Beads, Brushes, Bronze and Braids

I haven't written a blog entry in FOREVER -- probably because I was down in the dumps and had nothing positive to write, and I don't want a downer blog! Now it is spring, the grass is growing, the leaves are budding and the cat is going to have kittens. The hills are covered with layer upon layer of green -- in every shade imaginable. Birds are singing, turkeys are gobbling, and baby calves gambol in the fields. Sunshine -- it does wonders for the soul!

Anyhow, after a slump, I have finally gotten back into making jewelry and painting! I even have plans to combine the two. For now, I'll keep them separate though.

My latest joy is that I have two of my bead paintings going to the ANAC (Association of Nebraska Art Clubs) State Show in June. One is based on a fabulous moss agate that appears to have trees, a river, a winter sky and a rocky foreground in it, and the other is based on one of my miniature colored pencil paintings.

The moss agate piece was runner up to Best of Show at the annual member show at the Thedford Art Gallery, which is where I currently show my work in photography, painting and jewelry design.

I am also writing tutorials for www. jewelrylessons.com with the latest ones being:

http://www.jewelrylessons.com/tutorial/braided-hoop-earrings-posts

http://www.jewelrylessons.com/tutorial/freeform-bridal-pearlcocktail-cluster-ring

http://www.jewelrylessons.com/tutorial/curls-and-swirls-ring

http://www.jewelrylessons.com/tutorial/bead-encrusted-headband

I am working on three more right now.

Speaking of which, I had better get back to work on those.

Lack of supplies spawns creativity with copper wire

Since I was out of PMC and didn't yet have the supplies needed for the repair jobs I had sitting on my workbench (UPS doesn't come until late afternoon around here) I decided to play around with some copper wire and my anvil.

In the end I came away with two bracelets. I ended up selling one the very next day, to a friend of mine who has a hard time finding jewelry to fit her larger frame. She also bought a hammered copper ring and placed an order for two more custom copper pieces. Woo hoo!

The first piece I made was fabricated from 8g bare copper wire which I braided loosely, then hammered and formed around a bracelet mandrel. The second bracelet was a hammered piece of 6g bare copper wire. I then braided 20g copper wire, which I made into a strip a bit shorter than the bracelet itself. I then wire wrapped the braided piece to the bracelet. This is the one I sold to my friend.

I love metal work! I can be so frustrated with work, family, life in general, and I go to my workbench and hammer on some metal for a while and not only do I release a lot of pent up frustration and tension, but I come away with something useful (and sometimes even beautiful).

I finally got my printer to work again too, which relieved a lot of tension on its own -- I use my printer for almost everything I do!

The electrician comes to finish up on Monday -- meaning I will have power to the mercury vapor security light behind the caboose, and I will have motion lights on both decks. The electrical outlet for the heat tape for the plumbing will also be added and he will look at the two outdoor outlets that keep tripping as well as the bathroom light that flickers and buzzes and sometimes goes out altogether. He will also ground my new aluminum staircase to the caboose to make sure no one gets shocked due to inclement weather or electrical problems.

I am working on a custom PMC ring and a custom PMC belt buckle. They are both about half finished. I have three repair jobs that are in varying stages of repair as well.

Jewelry making and jewelry repair both require working a bit, then letting an item dry or sit in the pickle pot, or have a run through the tumbler. So, I generally have 4-5 projects going at once.

I have several projects that need to be treated with Liver of Sulphur as well, which I have yet to try, as I fear the stench. However, these particular projects would benefit so much from the smelly stuff that I will have overcome my fear and Just Do It! One is a maple leaf and the other is the remains of my first attempt at the custom ring, which met a bad demise after the cz melted into the setting and after set with a new CZ, split in the shank and was resistant to repair. I ended up making a pendant/earring set out of the pieces.

Off to bed now after a wonderful evening alone with my hubby -- yes we went on a real date -- dinner and a movie with no kids! Grandma and Grandpa watched our lovely little ones and we had some time to ourselves for a change. What a treat! We love the kids, but for the second time in six years, we were able to go off by ourselves. Fun! Great movie, great food, great company.

Happy Creating!

Texture, paint and insulation plus working plumbing and electricians on board

Following a vacation to see my family -- whom I rarely see as we are scattered from Minnesota to Texas, I came back to complete work on the caboose so I can get my business open.

I have another electrician lined up (this is number 6 -- the one who wouldn't break down his quote for me, but I'm desperate at this point). Hopefully, this one will actually show up instead of letting me wait several weeks before deciding he is too busy to take on such a small job.

I went in search of track lighting and deck lights yesterday, only to come home with no lights and no ceiling fan. The track lights were of highly dubious quality and the ceiling fans only came with those tiny candle flame shaped lights -- which put out NO light at all. I couldn't see spending the money for lights that wouldn't last more than a week, or for a ceiling fan with lights I couldn't see to read by. I'll check out an actual electrical supply outlet later this week, and hopefully I will have better luck.

I did pick up some bright white paint (in a slightly warm version of white) and some drywall mud, which my hubby and I proceeded to mix together and splatter on the walls with a texture gun today. I added some citrus scent additive to help combat the lingering odor of that nasty bathroom, and it smells nice and fresh in the east end of the caboose now.

The paint is blindingly white, but a darn sight better than the previous 1950s institutional green. Tomorrow I plan to texture/paint the west end, and put the floor boards back down.

The floor remains an unknown. If the floor boards go back in well, I will continue with the plan to sand and varnish them. If not, I will patch the holes with plywood and paint the floor with that lovely gray they make floor paint in. Then I will add throw rugs for color and dimension.

Tuesday the gas station is hosting a huge lottery event, so I will paint my sign for the business tomorrow as well. I want everyone who stops in to the station Tuesday to know there will be a jewelry design/repair business nearby soon. I HAD planned to be open by that day, but we all know how the best laid plans of mice and men work out. Bummer!

I DO now have a working bathroom -- with a flushing toilet and running water in the sink (cold only). Hallelujah! My daughter is much happier with that setup, and my son, who is potty training, even used the "new" big boy toilet. :)

I have been "playing" with my new kiln and PMC too. I have made two pendant/earring sets and one set of hoop earrings. Fun! Now I am off to investigate belt buckle designs.