Sunday, January 31, 2010

FOTD: Anastasia, Absinthe Rock, Serenade, Suzanne Marie Rose

















Materials:
Aromaleigh - Angel Absinthe Rock
Aromaleigh - En Pointe Serenade
Aromaleigh - Angel Anastasia
Aromaleigh - Angel Suzanne Marie Rose
Aromaleigh - Creme Eyeshadow in Bare Necessity
Fyrrinae Pixie Epoxy
Urban Decay Brow Beater Brunette Bombshell
Urban Decay Lingerie (no Galoshes today)


Creme shadow goes first, then after it is dry, Pixie Epoxy goes on one eye.


Apply Absinthe Rock on inner third of lid.
Apply Serenade in center of lid. (Use Absinthe Rock brush to blend with Serenade.)
Anastasia goes on the outer third and blends with Serenade, then goes up into the crease.
My application is still lacking, so I used Suzanne Marie Rose to blend Anastasia upward so it looks flawless.  I also used it as a brow highlighter.


On my lips I just used Aromaleigh Summer of Love 09 lipgloss.  Love that stuff!


<3 Carolyn


Bonus picture of me in the car!  I was stopped at a stoplight.

Greek Night at Handcrafted Carolyn's House!

Last night I made dinner kind of late, but that was because I was busy editing photos for yesterday's FOYD and the previous post pics, too.  :)  


I made Tzatziki, Greek Chicken, Garlic-Parmesean Potatoes and Apple/Pear Crisp.


Tzatziki:


1.5 cups Greek Yogurt (or Plain unsweetened, low fat yogurt that has been drained overnight, use good quality paper towels, or cheesecloth)
1 largeish Cucumber
2 cloves garlic
Juice from 1/2 large lemon
Generous amounts of Salt-Free It's A Dilly, and Greek Seasoning.
(If I had had money to buy spices for this, I would have simply bought fresh dill and fresh mint)
Pinch of Rosemary Salt
(If you are feeling adventurous, get some Kalamata olives, mince them up finely and use half the traditional tzatziki to make an olive-y one. My boyfriend REALLY liked this one!)


My friend Betsey says:  Just throw it all into the food processor and you're good to go.
However, I don't have a food processor, so I just chopped/minced everything up, then added everything together (in the container I was planning to store it in), stirring with a spoon.  The longer you refrigerate it, the more garlic-y it will get.  At my house, that is a plus, we LOVE garlic.  (Couldn't you tell?)


Greek Chicken: (adapted from this recipe)
2 Chicken Breasts, cut in half (NOT lengthwise)
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp Dill
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper
Juice from 1/2 a large lemon
Feta Cheese


Mix everything EXCEPT Feta Cheese together in a container with a lid.  Refrigerate for about 30 mins, or more depending on what else you are making. (I marinated mine for about 45 mins because I was making the forthcoming potatoes while it marinated.)


Here is the Garlic Potatoes Recipe from Karen Gaudette, as give to my via twitter:


"2 lbs red potatoes 1/4ed, 1/4 cup butter melted, 2 minced garlic cloves, tsp salt, juice o 1 lemon, tbsp parm cheese.  Put tatos in baking dish. Combine butter et al, pour & stir to coat. Bake covered 4 30 min, then addtl 30 or til done"


Mine was a little different, but here goes:


3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1"x1" pieces
2 finely minced cloves of garlic
1/4 c parmesean cheese (I just used the rest of what was in the baggie)
2 tbsp (roughly) extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp rosemary salt
1 tsp lemon juice (from a plastic lemon, since I only had 1 lemon, I used it in the first two)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Put potatoes into baking dish. (check!)  Mix together the rest of the stuffs, pour over potatoes, mix well.  (check, check, check!)  Bake for roughly 35-45 mins.  Or until potatoes are fork tender. 




Apple/Pear Crisp


Filling:
2 pears, cored, peeled if you want (I like the skins, plus more fiber!)
3 apples, cored, peeled if you want (see above!)^
2 tbsp. whole wheat Flour

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 c Agave Nectar
2 tbsp Apple Juice
2 tbsp Orange Juice

Topping:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c Agave Nectar

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon1/2 to 3/4 cup  cold cubed butter

1.5 cups oats

2 tbsp. whole wheat Flour


Preheat Oven to 350 degree F.


Slather/Schmear the baking dish of your choice with butter/shortening/Pam cooking spray.  I personally just rub the end of the butter all over the bottom.  Also, I used an oblong pan, I might say about 10"x7".  Some recipes call for a deep 9" pie dish.  Whatever you have that can fit that much fruit in it should be good.


Cut fruit into thin slices (about 1/4" or so).  Remove cores and skins if you like.  I am too lazy, plus there is good stuff in the skins, so I leave them on.  Just make sure you wash the fruit well first if you are leaving the skins on.  


Put fruit into a large bowl along with all the other stuff under the heading "Filling."  Toss to coat everything evenly.  You may wish to taste the filling, to see if is sweet enough for you.  The topping is plenty sweet, so you may not want as sweet of a filling.  Then, dump filling into greased baking dish, and make sure the filling is evenly distributed. 


Next, I used the same big bowl I just emptied to make the topping.  No sense in letting those flavors still in the bowl go to waste!  You should use a pastry cutter to do this step, but I used a fork, because I don't have a pastry cutter.  All topping ingredients go into the bowl and you begin to cut everything together.  


It should turn out crumbly, but when you squeeze some in your hand, it should stick together.  I used 1 cup of butter and it turned out like oatmeal cookie dough, which was awesome, so I went with it.  If it seems too squishy, you can add more oats.  Or just pretend you meant to make it with a cookie-like topping.  


Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Then, turn on your broiler and crisp the top for a few minutes, just until it starts to brown nicely.  If you have a semi-fancy oven like me, use the "Lo Broil" setting.  If not, just keep an eye on it the ENTIRE time it is under there.  








Viola, you have recreated my Saturday night meal.  :)  Enjoy!  If you decide to use these recipes, please let me know how they came out!  Problems?  Let me know! I can try to help you problem solve.  

Saturday, January 30, 2010

FOYD: Aromaleigh Unicorn Orinoco Tigrilla Sabine








These pictures were taken about 12 hours after I did my make-up.  Wow!  I have recently learned how I was supposed to be using Fyrrinae Pixie Epoxy.  I didn't read it the first time, then was reading Phyrra's blog and learned to use it over another primer.  Silly me.  Anyway, here goes!  


Products Used for this Look:


Creme Eyesahdow from Aromaleigh in Bare Necessity
Fyrrinae Pixie Epoxy
Aromaleigh L'Orchidee 09 - Tigrilla
Aromaleigh L'Orchidee 09 - Unicorn
Aromaleigh L'Orchidee 09 - Orinoco
Aromaleigh Bete Noire - Sabine
Urban Decay Brow Beater in Brunette Bombshell
Urban Decay Lingerie and Galoshes Primer and Waterproofer (which I applied before these photos)
Benefit Bad Gal Lash in Black


Apply Orinoco on inner half of lid.
Apply Tigrilla on outer half of lid, blend with Orinoco where they meet.
Using a very small amount of Sabine on this brush (or one like it) swipe it along the crease.
I used the brush I applied Tigrilla with to blend it and soften it, since on me it is a pretty dark brown.  
Finally, using a fluffy brush, apply Unicorn at the edge of Sabine, and blend up.




My Reaction to Urban Decay:
Lingerie and Galoshes:
I had no idea that it was NOT mascara (I sometimes don't read the entire description of things...), so was surprised when I opened it and both sides were white.  
However, I first applied Lingerie on my naked lashes, let it dry a little, then swiped Benefit BadGal Lash over the top.  I let that dry, then did a second coat.  
I have to say that is does it's job!  My lashes tend to stick together (even with expensive mascara!) but the Lingerie really helped!!  I love it.  Then I finished it with Galoshes, to seal it up. 
BadGalLash usually feel sticky to me (after application) if I need to rub my eye or have a hair in my eyelashes, etc. but with Galoshes, it locks in the 'wetness' so my mascara does not come off if I brush my hand near my lashes.  


Brow Beater Brunette Bombshell:


I think this is not quite dark enough, but does fill in nicely the lighter parts of my brows, and with the other wax tip, will keep my brows under control.  I will still probably fill them a bit with a purple/plum eyeshadow over the top.


Let me know what you think, what I could do better, and of course, feel free to comment, compliment and/or suggest anything!  Thanks!

Friday, January 29, 2010

New Goodies!

I just got some new goodies this week, and I will post them here.  I will have pics soon, after I do a look and take pics of all the other good stuff I got this week.  :)
Starting alphabetically:


1.  Aromaleigh: 

  • Aromaleigh Angels Full Sizes:  Rhinestone Housewife, Anastasia, Absinthe Rock
  • Aromaleigh Angels Samples: Blue Skies (From now on) , Laura, Caitlin's Purple Poof, Phaedra, Loretha, Erynne, Suzanne MarieRose,  littleflower, Orion, and Robyn's Nest.
  • Sample Set of the Twilight Powders
  • Free Samples: Hi-Fi Mattes:  ankle biter,  in the mix, supermurgatroid.  
















2.  Detrivoire Cosmetics:

  • Free Sample:  Gorgon
  • Eye Shadow Primer












4.  Haus of Gloi:
  • Sugar Scrub Samples:  Elevenses, Twice is Nice, and Depravity.
  • Free Sample:  Glogg.
3.  HauteLook Sale:  Urban Decay
  • Lingerie and Galoshes
  • Brow Beater Brunette Bombshell 
  • Big Buddha Brush  (HOLY COW!  This is really a huge freaking brush!)




I ordered some more things and sent lots of Aries samples off to people this week.  Thanks everyone!


Also, if you are interested in Lingerie and Galoshes, let me know... I think I have more than I will ever need!  :)  carolyn  (dot)  buss  (at)   gmail   (dot)  com

Keep checking back for photos.  Hopefully will get them tonight.
<3
Carolyn

Thursday, January 28, 2010

New Items with New Product Photos

Hello!  It's been a few days, I know.  You missed me.  :P


I have some new listings up, including Twilight inspired earrings, Topaz Triple Drop Earrings.  Inspired, of course, by the characteristic trait of 'vegetarian' vampires.  (If you are wondering, yes, I read ALL the books, NO I do NOT love EdwardOMGOMGOMG.  I made these for a specific purpose, and person, then other people seemed to like them, too, so I went with it!  I also have a rugged Jacob necklacev($18), Love Triangle ($48.75)  sterling silver bracelet with sterling wolf charm, Swarovski crystal heart, and glass apple, and a Forbidden Fruit ($22) necklace with a big glass apple on silver plated chain with Swarovski crystals.)  

Next up are some sweet, simple and attractive little quail-stamped sterling silver disk earrings.  They have handmade ear wires and handmade jump rings, too.  This particular listing is for the earrings stamped with a little Quail on each one.  If the quail isn't quite your style, then you can choose a dinosaur, or I have letter and number stamps, too.  Here is a picture:





















That is it for the moment.  Now I am off to do some more photo editing, listing, and maybe writing up a make-up post.  Finally!  A make-up post to look forward to!  

<3
Carolyn

Monday, January 25, 2010

Happy Monday

Good morning!

This weekend was good, what with making a cake on Saturday, then having a fun time playing Mario on the Wii with my good friend Meredith Tucker and her fiance, Phil Smith.  Afterward, I went to Bill's Off Broadway and had a drink with my friend Logan.  We talked for quite a while, noticed it was after midnight and decided it was about time to be on our ways. 

Sunday I drove down to Seattle to hang out with Meredith at a craft show, and also to pick up her surplus dresser.  We went to Curious Crafts at the Cafe Venus and the Mars Bar, where I basically sketched, wrote and doodled while Mere was figuring formulas for perfumey things and Phil was reading a book on Abstract Algebra... For fun!  All the while, Meredith's perfume was waiting for people to sniff it.  The show was small and did not have a very good turn out; apparently they either do really well, or no one comes.  After the show, I went home, had Jeff (my boyfriend of forever) help me unload aforementioned dresser.  Nothing exciting, but now I have a dresser!!  Yay!  And it smells nice!

Sunday afternoon was spent editing photos, and watching The Invention of Lying.  It was funny, cute and has some interesting cameo appearances.  Jeff couldn't get past the logical part until the lying began. :) 

I will be updating my two recipe posts with pictures tonight, so watch out!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Recipe - Whole Wheat Carrot Zucchini Cake

I decided to use my last zucchini and the last of my carrots to make a cake.  I haven't made a cake in... A really long time.  And never have I done so from scratch, but it felt very natural for me to make this cake. 
Here is the original recipe from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.  







Whole Wheat Carrot Zucchini Cake
4 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups drained applesauce
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp hazelnut liquor (homemade, by my aunt; this is optional I just wanted to use it because I like the flavor.)
2-1/2 cups total flour (I used 1 1/4 cups whole wheat, and 1 1/4 cups all purpose)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (instead of 1 teaspoon ground cloves,1 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg )
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely shredded carrots
2 cups finely shredded zucchini
1 small package slivered almonds (about 1 cup; optional, I added them instead of the original walnuts because I like almonds better, and walnuts from the store usually have BHT in them, which is a preservative that I just don't like.)
Cream cheese frosting; I used Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese because it is usually less expensive, and is lower in fat than cream cheese, and just has a slightly different flavor.  
Directions:
In a large bowl beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and hazelnut liquor until frothy. Gradually beat in oil and apple sauce. Combine dry ingredients; whisk together in a separate bowl; add to batter slowly. Beat 4 minutes. Stir in carrots, zucchini and almonds. Pour into two greased 8-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans. Cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
When completely cool frost with my cream cheese frosting, then cut and serve.
(I did copy and paste this recipe from Lynn's blog, but edited it where mine was different.  Thank you, Lynn for this recipe!)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Recipe - Altered AllRecipes Rosemary-Garlic Chicken and Veggies

Original Recipe Here













Spices!

< Celery! 




Rosemary-Garlic Chicken and Veggies - My Way!

1.5 lb chicken (3 small breasts)
1 large Zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 med size onion (white, yellow, or red; I used white)
1 small red bell pepper, 1" strips
1 small leek, cleaned and sliced
4 small ribs celery, sliced pretty thin
6 crimini mushrooms (or any mushroom you like, or none at all!)
3 cloves minced garlic (reserve 1 clove and mince it much finer than the other two)

3 sprigs rosemary (cut or ripped in half)
1 tsp fresh tarragon (1/2 minced, 1/2 ripped a bit)
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1.5 tbsp butter
To Taste:
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Dill (I used Salt Free: It's A Dilly seasoning)
Black Pepper
Rosemary Salt (made by a friend of mine, Ellie Bluebell Smells)

Buttered (greased) baking dishes (2 8"x8", or one larger than that)
Large Mixing Bowl
Frying Pan
Olive Oil

1.  Cut up all your veg first so you don't overcook the chicken in the first leg of cooking.
2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3.  Rub some butter over the bottom of your frying pan. (Optional!) Preheat pan to the low side of medium.  Add in about 1/2 tsp of garlic.
4.  Pat chicken breasts with paper towels; season one side first with Rosemary Salt and black pepper.  Put them into the frying pan seasoning side down.  Then, season the side that hasn't yet been graced with beautiful salt and peppa.
5.  Cook for about 4 mins each side (or so) you only want these to get a nice color on them, not to cook them all the way through (because they will go into the baking dishes with the veg.)
6.  While that is cooking, combine all your veggies into the mixing bowl with 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp italian seasoning, pepper, about 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp tarragon (rough, not fine), 1/2 tsp dill, and thyme.  Mix together either with your hands (more fun) or with a wooden spoon.
7.  Once all the veggies have been coated and mixed together, put them into your baking dish(es).  (Half and half into two dishes, or all of it into one large baking dish.)
8.  By this time, both sides of your chicken should have a nice little caramel color on each side.  I cut each breast in half then lay them atop the veggie beds.  Then the rosemary sprig halves go ontop of the breasts.
9.  Into the oven they go for about 20 mins (or as long as it takes for the chicken to be cooked, and the vegs to be cooked to your liking.)

I am going to use leftovers in a soup because I think this would make a superb soup base!  :)  If you are garlic sensitive, you may want to opt out of the garlic powder, and just stick with the fresh garlic.



Herbed Butter:
Cream about 1 tbsp of butter and the finely minced garlic and the finely minced tarragon together.  Spread on freshly sliced baguette.

I hope you enjoyed it!  (Pics posted on 1.29.10)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Jewelry Photo Shoot - Handcraftedcarolyn.Etsy.com

Earlier this week I decided that I needed to do some nice, put-together looking, crisp photos for both the old and new jewelry 'stock' that I have lying around here.  Some things don't sell because either their pictures aren't appealing, the product doesn't look right in them, or the color is off, angle is wrong.. Whatever the reason, these things aren't selling!  (or maybe people just don't want them, who knows!)  


So, here are some 'behind the scenes' photos (done with my crappy-in-comparison point and shoot camera) of my setup, which is 'rented' from my boyfriend's dad, who is a photographer.  (Check out his website:  Photo Essence by Melchor E. Berona)  I do this a couple of times a year and he happily obliges, helping me with questions, and overall just being an awesome photographer dude.


set up 3
So, yes, this is a crappy photo, because the big flash to the left is one of the lights and it 'saw' the flash from my camera and decided to go off. :)
Photobucket
That one is a slightly better one which shows how I was set up for taking photos of earrings.


But first, here is one of the first photos I took. It is a little rock pile that I put together for light testing purposes.
rocks,pebbles,stones,zen,feng shui


And here are some of the shots that I took:


earrings,jewelry,carolyn
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I will be adding the new items to Etsy as times goes on, and as I get all the hundreds of photographs I took edited. Which could take a week, what with work and school. I welcome that challenge, and will try to post/list them as they get done.




What do you think about my photographs?

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

More Proactive In My Business

Let's start by saying: Thank you, Miss K for Tweeting about White Hot Truth.  Super informative and extremely fun to read, plus she speaks the truth (white hot - see painful, scorching, pheonix) but in a funny, easy to take way.  Kind of like how Tylenol makes Sinus Relief caplets, with minty coating? 

This year I will make more stuff, more often and list things.  I will take more pictures and post more.  In other words, I will cultivate all my passion for beautiful, quality accessories into a flourishing business.

I would love to create more custom jewelry for people.  Making something to the exact specifications of my clients is my deepest desire.  I want to make jewelry which will be uniquely you and also is affordable.  I want you to own your jewelry for a long time, and if something happens, you can call or email me!  When you see the custom work I have made for you, and I see the smile in your eyes and on your lips and in your heart, I get a lovely, warm fuzzy feeling.  It is so amazing.

I will opt to wear more jewelry more often, instead of going without.  I often shock people when I say I make jewelry because most often, I am simply not wearing any!  The best way to advertise your business is to wear your most exceptional pieces, and always carry business cards.  I will be doing this more often this year.

So, readers, what would you like to hear about?  Do you want to see pictures of my messy process?  Read my recipes?  Hear my tips and hints on make-up and shopping?  Let me know!  I shall listen!

<3
Carolyn

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Getting into blogging...

I am going to try to get into blogging. I find myself wanting to do reviews of people's products and telling people about my recipes, my day or the problems I am working through in jewelry, photography, or just life.

Well, this is my first post in a while! I also have a blog on WordPress, but I use that one the same amount as this one! Sheesh! :)

I will try.

<3

carolyn