#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--FALL DECORATING WITH AUTHOR TERRI REED

Romance and romantic suspense author Terri Reed has notched up many writing awards and landed on quite a few bestseller lists during her career. She’s also had one of her books, A Family Under the Christmas Tree, adapted into the Hallmark movie Picture a Perfect Christmas in 2019. Learn more about Terri at her website where you will also find links to her other social media sites. 

Hello everyone! It’s a perfect fall day with its crisp air, cooler weather and changing of the leaves. I love the burst of color on the hillsides and the comfy clothes I get to unearth from the closet--like snuggly fleece jackets, cozy sweaters, and cute hats. One of my favorite things in fall is to stop by the apple orchards and bring home fresh picked apples to make all sorts of apple inspired desserts. 

 

There is one aspect of fall, however, that I don't look forward to—cleaning up all the fallen leaves and acorns. 

 

We have a giant oak tree in our front yard and for the past couple of years it's been throwing acorns like snowflakes. I hear them hitting the ground and the roof of our house all day and all night. I’ll admit the acorns fall every year, but not like this. I Googled to find out why this was happening and learned way more than I probably needed to know about trees that drop nuts, which by the way, are called mast. 

 

Apparently, because our weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been so warm and we've had no spring frosts, the trees are overproducing acorns. One theory I read, said the trees were throwing more acorns in hopes new trees would sprout. I can’t have another big oak tree in my yard; there’s no room!

 

I also learned that trees don’t drop nuts until the tree reaches 50 years old. Our tree is estimated to be 150 years old. 

 

While this overabundance of acorns makes a mess, it also brings an overabundance of birds—so many different kinds, though, I love to see the Blue Jays. There are also squirrels out in droves. We've even had raccoons and possums snacking on the acorns. It makes me happy to see the animals coming for nature's bounty. 

 

A few years ago, I made some fall decorations for our Thanksgiving table. I recently got them out and decided to incorporate some of our abundant acorns into my fall decorating. I have them sitting on my entryway table for now. And I just love how adding some acorns really makes it more festive.

 

To make these centerpieces, these are the items you need:

Mason jar [colored ones look nice]

silk flowers and fall foliage

glass rocks

ribbon trim

leaf stickers

a glue gun

an LED candle

acorns

 

In celebration of fall I wrote a novella, Protecting the Heiress, as part of the Dangerous Pursuits collection. These 15 original novellas of suspense are available for preorder now. The collection releases October 12 on all online retail platforms.

 

Protecting the Heiress

Time is running out...

On a damp Seattle night, Cecily Fairhaven is rescued from a mugger by the man who broke her heart, Malcolm Cruz. When she learns it’s not a coincidence that Malcolm has shown up out of the blue and that her life is in danger, she must set aside her hurt and anger to trust the man she once loved. But is she really safe? Or will she suffer another broken heart when he leaves? 

 

US Air Force Operations of Special Investigations Agent Malcolm Cruz received a cryptic message begging him to protect Cecily. To honor the man who’d been instrumental in his career, Malcolm wasted no time traveling across the world to safeguard the only woman he’s ever loved and to ensure she makes its home to deal with her father’s estate.  But as the threats against her escalate and his feelings for her resurface, he begins to wonder if either of them will come out of this unscathed. 

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA—M. E. BAKOS WRITES ABOUT CRAFTS, MURDER & OBSESSION

M. E. Bakos writes the Home Renovator Mysteries. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and a spoiled Morkie. If she isn’t plotting new mysteries, she’s planning home projects. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Once upon a time, I craved learning to crochet and the needle arts. With new project enthusiasm, my undertakings were lengthy afghans, which may or may not have been completed. Eventually, I put unfinished items aside, and donated the unused yarn, or gave to friends with nimbler fingers and whose crocheting or knitting looked awesome. Mine, not so much.

But there are times you yearn for small craft projects. The pandemic is one of those times. Earlier, I had discovered round and flat knitting looms, which made my stitches look more professional. I made scarves, caps, etc. but again, stashed the items away in closets or drawers. Now craving a simple soothing diversion from the stresses of life, I dug out the round looms. Thus, the cozy knitted cowl emerged. With our cold Minnesota climate and possessing few turtlenecks, it was a perfect solution to enhance crew sweaters and keep my neck warm. 

 

Even the craft-challenged, such as myself, can complete them. I casted on and used a single knit stitch. I followed directions courtesy of YouTube videos and knitted away. The cowls took a few hours as opposed to the large afghans attempted earlier. It became a sort of obsession.

 

Note: Not all were knitted on round looms. The burgundy cowl started out as a scarf on a flat loom and put aside. I stitched the ends together, and it became another cowl. 

 

Along with the simple knitting, I indulged two other obsessions, watching murder investigations, and home renovation shows. From rehabbing houses, to tiny dwellings, to staging homes for sale, I’m fascinated with what people accomplish with a ‘can do’ spirit. This is where Katelyn, my main character, enters. She does what I choose not to. But, like plans in real life, her projects have pitfalls, contractors don’t perform, mirrors break, and quirky characters abound. Add in a murder that the feisty home flipper is determined to solve, and buckle up for a fun ride.

In Lethal Flip, the third book in the Home Renovator Mysteries, Katelyn continues renovating houses and solves a murder to boot. Could her neighbor across from her easy breezy rehab really have killed his wife? While everyone is absent from Katelyn’s life, his soulful eyes and attentiveness mesmerize her as she rehabs the house. In a nod to current social conditions, loneliness and obsession can strike at any time. So, relax, read a cozy, laugh, and see how characters deal with their challenges.

 

To celebrate the release of her third cozy novel, the first two e-books in the series, Fatal Flip and Deadly Flip, are now on sale. 

 

Lethal Flip 

A Home Renovator Mystery, Book 3

 

Flipping houses can be LETHAL!

 

Katelyn takes on an easy breezy house renovation in Crocus Heights, Minnesota, in the third volume of The Home Renovator cozy mystery series. It’s a breath of fresh air after flipping a house in the crowded Hiptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. No drama or bad juju.

 

But wait, who killed the woman across the street from her newest rehab?

What else can a Home Rehab Specialist do, except play detective? 

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MINI-MASON JAR VOTIVES

It’s June, and soon we’ll be entering the lazy, hazy days of summer with backyard barbeques and sitting on the porch with friends or family while sipping cool drinks on a warm summer’s night. Add some festivity to the setting with these quick, easy, and safe votive candles.

Materials (for each votive):

2 oz. Mason jar

one faux or real votive candle

acrylic paint (your choice of color)

acrylic sealer

foam brush

1/2-yd. raffia, 3/16-inch sisal rope, or ribbon in complementary color

Using the foam brush and acrylic paint, paint the inside of the Mason jar, if you’re planning to use a faux votive candle, or the outside of the jar if using a real votive.

Allow paint to dry. Apply a second coat, and a third if necessary, allowing paint to dry between coats.

Apply a coat of sealer.

Tie a raffia or ribbon bow or knot the sisal rope around jar.

Place votive candle inside the jar.

#DIY HOME DEC PROJECTS

Author Lois Winston, who writes about all of us in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, is back today with some more discoveries from her recent vacation in Canada.

A week ago last Monday I wrote about a blinged-out tiresculpture I came across in Montreal in front of the Musee des Beaux-Arts. This museum is actually five museums connected by underground tunnels. One of those museums features decorative arts and design. Today I’d like to share some unique yarn projects from that museum. If you’re a knitter or crocheter who also enjoys DIY home dec projects, these pieces will be right up your alley—or perhaps not. 😕

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I won’t begin to try to explain the chair and light fixture in the photos because, frankly, they left me speechless!

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--DIY HOME MAKEOVER CRAFT PROJECTS

Danielle Hegedus stops by today with some DIY ideas for sprucing up your home.

Integrating Crafty DIY Projects to Upgrade Your Home Aesthetics

By: Danielle Hegedus

Are you due for a home interior makeover? Maybe you’ve just moved into a new place so you have a blank canvas, but you’re on a budget. Or perhaps you’re ready to let your inner artist loose as you fashion your home to reflect your unique style. We here at Modernize are passionate about helping homeowners create the living spaces of their dreams, regardless of budget or style. And some simple DIY craft projects are the perfect choice for customizing your home without spending lots of money. With a minimal investment in supplies—including some things you can salvage or repurpose—and a little elbow grease, you can have a big impact on the appearance of your home—not to mention how you feel when you are in it!

Create a Unique Interior Space with a Versatile Chalkboard Wall

Adding design elements to your home can be pricey, especially when it comes to professionally framing pictures or purchasing artwork to personalize your space. And depending on your budget, if you’re purchasing items from a chain store, you’re likely to see that vase or print that you thought was so unique show up in five of your friends’ homes, too. Where’s the fun in that?

Ever think about creating your own artwork? If you’re not ready to commit to one image, use chalkboard paint and let your creative impulses run wild. It’s affordable and easily erasable, so whether you have a grand vision for a mural, want to have fun with some doodles, or just want to display your favorite inspiring quotes, here’s your opportunity.

Chalkboard paint is also a great option for a kitchen wall, since it helps organize your grocery list and plan your meals. It can replace a sterile whiteboard in a home office, while still helping you work through projects on a larger scale than pen and paper. And it’s a great option if you have little ones who, let’s face it, are probably inclined to draw on the walls anyway!

Bring the Outside Indoors with Fun, Unexpected Houseplants

Most people enjoy fresh flowers, but a good houseplant improves the look of your home while lasting longer and usually costing less money. Plus, a number of houseplants have been proven to improve the quality of the air in your home, removing harmful toxins found in cleaning products, carpets, and paints to help you breathe easier. Plus, plant pots are a perfect opportunity to repurpose an unexpected item for an interesting design feature in your home. As long as you can create some holes for water drainage (and that’s not even necessary for all plants, bamboo for instance), let your imagination run wild. Give items that might otherwise be headed to the landfill (or just cluttering up your home) a second-life, like old-fashioned tea and cookie tins, plastic bottles, retired kids’ toys, or gift baskets. If you have pots already, refresh their look with a coat of metallic spray paint, or maybe use some leftover bathroom tile or even glass coasters to try your hand at a mosaic. The possibilities are endless.

Take Repurposing to a New Level by Building Your Own Furniture

Whenever I see a wooden palette, I see possibilities. Set it up flat against a wall and you have a great structure for an herb or small vegetable garden. Orienting it vertically enables  you to create a garden in any small space—from an apartment balcony to a small nook by a sunny window. If you have a yard, if you’re an active cyclist, or if you have kids who love to ride bikes, consider using a palette as a bike rack that is attractive and keeps you from backing over one in your car!

My younger brother though, has taken my love of palettes to a whole new level. His entire apartment—bed, coffee table, and bookshelves—are fashioned out of palettes that he either found or asked a small business if he could take off their hands. Usually the businesses are happy to part with palettes, as it saves them money on trash removal, but make sure you ask! If you want to be just as ambitious with your palette projects, you may need some baseline carpentry skills, but there are loads of DIY articles on the internet to help you along the way. Plus, if you make a big mistake, the risk is low because the supplies usually don’t cost you anything and would otherwise be headed to the landfill anyway. 

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR PATY JAGER

Raising hay and cattle, riding horses, and battling rattlesnakes, award-winning author Paty Jager not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. She has published twenty novels, three anthologies, and seven novellas, all with Western or Native American elements. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website and blog. Today she stops by to show us how she converted a buffet into a vanity for the house she and her husband built.

Buffet to Vanity

Last year my husband and I sold our semi-rural property (8 miles from town) and moved to our rural property (40 miles from town.)  We were both excited to start this new semi-retired adventure. Only moving to the rural property we had to live in a 200 sq. ft. cabin while we built our next home. We lived in the cabin from July 2014 until February 2015. Yes, we built a 2026 sq. ft. home in seven months! We busted our fannies to get it up because we were getting tired of living in the small cabin. We had some friends put up the walls and do the sheetrock, but we did the rest of the house ourselves. Getting up in the morning and working until dark every day.

The fun part about building the house was deciding what I wanted in each room and how I wanted it to feel. Yes, I like a room with ambiance.

One day we drove past a second hand store and a piece of furniture that was in the window caught my eye. I asked my husband to turn around so I could check it out. He said we didn’t have time today. The next time we went to town I had looking at that furniture on the list of to-dos.  I went in, looked the old buffet over, and decided it would be the vanity in the master bathroom. But I had to convince my husband of it.  

 

After explaining to hubby what I planned to do with the buffet and how I planned to do it, he said I could get it as long as I got the man to drop the price. I only managed to get him to drop the price $25 but that was dropping, so hubby couldn’t say otherwise. ;) I brought it home, contacted a school friend who restores old furniture and asked her the best method to remove the ugly brown coat on the buffet.  She gave me some advice, and I went to work scrubbing the brown off and finding a lovely oak underneath.

 

Once I had the idea of the vanity in my mind, I started scouring the home improvement stores for tiles to put on the top of the vanity and finding articles on how to convert a piece of furniture into a vanity (the plumbing had to be dealt with.) And while at a plumbing store getting our toilets and such, I found the perfect sink. It was a demo and they had to take it out of the display, but they were willing to sell it to me. 

Our oldest daughter came over one weekend to help me tile the master shower and we also tiled the buffet/vanity. We used 12” x 12” tiles for the main part of the counter and added 1/2” accent tiles to the edge of the top. The hard part was getting them to lay well around the rounded front. [insert finished photo]

This was a project that started with an idea and slowly was pulled together, much like writing a story. I come up with a germ of an idea, and over time I gather the pieces that enhance the story, and before long I have a finished manuscript.

My writing project at the moment is a series about Shandra Higheagle, a Native American potter who becomes tangled in murder and is led to clues by her deceased grandmother who comes to her in dreams.

Double Duplicity

Book one of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Dreams…Visions…Murder

On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth.

Detective Ryan Greer prides himself on solving crimes and refuses to ignore a single clue, including Shandra Higheagle’s visions. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Ryan believes in them and believes in her.

Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--WASHI TAPE

Every so often I come across a new craft material that becomes my new favorite. Lately it’s washi tape, a craft material that originated in Japan. You may have seen projects using washi tape on various craft blogs or Pinterest pages. It’s becoming a real obsession, and now I’m one of the obsessed. Why? Because in a matter of seconds and with not a single discernable crafting gene, anyone can create fun, decorative projects from just about anything.

I’m sure you’ve all seen colorful, patterned Duck tape in craft stores and home improvement centers. People have been crafting with Duck tape for several years now, even creating prom dresses and tuxes from the sticky stuff. But crafting with Duck tape, precisely because it’s so sticky, is more difficult to master. Washi tape has none of the drawbacks of Duck tape.

Even though washi tape is made from paper, it’s nearly as strong as Duck tape. This is because it’s made from natural fibers—bamboo or hemp or the barks of the mulberry or gampi trees or the mitsumata shrub.

Washi tape isn’t one of those hard-to-find craft supplies. Many craft supply manufacturers now produce lines of washi tape. I found rolls in 1/2” and 5/8” widths and varying lengths available at Target and several local craft chains.

Washi tape is loved by scrapbookers, but it can be used to decorate just about anything. For my first foray into the world of washi tape, I decided to spruce up some old, boring desk accessories, adding washi tape to some banker’s clips, a stapler, and the galvanized pail I use to hold pens and markers.

What will you decorate with washi tape?

#DECORATING WITH JEANIE--GUEST AUTHOR CHRISTINA TETREAULT

Christina Tetreault began writing at the age of ten on her grandmother's manual typewriter and never stopped. Currently, she’s the author of two romance series, The Sherbrookes of Newport and Love on The North Shore. Learn more about Christina and her books at her website. 

Much as there are trends in fashion, which change from year to year and from decade to decade, there are also trends in interior decorating. Some trends are timeless while there are others that everyone would like to forget. For example, I love walking into a stately home built around the turn of the 20^th century with its dark hard wood and built in window seats. However, I still cringe every time I think of my grandmother’s bathroom with its blue and pink tile, pink toilet, pink tub and pink sink. Sometimes I wonder how my poor grandfather lived with it for all those years.

So let’s take a look at some of the trends from the past. In the 1940’s old hand-me-down furniture was common and kitchens were functional, complete with stark white appliances. The 1950’s ushered in rugs with patterns and floral wallpaper. I think I visited plenty of houses stuck in this decade when I was house hunting a few years ago.

The 1960’s were a time of rebellion for many, and interiors were often decorated in brightly mismatched colors. Wall-to-wall carpet became the norm in the 1970’s. Some people even put it in their bathrooms, if you can believe that.  During the 1970’s people started to care less about style and more about comfort. Of course that did not last as the 1980’s ushered in a period of material success and people wanted their homes to at least look like they spent a fortune decorating them. We’ve all been in a few of these homes.

Thankfully, styles again changed, and the 1990’s paved the way for the interiors we tend to see today. Interiors, which are more influenced by comfort and function then looking like you spent a million dollars. Of course, even today they vary greatly from home to home and country to country, often reflecting the personality of the people who live there.

Illustrated throughout this post are just a few of the different interiors I found while doing some research for my book Redeeming The Billionaire, which features an interior designer as my heroine.  These images are courtesy of Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici, Sira Anamwong and digidreamgrafix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Redeeming The Billionaire

Billionaire Trent Sherbrooke works hard and plays harder. He’s never once cared what the media or society says about him, until now.  In order to make it into the United States Senate Trent needs to clean up his reputation and Addison Raimono is just the woman to help him. But soon what he assumed would be a relationship to salvage his reputation turns into so much more. But can a relationship started on a lie ever survive?

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#DECORATING WITH JEANIE--GUEST AUTHOR P.J. MacLAYNE

P.J. MacLayne is a computer geek by day and a writer by night. When she's not in front of a computer screen, she might be found exploring the back roads of the nearby national forests and parks, finding inspiration for her books in their landscapes. Learn more about her and her books at her blog.

When I first started writing my mystery series, I decided to set the books in the fictional town of Oak Grove, somewhere north of Pittsburgh, PA. Having grown up in a similar town, it was easy to picture my main character, Harmony Duprie, having an interest in the architecture of the town. And since she lives in a third-story apartment of a Victorian style house, it was a short leap to imagine her getting involved in remodeling an old home.

There are plenty of houses scattered throughout northwestern Pennsylvania that need a little help. Or, in some cases, a lot of help. And some have already been remodeled with various levels of success.

But Harmony's goal is to keep the style of the houses she fixes up intact while bringing them up to more modern standards for electricity and appliances. And since she does Internet research for a living, she wants to make sure that it's easy to jump on the web no matter what room of the house she is in!  And she does this in-between her various adventures.

She's not alone in her quest to bring old houses back to their original glory; she has friends to help her out. Friends who know where to find period hardware and have the tools to re-create spindles for staircases and missing bits of gingerbread. Friends who help her out of the situations she finds herself involved in.

Harmony develops personal connections to the houses she works on, imaging their voices speaking to her. Despite this, she knows she'll give them up and sell them when she is done with them. As she says, they deserve to have a happy family living in them, filling their rooms with laughter. So as hard as it is, she knows that they will have to be sold, since she is a single woman with no children of her own.

Her Ladyship's Ring

Harmony Duprie is back, and so is trouble in Oak Grove.

When a man is murdered in the backyard of the old Victorian house she is remodeling, Harmony is determined to locate his next-of-kin so he can be put to rest properly. But with her ex-boyfriend Jake out of prison, back in town and one of the suspects in the murder, she takes on the challenge of solving the crime.

With Eli, her current love interest, in Florida and Jake close by, old emotions come back to haunt her. Can Harmony clear Jake's name and solve the mystery of her own heart?

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COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR KAREN ROSE SMITH AND A BLUEBERRY BREAD #RECIPE

Today we’re happy to welcome back award-winning and bestselling author Karen Rose Smith who will see her 87th novel published this year. Although she’s written romance novels for over twenty years, she’s now branched out into mysteries and women's fiction. Learn more about Karen and her books at her mystery website, romance website, and blog.

I came from an Italian heritage of sitting around the table—talking, laughing and arguing—and making each meal at my grandmother's house an event. Dessert was always a meal extender whether it was cannoli for Christmas, fried dough balls dipped in honey for Easter, or Sunday dinner chocolate cake. Dessert gave us extra time to sit at the table and enjoy each other's company. My mother followed the tradition. She was a third grade teacher. Often she would bake layer cake or sponge cake in the morning before we caught the school bus! We'd either use it that night or freeze it for dinner to share with company on the weekend. Just as she served a salad and crunchy bread every night for dinner, she would always serve dessert.

I've followed my mother's and grandmother's traditions because I like to cook. When my son was small, we baked and sold fruit breads at craft fairs. I entered cooking contests. He helped me make at least a dozen different kinds of cookies for Christmas to give away. Each meal was topped with something homemade. Now, of course, life and diets have changed. Fruit is often our dessert of choice. But once in awhile I bake for us besides company desserts because we need something special to remind us of traditions I'll never forget.

Speaking of desserts...

My sleuth Caprice De Luca also likes to cook (along with home staging, taking in strays and finding them homes, and wearing retro fashion.)  In Deadly Decor, the second book in the Caprice De Luca Home Staging series, her neighbor encourages her to pick fresh blueberries, and this bread is what I and Caprice created.  I hope you enjoy it!

Caprice’s Blueberry Vanilla Pecan Bread

2-1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons sour cream

4 teaspoons imitation vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk (2%)

2 large eggs

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries, de-stemmed, washed and well-drained.  (I put a paper towel in a bowl and let them roll around on that before adding to batter.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8-1/2” x 4” x 2-1/2” loaf pans.

Beat all ingredients except nuts and fruit in mixer bowl (scraping bowl often) on mix or blend until batter is smooth, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes.  Stir in nuts by hand, then fold in blueberries.

Divide batter between the two pans.  Bake 60 minutes at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean.

Deadly Décor

Book 2 in Karen Rose Smith's Caprice De Luca cozy mystery series.

Quiet Kismet, Pennsylvania, may look like any other small town, but as a home stager, Caprice De Luca can see behind closed doors--and it seems someone has designs on murder. . .Life is a full house for Caprice these days. She's dating, she's rescuing adorable cocker spaniels, and she's decorating the roomy interiors of Kismet's most well-heeled residents with fun fantasy themes. But she's worried about her pregnant sister. Bella's marriage is coming apart like a bad wallpaper job, and to make matters worse, she's decided to meet up with a former flame Bob Preston, a house painter Caprice frequently employs. When he's found dead in a pool of green paint swirling with blood, it's time for Caprice to stage an investigation. With all eyes trained on Bella's husband, Caprice shifts her attention from finding the perfect curtains to finding the perfect culprit. . .

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR AND CRAFTER JOANNA CAMPBELL SLAN

Here at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers we’re always happy to have fellow crafter and mystery author Joanna Campbell Slan stop by for a visit. Joanna is here today to talk about an issue close to her heart because she sees the problem first hand every day as she walks the beach with her dog Jax. (And yes, she picks up after Jax and after folks who dump garbage on the shoreline.) Her Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series is set on the eastern coast of Florida, and the mysteries feature an entrepreneur who specializes in upcycling, recycling, and repurposing. Learn more about Joanna and her books at her website. 

From Sea Trash to Treasure, A Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Craft

If you’re planning to visit a beach this summer, I have a craft project you’ll love! It’s simple, it’s cute-as-all-get-out, and it’s great for the environment. Its…

Sea Trash Jewelry

Although waste plastic (aka “sea trash”) can be brittle and fragile, most of it is sturdy. Using the collage method of assembly, you can turn these ecologic time-bombs into interesting and unique wearables.

Background: According to the National Resources Defense Council, “Plastic pollution affects every waterway, sea and ocean in the world.” In fact, eight million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year! Not only do animals suffer by ingesting these man-made wastes, but many of these pollutants find their way into our food chain. Why not start a new family tradition? Instead of picking up shells, I suggest that you collect stray pieces of plastic, objects I call “sea trash.”

Supplies: E6000 Glue, cuticle clippers, emery board or sandpaper, clear nail polish, pin backs, jump rings. Optional: faux gems, wire, beads

1. Collect, thoroughly wash, and dry plastic pieces. You can scrub off any barnacles/sea critters with a Scotch Brand scrub pad, a craft knife, or with an emery board.

2. Shape the pieces. The cuticle clippers are terrific for this. Simply clip away unwanted edges. (Don’t try to break a big piece in half. Instead, “nibble” away at it.) Use the emery board or sandpaper to smooth the sharp edges.

 

3. Assemble the pieces in eye-pleasing designs.

4. Glue them together.

5. Paint with clear nail polish. (Tip: You can also color any piece with nail polish.)

6. Add wire trim, faux gems, or beads, if desired.

7. Add pin back or jump ring. (Tip: To put a good hole through plastic, heat the tip of a metal skewer or awl and melt the hold through your piece.)

Joanna is giving away the sea trash pin pictured at the top of the blog—but if you win it, you have to promise to use it as a conversation starter so that you can tell people about the problem of plastic in our ocean! For a chance to win, enter here. 

For more information about the crisis of plastic waste in our waterways, check out these links:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150212-ocean-debris-plastic-garbage-patches-science/

http://www.plasticoceans.net/

Tear Down and Die

After her parents die within six months of each other and her son goes off to college, savvy entrepreneur Cara Mia Delgatto decides she REALLY needs to get a life. A road trip leads to her grandfather Poppy's home on the picturesque Treasure Coast of Florida, where she impulsively snaps up an abandoned building—only to discover it's already occupied by a fresh corpse. While a murder investigation swirls around her, Cara Mia enlists the help of two new friends to open The Treasure Chest, a store specializing in one-of-a-kind recycled, repurposed, and revived décor items with a beachy-keen theme. But before Cara can get the doors of her shop open, she bumps into an old boyfriend, Cooper Rivers, who claims to still love her. Then Cara learns that Cooper's affection might be a ploy to save himself from a murder plea. Is it possible that Cara's second chance at love has come too late? Includes recipes and craft tips.

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