Good Clean Fun

Last year (or maybe it was two – yikkes!), a wonderful beadmaker – Bethany Adams - Gwacie Beads – gave me a little present at the Winter Wonders Bead Show. She’s a gem of a person and fantastic artist. Without her I would not have the banner I so wanted for my Etsy site (as she was the wonder woman who fixed my flaws!). What Bethany gave me was a treat for my shower and something that has been fun to do with the kids I work with and to give as gifts over the holidays.

Everyone likes to have a little “somethin’ somethin’’ for the shower or bath. The winter’s here in Michigan are cold and skin drying. Instead of using a scrubbie to exfoliate, I now use a felt covered soap bar. I thought you might enjoy the directions for this fun project.

It’s really very easy and even young children enjoy making them with help (you have to be careful with the hot water). For a young child I cut the bar in half and round the edges with a butter knife so the felt goes on smoothly. It also makes it a lot easier for youngsters to hold the bar while attaching the felt. Bonus, it’s also easier for them to use in the tub….smaller size and doesn’t slip away!

For this project you'll need:
1. A bar of lathery soap (I’ve used just plain old Ivory with great success!)
2. Some raw wool - often called "roving" (available on Etsy.com or Google Roving)
3. Hot water
4. A washboard, or ribbed mat of some sort (optional) - I used a sushi-rolling mat.
5. I've heard other people use the ribbed top of a Tupperware-type container. It's not required, but it does seem to help speed the process.
6. The bottom of an old pair of pantyhose or knee-highs (likewise, optional) - These too aren't required, but they do seem to help keep the wool more evenly distributed around the soap. I use this constantly and it is the easiest way to keep the wool in position as you scrub the wool down to size.


Making a Felted Bar of Soap

Pull some wool from your package and fluff it up – lay the pull pieces together so you have a rectangle that it is about as thick as a normal washcloth (not the “Martha” thick kind – you know the kind, those cheapie Walmart 2 dozens in a package). It will take some experimentation to find the right amount of wool to use to make the thickness of felt that you like.

You’ll need a least two lengths and often more. Each layer doesn’t have to be super thick or cover the bar completely. As long as the layers alternate and eventually cover the entire bar. Wrap the wool around the soap, both lengthwise and widthwise so that the bar is completely covered. I wrap mine as tight as I can because once you wet it down it’s going to become temporarily loose.

Yes, it's going to feel baggy and loose and you'll wonder how this is EVER going to work! You can layer colors together, or just add a stripe of a contrasting color. Experiment! I have used all kinds of colors and they all look great.


Wet the Bar

When the bar is completely wrapped, begin to slowly dribble hot water onto the bar. Get it completely wet, but not drenched.

At this point, the soap and wool will look like a wet cat. Gently begin to massage the soap and wool together. Be careful not to be too rough at this stage or you'll expose the soap underneath. I am very careful at this point and I kind of pat the felt down to the bar and squeeze out any excess water.

Note: If you are going to use the stocking (I use knee high panty hose) this is where I carefully put the soap into the toe of the panty hose. I take the excess stocking and pull it all up tight to bar and tie it in a removable slip knot so I can use the knew high over and over.


Wool Shrinking - Soap Lathering

As you massage the bar, dribble more hot water onto it. (I often have a bowl of very hot water and I dip the bar - stocking and all - with a slotted spoon into the hot water). Using very hot water seems to speed things along. The soap will start to lather up through the wool, and the wool will begin to shrink and form to the bar of soap.

Keep gently massaging the bar, dribbling (or dipping and squeezing) more water onto it every once in a while. I also gentling roll the bar in my hands as if I were washing them with the soap.

Rub a Dub Dub

Once the wool has started to shrink and conform to the soap, you can really start rubbing. This is where to use your washboard, sushi mat, felting mat or other ribbed surface. Rub the soap on the mat - making sure that you get all sides, including the edges. This will really get the wool fibers to knit together. Wool fibers actually have little barbs on them and you are literally linking and catching them together.

Note: The ribbed surface is not required - it just speeds things up - you can get the wool to felt just by hand, it will just take a while.

Check the Felting Process

After you've rubbed for a while, check the progress of the felting by dribbling some more hot water on it to wash off the lather. You'll notice that the wool has really tightened up and formed a case around the soap.

Blot - Let it Dry - Use It!

Once the wool has completely formed around the bar of soap and isn't shrinking any more, you're done. Gently rinse (this where being in that stocking really helps) and blot the bar of soap on a washcloth and set it up to dry. I remove it from the stocking at this point and usually leave mine to dry on a piece of plastic by the heat register. I also find that the soap will last longer if I let it dry out very thoroughly before I use it.

Note: Don't be disappointed by the lathering of the felted bar the first time you use it in the shower. After the felting process is done and you've let the bar dry, it takes a little while for the lather to come back through the felt. But once it does, it's wonderful.

Make a ton of soapy fun this winter and keep clean and warm : - )

Disclaimer: And, so sorry folks – that’s not my hand. My mat looks like that though. Strickly ‘Martha Stewart’ from Kmart, hahaha. This is a repurposed and rewritten piece from a ton of sources and experience. Way to much like college and I ought to have a bibliography at the end. But, it’s soap...and it’s good clean fun!

Holiday Beads














I thought maybe I might show you a few of the beads I've made this season. These had been set aside over the past four months to make some jewelry. Sorry about the blurry photo - I think I forgot all the rules about depth of field. Holiday beads are fun to make and I can't wait to start on the Valentine themed ones. Maybe soon.

ToP TeN FuN things to do in an Emergency room

1. Poke fun at the “clone/s”. They’re the wannabe’s. You know…I wannabe a doctor so please tell me your story so I can go and try and repeat what you said to the wannabe resident doctor who wants to be the attending doctor who wants to be the genuine article and the last person in the hospital food chain. They’re all genuine and work hard but I still enjoy the deer in the headlights look when you explain what is going on with your body.
2. See which size of the Kimberly-Clark Sterling Nitrile Powder-Free Exam Gloves (isn’t that a mouthful) fits. My size: Medium
3. Take a nap – Oh yeah, sure – About the time you’ve given up on expecting that they’ll come to your curtained cell and you close your eyes someone comes in to ask you an important question. It's difficult to answer with spittle in the corner of your mouth.
4. Stay quiet and listen to the “life trauma” going on around you.
5. Count the empty specimen jars in the bin on the wall. Ponder the number your bladder could fill, if full : - ).
6. Pick the dog hair, deposited by the three stooges at home, off your fleece shirt. Why the hell didn’t I notice I looked like a hairball this morning?
7. Start a hash list ( llll ) and keep track of the number of times Housekeeping is called to go and clean something up! I keep wondering what it is.
8. Sing to yourself. Be brave, and sing out loud because you might get some really good medication. My favorite tonight has been “Doctor, doctor give me the news – I got a bad case of lovin’ you”.
9. Read a magazine or book – You were smart enough to pack one, right?

Interesting (or NOT) thought about nurses. Traditionally nurses were always female, as were stewardesses. But when they hired males why did they get a new title? First the boys were called “steward” and then they all became flight attendants. Why the new designation? I mean why did someone think it so generic a noun (nurse) that when males joined the ranks it wasn’t worth changing! I’m thinking it was some committee of doctors who figured they deserved all the titles (Internist, Surgeon, and Dermatologist). Why wouldn’t everyone in their universe be referred to by some non-descriptive gelding driven adjective or noun?

They put a Greenfield Filter in my hubby’s leg. You Michigander’s are going to recognize this pun….Does this mean we get a free pass to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village? Or is he going to go off like a bomb or bell – Bata boom, Bata, bing – when we visit? Do we get a prize? We were at Henry Ford Hospital after all.

10. You can collect a list of famous hospital lines:

  • This might hurt a little, feel cold, hot, pinch, sting.
  • Just a little poke.
  • Alright _____, I’ll be back to see how you’re doing…

”Hi my name is_____________, and I’m here to_____________.”

Really people, you’re nice and all and just doing your job but why don’t you just say, “HI, I’m your Phlebotomist” It’s not like I need to know the first name of everyone in the hospital Besides, I always think - What’s good for the goose is good for gander. So why isn’t the doctor coming in and introducing himself by his/her first name? Why stand on all of that formality after you ordered all the poking and prodding. And, IF you “gotta’ be all that” just give me your employee number, do your job, and move on. But then again, maybe if everyone used first names and came over for dinner once in awhile you’d think twice about how you actually treated them when they were in your “care”. What a concept, huh?

Actually my very favorite line as of last night is this: “Where does it hurt?” I heard countless people (attending physicians, senior physicians, nurses, aids, house physicians, (ad infinitum), ask the same people in other curtained cells this question over and over and over.

Answer: I have a chart the size of Texas and you’re the fifteenth person to ask me the same damn questions. Isn’t that chart important? You have to send the stinking thing with me to every department I go to. Nurses live in fear they’ll forget it. So, why don’t you pick it up and read for yourself where I hurt. Then, you and I can have a MEANINGFUL conversation. Pick it up and read it – I’ll still be here when you’re done.

Ah, four hours later…………………and Doogie Howser from Neurology comes in. WTF! I mean it too! This squirt of a kid is going to someday operate on someone’s nervous system and I’m sitting here making him nervous with my questions. Once he handed me back a piece of paper I wrote my questions on and said that the house doctor (Is that Doctor House? – Woo Hoo, now we’ll get some answers) would answer all of those. Uh OH! Let me repeat myself, WTF. Okay Doogie, then here is something you can do for me. “Go fetch me the genuine article because I need someone old enough to have the keys to the cookie jar if you’re not allowed to answer the questions yet.” Do you think I got the deer in the headlights look then? Can you just see him slinking away? Tough – suck it up. If you can’t play by my rules then get out of my sandbox with your scalpel. I only do cute on Tuesdays – Saturday’s are tough.

Let’s see, I think I’m losing my sense of humor, nope, still in tact. It’s a tad on the sardonic side but alive and ticking. I've been wondering if I am channeling George Carlin. Maybe I can create a line of hospital beads. Hmmmmmm, lets make some preliminary sketches. Perhaps I’ll show you those sometime.

At about hour six things really got interesting. I started to wander, and it makes the clones even more nervous. I looked at the people in the other cells and nodded my head. We were all about the same age, give or take a decade. I kept imagining an uprising of the middle- aged captives.

I think I'll introduce you to my cell mates. There had beenf two across from us who used the same bed. Both of them were vomiters. One by illness and the other via an overdose of drugs – they gave him charcoal in a tube. I don’t think he had to worry about the drugs. His mother looked like I’d look in that situation. Kitty corner was interesting. The clones kept going into this one guy’s room and doing the repetitive question thing. Once, when the king of the clones was in the cell he asked the poor man when it was he drank last. The man looked up at them and seemed puzzled. He answered that he drank that morning. The clone had to rephrase the question. Point for homeless drunk guy! On the other side was a moaner, then a whiner, and there was a screamer down the hall. I think the clones had their hands full – we were definitely winning. I began to tire of the game and decided I wanted to take my sandbox shovels and go home.

I actually amuse pretty easily. I’m an only child and can play endlessly with absolutely zip. I love airports and big lobbies. They’re interesting and full of people buzzing about. We, us and our collectivve cellmates, were stagnating and starting to smell (I know the drunk did because he couldn’t make it to the bathroom and used a bed pan - Oh Lord help me). “Yo, brother from another mother, been here an hour without a visit”. Hello out there? (I heard an echo – where’d they go?). Oh for Pete’s sake. And then I saw it. They called in reinforcements and they were briefing them too. The clone shift changed and in came the new recruits. They came to the curtained cells and it started all over. “Hi, my name is Doctor First Year Student. I bet you’re ready to get discharged.” Now that was the freakin’ understatement of the year!

My friends know that at this point I would consider this cheerful new face the first victim in a competition of wits I was not about to lose. Send in all the fresh replacements you want. Think fried green tomatoes – “Face it girls. I’m older and I have more insurance!” I thrust the questions into Dr. First Year’s face. “Be glad to, but first you’re going to have to have to answer some questions.” It was high noon at the OK Corral. He began to read them. I was confused (for a millisecond!). He began to read them aloud and answer them. Cool Beans First Year. Then he made the fatal volley, “I’ll go get your discharge papers.” Nope!! Whoa, hold on there Tonto. Your Lone Ranger here needs an answer to question number one. “Stop right there!”I shrieked. “Yes, Madam, is there something else I can do?” Stupid, stupid boy! “Ah huh, you missed a question,” I raised a brow and looked over my glasses. Slowly he turned around, cleared his throat, and read it aloud. Deer in the headlights – prey for the middle aged – boy toy doctor. “Yes, that’s it – go ahead – answer that one.”

“I can’t”, he said. I knew that (I thought quietly). You see, at that point I just wanted to make him say it out loud. Admit that he, his colleagues, and minions could not figure out why my DH’s ankle and leg were swollen. It’s like a game of chess. You strategize, play the game, and go in for the kill – CHECKMATE!

It wasn’t a wasted day. I already knew the answer to the question. Exhausting, but not wasted. What I do know for sure is that whatever caused his tootsies to swell was NOT life threatening. We had the test results to prove it. All things considered, on our 12 week roller coaster ride, this was not the worst day. No new blood clot, no infection. “See your family doctor and don’t forget your follow up with your Neurosurgeon.” I let him have that one.


Eight Hours – Fifteen Minutes.

Long Time No Post

Just to past on a goodie, a super beadmaker and all around neat person has been featured on another great artists blog and I think maybe you ought to go and have a lookie loo at them both. It's Bella Bead's blog that you'll be going to, and Mallory Hoffman is the featured artist.

Here's the link: Bella Bead Jewelry by Linda

Santa is Coming!

I've been showing everyone what my customers are doing with the fun beads I make and today's entry is no exception. In fact, it's more like exceptional, but then I think all of my designers are! I love what Jodi did with the Santa Hat. How absolutely wonderful is this necklace? Not just because she used my hat but because it's such a cleaver use for it. I'd of never thought of that.

All of this artistic prowress is from Jodi Masington. She is Loopie Beads from Houston, Texas. She was hit by that recent hurricane in Texas and I just can't imagine how hard that must be to go through. I guess I shouldn't complain about the snow and slush here in Michigan. We are definitely living in Winter Wonderland. Ho Ho Ho!

By the way...have you been naughty or nice?????

Talented Friends

Hey, how do you like the Ravens? I think they look wonderful on these earrings made by one of my customers. She certainly does a bead justice!


I am so honored to have some of the best customers in the world. Let me introduce you to one of them…Glamorosi. I have asked her in the past to send me links and photos of things she has created with my beads and she honored me once with a link. I did write something for the blog and then lost it when I was posting. A computer misfortune – remember me? – techno geek? This time I’ve managed to keep it all straight so I could show you her great blog and Etsy site.

She’s fun, she’s talented, and I think you’ll enjoy the links. Glam up!

Add a Gadget

You learn something new everyday......or what not to do. Today I clicked on a little something that explained where I can get some visual goodies to add to the blog. I thought everyone might enjoy looking at it (or acquiring some) so here is the link to the U-Tube explanation: Gadgets

Heavenly Child One

I'm about to receive a gift. All you beadmakers out there can just...

BACK AWAY FROM THE TOOL!

It's mine. It's a dream come true. An arbor press that had been retooled by the child genius to line my beads with tubes of silver. Oh, this is better than _ _ X. And you tool junkies know it, BAWAHAHAHAHA (wicked wicked laughter).

Well I admit, I haven't always referred to him that way. Let's see....when he was in grade school we had to visit the several teachers, several times. He bored easily. If we had been rich they'd of called him precocious, we weren't. In high school I thought we'd be visiting him in jail, or me in nearest sanitarium. College was PARRR-TEEEEE! He had these skills and smarts but at the time was steadfastly refusing to apply them to anything but "getting by".

Then along came Mary, (like the song - but her name is actually Emma) and his under stimulated brain came into focus. First, (following a college switch) he became a police officer, after obtaining that degree. A far cry from my panicked assessment of his high school potential. He was good at it! And, he took flying lessons, earned a pilots license, and purchased an airplane. He flew often and took his father and sister up one day together. I bet you hear my heart pounding as I watched from the ground, smiled, and nearly puked at the thought of things beyond my control which could hurt the three of them in one foul swoop. I was forever grateful when it landed and knew his brother wouldn't end up an only child.

Life was good, he married Emma. Slowly he bloomed and I got a beautiful, precious, and precocious granddaughter (he has been to her grade school) and he returned to college. Look out world. He graduated with very high honors and a lofty goal - law school. Focused ? More like "in the zone!" Published in the Law Review, clerked for a Federal Judge, and worked at a very good Detroit Law firm specializing in employment law. Left that firm this year to begin his own. Slowly, but surely, it grows too. To occupy that mind over the past several years he turned to restoring motorcycles - he's good at that too! Restored a 1979 Harley and it looks great and runs great. Another sits and is waiting in the wings. He was always mechanical and loves the hunt for the parts to add to his restorations.

Now with a Mom like me, who could by all definition be also called precocious, I like having one son for lawyer and another for a social worker. One can bail me out (figuratively/ not literally, yet) and the other counsel me for my lack of remorse about my behavior. And to boot I have this great daughter, a beautiful geek who can fix my computer when she has a mind to (that precocious gene runs amok in this family). Everyone got it but the social worker - a genetic gift to give me relief from the occasional intensity of the other two. I know I'm a lucky ducky. I didn't always hit a home run as a parent but it wasn't for a lack of good intention, if not skill.

And now I have a bead press...eat your heart out Jim Moore. Precocious is a good thing!

Friends and Artists

Hi everyone! Just a shortie note from me here. DH had some extensive back surgery so I have been out of touch but I wanted to drop this wonderful pearl in your lap. I'm introducing you to a great bead artist and designer named Janel Gradowski. She has written some great pieces (how to) for several of our favorite bead mags. I think you'll like her - and her blog. So step right in and introduce yourselves. Here you go ----- It's Janels Jumbles.

Viking Knit Endings


Every now and then someone contacts me concerning how I end my Viking Knit pieces. I try to remember to send them this photo but sometimes I forget. So for anyone wondering how to do that I'm posting it here.

I have done it several different ways. One way is that I make my own end caps out of silver tubing that fits. I measure the end of the knit with a set of calipers (we all know how I love those) and then order tubing with an inside diameter that will fit the bracelet. I then cut off lengths for the ends/ solder them to plate and hand finish them.

Sometimes you just have to do things the hard way!

More often than not though I order end caps. The caps shown in the photo are from Heather Ferman. She has these in many different types of metal and they are a fantastic fit for the ends of the knit.

You take and run a wire through some of the loops and secure it tightly. It doesn't have to be perfect or really pretty (you're going to cover it). I generally use 22 gauge half hard wire for this. Once it's secured I pull the cap over it and make my ending loop. To this I add jump rings and a clasp and it's all done. Happy Knitting.

A Funny!

This came today from my friend Lillian Rogers. I thought I'd pass it on. This way so all of you could have a laugh too. Our friend "L" has what we refer to as 'Lillianisms.' These are handy things we remember that bring us untold joy when we are traveling with husbands in the car. Like "Never feed the driver, or the car will never stop." She tells us of a tale where her and her beloved "W-A" (can you tell she's a Texan?) were on a trip and she had packed some food in a cooler in the backseat. She needed to use the bathroom and W-A kept putting off stopping. Finally he asked for a snack - she feigned being unable to reach the cooler and they finally left the road. And so she developed a Lillianism..........now be sure you say it with a great Texan accent and it will bring a smile to your face every time you're in the car. Oh, and don't pack many snacks either! So here is the 'funny' she sent............

The last line is priceless.......

Three men were hiking through a forest when they came upon a large raging, violent river.


Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed: 'God, please give me the strength to cross the river.

'Poof! ... God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was able to swim across in about 2 hours, having almost drowned twice.

After witnessing that, the second man prayed: 'God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river

'Poof! ... God gave him a rowboat and strong arms and strong legs and he was able to row across in about an hour after almost capsizing once.

Seeing what happened to the first two men, the third man prayed: 'God, please give me the strength, the tools and the intelligence to cross the river


'Poof! ... He was turned in to a woman. She checked the map,Hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across the bridge.

GO AHEAD, SEND THIS TO A WOMAN WHO NEEDS A GOOD LAUGH AND TO ANY MAN WHO CAN HANDLE IT!

'If at first you don't succeed, do it the way your wife told you!'

How Long Have I Been Here?

I was breezing around the Internet and found a new widget. I love technology when it cooperates. It often doesn't when you're a techno-weenie. This one was pretty fun so I included it in the blog. Now you can tell what time it is while you're reading this blog. If you want a clock for blog/web or desktop here's the quick link:

Clocks

Times a ticking.....tic toc.

I Was Checking Myself Out in the Mirror....

And....I still think I look great from the back! Plus, I have a few new listings on Etsy for everyone to check out!







And the Wings "SCCCOOOORRRRRRRRREEEEE". I actually look more like the guy in the Red Wings Jersey. But who's looking from the front when I have such a great rear view? Can you guess my favorite sport?

Fifteen Minutes of Fame (Again)


I'm guessing this might make it a total of a half an hour this year. Whoo, I am stoked. I hope I can add this to my blog because I'm not sure how you capture a window so maybe I haven't and I'd like to show you what happened. So here goes:

Life Buzz -- Necklace
Description
Featured in the Nov/Dec issue of Bead Trends Magazine!!


There is nothing as intoxicating as life. No chemical could ever reproduce the elixir of "moments".. Like when you laugh so hard that your face turns red and you don't think you will ever be able to stop. Or when you step off a plane and into a terminal and catch the first glimpse of a smile from someone you have been anxiously waiting to see. Or when you pass a house whose garden is so breath taking and colorful, you u-turn 3 times to get a closer look. Or when you put on an outfit that is so stunning you feel as if you could take over the world. Even if your "moments" come from different origins than mine, you know what I'm talking about..

This necklace is 100% life buzz, a soul cocktail. I made one of these "orb" shapes on a whim for a previous pair of earrings and have not been able to stop. Something about the forming of the individual circles, paying close attention to make one of them slightly smaller in diameter than the other, and after soldering them, sliding them within each other to fit perfectly gave me the hugest buzz!! Each "orb" link is very sturdy because the circles were hammered and hammered around a steel mandrel and then soldered together and to each other, they will not misshape! In between the orbs are stacks of lampwork glass disc beads made by Sharon of rightturnartwerks of etsy.. She made these beads just for me, in all of my favorite colors.. Sharon I need MorE!! It closes with a hand crafted hook clasp and 3 linked circles so you can adjust the length. Necklace can be worn between 17" and 18.75". All components are sterling silver..

Added on Oct 22, 2008
Here is a link to her total Etsy Site! You're going to love what she does with jewlery. It's fresh and different.

Tagged, I'm It!

Tag is a blogger's game, which is similar to the kids' game we played so many zillion years ago. Here's how the cyber-version of tag works;

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

7 Things about me that you may or may not know.

1. I used to manage a McDonalds (uck!).
2. I used to be a pretty good shot with a gun - my Dad taught me. Good artist = Good hand
to eye coordination.
3. My feet are wide - like flippers! : - D.
4. I sing loud and badly in the car when I am alone.
5. I work with delinquents and gang kids - all substance abusers. Oh, and I like my job.
6. I'm quiet 90% of the time.
7. I love popcorn.

Here is the list of the people that I have tagged. Well, actually there is no list. Everyone I could think of tagging has been tagged before. I know, it's a bummer. But rather than just let the tag sit there being unanswered I decided to play by sharing my seven things and just saying a "Hello Everyone out there!" and I love you open-minded blogging taggers out there. So, please go ahead and share some more about yourselves. You're great/ you're wonderful/ and I love reading your blogs, seeing your beads, your artwork, your kids, your animals, and everything else you care and dare to share. (((Hugs))) Sharon

Hen-rietta's New Hat


HAHAHAHAHA! Sharon made a funny. This is, of course, Henrietta. She raises chickens and is thinking they’re just the greatest thing ever. Her favorite chick is the Rhode Island Red Hen. In fact, she loves that chicken so much she decided to wear it to church last Sunday. You can imagine the stares they endured…but Henrietta stood her ground and was as “happy as a hen” with her new millinery. She’s thinking maybe next week she might give Ricky the Rooster a chance to attend Sunday service. After all, he always insures she’s on time!

That's the write up I'm going to put with this new sugar skull on Etsy. The skulls are getting more and more complicated...and more and more fun.

Thank the powers that be that this bead wasn't in the kiln when I had my "blow out". Well, nothing actually blew up - it melted. I included a picture of my mess and I'm blaming it all on menopause. It's probably more like I'm doing too much and got distracted after I turned the kiln back up to high to hit that all important annealing temperature one additional time. Now why would I think I needed to do that? Duh, heck if I know...but I did.

Then I promptly turned around to go and fold some laundry and left the kiln running and running...........running................and.........running..............and running...............and heating...........for the next seven hours (overnight).

Luckily I go down every morning early, before work, to check how I did the evening before. And again, luckily, I am a safe person when I set things up. So, under that kiln and against that wall is heat protection made to withstand a wood stove. The kiln was over 2000 degrees and had maxed out when I caught it. Nice to know I could throw pottery and then glaze it in that tiny kiln but what a mess I made. The glass melted and dripped below the kiln shelf (on which I had put some fiber board for cushion for heavy beads) and on to the bottom fire brick. Probably a good thing I had coated that long ago with kiln wash. As it was I had to dig some clumps out of the brick and scrape glass off the shelf where the board hadn't protected it.

Tonight's beads came after my clean up and putting kiln wash on everything again. Nothing major in the way of great - no skulls. Just a retest on that kiln which took a lickin' and kept on ticking. Who'd of thunk! Go Jen-Ken.

Oh, and Ms. Mallory Hoffman tagged me....I'm thinking I'm it! I'm going to her blog to figure it out and be "it" for awhile. I could use a good it after the melt. Or maybe find a hen for my head...or Rhode Island Red for the next fun dye job since my pink is now faded to a memory.

What's Your Secret?

As per my usual routine when I'm pooped I start cruising around the Internet for interesting stuff. On the first page of my search I found something interesting AND arty. I think I may have stumbled on it before and didn't remember it or maybe I read it about it somewhere. Either way, I thought I'd pass it on. What a cool concept this is. Send a postcard - give up your secret. Go there and look for yourself because they're really great and most of them are very cleaver: Post Card Secrets

Secrets...what would I tell if no one would find out? WOW! Whoa...ummmm, slept with a rock star (NOT!). I'm not sure I'm brave enough to tell secrets. I've never played Truth or Dare either. I did play spin the bottle at teen parties. Sounds kind of lame and tame.

Truth, I've been sitting here tapping the keys and trying to think of something I'd share. I'm sure there is some weird quirk somewhere. Actually, there are tons of those, truth. I don't care for phones, but love computers....oh, I know (light bulb moment). Something no one knows (not even BFF). I once threw a Royal typewriter at the refrigerator and put a dent in it. Long , long, long story.

What's your secret?

Darn, Shucks, Drats, 9834uifvkaspjnv u7rf&*^W#$HJ!!!!!!!!!!!

How absolutely annoying when this happens. I have this great skull to post and after I photograph it I see the "line". Oh you know... the line....the crack...the zip up the bead you love so much.

Despite the obvious flaw that will send it to a ditch or land fill somewhere for a future generation to find I thought I would post it here because I like the way he turned out. Gold tooth, patch, roaming eye ball.


So today I will make Johnny #2 and be thankful for great quality control!

Ring a Ding Ding!

I recently instructed another great group of women at Anne Sturdevant’s shop, the “Bead Weasel” in Midland, Michigan. It was a soldering class. It’s delightful it is to teach students who already have some knowledge of soldering and don’t mind being given a great detail of information to sift through. It was a refresher for all who were there. This is not a project oriented situation and because I had knowledgeable students I was able to bring extra information and projects. I loved showing them how to make my standard “safety pin “earrings and some solutions to various solder issues that have arisen for them.

One of the issues nearly everyone has is cutting the appropriate length of ring stock needed to make a particular size. Let’s see, there is the wrap a string/paper/tape around your finger method. And that can work pretty well if the ring is for you. But what if you want to make a standard size 7 set of stack rings, or a wide band for someone who wears that size? Each of those situations would require a slightly different length even though they are both for the same size. A wider band needs more length or it will not fit the finger properly. Yeah, I know, it feels complicated.

A long time ago I saved a chart and some information that would help me with just this issue so I am posting it here so everyone will be able to use this guide to help them when they want to make a ring. As is often the case when we are making rings it is also good to remember that you are likely (99.9%) going to have to put it on a ring mandrel and round it up with a mallet. In doing so it is going to make the ring a smidgen larger – a lot larger. It is an easy fix to make something a tad larger than smaller after all your soldering and hard work, so keep that in mind as you are creating your shank. I have had to recreate many a ring when I neglected to take this and the width of the band into account when I was cutting a shank.

Ring Sizing Chart

Getting ring sizes right:The easiest way to get a ring sized right is to cut the stock or wire to the right size to begin with! It's easy once you know the size you are targeting. The formula is :
(Inner Diameter Of Ring + width of shank) X PI. PI is a constant 3.142.
The width of 18 ga wire or flat stock is 1mm. The following chart shows the inner diameter of the various ring sizes:
5 -- 15.7mm
6 -- 16.5mm
7 -- 17.3mm
8 -- 18.2mm
9 -- 18.9mm
10 -- 19.8mm
11 -- 20.6mm
12 -- 21.3mm
13 -- 22.2mm
So -- if you wanted to make a size 8 ring with 18ga round wire you would cut (18.2mm + 1mm X 3.14 or 60.3mm of wire and make a circle and solder.

Powerful Woman's Motto


Live your life in such a way that when

your feet

hit the floor in the morning, Satan

shudders and

says....."Oh Shit .... she's awake!"

HEY! I got a bingo here!


This is to much fun for words. I'm not terribly political...I vote, but I will widely admit to having ADD with many things. Politics tend to be one of them. When I didn't watch the first debate some people I work with were just appalled. Sorry about that but I like to be entertained or torching. So here I am cruising around the web and I find what may be a solution to my inability to find the debates entertaining enough to pay attention.

I love this!!! It's political bingo for the debates and was created by Bob Staake. You can download these great Lingo cards for you and your friends from his site and play bingo during the debates, Presidential and Veep. When the candidate says the "buzz" word during the debate just cross it off. Get your Lingo cards and play along: Lingo Bingo. What the heck, if it gets me to watch (or you) and provides that much needed entertainment factor I'm yearning for then all the better.
And, don't forget to yell it out - "BINGO"



Why is there no torch here for Pete's Sake!





Yikes, waning posts to my blog! I better get on this ASAP. I thought you might like to see where I am when I am not behind that torch. I figure they need some torches and oxygen there so I can "show the clients" how to work with glass. Maybe get a little production going....oh yeah, big fantasy plan there folk!. No fire, no torch, nothing sharp (we use kindergarten scissors!). Mostly I think we use those because the staff might decide to go "postal" on themselves. Just kidding, but it can get draining. That's me in the window. Little Sharon Pumpkin Head.

We do have a beautiful view of a small lake that is surrounded by mostly swamp and backwater from the big lake. We are also having major problems with beavers who keep building these huge dams at a small inlet and it causes the lake levels to rise so so much we can't use the baseball field because our lower field floods. The kids enjoy going out in canoes with the Department of Natural Resources though a tearing the dam down. Bears, beavers, Eagles, spring swans, deer, coyote, fox, we get it all around there because we are covered by so much state land around us.

Also is a photo of my "nest". It's the power station of the building and usually filled with kids. We are not allowed to take photos of the kids - would be really unethical. It's a shame because they LOVE to have photos of themselves but rules are rules. I tease them about one of them getting famous and I'm already putting in my request for a Volvo full sized station wagon loaded with goodies...social worker types will never get that kind of money! And if I don't get my Volvo I'm going straight to "Entertainment Tonight" and the tabloids. They laugh at me.

That's all for now folks/ or people (did you know they are also gang references?). Ah, the trivia I get to know and love...

Don't forget to check out the new Etsy listings. It seems I am still in full blown skull mode.






Calling All Resources...

As both a beadmaker and a metalsmith I find that having a broad range of resources for materials and tools very important. Often you have to play detective to locate an elusive object you need for a project. Here’s my list (not necessarily a complete one) of some of my favorite places to hunt out that missing tool, finding, or glass. I’ve made them active so you can just click and search for yourself. Happy hunting……

Metal, Tools, and Findings

Contenti
David H. Fell & Co
Hauser and Miller
Hoover and Strong
Indian Jewelers Supply - Tools, metals, some beads and cabs
Micro Fasteners
Midland Tools - Specialty Jewelry Supplies
Metalliferious
MonsterSlayer
National Jewelry Supply
Nile Jewelry Supply
Otto Frei
Production Tool Supply
Pasternak Findings
Rio Grande
Ross Metals
SEP Jewelry Tools of Chicago, Inc.

Glass, Tools, Presses, etc.

ABR Imagery
Arrow Springs
CattWalk
Frantz Art Glass
Olympic Color
Glass Daddy – Lausha Glass
Wale Apperatus
Zooziis
Bullseye

Informational Resources:

Lampwork, etc. (A wonderful resource of people and vendors)
Warm Glass (ditto above)
ISGB (International Society of Glass Beadmakers)
GAS (Glass Art Society)
Ganoskin

If you have any others you'd like to add to the list just let me know...

Good Evening

Good Evening! I was going to list my Etsy listings here but I thought I’d only welcome you to the evening. Put on your best Transylvanian twang and say it ten times….”Good Evening”. I remember saying that when I used to watch the old Bela Legosi films of Dracula. It’s such a fun line to say. If you want to see the latest listing though just go to the Etsy Mini and click. You’ll find them there.

What I wanted to tell you about is this site you may have stumbled on if you are a paperback fan. It’s called Paperback Swap. For just the cost of postage you can swap out your books for more to read and if you’re addicted to them when your waiting around you might want to look here. It’s a pretty slick site and cost saving concept…for trees too. What are you reading lately? I’ve been listening to The Traveler’s Wife on the I-Pod (thanks to Susan for recording them for this tech weenie) and reading the Penland Book of Jewelry (such light fair!).

I'm Having Babies

I’m betting that this is my "thang", like for others its flowers or animals. For me though I’m guessing that one of things I will continually create is the skulls. They sure are one of the things I'm posting the most of lately. It could just be because Halloween is such a big holiday. Or maybe its because of Día de los Muertos. GO figure… it’s just going to stick.

The photo to the right is of the latest skulls. They were recently sold on Etsy but I’m making more. These are so cute and tiny…like babies of the big sugar skulls. Only 1/2 - 5/8"...teensy guys.

Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy!

This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us in to! No, not really but I love that line. I use it when my DH makes a wrong turn driving...and I get the look.

Not much to blog about today, and if you believe that I’ve got some great islands you can purchase off the coast of “Prudenville, New Caledonia”. I’ll put up a reserved post for you on Etsy and you can just pay me through PayPal.

It beautiful outside, the sun is shining and there is the crispness in the air that I love. I actually wouldn’t mind if this was pretty much the only weather we had. Is someone out there looking for the perfect place for me to retire? Oh, and it can’t have sharks…it’s not a long story. I just don’t like them. Last night my DH took me out for dinner and the blue plate special was of all things Mako Shark, flown in fresh from Hawaii. Oh yeah, Hawaii to Northern Michigan - a direct flight, didn't you know! And, you could have this with BBQ or Dill sauce. I'm wondering are they grown in a tank? Or milk fed? Have they been eating divers? Somehow this all seems a little strange to me. Do they have shark boats like crab boats, nets, cages, poles? And, since they are carnivores, I’m a little concerned about who or what they have eaten. Just a thought here! Needless to say, I did not deem it appropriate in any way to eat or taste a piece of shark. And if I’m ever near the ocean I’m hoping that rumor gets around the shark cooler and they decide I’m friendly, not tasty.