Tension Bracelet

Berry Shortcake

A pre-summer dessert:  Berry Shortcake

You wouldn't really even know it was Spring here.  It really feels like an extension of winter.  Cold, snow, ice, rain.  This recipe has me longing for warm, lazy days.  I sliced up a carton of strawberries and tossed in a carton of blueberries. Out of season berries need to be sweetened up

 

Berry Very Simple Syrup

1c. Sugar

1c. Water

Grated Orange Peel

Grated lemon peel

juice of half orange

1 tsp. Vanilla

 

 Mix 1 cup of sugar with one cup of water and heat on medium heat.  Grate some orange peel and lemon peel.  Squeeze half of the orange's juice into the sugar/water mixture.  Simmer about 10-15 minutes until it becomes a syrup.  You can test it by dipping a spoon in it and letting it cool.  Remove it from the heat and add a teaspoon of good quality vanilla.  Once the mixture is cooled pour it over the berries.  (Timesaver:  Cool the mixture faster by putting it into the freezer)

Now for the shortcakes.  I thought it would be fun to make shortcake bowls.  I used the shortcake recipe on the bisquick box.  Instead of dropping them on a cookie sheet, I grabbed my jumbo muffin tin, flipped it over, greased it very well. Skip every other cup because they will puff up while cooking and add the dough.



Wait for them to cool about 5 minutes and carefully remove the shortcake cups.

 



I "whipped" up whip cream to top the shortcakes.

 

Whipped Cream Recipe

 

1 cup of heavy whipping cream





2 Tbl. of sugar

1 tsp. of vanilla

 

Combine all the above ingediants and whip with a mixer on medium until stiff peaks form.

 

Fill the shortcake bowls with fruit, top with whip cream, and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Hiatus

Yes I took a hiatus. I hadn't lit a torch in two months. I got busy and put my metalsmithing on the back burner. At the request of my father I blew off the dust from my torch and created these turquoise pieces for his Australian mates to be given as gifts on his latest trip to Australia. Would I remember how to do this? Would things go smoothly? I was rusty...but I got into the groove and it felt good to work with stones and metal again. It is always an honor to get to adorn the necks and wrists of friends, family, and strangers.

Turquoise Pieces...from start to finish

Spring Cleaning the Dust

Warm weather makes me want to purge the things I don't need and catch up on the things I have neglected including this blog.  All the dead has been cleared out of the flower beds and just in time to see life springing up.  Green everywhere with splashes of color from tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths.  A sign that gardening season is around the corner.  Fresh produce and herbs...hand grown...in my backyard makes me feel so self sustaining.  As spring rolls in, I hope I too as an artist grow....grow bigger and better this year.  One thing I will never lack in my work is passion.  It is always there spring, summer, fall, or winter no matter the season....my passion for metalsmithing doesn't know time.

 

 

Here is some of my work the last few months. I love mixing my metalsmithing skills with wire wrapped gemstones. A mix of skills = a mix of looks.

"Liv"in it up....at the bead fair

I have gotten my niece Livy into creating beaded jewerlry.  A 10 year old protege?  Perhaps.  So who better to go with to the bead fair!  She had $100 to spend (Grandma's are the best!) so we stretched it as far as we could.  Three hours, bags full of beads, and most of all memories that I captured here.

Thank you Olivia!  It meant more than you know.

Blizzard Day Baubles

Neglected pieces I start last week and tackled on a very snowy day home.

Amethyst Ring

Pink Chalcedony Ring

Druzy Agate Ring

Stones Santa Brought

Santa...with a bit of help....got me a bunch of new cabochon stones.

Amethyst Sage

Chopstick Agate

Natural Stone

Turquoise

Vistaite Picture Jasper

Wishing....Santa arrived more than once a year!!