Evening of the Arts

Evening of the Arts at Plew Elementary in Niceville, FL is next week Thursday, April 26.  Mrs. Seebaldt's class has been busy preparing.  Take a look at what the kids have done!  Keep scrolling down.

These dragonfly ornaments / suncatchers are my own unique design which I sell for $12 each. The kids all helped to make 38 of these that will be available for only $5 each in the Gallery Store in a temporary building at EOA. These are perfect Mother's Day gifts (Mother's Day is May 13).

The kids hammered the wings and tails of the dragonflies on an anvil (with safety glasses) and learned a little about the properties of copper at the same time. About 1/2 of the dragonflies made are ornaments/suncatchers and the remaining have been made into pendant necklaces or hairpins. Check out the Gallery Store early for the best selection.

Handmade dragonfly ornament/suncatcher in orange and blue.  There are some in garnet and gold too.

Some of the colors available. The wings can be bent into a "V" shape if desired

Some of the dragonflies the kids made have been turned into hairpins or necklaces

The kids made watercolor pencil art to use as display cards for the dragonflies.  Cut off the white part on top and you have a beautiful little artwork--two art pieces in one purchase! Look for a tri-fold display board in the Gallery Store.

Mr and Mrs Hendricks designed this incredible magnet board that will be available to bid on in the Live Auction in the cafeteria at EOA. The kids helped paint the frame and made all the alphabet magnets. The frame is affixed to a piece of metal which is covered with polka dot print fabric.

Large magnet board to be auctioned at the Live Auction

close-up

And don't forget that many smaller items donated by the community will be available at the Silent Auction in the Plew Media Center.  I'll have these too jewelry sets available to bid on there:

Freshwater pearl, Swarovski crystals and gold filled bracelet and earring set

Freshwater pearl, Swarovski crystal and gold filled earring and pendant set

Working on new pretties.

I have not even listed these yet, but there are still more to come . . .

Recipe: Oriental Honey Mustard Dressing

I received a recipe once for a similar dressing, but it made only a small amount.  This is so delicious that I needed to tweak it and make a big batch.  I adjusted amounts so that it is easy to measure one ingredient at a time into a 2 cup measuring cup and just keep adding more ingredients into the same measuring cup--saves dishes.

ORIENTAL HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grey poupon dijon mustard
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp toasted seasame oil

Using a 2 cup measuring cup or larger, add ingredients in one on top of the other keeping track of measurements.  Mix with a spoon and then using a fine seive, strain into a 1 quart jar using the spoon to press through the mesh to make a creamy dressing.  Cover and refrigerate for up to a week.

Serve over your favorite salad.  We like to make an oriental fried chicken salad by baking prepared crispy chicken strips and cutting them into pieces (I like Tyson brand) and serving over romaine lettuce with thinly sliced red cabbage, carrots, green oinions, sliced almonds and crispy chow main noodles.

New Items: Hairpins

I've been busy designing some new Spring items.  My unique designs in hairpins seem to be beloved by teenagers, but are perfectly lovely for anyone who enjoys hair accessories. One of the current trends is decorated bobby pins for ladies of all ages. I currently have the ones pictured below as well as some other beaded designs.

Immediately below you will see my brand new design for a lacewing bug. It's a very dimensional and graceful design. My dragonfly hairpins have been popular for a while as are the butterfly pictured at the end of the post.

Lacewing hairpin copper and jade $12.00

Lacewing hairpin copper and jade $12.00

Dragonfly hairpin copper and clear crackled glass beads $12.00

Dragonfly hairpin copper and candy jade $12.00

Dragonfly hairpin copper and jade $12.00

Butterfly hairpin copper $8.50

Quick DIY eyeglass holders

If you sew at all you probably have some small pieces of fleece in your stash of scraps. And if you have more than one person in your house you probably also have eyeglasses and sunglasses stashed in purses, cars, drawers and closets without cases.

Years ago I used up some of my fleece scraps making these very quick eyeglass holders. We still have them and still use them all the time.  I forget how many I made, but I made them in various sizes to hold different size glasses.  Those wrap around type sunglasses really need a big case, but reading glasses only require a slim little case.

I also had some scraps of flannel so I cut some small squares of it with pinking shears, to keep it from fraying, and added an extra, shorter piece of fabric when I sewed the edges of the case together to make a pocket for the little flannel cleaning cloth.