Friday, September 9, 2011

Labor Day at McGrail Vineyards

The weekend of September 4 and 5th, we were a vendor at McGrail Vineyards in Livermore, CA. The outskirts of Livermore are filled with rolling hills and one winery after another. It is beautiful. The event was the annual Harvest Wine Celebration going on throughout the area.

About 40 wineries were pouring for the weekend and shuttles transported wine enthusiasts from one to the next. We were amongst several other artists and had a great time. I didn't take any pictures, but here is one of the front lawn and front of the tasting room. We made some great sales, new contacts and enjoyed the Labor Day weekend. They specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is a link to their site if you are interested in purchasing their wine! http://www.mcgrailvineyards.com/purchase.htmlMcGrail Vineyards and Winery: Great wine, good friends, amazing memories!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Lampwork Pendants

I do several Art and Wine festivals throughout the year, and am always rethinking my display design. Lately, I have focused my attention and display on my boro glass bead pendants. I make the beads in my glass studio and then use a bail to turn them into a pendant. The result is an easy to wear, durable glass piece. I have been putting them on ribbons for free at my shows and am selling them 10 to 1 over the rest of my jewelry. I love the freedom of being at the torch and being really creative with one bead, and then moving on to a totally different design. It makes the heat more tolerable! Here are a couple...

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Stevie Started School!



Stevie is a big Kindergartner now! He is loving it. Fortunately the school is really close to our house. His teacher is Mrs. B and she is really nice and attentive to the kids. He is a little overwhelmed at how many kids there are and the teacher is helping make friends. Tricia is walking him to and from school Monday and Tuesday when I am at work and I take him the rest of the week. He is such a big boy now :)



Monday, April 11, 2011

What is Jello Really???

Do you want to know? You will get the details and probably won't ever eat it again. So, if you are a fan, skip over this article :) http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/are-there-pig-hooves-in-my-jell-o-where-gelatin-really-comes-from.html

Exerpt from the article:

“The raw materials used in the production of gelatin are from healthy animals and include cattle bone, cattle hides and fresh, frozen pigskins. In the North American market, these raw materials are basically sourced from government-inspected meat processing facilities.”
Read: the collagen comes from animals in slaughterhouses.
If you have the curiosity (and stomach) to learn the literal process of how gelatin is produced from animals, read on.
1)      Animal carcasses arrive at the processing plant from a nearby slaughterhouse. Rotting parts are discarded; everything else is chopped up.
2)      Animal parts are washed and degreased to get rid of as much fat as possible (yah, I don’t want floating fat in my Jell-O, thanks). Pieces are then roasted to dry out.
3)      Pieces are soaked in a strong acid solution for several days to bring out all the minerals and bacteria from the pieces, and it releases the full collagen content.
4)      Pieces are then boiled again, the gelatin is extracted, and it is flash-heated for sterilization.
5)      Gelatin now passes through machines that press it into sheets, and it is dyed, colored and given any other treatments to make it look and taste like a typical boxed food product.
My goal lately is to be an informed consumer and try to keep unnatural food items out of the mouths of my family. The part that bothers me the most is #3 "soaking in a strong acid solution for several days" doesn't sound healthy to me. I appreciate the aspect of using all of the animal and not wasting though, and that may be enough for some!
~Erin

Friday, April 8, 2011

Organic vs. Nonorganic: What Fruits and Veggies Should You Buy?

This was on Good Morning America today. Studies have shown that kids under 5 consume 8 PESTICIDES A DAY! Parents think they are helping their children by giving them fruits and vegetables but if not organic they are poisoning them. This article suggests buying certain produce organic, but the safest route is 100% organic.
Here's a link to today's piece

Organic vs. Nonorganic: What Fruits and Veggies Should You Buy?

Are your body products truly organic?

My family and I have started eating organic food in July after reading several articles about the harmful effects of pesticides and the obesogens they produce, genetically modified foods and how the non organic farming industry is harming the environment. I come across many articles across the internet and I am going to start logging them here on my blog.

This article is from Whole Foods today and it discusses how our personal care products are not regulated when they are labeled organic, so we may be tricked by fancy labeling. Whole Foods is taking it a step further. Read the article here.
~Erin

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Featured on My Pinky Finger Blog

I woke up this morning to find an email from a fellow Etsy artist who featured my shops on her blog. Here is a link http://mypinkyfinger.blogspot.com/2011/02/moro-on-boro.html Thank you very much Robin for all the compliments!

You can find her Etsy shop, divinedepth, here http://www.etsy.com/shop/divinedepth?ref=top_trail It is filled with very cute and eclectic jewelry!

<3 Erin

Friday, February 18, 2011

AG Team

I was recently invited to join the Artisan Gallery team as a handmade supply member and couldn't be more excited. I am on the team as Firelily Glass Studio and am really impressed at how well organized this team is. I have been busy making treasuries to promote my team members and will start to list them here. I also provided a link to the team blog and will be featuring some of my new team members!

<3 Erin