Like A Fox Jewelry : one of a kind and limited edition

Like A Fox Jewelry: new URL for the shop

www.likeafoxjewelry.com is the new URL for my shop. My original site www.craftylikeafox.com will coexist for a while, but the new name is more to the point. Please update your bookmarks, friends!

Gainesville Wedding

You might have noticed, sadly, that Like A Fox has been absent much of this year. The shop looks the same, Etsy hasn't seen new designs, sigh.....sometimes life takes us in other directions. Which is why, folks, I'm happy to say that I'm finally back in the jewelry studio. My sister's wedding in May necessitated some very special jewelry pieces. I made the labradorite choker (her fave stone), and for her wedding, a sterling necklace with a rhinestone pendant refashioned from a vintage duette.

 
Below: Gainesville's Magnolia Plantation B&B

Below left: Vegan dinner special at ti amo! featured an orzo medley, herbed chickpeas, and potato wedges with a delectable sauce.
Below right: Karma Cream cupcakes in chocolate cherry, peanut butter bombs, lemon coconut, and toasted almond vanilla flavors. Yum!

The wedding was a family weekend celebration in Gainesville, FL. A marvelous time was had by all sampling local cuisine and then lazing on the cottage verandas at the Magnolia Plantation Bed and Breakfast, mint juleps in hand. At ti amo!, the stunning modern interior, superb service, and chef's ability to pull together a tasty vegan special all left me breathless. And instead of a traditional wedding cake,we gorged ourselves on ice cream (both organic and vegan!) and cupcakes from Karma Cream. Full disclosure: we ordered these goodies in advance, but we also took the whole family to the karma cream store for dessert the night before the wedding. That's how good this place is! So, a big thank you to my sister and brother-in-law for giving us a nice adventure. And thank you, Gainesville - I'll come back soon for my new favorite restaurants!

All signed up for Stitch Rock 2009

This will be my first time at Stitch Rock, but I'm already excited about this fall show. I expect to have a blast amidst these indie artists and crafters in south Florida, just north of Miami. If you're going to the show, stop by the Like A Fox booth and say hello!

Eco-Vision Art Show in Lakeland on March 21

Might go to this art party on Saturday. Platform is non-profit organization that showcases central Florida artists in various media at several parties each year. More details on Platform here.

ARTpool Trashion Fashion Show - mark your calenders for July 11

Since we're on the theme of recycled and eco-friendly art today, have you noticed how trashion is super hot at the moment? It definitely pervaded the Atomic Holiday Bazaar, where I met Marina Williams, a St. Pete based photographer and the creative force behind ARTpool Gallery. I just received ARTpool's call for artists, and while there are some exciting shows over the next few months, I definitely won't miss the Trashion fashion and art show scheduled for July 11. The wild and elaborate fashions from last summer's Trashion show are amazing and inspiring! Go check out the slideshow under the events tab on ARTpool's site. Then circle the date on your calendar as you break out the bubble wrap and hot glue to make your own trashion outfit this afternoon. What do you think I can create from Cadberry egg foil wrappers?


 

Thanks, Schmap

Gee, Schmap, thanks for including my photos in your San Francisco guide. The fair city by the bay still has a tight grip on my heart even though we moved away in 2006. Maybe I'll get back this July for the Renegade Craft Fair. Participating last year was so much fun. View my photos from the first Renegade Craft fair in San Francisco here.

In the Schamp SF Guide: Castro Valley from the Liberty Steps, Cornmeal Pancakes at Herbivore in the Mission.

My Pirate Birthday Party

Well, you may be wondering what happened to my jewelry production. After a busy and rewarding fall season, I took a hiatus for the holidays, family matters, and leagues and away the best reason - a pirate birthday party. Now I've hosted my fair share of Halloween costume parties, but this grand pirate adventure was the greatest of all! I do hope those scurvy mongrel guests will set sail again next year. Gasparilla, anyone?

See all the photos at flickr.com/groups/pirateerin

Above: Birthday Captains Cutlass Alice and Erin the Blackhearted

 

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Intrigued by a recipe for vegan chocolate-avocado cupcakes in my essential source, Vegetarian Times magazine, I put a spare avocado to the test. The original version called for maple syrup as a sweetener. Our house stocks only grade A maple syrup which is waaaaay too expensive a commodity to pour a cupful into cupcake batter, so I substituted sugar. Plus I reduced the cocoa powder and added melted chocolate. The result was super intense chocolaty goodness. I DO believe that the avocado delivered the promised moistness and fluffiness, but I've achieved something similar with a family wacky cake recipe that employs vinegar.  Hmmm...might be best to simply savor those amazing avocados raw!

BTW, you should skip the cupcake liners and simply grease the muffin tin with shortening (I use Spectrum's organic zero trans-fat version). Here's my adaptation of the cupcake recipe and my own spur of the moment concoction for chocolate frosting:

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes
1 cup organic all purpose flour
1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup Florida Crystals granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened soymilk (I prefer the Silk brand)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin pan. In large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, soda, salt and cocoa powder. Puree avocado in food processor until smooth.  Add sugar, soymilk, oil, vanilla and melted chocolate. Blend until creamy. Spoon batter into cupcake pan, filling each 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes or until done.

Chocolate Frosting
5 oz. (half bag) of sweetened chocolate chips
1/2 container of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolate and tofutti together on in saucepan over med.-low heat. Stir in vanilla and mix well. Next time I would reduce the chocolate by half or add in some organic powdered sugar.

Pretty Personalized Gift Wrapping Idea

As I've focused on jewelry design over the past year, my card making and paper craft production has dwindled to practically nonexistence. Drawers full of stamps, inks and papers that rarely see the light of day. But for my little sister's 30th birthday last week, I had to go all out. (Once obsessed with double-stick tape for gift wrapping, I converted to a glue stick last December.  Less container packaging is wasted in the end I think.) I've got a thing for carnival and pirate imagery, which influenced the flag shaped gift tags.

For the monogrammed gift, I printed her name in a nice font, then cut out the letters on a beautiful pink paper with metallic gold dots. Tip: if your paper is highly textured on one side, print your letters in reverse from your computer. Then trace on the back side of the paper.

Touring Lakeland : Lakes, Gardens, Vintage and Vegan Dining

My good friend Kathleen from San Francisco came by for a visit, so I showed off the best of downtown Lakeland. I hope she was charmed. Of course the first stop was Brooke Pottery where I work part-time. They have an excellent offering of fine american craft ranging from pottery and wood/metal serving pieces to art glass, jewelry and garden gifts. If you can believe it, the majority of items are handmade by American artists. A rare find if you ask me.

Next we walked down Kentucky by Munn Park and into Vintage.  A newcomer to downtown, Vintage showcases an eclectic gathering of vintage furniture and architectural elements, all carefully and creatively displayed by owner Angie Suarez. While Kathleen considered how she could stuff a robin's egg blue dresser into her suitcase, I admired the chalkboard globes. What a novel idea! Draw your own world....made of only peaceful countries, dammit. Also new to the shop are designer citiscapes. Each bag contains a handfull of iconic tiny wood buildings for a particular city like Paris, and even better, the wood is sourced from sustainably managed forests.
 

Next we walked downhill to the Lake Mirror Promenade. We circled the lake, trying our best to capture the turtles, black swans, and snowy egrets on Kathleen's fancy new camera. We roamed beautiful Hollis Garden for a bit then, as hunger struck, we headed over to Grass Root for lunch.

Grass Root is one of the tastiest restaurants in Lakeland and my personal favorite for dining away from home. My family is full of good cooks, so it takes something special to lure us out. Kathleen was happy with the raw burrito. And me? After just one bite of the live spaghetti with treat balls, I wondered why on earth it took me 6 visits to get around to this tasty meal. (Because I've been hung up on the peace za pi, that's why!) The always amazing vegan key lime cheesecake was a satisfying conclusion to a very happy afternoon spent touring Lakeland with my good friend.