Monday, February 1, 2016

Indie Beauty Review: Haus of Gloi

It's been a while, but I've still been buying indie cosmetics and beauty products for years and always will. 

I've been a customer of Britton's since probably 2008. That's almost ten years! Ah!
Haus of Gloi has grown a lot since I started ordering from them and they offer a lot more than just soap and scrubs!

A little about Haus of Gloi:
From their website:
"Handmade from Scratch."
"Small Batches."
"Vegan Friendly."
"Unique."
"Beautiful high quality products."
"Locally sourced whenever possible."
"Welcome to the Haus! We are a small vegan business owned and operated by two individuals dedicated to bringing you the highest quality handmade bath & beauty goods and perfumes. All of our products are made in small batches to ensure quality and are made from scratch, never from a base. Our fragrances are intriguing blends inspired by seasonal tides and whatever else might catch our fancy."
Britton has worked very hard for a long time to make her business successful while also keeping her batches small, locally sourced, and vegan. I admire all the work she has put into her products, and that she has kept at it for so long. Truly admirable! 


I've bought custom perfume, lip balm, soft bubbling scrubs (my absolute favorite), pumpkin butters, emollient scrubs, bath bombs (my second favorite item they make) and I'm sure I've bought other things, too.
I'm here today to cover a few of their Yule offerings, and one in their general catalog.
Soft bubbling scrubs are my favorite thing they make and it used to be (when I had more money) that they were ALWAYS in my shower. Well, I made a Christmas purchase and I am so happy!
The scrubs are light, fabulous at sloughing of dead skin and then giving back moisture to your skin, while leaving a lovely light scent that lasts at least a few hours.
I bought 6 ounce jars of Rosy Cheeked (Yule) and Honeysuckle Lemon Curd (general), and a small 2 ounce jar of Three Treasures (Yule). 

Rosy Cheeked is a little like my old favorite scent which was called Zazz (a lovely semi sweet citrus scent). This new one is "pink grapefruit, fir needles, juniper berries, rosemary, a sprig of parsley and bright winter lilies." It sounds like a gin cocktail!! I love it already.
I showered with it and oh man, fir! I love this masculine note with all these other lovely ones. I may need to see if it is still in stock because I love this scent. 
Top: Honeysuckle Lemon Curd, Bottom Left: Three Treasures, Right: Rosy Cheeked

These scrubs rinse clean, also and are about the consistency of refrigerated cookie dough. (Specific!)
Three Treasures is described as "sacred gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. Smouldering with warmth and brightened with a touch of mandarin rind." I am so not usually about frankincense and myrrh, but this is a great combination. A little sweet, nice and warm, and sparkly! Smells like Tenzing Momo in the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Wonderful memories, though this might get gifted since I often get headaches with these notes. Oh well!
Honeysuckle Lemon Curd is sweet, floral and very springy. Described as "Rich and lemony with a touch of Honeysuckle."

I bought the soap and the scrub, soap for my Mother in Law and scrub for me. She loves the soap!
On first sniff, it is very lemony and sweet with only a hint of Honeysuckle. This scrub has a much lighter sillage than the first two. It's nice and light, not overly floral. I'll keep this one for myself!
Another thing I picked up from the Haus was a lipbalm! Peppermint Vanilla. I was emailed by Matt that it was out of stock, I told them my sub, and waited... And waited... When my package showed up, it had the right one in it! I'm so glad I am patient because I love this scent/flavor. Not overly mint or sweet. Feels soft on the lips. It is coconut oil based, with Shea butter, too, so it feels really nice!

Go check out their sale section, I certainly am!! 
http://www.hausofgloi.com/

(I purchased all items with my own money and was not compensated in any way for posting this!)


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Unicorns Everywhere!

Unicorns!!! Hooray!


 Something took hold of me last weekend, and I had to make these adorable little unicorns. I mean fierce. Totally fierce unicorns. (They get kinda huffy if you call them adorable.) 

I draw them onto paper, glue the paper down to clean metal, cut them out with my saw. 

Like this: 

Tangent: My amazing friend Dana, proprietress of Urban Utopia Photography, is super fun, wonderful to get along with, and just all around fun. I had hired her for my wedding photography in September 2014 and also boudoir photos last year for Valentine's Day. Dana provides the most comforting, beautiful and relaxed environment for these shoots and is an absolute pleasure to work with. 
Oh look, we're adorable, and drink coffee!
One of our engagement photos.
 (C) Urban Utopia Photography

 Unicorns, woman!

 Right, unicorns!! These are sterling silver, except the pinback which it nickle. The clutch is stainless steel, and pulls open to release the nickle pinstem. It's about a half inch long, and will likely snag your nice silk, so try something with a heavy weft, denim or something you know you won't be taking it off of any time soon.


The "C(star)B" is my maker's mark (for now), the 16 refers to the year it was made, and .925 is the hallmark noting that it is indeed sterling silver, which must be at least 92.5% fine silver, with the remaining amount consisting of copper. Poor alloys will include other metals like tin, zinc or nickle, but mine come from recycled, certified alloyed in the USA sources, so they do NOT contain any of those nasty metals that most people are allergic to (mainly nickle).

I've applied a patina using liver of sulphur gel and used steel wool to remove it selectively. These are $86 each, please ask me about getting a pair of earrings made! These make great post earrings, too. 
Find me over on Instagram @handcraftedcaro for more pictures of different unicorn designs (plus gratuitous selfies)! I'm going to try to do photos this weekend. Hubby and I are babysitting the little sister this week, so no studio time this weekend! 

Don't forget that the entire WISHES section of the Etsy shop is 30% off for a limited time until February 6th! 
Enjoy!! <3 br="" nbsp="">

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Wishes to Fulfill My Wishes

Hey there... Grab a cup of tea, maybe a cookie, or toast with that jam you made this summer... I have a little story to share with you.
I created the Wishes series after I found this adorable stamp, had to have it, and barely could afford it at the time. I bought it anyway. I reminded me of the wishes I would make as a kid. "I want a new puppy!" or "I wish I was better at running the mile!" Both things didn't happen, but I'm a believer in "Hope" as a tactic to motivate you to get done what must be done! Hope isn't always helpful, or useful.

Hope can hurt if you rely on it as your only source of anything. If you are only hoping you'll make better choices tomorrow, but not changing anything about your circumstances, then you're not really going after your dreams.



Sterling Silver Hand Stamped Dandelion Wishes Earrings on Kidney Wires
https://www.etsy.com/listing/158161284
I'm talking about getting to bed earlier, so you can take a leisurely walk with your dog, instead of staying up late watching Making a Murderer on Netflix. Or arranging your outfits the night before instead of rushing around in the morning, all in an effort to give you more time during your day to do better.

My wish is to go to grad school, make a lot of really awesome art, and then become a jewelry teacher. I'm currently finishing up and sending out my materials for grad school applications to three schools all across the country. Each is different and special in their own way. Each can offer teaching assistantships, which are necessary to grow my experience as a teacher.


Sterling Silver Hand Stamped Dandelion Necklace 18"
 https://www.etsy.com/listing/156420135
I'm trying to fund my Wishes, and I'm asking for your help.
It takes a village, they say, and my success is your success.

Handcut Sterling Silver Dahlia Necklace 18, 20, or 22 Inches
https://www.etsy.com/listing/97988806
I'm offering my Wishes line, which will include new pieces that I'm dreaming up right now (like a ring and bracelet), at 30% off, for a limited time only, from now until February 1, 2016 at 12 pm. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. It really means a lot to me. Any support, even if you can't afford to buy something, is very much appreciated.

xoxo
Carolyn

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Home Made Vanilla Almond Pepita Granola

In an effort to make the most of our money this year, I've decided to start planning our meals better.
I find that I often get lazy or forget that I have to take meat out of the freezer, so I aim to freeze meat not just in the packaging it comes in, but to add marinades and be better about taking it out the night before.
My doctor said I need to be better about getting calcium and magnesium, so I went out and bought vanilla Greek yogurt (Zoi brand, it's local and absolutely delicious), vanilla-almond granola, and raw pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds have a lot of magnesium and protein, so that's why I bought them.
I've been snacking on yogurt, store-bought granola and raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a while and my mouth is a little bored. I can't help it. I love variety. It's the spice of life! So in that vein, I have decided to make my own granola, with some additions. I've added links to granola recipes I looked at and adapted my recipe to suit my needs.

     Vanilla Almond Pepita Granola

  • 2 1/2 c old fashioned oats (not instant!)
  • 1 c almonds, chopped
  • 3/4 c pepitas / pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 c ground flax seed
  • 1/2 T cinnamon
  • 1 t pink Himalayan salt
  • 1/4 c brown sugar
  • 1 T organic maple syrup
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 T vanilla (also home made!)
  1. Mix oats, almonds, pepitas, flax seed, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and maple syrup in a mixing bowl with a spatula.
  2. Start up the oven, heating it to about 300 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet (or two) by spraying with cooking spray, or putting down parchment paper.
  3. Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring constantly until it starts to simmer, on medium-low, until sugar is dissolved and butter incorporates, about 5-8 minutes. I added the butter about 4 minutes in so it would melt, but you could melt your butter in the microwave if you have one.
  4. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. 
  5. Pour the liquid mixture over the 'dry' ingredients in the large mixing bowl, and mix together.
  6. Finally, spread the mixture out onto the cookie sheet(s). Bake 30-60 minutes, or until dry to the touch.
Let me know if you try my version of vanilla almond granola! 


Bibliography:
http://www.food.com/recipe/french-vanilla-almond-granola-499965
http://mygluten-freekitchen.com/vanilla-almond-granola/

Friday, September 13, 2013

Isolation, or How to Become a Hermit

Isolation, for an artist, can be a blessing. Most people are extremely busy and therefore have trouble finding time alone, to make whatever it is that they make.

Lately, for me, isolation has been the letter of the day.
At first, my lack of a job was great! I made lots of jewelry, cleaned my house, did laundry whenever I wanted, and had a general good time.
For the last month or so, I've been stagnant. This is due to several factors, some of them being health related and some of them being self imposed. I'd like to say, at this point, that I doubt, highly, that anyone is reading my blog anymore, which is totally fine.
I am really just writing to get myself out of this weird isolationist period. I want nothing more than to sit, watch Netflix and knit, and perhaps look at cute pictures of pug puppies that I can't have.
See this cute jerk? Yeah. All. Day.
So. Basically, I stopped blogging her when I went to school because I had no time to blog since I was cranking out jewelry, ceramics and photography like nothing else.
Crapping snow, November through April.

So many tiny thrown clay vessels.

This sums up summer in Ellensburg.

Cute new outfits and different hair in 2011.
Now, I've been out of school for over a year and sometimes I wish I had stayed another year but I was young, eager, and engaged (no longer) so I wanted OUT. I guess that is why grad school exists.

( I will make a separate post of the works I finished while in school, sort of in order to get my brain working again. )

Now I look like this: 
Shaved (first) in Jan 2013, picture taken July 2013.

I'm loving my shaved head, I'm living in a lovely little house near Greenlake, and I have all the time in world to create, but feel held back. Mostly by myself, I realize. Though not having a torch big enough to anneal large pieces of metal is kinda crappy. Though, I guess I should move to smaller imagery? I got used to working LARGE in school because I could, and I guess this could be a good opportunity to work small, since I can't really work large with my current equipment. 

So, that's my brain dump. If you're reading this because you know me, feel free to post something encouraging, or even if you *don't* know me, that would be rad. 

xoxoCarolyn

Friday, January 6, 2012

Dahlias

http://planningitall.com/2014/03/10/lets-learn-about-flowers-dahlia-edition/


Thinking about dahlias in this color way.  Purdy!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Berry and Brie Pie

If you follow me on Twitter, and you were awake around 9pm Pacific time (or 12am Eastern) you might know that I was up planning a pie.

I found frozen pie shells at Grocery Outlet for $0.79/pack of 2.  Dude.  That is cheap.  I also found little brie wheels, which I probably should have bought three or four of instead of just one.  Not sure how much it was but it was also quite cheap.  For the berries, I used the rest of a bag of frozen berries from Costco that has been in my freezer for a while.  I was on a smoothie kick for a while, but broke the blender, so was stuck with a bag of berries.  It was three types of berries: blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  I also had some other frozen blueberries from the summer time when blueberries were cheap.

I knew I wanted to make a pie and a berry one at that, but what could I do to make it different from any old other berry pie?  I know!  Cut up the brie and pour berries over it!!  But wait, won't that look strange, a pool of berries inside a pie crust?  Yes it would... What could take this pie over the top?  Crisp topping!!  Yes!!

So armed with my idea for a crisp-topped berry-brie pie, I went forth and made it so.




This recipe is enough for two pies, one with cheese, one without.  If you want to make two with cheese, then you will need two brie wheels.

Ingredients:
about 5 or 6 oz brie cheese with the outer edge of the rind cut off.  Cut into about 8 wedges.
2 - 8 or 9" pie crusts (I used the ones that come in aluminum pie tins)
Berry Filling (see recipe)
Crisp Topping (see recipe)
Secret Stash Vanilla Salt (add about 1/2 tsp to both berry filling and crisp topping)

Berry Filling:
about 5 cups frozen berries
4 tbsp (1/4cup) cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water
1/3 to 1/2 cup raw sugar; or sweeten to your liking.

Crisp Topping (Courtesy of the Food Network website, recipe by Ina Garten)
***This turned out to be much too much topping, however if you were to make three pies, or a crisp the next day, you would be fine.  I would recommend using only 3/4 cup flour, as I like my crisp topping to be more oatmeal than flour, and perhaps 1/4 cup more oats.**

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt {I used the vanilla salt mentioned earlier}
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
  • **I added about 1/2 cup raw sliced almonds because I felt the nuttiness would really complement the cheese and berries. It does!**
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, put a cookie sheet on the rack you are going to use for baking the pies, so that it can pre-heat, too.  The pie filling will overflow while baking (unless you're a perfect genius of course).  Also, the cookie sheet should be big enough to hold both pies.

Begin by putting all the berries in a saucepan and turning the heat to medium-low.  When they are all thawed and warm, stir in the sugar.  Let the sugar dissolve a bit then, slowly stir in the dissolved cornstarch liquid.  Turn the heat up to medium and boil for 1 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, turn off burner.   

Now, combine all the dry ingredients for the crisp topping together in a bowl and mix well.  Then, add the butter.  I mixed this all together with my hands because I feel using a spoon or mixer is just too much work.  Plus getting your hands dirty is fun! 

The cheese should already be cut up, oven and cookie sheet preheated this whole time, and crisp topping should be all ready.  Take the pie shells out of the freezer.  (I am operating under the assumption that you are using frozen shells that are already in aluminum pie-tins.)  Put the cheese slices in the bottom of one pie shell.  Pour less than half the berry mixture over the cheese slices.  The berries should NOT completely cover the cheese, the berry mixture should go about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the pie shell.  You will have massive cheese and berries escaping if you try to cover the cheese wedges, like I did.  Pour the rest of the berry mixture into the other pie shell.  Now, put a layer of the crisp topping on the pies and place the pies onto the cookie sheet.  

I baked mine about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then turned it down to 350 degrees F, leaving the oven door open for a few minutes so that it cooled down faster.  The hotter the oven, the more likely all your berries will try to escape, or you will burn the crisp topping and nuts.  Bake another 20-35 minutes, depending on how fast your crust and topping cook.  Since the berries are already ready already, the only thing you are waiting for is the cheese to melt, the pastry to cook and the crisp to be crispy!  

Good luck and let me know if you try this recipe!!  I really enjoyed it.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Second Day on the Job EOTD

Hiii!

My second day working at the Spirit Halloween Store was today and I felt the need to do a yellow-purple-blue look.  

Sorry, no full face shots!  I wore Rocks! Candy-o on my cheeks and the discontinued and unavailable Rocks! shesaknockout lippie.  It looked really good and lasted a while!  

Aromaleigh products in the following shades with (my color descriptions in brackets):
Inner Corner/lid:  L'Orchidee Collection - Bumblebee (a sweet, light golden yellow)
Lid:  Victoria's Revenge - Mourning's Whimsy (beautiful blue based medium-dark purple with blue sparkles/interference)
Crease:  Les Papillons - Flutura's Cloud - "A brilliant blue of exceptional vibrancy and depth. Metallic heart with intense blue frost and sparks of blue, red and gold. This shade was inspired by the amazing color of the Blue Morpho Butterfly." from Aromaleigh.com (deep blue with darling sparkles.)
Highlight and blending: Rocks! WhiteWedding

Click for bigger ones!








Plus!!  I bought a costume after I got off work!! I am fairly certain it was the last one, so I tried it on, loved it and bought it.  I will try to get home photos of me rocking it later.  Yay!  

What do you think of my eye color choices today?  I think I would have liked to have used Italian Ice from Hot in the City collection instead of Bumblee. 

Thoughts on my costume?

<3carolyn

ManGlaze - Mayo - Matte White Nailpolish - Attempt #2

Hey there!

I posted on Twitter that I got my new polish in the mail from ManGlaze, Ink this week.  My order consisted of one bottle of matte white polish name Mayonaisse, or The Holy Crap!  :)

I am terribly and deeply in love with all the other products that ManGlaze has produced, most especially FuggenUgly, the original matte grey polish (although it has experienced a few formula changes since first appearance in the mid 2000's.)

Anywho.  My first impression of this polish was that it was a looooot stickier and thicker than other polished I have used in the past.  It is also NOT a "Wite-Out" type of white.  It has a delicate shimmer that is pretty much unnoticeable once the polish is dry, but while it is being applied, it is quite pretty!

Now, I am not the world's most amazing polish applying-person, so please forgive my shoddy work.  The day I got this polish, I was sitting at my computer, put it on my nails and after the first round I ruined it.

It does NOT dry completely for a while.  The outside will look dry, but it is not.  I do realize that this could be a problem with application on my part, too, so please bear with me.

(P.S.  If you want this polish and need some amazing tips, go to this blog post on www.scrangie.com: http://www.scrangie.com/2010/10/man-glaze-mayonnaise.html  She has some really awesome tips and they did help this second time around.)

So, the rundown on Mayo:


  • Beautiful, clean white without being stark, yellow or chalky
  • Thick, need a steady, smart hand to apply without streaking.  Also many coats.
  • Takes a bit longer to dry than most other nail polishes.  Certainly NOT one of those polish-and-go polishes.
  • Awesome fantastic matte.  LOVE.
  • I need MORE PRACTICE!
 I need to get a brush to clean up my cuticles, but for this I just used a small knitting needle to get in my cuticles since I kept getting the polish up under them.  Sheesh!!  Hopefully next time I do a mani I will take pics in the day time... And clean up my mess.  :P

How do you like this white??


Pics! Click for bigger ones!





























Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mythos Look #1 - Blue and Green Gods and Goddesses








Eyes
Inner lid:  Aromaleigh Mythos Demeter
Crease and outer lid: Aromaleigh Mythos Phoebe
Center of lid:  Aromaleigh Mythos Theia
Highlighter: Aromaleigh Mythos Rhea
Lower Lid: Aromaleigh Mythos Theia
Lashes:  Benefit Bad Gal Lash
Brows:  Urban Decay Brow Beaters Brunette

Face & Cheek
Aromaleigh Glissade 1PL+ Voile 00
Aromaleigh Metamorphosis Finishing Powder
Aromaleigh Gothic Lolita Blush - Rococo


Lips
Fyrinnae Lip Lustre - Visual Kei


Today I wanted to use the new samples I bought from Aromaleigh, and my outfit was blue, black and green so I went with it.

I got lots of compliments on my make-up and also on my cowl that you can see in some of the pics.  It is blue.  Everyone thought it was super cute.  I knitted it myself! :D  Keeps my neck perfectly warm.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Things That Have Happened


Soooo.... I don't know if you noticed, but I've been gone for a while from blogging.  


Things That Have Happened:


1)  Lost jobs, now unemployed.  (Sad face!)


2)  Learned how to knit, obsessed with knitting and fiber.  (Happy face!)


3)  VACATION! OMG I WENT ON VACATION!  See photos of beachtasticness at the end.


4)  Finally got my studio space into it's space.  Whew!


5)  Having weekly sales on my Etsy page in order to pay bills and feed myself.  (15% off Oct 1 thru Oct 3rd)


6)  Watched Dead Like Me (Seasons 1& 2), Doctor Who (Season 1) annnddd lots of others.  


Wanna see some pics?  Of course you do, you magpie.




Jewelry!!!





Oh, this isn't jewelry, but it is mendhi.  Prettyyyyy!


Earrings



Cowl!




Oregon!!

What?


Big Pirate, Little Ship

Purdy!



More Seal Rock!
Seal Rock
Bridge into Newport, OR