Everything but the kitchen sink...

Now here's a girl who knows how to recycle, reuse and create! Suzanne, of Threepeats makes jewelry from recycled t-shirt yarn, vintage beads, vintage lace and anything else she can get her hands on.

Here's what she says, "I've always collected vintage jewelry but didn't wear much of it. It was too heavy, too fragile or too tacky! One summer I decided to see if I could use some of the beads and chain from broken pieces I had to create a necklace I would actually wear...one that was long, light and versatile. When I got compliments on the necklace, I started creating them as gifts for family and friends and got more compliments. threepeats was born!"

I'm glad it was! Take a look at one of her adorable pieces:

Suzanne says, "I love that I can recycle old things that people no longer wear into new things that are usable and affordable."

 

"Everything is designed to be long, light, easy-to-wear and affordable and each piece is UNIQUE!"

 

Her jewelry IS unique and very inexpensive, and so fun!

You can visit her Etsy shop at http://threepeats.etsy.com/, Twitter Threepeats at www.twitter.com/threepeats or check out her blog at http://threepeats.blogspot.com/.

Gettin' Cozy with my Coffee :)

Ahhhh... there's nothing I love more than that first sip of fresh brewed coffee in the morning, unless it's my second fresh cup, or my third fresh cup... you get the idea. :)

But there's a couple of things that sometimes get in the way of my enjoyment. The first one is, ouch! That cup is HOT. My tender fingertips don't like the hot cup, even though, I LOVE my coffee piping hot! That brings me to the second thing... I do NOT like luke warm coffee. I want it hot, and if I get distracted while my coffee sits (like now, as I write this blog) my coffee will cool on me. :(

That's where the Etsy Twitter Team's Shop of the Week comes to the rescue! Wayside Violet has beautiful cozies, hand knit cozies, cozies for your take-out cuppa, cozies for your favorite mug... get cozy with your coffee... it's not gonna burn your hands anymore... it's not going to let your joe go cold while you answer the phone!

Cable Knit Coffee Cozy - Pretty Pink

Cable Knit Mug Cozy - Ocean Blue

My favorite:

Adorable Bow Coffee Cup Cozy

Brows the shop... you might also find a pretty hat, or even a pair of "smittens"... and check out the blog: http://waysideviolet.com

And of course, don't forget to visit the official Etsy Twitter Team Blog!

Weird and Wonderful

While doing a little window shopping through the land of Etsy, I came across some items that I would classify as "weird". I thought, why not do a weekly blog posting featuring a couple of weird things, balanced by a couple of "wonderful" finds. I hope you enjoy my picks. :)

First, here's something I found particularly weird. This print of a photograph shows a female adorned with a real octopus! I can only imagine how that felt, and my thought is, it didn't feel good. I wonder if they had to photo-chop the goose bumps off of her. Euwwwwwww!

Here's something wonderful... I love this original work of art, and here, it is applied to a framed tile. (you can also  purchase a full-sized print) I find this piece both haunting and beautiful.

 Now, this piece is definitely weird, but also cute as heck. ;) I'll let it speak (or smell) for itself...

 

Finally, this piece is a little odd, but it is oh so wonderful! I want to jump into this piece and frolic along with the wonderful creatures within. It's so fun. :)

 

I hope you've enjoyed my first W&W post. Please visit the artists (the pictures are linked) and come back next week for some new choices. :)

Her shop is "Pretty Whimsical" ;)

Stacey Gaar's shop is full of playful and light-hearted fun, and she's picked the perfect name... "Pretty Whimsical".

Her specialty is Scrabble Tile Pendants, and if you've never heard of them before, you are in for a treat. :)
They are lightweight little pendants, made from actual scrabble tiles, that have been adorned with various images, sealed with a protective coating and finished with a bail for hanging from the chain of your choice.

See, these are actual scrabble tiles!

Stacey's designs range from whimsical, to fun, to beautiful, to macabra...

Take a moment to visit "Pretty Whimsical" and make yourself smile. :)

"Pretty Whimsical" is the Etsy Twitter Team "Shop of the Week".

Oh, I would love to be a blog partner...

Did you know that "Rings & Things" had a blog partner's program? Well, I didn't, but I do now. :)

I just submitted my blog for the drawing... you can read about the program and get in on the drawing HERE .

Dear Rings & Things,

I know this isn't much of a blog, but I promise to make pretty things with your "goodie packs" (OMG, I'm salivating... I LOVE "goodie packs"!), and I promise to blog about them, cross my heart. :)

So, pick me for your program, you won't be sorry. :)

Linda :)

Shake Your Bon Bons!!!

I am very excited to share with you all, my FAVORITE place to order handmade, gourmet chocolates!

Shake Your Bon Bons

My friend, Aimee Plesa, has been making her delicious bonbons and handmade yummies for quite a while, now.
But what you may not know, is that she's expanded her line of delicious eatables, to also include sensual smell-ables with her bath and body line of products, and adorable greeting cards. :)

She has soaps, salts and scrubs...

Bath and Body Products

Incense, Smelly Jelly and Aroma Buds...

Home and Garden

 

 And even cute Greetings. Invitations and Tags

Greetings

There's SO much more to Aimee's shop, she also sells candy making and baking supplies, recipes, and you really have to check out her seasonal flavors of bon bons, fudge, cupcakes, etc. I can speak first hand how wonderful they are... I am not ashamed to admit that I'm addicted to her bon bons. :)

When you're ready to place an order, please use my link:

https://thebonbonbabe.biz/Linda_Stranger.html

Yes, my shameless addiction has led me to become an affiliate of Shake Your Bon Bons!

I have to feed my addiction somehow... lol

Testing my phone, to see if I can post from it.

I'm in a treasury!

I'm in a treasury!



For a limited time, you can see it here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=55181

Thank you Intentions!



Check them out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5546215

TODAY ONLY! The First EVER Half Off Sale in my 1000 Markets Store!

This is the first time I've had a sale in my 1000 Markets store, and I don't know when there'll ever be another one, so check it out NOW!

http://capecodjewel.com

I've recently added new items, and marked others down, so you'll save even more today.
Pay with PayPal to get your 50% refund of your purchase. :)

I'll also refund 50% of any "jewelry items only" from my Etsy Store.

http://capecodjewel.etsy.com

Again, use PayPal to get your 50% refunded.

Sale ends TODAY, April 30th 2009 at Midnight EST

Linda :)
capecodjewel.etsy.com
capecodjewel.com
lotsofsamples.com

My blog's wordie cloud :)

This is fun... try it. :)


Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide.

How To - Dicrotic Look with Glue & Glitter

This is for Pinka, one of my UWIB buddies! She was wondering how to make glass pieces look dicrotic without having to spend a lot of money on a kiln. So I did a little experimenting, with little clear glass dots and some items I had lying around my crafting desk. :)

Start with some clear glass tiles or cabs, clear-drying glue, powdered glitter and toothpics. 

How To - Dicrotic Look with Glue & Glitter, originally uploaded by capecodjewel.

Wipe off your glass pieces with a lint-free cloth or towel and water or rubbing alcohol to make sure they're clean.



These pieces have a smooth and a slightly rough side... I'm turning them all over to have the rough side on top. The glue should adhear better on the rough side, and will look better viewing the finished product through the smooth side.



Squeeze out a nice blob of glue... I'm using the bottom of a paper cup to keep it contained and it will be thrown away when we're done with it.



With a toothpick, scoop out just a tiny bit of your powdered glitter... a little goes a long way!



Mix it in!



I'm going to mix-up a second color to go with the first, you don't have to if you don't like.



Mixing in the second color next to the first (keeping them separate).



Now for the fun part... scoop up your colored glue, and dab, swirl and blop onto the top of the glass.



Here, I've done 5 pieces, each one a little different to see different effects. Now, you're going to set those aside to dry.



Now, I've decided to add a little water to my colored glue with a paintbrush...



... dabbing the thinned glue onto the glass pieces...



... as so!



Set them aside with the others to dry. :)



I think I'll try for a different look. :) You'll need a piece of printed paper... I'm using some printed cardstock, but you could try anything you'd like.



I'm also using a thinner glue this time, or you could water the thicker glue down a little instead. Add some glue to a small paper cup.



Add a little glitter...



... and mix it up!



Blop, swirl and dab your glue and glitter mixture onto your paper or cardstock.



Pop your glass pieces down on the wet mixture, rough side down (if you're using that kind of glass), making sure to keep the pieces far enough apart, so you can cut them apart when dry. Now, set them aside to let them get nice and dry.



LOOK WHAT WE ENDED UP WITH!!! We have some really cool pieces of glass with that lovely dicrotic look, without a kiln!
See the pieces glued to the cardstock... just cut them apart and cut around the glass with a pair of scissors... couldn't be easier!






These are the pieces I had glued to cardstock... and they came out beautiful!



These are the pieces I dabbed with the watered-down colored glue... they're still clear with a shimmery effect.



And, LOOK AT THESE! These are the pieces with the thick clear-drying glue in two colors, that I blobbed and swirled... awesome!








Pretty cool for an afternoon experiment. :)


To finish these, I'll spray them with an acrylic sealer... then they'll be ready to add bails/magnets/button backs or any other findings or projects you want to add them to. :) Note that they will be water resistant - not water proof. If you want to make them water proof, seal them with resin or varnish.


If you would like to see a few more pics, go to my Flickr


If you'd like to see what my friend Pinka is up to, you can find out here:
Pinka's blog
Pinka's Etsy Store


Linda :)
Cape Cod Jewels & Things
Cape Cod Jewel's Originals
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