Champagne and Cigarette Earrings

What's missing from these retro style earrings? Champagne and cigarettes, of course. Maybe a disco ball. Oh wait, the reflective ball is in these large purple sequins. Can't you just feel the heavy back-beat rhythm and see the flashing lights. Great for a New Year's Eve party.

Homemade Pizza

When the weather gets chilly, it's time to break out the cookbooks and start baking. Tonight I made home made pizza. Yum.

I made the crust with flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt. Spread it on a pizza pan, of course. Topped it with a crushed tomato mixture, garlic, my homegrown oregano as well as my own homegrown basil. Added red onion slices, green olive slices and fresh mushrooms to the mix. Finished the creation with some freshly grated mozzarella cheese. Double yum.

Since every bone in my body was aching, I decided to open some Pelee Island wine. An Autumn Riesling with a picture of a red bud branch on the label. I honestly don't know if I chose the wine based on the label, the type of wine or the fact it said "Pelee Island". You see, I vaguely recall going to Point Pelee as a child. It's a national park in Canada famous as a bird and monarch butterfly migratory area. Point Pelee is a peninsula that has a long boardwalk. At least that's what I remember. Never knew that there was an island in Lake Erie called Point Pelee Island and that it had a winery. Although, now that I think of it, I think my friend Stacy and her husband went to Point Pelee and brought back some wine. Probably from the Point Pelee Winery.

Take a look at the photos of the pizza and wine. If I would have gone to a pizzaria this meal would have been over $20 (the wine hikes up the price). My cost, excluding fuel for the oven, under five smackaroos. Aside from the olives and salt, everything was locally. The Canadian winery is fairly close to Michigan. Reducing my carbon footprint. Yay!!!

Jayne's Necklace

I have been busy raking leaves. In two days, I packed 22 leaf bags. And it's been cold, windy with drizzle. Fun.

During the week I created a necklace. I twisted a heavier gauge silver and used it as a finding. A thinner strand of silver holds a small, pink bead tenderly. The necklace uses white organza ribbon to hold the creation around the neck.

It looks like something Jane Eyre might wear. So I named it the Jayne necklace, an updated version of the fictional character's name. I've included a front and side view of the necklace.

Inspired by Spain - Rachel's necklace

Had a bit of time this afternoon and created this multi-colored bead necklace. The center finding looks moorish. Like something you might find in Spain. This is the Rachel necklace.

Macomb Conservation District 's Tree Sale

I had one more volunteer activity for the month of October and that was participating in the Macomb Conservation District's fall tree sale. The District provides trees in quantities of 10 or more to residents at a very reasonable price. About five days prior to the sale, the plants are dug from the soil and shipped to the sale site. Volunteers sort and package the bare root trees. Each plant has a moisture mixture surrounding the roots to keep them alive and healthy.

These trees provide wind breaks for landowners, stabilize sandy soil and provide better air quality. Trees available included Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, White Pine, and Colorado Blue Spruce as well as other conifers. Tulip, crocus, hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs were also for sale. The bulbs were shipped directly from Holland a day before the sale. Pretty fresh bulbs if you ask me.

The Macomb Conservation District is a great organization that has provided this service to the community for over 20 years. If you are in the area, look for it's next sale in Spring, 2009.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk

Each year, I participate in a 5k walk against breast cancer. The walk raises awareness of the disease and funds to help find a cure. This year, I walked around the Michigan's capitol building in Lansing.

It's amazing to hear survivors stories, watch the teams and just participate the camaraderie of the day. I walked for my cousin who was diagnosed with the disease a month ago.

About a month before the walk, I start raising funds. I fell a bit short of my $200 goal this year. I'll make up for the shortfall next year. Every bit helps to find a cure for the disease.

Please support the efforts of those you know that are participating in your town, work, neighborhood in the fight against breast cancer and all cancers. To those that already contributed to the American Cancer Society; thank you.

Landscaping for Habitat

For the past three Saturdays, I have volunteered to landscape houses built by Habitat for Humanity. This is a terrific organization that builds homes for people that previously lived in sub-standard conditions. These homes are not free. Families have to qualify with a minimum income level and then they also agree to work on building the home.

In my community, Habitat built three homes this year. The support from volunteers was tremendous. I only played a small role in making the outside of the abodes look more inviting. My team finalized grades around the perimeters, planted trees, bushes and perennials, installed edging and layered mulch. There were no egos involved. Kind of like "Extreme Home Make-Over" without Ty Pennington.

We started at 8:30a.m. and worked throughout the day. Last weekend, a group from the Marine Corps helped along with several church groups. The following Wednesday, members of the Coast Guard installed sod for all the houses as well as some plants.

It sounds easy. Dig a hole and stick a plant in the ground, cover the roots and water. Sounds easy until you remember that roots get bigger. Trees get large and grow too close to houses. Water lines and the amount of sun a plant gets all are important considerations. A sun-loving plant will die if grown in the shade and a plant that loves water will wither next to a sidewalk.

I wish I had taken a camera with me to the Habitat site. The transformation of each house was incredible once the landscaping was complete. The homeowners were thrilled.

Each new owner got a brief introduction to their plants. Many of the other volunteers that helped with with the installation learned about soil types and light requirements for plants. As a Master Gardener, part of our directive from Michigan State's extension office is to impart plant knowledge within the community. I think we sparked a desire to learn more about the fauna around us. So many people had questions. It was a success.

I had such a great experience with Habitat, that I want to volunteer for the build next year. Can you imagine me with a hammer and a hard hat wearing jewelry?

Because I made a commitment to help with Habitat, I didn't have a lot of time to make any new creations the past few weekends. Now that I have a little more time you can look forward to more postings soon.

Runner-up and Third Place Photos

The pink earrings are for the runner-up and the lilac colored pair go to third place. Thank you for coming to my site and leaving a comment.

And the Winner is...

It's Monday. The day we find out who won the "Candide" earrings. Well, due to the low volume of entries, I decided each of the three entries would be sent earrings.

Julie, you are the grand prize winner of the "Candide" earrings.

Emily, you win a pink and crystal style.

Natalia, you win a pair of lilac colored earrings.

I'll post photos of the runner-up's jewelry later today. Send the address you want the earrings to be mailed to via e-mail to kacieskreations@gmail.com. Look for your prize later this week. Thanks for visiting my site and enjoy your jewelry.

Candide Earrings Give-Away

Leave me a comment as to why you would like this set of pink earrings. The earrings are on sterling silver loops. I'll choose a winner at random on Monday, Sept., 23, 2008 and contact the lucky person via e-mail. Happy posting.