Sunday Feature- Etsian BeeGrl88

I wanted to do another feature one a fellow Etsian, I need to do more of these and help promote people! Here is a pretty necklace from Beegrl88 and even better, a portion of the proceeds go to a charity called "Homeward Bound Pets."




Please visit her shop for more great items; she has some Amigurumi (crocheted items) and cute bottlecap and tile pendants as well! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Beegrl88




Also, here is a sneak preview of my newest pins, mini ice cream cones. I'll be listing them on Etsy this week.

Mini Petit Four and Bow Pins! Wahoo!

I've been finished with these pins for a few days now but haven't been able to list them because of my whole computer issue. Anyway, I FINALLY got a chance to list them and take real pictures, not just ones with my phone, hehe.
Without further ado, here they are, my mini bow and petit four pins! You can click on the pictures to go directly to their listing on Etsy.

Oh my gosh, I won something!

I'm like a lot of people and really NEVER win anything...then you hear about people who constantly win contests, lotteries, etc. and get envious, wondering how they get so lucky.
I think the last thing I won was a coloring contest when I was 7, I remember I won a $25 gift card to the now defunct Mervyn's store.
Anyway, I opened my front door today to see this envelope on the porch with Glamour's logo, obviously I was curious as to what was inside. I remember did a product trial not long ago and after doing the exit survey, was entered to win a $25 gift card to beauty.com/drugstore.com. And that was what was in the envelope!!




Now to figure out what I should buy with it...

*Crickets* Still No Computer//Etsy Feature: funnyfuser

Well, I got my laptop part today, installed it and....while the screen is a tad brighter than it was, I'm about 99% sure that it's the backlight that's burnt out. So I can either replace the backlight and have to go through hours of work, or just replace the screen. Sigh. I suppose I can deal with this for a little while longer. Now where to scrounge up the $100-ish it's going to cost to get a new screen...

ANYway, enough about me, I wanted to feature another sweet Etsian, funnyfuser!
I especially LOVE this gorgeous pastel bracelet:



You can click the picture to see the item on her Etsy site, or here's the link to her store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/funnyfuser


Have a look at her shop and make a purchase or two! I just know you'll find something you love. :)

Mini Petit Four Pins Completed

I've been working on these mini petit four pins for a bit now. I decided to make a couple of different colors and am happy with how they turned out! My regular computer still isn't back yet, so I am only able to take pictures on my phone, then email them to myself and upload them. So anyway, here are my newest, my 3 mini Petit Four pins! I won't be listing them on Etsy though until I can get my regular computer back and can take real pictures.

My first (and second) treasuries!

I've been trying like crazy to create a treasury but am always too late. I finally was able to make one and I titled it, "Kawaii Means Cute!"
I featured a variety of my favorite items and my own Valentine's Day heart whale. Here is the link to my treasury and a screenshot is on the left of the screen for when it expires:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108280


And here is the second treasury I just snagged, I featured a lot of people whose blogs I follow, it's called "Inspired by Nature."




http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=84668

Nooo...laptop is broken :(

I was so looking forward to blogging and starting my week already by posting some new items on etsy and featuring a shop, but a wrench was thrown into my plans. Apparently, the inverter (the thing that illuminates the screen) went out on my laptop, so while the computer turns on, my screen is black.
So in the meantime I'm "borrowing" my mom's laptop, unfortunately, my online time is much more limited now. Just a little update, in the meantime I can hopefully make more of my petit four pins in more colors. But for now, here is a picture of the one I made last night!

Fun, Relaxing Weekend in Progress!

This is my dad's and brother's birthday weekend, so I haven't been blogging as much. I finished my last custom order last night (see previous entry) so I'm going to start working on the ideas suggested to me by some of my followers! I think first will be some small petit-fours in a couple of different styles (see picture below), those should be cute. Then possibly some smaller bow pins. So many ideas, so little time! ^.^

Newest Custom Order- English Bulldog!

Here's another of my newest custom orders, an English Bulldog! I was sent a picture, then sketched him out and worked from there. Without further ado, here he is!




If you'd like a custom order for one of your own pets, just let me know. I've never made any of the orders I've gotten in the past, so everything is new and I'm willing to try just about anything!

Yikes, Hail, Power Outages, Craziness! And Feature--- lterrill9!

So I wanted to blog today about something interesting, but alas, the most interesting item of the day is the weather, yet again. It has rained all day and around 6pm, we had a power outage! Just as I was about to try to get into the Etsy Treasury West lol. Oh well, must not have been my time for it I guess.
Anyway, power is back now, but I don't have too much to blog about at the moment, except a request: to please check out a sweet Etsian's shop, lterrill9, and comment on the treasury she's featured in! She makes the nicest travertine tile (amazing, heavy stuff!) coasters with practically any design you could want on them. They'll make a great gift and are very nicely priced!



Here's her shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8230298

And the treasury she's featured in (her item is the love coaster set shown above): http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=83914

New listing- Kitty Cat Pins!

Hope all my fellow Californians are staying safe and dry in this crazy rainy weather!

I've been doing a LOT of custom orders lately so haven't been working on new designs. I love doing custom orders though, it makes me happy to know that people like my work. ^.^
Anyway, I got a custom order a couple of days ago for one cat pin and she ended up ordering two more, here is my listing where you can custom order your own kitty pin, just click on the picture or link below.


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38931922

RAIN and a Yummy Cocoa Recipe!

Tons and tons of rain today! We've been needing it here, now we're having a deluge! But what better time to catch up on indoor activities than when it's rainy? Too bad I had to go out in it today to get sandbags and do some other errands, I managed to hit the absolute rainiest parts of the day while I was out. But no matter, now I have a fire going, am under a snuggly blanket and am sketching out some new designs as suggested by some of my blog followers! I also made this delicious Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate, which is super easy and perfect for cold, rainy days. By chocolate syrup, they mean the Hershey's kind that you add to milk or can use as ice cream topping. And of course, you can omit the whipped cream because it does tend to cool the hot chocolate down pretty fast.

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Ah, a recipe for the kid in all of us. A sweet and delicious way to have some peanut butter that won't stick to the roof of your mouth. This hot chocolate is quick too, because it uses syrup instead of melted chocolate.

• 8 oz milk
• 3 tsp chocolate syrup
• 1 tbs peanut butter, smooth
• Whipped cream

Heat milk in a saucepan until hot through. Add chocolate syrup and mix well. Stir in peanut butter and stir until melted. Serve and top with whipped cream.

Recipe from: http://www.steaming-cup.com/peanut-butter-hot-chocolate


If you'd rather skip the work and make some instant cocoa, at least use milk if you are able, rather than water; it makes the cocoa so much creamier. :)

Happy Monday & Etsy feature-ShoshiPo!

Happy Monday everyone! After taking the weekend off and watching the Chargers lose to the Jets (BOO!), I'm back with another entry. I also just wanted to thank those who posted ideas for me on my last blog post. I'll be busy! ^.^

On to a shop from a very sweet friend over at Etsy, ShoshiPo! She has the prettiest earrings such as the pair below (which happen to be my favorite) at VERY reasonable prices! Show her some love and buy a pair or two for yourself or someone else! Click on the picture below to go to the listing for the earrings or the link to see her main shop.




Main shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShoshiPo



Happy Shopping!

Poll Time!!

I'm always looking around for new ideas for pins to make but have been getting a lot of custom orders lately, leading me to believe that my current designs aren't really what people are looking to buy.
Please take a look at my shop: http://ritzeerebel.etsy.com to see my current designs, then let me know what styles YOU'D like to see!

I've already got an owl and some wrapped candies in the works...any other ideas will be considered! Clean, please, nothing too *weird* unless you'd like me to make one especially for you.

P is for Panda!

In honor of the adorable baby Panda born at the San Diego Zoo just 5 months ago, named Yun Zi, I created my own little baby Panda pin! He's a mini pin, about 2" tall, so you can tell he's just a baby.


Click the picture or the following link for more info or to buy him: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38538030


And if you want to see the real live baby Panda at the zoo, here's the link to the Panda Cam! (As of right now, he's sleeping, awww). Beware, when they're active, this Panda Cam is so addictive!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html

Small rant of the day

I'm quite tired today but I had a small rant to post first. Where is the rain??? We were supposed to get rain here today, apparently some parts of the city did get some. But at my house, none!!
I don't consider it a rainy day until I get rain at my house, thank you.

I know some cities/states/countries are tired of rain and snow, we need some here! Just like places that get snow and rain all the time get tired of it, we (or I, anyway) get tired of sun all the time. I have coats and umbrellas, I want to wear and use them!

End of rant. :)

Getting Sidetracked...Delicious Truffle Recipe!

Here is an absolutely delicious recipe for some yummy chocolate Oreo truffles! I made these at Christmas and they were a huge hit. At the end, please keep reading because I have a few tips of my own that I'm going to use for next time (so you can learn from my trial & error!):

Prep Time:
30 min
Total Time:
1 hr 30 min
Makes:
3-1/2 doz. or 42 servings, one truffle each

What You Need!
1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It!
MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.
DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.


How to Easily Dip Truffles
To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Then use two forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove the truffles with forks and allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl before placing truffles on prepared baking sheet.

Special Extra
Sprinkle truffles with colored sugar or sprinkles in addition to or in place of the cookie crumbs.



Ok, in addition to Kraft's tips above, I suggest:
*Put a few cookies at a time into a LARGE plastic baggie (with a seal of course) and crush them with a rolling pin. Make sure they're all crushed up well, otherwise you'll end up with huge cookie pieces in the filling.
*Mix the cream cheese and cookie crumbs together with your hands. Yes you'll get your hands all sticky but that's baking for you! Make sure you have plates ready for putting your freshly dipped truffles on as well.
*You can also use a melon baller to get more uniform truffle sizes. For example, when I made mine, I ended up with 48 rather than the 42 the recipe said it would make since I made some smaller and others larger.
*You can alter this recipe a bit as well, use different flavored Oreos (Mint or Peanut Butter would be good), or use white chocolate as a coating, even add some food coloring to white chocolate to get different colored coatings. You can Google for pictures of the truffles to get some ideas.



Enjoy!!
(Pic is from iehow.com)

Double Whammy- Feature AND Favorite Site!

Today's post is a little different, I'm featuring the fun site, Cute Handmade for two reasons: 1, I love the site, it's a great place to discover new, cute shops be it on Etsy or just around the web, and 2, because I've been featured today!
The site is a good resource for looking around at fun items chosen by the site's owner such as jewelry, knit and crochet pieces, fun little polymer clay items, etc. It's also a great resource for finding some unique gifts for yourself or someone else.
I submitted my Etsy site a little after Christmas, I was so happy to find out I had been accepted.
So anyway, click the picture or link below to check it out!



www.cutehandmade.com

How Much is That Doggy in the Window?

My newest creation is based on a custom order from a friend, the lovely WomanWithTools over at Etsy! If you click on her name, you'll be taken to her shop, she has some really nice jewelry items listed.
She wanted me to create a pin based on her Miniature Schnauzer, Ziggy, so I came up with a couple of them for her. Now that I've gotten the basics down, I can customize them just for you! You can pick the coat and collar color, see my listing for more details. I'm pretty proud of how these little guys turned out!


Click the picture above or use this link to see the listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38253404

One of my favorite Etsy shops: Applenoggin!

As I'm pretty much in love with anything kawaii (cute), I added Apple Noggin's shop to my favorites way back when I first started looking around Etsy. Jody has SUCH cute items, from little felt animal barrettes and pins to jewelry, to clothing, it would be hard NOT to love a shop like hers. The hardest part is deciding what to buy!



Here's her shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/applenoggin

And her blog!:
http://applenoggin.blogspot.com/


"Heart" her on Etsy and follow her blog for lots of cuteness!

*Yay, I'm Featured in an Etsy Treasury and on Craftgawker!

So I'd normally follow my posting pattern of posting 1 favorite blog or site, then posting something of my own. However, today, I'm deviating from that pattern because I was featured in a fellow Etsian's treasury!
I was lucky enough to have my Valentine's Day cupcake pin (which I previously blogged about) granted a spot in digicute's "Full of Love" treasury, which you can take a gander at here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=82296

If you want to visit the treasury maker's own shop, here it is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/digicute
She has adorable digital clipart and printables which are great for items you may want to create on your own!




♥♥♥Additionally, my cupcake pin was also featured here for Valentine gift ideas!:
http://www.ourgemworld.com/id227.html

♥♥♥And my hamburger pin submission was accepted and is now on the front page on Craftgawker!:
http://craftgawker.com/

Ice Cream Sundae Thursday!

Here's my newest creation, an ice cream sundae pin! It took awhile to plan this one out, picking a color for the dish, especially! Every color I tried looked odd with the color combo but I finally settled on dark brown and think it looks great.
This pin has a scoop each of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream and the vanilla has a teeny cherry on top!


You can click on it to view it on my Etsy page or use this link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38041308

Favorite Blog #2- *Cute n Cool* Blog Stuff!

I have to give credit to ITKUPILLI over at Cute n Cool Blog Stuff, I picked my own blog's background from her site! She has TONS of adorable backgrounds, some for holidays and some general ones that will work all times of the year. You can't really categorize them, I call them "Romantic and Creepy-Cool." I also like the psychedelic Marie Antoinette background, so it was hard for me to choose! You can visit here for her free backgrounds: http://itkupilli-cutencool.blogspot.com/

And visit her Etsy shop to see what other goodies she has: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Itkupilli?section_id=6317784


If you like my blog background, you won't be disappointed in what she has to offer. :)

Valentine's Day is Coming, Part 2!

I've been seeing all of the Valentine's Day offerings on Etsy and in stores lately and have been getting lots of ideas for new things to make. I have made my pink and red heart pins for the last couple of years and those have gone over pretty well, but this year I decided to try something new. So, inspired by a cute hand towel I got from Target a few years ago, I decided to make a new cupcake pin! It is one of my favorites to date, I gave it a red wrapper, put red and pink glass bugle beads on it to represent the sprinkles and sewed a tiny red heart onto a darker pink heart to make the decoration on the top. If I hadn't made this myself, I'd be clamoring to buy it from whoever made it lol. I fall HARD for cute stuff. So without further ado, my Valentine's Day cupcake!


To buy it, click on the picture above or just click here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37858832

Valentine's Day is Coming!

So with the abundance of people now looking for cute, different things that no one else has, what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day by giving your loved one a handmade card? If you don't have the craftiness (or patience!) to make one yourself, I suggest one of the adorable, eco-friendly designs from shesbattydesigns! She makes some fun pop-up cards for pretty much every occasion: birthdays, weddings and baby-themed cards too.


And if you need a little gift to go along with the card, shesbattydesigns also has some super cute jewelry items up as well, I'm quite partial to the ice cream cone ring!

The card pictured above is just one of her many designs. You can click on it to visit her Etsy shop or use this link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/shesbattydesigns

Have fun browsing her shop, she has so many different cards to choose from! Stock up and you'll be ready for any occasion!

Hamburger, Anyone? New Pin Added to my Etsy Site

Here's my newest listing on Etsy, my cute little hamburger pin! I was inspired by Juicy's newer hamburger charm:


Oddly enough, I don't really ever eat hamburgers but I like the way they look!

And here is the link to it on my Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37788137

Favorite Blog #1- Charm Candy!

I reserved the first spot of my "favorite blogs" list for a good friend, Tori, over at Charm Candy. It has nothing to do with Etsy, but with my other love, Juicy Couture charms! Tori created her own blog with lots of great info on charms and other jewelry items Juicy makes. Better yet, her blog features authentic charms unlike a lot of other Juicy Couture charm sites/blogs I've seen around the web. Here's her link and if you love Juicy's charms like I do, I know you'll enjoy the site!

http://www.charmcandy.blogspot.com/


Additionally, I created my own comprehensive list after months of work, of pretty much all of Juicy's charms up until about August of 2009. I'm working on a second list of updates, however I don't have enough charms on it to put out yet (UPDATE as of 2/10/11, I have plenty of charms for the list, but I won't be putting out the list until there's a lull in charms! I don't want the list to be outdated the second I put it out.)
In the meantime, here is the site where you can request the first list (and click on "list signup"):

http://jccharmlist.weebly.com/index.html


You must provide a valid email address, otherwise you will not get the list. I have to actually go into the account and send the lists out myself so you can't give a fake email address and expect to still get it. I have it set up this way so I know who the list is being sent out to and please keep in mind, that I own all rights to this list, I will not hesitate to take action if I see it being re-distributed in any manner. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

First Blog!

So, when was the last time I had a blog...back in high school, I think? It was mostly filled with typical teenage rants, nothing worthy of reading anymore since it would probably be embarrassing at this point in time.
I figured that I should blog again, but with a new goal: featuring other favorite blogs or websites and showing my felt pins that I have available on my Etsy site.
Hopefully I can keep posting regularly and get this blog going!

Happy New Year to all!