Friday Finds

It's September! Figured we'd let you all in on that little secret. Sometimes it feels as though fall should be the start of the year. Everything--school, football--seems to start in the fall, and fall brings a new energy to life (at least it does to ours). We even got our first September sale yesterday! Now, we get to make a $4 donation to Feeding America--that feeds 32 people! Our donations to Feeding America will last through the end of the month, then we will select a new charity to donate to (your suggestions are welcome)!

This week's finds are inspired by the nearing start of my (it's Misty talking) graduate education.

This "nerds have more fun" treasury curated by tohold has some awesome geek gear. We're big fans of the Library Card Notebooks and the Antique Brick Bookend.



In addition to this geeky treasury, we found two other nerdy finds. The first is this cute Old School Microscope Bodysuit made by happyfamily.

The final find for the week is this awesome laptop decal by MacBookDecalPro. If Snow White looked like this when I was a kid, I might have taken a little more pride in my nerdiness.

Hope you all enjoyed getting in touch with your inner geek. We'll be back next week with more tips, tricks, and finds. In the meantime, check out our Etsy store. And remember, 10% of all sales in the month of September will go to Feeding America.

Tuesday Tip--Grilled Cheese and Black Grape Sandwiches (Great with Corn Chowder)

Let's face it, everyone needs to take a break from work every now and then, and there really isn't a better reason to take a break than to eat lunch.

We've been meaning to make Athena's mom's corn chowder recipe for the past week and a half, and this morning we started the soup early so it would be ready whenever we wanted it. Originally, we were going to have corn bread with the chowder, but, on a whim, we opted to split a grilled cheese instead.

Two weeks ago we stopped by this cheese store in Belmont Shore and I ordered a Honey and Gruyere Panini. It was pretty good--I'd never though of honey and cheese, although I often top my grilled cheeses with honey mustard--but it needed something more.

Today, I was craving a similar flavor, but I didn't have many choices for the needed filler. After ruling out carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli, I opted for black grapes. (we'd served grapes and a gruyere cheddar blend at a shindig over the weekend and the combo was a hit). I also added some crushed red pepper to liven things up a bit and tie the sandwich in with the soup.

The results were pretty tasty!

Grilled Cheese and Black Grape Sandwiches


Ingredients

-Sourdough bread (it's our fav, but I suppose you could use whatever you like)
-Honey
-Gruyere cheese (or Trader Joe's Cheddar and Gruyere combo--that's what we used)
-Black, seedless grapes cut in half (we quartered them, but in hindsight, I'd halve them or cut them into slices like canned olives)
-Crushed red pepper
-Butter or Olive Oil (to coat the pan)

Directions

1. Cover the bread with a generous layer of honey--just avoid oozing.
2. Cover each side of the bread with thinly sliced cheese.
3. Add the desired amount of halved or sliced grapes.
4. Sprinkle on the red pepper to taste.
5. Melt the butter or warm the oil in a large frying pan.
6. Cook the sandwich on each side over medium heat until cheese melts and bread browns (increase the heat if you like charred bread).
7. Enjoy your delicious sandwich.
8. Check out our Etsy shop.

Make Art, Save Lives

When we started our Etsy shop, we were so overwhelmed by all that there was to do, that we didn't commit nearly enough time to establishing our brand or finding our niche. Now, after several evolutionary changes, we can say that we are at least on our way to doing both. Sure, we've cycled through a variety of products, logos, and themes and have yet to find the "right" fit. But, we've also taken a lot from each of these changes. We've learned what we like to do and what we don't like to do. We've learned a little bit about what sells and a lot about what doesn't.

We are still trying to figure out how to run a successful Etsy business, but we are certain we will eventually get the hang of it. That being said, we don't feel that businesses should wait until they are big and successful to do good things. This is why we have decided to donate 10% of every sale to charity. In short, we want to make art, and we want to save lives.

We will begin making donations for every item purchased on or after September 1st.  Each month, we will select a different charity to donate to. September's charity is Feeding America, an organization working to raise awareness about and eradicate hunger in America.

Feel free to leave us suggestions of charities to donate to in the future. We will probably set up some type of voting in the near future so that our customers and followers can help choose the charities. Stay tuned for more!

Peace. Love. Leave Your Mark.

Friday Finds

It's that time of the week again--where we show you Etsy stuff that we have fallen in love with! I know it's a little late today, but what do they say? Better late than never. Nonetheless, we hope you all enjoy!

This week's treasury, Birds of a Feather Can't Always Flock Together...., was curated by CandleAllure.   Finding this beautiful treasury was made possible by our procrastination--sometimes the universe works in our favor!



The first of two items we found this week is a Glam Peacock Hair Clip by MyLittleGingersnaps. She's new to Etsy, but her adorable hair clips are sure to make a scene. We can't wait to see them on the home page!

There is a short story about why we love this second item, a rustic looking eat sign made by OldNewAgain. The tops of our kitchen cabinets sit about a foot from our ceiling, and when we were looking to fill in the space with some decor, our choices were narrowed by the size limitations. One item we found, and fell in love with, was an EAT sign. It rests neatly atop our cabinets. The only problem is, our EAT sign is made of capital letters, and, from below, the bottom of the E is not visible, making it look like an F. Yes, we have a FAT sign in our kitchen! But, anyone who gets THIS eat sign will not have to worry about that because the hand crafted sign is composed of lower case letters! :D

Hope you love the finds as much as we do! And please, have a look at our Etsy shop!

Tuesday Tip--Recycled Upcycles

This week has been busy, very busy. On top of having an order to complete, we have been working to improve our Etsy store and create new and exciting crafts to offer all of you! Right now we're working on wedding stationary, picture frames, and collages.

In light of our busy schedule, we don't have much time to think up a new tip for our readers. So. . .we figured we would share these two awesome upcycled crafts we've been dying to try!

The first, is a lamp made out of a book. For instructions, click here.

The second is a vase made from an incandescent light bulb. Here are the instructions.

We hope you enjoyed and that you can forgive us for recycling ideas. We promise we'll have a fresh tip for you next Tuesday. Also, check back on Friday for our Friday Finds--our favorite treasuries and Etsy items.

Peace.

Friday Finds

It's FRIDAY (no, that was not to the tune of Rebecca Black ;] )! That means it is time for our weekly, Friday Finds post.

This week's treasury is, in our opinion, absolutely STUNNING. It was curated by TheLastBranch.



We have thre items this week that we just love.

The first is this rag quilt by ATreasuredNest. 

The second thing is this set of recycled Green Eggs and Ham stationary (did we mention that we LOVE Dr. Seuss) by adnagam!

The final item is this original illustration by helendardik!

We also found this discussion about whether YouTube will be the end of live art pretty interesting.

And, for those of you who are new to Etsy, be sure to check out Craftopolis. It has tools that allow you to   view your Google Analytics reports, batch edit listings, and much more. We think it's swell!

That's all for now. . .have a great weekend!

We Just Love Working From Home

We've been having some problems with our internet lately.  Really, it was just one (BIG) problem--we couldn't get on to Etsy. Thankfully, we fixed that this afternoon. Now, we're back to working at home which means we are much more productive. Sure, working at Starbucks meant tasty beverages, but it cost us both money and time.

Stay tuned for more!

Tuesday Tip--3 Ways to Add Visual Interest to Your Scrapbook Pages

People often ask us for tips on creating scrapbooks with visual interest--you know, the kind of pages that really pop out at you. So here it goes. . .

Three Ways to Add Visual Interest to Your Scrapbook Pages

1) Choose a Focal Point


As with your photographs, your scrapbook pages should have a focal point. Focus in on one main picture that captures the essence of the moment, and let the other pictures tell the rest of the story. You can create a focal point  by:

• Putting ribbon or a border around the picture you want to serve as the focal point
• Making a your main picture larger than surrounding pictures
• Layering pictures with your main picture on top (like below--even though the top picture is smaller, it captures your attention first)

Putting the main picture in a corner is another way to encourage viewers to hone in on it.

2) Spice Up Your Background

People often disregard backgrounds in scrapbooking, choosing instead to focus solely on the foreground (usually the pictures and embellishments). But, adding unique shapes to your background (see below) creates visual interest.

The Iowa cutout gives this page great depth and makes for a beautiful background.

3) Get a New Perspective 

Scrapbooks get boring when all of the pictures look the same. Experiment with different angles and camera settings when you take your pictures, and your scrapbooks will come out looking better for it.

The angle in this shot is what makes the picture interesting.

Hope this helps. . .see you next week!

The Republican Primary Treasury

Since joining Etsy, we've grown to love making treasuries! We've yet to make it to Etsy's homepage (I'm sure this was just a clerical error), but we sure have had a lot of fun. Speaking of fun, I think we had the most fun making this treasury. . .



Neither of us are Republicans, but Governor Rick Perry's announcement that he intends to run for president sure did inspire us to get in touch with our inner elephant. We think the results turned out better than Bachmann's straw poll win!

Visit our Etsy shop to see our other treasuries!

P.S. "The Democratic Primary" Treasury is coming soon!

Friday Finds

The "Friday Finds" posts will feature our weekly favorites. Look for great treasuries, awesome artists, and items we love. I can't promise that we keep up with Etsy trends, but I like to think that we have great taste. So, here it goes!

This week's treasury, August Color Envy, was curated by WildWilderness.




Our favorite find of the week is this awesome wall clock made by Shellyka. Be sure to check out all of the designs!

Santa Monica Pier Pictures

We went to Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday night to take some pictures. Boy, was it busy! The place was packed, but we still managed to get some good shots. We've included a few of them later on in this post, but please check out our Etsy store to see them all!

This is a shot of the beach from atop the pier (we loved the winding sidewalk).

We couldn't help, but post this. . .it really looks like the bird has a body!

 

We told you it was busy!

This is one of out favorite shots! The octopus is part of the food court sign

Tuesday Tip--Patterns in Photography

I'm excited for our first real post, aren't you? In our "Tuesday Tip" posts, you will find photography tips, photography techniques and tips on crafting, scrapbooking, card making, sewing, and more. In other words, this is where we impart our wisdom and experience on you (hopefully making your life A LOT easier).

This first post deals with patterns in photography--patterns like this. . .

Let's face it, patterns are attractive. The eye loves symmetry, and it also loves when symmetry is slightly skewed (as it is in the picture above). To shoot great pattern shots, you'll need the following:

• An SLR or DSLR camera
• A telephoto lens--an 80-200mm or 70-210mm should do the job
• Your eye or eyes (you'll likely need at least one)

The trick here is to find a good pattern, pick your settings, and shoot. Finding a subject is half the battle (as is always the case in photography). Here are some great places to look for patterns:

• Urban areas
• Construction sites
• Warehouses and wholesale stores
• Nature--think trees and crops and raindrops

When it comes to settings, daylight shots do well with an ISO setting of 100 or 200 (this will keep your shots clear); if you're shooting in film, this means using film with an ISO of 100 or 200 (black and white film works as well). Choose the exposure and aperture settings that fit the scene. If you're not familiar with these settings, check out this post on exposure and this post on aperture. I've found that a little bit of practice goes a long way in this area, so go ahead and try a variety of settings until you find what works.

Now, get out there and SHOOT!

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to our blog!

Stay tuned for:

• Updates from our recent photo shoots 
• Sneak peeks of our newest crafts
• Deals from our Etsy store
• Contests and giveaways
• How-tos and tips
• Our latest finds across cyberspace
• Monthly features about other artists
• And, anything else we feel like posting

We hope you're as excited as we are!

Misty and Athena