~Pamela Susan~

An Auction for Japan!

My heart aches for those who are suffering in Japan.  I think I cried every time I watched the news the first week of the disaster.  It's just so, so sad. They need our help and every penny helps, right?!  Right!  Here's a chance for one of you to win some cool jewelry and help those suffering from the tsunami. 

(The auction has now closed--Tammy has won the auction!  Thank you SO much Tammy for your generous bid and thanks to the rest of the gals, too!  I'm so excited to donate this money to our Japanese friends!)

This is how the auction will work: if you would like to place a "bid", leave a comment on this post telling me what your bid is.  The person with the highest bid by this Saturday, April 2, wins!  I'll send the winner a PayPal invoice for the amount they offered, and I will then donate 100% of the money to the Humanitarian Aid Fund through my church. (100% of all donations to this fund go to those in need--there are no administrative fees whatsoever!)  I will cover the shipping cost.

Are you ready to see what could be yours??

The winner of this auction will receive the following:

1. A Gorgeous Silver Plated Swan Ring Holder (a recent find of mine--I can't believe I'm willing to give it up!)

2. An Inspiration Ring stamped with the word HOPE ($35 value)--or the word of your choice :)

3. A pair of Turquoise Earrings ($20 Value)

4. A handy-dandy upcycled wool bag for your purse made by my talented bff Avey! (Oh my, I think that's the first time I've used ''bff'' before--I feel so highschool-ish now.)  I love the blue ceramic baubles on the front, and the pocket on the back ($12 value)!

Here are a few close-ups of the different items.

Again, I love this swan...

And I love the details on the dish.

 

 

The wool bag is made of a recycled sweater; the blue baubles from a necklace.  Too cool.

Check out the cute little pocket on the back!

Good work, Avey!

Okay, so who wants to be the first bidder for this gorgeous little package?!  Let's help our friends out in Japan!  They need it!

Also, real quick--

I've recently been involved in a very cool service project.  The goal: to collect 1000 blankets for tsunami victims in Japan.  It is still very cold in Japan and many of these dear people, including children, are sleeping on cold floors in shelters.  The project idea originated with a man from my church in Portland who works for a company that has a factory in Shirakawa, which is in the Fukushima Prefecture (made famous for the nuclear reactor catastrophe).  His company jet will deliver the blankets along with food and other supplies the first week in April.  One of my favorite parts of the project is that they've asked each person who donates to attach a note of encouragement and support to the blanket for the recipient.  I love the personal touch.

As soon as I heard of this project I knew I wanted to help and since I teach the 16 and 17 year old gals at church I wanted to get them involved, too!  We recently got together and tied a warm fleece blanket to donate.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by these lovely ladies every Sunday.  They are absolutely amazing!

(And I recently heard over 1000 blankets have already been donated!!)

 

xo,

Pamela

p.s. Don't forget--the commenter to leave the highest bid wins the auction!!

A Fresh Coat of Paint Does an Old Desk Good.

I've been wanting to write this post all week long but I haven't had a chance to until now.  I've been been busy organizing our home and wrapping up a smorgasbord of projects.  It feels mighty fine getting so much accomplished.  Liberating, actually.  And can I just give you a quick update on the girls' room?  We've found a system (a combination of an incentive program and me going in every morning to help make beds--I know, I know, pretty basic, right?) and we've stayed on top of it for the past SIX days!  Remember my plea for help?  Well, I came to the conclusion that the biggest problem was me.  ME.  A good dose of consistency is what we needed and now that I've realized that I think things are going to be much better!

Okay, so back to the post I've been wanting to write all week.  Here it is. 

A couple months ago I came upon a plain, worn down, stickered-up desk at our local thrift store .  Seven dollars was the asking price (oh, how I love our thrift stores here!).  At the time I wasn't intentionally looking for a desk but as soon as I saw it I knew I could transform it into something pretty.

Afterall, I had the perfect spot for it since moving the play kitchen into Miss J's room.

So out came the sander (which whizzed the stickers right off), Kilz primer spray paint, and Krylon's Catalina Mist spray paint. And a visit to Anthropologie provided the perfect knobs.  Avey calls knobs "furniture jewelry"--I had never considered them as jewelry for a room before but what a great way of putting it, because that's exactly what they are.  Wouldn't you agree?  They helped transform the desk much like a snazzy pair of earrings make an outfit "pop".

As you can see I couldn't decide on just one so I picked all my favorites.

But now that I have them up I think I'm going to take the little one above (with the blue rim and flowers in the center) back and swap it with a different one.  It's not fully speaking to me.

This one is my favorite...

And I love the pull bar (is that what it's called??).  Thanks for the suggestion Avey!

I love having a desk dedicated to my work/crafting.

I found the chair at an estate sale.  Actually, Avey found a set of them and we both bought one.

And speaking of Avey, here's another "Avey Inspiration"... double framing a picture! 

I seriously don't think I would've thought this idea up on my own.  Don't you think it's time she started her own blog, for Pete's sake?!  But she has no desire to, darnit.  Maye one of these days I can talk her into it.  :)

Meet my love birds.  Haven't named them yet.  Any suggestions??

So there you have it, folks.  Now you know where I craft, blog, and answer emails from.

 

Have you found any thrift store treasures lately?

 

 

xo,

Pamela

p.s. Happy Weekend!

p.p.s.  I've joined The Beach Cottage's Linky Party--come join the fun!

The Drip Drops Necklace Winner Is......

Number 58, djackson1958!  Congrats to you!!  Good thing you "liked" the facebook page or else someone else would've won! :)  Please email me at psjewelry at gmail dot com to give me your address and I'll mail your win right away!

Thanks to everyone who entered!  It was fun reading about the different kinds of rainboots you have!  Mine are black and gray with a plaid design.  I want some funky red ones though, with a buckle around the top.  Now those would be just plain cute. 

Be on the lookout for an auction I'll be hosting for our friends in Japan.  They need all the help we can give!

 

xo,

Pamela

 

Lindt Truffles + Chocolate Cupcakes... Yummy!

Okay, so back to the cupcakes I was talking about yesterday... beyond delicious, I tell you.  My aunt told me about the recipe from a really cool blog ran by a group of sisters. 

Who would've known a Lindt Truffle inside a cupcake could make tastebuds think they've died and gone to heaven?!  I'm so happy people experiment with things like this.

I purchased milk chocolate truffles with white cream in the middle--they were on sale at Rite Aid in the Easter candy aisle.  :)  Sooo purdy and all ready for St. Patrick's day! 

I suppose I could share the recipe here but I'll have you go to the sister's blog instead to give them proper credit. :)  But I should add I didn't use cream cheese frosting but my favorite buttercream one--I think it pipes the best.

 

 

The girls loved unwrapping the truffles for me.  They almost snuck one but I stopped them in time.  I couldn't let one go uncupcaked! 

(Don't forget to add them after the cupcakes have baked for 5 minutes!)

Here's an extra one I saved for you!

 

Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend...

 

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s. Don't forget the Drip Drops Giveaway that will end on Monday...  I can't wait to see who the winner will be!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

(us being silly playing around with Photo Booth)

I hope your evening is filled with lots of green!  The Irish in me loves this holiday.  We're having our cute Irish neighbor, Harriet, over for dinner.  She has a great Irish accent though she's lived her for nearly 50 years.  She's bringing Irish Soda bread and we're making Irish stew and shamrock cupcakes.  And these cupcakes are good--I tried out a new recipe today that I'll share with you tomorrow.

 

Have a great night!

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s. The girls almost caught a leprechaun today... so, so close.  :)

 

March's Birthstone Giveaway- Drip Drops Aquamarine Necklace

It's about time for the Monthly Birthstone Necklace Giveaway, wouldn't you say?!  I love March's stone, Aquamarine.  What a gorgeous gem.  I thought it'd be fun to spice things up a little and make an extra special design this month, one that I miss making.  I think all the rain we've been receiving reminded me of it.  I just might have to make a couple extra to add to the shop for April.

Soooooooo, who wants a Drip Drops necklace??

 

This lariat necklace drips lovely rain-drops from a sterling silver cloud (a $45 value and measures about 17" long).  To secure the necklace, wrap the gems around the cloud twice.  A whimsical yet classy design.  

Here's what it'll look like on (the picture is of the original Drip Drops design, hence the multi-colored gems).

Such a fun necklace to wear.

And for kicks n' giggles I'm also throwing in an Umbrella mini notepad.  I just couldn't resist.  I bought a set of them a while back from one of my favorite Etsy shops.  Karen makes fabulous products.  Do check her shop out. 

To enter this giveaway:   The Giveaway has now ended... thank you!!!

1.  Leave a comment on this post telling me whether or not you own a pair of rain boots. I finally do.  :)

☂ For an additional entry ☂ :

"Like" my Facebook Business page.  If you already do, then you can either post the giveaway on your fb page or find a friend to like it, too!  Let's spread the love! And don't forget to come back and leave a seprate comment from above telling me what you did.

The winner will be randomly chosen and announced next Monday, March 21st!

 

Good luck!

 

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s.  Soon I'll be hosting a small fundraiser for the people of Japan.  I cannot stop thinking about them.  My heart goes out to them greatly.  Each penny will help so get ready for a wonderful little auction for them!

Paper Flower Balls

Warning:  the follow craft is addicting.  Very addicting.  Who knew that a styrofoam ball, flower punches, paper, and pins could make me so happy??  Avey found the idea here.  Love it.

Because it creates added interest, I like using two different colors and flower shapes. 

And why not funktify them by hanging them from a fishing line?!  Or Ribbon?  Or wire?

Or stack them.  I really like them this way.  Stringing them horizontally like garland would be fabulous too, but that would take a very long time to do.  Unless you allowed ample space inbetween them.  Hmmmmmmm... I think I'm going to try it that way.

I purchased the 2'' punch shown in the link.  Though I love the size of that one I'm equally fond of the 3/4'' daisy stamp.  I bought more foam balls and paper today.  Can't wait to get my little hands on them this weekend!

Who wants to try one?!  You know you want to.  :)  I promise they'll put a smile on your face!

 

xo,

Pamela

p.s. All the supplies for the paper flower balls can be found at JoAnn's.  If you live near a Dollar Tree, they carry foam balls.  :)

 

A Craft Organizer Frame DIY Tutorial!

For the longest time many of my craft items sat in a bowl--it's very easy to forget what you have when you can't see it!  I decided it was time to make a craft organizer.  For the wall.  To hang things from.  With wire.  And teeny-weeny clothespins. 

A trip to a local thrift store supplied the perfect frame for my idea!  They were asking $5 but the nice lady gave it to me for $3 without me even asking.  :)

 

So I turned it into exactly what I had pictured in my mind!

I even found teeny-weeny clothespins at JoAnn's!

If you are needing to organize your craft items too then you should make one!! 

It's pretty easy.  First, find a frame that's big enough to work.  Remove the back and using spray adhesive, adhere your choice of fabric to one side; lay it on the ground.  Then fold the sides over and secure them to the back with strong tape of a hot glue gun.

After spray painting the frame, staple staples to the inside of the frame on both sides every few inches, making sure each side matches up!  I used a regular office stapler, but I think a heavier duty one would have been better.

Tie wire to the staples, creating a tight wire line across the frame.  Make sure each end is secure. (This is where using a heavier stapler would be a good thing--the staples would have had a better chance of staying put when they got pulled on by the wire.)

Plop the fabric back on and throw the cute teeny-weeny pins on!

This was such a fun project!  Oh, and how could I forget--the fabric came from my favorite fabric source--Hawthorne Threads.

 

Let me know if you try it out!

 

 

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s. After taking a picture of the finished organizer, I hung the frame on the back of my workroom door.  It was a great way to utilize space!!

p.p.s.  The spray paint I used was Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze.  I noticed the Krylon line is available at Michael's so if you like it, use a coupon to buy some!

The Ava's Nest Necklace was on TV Today!!!

Can you believe it?!  It was surreal seeing my necklace around the gorgeous Siobhan's (Erin Chambers) neck, especially with the ABC logo in the right hand corner right next to it.  You can watch the General Hospital episode here.  Let's give a Hip Hip Hooray for the Ava's Nest!! 

Since my shop is currently closed until next month, if you're interested in the Ava's Nest necklace ($98) please feel free to email me at psjewelry@gmail.com for a customized order.

 

Many thanks!

 

xo,

Pamela

A Home for Our Litho Plate Blackboard

(Linking back to the beautiful blog A Beach Cottage!  Check it out!)

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions for helping me with the girls!  I really do appreciate it.  I am motivated to get their bedroom in tip top shape.  I've been focusing on decluttering.  How did they acquire so much stuff?  It seems like just a few months ago I went through their things and gave a bunch to our our friends and local thrift store.  I have a list of organizational ideas I'm going to implement as well thanks to you.  I did head back to that estate sale (remember the one I found the amazing chalk board?) and snagged a really cool chest type thing that will serve as the girls toy chest.  Here it is.

It fits nicely up against their bunk bed.  Again--not an item Aaron was excited about but that's okay--I love it!  :)

And speaking of the chalkboard, I found the perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect spot for it in their play area!

First, let me tell you about this "area".  This is in Miss J's bedroom, just on the other side of her crib.  Up until a month ago, this "area" was home to a full size bed that we kept out for guests, but since we rarely ever have guests that stay the night I wanted to utilize the area for play instead.  So my sister Holly and I wrapped the mattress up and carried it out to the garage.  We then moved the kitchen and table from the family room (I created a teeny little play area in our family room behind a couch) and moved it in here.  It's perfect.  The girls love it.  And I now have a spot for a desk in the family room.  I'll share that one with you later this week.  (It involves a $7 desk I found that I refurbished and made all purdy!) 

Here's a few snapshots of their play area.  Perhaps if you, too, have limited space in your home, this can help give you some ideas on how to utilize extra space that you didn't know exhisted.  :)

 

Now that I look at the below picture, that shelf is a little too high, but I guess it needs to be so the girls can't reach it.  My sis-in-law Elissa made the adorable doll on the right hand side.  It's my favorite doll the girls own.

I found this "thing" at one of our local thrift stores for 50 cents.  I have no idea what it technically is, but I thought it'd be a great kitchen towel holder.  Can anyone give me a clue to what it's real purpose is??

Found these towels at the same store. I think they help add a nice vintage touch to the kitchen.

This lion came from the same estate sell.  50 cents.  Loooove.

It's a pepper shaker.  Definitely won't be using it for that.  :)

This wall thing has been sitting in our garage for the past year.  So glad it now has a home.

We spend a good portion of our time playing in this room.  Tea parties, reading, playing "school" and "kitchen" is our way of life in our home.  I love my girls.  They are such a delight.  And to think I periodically receive rude comments from others about having "all girls".  No joke.  Rude comments.  I used to not say anything back but I'm no longer little Miss Nice Pamela when people say they're "sorry" we have all daughters.  No siree... don't go there with me!  If we have a fourth and it's a girl, wonderful!  If it's a boy, wonderful!  I don't get caught up in investing strong opinions about which gender is better to have.  No thanks!  I absolutley adore my daughers and consider it a privilege and a blessing to be their Mama.  And luckily that is something Aaron and I do see eye to eye on.  He may not be crazy about all my antique or thrift finds, but I'm so grateful he absolutely adores "his ladies" and wouldn't want our family any other way. 

Wow--I guess you can tell what's been irking me lately, can't you??  Thanks for letting me vent.  :)

Well, that's it for tonight.  Do stay tuned for some fun spray painting/craft ideas that I hope you'll like.

 

Good night!

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s.  All Etsy orders are complete and have been shipped!  I'm now just working on a couple local orders.  Thanks again to everyone for making my little business a success!!