Things you learn from working with metal

1. Patience
2. More patience
3. Even more patience.

It's almost Christmas... and I have a wishlist of metal working tools... the top of the list is a full face mask for grinding and polishing, and any real work...
I was reminded this week how important protection is when I was polishing a piece with a wire brush attached to the flex shaft of the dremel. Now, 32,000 rpms is quite a lot when you are thinking about it... and obviously I didn't. It hit home how much damage I could do when one of the members of a metalsmithing site posted a picture of what the grinding wheel did to her face... Protection first.
I wear eye protection all the time, and usually a mask, since the dust from all the stuff I do is dangerous... but I have been lax when I am cleaning up metal pieces.
A full face mask is very important if you are using a grinding tool.
Good eye protection is a must...
More than adequate ventilation is important.
Never take for granted that you are safe.
Never use chemicals like Hydrochloric acid indoors.

There are some items that are a must in the workroom,here are a couple of examples of what I want.

Pyramex Capstone Combination Goggles/Face Shield (1)

This beauty from PK Safety is made to withstand  debris and comes with a couple of extra visors so that you can tear them off when they get too scratched. It contours to your face, which I like... I like this, but I am worried about my forehead... so... I'm looking at other types.

 

 This is more what I am looking for. You would still have to use goggles since this is not rated for eye protection... but it is more in line to what I want. I am not being overly protective... you only have one skull you know, and a hit in the right place... well... I don't need any more added to or taken away from my brain, thank you. 

 

 

A good mask for your breathing is a very good idea, especially if you are using strong solvents, sawing any metal, or grinding metal, plastic, stone or shell.(2).. Copper especially is quite dangerous to your whole body, Shells, Quartz, granite and even common china dinnerware are quite dastardly if you breath the dust(3). The tiny particles enter your lungs and are deposited, they are then picked up by macrophages. When the macrophage dies, it releases the silica, since it can't digest it, and other macrophages enter and try to do the same... as explained in the pdf on Occupational Lung Diseases(4)... the process is repeated while more and more cells are being destroyed by the very mechanism that is supposed to help.

Copper is a wonderful metal to use, it is beautiful, lasts a long time, and it is readily available to use to learn metal work. I work with copper sheet a lot. I love the way it looks, the way it wears, and the patina that you can get with very little effort. I don't like breathing the dust. Even getting it on your skin isn't great, frequent handwashing is essential. Copper can give you symptoms of having a cold, but over time, it can damage your lungs, liver and eyes, as well as the skin. Special consideration should be given when working with any metal, but copper especially should be handled and disposed of properly. (5)

Stay tuned, Next blog, I'll go over some other metals and hazardous chemicals, as well as ventilation, fire retardants and other safety products in the workroom. 

 

1... http://www.pksafety.com/

.

2. Rom WN, Markowitz S, eds. Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia,

PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.

3. Oregon OSHA pamphlet. What you should know about silicosis and crystalline silica   http://www.cbs.state.or.us/osha/pdf/pubs/3301.pdf

4. 13 Occupational Lung Diseases http://thoracic.org/education/breathing-in-america/resources/chapter-13-occupational-lung-diseases.pdf

5. Occupational Health Guidelines for using Copper Dust and Mists http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0150.pdf

Yankee Legends

Derek Jeter's last


I have to tell you , being a Texan, I grew up on Texas Rangers baseball, but the Yankees always held a place in my heart... What's not to love? It is the home of legends... and when Jeter signed on... who knew he would be in the same books with those legends like DiMaggio, Mantle... Ruth... Gehrig.
There have been others.Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams, Roger Maris, ARod ( I suppose he won't ever count, but he was really good) Many have played, some forgotten, like Tony Lazzari who was a second baseman for the Yankees, even though he still holds the record in the American League for the 11 runs he drove in in ONE game in 1936, or that he still holds the Major League record for recording and RBI in 15 consecutive games. The name is forgotten.
Do people still remember stats? I don't, I can't even remember my phone number half the time, there are so many numbers running through my head. War of 1812, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in 14 hundred and 92. My social security number, My kids social security number. My mother's... sigh. I've never been good a numbers anyway, but trying to remember how many home runs Roger Maris had in his single season best that beat Babe Ruth's... 61, by the way. Or that Lefty Gomez, the Yankee's pitcher threw 28 shutouts. That Mickey Mantle had a .353 batting average. Or, that Yogi Berra wasn't a cartoon character, but a really great backstop for the Yankees who had 10 World Series titles under his belt.

The game just isn't the same now is it? Maybe it has gotten better? Maybe it has lost some of it's luster, though. Sure when Mark McGwire was beating records, one after another they went, he was like the golden boy with a career 583 home runs. When he and Sammy Sosa were locked in this battle of stats, back and forth, Sosa just trailed McGwire, but all in all, it seems that was tainted. Can the kids look back and say it was all skill? Jose Canseco rocked the whole country with his tell all book in 2005. Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. Bring down the game, bring down the players, and bring down a dream.  
Baseball doesn't seem like America's game any more. 
At least, to me, it seems like just the jaded, scandal-ridden, professional sport that is just there to make the money. Legends fall and are forgotten, no one remembers what it was like to have the local team be the representative of your dreams and aspirations. Guys like Mantle were looked up to, emulated and loved. 
I don't want my son to be an athlete. 
But there was that hope in Jeter... He seemed to be one of those guys that put his love for the game first. He was always respectable. He was always professional. He was lovable and worthy of respect. Kids should emulate him.
Jeter ended his career with  3,465 hits, in Boston of all places and a 9-5 win over the Red Sox. Derek Jeter said goodbye and headed into the locker room for the last time as a player. Earlier, the Red Sox had presented him with a piece of the famed Fenway, a piece of the "Green Monster" that had white lettering spelling out "Re2pect".  I think that says it all.



picture from gazette net . com

31 Days in October

Yipee! 31 Days is back in October!
If you don't know what 31 Days is  then you have been missing out! 31 Days is an online writing challenge that was started by Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) 
 It is each day in October, a blog a day, you choose the topic and write about it...There are 9 categories such as Inspiration & Faith and Personal Endeavors, and you can actually pick what ever it is that you want to write about...
At first I thought it would be great to pick something that was going to be super easy to write about, maybe like jewelry or something like a bible quote a day... something that is a no brainer... but why? Why would you go to the trouble to join a challenge without the challenge part?
Sooo.... I am not positive, but I thin my blog is going to be 31 Days of Vision...
What is that?
You are just going to have to come back and visit to see what it is going to be. and... let me tell you, it won't be what you expect every day. I intend to take the blog  to a place that I haven't been to in quite a while, and if you have not read my blogs from years ago... then you will not know where I can lead!

So, come back for the month of October, enjoy reading as the blog dares to delve into Vision. Hope you enjoy it, and maybe join along with a blog of your own, if you try it, you will never give it up. Blogging is such a sweet relief to stress and to that pent up creativity that is running around in your head. Don't worry that it isn't going to be 'good enough', that isn't going to be an issue here, it won't matter if it isn't professionally written, it matters that you are enjoying the experience, that you are looking into yourself and drawing that part of you out that you know is in there... It is a chance to study, to research, to think, to dream, to experience new things... Come on... you know you want to jump in... Just do it!

8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party~~~~~ The Reveal!

First of all, I really would like to thank Lori Anderson, who masterminded this blog hop. She has been an inspiration to a lot of us and she deserves a lot of credit to have gotten this big side show off  the ground!  I say side show, it is more like a whole circus. We have clowns, like me, that play around with beads, and we have lion tamers that tame molten glass into submission and make beads, we have acrobats, like my partner, Skylar Bre'z,  that perform the daring feats with the beads. So sit back and enjoy the show!

the great soup that Skylar sent to me!

It's here!!!
The reveal for the 8th annual Bead Soup Blog Party!!!!!!!!
Yes, I am excited. I have been since sign ups and I am so happy to have been partnered with Skylar Bre'z. She has great taste and knew just what I would love and I have had the most fun playing with the beads she sent to me.

The soup that Skylar sent to me was really a wonderful array of gems. There are pearls, howlite, copper, glass, and a vast mix of crazy pretty beads. Then there is the hank of yarn, that beautiful bound bunch of beauty!  I had so much fun with it, and will for a while, because I used it sparingly. A snippet here and a snippet there... wanting to use it in every piece, but not wanting to overdo it!
I took pieces with me to work on when I went to Beadfest Texas, but honestly, I didn't have time to work much, but I did find some beads and stuff to go along with the soup. Of course I couldn't pass up the pretty hank of hand spun yarn to make the necklace with the copper shell bead and then I found the nautilus shell at Sonoran Beads and little odds and ends that, well, just screamed for me to add to the array. So what I ended up with is a mix of things I had, things I thought were perfect, and things that I just really needed to buy, like the crazy acrylic coral that just set off the set...

Here are my pieces, in no certain order... I made several, I guess I thought I needed to do justice to everything Skylar sent, but really, I didn't. I didn't do the beautiful pieces justice. I just had fun with them, and I didn't get around to finishing everything... I still have a mostly finished "memory" necklace that I just haven't had time to finish up... and a bracelet that I really wanted to get done, but I had other obligations, but will finish soon... and then the glass cabochon with the white daisy in blue and black.I have all the beads set aside and will work on that as soon as school is out   

Earrings to match the Nautilus necklace

The nautilus shell in copper is probably one of my favorite beads, it is really pretty and goes well with my love for shells and all things waterborne. I found the glass Whelk shell and little octopi, along with the glass nautilus shell at Beadfest Texas at the Sonoran Beads booth. I think they went perfect with this. The yarn as well came from that show, from Bernadette Fuentes, who sells this beautiful yarn and also has gorgeous glass beads. She was so sweet and showed me some of her samples and let me ooh and ahhh over her work!
So this necklace was born. It started out with some knitted wire as well, but I decided that it was just a little too much, and took it off, though I used it in the crocheted necklace with the silver focal.      The earrings were just fun!

The lady smelling roses cabochon from Skylar just needed to have a pretty bunch of beadwork around it, I liked the look of the copper oval beads and the reds and oranges to pull out the color of the picture. I used more of the yarn, kind of loosely knotted around the beads. I made two sets of earrings to go with it, and then did a watch as well… what can I say, I’ll probably wear this necklace some!

Purple People Eater

Then there is this one! The purple people eater as I like to call him! It is so cute, it is one that I wasn’t sure how to use, I don’t normally use pendants like this, it's so cute and funky! It reminds me of something that my daughter would do, and that is fun! The painting is great; I am ashamed to say that I have lost the card that came with it identifying the maker. I am so sorry. Maybe Skylar will fill in that blank. I used chain out of the soup and the bar part of one of the clasps and beaded the rest of the clasp. I had these great hex beads that I really wanted to use, but I didn’t like the peyote chain that I made, nor did I like the right angle weave chain, the piece just needed a few beads to make it stand out.
The blue spiral is my favorite I think, though it didn’t come out very well, I used the beads I had on hand to do the bead embroidery, and they were for the most part, pretty crap. I didn’t take the time to sort them, just used what was there, and they show it. But even at that, I like the pattern and will probably take it apart and do another one just like it, using more even beads, and maybe more of the yarn. There is just a bit of yarn on this one, in the ‘chain’.
The crocheted yarn necklace is the one that came first, I just couldn't wait to do something with that beautiful yarn and thought about that focal, the only thing I could think of was to use part of the yarn that was turquois-ish and wire wrap it as the chain. The clasp is one that I had
                                  Then there is the large glass bead, I wanted to use it so bad that I couldn't hardly stand it! Several tries and I didn't like anything that I made. Silk just didn't look good, bead weaving didn't look good, beads alone didn't look good... I thought about just clear line and the bead as the only visible component! It ended up that I did like the silk but it was really bare, I thought about crochet, using the ribbon of silk like thread, but it was still too bare. and the thought of having some wooly thread came to mind, well, I do have tons of wool... and... well, I liked the silk so I just added some roving to the ribbon and crocheted it into the chain. Adding jump rings and some beads, well... it was just right. The earrings are as daring as I will go at asymmetric, I used matching beads and added wool 'beads' and love them!

By the way... did I mention that Skylar sent some yarn?

 Ok, I guess you get it that I love this stuff!!!

Go by Lori Anderson's page (Pretty Things) and see the rest of the list for the other blog party members... SO MANY beautiful designs I am sure... I'll be spending the next week ogling and awwwwing over the  work of so many great designers!

wonderful weekend so far

We spent the weekend with my daughter... what a fun time. My son and my daughter are funny together, they laugh and cut up even with the difference in age. My son likes to give her a hard time, picks on her and really would have loved to have been just a few years apart in age.
As always, we romped around with the dogs, they don't get along, well, her dog loves our dog, just not the reverse... but they played together pretty well. I just had to post this picture... not of my daughter, that would be normal... me, I'm not so much normal!
My grandpuppy... he's such a big sweety!

Bead Soup Blog Hop~~

There is a slight hiccup with the Bead Soup Blog Party reveal that is set for this weekend, nothing major, but it is delayed by a week. There are a bunch of people sighing with relief right now! ha.
I have several pieces done but haven't had the chance to photograph them yet, other than the process. We have had wind and more wind, I know I should build a light box, but hey, I love natural light.
Anyway, I am kind of sighing myself, this will give the weather here a chance to settle down, and for me to either photograph outside or find a reasonable place to do it inside.... I haven't written the blog yet, I know what I want to say, I just procrastinate and I finished the cloak I was working on, and I need to clean house, run errands and do a million and ten things... so this is actually a good thing!
Lori Anderson is quite upset with herself, having to postpone, is hard for her, but we are all big girls here (sorry if there are any guys in the hop) and we can roll with whatever comes. Really. REALLY! If you can't deal with a delay, then you might not have a good grip on reality. Things happen, life happens, we all have times when we are overwhelmed with it... so no big deal!
The new reveal is set for May 10... I am so excited, like Christmas morning coming and I have presents under the tree!!!  I want to tease and pique interest in the event so here are a couple of pictures that will give you an idea of what I have for the blog hop....
Come back next week to see what  else there is... oooooo I can't wait!!!

Wowza!!! BEADS!!!

I preface this blog with a note about being sick... please, if you are sick, contagious, sneezing, coughing, sore throat... please don't go out, don't attend festivals, programs, concerts.... or if you have to go out... wear a mask... please!!!!
Sorry, my bad.
I've been sick you see. Man flu... or my girly version of it. My son and  best friend got sick and I swore I wouldn't catch it, but did. Now I am totally grumpy! I had hoped to make it through the school year without getting sick... ugh... sick...blah!

Bead Soup has been on my brain for several weeks now.   First with the announcements of partners, the pairing then unpairing... and subsequent repairing... no... yes? is that the right word? ...repair? I suppose so, I got a new partner, one that is quite wonderful!!! Skylar Bre'z is totally awesome and probably just the right person to pair me with... thank you Lori Anderson, you are like psychic or something!!!  Her blog is BrisingBeads Designs and she has an Etsy shop at BrisingBeadDesigns go by and give them both a look, her work is wonderful!

So I had packed a bead selection before I did the Scottish-Irish Faire in Midland, thinking that I would send it as soon as I got done with the weekend, but when I got around to really trying to get ahold of my partner, I found out that she had dropped out of the Blog Party. I was shocked and sad, but then when they paired me so quickly with Skylar, I knew that it had to be for a reason. I think we were meant to meet. So, I had the package, and thought I'd get it in the mail, but didn't, there were a series of crazy, catastrophic and totally normal events that happened. Sometimes it seems that best intentions just go astray. Skylar just had surgery and she still got my soup out! She was so gracious about me being late... I thank her profusely.

Skylar received her package today, so sorry for the delay... sigh... I made the two polymer clay cabochons, guilded them with copper leaf, and thought they were kind of neat.I found the domino with the face at the local bead shop, I don't know who did the work but I didn't like the way it was finished, so I guilded the sides with copper as well. There are two stone cabochons and a fused glass pendant and an assortment of stuff! The favorite thing I sent (my favorite!) was the four pieces of Venetian Glass that Mona Mitchell had brought back from Venice, she told me not to get too excited about them, they are made by young apprentices to practice their glass work,
by young, she said she meant really young kids. I loved them anyway, whether they were made by kids or not. I think they are pretty. I sent three colors of silk that I dyed, a couple of strands of lampwork beads, some crystal and some glass pearls and some copper and silver end caps and clasps. some stone rosettes, stone beads, mother of pearl beads and an abalone shell. I happen to love shells... I love working with them. Sooo... I had most of the stuff already picked out, I just added the two rock cabochons and.... when I found out that Skylar did felting, I added some curly roving and a skein of turquoise wool.

I received my package about a week ago, I was in the midst of family crisis and being sick and didn't get to look at the stash.... What Skylar sent to me was amazing!!!

I really love the colors and the beads that she chose. What a selection!!! there are the turquoise that I love but also this beautiful assortment of copper, lampwork, pearls, and glass... such pretty things!!!

... I am drooling still, thinking of all the things that I can make!!!!
I just  love, love, love the large glass bead. It is absolutely beautiful!!!

There are so many things in here that I don't know if I can list everything!!! There are several glass cabochons, a copper plated glass pendant, copper beads. turquoise and glass and ceramic and metal... and... and.... there are vintage beads as well, several clasps and chains.... and the Pièce de résistance... a skein of beautiful yarn!!! I am so excited to work with all this. I think I might have to pack it up and take it with me this weekend to Bead Fest Texas!!! I have some down time and I might need to do some creative stuff!! LOL! Seriously, I think I might take a few things. I am taking all my tools anyway, can't hurt to get started now!

In case I didn't get a good picture... LOOK at the beautiful skein of yarn that is just waiting to be fondled and drooled over....

I thank Skylar so much for sending me such wonderful items... in such a varied palate. I can't tell you how excited I am that we are getting to know each other... 

Disaster averted

Whew! Thank goodness!
I was anxiety ridden yesterday because the woman I was partnered with for the Bead Soup Blog Party had dropped out, me, being the ever so doubtful, thought she probably read my blog and decided that I was a lunatic and didn't want me as a partner....
But Lori Anderson, her husband Rick, and Lisa Liddy stepped in and found another match for me... which I believe was a totally better match in the first place!!!
My new partner's name is Skylar Brez and her blog is full of wonderful things. Brising Beads Designs is the blog, and it is full of women's history (She's working on her PhD in History) and she has pictures of some of the prettiest stones that she has to work into bead embroidery... her facebook page has some of her work, that is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to get to know her...
I forgot completely to take a picture of the soup that I put together... I can't imagine that, how do you forget that... I've been oohing and ahhhing over the pictures of soups that have already arrived at their destinations, and I didn't take a picture yet... sooooo... I'm carfully unwrapping and going to take a picture in a little while as the wind is up but should subside soon. Then off to the Post Office with the little package of sunshine!!!
I am so excited!!!

8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party!!!

I have been so excited about the BSBP this year, I really enjoyed the party last year and was so excited to get to meet someone new this year. There are so many wonderful jewelry artists out there, and I haven't met many of them, I am kind of slow on the uptake on Blogger, I don't quite know how to find people on here. I have to find them somewhere else and then go to their blogs, so I am kind of lost when it comes to jewelry blogs, BSBP is a great way to find bloggers who have jewelry as their main interest.
I can't say that jewelry is my only interest, but it is a huge interest...

So I was so excited to get Lori Anderson's email stating that I had been accepted into the blog hop, and believe me, that was an ordeal in itself. I guess that using gmail isn't my forte either, I haven't understood how it works for a while now, since the changes that they made, I haven't been receiving my mail like I thought I should.... and low and behold, I started digging around and there were a ton of emails that I hadn't seen... I thought I hadn't been accepted, I thought maybe I did something wrong... I knew I made the deadline, but thought something else had to be done.... sigh

So, I was at the Midland Scottish-Irish Faire over the weekend, and I just left a message on the Bead Soup Cafe site for my partner, and friended her, and sent a message, and subscribed to her blog....and hadn't heard anything back, which is ok, it's just been a few days, and then today.... she messaged me that she dropped out...

 I am so sad.

So what do you do???

If all else fails, I will use the bead soup for her as my own, and have my own self as my partner? I can write myself little messages of encouragement? I can surprise myself with a package? sigh.... I can make something and post it.

100% of the Proceeds Will Go Towards Brett &Leah's Baby Boy | Memorial/Funeral - YouCaring.com

It is not often that I find a cause that is worthy of posting. I happen to think this is worth the post and the plea to help.

Brett McDaniel was killed in an auto accident on the 30th of January, 2014. He leaves behind a grief stricken wife who is carrying their child, a boy. I know first hand that losing your husband is a horrible thing to go through. It is heartbreaking and you feel left alone in that place that not many understand. What is more heartbreaking is to have a child to explain about the loss... what can only be more painful is to have a child that will never know his father. I can't even begin to know that pain.

Please, if you can spare even a few dollars, please help out. Money won't ease the pain, but it will help with the costs of funeral, doctors, and bills and baby.

100% of the Proceeds Will Go Towards Brett &Leah's Baby Boy | Memorial/Funeral - YouCaring.com