oh, Hello Friend announced that she was having another Swap Shop this December. I could not pass up this opportunity, especially since I'm such a fan of her shop/blog. We were paired by the aesthetic of our shops. I have luckily paired with Vicki of Vic & Lily Vintage, from Hong Kong. Please check out their blog, here.

This is just the first part of my blog posts of this swap, because I wanted to talk about different aspects of the swap separately. This post is just an introduction to the swap and photos of the lovely packaging that Vicki did! Happily I took some photos before I opened the parcel. The next blog post will be me modeling the lovely vintage clothes that I was given!

Holiday Baking (Part 2)

I decided to use the Snicker's that I had frozen since this past Halloween. I decided to melt them and dip large chunks of sourdough pretzels. Thus creating my own version of Snicker Covered Pretzels. The only thing was that, they were eaten so quickly, I didn't get to take any photos of my creations! But I do have a Pinterest link here, for those who want to make their own Snicker confections! Below is the only photo I took, my empty tray. I'd call this a huge success and I plan to make more, just to have a photoshoot re-do.

Holiday Baking!

I made some Stuffed Cookie Cups that I saw on Pinterest, please checkout the recipe here. Everyone loved them and I was very pleased at how delicious they were! Please enjoy some of my photos:

Mixing butter and sugar

Mixing the dry ingredients

One of the finished Stuffed Cookie Cups, they were all being eaten!

Liebster Award

Much thanks to Saralyn from Studio Maison Blog for nominating this blog for a Liebster Award! While I have enough time to answer these questions, I'll need some time to think about who to nominate.

11 Facts About Me:

1. Where are you most excited to travel?

Anywhere, but I do want to go to England or Ireland.

2. What is your favorite book?

A Christmas Carol. It's my favorite no matter what season it is.

3. What inspires your blog?
My Vintage Shop

4. What is one of your guilty pleasures?
Watching bad TV or great classic TV.

5. What is your favorite movie?
It's a Wonderful Life... I guess I love Christmas too much.


6. Do you have any pets?
One Cat.


7. What is your favorite scent?
Vanilla and Coconut

8. If money was no object what would you buy?
A trip around the world.

9. Who inspires you the most?
Gandhi

10. What are you looking forward to the most during the holidays?
Some free time work.

11. How did you get started blogging?
I started blogging when I opened my shop!

Holiday Stuffing

I was able to help the Meals on Wheels program this past Thanksgiving. Please enjoy making some for your Christmas Feast.

Sausage Apple Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 14 oz. package cubed Herb Seasoned Stuffing
• 6 tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 cup Celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Thyme
• 1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
• 2 cups Onions, chopped
• 1 pound Sage pork sausage
• 1 1/2 cups Apples, peeled/cored/chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup Pecans, chopped
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1/2 pint Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup Red Wine
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Use a large bowl to soak stuffing in chicken stock.
2. Using a pan, brown the sausage and crumble. Set aside to let drain.
3. Add celery, garlic, apples, and onions to pan, with butter. Cook until softened.
4. Mix cooked vegetables with stuffing.
5. In a bowl, combine eggs with wine, sour cream, pecans, thyme, and parsley.
6. Fold egg mix into stuffing bowl until evenly mixed. Add salt and pepper.
7. Bake inside the Thanksgiving turkey, or separately in a baking dish at 350 degrees for at least one hour.

This is enough stuffing for a 20-lb. Turkey.

Treasured

Thank you to everyone who had placed one of my items in their Treasury! I've posted some of the most recent ones:

Black Thursday - Cyber Monday Sale

Swap Shop Two

I am thrilled to be a part of the Oh, Hello Friend: You Are Loved Swap Shop this year! I wanted to be a part of it last time, but I was still trying to organize my pre-Etsy Shop inventory and business plan. To quote Danni from her blog, "This swap is all about sending a nice package full of goods from your shop. Your shop does not have to be limited to handmade items. You will be paired with 1 swap partner based on the aesthetic of your shop. The amount is up to you, please try to send a minimum of $25. Keep in mind the packaging, we're all about lovely packages here. Feel free to do a holiday themed package."

I am currently looking for pretty packaging materials to send to my Swap Shop Partner! I am very excited!

American Indian Arts Marketplace

I recently went to the American Indian Arts Marketplace! It was lovely to see all of the American Indian crafts and artwork. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so welcoming. 

Happy Halloween!

I thought that I would try painting my first pumpkin this year! Here is my small pumpkin, I decided to paint it grey and paint my favorite quote from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", 'Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."' I have always loved this poem and I really enjoyed this project!

Thrifted Clock

I found this great retro clock for my kitchen, the only problem was that it was filthy! When I was about to hang it up and clean it, I realized that just using water and a sponge would wipe off the retro green color of the clock. So it was either have a second-hand filthy clock in my kitchen or wipe off the color that made me buy the clock in the first place. So I decided to go to Lowes and try my best to match the color and re-paint! Luckily, you can but an 8 oz. sample size that is perfect for a small project, for only $3.00! I covered the glass/face with tissue and painted the clock with three coats of paint!

Vintage Marketplaces

After having my Etsy shop for over a year, I told myself that I would consider having a booth in a Vintage fair once I could afford it. I don't have the funds just yet, but I will try my best to go to these fairs/marketplaces to see if they are the right places for me to have a booth.

 SILVER LAKE ART CRAFT & VINTAGE
silverlakeartcraftvintage.com
November 10th
December 8th

HARVEST MARKET AND MARKETPLACE
Glendale's Historic Old Town
shopmontrose.com/sunday-harvest-market-and-marketplace
Sundays 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 PM

Vintage Score!

This classic Californian Pottery is from Adele from Laguna, California from the 1940's. I have read  that Barbara Williswork inspired this design. It looks great with my decor, since it is mostly brown tones with teal and mint accents.

LA Printers Fair

This is the second time I've attended the LA Printers Fair, there is so much great stuff for any vintage fan, especially if you also printmaking enthusiast.I found a type case and some print making supplies for my Etsy Store. I'll write about my new supplies soon!

Outing in LA

I had a very busy weekend in LA, I  finally got to see Placido Domingo perform!
Here are some photos from our outing.

Sesame Street

I was pleased to read Charles M. Blow's Op-Ed Column "Don’t Mess With Big Bird". He wrote and said everything that I wanted to say about PBS. I'd like to link this wonderful article and share some of my favorite Sesame Street clips that taught me about letters, counting and life.

Desert Moon

On a drive through the desert at night, we noticed how beautiful the sky and moon were that night, so I thought I would take some photos of the skyline, the fist is the best we took, and the others are beautiful mistakes. They look gorgeous!

Staining Wood Furniture

After almost a month of daily staining my coffee table is complete. Just waiting to buy a sofa so that everyone can see the full effect, but in the meantime, here is a sneak peek before and after image:

Coming Soon!

Here are some sneak peaks into Sea Sand Vintage new vintage items for next weeks photo-shoot!

Silver

                                          

While continuing my silver theme in my new home, I am spray painting my desk, file tray and cork board.

                         
I wanted to create a chevron pattern on my cork board. I didn't make it perfect because it will be covered by my calendar, paper ephemera and photos. More photos to come once, my office is complete so that everyone gets the full effect!

Below are my silver spray paint brushes. The vintage file trays given to me by Dani from http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com , the desk I found on the street for free and the cork board was given to me by my mom when I was in college. The photo shows that chevron design that I created and the other photo shows how my board looks now, after I pinned some of my favorite things from this year. I hope my craft projects have inspired you to buy some spray paint and give new life to your old furniture!

Tea Tin Craft

Update on my up-cycling tin project that I saw on Pinterest: it is complete and looks great on my refrigerator with some of my colorful and wacky pens! Anyone can make this quick craft, all you need are magnets and glue.

Step 1: Get an old tea tin.

Step 2: Purchase magnets to glue onto the tea tin.

Step 3: Use glue, Hot Glue or Gorilla Glue:

Step 4: Glue the magnets onto the back of the tea tin:

Step 5: Get some pencils and pens to put into the teat tin:

 And you have your finished product, ready to be placed on your refrigerator: