Crystals and Bronz

Well, yesterday's work on Kinetic wasn't hopeless, but didn't go as smoothly as I wanted either. I think I'm going to try and remake some of the elements on Wednesday's studio day and also try a few other experiments with the BronzClay. Just need to do it :-)))

We got the new Swarovski colors and pearl color in the shop at the end of last week. We've been selling them since - people seem to love the Dark Indigo. If anyone wants some of these, I have the bicones in 3mm, 4mm and 6mm and the rounds in 4mm and 6mm. Although I don't have a picture of the Crystal Bordeaux pearl color, I have that in 3mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm sizes. Very pretty. (I can be contacted for business stuff at Beadstorm1 @ aol.com - just eliminate the gaps to get a valid Email address.)

VerLaine is on vacation today. We have store rules - one of which is no Saturday vacation days. I know that's not actually possible in real life, but we do try to eliminate as much as possible because Saturdays are usually pretty busy days. I'm hoping we'll be so busy that we'll absolutely hate her by the end of the day - LOL. Have fun at your Maya Society Banquet, Chickie. And check out the shirt that she designed for the Society. It's based on a plate - very fun. I'm for sure buying one of these T-shirts for myself!!!

Kinetic Crux Day

Today will be a telling day. I'll either succeed in soldering on the small, but crucial parts on Kinetic to allow the final steps, or I'll melt the base and destroy a couple of weeks of work. I'm going to try the bronze solder that I purchased which I haven't tried at all yet. I'm hoping it will act like gold solder instead of silver solder or copper solder. Why? Because gold solder you can concentrate on the seam, but with silver and copper solder you have to make things happen to the entire piece and get much closer to a total melt stage. I really don't want to have to remake the dangle paddles if I don't have to. Be brave........ Remember - torch control .... LOLOL.

And we're swamped at the shop. Although the customer count and dollar amounts are down (a simply reflection of the economy trickling down to affect everyone), we've received several major shipments at the end of last week. I tagged the new Czech 15o Charlotte beads yesterday. These are SO cute and tiny!!! It's too bad they don't have a lot of color selection, but I'm happy.

I Admit It....I'm a Total Geek!!!

OK, those who know me well know that I'm a total JRR Tolkien geek!!! I first read the Lord of the Rings in 1968 and I have read the entire trilogy 1-2 times a year (average) since then. I have approx 8 full sets of the books, including illustrated hard copies, all of the maps and supplementary materials, every background book, the full unabridged audio books, etc. I am constantly checking the appendices - I probably know them better than the actual story narrative in some ways. And, even though I didn't agree with all of Peter Jackson's vision for LOTR, I am still thankful that he had the ability to actually put it on screen and I love it.

So, after errands (including looking around Michael's for an hour with a 40% off coupon and buying absolutely nothing) I went home, turned on the computer, and started researching cloaks. I want to make a cloak. I purchased some wonderful dark teal loose-weave wool last week, and some satin lining. I haven't decided if this cloak will be a warm-weather or cool-weather one yet, though, so the lining may end up in a different garment.

Anyway, I started searching for "Making a Cloak" tips, patterns, tricks, etc. I inventoried my fabric and patterns that I have purchased over the years and made a quick database of the patterns so that I don't duplicate when they have their next pattern sale. And I got totally pulled in to BTS (behind the scenes) and IP (in progress) photos of the shooting of the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) movies. You see....there's this wonderful cloak that Elrond wears when he brings Anduril to Aragorn at the camp of Theoden. I want a hood similar to that one, and finding a good picture of it is proving very elusive. But I spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening looking at pictures, patterns, analysis of outfits, etc. I got nothing physical accomplished (no jewelry made, no muslins sewn), but I did immerse myself again in the world of LOTR, and you know what? I'm pretty happy about it :-)))

Day Off - Studio Time?

I only get two more days off this month and today is already filled to bursting!! I almost forgot that I had a 10:00 am appointment to look at some "inherited" jewelry making supplies that a lady wants to sell. It's a good thing she Emailed me to remind me :-)) The inventory listing she Emailed to me doesn't look like there's really a lot to interest me, but I'll take a look.


I did order a copy of the Imperishable Beauty softcover catalog from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I had been meaning to get this book, featuring the art of Lalique, Fouquet and other Art Nouveau artists. I had seen examples of the photography in several magazines that spotlighted the exhibit. It will be wonderful eye candy :-) Hopefully I will get a chance to get some of my OWN work done today too :-))

Vatican Splendors, Anyone??

So, I have tickets to the exhibit Vatican Splendors for Sunday the 19th......and for Sunday the 26th. I purchased the tickets for the 19th and then remembered that I had a scheduling conflict and needed the following week. The tickets are non-returnable/non-refundable. AACK!!! At a time when I'm seriously low on funds I just wasted more than $50!!!! Anyway, I offered them to Chickie, but haven't heard back from her, and I don't want them to go to waste. So, if anyone would like these - I would appreciate some money back for them but would be willing to let them go cheap. It is admission for 2 plus the audio tours for 1:00 pm on Sunday the 19th at the Minnesota History Center. Just Email or phone me at the shop. I could drop them off on Wednesday, my day off, otherwise I would have time to mail them locally and have them arrive in plenty of time. Sometimes I'm so STUPID!!!!!

The event I'll be going to instead of the Minnesota History Center will be the Minnesota Mineral Club Show 2008 in Cottage Grove. This is a once-a-year show - it's small, but fun. Lots of slabs of rough rock, some equipment, and sometimes I find some nice cabs or faceted gems to get here. It'll be a fun day. I suppose if I don't sell the tickets mentioned in the first paragraph above, I'll just consider that the cost was just a more expensive enjoyable day looking at stone. Better to ask the cat in to lick up the spilt milk than crying over the spill - LOL. Positive thinking is a conscious choice.

And today I get to start working on my kinetic piece again. I was progressing really well yesterday - got the bearing soldered into one of the bezels and the back soldered on and started to saw out the opening in the back. Then the saw slipped and the bezel got cut on one side. Disaster!! So....today I get to start that bezel again. I sure wish I had more than 1-2 hours a day to be able to spend at the bench, I have a feeling I would be a LOT more productive - :-))) But at least I do get some time, so I really can't complain.

Sunday at the Museum

I love museums. I will go out of my way in any city to see the museums. Today my DH and I decided on a lovely day centered around a truly unique exhibit.
1) We started the day out with McDonald's breakfast. OK, I understand that many people don't like Micky-D's, but we love fast food and their breakfast is a real treat for us. Plus, Monopoly is being played again - always fun. After too many calories and good coffee, we were on our way to...
2) Barnes & Noble books. One of my absolutely favorite places to spend time - I usually drop by at least once a week. Since I'm a member, they send me discount coupons all the time. Today I had an extra 15% off any one item coupon - oh Happy Day!! My coupon went for a discount on a simply lovely inspirational book "Starting to Collect Antique Jewellery" by John Benjamin. I'm not a collector, but there were some really nice pieces in it to inspire my own work in the future :-) I also got a wonderful book on Geometric Vector Designs that will be very useable in my etching work. Leaving the book store we saw that a small gem & mineral show was going on in the mall so we stopped by for a look. I picked up one small cab that's simply wonderful - lots of character, and a couple of Smoke Quartz faceted gemstones to go with it. After I get the two projects I'm currently working on off my bench, I'll start work on this one.
3) On to The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis for an exhibit that they have on Russian Icons. These are spectacular works of art, mostly dating from the mid 1600s through the late 1700s. It is the first, and possibly last, time that they have been out of Russia. The artwork was truly magnificant and the giftshop had some wonderful items and inspirational ideas also. We did not indulge in gifties, as much as we really wanted this book on Russian Laquer Enameling.
4) Off to TGIFridays for drinks and dinner. Unfortunately our usual bartendeer was off today. I think it is possible that deer season started today because it would be normal for him to be off on that day. Instead we ended up with nice bartenders, but not friends, and we left earlier than we would have.
5) A quick stop at the grocery store to get dessert and we ended the day. Not a single argument for the entire day :-)) What a nice day!!!