Meet Gawain, My Male (or maille - *snort) Model

Mantle available in the shop soon.

Well, I couldn't call him Arthur or Lancelot -- that's waaaaaaay too obvious.

I rescued Gawain from the depths of the theatre where I work. He appeared to be abandoned and unloved for quite some time (evidenced by the somewhat unclean fabric and marks at the neck).

Today, Gawain is modeling the mantle I made forever ago and was waiting for the perfect model to try it on. The mantle was woven using historical methods of weaving in Euro 4-1 (bright aluminum with copper trim).

Fleamarkets Are A Haven for Display Items

shhhhh. . . You can see some stuff I've been working on in the background. Soon available in the shop.

Scott and I hit a local flea market yesterday. He's always got something in mind to look for, and I'm usually looking for unique display items or stuff that I could upcycle. Yesterday I found this awesome old typesetter's box. I fell in love with the old wood and little compartments. Once it's cleaned up a little bit, it will be perfect for displaying pendants or other smaller items.

I also saw a half mannequin there that I'm still deciding whether I should have picked up. The stand was wood, but the bust itself was plastic with fabric covering it. The fabric was a bit ripped, but I probably could have gotten my sewing wiz MIL to fix it or make a new one for me. It was a female bust and the guy was asking $20. I have access to a very similar male bust for free. Damn. I should have gotten it.

Here's another little something coming to the Armoury soon.

Dragonscale Bracelet in Bright Aluminum

Athena's Armoury Featured on NeatoStuff.com

Very cool news: Athena's Armoury has been featured on the homepage of a shopping guide website called NeatoStuff.com! It's a ring called Finger Armour. It was made using the Euro 4-1 chain maille weave which is the very same weave used to make armor for centuries. I've been told that the ring will be on their homepage for a full week and then be available in their archives for forever and ever. You can go directly to their listing here.

If you click through on the picture on that last page it will actually bring you to the ring section of my shop, so it shows that I have other ring options available, too. Yay!

Check Out Athena's Armoury in TWO Places!

I'm pleased to share with you that three items from Athena's Armoury are being featured in the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Spring Fever Exhibition! There are all kinds of fun goodies included in the exhibition, such as: artwork, jewelry, ritual oil, dolls, sculpture, accessories, housewares, masks, and more. Items from the Armoury include:

Napkin Armour for that spring picnic:

A Beaded Daisies Bracelet to wear to the picnic:


And the Katie Collar for your pup:


Athena's Armoury has also been featured at MyFairyBabies, a blog run by Hyla with the Etsy shop of the same name. This shop contains all kinds of fun kiddie items, fairy dolls, and dragon ornaments. I actually love Hyla's other shop: Steampunk Box Books. It is thanks to her that I was introduced to this fabulous genre. And finally, Faewood Creations houses her fingerless gloves, tote bags, and jewelry. She's a busy lady!

Playing Catch Up in Pictures

Last week I received such a phenomenal wire order! All kinds of yummy stuff including a sampler of anodized aluminum rings, a sampler of scale maille, 2 pounds each of 16 gauge and 18 gauge bright aluminum (BA) wire, and 10 pounds* of 14 gauge BA wire. I already finished a custom dice bag with some of the anodized aluminum rings and am starting on an Uber bag (yup, that's the Crown Royal size) for a friend. Part of my mom's birthday present this year is a pouch for her iPod with the green (her favorite color) anodized aluminum rings. Then, I have so many plans for more armour and some production line jewelry. So much metal to play with!!

I've been talking about the fact that I'm working on the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Round Robin for FOREVER now!! Come Hell or high water, I will finish my part for this doll! Here's a work in progress picture so you know I'm not lying. . .

<== Scott recently bought me this fabulous tool chest, I just had to share with you. It's beautiful!





On a side note, I'm so excited to finally have my taillight guards on my Jeep! I've had these things for probably a year and a half and have been searching for the correct hardware for them ever since. ==>

Lastly, Jack wanted to say hi. Here he is "overseeing" my maille work:

I Love My Tools

However, I don't know what's going on with them lately. A few weeks back, I was weaving bright aluminum with my lovely Lindstrom flat nose pliers. All of a sudden, there was a snap and then something hit me (hard) in the shoulder. I just thought that a ring snapped, so I went to pick up another one and noticed that half of the jaw on one of my pairs of pliers was gone! After the initial confusion, I went into shock, and then got very upset. That never, ever should have happened with those pliers: they are known to last for decades. Luckily, they are covered by a lifetime guarantee and I'm expecting a brand new pair to arrive in the mail this week. Yay!


Over the weekend, I had quite a few projects going on. One of which is filling an order for an Uber Chain Maille Dice Bag (it's the size of a Crown Royal bag!). I coiled and cut rings until I ran out of wire and then had to tumble them to remove any burrs and make them nice and shiny. I walked away and when I came back, the barrel on my tumbler had stopped rotating. I opened it up and the belt finally broke on the thing. In not one, but three places! So, I got out my mini screwdrivers and went at it. Eager to get my hands dirty and fix my tumbler, I forgot to unplug it and suffered a mild electrocution. Sigh. All was well after that: I got the new belt in place, screwed it all back together, and finished tumbling my rings!

Apparently, the tumbler available from Harbor Freight has a reputation of easily breaking belts. I've had mine for two years and this is the first time it's happened. That said, if you experience belt problems with your Harbor Freight tumbler there is a cheaper alternative to purchasing a new belt. An experienced mailler I know recommended using the heavy duty rubber bands from broccoli. Apparently, he's been doing that for years to much success! Happy tumbling!

Armour for Your Heart

Valentine's Day is right around the corner (10 days, to be exact!) and there are some fun, unique items in Athena's Armoury that you won't find anywhere else!

Chain Maille Heart Keepsake

This adorable little puffed heart piece of chain maille was made using the hana gusari weave. Perfect for both men and women: the heart is cuddly with red felt on the inside, but also hardcore because it was made from a weave originally used for armour. It's a great little keepsake to tell someone how you feel or even a reminder to have a strong heart.

Armour for Your Heart

This choker necklace is perfect for those who want to protect their heart. The classic Euro 4-1 chain maille weave (used for centuries for making armour) was used here to create a heart out of stainless steel rings. The heart is attached to the leather cording with a copper bail echoing the shape of the heart. The clasp is also hand forged from copper wire.

You can see other Valentine's Day items in my VDay for Women Warriors shop section.

In other news, I personally am not looking forward to Valentine's Day because I'm having a tooth extracted. =(

Bags, Bags Everywhere

I'm excited to announce the addition of more styles of Dice Bags in my Etsy shop: Athena's Armoury. During December, I was in a Dice Bag making frenzy: both standard as well as some custom orders.

My standard Dice Bag was quite the craze as a Christmas present to many a geeky significant other (I say that with lots of love since I have one of my own: self-proclaimed no less!).

One of the custom orders I did was for the same size as my standard bag, but with copper cinch rings instead.

When someone saw me working on a Dice Bag at work, I got a custom order for a Crown Royal size Dice Bag.

All of these styles are now available at Athena's Armoury!

Please note that the two standard size style bags both ship within three business days of payment, however, the Uber Dice Bag (Crown Royal size) will be made when I receive your payment and will ship out in approximately two weeks. If time is a concern, contact me first.