shop news!~

HEY YALL!!   My mom and I went today to pay and sign lease and we got the KEYS~!! to our new shop!!  Eagle st. handmades will be the name!!  Now I have to see if I can get an ad in the paper for next week and also print up some flyers and paint a sign for out front on the sidewalk and oh yeah start moving things in!  YEE HAW!!! 
Too much to do but I will get it done!!  I would like to be open on tues!! I feel a sudden burst of high energy and excitment!!  (maybe it was the 2 mickey d's hot mochas I have had this afternoon and  about 4 cups of coffee?? but who's counting anyway!) 
I am goin to do the shop as an artists/crafters co-op and have a small montly booth fee to see how things go.  Tomorrow I will take some display things there and also some of my primitives at least I have alot of things made up already to fill the shop!! 
So I will post pics tonight from my main computer of todays baking!! I did up some gingersnap shortbread, my peanut butter cookie pies, cranberry lemon pecan cookies, kolachky dough to be baked next week and filled with red raspberry or apricot preserves, chocolate mint cookies, and more shortbread trees.   And we got snow!! *** and some sleet but it sure is pretty and  I love goin out this time of evening to do chores in the  freshly fallen snow, there is such a sense of peacefullness and tranquility outside.  LOVE IT!!
Be back soon!! 
HUGS
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

COOKIES!! COOKIES!!

WHAT A DAY!!  I left early this am and got home late tonight!!  what was I doing all day??? BAKING COOKIES!! and more cookies!! LOL and it was all kinds of fun!!
Here's a list from today:
Gingersnap triangles
Shortbread trees
Mocha Wands
Butter Spritz wreaths
my newest concoction!!  Shortbread pinwheels filled with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!!!  souds great huh! they are yummy and I am not a peanut butter fan!! only grilled peanut butter n raspberry jelly sandwiches!!!  My grandma Rose used to make em for me and they were sooooo good.  U know I make em for me once in a while when I have to have one but never tastes as good as my dear Grandmas!  Miss ya Grandma!!
back to the list:
Cherry filled linzer tart
Cranberry lemon pecan cookies

Here's the pinwheel cookies

butter cookie rounds

pinwheels sliced up

Nekked chess pie

There's the lemon buttermilk filling.  This is actually a really old recipe of my Grandmas and I honestly dont remember her making it too often.  It is a southern specialty and a delish one too!

I also got done some cheddar pepper topped foccacia loaves,  Butternut squash soup, vegetarian white bean chili,  creamy tater soup,

the shortbread trees complete with green sugar and colored non pariels. 

gingersnap triangles that need to be dipped in chocolate yet

These are fun to do you use a large star tip and pipe them out into strips with a little extra at the ends. 

mocha wands that get 1/2 dipped in melted milk chocolate

so what a day!!  I am beat and goin to bed early.  Tomorrow is our artisans market and also my last show of the season.  I am sad but also glad as this has been wayyy too much extra work.   Still working on opening a shop just waiting for a liability insurance policy and I can open!!

Hope yall have a great night!!  Oh I gotta get a skate done for an order for tomorrow!! 

Good night yall!!

HUGS!!

Darlene 

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Artisans Market Foundry Hall

TOMORROW is our farmers/artisans market from 3-6pm at FOUNDRY HALL IN SOUTH HAVEN MI~~ 
We have a great selection of handmade offerings!!  This week we will have: birdfeeders, herbal products, homemade soaps, beeswax candles, food gifts, cookies, baked goods, produce, glass ornaments, beautiful handcrafted jewelry, afghans, cards, woolen mittens, cutting boards, lamps, gift baskets, floral centerpieces and decorations, wreaths & swags, pine bouquets, painted wood signs, beaded earings, wax firestarters and more~  and we have live music from Joe Foster our most excellent karaoke guy!!! 
Hopefully it wont be raining as they are calling for rain tomorrow and thurs and last night it was 50 degrees outside!! 
hope yall have a wonderful day I am off to get baking at the kitchen!!  Lots of cookies to do today!! will share tonight!!
HUGS
Darlene

Here's a couple more pics from last weeks market

Inside this doorway is where I will be opening my handmade shop!!

And my brother Joey along with his job coach on left and my sweet dear wonderful mommy!! in black sweater. 

And a very dear friend of mine Sue with her new baby!!  Neville is such a doll, she rescued this little bundle of joy only a couple weeks ago and he is already very very attached to her!! and of cource she is to him too!! Such a doll!!

Nekked foccacia loaves

Carmelyzed onion topped foccacia

these are my popular black olive and sage baguettes!!  YUMMY!!

C YALL TOMORROW!

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Creating, baking and ****SNOWING****

One of my recycled kids skates into a little winter lamp.  These are so much fun to do just really difficult to find the double runner skates nowadays. 

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK ALOT LIKE WINTER OUTSIDE NOW!!!  Woke up this am to *** **** **** **** snow on the ground!! and it is just lovely!!  Last night was our cafe art market and that went very well!! It is in Everyday People's Cafe and we always have a great time there!! My friend Ruth and I shared a table and did very well. 
Wed night was our farmers/artisans market and that was very well recieved.  We ended up having 18 booths full of handmade treasures, gifts, and unique one of a kinds!!
The next artisan market we will be doing is Wed december 14th~~ 
We had fun even though we didnt have a band and next week we will have Joe who is an awesome karaoke singer~ we does our saturday market and really is an asset to our markets. 
Well I will be in Kalamazoo today at the Bank Street Market in the bingo hall from 8-1 today. I got up at 3.30 and it is now almost 5am and boy I am ready for a nap!! LOL I will be back home with my little family soon enough and me and the boys can take a nap then!!
Yesterday at the kitchen it was all about xmas cookies!  I did up some iced shortbread snowflakes, my cranberry lemon pecan cookies with lemon cream filling,  cinnamon maple cream filled gingersnap shortbread sandwiches, smores, brown sugar shortbread trees, cherry filled linzer tarts, and some chocolate brownies with homemade caramel sauce swirled in so it was a productive day and I also made up a batch of my black olive sage baguette loaves for today too.
Hope yall have a great weekend!! 
Be back soon!
HUGS
Darlene



 ~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

painted skate & more snowmen

Hey yall!!  So what a great day! just gloomy out and rainy today.  I got lots of cookies done at the kitchen today and made some french onion baked burgandy soup.  YUMMY!!  Here is another little frame I couldnt load up this am. 

This frame is a wood one from dollar store $$ 1.00 cant be better than that!  LOL    I made the snowmen using some styrofoam ornies I had in my stash and took apart and cut in 1/2.  Flat sides are glued to the frame, I did use a piece of my favo papers My Minds Eye and made a little mini wreath with a star in the center.  Joy are Making Memories scrapbook stickers. 

The little green buttons on his belly are just paper brads that I dipped in triple thick glaze and glitter. 

He is ready for the shop. 

One of the little kids skates I bought finally done.  This one has a little battery votive candle in it. 

One side is double snowmen decorating a tree the other is the snowman head. 

And a rusty safety pin holds a tag that has believe on it.  

A few more skates are about 3/4 done and drying in my studio, a couple ornaments need to be finished up and I also have more snowmen heads to finish up.  Not sure what I am gonna do with them but will figure that out soon enough. 

Hope yall have a wonderfully restful evening.  Tomorrow a couple friends and I are gonna go and decorate the hall for our artisans market on wed.

Foundry Hall South Haven   MARKET WED 3-6pm or later! 

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

snowman bottle and another frame

Hey yall!!! What a gloomy dark and wet day we have had here!  But it actually was in the 50s this am and now down to 45 so not too bad!!  So we are moving forward with the shop just have to get a couple more things in line and we are OPEN!  WOO HOO!! YEE HAWW!~! we are so excited!! and we have decided to also do some scrapbooking classes there too!!  FUN FUN FUN!! Since there are 3 of us that scrap we could do little stations like one maybe a book, or card, or layout and another doing altered tags **WINK WINK*** that would be me!@!@ LOL  so lots to plan and we so hope this months trial will go good, then we can be open all year!!
So here's more goodies that will be at the shop and show this week. 

This is an old bottle I had that I found out in our garden so thought it would be perfect for this project.   Merry and Bright are Making Memories stickers and I also added some pearls and glitter inside the bottle for extra sparkleness!!  Glitter flakes by Martha Stewart are added to this snowman's head and of cource his sheet music hat too.  I did sprinkle with white paint afterward and added a bit of green velvet ribbon under his silver scarf. 

Well I guess that is all I am sharing tonight for some reason the rest of my pics wont load here to blogger!! >>>>///?????  URGGGGG!! oh well hope yall have a blessed evening and I will be back tomorrow!@!  Baking day and making cookies!! 

HUGS

Here's my schedule this week:::

Wed- Foundry Hall farmers/artisans market 3-?

Thurs Allegan Market 11-1

Thurs-Everyday People's Cafe artisan show 5-9pm

Friday- Bronson Winter Market 10-2

Saturday- Kalamazoo Bank Street Market 8-2

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

shop pics

I am calling these yummy little treats PIE POCKETS"  these are filled with thick pumpkin pie filling and are just delish.   I think next week I will do cherry.

Made some linzer tart cookies and these not only look good they do taste good.  trying to get a jump start on xmas cookie varieties and thought these look nice and festive.

Cherry preserves inside a butter cookie.

Isnt this just the cutest entry!!  This is Foundry Hall I talk about so much, where we have our farmers market each week.  I put pine wreaths on teh gates and also our banners but my batteries were dead so I couldnt take more of it once I had all the decorations up.

Inside main entry! LOOK AT THAT FLOOR!! love it! I have always wanted black and white in my oun kitchen but never have done it.  HMMMMMMMMMMMm maybe time huh!!

And this is the entry to the shop we are going to rent.  I love it!!

Inside the shop, you can see it isnt alot of space but we can fill it up I am sure of that!

I really am not a yellow fan but this is a nice and mellow and yet bright color. 

Very welcoming to me and cozy, this cabinet is a built in and would look great with holiday gifts. 

We are hoping to get things tied up this weekend and can start moving in next week!!  Also next week is our Farmers/Artisans market!!  I have at least 20 different crafters/artists coming along with our farmers so should be fun!!  My friend and I are going on tues to decorate.  I  have bought up every artificial garland I could find and and white lights for them too.   Of cource I will take more pics of our process. 

Hope yall have a wonderful friday!  I was feeling quite under the weather last night and am really worn out, feels like maybe an allergy infection or something so gonna take a nap with the boys.

Talk soon!!

HUGS

Darlene 

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~