I Made A Ring

Successfully this time! Sunday my mom and I took a "Making A Ring" class at the Jewelry Arts Expo held this year at the very nice Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, DE. The man running the class is apparently someone well known in jewelry circles but since I don't tend to run in jewelry circles I didn't realize it at the time. His name is Alan Revere and he founded the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. He was a very good instructor and I think that was the most successful class I've ever taken.

Somewhere around lunch time we were to have our rings soldered at the seam and this being my first attempt at jewelry soldering, I was a nervous wreck. It came out beautifully, it was a heck of a lot easier than I thought and frankly when I look at the inside of my band, I can't even see where I joined the ends of the ring together. After hours of filing and sanding (and I mean that literally!) I used the narrow end of a cross peen hammer to make the textured outer edge of the ring. My mom, after hours of filing and sanding, took the wide end of the hammer to make a hammered edge. We laughed about all the work we'd done to make it smooth only to mark it all up again with a hammer!

We took the rings home and put them in the polisher but I think it could still stand to have a little hand polish done. When Alan polished his in class with some rouge and a felt stick, it really shined!

So without further ado, here is how my ring started:


And here is the final result:


I am so proud of myself!

Happy Fifty Years!

My husband's mother celebrated her fiftieth year of life this weekend. Her actual birth date was Friday and we (by we I mean Steve, his sister Stacey and his father. BIL John and I stayed out of it LOL) planned a surprise party for her on Saturday. Steve's dad hired a caterer, I bought decorations, Steve picked up the drinks and Stacey gathered old photos and made awesome collages. All of MIL's sisters and brothers showed up and she was well and truly surprised.

Unfortunately there was a mix up with the caterer. He was supposed to be there at 4. Guests were due to arrive at 4:30 and MIL was coming at 5. By quarter of five there was still no sign of the caterer and no one was answering the phone. Steve started calling local grocery stores to see if they had some hot food in the deli and Stacey and I were trying to think of where we could get some veggies for a tray or what else we could buy, prepare and serve in a very short amount of time. MIL pulled up to the building and about thirty seconds after that the caterer showed up. My FIL was happily moving around the kitchen saying, "Right on time" and because I was irritated with the caterer and feeling a little snarky I mumbled, "Yeah right on time... an hour later." I guess I mumbled it a little louder than I thought because as we were hustling to get the food set out the caterer said something about a 5PM delivery time. That's the point where my FIL admitted he'd been the one to mix up the timing. I guess he kept thinking MIL would be there at five and that's what came out of his mouth when he called. Oh well, it worked, we had food and very fresh, hot food at that.

For Christmas I had given MIL some earrings with a leverback finding. I didn't realize how much she likes that kind of finding but since I gave her the earrings she's mentioned it almost every time I see her. So I knew I had to get some more leverbacks and make more earrings for her.

These were S3's favorite of the bunch. He thought they suited his grandmother the most. They're made with brass beads, vermeil findings and faceted smoky quartz coins.

These are Swarovski crystals - a rondell with clear and 4mm Pacific Opal AB bicones. Findings and round beads are sterling.

These are blue goldstone (imitation) and 4mm Swarovski Shadow Crystal AB bicones. The findings and round beads are sterling. I wish you could see the depth to the blue goldstone. It's impossible to photograph but if you look closely at the left earring or you click here you can get somewhat of a feel for the sparkle.

These last pair are my favorites. I've had the pink faceted teardrops since the very first beadshow I attended all those years ago so I'm not sure exactly what they are. I paired them with 4mm Swarovski pink bicones and sterling round beads. The findings are all sterling as well. I didn't want to give her this pair LOL!

Jewelry, Stitching and Cakes

I've finally organized my pictures somewhat and have made my creative album accessable by the public. It's kinda like my cross stitch gallery except everything else is in there too. Enjoy

Our Favorite Gifts

Look Ma, I'm upright! The Wednesday before Christmas I'd worked and one of my residents coughed right into my face. I should have known I was in for it. Yesterday I was starting to feel better so we went out and today I finally uploaded Christmas pictures. Took me long enough, hey?

S3 asked my mom and dad for a new skateboard for Christmas this year and the little stinkhead found the receipt from CCS a few weeks before the big day. I told my parents and my dad emailed that he had something evil planned for boys who sneak around and figure out their presents. So the day we celebrated Christmas with them rolled around and my nephew opened a tall thin package with his custom skateboard inside. S3 and Ty opened their tall thin pacakages and found old scooters inside. Shortly after I heard Steve say to Ty, "Try not to pout," and Ty reply, "I know but I just really wanted a skateboard." After a while my dad brought out two more tall thin packages. When Ty opened his this time he found his custom skateboard inside but S3.... Well this is what he pulled out of his package:

Later my dad relented and gave S3 his actual board. Poor Ty was more upset over the whole gag anyway since (as S3 put it) S3 was sure he'd get his board eventually. Brat.







Steve gave my dad some disgusting looking gummy eyeballs.










My children gave me Elvis for Christmas. It's one of those glass blocks with the three-dimensional picture inside. It sits on a base that alternates between red and blue lights.

Steve surprised me with an auto detailing package for my van which is absolutely perfect since I have become the clean van nazi ever since we bought the new one.












Chef E is going to cook us all sorts of meals.






















G pulled out the pottery wheel today for the first time. I don't think she did half bad for her first attempt.














And of course, the ring that I knew I was getting. It's such a shame to put such a pretty ring on such ugly fingers but hey, something has to be done to make them look better.







I gave Steve a money clip with his initials engraved on it since he doesn't like to carry a wallet anymore and a new golf bag. Ok really, I think my dad should get the credit for the golf bag. Sometime in November he emailed me and said, "Hey remember when we were talking about that gift idea for Steve?" I was totally baffled. Even after he reminded me of his idea (he'd noticed Steve needed a new bag one of the times they went golfing together) I still didn't remember the conversation. Anyway, Dad picked out the bag, hid it at his house and then when Steve was in Italy he even delivered it to my house with a large plastic bag to "wrap" it in. Pretty much all I did was stuff it behind my tree for a few days and then pull it out and say, "Ta-Da!" If you ask Steve what his favorite gift was this Christmas he'll tell you the bag but I know really it's the bluetooth headset my parents gave him for his cell phone.

I think it's going to take a whole different post to tell you about the DDR that Ty got...

Aqua and Pearl Necklace

It's a Christmas gift that gave me such heartache while I was making it but it really turned out exactly as I'd imagined.

Amy the Pampered Chef Lady

My friend Amy is the hardest working, most dedicated mother I have ever met. She does all these amazing things, she is an excellent cook, she sells Pampered Chef so she can stay home and she constantly volunteers her time at school and church. The one thing I think Amy does not do is take enough care of herself. She is so busy caring for the rest of us (I have frequently said I'd be lost without her!) that she never takes the time for Amy. She doesn't buy herself treats and she doesn't go out just for fun without her kids. I found these cute little cooking charms the other day and when I saw her at school running the Christmas shop for the kids and looking like she could happily pull her own hair out - who wouldn't look that way with 3,000,000 kids trying to pick out Christmas gifts - and I knew she just had to have them.

I know I didn't express my feelings to her well enough when I gave her the bracelet the other night because I was so worried about whether or not she'd actually like the bracelet and I was glad to see that she was really excited about it. Here's a closeup of the cooking charms:

To Match G's Nutcracker Dress

I have created this...

Now I just have to make matching earrings...

Kumihimo Necklaces

I had so much fun making the cording for my ornament that I decided to use my Diva Cord Maker to make necklaces. My mother and I picked up this handy gadget at the last bead show we attended and it's so easy a four year old can do it. I made three necklaces this weekend but one of them went to a birthday party girl before I got a chance to snap a piccie so you'll just have to imagine the pink, sparkly, girlieness that was G's gift to her friend. The other two are mine and E's. I'm sure you can make out which is which.

Pink Seed Bead Necklace

This was a new technique to me and one that I basically taught myself. It's really very sparkly in person. I guess I'll have to find something to wear with it. I don't think it's going to go with a tshirt.