Getting Down and Dirty with Copper

Today is my Studio Day.  I'm starting out by having breakfast with Chickie, Meghan and her wonderful little baby boy, Sebi.  We'll get all of the scoop about Meghan's recent trip to Peru to visit Fernando.  He's a very good looking young man, but rather unformed, still.  The way that many young men are without clear goals or a strong woman in their lives.  I don't really know why women tend to mature better and faster, but they do.  Many men don't really grow up until they are in their 30's or 40's, and that's too late in my opinion. 

After I drop Meghan and Sebi back at their home, I'll start my errands.  I have a 15% off coupon at Barnes & Noble, so I'll buy myself a birthday gift with that.  I need to drop by my box supplier, and I need a couple of things at the office supply store.  The grocer is also on the agenda.  Then I'll get home, start a load of laundry, and start transferring my images to my copper so that I can etch the images later this afternoon.  There is nothing I like much better than playing with acid.  It's just something about it - preparing the metal correctly so that, after allowing it to sit in agitated and heated acid, I get the impression etched out that I need.  This etching consists of two pieces for my BFAC 2011 project - a round piece featuring two lines of Tengwar script, and a rectangular plaque for the inside of the piece that translates the Tengwar words.  The project itself is called "The First Sunrise" and those who are familiar with "The Silmarillion" of JRR Tolkien will have an idea of where I'm going with my imagery here.  If I can get the etch to work properly, I should be able to stretch and paint the silk next week and begin the beadwork portion of the challenge after that.  My goal is to have this finished by the time I leave for Bead & Button.  It's a tight schedule that doesn't leave a lot of leeway, but I think I can do it if everything clicks into place. 

DH really came through for my birthday last night.  Even though he was angry at me for the past few days (that means speaking the bare minimum and ignoring/grumping around the house), he focused and got it together.  He bought me a dozen red roses, two very nice cards, and cooked me dinner of stuffed chicken breasts, rice and veggies.  We had some marzipan bombe cake for dessert.  I put on 2 pounds from all of that - guess my treadmill time today will be longer than usual , but it was worth it :-)  Have a creative day!