A few little updates….

I'm on Twitter!  Let's follow each other! Search "CandieCooper"

Art Bead Scene has a new challenge out for this month:  Pearls of Wisdom.  Like charms, can we ever have enough of them?

Margot's got a new crafty fabulous video up on YouTube here.

Tammy Powley's got the skinny on how to get your craft projects published in magazines.  Read all about it on her blog.

Barbe Saint-John gave the little epoxy sticker charms a shout out on Craft Gossip!

What are you doing this week?

Here's a picture of my loot from a recent trip to Hong Kong.  Can one ever have enough charms?  I think not.  It didn't hurt that the vendor seemed to be into giving some deals that day.  Picked through her entire booth and still only spent $3.50.  Woo hoo!  The two little metal charms look kinda old….but maybe not.  I just liked them and you know how thou loves to fill her pockets with random odds and ends for the perfect project.  Charm bracelets?

About.com Jewelry Making
My New Metal Clay Jewelry Making Book is Out!

BeadStyle Magazine
Naomi talks about this weekend's Bead & Button Show

Jewelry & Beading
Fabulous bead artist Margie Deeb has an artist profile on Jewelry & Beading!

Naughty Secretary Club
Learn how to make a resin bracelet using an ice cube tray watching Jen’s latest how-to video! The Secretary’s Delight Bracelet is a sneak peak at some of the projects inside Jen’s new book The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry.

Savvy Crafter
Candie crafts up a simple necklace, perfect for making round' the picnic table in the back yard with the kids.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Tammy Powley's super new book! Read her interview with me, here!

I'm going to see Chef Martin Yan today!!!  Remember?  "If Yan can cook, so can you?"  He has a new restaurant and culinary arts center here in Shenzhen.  Stay tuned!

It has been raining here all day.  We've definitely enjoyed ourselves up here in the nest.  Rocker is curled up in his blanket snoozing the day away.  I made the invitation for my class's big 10 year reunion, watched a movie and now I'm thinking about reading.  Earlier, I looked up grilled sandwiches on All-Recipes and found this idea…

Grilled Apple and Swiss Cheese Sandwich.  Botch started slicing apples and I olive oiled up the bread.  I have to say every time I see Butch slicing apples it brings back memories of baking apple dumplings at Grandma's.  He and my grandpa standing side by side at the kitchen sink peeling and slicing, solving the world's troubles getting, wiser by the slice.  Um, where were we?  Ah, the sandwich.  It was gooooood.  We fixed some soup to go with it.  Definitely hit the spot on this rainy Saturday.

https://www.candiecooper.com/2008/06/07/it-has-been-raining-here-all-day-weve-definitely-enjoyed-ourselves-up-here-in-the-nest-rocker-is-curled-up-in-his-blanket-snoozing-the-day-away-i-made-the-invitation-for-my-classs-big-10-year-reunion/

I was sifting through a bowl of random bits in my office the other day and came across this fish charm I made awhile back.  It was a quick experiment and an attempt not to let a drop of mixed Envirotex Lite go to waste.  This is a fun and simple project you can make with your kids this summer. Here's what you need:

Grab some Mother of Pearl shell beads/tags from Fire Mt. Gems and Beads.

Find some extra cute little stickers and stick em' to the shells.  I got mine here, but the package says made in Korea and Japan-land of all things extra cute and sweet.  Check around Ebay for stores like this to get your own.  You could also use metallic paint pens to decorate the shell backgrounds first.  Wouldn't that be fun!?!?!

Seal the sticker in with either Envirotex Lite or Diamond Glaze.  Envirotex is my favorite beacuse it makes for a really hard extra slick surface, but Diamond Glaze dries A LOT faster and more kiddie friendly probably.  Either way, some may fill in the hole on the shell and you may have to use a dremel tool and drill bit to open it again.  Add a jump ring and ball chain and voila; cuteness hanging from your neck!  But, why stop there?  Add some more beaded dangles and silver charms perhaps?  Less is More?  More is less?  Who cares, it's fun!

Beading Daily.Com had a post yesterday that listed a load of beading ideas for kids.  Tis the season for filling those long summer days with beads and day dreaming out around the picnic table in the back yard.

I'm hooked on the music from the movie Dan in Real Life—most of the music is by Sondre Lerche.  Mellow, accoustic, nice beat, up-beat, I like it…

This is what happens when I can't show you what I'm working on jewelry and crafting wise.  Instead, I show you what I'm cooking—lots of us do it, eh?  Lately, it seems to be breakfast.  We love breakfast around here.  Is it because we've been deprived of our beloved small town Indiana Saturday morning diner trips for 2 1/2 years? THE $4.99 Special: Two eggs, toast with a side of bacon and coffee.  (Insert trumpets)

Yesterday, I whipped up my friend Krissy's breakfast casserole recipe to celebrate the weekend's arrival.   It's drizzly outside.  Nothing says lovin'like a hot sizzly casserole and the smell of coffee wafting through the air on a rainy morning.  I'm still working today and Botch heads out to the factory in a few minutes, but it's the thought that counts.  Secretly (but not anymore), I'd like to curl up with this book I've been slow to finish.  Bastard Out of Carolina.  Have you read it?  There's a movie too, but I've not seen it.  So far, so sad, but it's a must-read for me, so I will push on.  I think I'm almost half way through it.

Hey, want to make your own casserole?  The weekend's not over yet!

Krissy's Easter Morning Casserole, as she calls it. All though, she first made it for us at our 7AM Super Bowl party.  The girls ate it with fruit and Mimosas and the guys ate it with taco dip and beer.  Silly boys.

• 8 slices of white bread, crusted and cubed
• 1/2 lb grated sharp cheddar
• 6 eggs beaten
• 1/2 t. dry mustard
• 1 t. salt
• 2 C. milk
• 1 1/2 lb. link sausage, browned and sliced
• 7 x 11 casserole dish, greased

Layer dish with bread and sausage.  Mix the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard together and pour over bread and sausage.  Set in fridge over night.  Cover top with cheese and bake 1 hr. at 325-350 degrees.  I confess, I bake it as is and then put a tad of cheese on top (imported cheese is $ 6-7 dollars a bag here in Ch!na.  Ouch!)

Hope you're all having a great weekend.  It's time for me to get back to my little work room.  🙂