Stocking Stuffers

I know, I know, it's hard to believe that a week from today is Christmas Eve. At work we have a countdown calendar...and I hate being reminded of it daily because I'm just not "on it" for gifts and prepping. BUT, the good news is I have stocking stuffers for you!

Actually, anything in my shop is small enough to be a stocking stuffer so you can't lose.

I will be so happy to move from full time holiday working hours to part time after the new year...whew! This year I haven't said Happy Holidays ONCE. No matter what religion a person believes in, the reason for the holidays IS Christmas so that's it, there's no way around it, so I say.....there really is no good reason to consider other people and that they might be offended to hear those 2 words. Why did I ever worry about it in the first place? Diversity awareness can sometimes be counter productive....so.......

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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?

My Cup of Joe

I'm sharing the coffee and paper my husband delivers to me every Sunday morning...ahhhh, what a guy. You like my Christmas gift, the beautiful coffee mug from Peet's coffee and my new one cup filter cone? Nice!

I remember so clearly...

My son turns 22 today. I remember so clearly the day he was born that it is amazing...considering how much I forGET these days! At my current age, my mom already had her first 2 grandchildren and my son is only now preparing to move away from home (at the same age as I did). I am also 9 years older than my mother was when she had a 22 year old child (me) so she was still sharp as a tack. My poor son has had to deal with my feebling old mind since he was 17! (I'm sure he'd say it was longer than that).


It is really tough to NOT tell a child the story of his birth day...think of poor Billy Crystal's character in "City Slickers" whose mother called him every year after midnight to recant...once AGAIN...his birth story...geez! Well, I will just enjoy the fact that I still have my darling just-turned-4-years-old nephew with whom I can share childhood with. I visited him and his mommy & daddy for a sugar cookie holiday bake fest this week. I stayed overnight and gosh, it was so much fun watching him roll, cut, and decorate. It was funny because he only wanted the pumpkin cookie shape...and would only DECorate the pumpkin shapes!


They turned out messy, pretty, yummy and crumbly...mmmm...nom, nom, nom. In my own home, the three of us just did not feel like going through all the Christmas tree doings so I just strung lights on the stair bannister instead.


Some of the best gifts I received at our family celebration were copies of my mom's special recipes, written in her beautiful penmanship, AND her and my dad's wedding bands since Dad has remarried and Mom passed away in 2002. I am so happy that her ring fits on my pinky so I can wear it next to my own wedding band. Man, her ring is a real wide hunk of gold, with minute scratches but no warping. Not bad for 50 years of wear on a 14 karat ring. Nice to have her "with" me daily.

Inside Out

This vase of flowers from my husband started my Thanksgiving, which was also my birthday (falls on this day every 7 years). The lilies are big and fat and the roses pink & fragrant. He brought these to me with a sweet card and a fresh pot of coffee...ahhhhh. Then we drove up to Napa where my sister was hosting Thanksgiving. The drive is only a little over an hour so that is a treat in itself.

We actually ended up with the grouping of family we expected at Christmas, but Thanksgiving turned itself inside out this year.


Originally, we were due to visit my in-laws for several days but the entire household became ill and we didn't get a phone call until Tuesday. I thought, wow, so maybe we'll just stay home but we aren't prepared to cook a turkey dinner, and I sure didn't want to spend my birthday doing THAT! So I called Sis and she was SO happy since her regular group of people weren't coming and she was down to her family of 3 plus her father-in-law.

As it turns out, my dad & stepmom had to cancel their southern California plans as well, so they were looking for an invite somewhere. We ended up with 9 munchers and Sis was so happy to insert her table's extension to accommodate us all. She and her dad-in-law fixed all the food while her husband smoked a turkey and baked pies.

The side dishes were pretty awesome and it was tough to pick a favorite. When I was young, I would demand one entire turkey drumstick which is pretty crazy since we were a family of nine who always had one other family of 6 at the table. But I got it a couple of times.

Well, bro-in-law offered the drumstick to me so I happily took it...heehee.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Christmas! Did any of you have a quick flip flop of plans for turkey day? I'm wondering if this occurred for a lot of people this year.

Secret Treasures

Just a drive by here to show you a couple of my cupcake Christmas gifts...a set of resin cupcake magnets which I could really use to make my fridge look a whole lot better and a pair of Wal-Mart's Secret Treasures cupcake pajamas in purple!

I'm wearing them as I type this and they are incredibly soft and incredibly cheap, only $8.50 on sale as well as the nightgown style...also available in red.

They feel like a super thin, super soft fleece. Really nice and the sizes are true but if you dry your laundry in the dryer rather than on the line like I do, I'd go a size up.

Had a fabulous Christmas holiday. I co-hosted celebrations for 2 of my sisters but didn't have to prep my own house...now THAT's the way to do it! Spent several days in Napa for the holiday, very mellow and easy going. Really nice. Had rain and wind on Christmas Eve but Christmas day was cold, bright and crisp.

Drove home the day after and am now in the midst of my husband's 9 day vacation...what a treat! My goal for the new year is to clean out bead bins for plenty of jewelry for you and to focus more on my drawings and sketches to create note cards, bookmarks and art pieces for my MomsArt shop on Etsy.

So until 2009, Happy New Year!

The Chocolate Kingdom

Ahhh, my son and I finally decorated our Christmas tree last night. Since the three of us live in a small condo, tree space is a premium! Last year we got clever and got a 6 footer and placed it atop a 2 foot chest, giving us an 8 foot tree. We did it again this time around. My son starts the decoration with draping 6 strands of lights around the tree, 3 clear and 3 colored while I pick the Christmas music cd. He really gets into the tree so that is illuminated fully from trunk to tip. He IS the light master!

We both wanted to keep the decorations simple but I must have my icicles so we just used those plus purple, blue & silver round balls...that's it, and we really liked it. My one concession was a big, ballerina glass ornament, but she is long and slender...like an icicle...get it? She has a little pink tutu.




So here are daytime and nighttime shots for you although it probably doesn't mean much unless you are here to see it. Fun, though.

As for jewelry, I assembled the last 10 little amazing choco-caramel glass cupcakes I have from Payton Jett into a bracelet with a heart lock clasp with a dangling key. I call it the Key to the Chocolate Cupcake Kingdom bracelet.

I mean, don't they look edible to you? They sure do to me!
Sales have been strange this season with what's happening in our economy so I was very happy that a few people bought cupcake jewelry and some stickers this week. I happily mailed those packages.




I also cleaned up my Etsy jewelry shop a little to remove pieces that didn't fit the cupcake theme as it seems that is what most viewers and buyers want to see. It looks much better. Much of the jewelry has free worldwide shipping, by the way.

I'd love to see some of your holiday decorations if you care to share.

Lazy, hazy days of Summer

A touch of Christmas for you even though our weather here in northern California is very much like summer. While my friend in Illinois was cozy in her slippers, I was in my bare feet!

We had such miserable batches of heat this summer and now we are being rewarded with the most perfect weather. I took my walk yesterday at 3:30 in the afternoon and the sun was still warm and the air was still. Just incredible in the middle of November.

A section of the condos we live in have been getting new roofing. When the company quoted they could start in early November I expected months of these condos with plastic sheeting in the midst of
rain. But the project is nearly complete with not a raindrop in sight. Sadly, this all is a reminder of the water situation over here as well. Lakes have been dangerously low for a few years now.

Today I have photos of some fun Christmas items from my MomsArt shop on Etsy: a delicate clear glass ornament filled with the most amazing handcrafted origami "lucky stars". I purchased the stars on Etsy and they are each so perfect. I

cannot imagine my fingers being able to craft such teeny perfections. They are bright and shiny in jewel tones. I also punched some Christmas tree stickers from my favorite and most popular "Paris Chic" paper. The pinks, blacks and whites are so pretty and there are 5 patterns that make the set a whole lot of fun.

Lastly, no more jewelry consignment for me. I don't enjoy the pricing structure, so I have in my hands a necklace that is so pretty in black and white (left). Thanks to Lezlie Belanger, it's got a big handcrafted round focal bead topped by a tube with delicate white swirls, all suspended from a black silk ribbon. Available at RockerJewlz.etsy.com.

My birthday is the day before Thanksgiving this year which is already next week...wow! We will probably go to Kincaid's in Burlingame, a wonderful restaurant across the bay from the SFO airport where we can see jumbo jets arrive and depart but don't hear them. They have the most scrumptious food and elegant atmosphere. Then we are off to be with my in-laws.

My wish for you is that no matter the situation in your lives that you are thankful for whatever good you have.