Carving

This is, inexplicably, what I have been doing off and on all day. Carving a lino block. I have always loved linoleum block prints, with their primitive and intricate style. Way back in the fourth or fifth grade, I remember carving one for the very first time in art class. I also remember all the safety instructions about handling the Speedball carving tools, and how you "should always cut with your free hand behind your carving hand" so as to avoid stabbing yourself when the cutter inevitably slipped. Those blocks were HARD to cut, unlike the soft rubber-ish material I am using these days. I never stabbed myself with the cutter, but I remember other kids who did.

I fell in love with this image from one of my Pinterest boards. It comes from a site called The Typothecary, with other images of Celtic animals included. The origin of the image is Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction, by George Bain. I've been searching for an image of a horse with some kind of Celtic influence for a tattoo for myself, and I found this one on Pinterest and loved it. I'm not sure if it's going to ultimately end up as my tattoo the way it is drawn now, or if I am going to modify it, but I loved this enough to want to do something with it.

The other day, I treated myself to a 'real' bound journal for art journaling purposes. It's a Moleskin journal, with watercolor paper as the pages, since I knew I wanted to try some wet media in it, and haven't had much luck with other journals holding up to ink and paint that well. I'm not even sure how I came to be carving this stamp, it's just I was sitting in my sewing/crafting/artmaking area and I found a piece of carving block, and then I thought, hey, this would make a great stamp for the cover of this journal! With a soft lead pencil, I traced over all the lines of the artwork, and transferred it onto the block by burnishing it with a wooden spoon. It transferred beautifully, and then I got to work carving it. I only have two blades for my little Speedball handle -- one thin and one wide -- so it's hard to get the careful detail I want. I might have to go in search of, or order more, blades that carve a thinner line so I can get the spiral detail inside the horse without taking out too much material.

There is something ridiculously meditative and addictive about carving the blocks. I sat for a long time, just following the lines with my tool, and etching out the image, once I'd decided whether to make it a positive or a negative image. And I also thought of another image to carve, too, so as soon as I can draw that one, I'll work on it. The horse is almost completely carved now, and I will find a scrap of wood in the garage to glue it to, so it's a rigid stamp, and not a floppy piece of rubber block. I will make a few test images, carve away anything that I don't want to have show up, and then print a white or gold metallic image on the front of my journal. Then we'll see what else I can put this horse on....a tshirt, maybe, or one of my thrifted denim skirts that is too boring all by itself....or maybe I will make a wall hanging...lots of possibilities.

I've almost finished carving now, and I'm going to figure out where I can buy a better assortment of blades in smaller and larger sizes, so I can do the fine detail work it needs. And then, I can start printing!

Here I am...

See? I didn't fall off the planet, even though it probably seems like it.

Since Christmas, it's been a bunch of rushing here and there, getting stuff done, getting a routine back after the holidays, all that stuff. I've been enjoying my kiln thoroughly, and I've been making beads like crazy lately!

See?

I do have a bit of (hopefully) interesting news and general stuff to share, so here we go, in bullet points for brevity:

* I started an undergraduate-level class in Art History. First step on the path to graduate school and possibly a new career. So far, I LOVE it. LOVE love love. I've never been so happy to write a paper before!

* My application to Arts In The Park was accepted, and I will be a vendor there for the first time this year! It's a huge two-day show at the beginning of May in Byrd Park in the city of Richmond. Maybe this will be the year I upgrade my torch!

* I am working out a schedule of creating enough stock for this show -- and I'm terrified I won't have enough. Ack!

* OOH!! I'm going to take a class from Richard Salley this May!! ArtBliss is coming up again, and I. Am. Going. (At least in May...) I am beyond thrilled that I will finally be able to stop trying to teach myself how to rivet and solder. Mastery of those skills will. be. mine. Plus, RICHARD SALLEY. He seems so awesome, and his work is fabulous!

* My oldest daughter has applied to the local arts magnet high school in visual art. I am hoping against hope she gets accepted, but I am worried her portfolio is going to be a little short. I can't get her to stop drawing dragons and mythical creatures!

* I am almost done knitting the Doctor Who scarf I started back in November as a gift for my oldest daughter. That thing is easy-peasy, but BORRRRRING! That's what's hanging me up -- boredom. I promised myself NO new knitting projects til this one is done. I have enough UFO's of all kinds already.

* This so-called "winter" is making me very unhappy. No snow, and a change to spring every three days is annoying.

* I am going out on Friday night!!! (just thought I'd throw that in there)

* Been playing around with baking soda as a way to make new, funky beads. I haven't totally figured it out yet (and I'm sure if I actually read something about the technique, I could master it), but so far, my experiments look pretty good.

* I'm also playing around with a way to try out different color combinations using paint chip samples. Sometimes I can't decide what to make, and then I sit at the torch and make a bunch of junk. Maybe preselecting my palettes will help me branch out, and also avoid getting stuck.

Hmm....I think that might be it for now. I'm NOT participating in Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party this go-'round, and although I admit to a brief twinge of "Aw, I didn't get picked!", I'm actually relieved to not have been chosen this time. I just can't fit one more thing on my plate at this time, and I'm happy to let someone new play! I'm looking forward to the big reveal in March!

Okay, I have to get to the museum and photograph some works for my paper. Glad to be back after my long break, and I hope all of you are enjoying the start of 2012!

It's Been A While...

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the radio silence of late....life got busy and blogging kind of took a backseat for a while.

Last week, we took our kids to Disney World for the week, which was awesome. Exhausting, but awesome. My son (3) and my middle daughter (5) did not know they were going on this trip (my 13yo daughter did), so it was a fun surprise for them. Of course, we had hoped for a more enthusiastic reaction than we got when we told them where we were going, but we did drag them out of bed at 4am for our flight, so I guess you can't expect too much energy by 10am.

Cinderella's Castle was absolutely breathtaking at night, all lit for Christmas. It was fantastic. The kids had a great time, and I loved seeing them see all my favorite things for the first time. My older daughter and I got in our 'missions' -- to ride Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion each at least once. My son seemed to enjoy rides that were outside, but it was hard to capture him smiling. Disney World is a lot of noise and sights and commotion, and I think he was overwhelmed by it all. We don't visit amusement parks and ride on rides as a general rule, so this was his first experience with anything like this. It was beautiful to see him smile SO much on the Flying Dumbo and Aladdin's Magic Carpet rides, though.

I'm already planning our next trip, in three years. I love love LOVE the Disney Parks, especially the Magic Kingdom.

Let's see.....what else....

Still training at the museum. Still loving it. I did my first couple of practice gallery talks already, scored well on them, and had a ton of fun. Last session, we were shown how to use the library at the museum (dangerous for me!), and I am so excited to get in there and do some research for my upcoming three-object "tour" in December.

I'm done with shows for the season. Yay! Now to make a ton of inventory for a huge local spring show that I am applying to.

My kiln has not yet made an appearance. Boo! Some parts were back-ordered, so I hope to get it later this week.

In case you didn't see this on Facebook, I scored BIG at an estate sale a few weeks ago. The estate was apparently the home of a hobby jewelry maker who managed to own materials for just about every craft or art I like. There were shelves of jewelry books -- most brand-new -- and at $5 each, I was pulling them off the shelf in handfuls. I got a Pepe jump ring winder for about $45, sheet metal, wire (gold filled, sterling, brass, and copper), hand tools, a texture hammer (for $8), and a bunch of other stuff. Someone was definitely looking out for me, because most of what I got were tools and things I have had on my wish list for a long time. It was insane how little I ended up paying for a lot of this, and the only conclusion I can draw is that I was meant to have it. I am sure the previous owner of this equipment would be happy to know that it went to a jewelry artisan and metalsmith.

Now if only I could carve out some time to play with everything...that would be fantastic.

Oh, and because I don't do *enough*, I'm also trying to teach myself to crochet so I can make this scarf. How insanely cool is that!? I love that scarf, and I want one. So I will (hopefully) make one, before the weather turns warm again.

My tea is hot, and my to-do list is sizeable, so I guess I should get going. See you real soon! ;)

New work!

I haven't been totally without time to create....

For your viewing pleasure, behold a bracelet made from the headpins I mentioned in my last post:

And made from a recent estate sale find, this necklace, called 'Relic', from my own copper tube beads and vintage glass and metal beads, mixed with my own lampwork:

And the matching bracelet:

Some heavy-gauge copper wire -- working on my hammering and shaping skills.

I especially love that fall leaves bracelet. I keep intending to put it in the shop, but I haven't yet....telling myself that the pictures aren't good enough, and waiting for a sunnier day to take more shots...

And that 'Relic' is one of the longest necklaces I have ever made -- 26". The photo does not do it justice.

I need to make a bracelet with those pumpkin headpins....THAT is really cool-looking in my mind....I just haven't had a chance this week to sit down and work it all out.

Art Bead Scene's October challenge is awesome, and I want to enter it (I already made appropriate beads), but once again, haven't had time to work out the design. Must learn to design in my head, on the run, so I can knock out the piece in one go when I *can* sit down to the work table (ironing board).

Okay, that's it for now....hopefully I will have more soon!

Quickie New Work Post!

Hey there!

So I set aside some time at the torch for me this past week (a minor miracle that I actually GOT to fire up the torch!), and I decided to try something different.

I made a bunch of glass headpins!

Check it out....

What do you think?

Still Hoppin'!

Wow! What an amazing Bead Soup party this time! So many beautiful works, so very many blogs to visit! I'm still working my way through all of the blogs on the list, and I have a feeling it's going to take a few more days at least. Wow, you guys are seriously talented!!

And thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who left such lovely comments on my work! Knowing how many blogs there are to visit, it really means a lot that you would stop and offer kind words about my necklace. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

To any of you who are newly subscribed to this blog -- welcome! Now that the kids have started back to school, and September's whirlwind is settling down, I hope to have more content posted here, as well as on my other blogs, The Medieval Glassworker, and The ScooterMom!

Enough housekeeping and business...how about some news and pictures?

So....here is what I've been up to lately....aside from cooking up the Bead Soup!

I helped a friend who needed a funny baby gift...and made a baby bottle into a ketchup bottle:

It was pretty simple, but I was impressed with myself when it came out actually sorta looking like the real thing!

It's not designed to be functional, just purely a joke between friends.

The school-year schedule is in full swing around here with activities just about every night for someone in this house -- tae kwon do, Girl Scouts, my husband has two night classes....it's crazy, but we're handling it. Oh, and my night of training at the museum. Now THAT is something I am really in love with. That's a whole separate post of it's own, though. More later.

Remember these vintage suitcases I bought last spring?

I thought they'd be great for a tabletop show display -- and they are -- but there is so much neutral in my display that nothing really stood out. So, I painted them!

A couple coats of spray paint and they were much better. I'll have some good photos of my display after this weekend. I've changed it quite a bit, and I'm really pleased with the way it has turned out. One of the very best things about using working suitcases as display props? Storage! Those things are FULL of all the little props I use on my tables. It makes for fast and easy setup at shows, too, which is fabulous, since I am always alone at shows for setup.

Hmm...what else?

I've been so busy, but haven't had a chance to photograph anything really interesting...guess this means I need to be running off to get started on prep for my busy weekend. I'm not going to ArtBliss this year (boohoo!), instead I am helping out with a local SCA event, and then on Sunday is Arts Around The Lake at the University of Richmond. I doubt the arts will actually be around the lake this year, since it's supposed to be rainy, but I am hopeful. Come out to see me and a bunch of other fine artists and artisans, if you're local to Richmond, VA!

Bead Soup has arrived!

I love getting packages in the mail, especially when they contain such wonderful goodies as what my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Elizabeth, sent me!

Check THIS out:

There are SO many gorgeous beads in this Soup!! Beads made from recycled glass in Tanzania, a gorgeous focal from a fellow Virginia glassworker, Linda Campbell, freshwater pearls, shells, glass beads with gorgeous finishes....the minute I opened the box and saw the beautiful goodies, I immediately had about a zillion ideas! I'm working out the logistics on the vision in my head right now.

I certainly hope the Soup I sent to Elizabeth is inspiring to her, too. Here's what I sent:

Elizabeth and I live about an hour apart, so probably by the time she sees this post, her package will have arrived. At least, I hope so!

This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!

Memorial Day Metalsmithing!

Some of you know of my love for medieval history, and the fact that I participate with theSociety for Creative Anachronism periodically. Memorial Day weekend in my local group means it's time for a Gem Joust event -- a large tournament held over the three days of the holiday weekend. Every year, my friend Don Downie, who is a silversmith and goldsmith, makes the tournament prizes, and delivers them to Richmond directly to the tournament. He usually stays with us over the weekend, and for the last few years, this has resulted in metalsmithing lessons for me.

Last year, I mentioned I wanted to learn to forge a copper bowl, so he told me what tools and supplies to buy and taught me to saw, hammer, shape and anneal. We used 16ga copper sheet, and it was a bear to hammer, even after annealing. I didn't get nearly as far as I hoped, and the bowl is still not finished. I love it, though, because it was my first.

My first copper bowl, May 2010

This year, I had been talking to him about soldering, but I still wanted to work on my copper-forming skills. We went to the tournament on Saturday, and hung out with people, schmoozed, chatted and had quite a few laughs with people I don't see often enough. Right before the prizes were awarded to the winners of the tournament, I photographed them for him. These are silver with rose gold accents and set stones -- a ruby and a sapphire. They are solid and heavy and beautiful!

Aren't they fantastic? Don's work is really amazing. And, he's a great teacher and wonderful friend.

Sunday, after we dragged ourselves out of bed, had breakfast and generally woke up, Don and I talked about raising and sinking and the things he had been teaching other people lately.

With an 18ga copper disk and a homemade dishing "stump" and a couple of hammers, he taught me to do this:

I'm hammering a raised design into the bottom of the bowl, so it has several more cycles of hammering and annealing before it's done. My arm is tired! It's really physical work, and I love it. The design will be a spiral tree, a motif that is really prevalent in most of my work already. I'll definitely post more pictures when I'm done.

In addition to the actual teaching Don provided, he also gave me my very own portable dishing 'stump' and wooden forming stake.

A landscape timber cut to about two feet and drilled deeply with a paddle bit becomes the stump where you begin to raise the bowl.

A deck finial, drilled, becomes a forming stake.

And you can conveniently screw the stake to the stump to make working easier and to keep things together.

Needless to say, this, and learning the technique of hammering a raised design to sheet metal has set my creative fires burning. I think some quality time with the sketchbook is in order.

And I need more hammers. And more sheet copper.

TARDIS

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a great big geek. I have a particular love for the BBC television show 'Doctor Who', which has been on the air for YEARS.

Central to the show, besides The Doctor, is a vehicle in which he travels, called the TARDIS, which stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. It's shaped like an old British police box, in which one could call for the police if help was needed on the street. In the show, the TARDIS shows up in many likely and unlikely locations as the Doctor travels across time and space.

This year, the BBC is holding a contest for fans to make their own TARDIS, and put it in an interesting place. My whole family loves this show, and I thought this would be a great project for myself and my eldest daughter and my husband to make. However, we promptly forgot about the contest until recently. The deadline is May 15, and in the form of a last-minute brainstorm, I single-handedly created our entry.

If you go to this link: Where's The Tardis?, you will find photographs and a description of my entry. Please click the 'Like' button if you are so inclined. I really, really want to win this contest!

(The winner gets a private screening of Doctor Who for 50 people, AND copies of ALL the Doctor Who episodes currently available on DVD.)

Thanks, guys!

Oh, and for those of you hardcore fans, I am currently working on Dalek beads, smaller versions fo the TARDIS for earrings, and a weeping angel. What else should I try to make?

And the other stuff...

I wrote about the custom order I recently completed for a friend of mine, the Encircled neckalce and earrings. In addition to those pieces, I had also made some pendants for her. The pendants were to be gifts for friends of ours who were involved this past weekend in cooking a very large meal for a large medieval event in North Carolina. It was my pleasure, and a whole lot of fun, to create this assortment of food-related beads and turn them into pendants:

All in all, I made about fourteen or fifteen different items, including some loaves of bread that didn't quite have the look I was hoping for (and so are not pictured above).

My personal favorites were the beer mugs, of course, and the turkey.

My eldest daughter had suggested waffles with syrup, a few weeks ago when I had been stumped for other fun foods. They turned out to be another favorite for both of us, and I just might have to make more of those:

I didn't post about these pieces before because the event was held this past Saturday, and I didn't want to spoil any surprise in case any of the intended recipients were reading this! But, now that the event is done, I am anxious to hear how they were liked, and definitely interested to know which of my friends received which pendant!

I love making the food beads, and now I might have to make a series of necklaces or bracelets that are meal-themed. I can see a breakfast one: eggs, waffles, a coffee mug....and dinner: a turkey, veggies, a wine bottle. Fun!

Up next, some work for another friend's bridesmaids, and a Tiffany-style beaded bracelet for another friend. Maybe I'll own my kiln by the end of this year! ;)

Encircled

I just completed a custom order for a friend that included a necklace and a pair of coordinating earrings. It is one of my 'Industrial Revolution' series pieces that I started a year or two ago. I don't go in for all-out steampunk style, but I do like an overall industrial feel to some of my work.

This is the necklace, 'Encircled':

And these are the earrings that go with the necklace:

Have I mentioned just how much I love working with copper? I love it.

Spring is Springing!

I am so glad it has started to get warmer and be sunshinier here in Virginia. As much as I adore winter, I am very glad for the days that mean I can be outside with my kids without a mountain of coats, scarves, gloves, boots, etc.

This weekend was nearly perfect. The sun was warm, the breeze was blowing, and we even got out to fly kites on Saturday. I love flying kites, and it was great fun to teach my little ones how to get their little kites in the air without running!

It was also a terrific weekend for estate sales around here. Noah and I had spent out Friday together hitting a couple sales (instead of making our usual Friday-morning grocery run), and I found a set of matched vintage suitcases for cheap. Not wanting to commit to them on Friday ("What will I DO with them?" Where will I put them?"), I passed them up, but then couldn't stop thinking about what I WOULD do with them, and went back on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, they were still there, having been stuffed into a closet in the house. SCORE!

That's my dog, Ruby. She helps.

I love the little train case! It needs a mirror (no problem!), and all the cases smell a teeny bit...funky...but it wasn't anything a day or so in the sunshine couldn't handle.

Right now the cases are in my dining room. One is stacked on the antique sewing machine with my mannequins, Frank and Jane, and the other two are stacked on the floor next to my hutch. I know they would make FANTASTIC display cases for my work, but I am at a loss as to how to retrofit them to display jewelry, and how to keep them open on the table. I'm thinking a small sandbag weight over the back, and some jewelry stands inside to show off my work.

Now all I need is some work. And a show.

In other news, I did some copper etching yesterday, and I'm not totally thrilled with the results. Rather, the results were not what I was hoping for when i was all done. I don't think I let them soak long enough or left them in the pickle too long, or something. I dunno. More experimenting is required.

Happy Spring!

On Acceptance

Now that the first quarter of 2011 is nearly over, I think I have stumbled onto what my Word of The Year is going to be.

Acceptance

This past year, from my birthday in 2010 to my upcoming birthday, has been one of personal exploration, decisions, failed (and successful) attempts, and refining of artistic visions. I tried a lot of things (submitted to magazines, taught classes, did shows), was successful with some of them, and not so much with others. But through it all, I realized that I was allowing myself to get mired in negative thinking, spending way too much time comparing myself with others, and constantly thinking that whatever I did in a particular moment was somehow just. not. enough.

Which is ridiculous.

I mean, really.

So I hit a giant 'reset' button somewhere after the holidays, and took everything back about eight hundred notches. I thought about my plans and what I really want. I'm pretty happy with what I've been doing lately, which, compared to last year, isn't all that much. I've got a couple of custom commissions going on at the moment, and I was just asked to create bridesmaid jewelry for a friend's wedding this fall. And I'm making some personal projects that aren't all in the artisan jewelry realm. I'm also exploring my interest in art history, and dipping my toes back into the waters of my medieval living history hobby.

I have no plans to submit to magazines in the near future. I didn't do Lori's recent (and OMG awesome!!) Bead Soup Blog Party, but I am planning on joining the next one. I have signed up for no spring and summer shows. I'm taking it easy. Very easy. And it's nice! I'm finding that when artistic vision and inspiration really strikes me, I'm so incredibly productive, it's almost scary.

I can see now that there are only two more years before my littlest ones are in school full time, and after that there will be MUCH more time to get involved in all these things: shows, magazines, online stuff. Right now, I am doing what comes up and what I feel led to do in the moment, and that means accepting that what happens or what I do is simply enough.

It came to me over the weekend that 2011 is all about Acceptance -- of me as a person, an artist, a mom, all my various roles. Whatever I am doing is the best I can do at the time, and it's what I am supposed to be doing, and ALL I am supposed to be doing.

I guess this means I really can't Do It All.

Do I feel the insistent pull of "Sign up for shows!Submit to a magazine!Get yourself Out There!Be Involved!!"? Of course I do. I am a goal-oriented, responsible, achieving, first-born child! It's my Job! *snicker*

But I am consciously reminding myself (pretty much daily) that the most peaceful and happiest path I can be on right now is one in which I possess and define boundaries that allow me to not feel rushed, stressed, overwhelmed, ragged at the edges, and creatively spent. I don't have to be everything to all, and I don't have to do everything to be a successful person. Sounds like comprehending that would be a no-brainer, right? I mean, duh! But it's remarkably hard for me to grasp that and integrate it.

It's all good, though. And it's going well.

Oh, and here's a shot of my latest custom order....

Fun stuff!

So, my question to you is...how are you doing with your chosen path this year?

One Hundred!!

Woohooo!!!!

I officially now have one hundred followers for this blog! It feels like a milestone, and I am so blessed and honored to have so many people reading what I write and commenting and being so supportive of my writing and my work.

SOOOOOO...

It's time for a giveaway!

(I've never done one before!)

Because it's almost, almost spring, I would love for one of you to have this bracelet, Beachside.

It's a Viking knit bracelet, with four of my own lampworked beads, finished with a sterling silver clasp. To get it, all you have to do is:

1. Become a Follower of this blog (if you aren't already), AND

2. Leave a comment and tell me where in the world you'd most like to be right now.

That's it!

I will draw the winning name on Friday, March 4 at noon!

Good luck!

Little Acorns Into Mighty Oaks

Awhile back, I mentioned that I was hard at work on a few pieces for a silent auction fundraiser for a friend of mine. Ken is a good friend from college, and he is a teacher in the theater department of the Rochester School of the Arts in my hometown of Rochester, NY. Ken is a fabulously talented artist and designer, and a gifted teacher. When we were in college, Ken was often responsible for beautiful lighting and scene design on stages I performed on, and I am thrilled to now have the chance to support his work with my art.

A little background on this worthy cause...

The theater department at SOTA was selected to perform at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland this summer, as part of the 2011 American High School Theater Festival. if you know anything about theater or about the Fringe Festival, you know this is a major honor. The school was chosen to be one of 75 schools to attend and perform at the festival, out of over 2,200 applicants.

If you've traveled overseas (or anywhere!), you know this is not an inexpensive undertaking. They have a goal to raise $125,000 to finance this trip for students and teachers, and represent their school and their district in Scotland. One of the fundraising efforts is a benefit concert this weekend in Rochester, and along with the concert, a silent auction. I created a necklace and earring set for the group to offer in their silent auction this Saturday.

'Little Acorns Into Mighty Oaks'

These pieces are entirely copper, with my own lampworked glass beads. I think I showed you the etched leaves in an unfinished state a while back, but here they are, looking MUCH better now!

I'm so incredibly proud of this work, I could just burst! I think these are my favorite of all the pieces I have done recently, and although I never repeat work, I might just have to make a pair of earrings like this for myself. The oak leaves are really fantastic, and now I have a million designs all clamoring for attention in my head. Oh, and can I just say how much I adore using my Lortone tumbler on finished work?? How did I ever get along without it? Everything comes out SO shiny and beautiful, and work-hardened (a blessing if you make copper earwires with 20ga!)!

But I digress....

So, if you happen to be in the Rochester, NY area on Saturday, and you want to hear some live music and support a fantastic cause, then you should go to the Go Plaid or Go Mad benefit concert and check out the silent auction. It looks to be a great time, and if I were going to be anywhere near NY this weekend, I'd totally go!

And if you CAN'T go to the benefit concert, you can still help out by making a donation to support the group. Go here to make your donation.

Thanks!

Indoor Fibery Goodness

So no metalsmithing and no torching of glass or enamels....much too cold for all of that. And apparently, now that I have gotten to this age, my hands now swell and my joints hurt periodically. I hope it's just a function of winter, but regardless, it's annoying.

I've turned to my sewing machine for comfort. Bernina never lets me down.

What with the new year and all, I needed a new planner to keep track of all the things I keep forgetting. But the cheapie planner I got (which suits my purposes perfectly) was a boring as HELL plastic-covered thing that cried out for cosmetic help. Being the magnanimous person that I am (with a killer stash of fat quarters), I obliged my little planner. And now, no longer an Ugly Duckling, but a beautiful Swan:

It's perfect! I love it!

And then I decided that I HAD TO make a new purse. I just wanted one. I'm a bag lady and I love bags, totes, purses, containers of all kinds. So I saw this pattern in one of my RSS feeds, and although it was cute, I modified the entire thing to suit my particular tastes.

Originally the pattern called for the bag to be kind of tall and skinny, but I wanted something that would fit my planner and sketchbook, and be more like a messenger style bag. I also wanted the flap-over top. I did really like the easy interior construction, though, so I kept that. It's a fun bag and I actually completed it just about all in one day -- while ALL 3 of my kids were home on a snow day!! Unbelievable! That was about as astonishing as anything.

Plenty of room for 'stuff'. I love it!

And it's pretty cute to wear. I made the strap long enough to wear cross-body, but I am working on a way of making the strap adjustable for a shoulder bag and for a handbag, without using d-rings and buckles. Still thinking on it.

One of the best parts is that I got the home-dec fabrics for the lining and the outside of the bag for $3/yard at Hancock's the other week. I love that. And I couldn't help myself, so I bought about $12 worth of flat-fold fabric (remnants that were off the bolt)in the home dec department for my next few bag projects. I'm already thinking of a custom knitting bag/handbag/shoulder bag thing. Just got to nail down the design.

Anyway, this is what I have been up to lately. Much warmer than metals right now.

Glass in all its forms

When I was on my odyssey of discovery at Liquidation Warehouse the other week, one of my purchases was a few crackled-glass ornament balls. I love glass in all its forms (no! really!?), and these ornaments just really spoke to me. I've wanted, for a while, a few of the blown-glass witches balls to hang in my kitchen window, but I've never found ones I liked. Since Christmas is almost upon us, I thought these would be beautiful instead.

Some of my very favorite glass colors are blue and red. These are so good-looking in the light of my window that they may just stay there through the winter.


Isn't that red just stunning? I love love love that deep ruby red. Just delicious. (and for the record, I hate the word 'nummy'...)


And the blue....at some angles it is almost cobalt, at another, it appears violet. Straight on, it's one of my current favorite shades of transparent blue Moretti glass -- dark blue tranparent.

(This is the part of this post where I wish I had something better than my little Panasonic Lumix camera to take my blog pictures with....oh Santa, I wish you could bring me a Nikon like Cindy's!)

Ahem.

Next year's large purchase will have to be an oxygen concentrator, to go with the torch I haven't bought yet. Of course, that is after THIS year's large purchase, a Glass Hive kiln, which I also have not finished paying for...

But I digress...

I also wanted to show you all some of the results of my studio time. My glass beadmaking Muse apparently is elsewhere today (maybe playing in the snow at Kerry's place!), but in an effort to not let myself get sucked into the negative that goes with a crappy torch session, I decided to salvage the time and make frit. I've wanted to make frit for some time now, not being able to justify buying crushed glass when there are so many awesome rods to buy. There are a couple of methods to crush and mix your own glass, but the one that seemed to make the most sense, and was the simplest to deal with, is the water-shock method.

Basically, you heat the end of a rod to glowing, flatten it into a paddle at the end of the rod, reheat the paddle til it's hot, then plunge it into a jar of water and let it shatter into tiny bits. You then strain it out of the water and spread it on a plate or something to dry out so you can use it.

I made two small batches today, one a blue-green mix that I am hoping will be sort of an underwater-looking blend:


And the second batch, which is my end-of-the-day mix of all the rods I used while beadmaking this morning:

Let's see...what's in there....CiM Sangre, dark ivory, CiM Ghee (which normally looks terrible for me), Moretti dark trans blue, Moretti electric yellow trans, some CiM Peace, and I think some dark and light topaz. Oh, and some medium brown, I think. I was practicing making chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day.

So, the frits are currently drying, and I hope to get some torch time tomorrow to play with them. If anything comes out interesting, I'll post pictures. The rest of this week will likely be taken up with birthday party prep and sewing costumes for the preschool Christmas pageant.

I think it's time for more tea.