Aging Paper in the oven

I've spent more than a few nights baking paper in the oven, let me tell you! It's really easy and you can come up with some really cool stuff.

For my first try I just used left-over coffee and grounds. I crumpled up some regular white printer paper, ripped it into eight rectangles, and soaked it in the cold coffee inside of a baking pan. I set the oven on its lowest setting (200 degrees F on mine) then drained out the extra liquid. I left some coffee grounds and shallow puddles of liquid to make darker pieces. Then I just baked it for 20-ish minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure it didn't burn. Eventually the ends will start peeling off the pan and you'll know it's done.

Since then I've also used black tea and red wine and I think all three colors look awesome.

Three different baked papers, along with papyrus and normal white paper for color comparison

In the picture above:
A. Papyrus
B. Coffee paper
C. Red wine paper
D. White printer paper
E. Black tea paper


I've also tried adding spices (cumin, oregano, cinnamon...anything 'leafy' or dark colored) and laying leaves (I used rose leaves from an arrangement my fiance had bought for me) on top. All I found was that the spices are really hard to scrape off after they're baked on so I wouldn't use them again. As I was typing this I suddenly thought that adding rock salt might make some awesome patterns (like when you add it on top of a watercolor painting).

I even tried burning the ends of the paper but it just smelled nasty so I gave up on that after the first sheet ;)

The red wine was just kind of a whim. I know, I know: what was I thinking even having left-over wine in the house?? I don't really drink it, though; Bailey's and cream is more my speed! Since I was on a paper-baking streak I decided, "what the heck," and treated it just like the coffee paper: soak it, drain it, and bake it. It seemed to take longer to dry out in the oven so it got more browned around the edges and higher parts than the other papers, while remaining a subtle purple color in the crevices.

Let me know if you have any questions or advice! Maybe one day I'll learn the art of bookbinding so that I can fill my own book with some fresh, home-baked paper!

Soap Making class

A while back one of my friends bought a Groupon for a soap-making class so three of us bravely entered a territory that none of us had ventured before: making something AWESOME.

Here are some pretty pictures :)

Blue poppy seeds and lavender buds. I don't remember what the stuff on the left is...maybe lavender dust?

Whole rose buds

I chose to make the oatmeal soap, paired with bitter almond and ground oats. I also added whole rose buds, lavender buds, blue poppy seeds, and coconut milk.

Here is my concoction of the ingredients before I added it to the soap base. Pretty, huh?

The powdery stuff is the coconut milk.

After mixing up the batch and pouring it into plastic-lined cardboard boxes, we headed home. We had to keep it wrapped in a blanket for 48 hours; after that we were free to cut it up. I simply cut mine into thick bars using a butter knife and it was easy-peasy....then I squished the loose pieces into a bumpy looking circle and left it all to cure for four weeks wrapped up in some brown paper.

Ta-da! The end result.

Next time I'd use less poppy seeds because those suckers scratch you up! You have to use this soap on a washcloth or something: not directly on your skin. My arm looked like it had been scratched up by rabid squirrels before I realized this the first time.

The soap has a light, pleasant almond smell and I feel totally cool knowing that I made it!

Earrings AND necklace/earrings set listed =)

I apparently have a HUGE purple obsession. It has kind of snuck up on me but all of the sudden I realized that I also bought purple pajamas within the last week! I guess it's been so warm here that I'm dreaming in cooler colors!

Anyway two items listed tonight (http://www.etsy.com/shop/gemjen): earrings and a necklace/earring set.

 Glass and tassel earrings: love the gunmetal contrasted with the opacity of the glass

Stone necklace and earrings set: clear and smoky quartz, purple banded agate, and amethyst

That necklace/earring set is funny, the more I think of it. As a kid my I dreamed of my bedroom being red, black, and white. My second favorite combo? Brown, purple, and white. This muted, earthy color scheme really appeals to me: so stunning in its simplicity!

Clay ferns

Ever since I found out that you can eat fiddlehead ferns I've been pretty obsessed. I saw a few at a botanical garden last year (maybe they weren't exactly fiddleheads but they were curled up and awesome looking) and got some good pictures. Using these pics I molded some using basic oven-bake clay. Then I wrapped some twine around the mouth of a colored glass jar and have a lovely table-setting! I think they'd look cute as part of a larger setting or even a bouquet.

The full view.

Up close and personal.

Captain Planet!

I was inspired randomly today to make a Captain Planet themed set of jewelry. More details to come ;)

Check out the Wikipedia link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Planet_and_the_Planeteers 

Crock pot Chicken Legs

OMG these chicken legs were so good! I found the recipe on Pinterest (I think! I did some cursory searching and can't find the post....please let me know if you know, so I can give credit.). Anyway it was really a simple recipe, but next time I would add cracked pepper.

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 8 oz can of tomato sauce

Grease the bottom and sides of the crock pot (I used Canola Oil spray) and lay down about three pounds of chicken legs (I pulled the skin off first). I mixed all the other ingredients in a bowl then dumped it over the top of the legs (making sure all of them got covered) and set the crock pot on low for seven hours.

I couldn't even pick up a leg without the meat falling off. SOOOO delicious and tender and really good flavor. I'd definitely make this again!

Woo hoo! Two more pieces listed on etsy tonight

I'm very pleased with myself this year! I wanted to get back to making jewelry and I've made two more pieces yesterday; then photographed them and listed them tonight (http://www.etsy.com/shop/gemjen)! PLUS I did a load of laundry AND went grocery shopping. I'm excited to try out a recipe for tomorrow's dinner that I found on Pinterest for crock-pot chicken legs. It involves soy and tomato sauces and minced garlic.

Capiz shell necklace and earring set. Reminds me of fish scales or mermaid jewelry! 

Purple and white shell, amethyst rounds, seed beads, and copper necklace. I'm really digging purple these days!!

New stuff posted on etsy :)

Re-activated my etsy account (http://www.etsy.com/shop/gemjen) tonight!

Yay!! I've created four necklaces in the past two days (been trying to keep up with the 365, too, but I'm more interested in flexing my jewelry-making muscles at the moment): I spent this evening photographing, editing, and posting.

My personal favorite necklace is the "Sands of Time" made with bunches of gemstones and even a little roll of papyrus.

This shot highlights all the goodies: papyrus in a corked glass vial, evil eye pendant, little scarab bead, two recycles glass beads that remind me of sea glass, Amazonite, picture jasper, glass seed beads, and the ever-lovely goldstone

Bonus shot, not featured on etsy. I thought the camel was too distracting of a background and that his harness accessories were too easily confused with the necklace itself.

More to come...hopefully sooner rather than later. My first priority tomorrow will be grocery shopping! Getting sick of only having almonds for a snack :)

365 in 2013--Day 3

Still can't find my camera's battery charger so I'm using my fiance's camera instead. A Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS. It's been a great little camera, one I'd definitely recommend. We've taken it on multiple vacations and it's small and light...and takes great pictures and video.

Tonight's pic is from my statue of David...but he looks pretty "real" huh? Admittedly I've never seen the "actual" David statue, but this is what I'd imagine it to be.

David in the light, no flash, set on macro.

365 in 2013--Day 2

Need to work on a few things but my camera battery died and I can't find the charger so I don't have time to experiment now! Oops!

Christmas tree bokeh (new obsession!) and Harry Potters 1-7

365 in 2013--Day 1

Happy New Year!!!
My fiance introduced me to the 365 project a couple of weeks ago which got me thinking that I should at least attempt my own. Not sure if there are 'official rules' but I'll look later: just wanted to get some pictures up so I could at least start the new year.

Some unexpectedly close fireworks being shot off downtown.

Scarab Beads--2009 Egypt Trip

Lots of scarab beads from my 2009 trip to Egypt!

I love them all, but I lean toward the most saturated blue color or, completely opposite, the light blue. The contrast is beautiful, especially when there are crackles in the glaze. Each bead is made from Egyptian faience, a ceramic that has a bright, glassy shine, and ranges in color from blue to green.

The pictures illustrate the tops and bottoms of each of the beads. Each of these beads:

•      range in color from blue-green, to dark blue, to lighter blue.
•      are drilled lengthwise (front to back) all the way through.
•      contain hieroglyphics carved into the bottom.

Tops of the scarabs.

 And the bottoms (with the hieroglyphs).

There are slight fluctuations in size, but they are all about the same length and width. The shortest bead is just under 0.75 inches long, and the longest is just over 0.75 inches long (see the picture with the quarter for reference). All are about 0.5 inches wide (from side to side). They are all about 0.25 inches tall (from top to bottom).

A few beads next to a quarter so that you can get a better idea of their size.

I've been holding on to them for so long but I need to get crackin' and start creating with them!