Amazing Spaghetti Sauce...

Ok so I don't normally post recipes on here.. which I don't know why.. everyone is looking for something new to make and eat... anyway.. i HAD to post this one.. this is my favorite crock pot recipe.. the sauce is amazing!!! You must try it lolol.. Let me know what you think...

Easy Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

8 ounces Italian sausage
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons dried leaf basil
dash ground red pepper or red pepper flakes, if desired

Remove sausage from casings; brown in a heavy skillet along with ground beef. Break up sausage and ground beef while browning; drain well.

Add sausage and beef to crockpot, along with all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. Serves 8 to 10. This sauce can be frozen.

DENIMNOTES has a facebook!

For all the facebookers out there... DenimNotes has a facebook page. Become a fan now and look out for coupons, giveaways and tons of discounts, and see some of the project pictures that will be updated weekly!!
Hope everyone is well!

New Supplies Added!! and other news...

I just updated my website with some great supplies.. The list is small but growing..
I know their are some great things on there, that you can't find in your local shops. These items are also available in the shop as well, and there are so many colors and varieties available so if you see something you like, but not the right color, just let me know!!! http://www.denimnotes.com/category_11/Beads-Things.htm

Grand Opening was last weekend, and it went great, it was really great to meet so many new people, and so many people interested in beading! Who ever knew there are so many of us out there! I am going to add some pictures of grand opening, it was really a great time!

I am starting a list of some people interested in joining or teaching some classes...
Both for stationery and for jewelry making... I am excited to start this in September, and I'm even looking to start an afterschool program for children! So that will be exciting! So if anyone is in the area and is interested, I'd love to hear from you...

OPEN WEDNESDAY! Pictures of the New Shop!

Ok well, Wednesday is the first day I'm open.. So maybe I can finally start getting myself together with up to date blogging and finally listing some new items.. It's only been what like two months lol..

Well here are some photos of the inside of the shop... And I promise to next week, start really get organized, with weekly updates, new listings, and start a weekly article with arts and crafts info...

Coming Along...

Well between trying to find a place for a wedding.. and getting the shop together.. I have been crazy busy.. But we finally found the perfect place where we are getting married.. pictures to come soon!!! YEAHHHHH!!! And a date coming soon!!!

and here is the outside of my shop, pictures of the inside are coming soon... kinda messy with the inventory process, so once it's cleaned up, i will post some pics.. can't wait to show everyone, and I hope you can make it out for the grand opening, August 22nd!! Check out the website for hours and sneak "preview" hours the week before... www.denimnotes.com

Hope everyone is well.. and staying cool during the summer... !!

Sorry it's been so long... BUT I HAVE BIG NEWS!!!

Well I have been super super busy.. as I'm sure everyone else has too!

So, First BIG NEWS... To start I got engaged.. whooo hoooo!!!! Now the planning begins, although the amount of work I'm sure to come is a lot, I can't wait, it's something every little girl has dreams about.. and I am more than ready... I am going to look at some reception/ceremony places this friday, so that's exciting, hopefully I can pick a date.. still thinking about fall or spring.. we will see!!!

The other BIG news.. well I finally sucked it up and did it.. I rented a store, yup scary yet exciting!!! It is in ranlo, nc.. which if you are from around here, you know its pretty small town.. but its right next to gastonia... the good news is that the only competing stores in a 20+ mile radius is Michaels and Hobby Lobby.. and I am carrying completely different beads than the both of them.. so I am super excited about that...I will upload pictures once it is complete, I am finishing up the painting, decorating and preparing now.. and hope to have it up and running in the next couple of weeks.. I will also be selling some supplies online at my website as well... I found some great beads that are hard to find, and some great prices on products, so I am sure to help beat most prices! If you have something in mind, let me know, I may be able to get it cheaper!!!

So look out for that.. and I will be updating as I go along...
I hope everyone else is doing well, and enjoying the summer!!!
What has everyone else been up to?? Any new projects??

NEW WEBSITE!!!

Hey Everyone...
Just wanted to let you know, I finally started my own website, and I am so excited! I just feel like I can personalize it more to match me... There isn't much on there right now, but there will be, as time goes by... So please take a look, let me know what you think, and maybe you'll even find something you like! The first 10 customers, gets a FREE bag of goodies, ranging anyone from $10-$15... and it could be a mixture of anything!

I am also working on something, can't wait to surprise everyone!!

Hope everyone is doing well... and keeping busy!!

Thank you for taking a look!

www.denimnotes.com

Updates and about this weekend

I have been super busy this past couple of weeks, with family and preparing for this weekend!! If anyone is in the area, and looking for a great festival, Lake Lure is having their annual Memorial day festival!! I will be there, along with so many other great artists that come every year! It takes place Saturday, Sunday and Monday!! Hope to see some of you there!!

Also I wanted to give an update on the kitties, there were about 10 that got adopted this past week, so I AM SOOO HAPPY about that.. but again there are so many more that need good homes, so let me know if you are interested and I can help you find the perfect one!!

I also have been working on some other things, it seems when I sit down to start working on some stuff, I have to get up and do something else.. sometimes I wish I had more than two hands lol...

Well I hope everyone that is reading this is doing well, and I hope you can make it out to Lake Lure this weekend, between the views, shops, lake and festival, it's just a great atmosphere!!!

May Newsletter

8 Days Late.. I know :D
I had family visiting, and we all know how crazy it gets sometimes!!
I hope everyone is doing well, I haven't posted in awhile, I've been running around, just had a show in Rutherfordton, and getting ready for a 3 Day show in Lake Lure! If anyone is in the area, I would love the visit! I also plan on launching my website within the next week or so... So look for that, there is a special gift for the first 10 purchases off the website... and I promise it's a good one!!!

Also with this newsletter, if you make a purchase of $25 or more, you get a grab bag of goodies worth up to $15!!! It's a great deal.. and a great surprise!!

KITTIES NEED HELP!!

So I volunteer at a cat rescue, every thursday morning, I clean out their cages, brush them and spend as much time in the morning as I can with them... After doing it for so long you get attached to them all... Well, I got an email last night from the woman that is head of the Angels for Felines, saying that she has too many cats, and they aren't moving fast enough, so some of them that have been there for more than 4 months will have to go to a barn, where they will be fed and watered, but not taken to a vet or played with... I am attaching a couple photos of some of the cats that are going to be taken to a barn, if anyone can take a cat, or is looking for one, please go to the pineville petsmart or the one in lincolnton, you can email me for more information if needed...i know money is tight for everyone, and I am thinking of taking a third cat just because I see them every thursday and it breaks my heart.. i will make it work somehow.. Please if you are in the area, and have the room and some extra money, they need a warm home rather than a barn.... i know you will love them all.. check the website below for more information... and you can contact me about anything! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this... http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/angelsforfelines.html

My Own Mini Shop in a Boutique!!

So, this really nice woman contacted me through Etsy, and asked if I wanted to put some things up at her shop, and now I have my own mini booth set up. It is such a cute shop, and so many really nice things... Its up in Lincolnton, right in downtown area, so if anyone is in the area and gets to walking around the town, stop in and check everything out. She does some great things with furniture, and the pieces look great! And there are so many antiques in there, and some other great crafters!! I took some pictures, so you can see how it looks, and a lot of the things I sell at crafting shows, and festivals, and now up at this shop I don't put on etsy, so if you see something you like, let me know... I am so excited.. How do you think it looks!!!!

April's Newsletter

Hey Everyone... Check out Kari's (www.littlegemsbykari.etsy.com) and My (www.denimnotes.etsy.com) newsletter for the month of April! Hope you enjoy it, and if you're not on the mailing list and would like to be, please send me an email with your address and I'll add you to my list!!! :D

Taking Photos

I LOVE taking photos... of almost everything. If you read my previous post about the snow in NC, I was outside with a camera for like an hour lol.. there is just something about capturing those special moments! My favorite is nature inspired photos, I hide from the camera, but love being behind it. I love taking photos of nature, butterflies are great if you can catch them at the right time.. the sky is amazing on any day, but certain days are so much more beautiful than others.. and newly bloomed wild flower fields on the side of the road are even better.. I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.. I hope you enjoy them!!

I also started selling some of my photography at craft shows, and I am debating whether or not to sell it on etsy, offer it as postcards or note cards.. or just matte photos... something I am thinking about.. we'll see ...

Working on some new ideas

I have some exciting news coming in April, but I'll wait til then to tell everyone!!! I can't wait to share with you... :D

But First, if you haven't seen, I've been working with watch parts... SURE it's been done before, but no piece is EVER the same, so I thought I would give it a try!! I absolutely LOVE it, it's fun, interesting, trying to almost put a puzzle together, and I love the fact that not one piece created will ever look the same! I also love shopping for the parts, I have never been in so many antique stores in my life, and now I can't stay out of them... I have found so many new things to use, so look for those pieces to come as well! I think the idea of using something that has history, and you may never know where it originated, is just amazing, you are literally working with someones history, someones memories, it's not just sitting there in a box in an antique store, so I just think its a great way to recycle and resuse, and share!

Let me know what everyone thinks!! and thank you for visiting!

FIRST SNOW STORM FOR ME IN NC!!

Yeah!!! FINALLY! So since I moved down here, 3 years ago, I've been waiting for snow.. I miss it terribly in NY... I love the idea of being in your house, watching the snow fall, or driving somewhere and seeing it on trees!!! It's so beautiful, I really do miss NY winter weather... So Sunday night we finally got snow, and a pretty good amount for down here.. I think by me, we got about 7" or more, a few towns over got 9"! So of course I took Dino (my dog) and we played in it, I believe he liked it quite a bit, he was running around like crazy.

So anyway I am extremely happy, even though its supposed to be 72 degrees on Saturday, and probably by tomorrow all the snow will be melted, but at least I took some good pictures and I actually saw snow, where I didn't have to drive two hours to see it in Boone!! Enjoy the NC snow pictures!

Leonardo Da Vinci

So I've been wanting to do some glass pendants with some of Da Vinci's work... and as a HUGE art history lover,(It's just all so fascinating) I found some REALLY interesting facts about him... on this website which is awesome http://www.mos.org/leonardo/bio.html

First of all, I knew he was truly a renaissance man, but reading more, he was so amazing... He did studies on so many things, nature, flying machines, construction, mechanics, architecture, and he painted and drew... Isn't that awesome!!!

I am definitely going out to by a history book on him.. I did find this one story on there, that was really funny... and I thought fellow artists and readers would enjoy it.. so here it is...

Legend has it that young Leonardo was asked by his father to paint a round shield. Like many teenagers, he thought it would be cool to paint a really creepy head, so he brought in all sorts of vermin -- lizards, bats, maggots, etc. -- and painted a disgusting monster exhaling smoke and poison gas. He was so engrossed in his painting that he failed to notice that his animal specimens had begun to rot, and when he finally allowed his father to see it the man was so startled by its realism that he knew his son could only be an artist.

The website is above where I found this story and so much more.. if interested!!

PART 3: Hand Drawing Projects

Ok, I'm going to drop the "part" naming.. lol.. ANYWAY... I am always looking for new things to come up with and use, as I'm sure everyone is lol... Well I had wooden discs, Corks, so why not draw on them!!! I love drawing patterns, scrolls, vines, leaves... I'm much more of a abstract drawer, I don't really like to draw things in great detail, unless it's a pattern, or scroll work. When I took drawing in college, I had to take figure drawing, and although I was semi-ok with it, I loved taking charcoal and drawing more of abstract figures. I feel like when doing that I was expressing more of myself rather than sticking to what something actually is, does that make sense lol?!?!

So Anyway.. here's a start.. There is a lot more to come, I really enjoyed doing these!! I am getting some greeting cards together, that I am drawing on, as well as some journal covers.. So I am excited...!!!

Oh and here's a quote I found, that I think really reflects what I was talking about above: "A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things." by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

PART 2: Continuation of New Projects for the New Year

Everything can be made into art, therefore why not use it all!

I really like the idea of using bubble levels as jewelry, I saw some other beautiful pieces on etsy, and really liked the idea, obviously I didn’t want to do the same thing, but use it in a way that I really liked.. I just thought the idea of levels is just fun and unique, the farthest thing from ordinary!

I also like the idea of transparency in work.. and I love the glass pendants that are transparent... they leave a open and airy feeling to the pieces.. and just add that much more to the pieces themselves! I think they really became an attractive and unique finished piece.

I am working on some other things.. which I will post soon! I just think there is so much out there to work with, and I'm excited to venture with it all and I hope you all enjoy it... and Thank you for viewing my shop!!

And everyone on etsy are such great artists, I appreciate everyones work and love it all!!

Angels for Felines

Hey everyone, I know I mentioned on one of my entries earlier that I volunteer for a cat rescue... well most of the pictures are finally up if you want to take a peek! I work with them every thursday, and all of them are the sweetest cats in the world, especially Lennie, he is a big mush ball... Please just take a look, and if any one is in the area, they really are great kitties that need great homes!! :D

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/angelsforfelines.html

PART 1: New Projects for the New Year!

So I said for the New Year I was going to start some new projects... Here are two of my new bracelets! I started expanding my materials a little bit, and there is more to come! I am loving all the new finds on ebay and the internet, I never really started noticing all the things that could be used in jewelry, until recently. There really is so much out there, and its exciting to see finished pieces, and everyone's amazing finished pieces, etsy is a great place to see items, and i recently found stumbleupon.com, I am loving that site as well.. there are amazing photographers, jewelers and all types of artists on there.. and great people to meet.. everyone should definitely take a peek at that site... You can check out my stumble upon site at: http://denimnotes.stumbleupon.com I have so many great favorites already...

So anyway...

My first bracelet is a quote I cut out from edgar poe, and amazingly its a portion of a quote, that when I cut it out, it created a whole new quote "My Soul Lies Floating Shall Be Lifted"... which I love, I think it's great and can mean so much!! The bracelet has a great antique look, which I am starting to love more and more!

My second bracelet is part of an image cut from a beautiful photo. The photo originally is of a very rare colored lake, that is the most beautiful teal blue. I just found that shrubs/trees against the blue background is amazing, and makes a nice detail to the bracelet.

Also I started something new.. If you purchase something from my etsy site, and you blog about it, either on your personal blog, etsy blog, facebook, myspace, ect. and you send me a link to that post, I will send you a FREE gift!!! So keep that in mind if you want to purchase anything, it's a great deal!!!

Tag, I'm It

UberArt, http://uberartshop.blogspot.com/ has tagged me.

For those of you who I've tagged, or just for your information, here are the rules of tagging:
* Link to the person who tagged you
* Post these Rules in your Blog
* Write 7 Random things about yourself
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each Person know they've been tagged

1. I love, love, love horror movies... even if I watch it through my hand covered eyes.. I love them!!
2. I'm a huge animal person.. Love cats, reptiles anything and everything.. hence the zoo in my house lol (2 cats, a dog, crested gecko, fish, bunny, 2 snakes).. and any strays, usually come home with me!
3. I love the smell of fall.. its my favorite season.
4. One of the things I miss most about living in New York is the snow! Yes I miss the snow lolol!!
5. I love nature inspired jewelry, I guess if you haven't figured it out already, I am a huge outdoorsy person! I love North Carolina Mountains, and all the great waterfalls.
6. Crafting has taken up most of my free time during the week... I have way too many ideas, and I try to get them out all at once.. doesn't happen, therefore there is a HUGE journal full of ideas, the problem is the more i come up with, the more i branch off those.. its never ending!!
7. I recently read the twilight saga set, and who cares if they are for young adult, I love them!!! and I definitely can't wait to read them again!!

Now I've got to pick the lucky seven folks to tag...
1. Little Gems By Kari
2. Auryndesign
3. Designs By Rukar
4. Teresa Jane
5. Jonie
6. Expressions by Devin
(couldn't think of a 7th)

Volunteering to Help the Kitties!!

I recently started volunteering to help a cat rescue. There is a woman, who takes care of them all herself, and she needed someone to help clean/feed/play with the kitties thursday mornings, so I decided to do it.
They are all up to date with vet visits, shots and microchipped. They are all fantastic.. and very well taken care of... I wish I could keep them all!! I have a website if you are in the Gastonia/Lincolnton Area, and surrounding areas... but there is only one picture up there.. I am going to help the woman who runs the cat rescue take pictures of all the cats and get them up there as soon as possible... If you are interested, she does have cats at the petsmart in pineville, and she brings more for adoption on saturday and sunday. If you have any questions you can ask me, and I can pass them on to her... I didn't want to give her email and phone number out, as she is has a lot of people calling her about taking cats in to her home. If you do happen to go there, she also needs help with food donations... I know times are hard, but even one can of food is great!! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this.. and I hope people in the area that may be interested find the perfect kitty for them, there are so many great ones!!!
Thank you again!!
angelsforfelines.petfinder.com