~Pamela Susan~

Adios!!

I board the plane in 8 hours for my trip to New York...I best be off to bed, but wanted to say goodbye before I go!

During the flight I hope to start a knitting project using this beautiful yarn:

We'll see how that goes!

Have a wonderful week!

Until next time...

xoxo,

Pamela, a gal who can't wait to see her sisters 

Spiders and Acorns

Whew!  What a day.  I don't think I've mentioned this earlier, but on Wednesday I'm flying to New York to visit my two sisters for a week, and boy (or should I say girl?), am I excited!  But today was filled with much busyness, trying to get as many things accomplished before Tuesday arrives...I hate waiting until the very last minute to do things...especially packing for a trip!

A few of the things on today's looong "to do" list was to list a couple new items in my shop.  

Ladies and gents, I present to you the 'eek! Earrings':

and the Lil' Acorn Necklace:

They were so much fun to create!  Actually, they have both been done for quite some time and have been sitting in my studio just waiting for me to add them to the shop.  And lucky me--I already sold a pair of the 'eek! Earrings'--within 20 minutes of listing them!  Thank you, Beatrice (one of my favorite clients!).

And speaking of acorns...I LOVE acorns!  I love them so much I just had to buy these cute little fabric brads...they were on sale at Michael's and I just couldn't help myself:

Just think of the crafting possibilities!  

I think I'll bring them along on my trip so we can make some fun things...oh yes, you guessed it...We DO have a long list of projects that we're planning on doing. 

I.  Can't.  Wait.

Okay, I am now off to bed.  I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday evening...

Tadalooo...

xo,

Pamela

26 Weeks...Almost

This picture is dedicated to Anna, the loveliest lady in the land of Sweden...

Here's the baby bump!  Almost 26 weeks...can you believe it?

Last Sunday I received an update from babycenter.com notifying me my lil' darlin'

was about 1.5 lbs, and 13.5" tall--about the size of a RUTABAGA, 

a SWEDISH TURNIP!  hahaha!

Too funny.

Happy Friday!

xoxo,

Pamela

Seattle

We arrived home last night from a quick trip to Seattle, and what a fun trip it was!

While Aaron attended a healthcare conferene all day my dear friend Marilee, our kiddos, and I gallivanted around this wonderful city.  And of course, no trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to Pike Place Market!

I treated myself to these beauties.

Thank you, Marilee!

xoxo,

Pamela, a grateful friend

p.s.  Here's a sneak peak of a new necklace design that will be finding its way to my shop very soon:

So fun...

A Thoughtful Daughter

A few months ago I had the pleasure of helping a young client design a necklace for her mother.

But this was no ordinary necklace...this was a special birthday gift from a 12 year-old to her young mother who was in the middle of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.  This thoughtful daughter wanted to incorporate the color pink in the design in honor of her mother's fight against breast cancer, but that didn't scream "BREAST CANCER!".  It was also important to include a bird in the design, since one of her favorite poems is Emily Dickinson's 

"Hope is the Thing With Feathers".

This is what we came up with:

Similar to the Ava's Nest design, this 'nest' is a light pink Genuine Chalcedony Gem that displays a Genuine Pink Garnet wrapped within an 18K gold bezel. 

 I am happy to announce that this mother has since finished both 

chemotherapy and radiation treatment and has been declared cancer-free.  

What beautiful news.

*                *               *

Hope is the Thing With Feathers--Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest is the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

xo,

Pamela

A Baby Shower Gift

While visiting Medford I was able to attend my friend's baby shower...lucky me!  It was a real treat to be able to celebrate this special time with her.  Her little girl is due in October so what better gift is there then to give the expectant mother a necklace made of her baby's birthstone??  

October's most popular birthstone is the Opal gem, but I chose to use the less known alternative birthstone, Pink Tourmaline.  

I thought it would be fun to share this fun packaging idea since the holidays are just around the corner.  I found this cute lil' tin at Michael's and decided to attach a handmade card to it.

To make the card, stamp a piece of card stock, use scalloped scissors to cut it out, antique the edges with the same ink, and attach a cute beaded fabric brad with glue.  (I purchased a set of the brads at JoAnn's, and clipped the metal part off the back)

Wrap the gift with tissue and color-coordinating fabric, and walaah!  You are done.  :)

Do you have any fun packaging ideas for me??

xo,

Pamela, a lover of stamps, tins, fabric, and beaded fabric brads

A Trip to the Farmers Market

I treated myself to something recently...a long weekend trip to visit my girlfriends in Southern Oregon!

(Hence, the lack of blog posts!)

My heart is full right now...I feel so blessed and grateful to have such dear friends. 

Here's a GIGANTIC THANK YOU to Yumiko, 

whom we stayed with while there.  

Yesterday morning, before we began our trek back home, we visited the Ashland Farmers Market with Yumiko and her darling lil' girl...ahh, this brought back such sweet memories of living in the Rogue Valley.

Check out these DOUGHNUTS!!!  

Puck's Doughnuts make the best in the valley!  Don't you just wanna sink you pearly whites into this one??

I thought so.

 

It was no surprise the girls choose the sprinkled ones.

I just loved how the produce in this particular tent was displayed...absolutely gorgeous.

And who can't resist a balloon from the Balloon Guy?!  Not us.

But did we hit the road once we were done with the market? OF COURSE NOT!  We jotted down to Lithia Park to enjoy the beautiful weather and to let the girls get their energy out before the long drive home.

Yes, a fun time was had by all...

Thank you, Yumi!!

xoxo,

Pamela, a very grateful friend

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!

Skeptical?  I was too at first, but then I baked them...and I concur...

They are the best!

You can find the recipe here.

I followed the advice of one of the comments that was left in the 'review' section and added 1 tsp of cream of tartar, which is supposed to improve the overall aesthetic of the cookies.  

I also omitted the nuts because I just didn't feel like adding them.  :)

Want a bite??

The girls enjoyed them!  

Happy eating!!

xo,

Pamela, a mama who enjoys a mouthwatering chocolate chip cookie now & then

The Butterfly Circus

It's no secret to my longtime readers that I'm a fan of Dionne's lovely blog.  Lucky for you she has recently posted a link to the most beautiful, humbling, and inspirational short film, 

The Butterfly Circus.  Please click here to access the link on her blog to watch this beautiful film...it is definitely worth 20 minutes of your time!  

So curl up with a hot cup of tea, a blanket, and enjoy!!

xoxo,

Pamela

It's Pickle Time!

Okay.  I love to eat pickles...not just ANY pickles, but my Mom's home canned pickles.  (Actually to give credit where it's really due I need to mention that my mom has always used my Grandma Flossie's recipe, so thank you, Grandma!!) They are divine and OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD.  Both Ellen and I are determined to carry on the tradition of canning these pickles for our own families, and we both JUST HAPPENED to can them this past weekend for the VERY FIRST TIME by ourselves!  (Ellen is in New York, and I'm in Washington state--I love that we were both in the pickle-canning mood at the same time while living in opposite sides of the country!)  Boy, was it a hoot!  I loved every minute of the ''pickle process"!

First I gathered my ingredients:  pickling salt, vinegar, dill, garlic...

and of course the cucumbers!

Avery helped fill the jars.  She loved the tiny ones...she'd say "Ohhh, Mama!  The little ones are SOOO CUTE!"

I loved how the dill looked...isn't it purdy??

 Here's a pic before they received the "dunk" treatment:

And here they are all finished!  I won't be able to try them for about a month...I'll let you know if they taste just like Mom's!

That's it for now...I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful week!

Oh, wait a second...how could I forget?!?!  Today was Avery's FIRST day of preschool!  She was as happy as could be.  Here she is before I took her to school:

My little girl is growing up!

Until next time...

xoxo,

Pamela, a very proud Mama who loves to eat pickles, even when she isn't pregnant!