In my last post, I promised to show you the final results of my woodworking project.  My maple blanket chest is completely done now and pretty soon, I’ll be storing away my winter linens.  Ta-da!  I’ll be starting on another project soon, and this time I think I’ll be doing a book-matched Nakashima-style walnut coffee table.  We’ll see how that one turns out!  Stay tuned.

Ignore the driveway. It needs serious work.

Secondly, I have already committed to a second crafts show.  This one will be a bit more involved than the first, so I’ve started to plan my inventory just for that show alone.  Exciting!

Thirdly, I’ve already gotten inquiries about wholesale orders…and I am still a one-woman show!  So before I drown in orders, I’ve got to get started on holiday inventory.

Anyways, enough of that.  Here are my latest items, which you can always find on www.trulyenchanted.etsy.com.

Attention getting and spectacular, this is a green amethyst (prasiolite) that will undoubtedly make everyone else around you green with envy!

I call this my "Mojito" earrings---seafoam green chalcedony briolettes with a "spray" of Swarovski crystals and pearls

These I have named "Turmeric" because the colors are so Indian-inspired. Lush and rich, the butterscotch chalcedony almost looks like carnelian. Accompanied by gold vermeil wire clusters that are anything but ordinary.

My "Nocturne" earrings with hand-made earwires forged from sterling silver that has been slightly oxidized for an aged patina. Labradorite dangles from a 1.5" drop and would pair so well with my "Starry Night" necklace!

Enter the classic French chicken stew: Chicken Fricassee with Tarragon and Shallots.

I used my own tarragon from the herb garden and made sure to brown it well in my Le Creuset.  I’ll sing the praises of Le Creuset in another post, I’m sure.  Cream, dry white wine, tarragon, broth, lemon, bay leaf, and shallots make for a great accompaniment to free range chicken.

From one Le Creuset....

...to another

I'll pair it with a side of white asparagus with hollandaise and crisp green beans. Crusty French bread to top it all off and to sop up that tarragon goodness.

——–

Tarragon Chicken Fricassee—Gourmet March 2007

• 3 1/2 to 4 pounds chicken pieces with skin and bone
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken in 2 batches, skin side down first, turning over once, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet, then cook shallots, garlic, and bay leaf over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir in cream, broth, and 1 tablespoon tarragon, then add chicken, skin side up, and simmer, covered, until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered. If necessary, boil sauce until thickened slightly.

Stir in lemon juice, remaining 1/2 tablespoon tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaf; pour sauce over chicken.

Anyways, I did well at the craft fair and I’m ecstatic that I exceeded my goals for my first time!  Now that I am back, I’m in the midst of a flurry of custom orders.  It’s great to be back in my studio.

Here’s what I’ve created for a bride…she asked for pink, purple, brown, green, and cream pearls.  As inspiration, she also sent a picture of her dress and it is GORGEOUS!  Hopefully this will pair with it nicely…

Amethyst, green quartz, smoky quartz, rose quartz, and cream freshwater pearls with a dollop of a Swarovski egg-shaped pearl on the very end.

I love the way it catches the light.

 

It reminds me of spring. For a lovely spring bride.

Now, in terms of inventory, I am frantically making more jewelry even though I had been prepping for months…in anticipation of the holiday season.  I have a lot of inventory already, knowing that I would be doing a major craft show in November, but even still, I feel like my boxes look so empty!  The question I keep asking myself is, what do I do if I sell out?  Pack up and go home?  And then I think, oh silly me.  I’d be lucky to even make ten sales!  Sell out?  That’s impossible.  Still, the part of me that reaches for the stars stays up late making more briolette drops because I imagine that there lies the possibility that I may run out of items!

It's finally done. I predrilled some holes for hooks and voila! A bracelet display!

Just in case I don't get to interact with all of my customers, they'll be able to refer to this.

I love this...and the fact that I made it myself. So gratifying.

Then I set up a trial display for my craft fair.  It’s my first one, so I didn’t want to go all out and buy a bunch of stuff that I may never use again.  But most of what I got here was from Hobby Lobby and Joann’s.  Very affordable.  Some simple muslin, burlap, a white bedsheet (ignore the wrinkles for now) and decorative boxes really jazzed everything up.

Can't you practically smell it through your computer screen?

Go on, take a deeper whiff.

My display--incomplete but looking pretty good already!

Do you like my little sign?

 

So far, I’m working on my displays.  I haven’t gotten very far since my commitment to this fair didn’t solidify until just a couple of days ago.  But so far, I’ve glued and stapled some beautiful gnarly rustic upholstery fabric to some plywood boards.  Then I’ll put in some upholstery decorative tacks to hang my jewelry on!

Also made a gilded tree out of grape vine branches from our backyard.  It was easy, just spray with metallic paint.  The effect is something out of Narnia and I’ll be able to hang even more luscious jewelry from it.

Gotten some cards printed up and I love the glossy paper they’re on.  It is so exciting to see my brand crystallizing over weeks.

My half-completed display board.

Love those flyers!

 

All I did was staple the fabric with an electric staple gun.

 

Check out my Narnia inspired jewelry tree! It's simple, drill a hole or two into the base and put your branches in. I found that using wood putty really optimizes the fit. Then spray paint!