Speaking of Shipping. . .

USPS was nice enough to give us a Holiday Shipping Calendar. Check out the link here or download the PDF here.

Shipping Update

I'm excited to announce that Athena's Armoury will now be shipping to Canada! I can't believe I've neglected my neighbors to the north for so long. Canadian shipping is available for all items in shop and will go out via First Class International. More info on Athena's Armoury going international to follow. . .

Four Hours Later. . .

BEFORE

Yesterday, I spent four hours cleaning my brand new bench. Confused? Well, while it's brand new to me it is hardly brand new. It was built in 1931 and has probably been in storage for at least thirty years, maybe more. So, that was 30 years worth of dust, dirt, and mold that had to come off. By the time I was done, it was nice and clean and shiny, and I was SO dirty.

AFTER

These after shots have it still in my garage as I let it dry and air out from the Murphy's Oil scrubbing. You can see there are a bunch of scratches on the front and some stains on the top that wouldn't come off. In the back, the floor boards are a little worn and the finish is coming off of the drawers. BUT! It's clean!!

I definitely think it needs to be refinished, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle that just yet. There's not that much room in the garage for me to do it at the moment and now that I finally have it, I want to use it! But, it would look gorgeous once it's done. . . My other thought is that if I bring it inside and get it all set up, what are the chances that I'll take it back out to refinish it? Oh, and the minor other detail is that I'm never refinished a piece of furniture before. I downloaded some instructions from Lowe's and they have it marked as an "Advanced" project. Hmmmm. . .

The Big 3-0

It was fun seeing "Happy Birthday, AthenasArmoury!" from Etsy on the top of my screen!

So, this past Tuesday I hit the big 3-0. It's funny to think that I'm not in my 20's anymore, but I'm not upset. Age has never been a thing to upset me. As a matter of a fact, I usually have to figure out how old I am because I never remember. Weird, I know. But I digress. It was a fun day with lots of well wishes and balloons and the yummiest dinner ever with my man. But what I wanted to share with you, are the very special items that my loving man and my mother (who was so upset to not be here) gifted me.

When I first started writing this blog, I chronicled my very first metalsmithing class where I was learning to make a ring. Needless to say, I was hooked. I love metal, I love the intricate work it entailed, I love the tools. My teacher recommended this amazing tool kit, which my mother gave me for my birthday. There are so many fun tools in it and I can't wait to play. (Mental Note: Must get some metal.) Hello, my name is Janine and I'm a tool junky.

I've been talking for a while about getting a real jeweler's bench from one of the guys I work with. He's been "forgetting" to bring it in to me for quite some time now. Little did I know that Scott made arrangements to give it to me for my birthday! It was made sometime in the 1930's and it's a little moldy, so it needs to be cleaned but is otherwise in great shape. I'm playing around with the idea of refinishing it, but just don't have the space in the garage to do it right now. I'm afraid if I bring it into my work room and get it all set up, I'm not going to take it out to refinish it later, though.

Oh, and he would be upset if I didn't mention that not only did he get me this amazing bench and tools, but also some Wonder Woman gear. =D