30 Days of Creativity - Day 29 Wire Spool Holder

The other day, I was coiling some wire with my fairly new Foredom/drill wire winder set up for the first time.  I had my spool of wire just sitting on the ground as I coiled but that wasn't really working out so well.  The loose wire kept knotting up since it wasn't feeding easily off the spool.  I knew the setup I needed to solve the problem, but I'm not a carpenter so I really was unsure how to implement it.  Enter Scott.  I explained the design I had in my head and the purpose it would serve.

One trip to Lowe's and some time spent in the woodworking shop and he built my spool holder!  The PVC pipe comes off to reveal a metal pipe of a smaller diameter for smaller spools so that the whole rig is interchangeable for whatever spool size I'm working from.  It's nice and big to allow for the larger spools and to be closer to the work area when it's sitting in it's home under my bench.  Plus, the little tray on the bottom will be a great place to store my drill/winder apparatus when it's not being used.

I love it and can't wait to use it!

My Disappearing Act

Wow, it has been way too long since I posted here and I have a lot to catch you up on!  To give you an idea of the last few months... Life was insane last year as I trained & fundraised for the 3 Day and then it took some time to get life back to normal afterward (after all of that, you kind of go into withdrawal for a little while!).  In December and January, not only was there the usual holiday craziness going on but I was also working a part time job on top of my hellish full time job (the tree was up with a topper & only one ornament).  Finally mid-January, I quit my full time job and, yes, it was a long time coming (it felt very surreal at first!).  Since then, I've continued to work my part time job as a framer at a popular craft store & I've also started working as a stagehand (which is new to me because I've always been management).  

I've been enjoying getting back to myself (it's amazing what a bad job can do to you) but also somewhat disconcerting.  I've never not had a full time job or a career that I've immersed myself into, so it has been an adjustment.  I must admit that I don't know what's next for me, but I took a big step just getting out and I'm sure I'll figure things out.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying working as a framer because I get to work with customers designing their custom order & I actually get to be crafty at work when I build the frames & assemble the orders.  Working as a stagehand has been great because it's allowing me to stay involved in theatre which is what I've done for more than a decade.  I really hate being stuck at a desk and this is far from it: I'm on my feet, working hands on building shows.  The first show I worked as a stagehand I was props but every show since then I've been an electrician.  I must admit: I'm really enjoying it.  =)

I've been spending a lot of time just getting things done around the house and also reorganizing & purging my workroom.  It's not exactly what I want it to be (that would cost more money than I can spare right now; lol)  but it's getting to a point where it's much easier to work in (and that IS the point afterall, isn't it?).   Along the same lines, I also have a little shop update...  I have some new maille that needs to be listed and new packaging!  I've also been taking steps to make the shop an armoury AND apothecary.  I must admit, my biggest stumbling block to making that happen is working on graphics, blog redesign, labels, etc.  Once I get that figured out, you can look forward to seeing soaps, salves, bulk herbs, teas, incense, and more!

We've also started tackling some house projects, too.  Among them, is dealing with our room that floods.  It hasn't been a problem since last summer, but we also haven't finished putting in a system to deal with it yet which means that all of the furniture & electronics are still in our living room (it hasn't been fun).  We have a plan in place and have taken baby steps already.  I can't wait to get going though for a few reasons.  First of all, I really can't wait to get things somewhat back to normal in the house.  Secondly, having this system in place will give both of us peace of mind.  And, last there a few yard projects that will go hand in hand with this.  One is replacing our fence; which desperately needs it.  The other, is a raised bed that Scott is going to build along the fence!  It's going to be filled with all kinds of beautiful, edible, & medicinal herbs!  There will probably be some shrubbery & flower plants in there, too, but I get a HUGE herb garden!  I haven't got a clue how to design one & I'm sure it's not going to happen overnight, but I'm really looking forward to this!!

So, it's been busy.  But I look forward to getting back into the groove of things.  I've missed it.  I hope things are going well for all of you and to hear from you!

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. . .

FAE Street Team Fairy Contest Entry

I'm so excited that I finally got something done! All of my time for the past month or so has been dedicated to the moving experience: cleaning, repairing, packing boxes, unpacking boxes, you get the idea. Unfortunately, I don't have my office/studio/workshop (weeeeee!) set up yet either. I know it should take a priority, but I might be getting a real jeweler's workbench so I've been putting off setting things up until I know where I want it to go.

In any event, I'm a member of the FAE (Fantasy Artists of Etsy) Street Team and we're having a member contest right now based on fairies. Kathryn of Interior Glass Designs is hosting this contest and offering a prize for the winner. Her work is just gorgeous, so I can't wait to see what she's giving away! Even though she's not entering it herself, she designed a gorgeous fairy, too.

I'm so excited to have been able to participate because it gave me an excuse to play with my pliers again. I designed this Fairy Lariat Necklace:


There is an adorably whimsical flower fairy pendant featured on this necklace. She's sterling silver with a small garnet towards the bottom. She measures 1 1/2" long and 3/4" wide. There are three beads wire wrapped and connecting her to the byzantine chain. These beads represent the flowers she dwells among: the bottom bead is wood for the stems, the middle bead is an emerald green Swarovski crystal for the leaves, and the top bead is garnet for the petals and to match the stone on the pendant.


The byzantine chain is one of the oldest chain maille weaves in existence. All of the jump rings that the chain is comprised of, were coiled, cut, and woven by me. There are approximately 1100 bright aluminum rings in this chain, measuring 36" long (including the fairy pendant).


It can be worn double wrapped around your neck, as a super long necklace, or even as a multi-strand bracelet. She is available for purchase through my Etsy shop.

My Work Space, AKA My Dining Room Table

There are as many unique work spaces out there as there are unique artists who occupy them. Some use their kitchen/dining room table (like me), some their couch and coffee table, some a tray on their lap, some are even lucky enough to have a work bench or even a studio. I love getting a sneak peek into everyone's "studio." I know it's kind of voyeuristic, but I truly love to see how everyone works, get ideas for my own space (if I'm ever lucky enough), see their tools and materials.

For now, my work space is my dining room table. As many of you in a similar situation knows, sometimes you're lucky enough to be able to leave your materials and tools out and set up mid-project. Then there are those times that your boyfriend wants to have his friends over for a full day of gaming. Well, maybe not exactly that situation, but I think you get the idea. Mid-project or not, you have to clean everything up.

The above photo is of my kitchen table which in actuality is in my dining room, aka my work space. The plain wood table top you see is something that Scott (the boyfriend) built to give us a bigger table space: it's basically a piece of plywood that sits on top of the actual table with a frame so it doesn' t move; it also folds in half for storage. On the bottom left is Scott's Dremel tool which I have kind of pirated away from him to use with my Koil Kutter for cutting jump rings. You can see a batch of freshly cut rings as well as a strainer in which I rinse all of the lube off of them. My Craftsman pliers are out (this pic is obviously from before Scott gave me my beautiful Lindstroms) as well as some mandrels used for coiling. In the background, you can see my light box. This was not one of my more organized days, but then it's always difficult to stay organized in a temporary space.

Here's another shot of my work space. You can see in the background the storage cabinet that Scott and I share and a set of plastic drawers that contain some more jewelry making supplies; my tackle box with even more supplies and tools is on the floor between the two.

On top of the cabinet are two projects: one belonging to me and one belonging to Scott. The grey box laying down is his: it's a dice tower that he built from scratch with wood and felt. You throw dice in and it tumbles them up and then they come pouring out the bottom. It's really quite neat.

The other project is mine, of course: a work in progress coif. In this photo it looks kind of like a wig and I'm thinking of making more like this except in fun colors for all of those punk girls out there. Since this picture has been taken, I've finished it off and must admit, I've been slow to get pictures posted of her all done up.

Scott and I are in the process of trying to buy a house and if any of you have not been through that experience, imagine the most stressful time of your life and multiply it by a thousand. In any event, if all goes well, our new house will have three bedrooms. One of course is for us to sleep, and we were originally planning on having an office for us both in one and a guest bedroom in the other. Recently, we've been playing with a new idea that I think we've both fallen in love with: we're each going to get a room to do with as we please. If we decide to go this route, I'm going to have my own office/studio/workspace!! And then, of course, I'll have to add a new post with more pic's!