Your Whims Wednesday #218 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are my favorites from last week's party:
 
Salvaged Wood Headboard by Craft Thyme
Salvaged wood headboard
 
Mini Berry Cheesecake Trifles by Creations by Kara
Hand Stamped Baby Blanket by Lemon Thistle
DIY Hand Stamped Blanket 
Red White and Blue Daiquiri by Kleinworth & Co.
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Cousin Creative Circle Retreat 2015

I love being a brand ambassador for Cousin Corporation, they manufacture so many different kinds of beads and findings and supply them to so many different stores, I have tons of fun playing with their new products and helping promote their lines!  One of the best parts of the gig though is that each year they fly us down to their headquarters in Florida for a retreat with the other members of the Cousin Creative Circle team! This has been my second year as a part of the program so I was so excited to go back to Florida for the retreat. I blogged about my trip last February in three parts which can be found here, here and here. This time around I'm doing one big ole recap :)

It's a quick trip, I flew out last Wednesday morning a little after 8AM and landed in Florida a little after 11. I actually really enjoying flying by myself, it's fun to wander around the airport, get some coffee, do some people watching and get physched up for your coming trip :)  I made it to Florida fine and met up with some of the other ambassadors and Cousin workers who were at the airport already. We went to lunch in the airport and Dawn talked me into a Pineapple Margarita...ok ok I was easily convinced to partake :)

We hung around a bit for one more ambassador to fly in and then we were driven back to our hotel while the other two ambassadors from the West Coast flew in a little later in the day. This was one of the BEST parts of the trip for me - we have such a packed schedule the other days with events going on with Cousin so it was so fun to be able to sneak in some time on the beach!!!

I.was.in.heaven. The ocean is SO FREAKING BLUE in florida! And it was WARM! Like bathwater!! Nothing like the dirty jersey oceans this philly girl is used to!!! I set myself up with a daiquiri from the beach bar and completely relaxed for a few hours before I had to get ready for our first event.

The first night of the trip Cousin hosts a little cocktail event at the hotel to introduce all of the ambassadors to each other and get to know a lot of the employees that work at Cousin! We were supposed to wear one of our favorite handmade creations so I wore a cute little floral dress with my blue web cluster necklace.

There are seven ambassadors this year: myself and four others who I knew from past years and this year we added two new ladies! From left to right we are: Allison of Quiet Lion Creations, Shelly Owen of Raziela's Rant, Rachel Nielsen of Adventures of a DIY Mom, Jennifer Priest of Hydrangea Hippo, myself, Dawn Doucette of Bella Amore Jewelry and Lisa Crone of A Bead a Day. Jennifer and Rachel are our two newest ambassadors!
We had such a fun night of chatting and catching up with the ambassadors and other Cousin employees we had met last year, nibbling on yummy hors d'oeuvres and of course drinking lots of wine :) The hotel is located RIGHT on the beach so of course we had to take a classy beach jumping photo!!
Thursday morning came bright and early - our ride to Cousin headquarters met us at the hotel at 7AM - ouch! But luckily this GORGEOUS view from my hotel room made the early morning wake-up call so much easier!
Thursday was a PACKED day at Cousin headquarters.  We went on a tour of their facilities, had a few round table discussions, went out on store visits to Michaels, Joanns, and Walmart to see and give feedback on the different bead sections, had a presentation on Swavaroski crystal, and even snuck in some time for designing!

Last year we had about two hours to design specific projects for one of the vendors Cousin supplies to, but this year we were able to just design whatever we felt like! It sure was fun to be able to go up to the WALL of beads to pick out whatever materials I felt like using. I could get used to that!

After a packed day at headquarters we were taken back to our hotel for just a little rest before dinner. I snuck a walk in on the beach and another drink from the beach bar, I really think I could get used to living with this kind of beauty on a daily basis!!!

After some quick time on the beach I got all fancied up again and wore my DIY Anthropologie Knock-Off Necklace with a cute floral maxi.  We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Florida where I was super adventurous and ordered a fish dish that I had never heard of before. It was delicious! Eating healthy has caused me to expand my horizons and makes me want to try new foods! Unfortunately the copious amounts of wine that were served with dinner and the two bites of FRIED CHEESECAKE I ate for dessert don't really fit with my normal "diet" but you have to live it up when you can :)
Most of us ambassadors after dinner with Jessica from Cousin (on the left of the picture) she takes care of marketing for the company and is in charge of the ambassador program.  She did a FABULOUS job planning the whole retreat and we all love her to pieces!

Friday morning we were taken back to the Cousin headquarters again bright and early  We spent some time giving feedback for Cousin's retail site - Prima Bead and had a few extra meetings. Some of the ambassadors were also able to spend some time filming video tutorials for different jewelry making projects which was really cool! Unfortunately we all had to head back to the airport at noon so the only extra thing we had time to sneak in was some shopping in the bead warehouse!!!

We had ten minutes to "shop" on this huge wall of beads and fill a flat rate shipping box with as many beads as we could fit. Whew! It was intense! I can't wait to get all of my goodies in the mail and craft with them :) After our mad bead dash it was time to pack up it all up and head back to the airport to head home :( womp womp. This trip is always way too short!! The only thing keeping me happy on the plane ride home was this cute new wire wrapped bracelet that Shelly whipped up for me while we had some down time in between filming video tutorials. I love going on trips with other jewelry makers, cool jewelry for everyone!!!!! :)


So now I'm back home in PA but totally missing the beautiful beaches of Florida and all of my beading and Cousin friends. It was such a fun little get-away and has completely inspired me to get beading some more and excited to work on some fun new projects in the near future!!!

Your Whims Wednesday #217 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are my favorites from last week's party:
 
Patriotic Mixed Berry Pie by This Silly Girl's Life
Patriotic Mixed Berry Pie, simple and easy berry pie recipe, decorated for 4th of July! (Or Memorial Day, or summer, or just because.. you get the idea!) - ThisSillyGirlsLife.com #patrioticrecipes #berrypie
 
Crocheted Sea Glass Necklace by KBB Crafts and Stitches
Coffee Chocolate Martini by Atta Girl Says
Sometimes, I like my coffee with a little kick!  This iced coffee and chocolate martini recipe really hits the spot! #IDelightIn10 #spon #IDelight
 
Etched Copper Earrings by Suburble
Filligree Embossed Earrings with Sizzix Vintaj -12
 
DIY Picnic Table by Kleinworth & Co
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Your Whims Wednesday #216 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are my favorites from last week's party:
 
Boozy Frozen Caramel Hot Chocolate by  Pink Heels Pink Truck

Y'all! You have to try this Boozy Frozen Caramel Hot Chocolate. Oh.So.Good!! And an amazing reason to serve Hot Chocolate all year round!!
 
Easy Elastic Headband Tutorial by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
Easy Headband Tutorial
 
Handheld S'mores Mini Pies by The Rebel Chick
S'mores Mini Pies
 
Sangria Ice by Upstate  Ramblings
Sangria Ice - a cool and refreshing summer treat for grown ups.
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Finding Jewelry Inspiration

I'm so excited for this week, Wednesday earrrrly in the morning I am flying back down to visit the Cousin Corporation headquarters for my second annual brand ambassador retreat! I had so much fun the last visit I had (I blogged about it here, here and here) and I can't wait to be back in sunny Florida for a quick trip filled with lots of beads again!

Cousin recently asked each of us ambassadors to blog about where we find our inspiration for making jewelry. I get inspired a few different ways and thought I would share a few with you too!

One of the biggest ways I get inspired is just by visually being able to see my beads.  I love to play around with different bead combinations and that is generally what starts a new jewelry project for me.  If i can't easy see or access my beads though it is hard for me get inspired! Thus, I try to keep my beads out in the open as much as possible.  I blogged about it awhile back but I still LOVE my bead organization magnet board. This board hangs right above my beading desk and doubles as a piece of artwork (I think it is pretty at least!!) and functional storage for my beads. The best part? The beads are stored in clear glass front containers so I can easily look up from my craft desk and see what other kinds of beads I have available to work into a design!

Since I'm on my second year of being a brand ambassador for Cousin, I've accumulated quite a stash of beads and findings! I bought this clear pegboard off amazon as another way to be able to hang up strands of beads and packs of findings to be able to see what I have to work with.

Sometimes I feel like this is my own personal bead aisle at the craft store....except they are all mine and I don't have to buy them to take home with me ;)

Besides being able to easily see my jewelry supplies to get inspired by them, I also get inspired by following fashion retailers to see the types of jewelry they are selling! I love checking out Anthropologie, Stella and Dot, J. Crew, etc. to see what kinds of trends they are pushing. Sometimes the trends I see inspire me to make new designs and sometimes I like to just plain old copy cat and make my own knock-off version! Two of my favorite knock-offs are these anthropologie knock-off earrings
 

 

When I'm not looking at retailer sites, I of course love to check out Pinterest for new ideas as well.  I have an entire board dedicated to jewelry making ideas and whenever I am feeling super stumped or not inspired at all I will scroll through this board and usually come away much more inspired!

 Lastly, I get inspired by just keeping my eye out for different jewelry making techniques and trends where ever I am! I will be the first to admit that I am that awkward girl who whips out her smart phone in the middle of macy's or forever 21 to snap a picture of a cute set of earrings or that adorable bangle set to recreate later on my own.  I also have countless screen shots on my iPhone from jewelry I see on facebook or different style bloggers wearing on instagram that I squirrel away for inspiration later.  The world is full of jewelry and my eyes are always open and searching for more inspiration!!
 

Your Whims Wednesday #215 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are my favorites from last week's party:

Desk to Dressing Table by Worthing Court Blog
An old desk recyled into a master bathroom dressing table and makeup vanity


Crab Cupcakes by Clean and Scentsible
These crab cupcakes are SO cute!  Perfect for an under the sea party!

Lemon Rosemary Whipped Goat Cheese by Spoonful of Flavor
Lemon Rosemary Whipped Goat Cheese - an easy and flavorful appetizer or spread!

Industrial Glam Statement Necklace by Everyday Bijoux
 
A Painted Buffet by Suburble 
Painted Dining Room Buffet in Fusion Inglenook-1-4
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)