Dog Treats

I can't believe today is Christmas Eve!  Everything is happening to fast BUT, I'm happy to say, I am done with shopping and baking.  I am one of those people that leaves it to the last minute, but this year I am one day early! Yay me!  I even had time to bake some doggie treats for dog gifts.

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Dog Treats:
adapted from here

1 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cookie sheet with either Silpat or parchment paper.

Mix all ingredients together in blender.  The dough will come out dry and stiff, but you should still be able to work with it.  Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thickness (the thinner they are the crunchier they will be!) and use cookie cutters to cut out pieces.  Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes until cookies are hard.

And done!  I added a cute ribbon to them and they are ready to go in a gift bag...

Luna was my taster and she gave the thumbs...umm, I mean paws up!

She liked the cookie so much she wouldn't hold still for the pic!

Until next time!

"Ugly Christmas Sweater" Ornaments

When I saw this tutorial from American Felt and Craft blog I couldn't resist.  I had to make these super "Ugly Christmas Sweater" ornaments.

Aren't they cute! Umm...I mean ugly...nah, they are cute!  I spent Sunday afternoon making them.  Plus, I didn't have to buy any supplies as had all on hand. Bonus!  This one is my favorite...

Click here for the full tutorial and template.

Until next time!

Luna wasn't in the mood for taking pictures.

Vivian Luna Accessories

I meant to post this last week but time got away from me.  I still can't wrap my brain the fact that Christmas is next week!  I am SO not ready!  Anyway, on December 7th I had an opportunity to sell my jewelry at the first annual German Christmas Market in Anaheim.  I only had a week to prepare but knew I had to go for it.  I am so glad that I did!  It was a fun and successful day!  It was amazing to me that strangers were going to be wearing my jewelry!  I loved it! Here are photos of my set up....

I hope that the new year brings more opportunities such as this one.  For now I have to get busy taking photos and putting stuff on Etsy.

Until next time!

Bullet Earrings

I had seen a similar pair of earrings somewhere, but I can't remember where.  I instantly liked them and wanted to recreate them.  I recall they were in gold.  I don't wear gold, but I liked the style.  I had silver bullet charms so I knew I'd be able to make a similar pair in silver.

Supplies Used:

3 different types of chains -- cut to however long you want your earrings to be (the longest hanging chain on mine was 6" so when you connect it ends up hanging about 3" long)
Ear wires
2 pieces of  wire about 3" long
6 jump rings
Tools to connect pieces together

How to:
1.  Bend two pieces of wire as so...

2.  Add chains to either side with jump ring...

So it ends up looking like this...

3. Add bullet charm to shortest chain using a jump ring...

4.  Add ear wires and done...

Until next time!

Pretty Luna!

Bracelet from a Ring

As I stated before here I purchased a lot of charms, but I also purchased a lot of these...

After I made several rings I wanted to use the filigree part for something else, but that sucker would not come off!  I got frustrated and straightened out the ring part of it.  I left it like that for several days and when I looked at it again I thought, well, maybe a bracelet??? And this is what I came up with...

I glued a rose to the filigree part, bent the ends and added chain and a closure and done!

Here it is with another one I made.  This one I painted the filigree part before I added the flower.

Until next time!

"Dia de Los Muertos" Mask

I meant to post this one Friday night, but ended up going out so didn't get a chance.  Then I remembered yesterday but...well, no excuse I just didn't.  So, it's a bit late as "Dia de Los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) already passed, but I feel skull masks can be displayed all through the year.

It started off like this...

OK, so not with the black. I was initially going to paint it with black but change my mind.

And with some paint it ended up like this...

I bought the blank skull mask at Michaels for like a $1 and I already had all the paint.

You can't really see it in the photo, but I added touch of lace to the edge of the mask. 

Until ned time!

Halloween Bib Necklace

Happy Halloween!!!!  I must admit Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays.  I just never really got into it.  OK, full confession here...I didn't even like going "trick or treating" as a child. For reals! BUT, as I got older I got more into it even dressing up now and then and enjoying a Halloween party here and there.  AND, I always made sure Vivian dressed up for Halloween and went "Trick or Treating" (I think this year she is going as a Volleyball player...I zombie Volleyball player), as she really liked dressing up and, of course, all the candy. And yes, I've even dressed up Luna for Halloween. 

OK, so back to crafting...I made a Halloween bib necklace using Duck tape.  Duck tape has really evolved from the gray tape of yesteryear (or something like that).  We were fortunate to receive 3 different designs during SoCal Social.  The cute...um I mean spooky...spider design was my favorite.

Supplies, I used...plus scissors, glue and hole punch.

First I cut out a pattern on cardboard box (used the lid of one of my shoe boxes I was going to throw away). I then covered it with the Duck tape, added black felt to the back with glue, then went crazy with the bling, punched to holes at the top for the ribbon and done! 

And, since I was having so much fun, I made earrings to match. I know, I'm way too cool!

Until next time!

She's all set for Halloween!  

SoCal Social -- Part 2

So, you might be wondering what we received in our Swag Walk.  Well, check it out...

I know right!  It was like going "trick or treating"!  

Our SoCal Social event ended at Avila's El Ranchito.   

Here are the lovely ladies in my group ready to walk into the restaurant. From left to right, Kirsti, Amanda, Emmy, Melody & Tori.  

Once seated at our table the fun (well, more fun!) began.  We had more swag waiting for us!

Look at our smiley faces...

We had dinner & dessert...

The food was done up buffet style (cheese enchiladas, chicken fajitas, salad, rice, beans and tortillas).  And the staff was very nice.  The desserts were by Creative Cakes.  So good!  Lots of chocolate, which is what I like! 

In between all of that Beverly & Vivienne did tons of raffles where lots of wonderful gifts were available to be won. And guess, what!?! I won! 

Yay me! 

We also had two guest speakers. The beautiful Eva LaRue and the fabulous Mark Montano.  

They gave awesome motivational speeches about not letting fear get in the way of what you want and to visualize your success. I heard that!

That's the end of my recap.  I truly had a wonderful day and can't wait until next year!

Until next time!

SoCal Social -- Part 1

This past Saturday I attended the 3rd annual SoCal Social.  The SoCal Social is an event for bloggers.  It was the brainchild of Beverly and Vivienne.  Let me tell you these ladies are ah-waitforit-mazing! Their hard work paid off as, once again, it was a ginormous success!  So, here's the how to...we meet up at the Plaza Park in Old Town Orange, get our name tag and bag to fill with swag and off we go. I know! How great is that?!?! You get to walk through Old Town Orange Circle's wonderfully charming stores and get free stuff! What the?!?! Crazy good!  I was lucky enough to meet up with friends Amanda and Melody and made some new friends Emmy,Tori & Kirsti.  

Our first stop was Heavenly Hostess.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at this store as was too busy looking at everything and talking to new friends that I forgot to whip out my phone! Nonetheless, Heavenly Hostess is the place to go for aprons, candles, cook books, funny books, knick knacks, etc. Check out their Face Book page here.

Next on our tour was Tea Leaf Cottage.  Antique clothes, jewelry, home decor, etc.  Wonderful store! 

Next up was Provisions Market.  Oh man, do I love this store!  They have my favorite and in all kinds of yummy varieties...I'm talking about cheese! They also have beer, wine, deli meats, olives, and well, go to their store! They gave us a taste of beer and deviled eggs (how's that for swag!). I was told beets gave them their pretty color.  I am not a beet girl.  In fact, I hate the taste.  But these tasted divine!  

Lovely ladies Amanda & Melody

After hanging out at Provisions we headed out to Coco Rose Boutique.  This was a new store for me. It quickly became my new store crush. Of course, I focused on their jewelry displays.

Up next, Orange Candy Company.  We were ready for a sweet treat and they didn't disappoint by giving us a treat bag full of candy!  They not only have candy, but cool cups, gift bags, magnets, etc.

We moved on to another new store for me, Vintiques.  The people who run the store genuinely seemed happy to see us! Their Social Media guy (yep, they have one!) took our photo and put it up on Instagram (@vintiques_hd). By the way, I'm a new member of Instagram myself (@vivianlunaaccessories). Still figuring out the ins and outs but Emmy and Tori were very helpful in teaching me how to follow people and add photos.  But I digress...where were we. Oh yes, check out the photos from Vintiques...

Yes, that is Amanda photo bombing my attempt at taking a photo of the Vintiques sign.

Onward we went to the next store, Lost & Found. I always enjoy going to this store.  I like the way they display the clothes. This store also caters to men.

Right next door is the store is Elsewhere Vintage. I was a little leery about going into this store, as last year I was reprimanded for touching one of their dresses!  However, they were very nice on this day and seemed glad to see us.  They have a wonderful selection of vintage hats (no, I didn't try any on, but I did touch several of them...just can't help myself!).

And right next door to this store is Joyride. This store is for the man in your life.  Now, if you want him dressed spiffy and looking distinguished (in a super cool way) this is the store! I was drawn to the items in the counters. 

Across the street was our next stop, Country Road Antiques.  This place is huge! It has all kinds of knick knacks, antique home decor, vintage clothes, etc., etc., etc.  If you have an hour to kill you need to stop here an check it all out!

A short walk over is Affaire de Coeur.  This is a fancy antique store.  I'm always too afraid to touch anything in this store for fear of breaking it!   

A couple of spots over is Spotted Moth.  Oh, how I dig this store!  You can find such pretty things here.  

Next up was Eikon Home.  This is a great store for finding things you didn't think you would need but now can't live without.  

Amanda & Melody found some funny disguises. 

We crossed the street over to the sweetest shop, Paris in a Cup.  We purchased macarons and "oh my gosh, this is so freakin good!" salted caramel chocolate. This store also has lovely cards, Paris themed bags, jewelry and so much more including a tea room!

A short block over we entered, Front Porch Pops.  I didn't even know this store existed! Now that I know, you better believe I'll be going back to try the different flavors of fruit popsicles.  

Crossing the street we encountered our next stop, Down Home Antiques.  You find such interesting items in this store. 

Our final stop was Julep's Floral & Gifts.  This store is so stinking cute!  It's a small store so it got a bit crowded but well worth the stop.

So that's it for our Swag Walk around Orange Circle.  I had so much fun and the swag we got was awesome. I especially enjoyed the company I was with.

Stay tuned for part 2 of SoCal Social! Dinner & more Swag! And hey, I even won something. 

Until next time!

I know! I can't stand the cuteness either.