Mousse.

In the latter part of the year I decided to stop eating dairy. Even though I've had an allergy almost my entire life, I still ate it; but, I finally decided enough was enough. Dairy is a hard thing to cut out of your diet! Lately, I've been craving chocolate pudding. I found a recipe on Allrecipes for tofu pudding that's really more of a mousse in texture - even better!

Using that recipe as a base, I've been playing around and now have a version that N loves and chooses to eat over the dairy pudding that's in our refrigerator. In fact, N had a friend over last night and they both ate large bowls of it!

Tofu Chocolate Mousse

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used vegan chips)
1/2 tablespoon water
12.3 oz. extra firm silken tofu (silken tofu has a different texture than traditional tofu)
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/4 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 tablespoon Kahlua (optional)

Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Meanwhile put everything else in a food processor and process until smooth. Add melted chocolate. Process until smooth and creamy. Chill for 2-3 hours before serving.

Stay safe this New Year's Eve!

Ornaments and gingerbread.

I'm very excited about the ornament my mom made for us this year. She took a class in soldering and applied what she learned to making everyone an ornament for Christmas. I've been wanting to learn how to do this type of soldering this myself, so I think a class with Mom is in order!

It's hard to see in the photo, but she glittered the picture before setting it between the two pieces of glass. The ornament is two-sided, but my pictures of the other side didn't turn out as well.

Earlier in December I ordered these two ornaments from Petite House.

N liked them so much that he made his own version out of clay. Once it's painted I'll show it to you. I've been trying to get him to paint it all month.

The reindeer in this photo is one I stitched when I was very young. It's one of the first things I ever cross stitched. He even has a red bead for a nose!

We made a gingerbread house this morning. A little late, I know, but N had a great time decorating it anyway.

It's been snowing steadily all day. I'm off to do some beading and watch Julie & Julia. Have a great weekend!

♥

Work in progress.

I'm working on a Laura McCabe kit at the moment. I'm not sure why I still haven't been much in the beading mode, especially now that I've gotten to the embellishment stage of the bracelet. For me, that's always the best part.

I'm hoping some time off at the holidays will refresh me and put me back into a mood to make things.

Marshmallows.

I keep seeing homemade marshmallows on the blogs I read and they look so good I wanted to try them. I used Martha Stewart's recipe and it was very easy. They are very yummy and are much better than store-bought marshmallows.

N has already gobbled down a few of them and has plans for hot chocolate. Sounds good to me! In fact, I'm considering bringing some into work tomorrow for our holiday party.

Bali silver earrings.

Very simple sterling silver earrings made with Bali beads.

Sunday is N's birthday, so we have lots of celebrating to do this weekend!

Etsy Favorite: Rosy Revolver

Rosy Revolver is a shop I found very recently and purchased something from right away. I'm so smitten with Jess's designs! I saw the Everyday Earrings in the sold items section and asked Jess if she could make a pair for me. We had very nice convos, which made the experience that much better.

They arrived in a pretty package along with a wonderful thank you note.

Several of the items I'm going to show you are already sold, but are so pretty I still wanted to show you them.

I almost bought these studs at the time I bought my earrings. I have a feeling they'll be a future purchase.

Until next time...

Birthday party craftiness.

I knew N's party was a success when they were all going to bed and said they felt as though they'd just gotten to the party and didn't want it to end. At that point they'd been here for six hours!

They ate pizza, ran around the house playing tag, played video games, decoded secret messages, investigated whether or not dragons are real (of course they are), wrote books, and made felt animal puppets.

When they slowed down and seemed in need of something to do, I asked them if they wanted to make some puppets. All but one boy said no. And that one boy was not N, who previously was excited about the puppets.

I pulled out the kits to show the one boy who wanted to make them. Once the other boys saw them, they were all on board and most of them made two.

Afterward, they put on puppet shows and played puppet tag.

The kits were from Martha Stewart. I bought them at Big Lots sometime during the summer. Each $2 kit had four puppets. All the boys had to do was peel off the backing and stick all the pieces into place. It was a perfect project for four busy boys.

I think I enjoyed N's first sleepover party as much as he did.

Finally, some beadwork.

I bought this kit from Glass Garden Beads at the last Bead & Button Show. This is the Cape Cod Blooming Crystals kit.

Sometimes it's nice to have easy kits like this on hand for those days when you feel like making something, but don't want to tax yourself too much.

This weekend we are celebrating N.'s birthday with a sleepover party. Wish me luck!

More mystery photos.

Once again mysterious photos have shown up on our camera, this time featuring Chip...

...and Dale.

No one admits to taking these photos. It's a mystery indeed.

Etsy Favorite: Anne Holman

Anne Holman's shop has been in my favorites for a while now. I first added her when I came across her map jewelry, which are made with vintage maps. I'd like to have one with a map of Chicago.

But I also really love the pieces she makes with antique glass.

And anything with filigree and antiqued silver captures my attention.

But most of all, I'd like to add this piece to my collection.

Damask design, antiqued silver, and antique glass all in one piece. Sigh.

A day of thanks.

Wishing you...
and yours...

the best Thanksgiving.

And lots of pumpkin pie.

Etsy Favorite: Rachel Loves Bob

I haven't shared any of my Etsy favorites in a while. I think these button embroideries from Rachel Loves Bob are great and wanted to share them with you. Most of us who love beads also have a healthy appreciation for buttons.

I've had this bird in my favorites for a while. It would look very nice in my house.

I like that the empty spaces are filled in with beads! Very clever.

I'm hoping to get back into blogging a bit more regularly. Hopefully it will motivate me to start making stuff; if not, I'll show you more of my favorite things on Etsy!

Painted vase.

For my birthday last month, a friend and I went to a paint-your-own pottery shop. The shop is in a really quaint, historic town in Illinois. We made a day of it by having some lunch and doing some shopping after painting. I painted this pitcher/vase, which I now use for some of my vintage beaded flowers.

I haven't been working on much of anything lately. N's homework takes up a good portion of our evenings and we've been busy running around on the weekends. Plus, I've been reading more. Maybe this weekend I'll find some time for beading...

Chicago Craft Social.

I had the best time last night at the Chicago Craft Social in Evanston, Illinois, where crafters get together to make things and be social. So fun!

There were a variety of projects to choose from and snacks were available. My friend Christina and I were too busy making things to stop for snacks!

I saw on the list of projects that one of the tables would be making terrariums. I bought a container to make a terrarium more than a year ago, but never did it. I brought my container along just in case.

There were a variety of mosses and plants to choose from and even little animals to add. Here's a better picture of the inside.

Next I made a fleur de lis ornament taught by Simone of Craft Fancy. I saw people walking around with some sparkle and had to find out where they got it! I'm looking forward to visiting her shop.

After these projects, Christina and I met up and made paper owl collages.

I have one more project that I started, but need to finish at home. It involves chalkboard fabric, which I never even knew existed!

Now that we've checked it out, we decided we need to bring more people with us next time. We met a lot of great people and had a fantastic time. Can't wait to do it again!

Amy Hanna.

I ran across this magazine at Barnes & Noble and really liked the necklace on the cover. I liked it enough to buy the magazine and learn more about the designer.

I learned that Amy Hanna also had a book.

A beautiful book.

She also has an Etsy shop and blog, both with beautiful reworked vintage treasures. I think this pretty locket I found on Etsy would work will in a design inspired by Amy Hanna.



I have a tangled mess of old jewelry in a box. Maybe there's something in there that I could reuse to make a new treasure with this locket.

Fawn.

I noticed that I seem to be acquiring some fawn things. I received this necklace from a great friend for my birthday. The necklace was made by Figs & Ginger. I love it.

For a while I've kept an eye on Elisabeth's shop, The Illuminated Owl. She creates art with leather. I ordered a fawn cuff from her that didn't fit me. Elisabeth was wonderful and offered fantastic customer service. Now this cuff will be on its way to me soon.

In keeping with the woodland sort of theme, I was drawn in by this ornament kit from Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy. There are beads and sequins!

I should get to work on them soon. Christmas is coming fast...

Books.

I had a Barnes & Noble gift card burning a whole in my pocket, so I pre-ordered a book I've been waiting for patiently.

I can't wait for it to arrive!

I also ordered this one, which I thought sounded like a fun read and has a pretty cover. I've read many good books by choosing them from the cover!

With all of N's homework lately, I've been doing easier, more light-hearted reading. This book was a fun read and the glossary was a hoot.

I recently picked this one up on a whim, but haven't started reading it.

N has been doing more reading on his own lately. The other day I walked into the family room to find him sitting there reading a book. I was so excited! I tiptoed out of the room and dreamt of spending a rainy afternoon together reading our books.

What are you reading?