I Actually Did It!

I can't believe I have finally opened up my Etsy shop. It's 4:10 a.m. and the shop is opened! 

 I wasn't worried if I had to stay up all night to finish it. 

the name of the shop is....  

 caregourleyshop
original eh?!
that's when the cart comes before the horse

crocheted bracelets in my etsy shop

I just started and I said "Self you are staying at this kitchen table until this is done, no more stalling". 

The only things is I only have 3 items for sale, hehe. 

I love those...baby steps, baby steps

There is still tons and tons of reading to do to help your shop be very successful so I will be doing that on my holiday trip to see my family in the south eastern part of British Columbia,  a beautiful little town named Fernie. 

I am planning on doing a few of the markets when I get there so I can't put too much in the Shop until after I have done those,

 (that reminds me, I have to email the lady who is in charge and sign myself up).


  I will only have a dozen things or so for sale to start so I won't
get mixed up with inventory here and there.

 Tomorrow I will take pictures and add the rest of the items.

Now the REAL organization starts.  oh  no...

To bed I will go and tomorrow will be another day.

Night to you all, or maybe I should say

"Good Morning!"
:)

Focaccia and Picnik

Vintage Focaccia with picnik.com

Here is another picture I altered on picnik.com. I used the vintage option because the stone bakeware and cutting board reminded me of the 60's. But the best part is the recipe from Martha Stewart, that I use for my FOCACCIA bread. I have been using this same recipe for many years and love it.  It's also great for pizza crusts. The only changes I've made over the last couple of years is I use

ROBIN HOOD'S BEST FOR BREAD flours.

And Since my family does not want to eat any white bread these days, I found using the Whole Wheat variety very successful. The wonderful thing about this flour is it always rises. I'm not sure about the science of it, but it is different than your typical flours (t's on my list of things to read up on).

Robin Hood best for bread whole wheat

Here's the recipe.............

FOCACCIA

recipe from marthastewart.com

Ingredients

• 1 pinch sugar
• 2 3/4 cups warm water, 100 degrees to 110 degrees
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl, baking sheet, and drizzling
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt, plus more for sprinkling
• Fresh rosemary (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir sugar into 1/4 cup of the water, and sprinkle in yeast. Stir well; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups water and the olive oil, and mix well. Add flour a cup at a time, mixing well. Add salt, and knead dough until smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes in an electric mixer fitted with a dough-hook attachment, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand.
3. Form dough into a ball, and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Spread dough evenly onto an oiled baking sheet. Cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
5. Dimple surface of dough with your fingertips, leaving deep indentations. Cover with towel again, and let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
6. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle oil on top of dough, allowing dimples to fill. Gently spread oil over surface without deflating dough. Brush lightly with water, then sprinkle with salt and rosemary, if desired.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and slide onto a wire rack. Serve as soon as possible.
   Enjoy!
   
   

Summer Break and Restful Nights

Charcoal sketch edited with picnik.com

Since my "Art in the Park" art fair ended, I have been on an extended vacation of sorts. No real concrete comittments until the fall (I'll chat about that later), only fun and optional ones for the summer. So that gives me some free time to explore a few new thingamajigs roaming around in the universe. One being, the photo editing site picnik.com.  It's a really cool and powerful site with a lot of free photo editing tools with the option of paying a monthly fee to expand those tools.

My first attempt was this charcoal sketch I did a while back. Here it is in it's original state.....

Original charcoal sketch

I know this site has been around for quite awhile, but I just never seemed to have the time (or really knew what it was) to explore it.

BUT NOW......

oh no!  I already spend too much time on the internet...now this! 

I really need to make a daily plan.....

that's what my dear husband says anyhow

 I think he is right and I actually have put it on my to do list 

(somewhere, kinda right in the middle). 

I will do it because I know I need too, especially now without the commitment of that day job I quit back in November 2010

(that's another story). 

Anyhow, I wanted to share this with you all just in case you haven't heard about it and have been wanting to do some editing on your photos but didn't know how to go about it. 

And me, well I am just happy I discovered this "fabulous photo editing tool" so I can manipulate some of the sketches and paintings I have done to use in my jewelry and sewing projects.

I hope you are enjoying a 

restful

 creative

 and 

eventful 

summer.