Rose of Sharon Jewelry

It’s really a joy to have such a talented family. You never know what we’ll create from a few beads, a crystal or two and a charm! Look what we made for you. . .

New at Rose of Sharon Jewelry 

These first 3 necklaces are new this week at the Rose of Sharon Jewelry site. Each is unique and has the wow factor we’ve become known for in our artisan line.

Sweet Bouquet – a lovely handmade floral lampwork beads dangle gently from a sweet pink ribbon in this handmade necklace from me (Sharon). This could even be worn in your hair!

Thinking ahead to fall is this coppery gem – Autumn Leaf. I found the dramatic carved Jasper leaf and then mixed it up with natural copper wire and ornate copper Bali-style beads.

Irish Lass was created by Jennie (Granny) before she passed away last year. It was tucked in a box and almost forgotten. To learn more about this necklace’s history, check out Irish Lass in  our main store.

New at A.F.F. Jewelry

The richness of green Malachite can be seen in this graduated necklace Betty created for our A.F.F. Jewelry collection at Etsy.

We call this Green with Envy because we know your friends will feel that way when they see it on you!

Saturday I’ll debut two fabulous new colorful necklaces from Sandra Lee so be sure to sign up for the blog feed or email updates!

Don’t forget to check out the new anklets I’ve been listing daily at AdornableAnklets!

Nursing mothers get a break with the new health reform law. Literally, they now get a break to pump milk for their nursing infants. Hidden within thousands of pages is a provision that requires employers to grant unpaid breaks and a non-bathroom area for lactating mothers.

This isn’t a “women’s lib” issue – it’s a cultural change and an is important for the child’s long-term health.  In fact, 24 states already have “nursing mothers” workplace laws. This new Federal law does not supersede those but now all mothers can return to work with one less stressful situation.

In today’s economy, many mothers must return to work quickly leaving nursing infants in the care of others. Instead of having to switch to costly (and less nutritional) formula, mother’s can periodically slip away to a private area and “make” lunch for their nursing child. The law allows for up to 1 year of nursing privilege.

Personally, my favorite part of the law is that women aren’t relegated to unsanitary office bathrooms to pump milk.

A fact sheet from the Department of Labor can be downloaded. There are still some enforcement issues that need to be worked out; however, the law is in full effect as of March 23, 2010.

Many employers may not be aware of this new law so nursing mothers may need to do some educating. Companies with less than 50 employees can be exempt if they show there is a real hardship in complying.

A special thanks to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) for sponsored this historic federal breast-feeding legislation.

2010 police deaths are up 43%. 87 officers died this year protecting us. I’m thankful every day for the “thin blue line” of men & women who serve.

If you know a police officer, take a few minutes today to thank them for putting themselves in harm’s way for us. Immediately after 9/11, the entire nation loudly honored the police officers who perished that day. We need to repeat this often and loudly!

To the families of these police officers – you, too have paid a price for their service and we thank you for your personal sacrifice.

Here are a three who have fallen in the line of duty this year. Thank you, officers.

• Corporal J.R.Searcy – died from a gunshot March 4, 2010 while responding to a call for aggravated assault. He was 33 years old and served for 8 years. Louisiana
• Deputy Sheriff Eddie Wotipka – drowned while trying to save a dog trapped in a canal after his shift. He was 51 years old and served 17 years. Harris County, TX
• Officer Justin McGrory – hit by a drunk driver while conducting sobriety checks near Barstow, CA. He was 28 years old and served 2 years and 8 months. California

Donations can be made for families at the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

For more information on fallen officers, check out the Officer Down Memorial web site.

For more info, watch this CBN news broadcast -

Create your own memory books today. Learn  how to preserve and share family memories quickly and easily! DIY or have a pro help!

My dad used to only shoot slide film so he had to drag out the projector and force everyone to cram together on the sofa to watch me and my brothers grin for the camera. He was a talented photographer; but we actually rarely saw his work or our smiling faces.

Since the introduction of digital cameras, our hard drives have become stuffed with birthday wishes, Christmas cheer, baby coos and party antics.  Huddling around a computer monitor is worse than Dad’s Kodak projector (see pic above).

Today thanks to digital printing and online resources, you can easily create your own bound memory books. Plus there are some professionals out there to help you do justice to your family photos.

Organize your photos and decide on a theme. Choosing a theme will help you select the best photos to tell your story. You could just drop in different photos but the best photo books are those which have a strong theme. You could put together only Christmas pictures or pictures where everyone is cooking and include some family recipes.

Choose your web-based publisher. Many sites come with easy to use templates. Knowing how many pictures you’ll need, sizes and color schemes can help you weed out the “just not right” pictures from step 1. Here are some DIY book publishers with good reputations.

• Kodak Gallery Photo Books has an easy to use interface and Martha Stewart recommends them.

Check out this Martha Stewart You Tube video on creating a Kodak photo book.

• Shutterfly has a fill-in-the-blanks template option or a you can create a more customized photo book.
• Smile Books has downloadable software or you can create your masterpiece online.
• Google’s Picasa users have a shop button which will take them to Picasa’s preferred printer providers. Great resource.
• Mac users are iPhoto to create their photo books and Apple even offers printing!
• Photo Book Review has a great comparison chart of photo book publishers.

Not Comfortable with DIY Projects?

You can hire a professional to create your photo books or custom digital scrapbooks (which can be printed and bound). Google personalized photo books and custom digital scrapbooks for more sources.

• Catching Keepsakes offers scrapbooking and photo project services.
• Digital Heirlooms can help restore your aging or damaged photos and create DVD slideshows or personalized scrapbooks.

Remember Garbage in, Garbage Out

Just because you have a camera doesn’t mean you can take a great picture. Brush up on your photo skills before starting a photo book project.

If you have a favorite photo that needs some tweaking. Find a Photoshop expert to remove the red eyes, enhance a sky or remove that ex-spouse. Google Photoshop designer or photo retouching for someone to help put the finishing touches on your photos. PhotoHand Professional Retouching provides this service.

Have family photos that are fading fast? You can have your photo library scanned professionally and color corrected. Scans can cost as little as as 10 cent each.

Facebook darling Betty White of Golden Girl fame may be well over 50 but she is hot. Hot in Cleveland on TV Land is her return to the small screen.

Betty is joined for three other fabulous (all 50 plus) women in TV Land’s first original series. Jane Leeves (Frazier), Valerie Bertinelli (Weight Watcher spokeswoman and teen actress from One Day at a Time) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me) are favorite comedic actresses who will be verbally sparking with Betty.

It’s so great that these women get to show their stuff every Wednesday night. Time to go set up the TiVo!

Hot in Cleveland Facebook Fan Page

Fame & fortune can corrupt  or transform lives.  Celebrity status + publicity = step 1 in solving overwhelming issues.

Thankful Thursday recognizes the power of celebrity and how it is being used worldwide to bring attention to media-starved issues, gather people together and jump start communities and even nations into working together to make a difference.

Sometimes celebs are criticized for speaking out about political issues. But just because you’ve found fame doesn’t mean you aren’t an intelligent, assertive citizen. During an interview with Larry King, Brad Pitt shared that Angelina Jolie taught him how to take his celebrity status and use it as a powerful tool to help others beyond just writing a check. She taught him how to beat the paparazzi to the punch by selling pictures Brad took of their newborn children and donating the entire proceeds to worthy causes around the globe. The inevitable turned good.

George Clooney isn’t just a heartthrob – he is personally involved in helping the war-torn citizens of Sudan. Not a “trendy” cause but a critical one for the Sudanese who have been struggling just to survive while millions have been killed since 2005. Clooney and John Prendergast wrote an Op-Ed piece for U.S. Today recently to explain their concern.

Star Sharon Stone supports the  Homeless Not Toothless program started by Dr. Jay Grossman in 1992. This low-key charity provides much needed dental care to the homeless population in the greater Los Angeles area . Working with volunteer dentists, they have provided over $2 million in dental care.

Kevin Bacon has taken the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon game and spun it into his 6Degrees Organization. Working in partnership with Network for Good, he has helped raise $2.8 million. A great way to capture fame and help others.

Star/Scoundrel Sean Penn has repeatedly put his resources to bear when there is a need. He showed up in ravaged New Orleans before the flood waters receded with a boat and friends and personally waded through the muck to rescue people. Did he have to? No. Does he snarl at the media? Sure but he knows it’s actions that count most.

After the Haiti earthquake, he made helping the people of Haiti a family affair bringing his son and daughter to work along side him. Penn snared entrepreneur Diana Jenkins into helping and they co-founded J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

Penn’s urgent plea is worth your review and donation. His testimony before Congress is quite moving. Their success in cutting through red tape and government bureaucracy has been outstanding and has been widely lauded.

You don’t have to be a celebrity to make a difference today! Remember it is the power of one that will transform the world. I know you’re busy but why not take the afternoon to find a place where your talents, skills or interests can benefit others. If you make time for others, you’ll find that the time will miraculously appear.

So thanks to the people who stand on soap boxes and shine a light in the darkest corners of our world.

Nothing says I love you or thanks a lot like a food gift from your kitchen. Homemade goodies can be as fun to make as to receive! Here’s 2 great recipes for giving or keeping.

Cookies: The Universal Love Food

The classic chocolate chip cookie brings smiles but how about something else to drool over. Snickerdoodles are quick and fun to make (just like saying the name).

Snickerdoodles*

• About 18 cookies

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. course salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted  butter (do not substitute salted butter) at room temperature

1-1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl (Sharon’s time saving tip: put these dry ingredients into the bowl and use a whisk to combine and break up any lumps).
2. Put butter  and 1-1/2 cups sugar into bowl of mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to lowest setting; gradually add dry ingredients.
3. Stir together  cinnamon and remaining 2 tbsp. sugar in  a small bowl. Shape dough into 1–3/4 inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space balls 3 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature for  3 days (if they last that long).

* Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies (2008, Martha Stewart living Omnimedia, Inc.)

When Only Chocolate Will Do

Brownies are a favorite and this recipe is quick and tasty.

Michael’s Fudge Brownies*

• Work time: 15 minutes
• Bake time: 20-25 minutes
• Makes sixteen 2-inch brownies
• Only 134 calories per gooey brownie

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (4 oz.)

1/2 cup plus 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

5 tbsp. butter (margarine can be used)

1-1/4 cups sugar

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder, dissolved in 1 tsp. hot water

One 8-inch square pan

1. Position the rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If using a glass pan, reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.) Spray the pan with vegetable oil spray (i.e. Pam)
2. Stir together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder with a whisk. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Off the heat, stir in the sugar until combined (texture will remain sandy). Add the egg, egg whites, vanilla and the dissolved espresso powder. Beat with a wooden spoon about 40 strokes, scraping the sides of the pan as necessary. Add the dry ingredients and beat for another 40 strokes, or just until completely mixed.
4. Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Spread evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out a little gooey. Cool on a rack. Cut into 16 squares. Brownies may be stored, well-wrapped, for about 2 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.

Author’s Note: I originally did this recipe with a handheld mixer, and that works fine also. Just don’t over do the mixing.

* Recipe from Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts (Alice Medrich, 1994, Warner Books, Inc.) This book is a real gem but hard to come by. If you are a cookbook collector or chocoholic, check out used bookstores for this must-have tome.

Have a gift-giving favorite you’d like to share?Leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.

Perhaps you should make a double batch of these great treats. Keep one and give one as a thank you!

Money’s tight,  luxuries rare. Spend your time and a few $$ creating lasting memories. Time spent with your loved ones keep you warm at night, put a smile on your face, make you feel at peace and can never be taken away.

Step 1 for lasting memories is to drag out that camera or old video recorder. If you don’t have a camera, there are actually great brands for under $50. Don’t have a computer or inkjet printer, you’ll find Kodak photo printer kiosks at Walgreens and other major drug or department stores.

Take lots of pictures! Pass the camera around and let everyone take pics. It doesn’t even matter if a few heads are cut off, just concentrate on the action!

Here are 10+ Low-Cost Ideas to Create High Value Memories:

1. Remember board games (no batteries required) – invest in the classics Scrabble, Sorry, Life, Monopoly or Candy Land.
2. Splurge on boxes of 64 Crayola Crayons then print out coloring pages from Coloring Book Fun or Crayola Crayon. Have a coloring contest. You’ll be surprised how adults love this too!
3. Sign up for the Knack (kids craft club at Michael’s Crafts) for great free project ideas, discounts and inexpensive in-store classes. You don’t even need kids to enjoy simple crafts.
4. Cook with your kids – put on some fun, silly songs and decorate purchased pizza dough or better yet make some dough and let them use their fingers! Nothing is better fun than getting cake batter in your hair and licking the beater!
5. Cook with your lover. Send the kids to Grandma’s or find a friend who will swap babysitting chores. Pour your favorite beverage, put on the songs that were playing when you fell in love. Make something you can eat with your fingers – hot, cold, sweet, sour, smooth, crunchy – tantalize all your senses and enjoy!
6. Have a picnic! Rain or shine you can make those 3-times a  charm leftovers seem glorious with a picnic. Spread out an old blanket in the backyard or huddle  under a dining room table and make-believe.
7. Buy or make body paint and spend some time decorating each other – great for kids or a hot evening with hubby! Recipe for edible body paint – adults or kids enjoy!
8. Learn to dance or teach your kids/partner to dance. Rent a video (libraries often rent movies for FREE) and see if you actually do have two-left feet.
9. Find a park to people watch. If you’re well beyond grade school, swing as high as  you can, twirl on the merry-go-round and go up-and-down, up-and-down on the teeter-totter.
10. Write letters to friends and family far away. Sure the phone is there and email is faster but there is something about the pleasure of pouring your heart out on paper. End those regrets – share your hopes and fears – mend fences – help someone else create a memory!

Plus one for the road…

Here’s the best tip of all:

Make believe is a powerful way to transform a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into a feast. It actually doesn’t take anything more than your mind to create a memory. Just mix in a beloved pet, friend or mate and top it with your kids or grandkids and you’ll be successful.