Another Treasury!!!

This time with the Bee Charmer Necklace.

Click Here to view (before it expires on December 31st!)

Gifts For The Lord(s)

These were sent on one of Santa's early runs through Ruston. Ryan and Anne Lord were our neighbors and friends from days of old. He is a ridiculously talented illustrator and designer, and she is a brilliant and charming photographer...pretty impressive couple, eh? I was slightly intimidated to make something for them...as they are the powerhouse of all things creative.

I present to you, His and Hers ornaments for the Lords:

WHAT?!?!...

My Gingerale Necklace was hand-picked to be in a Treasury!










Click here to see it!

••••• Sneak Peak! •••••

I'm so giddy about this little butterfly! Which way is best? Necklace? Bracelet? Headband? Belt? You be the judge...and be ready for her to fly by the store sometime next week!

JUST A REMINDER:
Free shipping special ends at midnight tomorrow night!

Celebrate Good Times...Come On!

Sorry, I had to sing it.
I told John Jay when I started the store that I would celebrate on the 50's - every fifty items I sell, we would have a mini party. And by "mini party" I mean: I get a Whole Foods Cupcake!!!!!

A huge-o, big, loud "THANK YOU!" to everyone who bought from Corrieberry Pie! I'm so grateful and excited to be able to keep doing it.
For my 100th item, I'll do a big give-away contest or something. And if the winner is local, we'll split a cupcake. Wait! I take it back...we'll get our own cupcakes.

Mother Nature Charm Bracelet

It's catch up time - not to be confused with ketchup time. Our entire household was cursed with the flu last week. But thanks to my mom, we are not far behind.
(You can click here for pics from the weekend with Gran.)
There's a pile of cheeky fabrics and bins of adorable beads on my desk that want to be used. I got off my earring kick yesterday long enough to list this bracelet:















































I loved it so much I made one for myself...and my mom. Expect more charm bracelets in the store, as well as fun felty pins, new necklace styles, sweetheart earrings, and (fingers crossed) some rad clutches.
Later!

Ornaments For My Boys

As many of you know, my son's absolute favorite toy in the whole wide world is his stacking cups, a.k.a., "beesies." They go everywhere with us. This left me know other option for his Christmas ornament this year. Just for the record, nesting felt is much harder than nesting cups! And it looks a bit like a cupcake. But when I held it up and asked, "Judah, what is this?" he said, "Beesies," as matter-of-factly as he could.
Success.

I also had to commemorate this current phase of our lives with a caricature of John Jay. This is what he looks like 99% of the time.

Dinosaur Obsession

Sir Stomps-a-lot was made with the left over paint from Mrs. Poppy. I can't stand to waste paint. Not to mention, my little guy is taking after his daddy and developing a deep infatuation with dinosaurs. It started with these shoes. He won't wear anything else. Seriously. I've checked his other shoes for needles or something because he cries so hard when I try to mix up his footwear. Mimi bought the exact same shoes (the next size up) so hopefully we'll make it another six months before we break the news to him that they don't make them for teenagers.

••••••CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!••••••


FREE SHIPPING on all orders placed before December 20th @ corrieberrypie.etsy.com!


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

New stuff is in!
...more on the way.
*By request, some more moon and star/asymmetrical necklaces.
I'm making and posting as fast as I can, which feels like snail speed right now. John Jay is in the middle of finals and we've had a few domestic disputes over the computer. I mean come on! All he's doing is writing Exegesis papers and stuff about the Desert Fathers - you know, trivial things. :) So, yeah. I lose those battles.
Thanks again to everyone who's kept me in business!

I Couldn't Help Myself

I did it. The first day home, too. I'm such a sap! We had an Advent Wreath Workshop at our church Sunday night, and all those smells and Christmas music just overtook me. I had to take the candles out of my fire-hazard wreath, so it's now hanging on the door, greeting us as we say hello and goodbye. And I recruited a little elf to help in the decorating process.

Where Are You, Christmas?

We are in Asheville for the big Alvaro/Gaines Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad took me to this bead store and this fabric store a few days ago. I'm so impatient to get cracking and fill the store. There's so much to do...so we had a family meeting and John Jay suggested forgoing Christmas decorations this year. I was hesitant at first, but I think it's the only way to get all the Etsy stuff and our gifts made in time. All he requested was Russian Tea. I can do that. So we are going to soak up all the festivities at Gran and Mimi's houses and stop at that. 

I'll let you know if I give in and put together a last-minute Charlie Brown tree!

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Monster Paraphernalia

I made this a few weeks ago for Judah - sometime around Halloween. Monster stuff seems to suit him best. And it doesn't hurt that "hi" is one of his new favorite words. It's always drawn out - southern style and said with a smile..."hiiiiieeeeeee!"






























*Love the suggestions for vintage, by the way. You guys are funny.

I Need Your Help!

With the surplus of items to describe, I've found myself in need of some synonyms for the word "vintage." According to Etsy, it means "things that are at least 20 years old." A lot of my jewelry has vintage components and I find myself typing it over and over and over.




I need some suggestions! Here are a few that have been offered so far:

- earrings from yesteryear...
- the chain from a necklace older than your granny's panties...
- a pendant from days of yore...
- made with elderly beads...
- this bracelet is no spring chicken...
- just plain old.

Got any more?

New Stuff Is In!

Click HERE to shop.

Free Time?...What's That?

First of all, thanks. I can't keep jewelry in the store!
Secondly, keep checking. There are so many fun ideas bouncing around in my head right now! And this weekend mom and I get to hit up all the bead stores in Nashville...YEAH!

I wish I had more time. Isn't that everyone's deal? But honestly, if I could get an extra hour, this is what I would be doing:














Only there would be a John Jay in the picture too. But I should check with him before I cash in my extra hour. I'm sure he needs an extra week at this point. I don't know how he does what he does.
He's our hero.
Oh, also, I love how I'm the one watching the Baby Einstein in this picture...

Side Note: Go buy some of this and put it in your coffee. This eggnog is so thick and good. I just threw back my morning cup of joe in record time.

Pumpkiny Goodness

Thanks for all the encouragement about the blog. I'm definitely planning on more asymmetrical necklaces, as well as a few more bibs/burp cloths. But Christmas presents are competing right now for my attention. The season is moving quickly!
Remember these? I try to keep a batch of them in the freezer for quick breakfasts. This week I had some pumpkin on hand...I added golden raisins, cloves and nutmeg. Judah's been gobbling them up. The pumpkin was left over from this recipe:

Pumpkin Loaf With Cream Cheese Ribbon:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup veggie oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Mixture:
6-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
a little butter, softened
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. grated orange rind (this was good!)

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Also cream together the cream cheese mixture.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly.

3 Pour half the batter into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Top with a layer of the cream cheese mixture. Pour remaining pumpkin batter on top. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean.

It's Here! It's Here!

Finally!

www.corrieberrypie.etsy.com

I'm just getting started...there's more to come. But go check it out and let me know what you think!

The Visitor

It was about 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning and I woke up to a clankity-clank coming from somewhere in our bedroom. I nudged John Jay, who very groggily informed me that it was probably just the wind. I tried to go back to sleep, and heard it again. But every time I turned the lights on....nothing. Fine. I'll just get up and drink my coffee - it was probably this old house creaking anyway. Five minutes later, I hear it again! John Jay couldn't ignore it this time. Plus, I told him that whatever it was would eat all of his books. That got him up. Then I heard him...."ooooOOOOOOooohhh.......my........GOSH!"

A rat/squirrel had jumped down our chimney and was walking along the top of the laundry basket that I left on the hearth. (He left little soot prints along the edge!) It was too dark and early to tell which critter it was, so we officially went with squirrel, since they are cute, crazy and a lot less gross than rats.
John Jay manned his post (from up on the bed with a broom in hand) for over an hour until our maintenance people could come board it up. Unfortunately, that is their long-term solution since the bricks around the chimney are crumbling and would have to be completely replaced to avoid more intrusions.

Ew. Plywood boards over the fireplaces? It looks like we live in an abandoned gas station.
Well, not anymore! My solution?











Why bother with messy, hot fires when you can have this beautiful, lukewarm addition year round!? Complete with hand-painted crown molding!



















The bedroom fireplace serves as a memento to our special visitor.



















Good-bye fireplaces, hello cheeky art.

Ginger Cookies

I made these a few weeks ago when I was on a jollification quest to make Fall hang heavily in the air. I'm dialing it down a bit now and moving on to Christmas. I busted out the music last week. Although I'm embarrassed to admit that all I could find was "Garth Brooks & The Magic of Christmas" - don't judge me.
The recipe for these can be found here. I had to share them with friends, lest I make myself sick. Judah was a fan too. But he thought they'd be better with a dash of goldfish.

I'm Back!

Whew! That was a long time with out the computer. I literally ran down the street (with Judah) to catch the FedEx guy the other day after a failed delivery attempt. Oh how I've missed it so!
My mother-in-law bought most of those bibs/burp cloths (yeah!), which means I need to get my bum in gear and sew sew sew! John Jay said yesterday, "So I guess you'll get your Etsy store going some time this summer then, huh?" (Encouraging is not really his specialty). But at this rate, that's about right.
Here are a few pics of our trip to Asheville last weekend.
Now I need to say good-bye to the computer and be productive...boo.

Etsy Store Sneak Peek:

Here are a few things for the store. I'm in crazy sewing mode right now, but this batch might be sold before I ever get to put them in the store. (Not a bad problem to have, I suppose!)

Lovely things you'll be able buy:
•Asymmetrical string necklaces
•Earrings
•Wrist-strap key chains
...stay tuned for more!