Say hello to our new friend FIRE!

Our house came with an ugly, non-working Franklin Stove and a woodburning fireplace that filled our basement with smoke. That simply was not working for me. I LOVE a good fire in the cold months, and we unfortunately lost several trees this year, so we have plenty of firewood.

Well today, thanks to a little help from my parents (love you mom, dad) we welcomed a new family member to our house - a remote-controlled gas fireplace for our basement. And we have a nice working wood fireplace upstairs now. Just in time, too, because I just heard it said that we can expect some of the white fluffy stuff around these parts next week. Ahh...

Now, for the weirdest part. When we crawled back behind the old stove, we discovered a treasure trove! Prophylactics and beer bottles! Oh the stories this house could apparently tell!

People in My Neighborhood: Resign

Some places you go are full of "transplants" -- like no one is really from New York or L.A., are they? Places like that seem to attract a lot of people from all over the place. Usually I don't think of Wisconsin like that. Maybe it's because I'm from here. But now that I'm also sort of a transplant, it's really comforting to know that I'm not the only person who hasn't totally taken root here yet. Which is why meeting Jenny from Resign was especially comforting. She's from Australia and recently moved here via Arizona. She now lives in Nashotah, Wisconsin, which is basically just directly west of Milwaukee.

Jenny makes beautiful jewelry, or jewellery as she spells it, and homewares. I was struck immediately by the colors she uses, and how much the pieces look just like candy. I hope you love them as much as I do!



Tell me a little about yourself. When did you start crafting? What kinds of crafts do you enjoy?
My name is Jenny, and I make jewellery and homewares using hand cast resin. I'm an Aussie (hence the weird spelling) currently living in beautiful Wisconsin with my husband, 2 children and 2 dogs. We moved to the US a little under 5 years ago for my husband to take up a new position in Tucson AZ, but have very recently relocated to Nashotah WI, which I am loving!



I've only recently started working with resin but have always been interested in crafting in some shape or form. As a child I did everything from crocheting squares with my grandmother, to leather work, weaving (both baskets and wool), copper jewellery and enamelling, macramé and pottery. While I was at university, and before I had children I made a lot of my clothes as well. I love interior design, fashion and cooking and now that we're in the cold country, I've started knitting scarves for the family too!



What inspires you? What other artists/crafters do you admire?
I've always loved the look and feel of hand cast resin but wasn't inspired to actually make pieces myself until we moved to the States. It is very popular in Australia but I soon realised there was a big gap in the market over here, so with time on my hands I decided to give it a go. So, after much research and experimentation (that never stops), here I am, sharing my story with you. As far as inspiration for my pieces...I see colours all around me to use in my work. Sometimes a shape or form will inspire me to grab a lump of clay and start modelling but usually I just knead the clay until I end up with something I like.

I admire anybody who can make beautiful, interesting and unique pieces with their hands. I had no idea there was such a world of talent out there until I started my shop on etsy. I'm now an avid etsy buyer as well...there is so much lovely stuff to be had!



What are some shops that you love?
That's a hard one as there are so many shops on etsy that I love and so many more that I haven't found yet. At the moment I'm loving the vintage shops on etsy for finding unique pieces for the home. I love that mix of contemporary and old.
I'm still finding my way around Milwaukee, but the whole family (well maybe not my 14 yr old son) loves going to Third Ward to the public market, restaurants and eclectic mix of shops there. I'm also loving the art gallery and lake front area. Then there are the little shops in Delafield, not far from where we live, where you can spend a quiet Saturday morning browsing and having coffee. I have found one great boutique there, don't even know the name of it but they do have some very nice pieces!



What's a guilty pleasure of yours?
Staying in bed for way too long on a weekend, surrounded by my Australian home and cooking magazines, enjoying the most aromatic tea in the world (Mariage, from France), with the beautiful Wisconsin scenery outside my window...and I cannot wait to do that in winter so I can have the fire on as well!



What's a perfect Milwaukee/Wisconsin day to you?
As I've only experienced Spring and Summer so far, I would have to say a perfect Milwaukee/Wisconsin day would be spent outside. Either on the lakes surrounding our house, walking through the beautiful parks and having a picnic, or in town enjoying the lake front or river outdoor dining. I have to say though, that I'm looking forward to all the seasons and the diversity that each brings. I've never really experience a truly cold winter, so the thought of snuggling up with comfort food and a good book or movie, while it's snowing outside is also very appealing!

People in my Neighborhood: Sugar and Flour

If I'm not crafting, I'm baking. That is, if I'm not at my full time job, or taking care of my cutie patootie kid, or whatever. You know, my spare time. Baking is something that I love so much in this weird therapeutic way. Like, if I need to "turn that frown upside down" I'll bake. It clears my head. And don't get me wrong, I have a sweet tooth. Oh, do I have a sweet tooth.
I recently came across this awesome shop called Sugar and Flour, and what to my surprise, it's in my own backyard -- Franklin, Wisconsin. I decided I had to know more. Granted, I haven't tasted these cookies yet, but they're on their way to my house. I ordered some trains and dump trucks to be delivered to my son while I'm in the hospital with baby #2. Hopefully he'll save me a bite! Here's what I learned about Sugar and Flour...
Tell me a little about yourself. When did you start baking up such beautiful cookies?
My name is Karen Herrera and I live just outside of Milwaukee WI with my husband, our two young girls and our dog Charlie. Before becoming a stay at home mother I was a baker at a few different places. I quit my job to stay home with the girls but now one is in school full time and the other is in preschool so it is time for me to get back into the swing of things. I started Sugar & Flour last year to give myself something to do while still being able to be at home with my girls when they need me. It's worked out well.What are some of your influences/sources of inspiration?The inspiration for my cookies comes from a few different places. Sometimes I might see a neat cutter that I feel I just MUST own and the design comes from that. Other times I will see a pretty picture that inspires me. Sometimes it could also be just a color combination. I try very hard not to copy cookies that other people have done. They've worked hard to be original and I don't think it's right to take that away from them. I know how much it bothers me to see my work copied.
I see you make some of your cookies using cutters you've made yourself. Tell me more!
There's been many times that I've had to make cutters from scratch. My first one, the Choo-Choo Train, was designed to match a boy's party invitation. I do actually make a working cookie cutter out of metal - it's not just a cardboard picture that I cut around. I like being able to customize the shape of the cookie to suit what a client needs. It makes the cookie that much more special. The custom shapes that I chose not to have available in my store I show on my Flickr page so that they can still be seen. I'm proud of them.
Your Etsy sales have been great! Do you have any tips for other Etsy sellers?
Etsy has been very good for me. I actually found the site through my sister (hi Diane) when I mentioned to her that I wanted to somehow sell cookies online. Her suggestion was to start on Etsy and see what happened. I had no idea how successful it would become. There's a few things that I think are essential for success on Etsy and can also cary over to any online business.

*** The most important thing would be ORIGINALITY. What's the point of doing something that someone has already done? I do look at other cookie makers online to see what they're up to but your ideas need to be your own. Originality is key. When I came out with my Itty Bitty cookies last year it was to draw people to my store with something they could try inexpensively without needing a special occasion to buy for. They were a HUGE success. Now there are a couple other people selling their own version so I have to share that success with them. Oh well.

*** Beautiful clear pictures are also a must. It's not like someone can walk into your store and see your cookies. Your pictures are what they're going by so they need to be perfect. I like to have a few close-up pictures to show the texture and finer details and also some farther away pics to show the whole cookie. I also like to use pretty bowls and plates. For me, white props look best. They make the cookies look pretty without being a distraction. Also, consistency between listing pics is important. I think you can tell just at a glance which listings are mine on Etsy because they're all done in the same style. Find something that works for you and stick with it.

*** Have a quality product. Be known for something spectacular. I'm a trained baker and I can make all sorts of wonderful things but I've chosen to focus on just sugar cookies. Over the past year and a half I've figured out the best way to make, ship and store my cookies. I've also learned new techniques for decorating. I'm sure things will evolve over time... I'm always looking for ways to improve my product.

So, neighbor...tell me about your perfect Milwaukee-area day (I'm new here, I need ideas!).
I suppose a perfect Milwaukee day would be packing up the kids and going out to Barthel's Fruit Farm in Mequon. Doesn't matter what time of year... we go for strawberries in the spring and apples in the fall. We'd spend time goofing off there and then head home to have some lunch together. Maybe have friends over later for the girls to play with. We don't do much... we just like to relax at home.

Thanks, Karen! And best of luck!

Celebrating the 4th of July

photo from marthastewart.com

We're strangers in a strange land, so we haven't had anyone other than family or neighbors over to visit our new house. So we're particularly excited to have a couple of friends over today to celebrate Independence Day by eating a ton of food and hopping in the kiddie pool. Did I mention the sparklers? Good fun for the under-2 set. I have been too preoccupied to do much by way of July 4th crafting, but I did scope out some cute ideas if you need them, like these great pom pom centerpieces from Martha Stewart. I probably love them because I'm just generally a sucker for anything in a mason jar. Flowers, drinks, whatever. I just love them.

Martha, in all her crafty wisdom, also has a cute project if you've got some patriotic colored ribbon around. Basically you shape it int0 a little star, glue it on a sucker stick and voila, instant cute cupcake topper or drink stick. Or, string them up and you have a neat little banner to hang in your backyard.

Most years, I also have spare tomato cages laying around, but this year all hands are on deck for our awesome garden, so I'd have to go buy one for this project. It's a really cute paper tomato cage lanterns with stars that would light up the backyard so cute for your outdoor party.

I wish I could say I whipped up a fab little BBQ party this year, but alas I did not. I whipped up Roseanne Cash's Potato Salad (which is the closest substitute I've found for my mom's recipe, for which there is no recipe) and some beer cheese dip and some chocolate cupcakes. I did go buy some little flag toothpicks to stick in the cupcakes, so at least they'll be a little festive.

Tomorrow I think we might have another wee Pumpkin first -- fireworks!

What's going on at your place this weekend?

We recently became members of the Milwaukee County Zoo. I got to go for the first time a few weekends ago. My guys know their way around, so I got the grand tour. The train, the rhinos, the giraffes were all some of our favorites. I'm looking forward to heading there as many times as possible this summer. This zoo makes you feel like you're out in the woods...I love it!

Daytripping: Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Last weekend we took a "Sunday Drive" -- and it was a much-needed escape from our runnings-around of late. We took a little drive to a nearby town called Cedarburg. It's cute and quaint and has a nice little downtown that seemed to be the gathering place for all the neighborhood peeps. There were two (two!) coffee shops, so we stopped at one called Cedarburg Roastery for delicious pick-me-ups. The coffee was awesome and the young staffpeople were super friendly.

After the coffee, we wandered around, meandering across a river and past the fire station, where we admired the old jail and all the big trucks. We hit up Amy's Candy, where I frothed at the mouth over all the unbelievable candy apples. Although I had to physically restrain myself from buying one of these $13 beauties, I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful-looking apples. And I LOVE caramel apples, so it took some doing to talk myself out of eating one. Next time, I will just give in to the apples and skip lunch.

I seem to have missed quite a bit, though. Next time, I can wait to check out the Textile Museum and the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts. I think I'll hit those on a girl's trip, though. No need to torture the hubby, right?

It's really a cute town if you ever get the chance to take a stroll through it. I think we all thoroughly enjoyed poking around on our little daytrip!