Remember piece #51 from last year? Yeah, that one! It's up on Etsy now.
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Packrat Win
Once upon a time, I worked at another bead store as an office manager/general factotum. They had previously merchandised something (T-shirts? gift certificates? not sure) in these cute little cans. Having done that much as they wanted to, they were going to chuck their canning supplies. Ever pratical, I thought "Surely I could use that for something!" and took them home.
15 years later...
I "canned" fresh, homemade shortbread bites for holiday presents. It took a little head scratching to figure out how to work the machinery, as there were no instructions and nothing particularly helpful on YouTube.
I was very, very pleased at being able to use something I had stored so long. Totally worth it!
Forty-Six through Fifty-Two!
Voila! While not technically a piece every week, I made it to 52 pieces. Making them is one thing. Getting them photographed and posted is another. Wrap up stats are after all the pics.
Sterling with glass. For sale here.
Sterling with glass yo-yo beads. For sale here.
Sterling with vintage purple and lime glass. For sale here.
Gold-filled with glass and crystal. For sale here.
Sterling with hematite. For sale but not posted to Etsy yet. $85
Sterling with glass, crystal, onyx, and pearl.
For sale but not posted to Etsy yet. $65
Sterling with glass, crystal, sodalite, and pearl.
For sale but not posted to Etsy yet. $75
And now the numbers, just for fun:
- 52 pieces posted
- 4 were commissions
- 24 were sold
- 1 I kept
- 1 was not jewelry
Thanks for playing along! No promises for next year, other than I will continue to post as I'm able. Who knows, there might some bigger projects in the pipeline...
Forty-Five
I put these three things together, and then I couldn't take them apart. So they became a pendant.
Forty-Four
Who knew red and grey worked so well together? Not my usual colors, but I sure like this one.
Available on Etsy. Free shipping through this month!
Forty-Two and Forty-Three
It's almost nearing the point where I see if I've completed 52 new pieces this year. I'm pretty sure that's a yes, but I'm not making any declarations yet. Until then, please enjoy these next two, both of which recently sold!
Sterling silver, glass, and one little amethyst bead at the bottom
Swarovski crystal with a subtle wire wrap on sterling silver chain
Post-Thanksgiving House Fun
When I moved into this house in 1998, there was a lot of work to do, including shoring up the living room floor which would travel an inch or two when bounced. Since it wasn't posing any immediate problems, it got put off.
Not long ago we noticed a crack in the living room wall (click any picture to enlarge):
Then this appeared in the office (in line with the living room wall):
Hm, guess we better think about fixing the floor.
The house is rather, um, homemade. The substructure is actual 2x4 redwood that is not necessarily well-assembled. Under the living room the 2x4s are just stabbed right into the dirt, and the dirt is quite soft. The living room is also the largest room in the house and eventually became known to our guests as a bit of a trampoline, having tamped down the 2x4s. We took an investigative crawl under the house to confirm what I already knew, and snapped a few pics:
Yes, that's at least an inch clearance between post and beam.
More not-touching supports.
At least this fine piece of support carpentry is still holding up the kitchen. Likely because it's actually standing on concrete:
On the plus side, several years ago I had the house bolted to the foundation (which it hadn't been for 90ish years). Here is one of the custom brackets installed:
This piece is about a foot wide.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we donned our dust masks and crawled under to work. Here's a workout for you: Travel 30 feet prone, using just your elbows and toes, pushing a 20 pound concrete block in front of you. Travel 30 feet back the same, minus the block. Repeat 10 times.
For each block, we needed to create a level spot for it to sit. If the dirt wasn't super soft, it was hard and rock-like, requiring pick-and-smash action in close quarters.
About 28 hours worth of work later (split between the two of us) and we now have a firm, secure floor. Here is one row of new and improved supports:
And another row:
There were a few more pictures, but they didn't come out very well. The super fine dust, sketchy lighting, and awkward positioning make photography a challenge. But I did drag out a couple of pieces to shoot in the backyard. Witness the state of these "footings":
And for your amusement, some found objects For some reason, there were a lot of salad dressing jar lids.
Shasta soda, Durkee's Famous Dressing and Meat Sauce, and a prescription box for vaginal suppository. What's THAT doing under the house?
Our elbows were pretty much toast after all of that. At least it was a pretty cheap project. Yay!
Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One
Time for another roundup of pieces. I managed to crank out a bunch of fun stuff before the show in September, but photographing all of it is another matter. All of them are for sale - click the picture to get to the Etsy listing. Oh, and I'm offering free shipping now through December!
