Peek at My Week (Feb 4-13)

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! I hope the day and week ahead treats you well. This past week was a doozy for me! Take a peek. 

The above is about all I accomplished on Sunday, and that was specifically for my #100DaysOfMakingJewelry for #the100DayProject. My motivation otherwise was NOWHERE to be found. I had all kinds of ideas and things I should have done, but it all felt so taxing. I ended up playing on the Xbox for a while. It wasn't productive by any means, but I let it slide. 

Monday, as usual, was much more productive as I knocked tasks off my list, including working on some jewelry. In fact, I worked with the above materials for several days to get a necklace made. There was a terrible storm that night that had us up at 3am unplugging everything to protect it from a lightning strike. 

Tuesday ended up being a warm and beautiful day. But, I didn't have a chance to enjoy it because I stayed so busy! A customer ordered some earrings but then picked out several other items she had found on my blog and Instagram that she wanted. As well, Artemis had another vet appointment as we're still spacing out her vaccines to prevent another bad reaction. 

That went pretty quickly and painlessly (for me anyway!) Back at home, our washing machine's drain has continued to back up. Though Tuesday is my laundry day, I couldn't finish the washing without making a bigger mess (more on that in a minute.)

Despite all the crazy, I was able to fit in just a few minutes of art-making.

I needed to play with some paint to relax a bit. It definitely helped.

All heck broke loose on Wednesday. As scheduled, the guys came out to pump our septic tank to see if that would help fix the laundry drain issue (it didn't). They left the lid to the septic tank exposed because it needed to be re-mortared (by us) before it could be covered back up. While Pat ran to get the mortar, I went and updated the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents with a few new things. 

From there, I went to pick up lunch. It was already raining, but this was headed our way.

With lunch in hand, I hurried home as lightning struck several spots very close to me as I drove. I arrived home shaken and soaked! As well, the rain prevented Pat from mortaring the septic tank lid, so it was still exposed in the yard. As we sat down to enjoy lunch, we realized that the satellite was out. Further investigation revealed that the cable to the house had been cut when the septic tank was dug up. We were on the phone with the satellite company for 45 minutes just trying to get them to send a technician. They wanted us to restart the receiver and run through all the other troubleshooting. We were both already at our wit's end, I don't think we were very kind. It was an exhausting day.

Since I knew repairmen were headed in to help us on Thursday, I woke with some optimism. It was really foggy but warm enough to sit on the porch and focus on the day ahead. From there, I saw that the jessamine was blooming.

It helped keep me hopeful.

Before long, the reinforcements started rolling in!

The cable line was re-run and the plumber did his best to fix the washer's drain. However, they'll be back out here on Monday to re-run the line. It'll be an expensive mess, but maybe I'll be able to wash clothes again! While they were both doing their thing, Pat was able to mortar the tank. After lunch, the rain held off long enough for me to help him re-bury it. 

I finished the necklace from earlier in the week and started on some earrings.

Later in the day, I even did a little art journaling. I really just wanted to throw some paint around but went overboard into ugly. I was just about to walk away from it when I realized I could highlight the beauty in that mess with some black gesso.

I'm glad I kept at it. 

On Friday, I decided to use up some of the eggs the chickens have been laying for us. First, I topped my avocado toast with a couple for breakfast. 

They fueled me for the day ahead and the long list of chores that I tackled first thing. Then, it was on to jewelry-making.

Fresh eggs made their appearance in dinner too!

That's a Korean Beef and Couscous Bowl that I kinda made up and will hopefully be sharing the recipe for before too long. It's so stinkin' easy! Oh, and the big news for the week was that we discovered on Friday night that our Building Permit was posted outside. This means that hopefully there will be some movement on Pat's new shop before too long!!

Also, on Friday, I soaked a few pages of a National Geographic magazine with Citra-Solve. It was tough not to mess with it too much, but on Saturday morning, I had some beautiful pages. (You can look up this technique online. There's not much to it.)

I spent much of Saturday on a particular project that I can't reveal until the end of the month. But, I love it! When I ran out to pick up one supply for it, I also got some Girl Scout Cookies. I couldn't resist!

Before I settled in for the evening, I made sure to get started on a new jewelry design. This necklace is moving faster than the other one.

And, that was my week - a wild ride for sure!

Here's a little inspiration for you:

• At the end of each month, Halcraft Collection shares a few tutorials using their pretty palette collection. Here's January's Pretty Palette Reveal. 
• Julie of Balzer Designs shared her Valentine's Day Ideas from the archives. 
• At The House that Lars Built, they've shared some artist-made Valentines that you can print (for a fee). 
• This DIY Lego shadowbox is so much my style! I almost made it for Pat, but just ran out of time to get the minifigs and box. Maybe next year...
• Jen at Epbot is one of my favorite bloggers. She's geeky and so awesome. It's not often that she does something jewelry-related, but when she does, I take notice. Her tutorial for making these Dollar Tree Laser-cut necklaces is no exception. 
• I love a good, old photograph for my mixed media art. The Graphics Fairy recently shared a collection of 22 Vintage Actress Images. I saved so many of them!
• Peacock & Lime has this great collection of 25 Jewellery Organization Ideas that are sleek and beautiful. 
• I've been saving this list of artist-made Geeky Valentine's Cards since last year. Again, I waited too late to get one for Pat. Drat.
• Here's another earring tutorial from Moois Van Mie. I actually have a plan to use a bead cap in a similar way at some point soon (the design just got added to the bead box.)

Like I said, this week has been a doozy. I'm looking forward to a better one ahead. Here's hoping yours is full of sunshine and magic!

Thrifty Thursday - tiny but mighty haul

I do love a good deal and/or finding a special treasure at a thrift store or antique mall. This past month, I didn't have many opportunities to go treasure hunting as I was trying to stay safe. But, I did luck up with just a few items that I'm crazy over!

You can watch the video at the end of the post to see other details of what I got but, above is the gist of it. While at Southern Antiques and Accents to care for my booth, I walked around the antique mall for a little while and found both some flashcards and a box of awesome (more on that in a bit.) I ran into the Dollar Tree afterward for a few supplies and brought home a set of sweet valentine fabric bags. 

Now, for the real diamond in the rough!

This beautifully rusted box was tucked into the same booth as the flashcards and simply labeled "Railroad Box".

Inside was a bounty of typed and handwritten papers from the '40s.

(I put them in file folders myself to sort them.)

Here's a look at just some of what was in there.

I have to admit that it wasn't until after I filmed my video of the haul that I realized that the paperwork was from the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) - where MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER WORKED IN THE '40s!!!! I've gone quickly through most of the papers looking for his name, to no avail. But, it's still so cool. 

I was worried that my husband would chide me for buying a metal box full of papers. So, I told him that I would cut the box up for jewelry if I needed to.

He informed me that I would do no such thing, "That box is too cool to be cut up." Yay!

That's all there was for January. But, less can be more. And, this was such an awesome haul! Here's my January Thrifty Haul video on YouTube if you want to see me show off these treasures. 

Have you found anything good lately?

February Challenges and Inspirations

I love having a bit of inspiration to keep me motivated and making. Below you'll find a list of challenges and other inspirations for this month that will hopefully inspire you too!

• First up, The 100 Day Project has begun! Are you participating too?
• Halcraft Collection has shared their Pretty Palette Inspiration for this month. It's full of mixed metallics. 
• Sarajo and Eric at SJ Designs Jewelry have unveiled this month's photo inspiration for the Honey Do List. It's Valentine's Day appropriate, and the reveal is set for February 22nd. 
• The theme for the Art Elements Challenge is also seasonally appropriate with Snowflake as the inspiration. You are free to work in any medium for this challenge and your work can be added any time during the month in the designated snowflake album in the Art Elements Community on Facebook. 

And, that's it for the ones I know of this month. Let me know if you're aware of any challenges or inspiration that I may have missed. I'll add it to the list!

Peek at My Week (Jan 31-Feb 6)

Let me go ahead and admit that the majority of this post is just pictures of my desk and what I've been working on for #The100DayProject. 

This was Day 1. I kept it simple with some tin pieces I had already prepped for earrings. 

As I mentioned before, my project is #100DaysofMakingJewelry, and I'm not pushing myself to get anything DONE each day, I just want to work on making each day. 

On Monday, I was all about planning and executing. I was focused on getting things done. Above are the fun beads I used to work on my project and make a cute pair of earrings.

Most of Tuesday was spent working on stocking my Bead Box. Those are just some of the treasures I was considering for it. 

The week wouldn't be complete without a new picture of Artemis. Here, she was making herself comfortable in my laundry basket just as I needed it. 

I also altered some key charms with Vintaj Patinas for the Bead Box. I counted that as my project for the day.

I needed to be at my mom's most of Wednesday to take my niece to the dentist, but before I left the house, I stacked a few pretty beads together on a headpin for some earrings.

While taking the recycling to the boxes (I have to drive into town since there's no pickup in our area), I ran into the library to check out their free shelves really quick for a bit of a Thrifty Thursday.

I had to stop to admire this little tree of blooms in my front yard. It took me a bit of asking around online, but I found out that it's a Taiwan Cherry Tree. 

For that day's project, I started a necklace.

Just as we were heading to bed, our older cat, Rosalina, began sneezing blood. It was awful. It was everywhere. I didn't know what to do. We cleaned up what we could and isolated her in our bathroom to contain the mess until I could get her to the vet in the morning. Neither of us slept well because of the worry, and the bathroom was quite the scene. But, I cleaned it up and got her to the vet for treatment. Later in the day, I was finally able to focus on making.

I turned to some fun tin, but the project just didn't work out. 

In the evening, I had a video call with my Bead Soup Swap partner (Robin Reed) to open our packages to one another. Here's a peek at what she sent me.

I'm planning on getting some pictures in the next day or two to give you a better look at her amazing generosity along with what I sent to her.

We were able to release Rosalina from her confinement on Saturday morning as I didn't see any additional blood in the bathroom. She was relieved for the release and settled into one of her favorite spots in front of my dresser. 

She slept most of the day (not surprising since she hollered and rattled the doorknob all night long.)

I played around with some scraps of tin (including the pink ones that didn't work out the day before) and mother-of-pearl buttons before I needed to leave the house.

I spent the rest of the day at my mom's house. We enjoyed some King Cake. Though Mardi Gras is "canceled" this year, we can still enjoy some of the joy of it.

That was my week for the most part. 

Now, here's some inspiration for you.

• While the 100 Day Project has already started, you could still join in. Julie of Balzer Designs offers up some 100 Day Project ideas. 
• At the Beading Gem, she's shared 6 Beaded Heart Jewelry Tutorials. 
• I'm always looking for some doodle suggestions, so here are some Flower Doodles to learn. 
• Roben-Marie has a few ideas for how to successfully participate in the 100 day project. 
• I like this lovely heart and pom-pom garland for Valentine's Day. 
• This tutorial for a seashell heart sign is one I saved last year to share just in time for Valentine's Day. 
• I really want to hone my brush lettering skills, and this tutorial might be just the thing. 
• These slouching figure sculptures and their details are captivating. 

I'm hoping the week ahead is better than this past one, but I'll take it as it comes either way. Here's hoping your week is full of smiles!

How to Rivet for Jewelry Making

It came to my attention earlier this week that I didn't have a quick tutorial on how to rivet. While I include riveting in at least three of my YouTube jewelry tutorials, there's not one just for the basic skill. So, I created one!

These are the supplies I use to rivet

I like the EuroPower Punch for its ability to punch holes in a variety of metal gauges and hole sizes. However, it doesn't come with a 1.5mm punch that is best for most nail head rivets. But, those can be purched. I also use a fairly basic pair of heavy-duty wire cutters. To flatten the rivet, I use a small bench block and a small ball peen hammer. In addition, I like a fine tip permanent marker to help mark where I'm punching. And, you'll need your metal. 

This quick video on Using Rivets in Jewelry Making will show you how I do it. 

Here's a better look at the two pieces I riveted together in the video. 

Of course, you can get a better idea of how rivets are used in some finished pieces. Here are examples from my Etsy Shop. 

Roy G Biv Earrings

Red Door Necklace

Orange Rose Earrings

If you're interested in watching me create pieces with rivets in them, here are those videos I mentioned above:

DIY Floating Riveted Earrings

DIY Altered and Riveted Pendant (the red door pendant above)

Ghost Tassel Earrings DIY

If you have any questions about this, let me know in the comments. I'll do my best to help you. Have fun joining some metal together!

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Wintery Gray Earrings for January's Honey Do List

Each month, Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry shares an inspiring photo from her husband, Eric. He gives her these photos as a fun jewelry challenge, and she offers them up on her blog for anyone else who wants to participate. It's called the Honey Do List.  I'm running behind on this reveal for January's challenge as I struggled with the simple color scheme of the wintery bird in the snow. I thought I was going to let another of these challenges pass me by. But, after seeing Sarajo's reveal, I was struck with an idea.

Something about the plump shape of the little bird had me wanting to use a wide teardrop that I cut from reclaimed tin. I chose to use the distressed, aged bottom of a vintage tin. From there, I thought I was just going to wire on some beads, but the blank front of the tin was itching for some kind of adornment. 

I dipped into my button stash and found two gray beads in similar color and size to attach to the front of the tin drops. But, the gray-on-gray felt stark and didn't have that pop of white that the snow provides in the inspiration. So, I turned to a vintage linen tablecloth that I've been using snippets of in my mixed media work. It was the perfect addition of texture to the tin. Once the fabric and buttons were sewn and tied on with black embroidery floss, I punched holes for beads.

Labradorite seemed to be a perfect choice. A curve of wire with stone chips hangs from the bottom while a faceted rondelle acts as a connector to the lever back ear wires. 

I have to confess that once I finished making these earrings, I wore them the whole rest of the day. I kinda love them.

As always, a HUGE thanks to Sarajo and Eric for the inspiration. I wouldn't have come up with these beauties without it. Make sure you head over to January's Honey Do List Reveal at SJ Designs Jewelry to see what other jewelry the photos inspired. 

Art Journal Videos in January

 I'm not sure why I don't share my art journaling endeavors in more in-depth here other than it would take more time. I guess I could find the time. I put the videos up on YouTube, and that takes plenty of time. I ought to share them more in-depth here too. Maybe. We'll see. For now, here are the art journal videos I shared over January.

Actually, this first one was shared on New Year's Eve, I don't know how I missed it in my last Art Journal post. 

Quick Art Journal Page

Art Journal Color Inspiration: Blue-Green

Whimsical Art Journaling

Making an Art Journal Page Cohesive

Art Journal with Texture and Flowers

I'm thinking I may share this last one in more depth later, but we'll see. It was part of a challenge from a couple of other artists. I was able to pick up the challenge pack and create this little junk journal. I'm tickled with it.

Inspiration Prompt Junk Journal: You, Me, Same 3

And, that was it for January. Here's hoping you're filling your days with creativity too.