Sisterhood of the Traveling Bead Box...how fun is that?

I haven't been blogging lately but, seriously, this is worth it! Go check out Lorelei Eurto's blog for the details and to enter. It promises to be fun.

Check just some of the contents of this bead box (I swiped these pics from Lorelei, btw):

What's for dinner?

Image courtesy of www.vegalicious.org

Do you have a really busy day ahead?

Would you like to get one of your 'must do' chores out of the way in the morning before that late-afternoon energy crash happens?

Do you want a healthy, delicious dinner tonight?

Do you like Mexican food?

Well, my answer is yes to all of these and if yours is, too, then I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes with you. Because it goes together quickly with minimal ingredients, it's a breeze to make. Because it actually tastes better after sitting for a while, it's perfect to make in advance. Because it's a meatless option, loaded with veggies and good carbs, it's a pretty healthy choice. And, because it's cheesy and gooey, your kids will probably love it, too!

Laurie's Veggie Enchiladas

1 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 15 oz. can of drained, chopped tomatoes (with or without chiles, depending on how spicy you like your food)

1/2 can chopped green chiles (again, adjust this to how hot you like things)

1 15 oz. can of corn

1 cup of cooked brown rice (you can use white if you like. * Whenever I make rice, I throw in a vegan, low-sodium bouillon cube to add extra flavor)

1/2 - 1 cup silken tofu (OPTIONAL. I use it because it adds some moisture to the recipe and gives a great boost of protein. It doesn't change the flavor at all, in my opinion.)

1 1/2 cups of Colby-Jack cheese (more or less as you like)

1 can of enchilada sauce (I actually use another 1/2 a can because I think the corn tortillas need the moisture, but that's up to you)

salt, pepper to taste

I add 2 teaspoons of cumin powder because I like it and it smells good

1 package of corn tortillas (some people like flour tortillas instead, but the corn

is healthier)

* shredded lettuce, fresh chopped cilantro, chopped black olives, chopped tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, salsa, etc... for toppings

1. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with oil. I actually make mine in 2 - 8 x 8 pans because I freeze one.

2. Mix together beans, tomatoes, chiles, corn, rice, tofu, 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce, 1/2 of the cheese and your spices in a large bowl.

3. Spoon a small amount of your enchilada sauce into the bottom of your baking dish, just to cover the bottom

4. Spread approximately 1/3 cup of the mixture into your tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in your baking dish. When you've finished all of the rolls, spread the remaining enchilada sauce over them, then top with your cheese.

5. Cover them with oil-sprayed foil or a baking dish lid. At this point, you can bake them immediately for 30-35 minutes in a 350 degree oven or do what I do:

I put one in the fridge to 'gel' until time to cook it for dinner. I think that putting them in the fridge really helps the flavors blend and all the juicy goodness soaks into the tortillas. The other pan gets wrapped and bagged and put into the freezer for those times when baseball and basketball practice collide on the same night.

When it's time to eat, just top them with your fresh veggies, salsa and sour cream. I usually serve it with fresh fruit for the kids, a salad for us old folks.

AGLF Calendar is available!

Just a little preview!

The AGLF calendar pre-sale is available now. Visit here to order yours!

Help your fellow artists - support the AGLF

Please visit the AGLF Etsy store.

There are so many beautiful items donated by various artists to choose from - these are just a few - and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the AGLF. The AGLF is currently helping to fund the legal defense of 30 glass artists, jewelery designers and other indie craftspeople who are being sued after speaking out about a bogus tax fraud website that targeted dozens of small business owners last year.

Some (but not all) of these defendants actually sued the originator of that blog, forcing her to admit that she was the sole author of the site which features a fictional 'team' of tax investigators. It was all a fabrication, created to perhaps destroy the business reputations of dozens and enact revenge upon a select few. Ultimately and unfortunately, that suit had to be dropped due to lack of funds before she could be forced to permanantly remove it.

Understand that many of the people originally listed on her blog were complete strangers to her but whose businesses were in direct competition with hers. Others that she targeted were people who had spoken out against her practice of purchasing lampwork beads from independent artists and then reselling them, claiming them as her own work which had been created in her studio in Italy. It's my understanding that the suit was filed against her merely in an attempt to defend against a campaign of lies and misinformation.

Please don't let this continue!

Several of the people currently being targeted by her had no interest in the original case, have never been in contact with the plaintiff, had no real idea who she even was until a process server showed up at their door. She has just arbitrarily picked them out of the artistic world and chosen to sue them. That's completely legal, believe it or not. Although she has no case against them they still have to spend their hard-earned money to defend themselves and I think we all understand how scarce extra funds are these days.

To have to take the income that's supposed to pay for food, medical insurance, school supplies, the electric bill, braces for the kids - and hand it over to an attorney to defend against this random person is virtually impossible for some of the defendants. So please, go check out the AGLF Etsy shop or visit here for more information and to donate directly to the Fund.

Every little bit helps.

Yet more new colors...

Yes, I have even more new Fairy Flowers colors in my Etsy shop. I can't help it - they're addictive to make and the color combinations are almost endless.

Also, I've spent the past week working on my fall beads. So many rich, warm colors! I'll work on getting some of them listed this weekend.

Worst soup flavor....EVER?

Is it just me, or does this company need to take a serious look at their marketing strategy for this product?

For owl lovers!

~NIGHT FLIGHT~

This was such a cute treasury! I love owls I'm so happy that my little one was included. There are really some beautiful, fun, whimsical items in here, so if you are an owl lover or if you know one, come check these out.

Who wants to be published?

Would you like an opportunity to be a published artist/designer? Who wouldn't, right? It's time to start working on the AGLF (Artist's and Glassworker's Legal Fund) 2011 calendar and they need your submissions!

The AGLF is a co-operative that was organized to help independent artists and craftspeople with legal expenses ranging from fraud to copy write infringement; from creative property theft to malicious and frivolous lawsuits. All proceeds from the sale of this calendar will go directly to the Fund.

The 2010 calendar was a huge fund-raising success as well as a great opportunity to become published. I was proud to be one of the many independent artists included last year and I hope to be again this year.

Submission is open to ALL of the handmade arts so don't be afraid to show what you've got. If you're a ceramic artist, metal smith, jewelry designer, lampworker, beader, baker or candlestick maker...if you create beautiful things by hand, they want your pictures!

You can send your submissions in the form of 300 dpi images, as well as website and/or blog links and additional info here.

New Fairy Flowers colors!

All available in my Etsy shop!

~Poppies~

~Cottage Rose~

~Twilight~

~Vintage~

~Wisteria~

This is JUST what I (almost) had in mind!

I love seeing my beads used in ways that I wish I'd thought of myself! Here are a few designs that I thought turned out beautifully perfect.

You can find these and many more unique jewelry pieces at Lorelei Eurto's Etsy shop.

And this one! I love the blues and I was really excited to see a design using these glass rings. I love them, but had no idea how they could be incorporated into a design. Go check out this necklace and so many other pretties at the Pearl and Pebble Etsy shop.

Wish I were there......

More bead baby follow-ups

Another bead baby has been released. This big, fat hollow focal ended up in a gorgeous, long pendant made by Bobbi Moore. She sent me pictures of the finished project which is up on ebay right now, but I couldn't get them uploaded for some reason. Probably because my computer is an ancient piece of crap, but that's another story for another day.

Make sure you check out Bobbi's creation before it ends. You can find it here: Rio

Something pretty!

~Jessica Earrings~

I love seeing where my bead babies end up. Aren't these earrings gorgeous? I love copper components but I never would have imagined these working with it (that, of course, is why I don't make jewelry).

Fortunately, Tari over at Pearl and Pebble could. The result: perfect, beachy little earrings. I wish I had them for my upcoming trip to the island!

Final push

Do you have plans for Independence Day? Do you have a family tradition followed year after year, looked forward to with anticipation and remembered later with sweet nostalgia?

We always head to this quaint and quiet little coastal island for the the 4th. It's all about relax, recuperate and recharge while we're there. It's such a lazy, easy-going getaway. All we pack are swim suits, shorts, T's and flip-flops. Nothing to do and nowhere to go but lay on the sand, eat ice-cream and watch fireworks.

Heaven....

Before we leave for Utopia, I've been making a final push of new bead listings. I'm really happy with these designs - some new and some old - and I hope you'll like them, too.

~Organic Hollow Focal Set~

~Flower Fairy Discs~

~Sea Blossoms~

~Pink Flower Fairy Discs~

~Moonstone Discs~

Whatever your plans are - be safe, be happy and enjoy the day!

Too busy, no time to chat!

~Rustic Rolos~

I can't even capture how cool the colors in these beads look!

Things have been so hectic around here - washing machine broke, dog got sick, lost iPod, beads got lost in the mail and had to be remade, many custom orders, swim meet, basketball game, nephew's car broke down, lawn mower broke. Seriously, I don't have time to chat right now. I do have some interesting things to share, cool shops to visit, fun things that I've bought - but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry.

For now, it's just beads. I've got new things listed in my Etsy shop that you might want to check out. I'm also completely caught up on custom orders, so if there's anything you want or need, now's the time to let me know!

~Ancient Ivory~

~Tropicana BHB's~

~True Blues~

~Creamsicle Discs~

Look at all this great stuff!!!

If you're a designer or just love to collect beads and findings in hopes of someday actually making a piece of jewelry (this is me), you need to head on over to Denise Yezbek Moore's blog. She's got one insane give-away going on right now!

Destashing. Seriously!

Well, the kids are back from their vacation and so it's back to the same ol', same ol' for me. I'm getting up at 5:30 so I can get studio time in before it gets hot out. Connor has swimming 3x a week at 8:30 am and Anna has basketball the other 2 days. Meets and games on Saturdays, plus art camp and baseball camp. It's a little bit of a grueling schedule for summer but, since we aren't vacationing because of the economic situation (in our house) , I wanted to make sure the kids got to do something fun that would keep them busy and occupied.

I just didn't realize quite how busy and occupied it was going to keep me!

At least I managed to get some 'To Do' items scratched off my list while the little darlings were away. The most important one was me sorting through hundreds of beads that I've made and then tucked away - thinking I'd use them to make jewelry (ummm, yeah, right) or take to shows.

I've faced the truth about myslef, finally, and I realize that neither one of those things are going to happen so I've decided to release them into the wild.

Fly away, little beads, fly away.