And Now for Something Completely Different

I saw this film over the holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lovely, touching, and simple, I highly recommend it. It's in limited release so it is playing in some big theatres but in many places it's only in the theatres that normally show your foreign or art films.

Find it, watch it, love it. I sure did. I can't recall the last time an audience applauded at the end of a film, like they did for this one.

Cupcake Christmas Tree

I just love my Cupcake Christmas tree this year...nothing but cupcake ornaments and icicle ornaments...and LOTS of lights! Last year I had such a tough time even finding cupcake styles I liked, so this year I shopped online in October and bought 3 sets of completely different looks and sizes totaling just over 20 cupcakes.


We have a small condo, for which we get a 5 foot tree that is placed on top of a trunk, so believe it or not, with the 3 strands of clear mini lights and 3 strands of colored minis and dozens of icicles, just a couple dozen cupcakes in 3 different sizes really turned out to be enough. Now, I think double that would be perfect, but it's not a naked tree at all. I like it. I really like it.

I'd love to hear about your tree(s), especially themed ones.

Yesterday was my final day of shopping and I got all my stocking stuffers at one store so I was very happy!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate it and Happy Holidays to everyone else.

More and More

And the hits just keep on coming! I listed these three Cupcake Heart pendants today.

This yellow pendant has a matching ring!

The blue pendant will soon have a matching ring as well. Tick tock, the Christmas clock.

Parisian Nights Duo

What do you think of this duo? You can have a cupcake pendant with a darling heart on the back so that it looks good on both sides.

And there is a matching ring if you want to have the total look. Or you can do a solo deal. Whatever works best for you is what I've got.


I tell ya, these rings I'm making are wonderful. I am sensitive to silver plating and can't wear it...makes my skin itch. That's why I love this nickel-free silver coated pewter. I can wear my ring all day in total comfort...thank goodness! See more selections HERE.

Christmas is coming...are you ready?

New Cupcake Line

Well hallelujah and hip hip hooray! The flat backed cupcake beads I've been BLABBING about for MONTHS are finally jewelry pieces! I'm showing you rings today that have a Victorian design on them that are just marvelous. They are adjustable, so you just can't go wrong with these. Only $15 HERE.

I mean, how cute are these? Rather elegant, I think. Can cute and elegant be contained in one product? How about a cute cupcake on an elegant silver ring base...yeah, that'll work!

I also have some of the beads in pendant form and I have loads more color combos coming in the next 2 weeks so that you'll have time to order them AND have them reach you before Christmas.

So, I'll see you in the shop and back here for pendant photos.

And HOW awesome is this snow falling across my blog page??? It's a new FREE service from www.Blogamation.com, the gals who created www.thecutestblogontheblock.com that I use for that cupcake wallpaper you see on the sides of the posts....sweet!

You can even make requests that everyone can use if your idea is accepted. It is so much fun to create with them...and WAY easy too. I hope you give it a shot.

Happy Holidays,

The Cupcake Flower

The Cupcake Flower bracelet is back and oh so sweet for girls or women. More details HERE.

CheckerBoard Cupcakes

Can you believe this...a checkerboard cupcake! Those are actually black dots, but when the artist pressed in the "liner" grooves, it slightly squared the dots...and I love it!

And, good old Target had cupcake tissue paper in the dollar bins today! I've never seen this before so I was very happy but had to hold back from buying a ton of it since I use tissue paper about once a year. The pack has 15 sheets, 5 each of purple, white and cupcake. Wish they would have made the white a pink...I mean, how many people even WANT white tissue paper these days when there are such cool choices out there?

I hope you're not going too crazy over holiday prep. We are lucky enough to be going to my sister's home in Napa and she and her husband and father-in-law love making the turkey dinner for others, so I guess I might just be washing dishes this time around.

And I hope you are happy with what you have. None of us have everything we want. No matter what level we are financially, there is always something more to desire, so my goal is to enjoy what I have right NOW....and dream about and worked towards the rest.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Golden Hollows

Each day this week I'm listing holiday earrings. Can you believe the amazing swirls of color in these first two pair??? The large beads are hollow and it's amazing they can be so strong. Kind of like how the arches of a building or bridge actually increases their strength. Just unbelievable. Above is Golden Amethyst Hollows.


I've had these beads for so long, I can't recall who made them and I am so sorry about that. Perhaps she will see this post and let us know! I call this pair Egyptian Blue Hollows.


I also will list a couple of simple and elegant pairs, like these Emerald Crystal Drops.

Behind the Times

Hi everyone. Well, I'm behind my schedule of finishing pieces I've been teasing you with, so I thought I'd show you goodies I'll be posting this week on my Etsy site.

First up is this pair of earrings featuring wonderful pumpkin beads I call "punks". The glass used is Red Roof Tile which produced a deep, smoky orange for something different than your usual orange. I just love this color, especially with the grey-green tendrils that are on all sides of these plump beads.

Then, to continue the holiday theme, I have a SnowGent and SnowLady in necklace form. Their little mufflers are so cute and go all the way around their necks!

There's been much going on around here that has pulled me away from my studio and now it is November, so I HAVE to get back on track. The plan is to post some destash holiday charms in sterling silver in my MomsArt shop and to finish that new line of cupcakes I KEEP talking about!!!

Stick with me, it'll be worth it,

Music & Snowflakes

Here are the beads I promised to show you...music beads with sheet music lines that are thinner than any stringer work I've ever seen on a bead! The artist is Saskia McKenzie-Fisher and she's not only talented but very sweet as well. She made other sets in a pale pink glass and also in blue. I am so excited to get these into a bracelet. My husband said I just have to keep them for myself since they are so spectacular. I'm waiting for a few more of those small rosette rounds and once I get them and assemble the bracelet I'll show you pictures.

Here is the Pink Snowflake bracelet I completed this week that is all pink and white glass with a beautiful Rose Swarovski crystal and sterling silver tab style clasp. The dangling bead is a fabulous scrolled egg shape that is a star all by itself.


On my next blog post, I'll show you the final music note bracelet and (fingers crossed) the beginning of the new cupcake jewelry line I mentioned in the past.

Until then,

Pink Beauties for October

It's that time of year again...October, breast cancer awareness month. I love seeing all the pink items when I'm out shopping that shows just how much awareness there IS! As I watched the Philadelphia Eagles football team burn the SF 49ers butts, I couldn't figure out why the Eagles, a team that wears green and white, had a few players wearing really cool two toned PINK football shoes! Then I noticed their gloves were pink and then I saw the pink awareness ribbon on the team helmets and thought, wow, how awesome is it that we live in a time when men are willing to dress in pink. I just love that. I found out later they also had pink caps and had pink ribbons on the footballs.

So I thought it would be a good time for me to remind you of the pink beauties I have for you. These are just 2 of the many items I carry in pink....all year long. It's my favorite color of glass bead to buy and just WAIT until you see the awesome pink in the beads I bought last night...they blow my mind.

So be sure to do your part for cancer awareness this month....just about any item you might need could possibly be available in pink so that proceeds can fund the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. So, dig around before you buy. I remember last year at Target they had pink vacuum cleaners!

I'll see you soon with some awesome beads,

Fresh Face Beauty Tip

Here is my beauty tip for today: if you have less than 5 minutes to 'put on your face' these are the steps & products I've found the best to look refreshed....

1. IF you need foundation & concealer, put it on.

2. Use your blusher for ALL your color...cheeks, lips and under the brow bone. Don't freak out...if it's a good color for your cheeks, it's the right color for your entire face. Really...try it!

3. If you need eyebrow pencil, put it on.

4. Dab clear or tinted gloss over the color on your lips.

5. And finally, apply at least one coat of mascara.

These steps won't make you look made up, but simply clean and fresh and in 5 minutes or less, no matter what your age.

Chicken & Soup

Yummy yummy...after the streak of hot weather, it was a blessing to enjoy our favorite soup from Trader Joe's frozen section...French Onion. Each box has 2 servings that are shrink wrapped. I used to place each serving in my one cup casserole bowls. When cooked, it fills the cup perfectly but there IS some spillage onto the foil covered pan beneath it.

Recently, my husband brought home these nice big blue coffee mugs and they are now the perfect bowl as there is no spillage while cooking. Look how wonderfully golden the cheesy top turns out....yum!

We had one day last week where time flew and I had nothing thawed for dinner. My husband suggested getting something quick at KFC...which is a rare place to visit for me. But I acquiesced and tried the chicken pot pie for the first time and man oh man, was that perfect crust ever beautiful and crispy. I don't EVEN want to know how much butter must have been in there!

I guess I've needed a looooong break from jewelry. I just have not felt motivated at all. Don't know if it's the ever changing weather or what, but I've got all the materials I need for the completely new line of cupcake jewelry that I have hinted at so I hope when next I blog I'll have some ready for you.

Now go get some soup!

Beads, Movies and Niles

I had lots of visitors here this week. My dad and stepmom stayed in San Francisco to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary so I drove them to and from the BART train station so they wouldn't have to pay insane parking charges in the city.

Then my baby brother stayed with me for 3 nights. He spent one day in the city and 2 with me...and BOTH of those days we checked out the Niles district of Fremont (California). Gosh, what a wonderful tiny spot on the map it is...but packed with siteseeing opportunities.

I've visited often because my favorite bead shop is there. Normally, that's my only stop, but I had to park in a different location recently and discovered The Nile Cafe. A fun, sort of divey place in an old building with a completely unique menu and amazing art all over the walls and ceiling. I turned my husband onto it the following weekend so that we could enjoy breakfast under the canopy out front that covers the pink upholstered bistro chairs and mosaic topped tables. Ah, the capuccino was beautifully frothy.

Knowing my brother would be visiting I knew I had to take him there but didn't know much about that part of town so I got online and learned that a silent movie company had planted itself in the area in 1912 and 2 years later signed on Charlie Chaplin as their star. Two years after THAT, Chaplin wanted waaaaay too much money and the big movie companies were coming into play and crushed this tiny one, so it closed down.

I'm very impressed that for only a 4 year period of history, this town held onto it and built upon it. Niles only has one long street with shops mainly on one side and maybe half of them are antique shops. The other fun finds were Tyme for Tea shop where you can have afternoon tea at beautifully draped tables under chandeliers....Balloons to Go-Go, filled with more costumes and masks than I've ever seen and the best surprise of all, Corrie Glass...a lampwork studio and shop!

I talked with Wayne Corrie about his upcoming lampwork class and said I didn't want to learn how to torch beads but after 3 years working with lampwork beads I still haven't seen a torch in action unless it was in a video...he graciously offered to let me watch his class from the other side of the protective glass next month...woohoo! I particularly liked his rectangular beads as that is not a very common shape.

Last but not least, was the only market in town, Mr. Mikey's Country Store which has every snack you might want along with a small fresh produce section, fresh deli and YUMMY homemade tamales...fresh daily, slurp!

Bro and I had fun walking the streets behind main street where dozens of old homes are located...and not a one of them is modern (well, there IS one, but only one). Every home looks the way it probably did when built...only paint jobs are fresh and I'm sure the interiors are modernized, but there must be some deal a homeowner has to agree upon so that no modern remodeling is performed on the exterior other than paint.

This provides a feeling of being completely away from modern life and immersed in an era that you'd have thought no longer exists....very clever. We discovered a small park way in the back of the homes...very private, not large, and completely shaded...the perfect spot for me to visit again soon with my sketch book...very inspirational.

If you are in the east bay area, and anywhere near Fremont, I highly recommend that if you want to disappear for a few hours, that you do it in Niles!