Short Update

MY PROGRESS IN LIFE

I’m not going anywhere. Well, I’m going, but it’s like my wheels are slipping and my progress is miniscule.

What am I talking about? Sigh… During the making of my “blog index”, I looked at some of my old blog posts. It’s shocking to see how many things I talk about over and over throughout the years. Things I’m going to do… but don’t do.

My intentions are good, but my time is so limited. Well, things should be a little different this year… at least I’m only taking ONE kid to hockey this season… also, we have the opportunity for some ride-sharing.

Shrug. I need to continue to whittle things down… life is too big and too bold.


MY PROGRESS IN THIS WEEK’S JEWELRY

I have a drawer full of items to be photographed. Most are new. Some are pieces currently listed but I think the photos are dreadful.

My jewelry-making is often mood-induced and I haven’t been in a metal clay or even metal smithing mood lately… beading and wire-wrapping, mostly.


RAMBLING

Oh wow… tomorrow’s September. Yikes!

I did make a really scrumptious meatloaf today and homemade mashed potatoes.

Gabe’s at work. Mon and I are about to watch Schindler’s List.

TTYL!

A Whole Lotta Stuff

It’s been so long I don’t feel comfortable just jumping in and yapping. Ugh.

Okay, this will probably sound all disjointed and rambly, but at least I’m posting.

I have a necklace that I started in January, that is half way made and then I just stopped. Perhaps I can actually finish it this weekend. It features some beautiful Toni Lutman beads and I wonder if that’s some of my fear/trepidation… y’know, like my design didn’t do them justice.

I’ve done that before. I feel really badly when I do an icky design with someone’s great lampwork beads. I don’t usually forget that either… I can still remember one I did with Anita Pepper beads. Yes… Anita Pepper beads… OMG, talk about sacrilege.

So… did I already mention that Monica’s Ohio thing is in September not August?

Gabe and I were watching tv the other night… scrolling through the directory to find something… when we ran across this:



In an attempt to:
A) Not repeat myself
B) Be able to find things quickly if I want to refer to them

… I’ve decided to create a quick blog index.

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth" - Oscar Wilde

Boy… ain’t that the truth. And the internet is the epitome of a mask these days.

This is a tool that looks kind of neat. Someone on LE brought it to my attention.

Bench Top Cut-Off Saw



Speaking of LE finds… here’s another one:

Amazing Tile And Glass Cutter

Check out the video for this thing.



Did I already show you these? Engineering Wonders of the World

It’s a must see.



Ever wanted to know where to buy leather cord? This place looks like a good starting point.

Leather Cord USA



Okay, I think that’s enough show of how distracted I am.

I plan to get back into the groove.

As a matter of fact, I even have a plan for my upcoming jewelry. But the apartment is getting claustrophobic. I think I’ll spend tonight cleaning it. Tomorrow I take Mon to practice sometime Saturday will be my first attempt at new creations, most likely.

TTYL!




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Monica's Alaska Trip

I’d better write this posting before I get too tired.

So… Monica’s flight home was cancelled. She’s now schedule to come back home tomorrow. Haven’t heard any more about Ohio, though, so not sure if that’s still on.

But I can at least post the photos of her Alaska trip.

Their mall rink looks a lot nicer than OUR mall rink (Valco):


This is the neighborhood moose:


Mon had a trip to the zoo:


I love the scenery!


Berry picking in the mountains:


Well, I actually have some jewelry to finish off and photograph and it’s already past 9pm so I’m gonna say good night for now.

New Listings, Shark Tooth Debacle, More Great Artists

ARTISTS WHO ROCK!

If you like working with polymer clay (a highly underrated medium, IMO), you have GOT to put Chris’s blog (Crafts by Chris) on your list of favorites.

She is TOTALLY one of my most favorite clay heroes and she’s so freakin’ generous in her blog with inspirational photos, tips, tricks, etc.

And speaking of artists I admire, let me make sure you know about Gina DeStevens of GMD Lampwork. She is a wonderful lampwork artist and a super nice person.

Here are some of my favorites from her magnificent gallery of work:





And these, which are currently available on eBay (for less than 24 hrs, though):




THE SAD SHARK’S TOOTH NECKLACE

Thanks everyone who commented (and I did take all the comments even if I didn’t approve them until after the deadline… I get emails when they come in). The winner is Truly Younts… but I explained to Truly (who is always so gracious) that after I posted that, the resin in the charm developed a haze. I’m so disappointed. I will continue to experiment and try to determine if it was me, the embedded item, or the resin. Fingers crossed!


NEW LISTINGS

Yes, I actually have some metal clay to show you.

Here are the new listings made of fine silver (clickable photos):

"Prometheus"


"Ashrays"


"Achiote"



Then there’s an off-center necklace in neutral tones with a lampwork focal.


And one more quad necklace (these are flying off the shelves!).


Whoops… I’m more behind than I thought… sorry… here’s one from my line of “Fidget Jewelry”.



"Pearl-a-Palooza"


"Cerveteri"



And one more… yikes!
“CHO OYU”



THE KIDS

Monica’s still in Alaska. She gets back on Monday, has two practices and a game then is supposed to fly out to Ohio for three days. Then she’ll have her first week of school (Junior year) then we go down to Valencia for a tournament.

Gabe’s still here and we’re enjoying some quiet time together. Last night we made fajitis, guacamole, and zucchini bread (thanks Laura B! who is not me).

Well, I’d better go. Still tons to do. TTYL!








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Giving Away Resinated Shark Tooth Necklace and Showing New Jewelry

I think a long time ago, I was in the middle of a blog post… that never got posted.

Today I went through a couple pages of one of my email addresses. I responded to a few emails and deleted most of the rest. I also unsubscribed to many lists I was apparently on.

Why do I really hate drinking water when I’m not thirsty?

Okay, my brain feels fried… but at least I have an excuse (this time).

Gabe left southern California last night at 10:30pm. At 2am, I called him to make sure, y’know… he wasn’t getting tired and stuff. We ended up talking until 4:30am… when his phone ran out of battery and he was 20 minutes from the apartment. It was worth losing sleep to know that my son was fully awake while driving that boring highway 5 in the dark after a long day of hockey.

Speaking of hockey, Monica will be home (from Alaska) on Monday. So far I believe she’s seen four moose and a black bear. I wanna go to Alaska (but only in the summer).

I think she has practices with her Midget team on Wednesday and Thursday and then has a game on Sunday. School starts soon and the week after that is the Valencia tournament. She probably doesn’t meet up with her girls’ team again until October.


JEWELRY, SPECIFICALLY METAL CLAY

So I pulled out that old project I was working on months ago… the one where I was trying to embed CZs into silver metal clay… and was failing (they kept popping out during the drying process). Well, I went back to it. I put the escaped CZs back into their spots and put clay around the rims, but… well, it’s a lot harder than it looks. My hat is off to those who do a grand job at this. I imagine I’ll improve with practice, but for now… yeow!



Anyway, I baked the stuff last night and looked at it this morning. My pieces look cool. Nothing has popped off yet… but I still have the polishing process to go through. Fingers crossed.

I’ll post photos as soon as possible.

Oh, and I mentioned I was experimenting with resins, right? Well, here’s one I’m giving away. This is a one million year old shark tooth in resin in a fine silver frame with a fine silver bail and a sterling silver 18” rolo chain.




It’s not large… maybe one inch in diameter.

I’m giving it away because it’s imperfect… more imperfect than I’m used to. Ha ha ha! I’m okay with little “things” here and there than make something not look machine made, but I feel some things are too sloppy… this is one of them.

There are flat spots on the back of the pendant (where the resin stuck to the surface while drying) and there is a bubble in the resin and there is (I see now) a speck of something that managed to get in with the shark tooth.

But I figured someone might like it so who am I to throw it away.

So… let’s see… anyone out there want it? (BTW, I’d rather you really want it… not just say you want it so you can throw the charm away and keep the sterling silver rolo necklace for some other purpose.)

Post a comment on my blog before tomorrow at 6pm PDT and I’ll pick a winner at random from those who post.


LISTED STUFF

It comes to my attention I’ve been rather remiss about showing my new stuff on here. My bad.

Here are the latest bracelets that went up (click a pic for more info):





And necklaces:






And since I can’t remember the last earrings I showed you…




I have some new items to list tonight too. Yay!

Upcoming: “Pearl-a-Palooza” charm bracelet, a necklace from my “Fidget Jewelry” line, ginormous copper earrings, and a simple copper bead necklace from my “Minimalist” line.

The weekend's over... ALREADY!?

Today, I took things very slowly, very relaxed.

Got up and showered, decided to dye my hair. The only color I had was... well, it turned out to be rather burgundy, but I still like it better than gray.

I did a couple jewelry pieces, but nothing fantastic.

I added another layer (or two) to my two resin projects (one of which I'm pretty sure I'll give away on my blog).

The more I do things, though, the more I can tweak my techniques and get closer to the results I want.

Went to watch the Santa Clara Blackhawks tryouts (Monica had her tryouts a week earlier because she is out of town this weekend). Spent some quality time with Debbie. Didn't get to see Laura (soon, I hope, though). Got to spend time with Matt and Dann who are AWESOME people. Laura should feel INCREDIBLY proud of raising them into the people they are today. Oh, except for the money part... little sneaks.

I realize some people just aren't comfortable with accepting things from others. These people are usually the nurturers and givers of the world. The problem is, when they run into another nurturer/giver and they don't let that person do their thing, it can make the person attempting to give feel estranged. Please remember, it's okay to let friends do for you. Phft! I'm talking to myself as much as anyone else.

Okay, it's barely 9pm and I'm TIRED. Ha! I'm not going to do work... I'm going to go to bed early. Yay!

Tonight is the last chapter in the book I'm reading. Hm... what am I going to do now?

Oh, here's a picture I took of myself (without camera flash this time).

More Alaska Updates

So... today she tells me she ate a "moosedog". Yep... a hotdog made out of moose. I didn't even know people ate moose. And WHO got her to eat a hotdog?!?! She doesn't eat hotdogs here!

Sounds like she's having fun, both on and off the ice.

Speaking of hockey, though, I have to admit something... when it comes to youth hockey there's something even worse than all the driving. Making decisions. Today, was one of those days when something came along AFTER we'd already committed to something else. I hate regrets so I try not to have them... no "might have beens" or "what ifs".

And still speaking of hockey, today (and tomorrow and Monday) are the tryouts for the team Monica wants to be on. FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Now, what have I been up to? Riveting and hammering and finishing a few pieces that have been laying around wondering if they were going to be "unfinished" the rest of their lives.

Alright... my eyes are closing... TTYL!

Empty Nest? Uh... not yet. :-)

I've got about a week to myself.

Gabe's in southern California and Monica's in Alaska. I love having the kids here but right now I'm really enjoying the quiet and solitude.

After walking the dogs and having a relaxing dinner, I messed around with some wire, some hammers, some patinas, and some dremeling. Didn't produce anything useful, but it was still relaxing.

Tomorrow's Friday... yay!

Not sure yet what project(s) I'll work on, but I'll keep you posted. I also have two or three pieces that just need a finishing touch and will be ready to photograph. Actually, they're Monica pieces... I just need to put clasps on them.

TTYL!


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New Bronze Metal Clay Additions to the Website

Finally got the new items photographed and listed (click a photo for more details).

First up is a very simple charm bracelet made with some gorgeous lampwork beads by Lori Robbins.

"Glory of the Snow"


Followed by three bronze metal clay creations…

"California Poppies"


"Rounds"


"The Porthole"


BTW, if you're likin' that yummy porcelain vase (holding up the necklace in the last photo), you should check out Judy's Etsy shop: Aquarian Pottery Works.

Oh, don’t forget about the newly assigned 30% off prices for four select items in August.



I think I’ll have time again Wednesday evening to work on more items.

Monica leaves Wednesday for Alaska. Gabe leaves tomorrow for southern California.


SCAM WARNING
This was brought to my attention by an LE member. There is a site that was pretending to be a drop-ship for Etsy stores. They stole Etsy store photos and descriptions.

Apparently, the site collects the customer’s money (acting as a go-between for the customer and the item shipper) then says that if there was a problem or the product didn’t arrive they should take it up with the merchant (that’s you, the Etsy store owner).

Egads!

The website (http://www.walldecalsart.com) is down for now… I wouldn’t think this is an isolated incident, however.

Okay, well, back to work for me.

TTYL!


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