Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Another Resin Pour~~ICE is getting a workout!



Rainy Wednesday in Northern California.  My day off, and after errands I poured more resin.  Still works in progress, so I'll put up better pics when I get further along.
Hope your week is going smoothly~

Sunday, November 25, 2012

ICE Resin Charms and a Broken Refrigerator


I finally finally finally poured my ICE resin yesterday.  I'm such a chicken~  I'm afraid I'll mess up my little works of art! It went well, but not perfectly.  Two pieces need another doming coat of resin, but fortunately that's not a big deal.  I'll show you those pretties later, I promise!

Our refrigerator died yesterday morning...a moment of grieving, please, lol!  No warning, no funny noises...just died.  My DH found water on the floor in front of it.  And the frozen food inside was all mushy.  RATS!  So, dumping food, salvaging what we can. 

The repairman looked at it yesterday afternoon.  Our 12-year-old fridge was going to cost close to $900 to repair.  We thought about it and decided that we will replace it.  UGH...an unexpected expense right before Christmas.  Oh well~~

My wonderful DH spent most of last night running to assorted stores, then returned home and used his Ninja Shopping Skills on an internet search.  He showed me what he came up with, and we think we have it narrowed down.  More searching today after church.

Well....it could be worse.  And luckily we don't keep as much food in the fridge as we used to when the kids lived at home.  And I've heard tell that the new fridges are more energy efficient...It's gonna all work out.

Here's to a new week~~May it improve and lead us into the joy of Advent.  The big picture: We are so very blessed.  Amen!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Goofing Around on a Saturday Afternoon


Had the stamped copper piece sitting on my bench for weeks.  Finally wrapped the beads and finished it!  And yes, filthy fingers are part of jewelry-making~ :-)  At least for me.

 My hairdresser Donna wants a peace sign necklace for her cousin.  I found this copper pendant at Benicia Bead .  I sawed off the loop at the top and stamped it like crazy~then I made this little copper box to hold it.  I'm working on cold connected copper bezels for a resin pour in my future.  Little by little....



May your Thanksgiving week offer you gratitude and some peace~
And my humble thanks to God for my blessed full life~

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Operation Christmas Child

My church and Bible study group encouraged us to donate a  shoebox of gifts for Operation Christmas Child .  We'd bought gifts for children in need many times in the past, but this concept was a first for us.  

We thought about the child, and decided that we wanted to get gifts for a boy 10-14 years of age.  Samaritan's Purse , the organization that sponsors this event, had a print-out sheet of directions and recommendations.  

As we pondered and gathered our gifts: colored pencils, small drawing pad, hard candies, small binoculars, solar powered calculator, wristwatch, toiletries and wash cloths, we thought about the boy that might receive them.  

We were trying to purchase a few last items, when we asked a young man working at our local Target if he could help us find washcloths.  We told him what we were doing, and he said, "I got a box from them when I was a boy".  I asked him if there was anything he could recommend, and he said a yoyo would be good to give the boy something fun to occupy his time.  It took 4 different stores, but we found the yoyo!

We'll be praying for that boy.

If you would like to participate in this wonderful event, please   click the link above.  We know you'll be blessed more than the recipient!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Little by Little


I'm working on a resin project.  Little by little, step by step, in between "life".  In between family and work and chores.  

Making little boxes.  Thin copper stamped and formed.  I know it'll be cool when I'm done, but it'll take a while. 

Patience!  Not my strongest virtue, but necessary for now.  Bit by bit.  

My friends, have a blessed week~

To my friends who have served our country, I am humbled and so very grateful for your service and sacrifice.  Thank you with all my heart.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Necklace for Rachael FINALLY!

Last May, Rachael received these earrings as a gift when we gathered in Spain for Jenn's wedding.  She asked if I could make her a necklace.  I said yes, and told her it would take "a while".


"A while" is NOW! Yay!  Hope Rachael likes it~ I feel a little lighter with one more obligation fulfilled.  :-)
"Alegria" means "Joy", and the pendant is hammered & stamped brass, copper, pearls & crystal.  
"Joy" to you all this day!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Chris Kerr, Super Genius? (I think NOT!)

Ok, I'm making teeny stamped metal embellishments to be used in my resin pendants. Remember Wile E. Coyote?  He would always call himself a "Super Genius" while creating complicated ways to trap the Roadrunner.  The traps always failed, leaving Wile looking like a "Super Loser".  

I stamped out a few teeny nickel disks to stamp with my smallest stamps.  Then I antiqued 'em and tried to shine them.  My fingers are too big for this job, so I came up with the super bright idea of tumbling them.
Great idea!  Oh yes!  NOT!  I lost a couple of them in the shot and I don't know if I'll ever ever find them.  They can happily live with their new shot family and avoid the fate of Ice Resin.

So, I pose this question to you, my lovely blog readers: Do you ever tumble teeny silver things?  Things that could easily be lost in the shot?  Do you have a trick or tip that could help me?  I'll be grateful forever if you could comment and share your Super Genius-ness.  

Have a Super Saturday!