Earlier today before the wonderful nap I did manage to wind this lovely, wonderfully soft, Cascade Yarns Epiphany alpaca cashmere silk yarn in a beautiful royal blue color. I’ve already cast on AINSLEY SCARF (Floating Reversible Cables) by Bobbi Padgett

A few rows on my sock seems all I’m able to do tonight and it looks like my pie is done so I’ll leave you with a photo of my sock

and a picture of my drowsy kitty

Hand balm pearl and yummy lip balm in sweetened Chocolate Coconut Coffee.

My first attempt at rebatched soap. I didn’t read any instructions while I was working on it so it was all from what I remembered reading (inspiration here). It didn’t go as well as planned but I love the final soap. It smells a wonderful vanilla lavender scent. There was too much water added so the soap foamed around the bowl and the pot was too hot so it scorched a bit on the bottom. Not enough to make the soap smell burnt thankfully.

And antiperspirant tester and gardener’s hand balm for a friend. Two different batches with different concentrations of wax, vanilla, and lavender.

Taking photos of life in a desperate attempt to preserve it.

Sleepy Peaches.

A miniature rose bush I’ve decided to nurture at my day job. Lots of work! It’s perfectly fine during the week but weekends I have to over water it and leave my desk light on. Over the weekend it shot up with bright green leaves and then started drooping by Monday morning. I’m already worried how it will survive weekends over the summer. I might have to take it home.

Trying out my 4 year old Scooba for the first time. It was stashed brand new in the garage ever since we moved to our condo. Very cool and fun to watch by both cats and people.

Sunset out our font patio.

Hail and thunder woke us Sunday morning.

Microwave brownie using batter “leftovers”. I can’t be expected to wait 35 minutes for a brownie!. 30 seconds in the microwave with a tiny bit of extra water mixed in the batter.

mmmm!

And baking sugary treats to feed to friends who helped me forget my anxiety for a few hours and laugh and be spontaneous with. By the way, if I haven’t mentioned before, the game of Dominion is fabulous!

Today is another waiting day and with all the cold, rainy, windy days I’m starting to get the urge to make these Solid Exfoliating Scrubs or some baby onsies for my cousin who just announced she’s pregnant! Hm, maybe both.

Here we go….

I picked the recipe, Honey Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, from Joy the Baker.

Sugar and cornstarch mix for the pan, to dust on top and tomorrow to dredge the cut cubes in.

All pretty and white like fresh snow….or powdered doughnuts…mmm.

This stuff is a sticky messy syrup. I highly recommend washing the pan out with hot water while it’s fluffing in the mixer. I’d hate for this stuff to turn into hard tack. It’s fun to watch it bubble though.

Hubby had to help me pour. This pan is super heavy.

At about 8 minutes I added pure vanilla extract. Didn’t have any vanilla bean so I added a little more extract. Love it when photos turn out well without trying!

I oiled my spatula and it might have helped a little but good grief this stuff is thick and sticky. Not a lot of spreading out with this stuff.

Tomorrow I’ll get to try these out and see if it was worth the effort. Hope so What was left in the mixer I added some coconut to and made a lump of on some wax paper with a sugar dusting with the hope of marshmallow for lunch.

Name: Carissa Howell

Business Name: Edible Dreams

Where are you located? Out of Tampa, Florida

What is it that you design and create? I create baked goods from my own recipes for people to enjoy. I also make gift boxes, and am getting into some recycling and creating things from that!

What is your favorite part of the design process? Gosh, the tasting part is the best!

How did you come up with your business name? It was literally the first thing that popped into my head when I decided to join etsy, on a whim.

Who or what inspires you? my stomach and my friends…my boyfriend has always been a really good guinea pig, so he does too.

What advice would you give other independent artists who are just starting out? I’d say keep trying. I’m personally having a slump right now, but who isn’t?

What is your favorite indie purchase or trade? I bought a really neat stamp from a user on here…it’s been great.

What t.v. shows are you currently hooked on? Top chef, Top chef masters, one tree hill, 90210, etc…

What was the last movie you watched? probably clash of the titans. I liked it!

What is your favorite candy? anything with salted caramel!

Coffee or Tea? Both, I love herbal teas and espresso!

Any pets? I have a cat, named Leila, she is a calico!

Favorite place to visit or place you would like to visit? I would love to go to europe one day.

Favorite Holiday? Thanksgiving…ask me why, I bet you’ll be surprised that it’s the food I love.

Do you speak any other languages? If not, would you like to learn one?I have learned spanish, the less I remember daily, though.

Anythings else you’d like to share about yourself? I want to get into catering…so if you are having a party in Tampa, call me!

Today I was reading a about spinning in a new book I bought, Start Spinning by Maggie Casey. With only one spinning class behind me I have a lot to learn. Back in October I bought a spinning wheel that isn’t one of the big brands so help manuals are sparse. Tension was a bit of a problem so I’m going to read this book first and maybe start with a drop spindle again.

Cooking is also going slow. Friday I had a burst of energy after work and “attempted” soup that turned into more of a flavored rice. Oh well. At least the pre-packaged oat meal cookies with chocolate chips turned out well.

My aunt actually sparked my interest last Thanksgiving when she gave my mother one of her Fun Fur combo scarves that she makes for people at her hospital. Per my usual “I could make it better” attitude, that had already sucked me into jewelry making, I dove into a fun filled year of yarn hording. Here is how it went.

In January I picked up some yarn and knitting needles and went to work on my first scarf.

About half way through I got excited about scarves, blankets and socks when I started searching the internet for knitting blogs so it was back to the store for more needles and yarn.

Jarrods Hemlock blanket, pictures 2 and 3 above, was just so pretty that I had to find the pattern and those lovely blogs led me to Ravelry.com. Depending on how you look at it this is a fiber freaks heaven or hell. There is a whole community dedicated to crazy knitters and crocheters.  By the end of February my yarn stash had grown from a few balls of yarn to bags boxes and bags that were taking over the dinning room and desperately needed a more organized storage system. So I bought a three drawer rolling storage bin thinking that would hold me but my yarn packed the three drawers and I still had a box of supplies. Then came the crazed spring months when I discovered the wonders of Etsy.com and joined a knitting group from work.

By the time I went to my first knitters meeting I had 2 scarves, socks, and 3 blankets started. Our group leader was surprised at how many projects I had going but to be fair I had a lot of happy energy fueling my efforts and no kids at home….except the husband. I think he enjoyed the free time to play more video games on his new ipod. All spring I horded fancy hand made yarns and then discovered another facet of this fiber world, felting AND spinning. Now I was collecting roving too! and lusting after fiber fairs with spinning classes. Shortly after this another fiber craft surfaced in the form of weaving. Unfortunately, I have to work for a living and don’t have near enough time in my day to do all the fiber and jewelry crafting I would like. Instead I sit at work and day dream about projects that I MUST do TODAY! and that leads to more yarn purchases that are relatively easy with that Oh So Helpful internet. Ravelry was not helpful with a zillion fun swaps that I had to mail all over the country. In May my obsession was de-railed with 8 wonderful days in Hawaii where I just couldn’t bring myself to knit even though I was crazy and signed up for Sock Wars III even though I had never completed even one sock. Back at home I completed my last swap for the year with a hand knit dish cloth that proved to me that small projects were probably a better idea at this early stage. All three of my above blankets ended up on hold and my sock

was frogged. I did start a new sock but that didn’t turn out well either

so for now I’ll wait for more skills before attempting another sock. In July two wonderful aspects of my life changed. The office that was used for studying and wasn’t being used now that both James and I were finished with classes so we decided to turn it into

a craft room. We removed all the carpet, painted the walls blue, yes blue, and added wood flooring. The room is still a work in progress but I am looking forward to spending time there. The second was the discovery of how much I enjoy crocheting.

To date I’ve started about 9 shell pattern crocheted scarves/wraps three of which I’ve finished and two were gifts to friends. I also discovered that I love to start things but have trouble finishing things.

In September James and I headed to an Alpaca Farm Fair

where we enjoyed seeing the animals and I got to watch someone spin in person.

and they had pretty yarn that I had to take home.

The next weekend I got up nice to attend my very first spinning class. It was horribly unorganized and at someones home but I learned a little. Around that time I also wraped my own table loom after much grumbling and a lot of help from James. It’s really fun to weave but I now understand why people hate to warp a loom. IT IS A PAIN!!! My first project turned into a mouse pad for my dad and I’m sure he will never use it. Oh well. The second warp I did by myself with a lot of cursing and an emergency run for more yarn. It took about 6 hours while watching movies and I still haven’t started weaving.

Instead I’m working on another shell pattern wrap and a hemp pattern dish cloth both of which are so easy and I recommend to new knitters and crocheters.

So there is my year of fiber but I also started two other projects. The first is my own online stores at http://masoncj.etsy.com and http://indenturedmason.etsy.com for kitchen goods and jewelry.

The other was sewing, specifically for Halloween costumes but also for quilting. The craft room is really expanding!

Thankfully this year has been deemed The Year of Junk Removal and Organization.

Now that I’ve finished school and had some time to work on my creative interests I’ve gone back to this store idea, although in a different direction and all online. Afterall starting a business shouldn’t need to include paying utilities for a 10×10 room that will bankrupt me faster than I could get started! Now my reasons for starting a store might be considered a social experament or a hobby but I’ve started developing long term goals (::::gasp::::) that would make me a full-time homebusiness, someday. And! wonder of wonders my parents weren’t completely against the idea. A girl tends to look toward her parents even after becoming an adult. James, of course, has been supportive since I expressed an interest back in my business class. Love him!

I’m still working on the details but I now have two stores, MasonCJ for Kitchen stuff and IndenturedMason for Jewelry & Seasonal things. MasonCJ is up and running since early 2009 but was just revamped last week for a more focused store. IndenturedMason is just getting started but has several items just waiting for me to take photos and list. Here are a few pictures to prove it

Honey Wheat Bread recipe

Trillion Mystic Topaz non-tarnish copper wire-wrap ring