One He Qi Resolution reached + Valentine's Earrings: it's not too late!

This is a quick but important post to mark He Qi's progress with becoming a more sustainable company this year.

One of my new year's resolutions for He Qi was to make my packaging BOTH eco-friendly and biodegradable.

After months of research, I've found sources that supply quality, 100% post consumer recycled jewelry boxes and ribbons-- which are also biodegradable in the environment. I'm also now using BIO ZIP zip-lock bags to store your jewelry-- these are eco-friendly and biodegradable as well.

My mailing envelopes are also post-consumer recycled kraft paper. It's a shame I still have to stick with bubble wrap for now...

I'm so proud to be part of a more sustainable community. Fellow artisans who sell your jewelry for a living: I strongly encourage you to look into eco-packaging. You want to make your mark on the world, but in areas where you can make a difference, you should try, you know? I don't think having eco-friendly packaging takes away from your product; in fact, I think it adds more personality to the overall look. Yes, it will be a little pricier. But seriously guys, why be cheap with something so important? Many of us don't realize what a difference all these little things make.

Anyway, I also received these beautiful rare SWAROVSKI stones in 14K gold plated bezels and could not contain my excitement.

Here is the new line of "Lasting Romance"-- in stock and ready to ship, just in time for Valentine's Day!
These are truly exquisite stones.












And all purchases will come with FREE solid perfume samples;  something I will be introducing to He Qi once I get my learning squared out. I like to learn as much about the products I make as I possibly can before selling them. I am not one to sell Swarovski Crystal jewelry when I can't even spell Swarovski. (and yes, I've seen this happen with jewelry makers in the past... sadly... ). So I am taking my time, learning the wonders of perfumery and becoming obsessed with the art. I hope you enjoy these samples; as there will be more to come!



Till next time,
Lisa
SHOP FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
Facebook
Twitter

Of Madeleines and Clusters

Madeleines are my Dad's favorites. They're also the bf and his Dad's favorites. I think they might be a few other favorites.

To say the least, Madeleines are well loved by many.

Brian's Mom got me a madeleine pan a while back, and I'm proud to say I've gotten tons of uses from it:



it. is. amazing.

For those of you interested in making these delicious goodies, the good news is that both the recipe and process is quite simple; definitely NOT as complicated as some recipes make it out to be.

You will need:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- grated lemon zest, about 1 tbsp

1. Melt your butter in a  microwave safe dish, set aside to cool
2. Combine sugar and eggs in a stand mixer until smooth. Add in flour and salt. Then extracts.
3. Pour in the melted & cooled butter in a slow stream into the above mixture in #2, KEEPING THE MIXER  ON.
4. Add lemon zest at the end
The batter will be quite soft and... hmm how do I explain... fluffy, ish. You want this.

End mixture is smooth and looks similar to:


Coat the madeleine pan with either butter/flour mixture or be lazy like me and use PAM.
Drop the batter by the tablespoon full into each mold cavity-- you DO NOT have to spread it around as the heat in the oven will automatically distribute it evenly for you:




Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-11 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Take out, wait 5 minutes to take out and cool on wire rack, with the nice shell designed side up.





And if you want to dip them in chocolate, that's always an option :)


Store them in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
Let me know if you make madeleines. I'd be thrilled to see yours :)

In He Qi news:
I'm in the process of creating a new line. Basically, this will be a luxury line for those who have been requesting simple, but extremely top quality products. You will see this new line as the LUXE line. It is a new category on the website :) These pieces are meant to last years and years, because I have crafted them to be sneakily sturdy using only sterling silver and 14K gold. All work will be wire-wrapped to increase longevity as well. These will also feature fancier gemstones/crystals.

Here are a few pieces from the line:










And for all other He Qi pieces, I have made the following additions:

A restock on the studs :)

Some dark hearts:


And a necklace I ended up quite liking...


I'm curious: who celebrates Valentine's Day? If so, how?

till next time,
Lisa
lisaHQCD @ Twitter
Facebook
SHOP HE QI

Home-Made HEALTHY power bars, Cuff Earrings!

In attempt to eat healthier and also save money, I made my won power bars recipe.

I have an amazing friend who is a nutritionalist-- and she makes this amazing bread pudding dessert out of sprouted bread and delicious chocolates. I've been making a drier version of it, and slightly more toned down with less sugar and things like that so it can be consumed as a power bar.

I don't have an exact recipe for it, but here's the gift of the ingredients I used. It's pretty crucial you keep it whole grain only or else it defeats the purpose of it.

INGREDIENTS:
- 5 -6 slices of whole grain, organic sprouted bread (you can buy this at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, not  more expensive than regular bread)
- 3-5 Tablespoons Organic Blonder Coconut Palm brand sugar (low glycemic index)
- 2 TBS honey
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1.5 cups milk (I used low-fat)
- 3 eggs (only 2 pictured, helps hold the mixture together)
- nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit to taste and cocoa powder
OPTIONAL but recommended: additional flax seeds, amarynth flour, oatmeal





Cut bread into small cubes:


Combine ALL WET INGREDIENTS + sugar and honey/cocoa powder if you used any if you want chocolate flavor.

Put the cubed bread in there, LET THE BREAD SOAK UP the wet mixture.
It should be pretty slimy and gross looking, but I promise it'll be delicious.

Add in the dry ingredients, mix until combined:



Put into 9 X 13 pan:


Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. When a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, it's ready! Do note oven temperature vary from oven to oven!

Unfortunately, I did not remember to take a photo of it when it was done, oops! But it was delicious and co-workers loved it. Woot! I think I'll make more since it only lasted 2 days...

But things are only as healthy as your portions, so just because in inherently healthy doesn't means you can eat  half of it in one sitting. Though you'll want to.

In jewelry news, I've replenished the stock of cuffs :)
Made 3 new cuffs yesterday!








Also, if you are a reader and you'd like to score a FREE SAMPLE of my new Lip Balm (this is NOT released yet!), please send me an email here: heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com and name the message "lip balm sample". US Customers only please (sorry!!!) and don't forget to include your FULL NAME and SHIPPING ADDRESS.


Till next time,
Lisa
lisaHQCD @ Twitter
Facebook
SHOP HE QI