Fonts Available for Etching...

Antipasto

Lucida Calligraphy

VARSITY

Bookman Old Style

Courier New

Honey Script

LD Modern Sans

Kayleigh

PEA THE LETTERED COTTAGE=

Modern No.20

Archer

Daphne Light

Stencil

Trajan pro

Charming Bold

Engravers

Lavanderia

Quicksand 

The Rest of the Christmas Mugs and Glasses I Have Available

I have all of these mugs available now. Silly me, I thought I had posted these already! Please contact me for details or if you have any questions. They are all available in my etsy shop.

Café Mug- Merry Christmas $6 

Café Mug- Merry $6

Café Mug- Merry Bright Joy Peace $6

Regular Coffee Cup 98% nice 2% naughty $5

Café Mug-Bright $6

Café Mug- Joy $6

Café Mug- Peace $6

Regular Coffee Cup-Snowflakes $3

Coffee Mug Snowoman $6 (close up)

Coffee Mug Snowoman $6

Coffee Mug Snowman $6

Coffee Mug Snowman $6

Coffee Mug Merry Christmas $6 (close up)

Coffee Mug Merry Christmas $6

Coffee Mug 98% nice 2% naughty $6

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

~Antoinette

Great Giveaway at Carly Robertson's Blog

Carly Robertson from The Simple Things is hosting a Giveaway for 8 items from the  invite.L online store. It is an assortment of journals, planners, felt pouches and bags. They are great for organization, meal planning, daily life, record keeping, you name it. Follow the link to enter this giveaway. Carly is offering a few different ways to enter so head over there now! (hahaha, that's an order!)
By the way, I found her blog through Paper Craft Magazine's blog, since Carly is a fellow paper crafter. She has recently changed the blog a bit, and is now geared more toward organization, photography and things like that. I for one, want to go clean out EVERYTHING every time I read one of her posts. I have been clearing stuff out recently, so THANK YOU Carly for the inspiration and the push to get started!


Have a great day!!


~Antoinette

This One Is For The UK Fans Out There...University of Kentucky, That Is!

Never in a million years would I have ever admitted this, especially for all the world to see, but I have recently become a UK fan. I have lived in Kentucky for quite a few years, and I will ALWAYS be a  Florida girl. I had the opportunity to visit the UK campus not too long ago. It was then that I found out that not only is it one of the top schools in the country, but also has the #7 Spanish program as well. I figured, I live here, I might as well cheer on the home team. I also happen to LOVE basketball (as in die hard Miami Heat fans in my house). I love basketball almost (ALMOST) as much as soccer. Here in Kentucky, it seems to be almost a religion. So, I have these mugs, wine glasses, and sport mugs for all of the loyal Kentucky fans out there. They really are fun to watch. You can find them here~~> http://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamingbythesea/

All of my glasses and mugs can be sold individually or in sets, and most can be personalized. Please contact me with any questions you may have in regards to pricing, personalization, shipping, etc.

Have a great day, and stay warm....

~Antoinette

Mugs for Kids

Good morning! As promised, I am back with a post on Christmas themed items. First up, I have a melting snowman mug. At 11.75 oz, it is the perfect size for kids. It has plenty of room for the whipped cream on top of that hot chocolate. This would be a great gift for anyone on your list this year.

It is available now in my Etsy shop, and can be personalized with someone's name on the other side of the cup. I have one available now, but if you need more, please contact me.

Next, I have a mug that is a little bit more grown up. This one has 3 snowflakes on one side, and just like most of the glasses I etch, can be personalized if you would like.

I have more but I hear Dominic moving around...time to get the daily routine started. I will be back later. I have SO MANY more glasses and gifts to share. There is something for everyone on your Christmas list. Everything is ready to ship too!


See you soon!


~Antoinette

It Has Been A While...

Sorry for the absence the past *almost 3* months! Fall season is our busiest season in my home. Our 2 oldest boys play soccer and run Cross Country for the school. I have been etching glasses for local orders, but my stamps and cardstock have been neglected all of this time. I got the Silhouette in July (or was it August?) from my local scrapbook store, http://preciousscraps.blogspot.com/. If you live in the area, you should definitely stop by. The Silhouette offers soooo many more options than the Cricut I was using. I am able to upload my own designs, use my own fonts, and best of all, it doesn't require much space since there are no cartridges to store. I won't be giving up my Cricut yet, but I do love my Silhouette!!

So, here are a few pictures of the glasses I etched recently for a customer. You can always place an order directly through my etsy shop.

I'll be back later with Christmas themed glasses that are ready to ship now. Have a great day!

~Antoinette

Sweet Shot Tuesday

This is my first time posting anything for Sweet Shot Tuesday, which is hosted by Darcy at Life With My 3 Boybarians. Great site, I have been learning soooo much since I found her blog. If you have a chance, follow the links to her 31 Days Series. Lots and lots of helpful tips and tutorials if you are new to digital photography with a DSLR, or to Photoshop/Elements.

The photo I am posting is actually one that my 9 year old, Alex, took of me and Dominic a few days ago. I love it, 1- because Alex took it, 2- because Alex took it with my "big girl" camera (Canon Rebel XS), and 3- because it was a spur-of-the-moment-hey-mom-turn-around kind of photo. I fixed it up a little bit in PSE (mainly because Dominic's outfit was completely mismatched).




Darcy will be hosting her 2nd Annual Holiday Bokeh Party this Thursday. If you'd like to participate, the link goes live on Wednesday night- midnight, Central time.

I'll be back later with a new post about my etched glasses for Christmas!!

Have a great day!


~Antoinette

For the Groomsmen

These are Beer Mugs that I etched for an Etsy order. The bride and groom wanted their initials and the city, state and year etched on each mug. As it turns out, the wedding was set to take place the weekend Hurricane Irene made landfall in the area. I e-mailed them to ask if the glasses had arrived safely, and that I hoped everything went smoothly for the ceremony, in spite of the Hurricane threat. Fortunately, everything is fine. They were such a nice couple to work with, love that! I hope they are enjoying their honeymoon and wish them lots of happiness and love. Here are the mugs:

Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!!!

Antoinette

Coffee Cups and Mugs...

These are some of the orders for etched glass I have been working on. The first photo is an order I did for my husband's friend. They are the round coffee mugs, which is one of the two most popular glasses I sell. They are etched with the names Tim, Sherry and Jewell.

The next two photos are of an order I did for Isabel, a buyer from my etsy shop. She ordered these for her co-workers, as a going away gift. The square coffee mugs are the other most popular mugs I have in my shop.

The last photo is also another etsy order. This one I was so happy with, it was for Susan, a customer from Florida. She and a group of her friends are getting together for a girl's getaway- and that is what is etched on the mugs. Their names on one side and the place they are going and the year. I was particularly happy with this order. In part, because they look nice, and also because I have always wanted to take a girl's getaway with my own friends. How fun would that be?!

You can find my etsy shop here:     http://www.etsy.com/people/dreamingbythesea

Christmas is not that far away so if you have anyone in mind that would enjoy etched glasses, mugs, plates or bowls, be sure to place your order soon! I am having a special, I will give a 10% discount to a customer who refers someone, until September 25th.

Have a great day!!!

Antoinette

Dominic's 1st Birthday!! No Cake Misadventures Here!!!

chocolate covered Oreos

chocolate anchors

chocolate sailboats, anchors and mermaid

nautical sugar cookies

beginning to decorate the cake

I really did do all of this!!!

tried to make a chain for the anchor

playing on the "beach"

"Aerial" view of the ocean/beach scene

The paper sailboat.

Dominic's banner

Dominic was so excited!!!

My boys!!! Sebastian and Alex helping Alex with his first taste of cake...

Some of you may remember the cake misadventures back in March. Well, I decided that I will continue making cakes but only for my kids. Dominic's 1st birthday was no exception. I decided that instead of trying to grill burgers and hot dogs and all of that, that we would have pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce, salad and garlic bread (of course with homemade garlic spread!). I used what I believe is a family recipe from an old friend for that huge pot of sauce- it called for mild Italian sausage and pepperoni. No ground beef in this one. It was delicious- and nothing was left (which almost made me sad, I kind of hoped there would be leftovers we could eat the next day!) So for the cake adventure...I made this cake using a recipe/idea from Martha Stewart website under Sailboat Birthday cake. Mine was a little different though. I made lemon cake instead of chocolate with whipped cream icing. To the whipped cream (made using heavy cream and sugar) I added some key lime juice and white chocolate. I used food coloring to make it the color "of the ocean", and a little bit I left white so I could make the waves. My friend Stephanie made the lighthouse for me, and I made the sailboat (also found the template for that on the Martha Stewart page with the sailboat cake), the tiny starfish, the silhouettes of the little kid playing, the umbrella and out of chocolate I made the anchors. My husband crushed baking chocolate to resemble rocks at the base of the lighthouse, and my son Alex crushed pecan sandies to resemble the sand. We also made some chocolate covered Oreo cookies and some sugar cookies in different shapes that my friend Stephanie made as well. The main decoration I used was the banner that Stephanie at Parker's Prints made for me a while back. You can see the banner, along with the other one she made for me here: http://parkersprints.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-new-designs.html I am SO PROUD of how the cake turned out, and while it may not be Cake Boss or Amazing Cakes material, it doesn't matter to me. One day my boys will look back and be able to say "my mom made cakes just for us" and know that I did it with all the love in the world. Oh yeah, and it tasted pretty darn good if you ask me.

Last thought: Dominic has been watching me decorate the cake that morning so when we put the cake in front of him that afternoon, he had the biggest smile on his face. I am so happy we were able to get his reaction on camera. He didn't attack the cake and get it all over him- his big brothers put a little in his mouth and that is how he got blue icing on himself. He ate a little bit, but not enough to make him sick of course!

The party was a success, with lots of family and a few friends and one very happy baby.

Almost forgot! These were his invitations! I used coasters from Papetrey Ink and put magnets on the back after I stamped them. Stamps were by Papertrey Ink and Stampin' Up.

My sisters, Paola, Gabriela, my brother, Gianfranco and me with Luciano, Liam and Dominic. Of course, I look like the mom of the group!!! There are 5 more grandchildren, and hopefully one day soon we can have everyone in one place at one time.

Dominic, Liam and Luciano

On a side note, the very next day, which was the day of Dominic's actual birthday, he and I flew to Las Vegas to visit my brother and sisters. The flight was great and the flight attendant even got everyone on the plane to sing him Happy Birthday. It was the first time in years that my sisters, brother and I had all been together in one place at the same time. The last photo is of Dominic and the two youngest members of our family, Liam and Luciano.