How to Make a Sea Glass Pendant (Jewelry Tutorial)

I have been really excited about making jewelry.

It seems to have reignited by fashion designer roots.

I have made spoon pendants and shrinky dink bracelets...

and I am currently designing head pieces for a childrens fashion show

(insert a "squeal with delight!").

I have a few other tricks up my sleeve too...

but today I am going to show you one of my happy accidents...

and perhaps an

AMAZING MOTHER'S DAY GIFT!

(hint, hint)

Click on READ MORE for the rest of the tutorial!

Tickled Pink 143

Welcome to Tickled Pink!

It was a crazy emotional week in my REAL life.
I think I say that every week...but every week it is something new!
Am I the only one??? I can't be right!? (please say right!)
...ANYWAY...
I did manage to make a  
healthy and delicious Kale, Avocado and Tomato Salad...
and the opposite extreme of that...Homemade Vanilla Syrup! 

Now for the really good stuff...this week our 
SPOTLIGHT SELECTOR IS
Meegan from What Meegan Makes
(head on down to the features to see her amazing selections!)

Next week, Julie from Coco and Cocoa 
will be the Spotlight Selector.
Go on over and say hi and you can link up over there too!  
If you are interested in being a Spotlight Selector leave a comment or drop me an email! 

Just a note...you may see some bloggers getting featured more often. I am letting my Spotlight Selectors pick who they want...but we are trying to spread the love around!
 
I appreciate you coming by to linkup today! 
 (click on READ MORE to see the features and link up!)

Sweet Vanilla Goodness: How to Make Vanilla Syrup

I love drinking coffee and baking and eating. I also love experimenting with different flavors and different ways to flavor beverages and baked goods and such. I have been interested in using syrups to add a special something. I decided to start with Vanilla Syrup, after all I have quarts and quarts of homemade Vanilla Extract. This was pretty much the easiest thing I have ever tried (almost!) and it is a great addition to my morning coffee, fancy beverages, and whatever else strikes my fancy!

Seriously this is super easy!

Essentially you are making vanilla flavored simple syrup.

HOW TO MAKE VANILLA SYRUP

Ingredients
(easily doubled for more sweet vanilla goodness!)

• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract.I make my own Vanilla Extract
• 1-2 Vanilla beans slit lengthwise (I used beans from the extract)

Make It!

• Place the water, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla bean (slit lengthwise) in a medium sauce pan and slowly bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar is dissolved.
• Let cool, and transfer  the mixture and the bean to am airtight container (I use a mason jar).
• Store in the refrigerator. I cannot quite give you a time frame for how long it will keep because we use it up quickly...a month or two is my guess!

And...folks that is it all done!

Perfect for

BAKING, COFFEE, or TEA

What do you put in your coffee? Your tea? Your cookies? Your cocktails?

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre >

Avocado, Kale, & Tomato Salad with Garlic Lime Dressing (recipe)

Kale is one of my favorite foods. 

For real!

I put it in smoothies and eat it almost every day in a salad (or two).

Kale is not only loaded with essentials that are good for you,

it is a hearty green that compliments so many other flavors.

I love that kale does not get soggy or limp like other lettuces.

I can make a large salad (without the dressing),

put it in a container in the refrigerator, and pull out what I need for days.

This Kale, Avocado, & Tomato Salad
is has become a staple in my house and for just about every party I throw!

I am going to give you the recipe for making a large salad to serves 8 (side salad)

or for one large single serving salad (dinner size)

Ingredients
 
For a LARGE Salad
1 Head kale. I prefer to use a head of kale or the pre-cut kale. You can use baby kale, but it is not as hardy - the leaves are a bit more delicate.
1 Cup cherry tomatoes
2 Avocados
1/3 cup toasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds

Garlic Lime Dressing (large salad)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (it took me about 5 limes)
Coarse ground black pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon+)

For a SINGLE SERVE Salad

• 2 cups of kale or 3-4 leaves kale.
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 to 1 Avocado
• 2 Tablespoons toasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds

Garlic Lime Dressing (single serve)

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Juice of a lime (maybe 2)
• 1 small clove of garlic minced
• dash of black pepper
  

Make It!

• Prepare your kale:
• If you are using baby kale, wash if necessary and pat dry.
• If you are using a head of kale, wash and pat dry. I like to use the slicing blade in my food processor to cut ribbons of kale. You can also cut the kale into ribbons with a knife. I generally remove the rib/stem of the kale when using a knife.
• If you are using precut/washed kale, you can also slice the kale into ribbons, or sometimes I like to tear the kale from the stem/rib.

• Wash and slice tomatoes in half
• Slice both avocados into smaller chunks about 1/2 inches in length

Dressing

• Combine all ingredients in a bottle or mason jar and shake. You may have some left over dressing depending on your desired use on the salad. It keeps well and it so good on so many other salads too!

Salad

• Place the kale, tomato, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl
• Add the avocado just prior to serving (as close to serving time as possible)
• Toss with dressing - add dressing a little at a time until you feel you have reached the right amount. I usually use almost all of the dressing for a large salad and about 2 Tablespoons for a single serve salad.

If you like Kale,be sure to take a peek at my

Lemony Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad too!

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre

The Amazing Avocado Conest: Vote (for me please)!!!

Hey all...I know I have not been burning it up with creativity the last couple weeks -

I have been taking care of some things on the homefront.

but Remember my Embellished Leather Cuffs using The Amazing Avocado? 

Well...they are up for the BIG prize over on The Amazing Avocado Facebook Page.

I would LOVE and REALLY APPRECIATE A QUICK VOTE (it is a facebook thing).

...It is super simple to do...

#1 follow this link:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151546839489591&set=a.300250594590.146651.276444809590&type=1

#2 In the comment section of the photo,

simply leave a comment with your vote

Hint, hint...mine is "#1 Leather Cuffs"

Thanks! I really appreciate it!

DISCLOSURE: The original post was a sponsored post through One2One Network and The Amazing Avocado

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre

Tickled Pink #142

Welcome to Tickled Pink!

How was your week?

I shared a booth at a local craft/hometown fair last weekend and it was great and crazy...and I am still recovering....but I had a lot of custom orders and am working on finishing those up, which is why it has been quiet around here!
And it was my birthday...so I took a break!
 

I took the StrongMoms Empower Pledge and I did share a very personal story about my struggles with breastfeeding and being a new mom...and the judgements that were made. Head on over to read all about it and take the pledge yourself!

 
Now for the really good stuff...this week our 
SPOTLIGHT SELECTOR IS
CATHY from LEMON TREE DWELLING 
(head on down to the features to see her amazing selections!)

Next week, Meegan from What Meegan Makes will be our Spotlight Selector. Go on over and say hi and you can link up over there too!  

If you are interested in being a Spotlight Selector
leave a comment or drop me an email! 
 
I appreciate you coming by to linkup today! 
 (click on READ MORE to see the features and link up!)

StrongMoms Empower: A Tale About Breastfeeding and Judgement

When I had my first child, I had grand plans

and many ideas about what motherhood would be like.

After giving birth to my first child, the days wore on and on,

and I all too quickly discovered that my vision of motherhood was about 95% wrong. Motherhood is the most amazing experience in this world  - period!

But motherhood is a daily challenge,

a daily exercise in patience and understanding,

and a lifelong commitment to creating responsible, caring individuals.

Since becoming a mother, my days have been filled, as I am sure every mothers have, with life changing experiences. We say things, do things, and experience things we never imagined. Being a mother is powerful, but as we travel this path, it cannot be denied that motherhood comes with judgement - from family members...from friends...from strangers. This story is about one of my biggest challenges, disappointments, and the judgement I faced as a new mother (both times). 

I had a hard time after the birth of my son. A slight case of postpartum depression was my co-parent and I did not even see it at the time (and neither did my husband). To top it off nothing - not one thing about parenting came close to what I planned or dreamt about, other than the love I felt for this baby - that is the one thing that did exceed my expectations. I daydreamed that once I brought this heavenly bundle of joy home, we would spend our days at the park, reading, napping, and we would bond and everything would be beyond perfect.

I have never been more wrong.

I had put so much pressure on myself to be this perfect mother that I barely remember anything good that happened. The biggest disappointment accompanied breastfeeding. I had so desperately wanted to nurse this sweet baby and it was not working...I was not making milk, not enough anyway...and there were other problems as well. Days and days of a screaming hungry baby...days and weeks of lactation consultants, pediatricians, and trip after trip to the health store to buy vitamins and supplements that were supposed to make the milk come in. You name it...no one could help the issues we had. I had assumed that nursing would be a piece of cake, no issue at all...but it was not. They tell you it might be difficult, but they never really say how difficult. 

Infections and engorgement and a multitude of other not so pleasant experiences led to days spent frustrated and crying - me and the baby! I made the decision to pump...and was absolutely scrutinized by many of the mothers in the baby groups I joined.
"Why wouldn't everyone breastfeed? It is so easy. "
"Mothers who do not breastfeed are selfish."
"I cannot believe she isn't nursing that baby."
I could hear them. I hated listening to them. It hurt. It hurt bad.

Of course they had no idea that the milk in those bottle was breast milk - precious breast milk that had to be coaxed and cajoled to come out of my body. They had no idea that I slept about 3 hours a night because the process of pumping, cleaning, and then feeding a newborn the baby and starting all over again was laborious, tedious, and took a lot of time.  The peaceful image of a mother nursing her newborn in bliss did not exist in my house. But I did it because I believed in breast milk and breastfeeding and wanted to do everything I could for my baby. (For the record...I did eventually have to supplement with formula. As my son grew I could not keep up with his needs. I pumped for about one year.)

Fast forward 6 years...and a new baby girl entered our lives. I was much more prepared for the fact that things may not go as planned this time, but it did not make it any easier. There was still disappointment and frustration as I encountered the same problems with nursing. I refused to bring this baby home and live in a fog of screaming and pumping and utter devastation and disappointment in myself. I also had another child to care for and could not lose myself in the despair that followed my son's birth. 

At the hospital, I made the decision..I was going to ask for the "F-Word" - Formula - to supplement the breast milk. In the area I live in, formula truly is the F-word and I was scared to ask...the nurses encouraged me to keep trying and tried to avoid my requests (in a pleasant and encouraging way). Finally I worked up the nerve to ask our wonderful pediatrician. She understood, and it took her to finally get me what I needed...what my baby needed.

I wanted to enjoy this time. I regret the moments I missed with my son, and I did not want to relive the experience - the angst and the crying and the beating myself up. I did still want to breastfeed. Again I visited pediatricians lactation consultants and read everything I could...and again, ultimately I found myself "tied" to the pump. I had come to terms with what I was and was not capable of...but I again was devastated by the lack of decency and understanding of other mothers.

Snide comments, whispers, not-so-quiet discussions were all too common at Mommy and Me. No one would sit by me, no one would talk to me because I was not able to whip out a boob and feed during circle time. And again, they had no idea that I had slept only a few hours each night so that I could pump maybe one beautiful, precious bottle of breast milk to feed my baby. They assumed. They judged. And it still hurt.

Being a mother is no easy task and there are so many ways to be a good mother. What leads us to criticize other mothers, other women for the decisions they make. 

I have many, many (many) opinions about what I will allow or not allow my children to do/see/watch/participate in/behave. As a mother that is my job to determine what I feel is appropriate and right for my children and my family. If another family chooses otherwise...fine, but I will chose to not let my children participate. I am not judging that family but I am making the best decision I know for my own kids...that is my job.

And...surprise, surprise I do not agree with everyone I know about how or what they chose to let their children do...BUT that is their choice, and as long as their children are not in danger and they are being cared for that is their prerogative...EVERY FAMILY, EVERY MOTHER has the right to make the best decisions for her family. 

I am not a perfect mother - far, far from it. So, in the interest of full disclosure...I will admit the following...(I am sure there is much more I can admit to...but for now this is it)

• I have been that mom at the park on the phone.
• I have been that mom with the screaming child at the grocery store.
• I have (I am) that mom who lets her little girl wear sundresses to school even when it is cold outside (with a jacket in tow as well).
• I have handed my toddler a frozen pancake while in line at the grocery store as everyone looks at me in horror. 
• My kids are all too familiar with the phrase, "Just a minute."
• I believe in the 5 second rule. 
• I have let my kids drink soda and processed foods.
• I chose to go back to work.
• I chose to not work.
• I chose to breast feed.
• I chose to not breast feed.
• I yell.
• I am honest.
• I tell white lies (but for the good of the family!)
• I make mistakes.
• I give myself time outs.
• I apologize.
• I admit...I have judged other mothers...

...but I have also learned, and come to understand that we all have our own way, and we are doing the best we can for our own situation. It is not for us to judge what another family needs or chooses to do...and now when I find my mind heading down that path, I try to catch these thoughts - to remember that I have no idea what is going on with that family, what their situation is, what has happened earlier in the day, what phone call they just received, what their life is like. All I can do is be the best mother for my own kids, and be there to support and encourage other mothers if they should need and ask for it.

How about joining the movement of encouragement and help us moms unite by taking the Strong Moms Empower pledge

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre   I am participating in a blog campaign with One2One Network. I have not received any payment. All opinions are my own.

Tickled Pink #141

Welcome to Tickled Pink!
It is time to share your projects, tutorials, crafts, stories,
 baked goodies, and foodie creations!

  How was your week?
Last week was Spring Break for my kiddos...
and this week my parents are visiting...and good thing!

I am selling some items in a HUGE local craft show....and I need help!

I did  a cleanse/detox last week and my kids tortured me 
by creating this amazing recipe using Reese's Puffs and Reese's Miniatures

  ____________________________________________________________
Thanks to everyone who has already contacted me about being a
Tickled Pink Spotlight Selector!
(read more about it here)

I am loving their picks...are you???

This week I am so happy to have
Nici from Posed Perfection  sharing her picks! 
(Head on down to the features to read more about Nici and see her great selections!)
Thanks Nici for hanging out with me!

Next week, Cathy from Lemon Tree Dwelling will be selecting what Tickles Her Pink!
Go on over and say hi!  You can link up there too!

 _________________________________

FEATURED PROJECTS AND INSPIRATION 
Now for the features and the Linky!
(click on READ MORE)

Reese's Puffs Treat Bars with Reese's Miniatures! (Courtesy of my kids!)

I innocently bought my kids Reese's Puffs cereal

and their sweet little imaginations dreamed up this

purely delicious chocolatey peanut buttery extravaganza! 

I am convinced they are trying to torturing me this week

(in a good way..kind of) - 

I am doing a Spring Detox/Cleanse

(more about that next week)!

They claim they wanted to create a special treat

for when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

(Grandpa might just love his Reese's!)

What ever the case...these are delicious...

yes detox and all I had to try them!

Tickled Pink #140

Welcome to Tickled Pink!
It is time to share your projects, tutorials, crafts, stories,
 baked goodies, and foodie creations!

  How was your week?
It was Spring Break for my kiddos...
and I don't know about them...
but I had a good one:
a bonfire on the beach with friends and
2 days at Anthropologie at a window display workshop for Earth Day!
Fun stuff!
 And I am doing a detox...oh my gosh....I feel good.
I cannot wait to tell you about it next week!
____________________________________________________________
Thanks to everyone who has already contacted me about being a
Tickled Pink Spotlight Selector!
(read more about it here)

I am loving their picks...are you???

This week I am so happy to have
Tuula from The Thrifty Rebel sharing her picks! 
(Head on down to the features to read more about Tuula and see her great selections!)
Thanks Tuula for hanging out with me!

Next week, Nici from Posed Perfection will be selecting what Tickles Her Pink!
Go on over and say hi! 
____________________________________________________________

Now here is what happened at 504 Main
Homemade Almond Butter - Oh My Goodness...LOVE!
I also made jewelry using...Avocados!

There is an awesome Avocados from Mexico Giveaway happening too!
   

 ______________________________________

FEATURED PROJECTS AND INSPIRATION 
Now for the features and the Linky!
(click on READ MORE)

Grab a Button here if you were featured! 
Thanks again for linking up!