little epiphany

Come to Momma!

2011-10-04T10:37:00.001-04:00

I've been waiting since June, and last night they finally arrived......

Drumroll please

My SHEARS! This makes it finally seem real. Oh, and this means I can work some real magic/do some real damage! We did some cutting on our mannequins using our thinning shears first. Apparently, in the past, people have seriously injured themselves the first day of haircutting by underestimating the razor sharpness of these things. Thus far, all digits in the class remain nick free.
I had a hard time sleeping last night, and dreamt of all the beautiful haircuts....
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I changed my mind

2011-10-03T09:56:00.002-04:00

Ok- last night I promised to tell the story of how another student accused me of giving her herpes. And I will tell you, but I got a link to an incredible website in my weekly Tumblr update, and I had to share it. As a cosmetology student, we will learn all aspects of beauty culture, skin, nails and hair, but the focus is hair. I enjoy doing nails, but know I couldn't only do nails. My current nail obsession is gel manicures, and I am getting quite good if I say so myself. This website you are about to click on and jump to is extraordinary. I will tell you right off the bat that I would not take them time to do 99% of the stuff that these people have going on, but its fun to look. I have to say, I am smitten with the french manicure with the leopard detail- shown holding the gold china glaze nail polish. What caught your attention? Besides the fact that a good many of the manicures shown could pose a health risk......
enjoy

One topic, one month October

2011-10-02T23:36:00.001-04:00

So a challenge for the month of October is to write every day about one topic. I wasn't going to attempt this, but then at 11:25 on the second of October I decided to give it a shot. So technically I've already failed, but, whatever. My topic is cosmetology school, so here goes.

Tonight we had a chance to earn a couple of extra hours by attending a mini make up workshop at the MAC store at the Shorthills Mall, from 6 until 8. It's a very small store, so attendance was limited. I think 12 signed up, 8 actually showed up, 2 of which were an hour late. Getting cosmo (or esthetician students for that matter) anywhere on time is like herding squirrels. They are darty, chatty, they zig when you think they will zag. Annoying. Anyway, I will share a tip the instructor shared with us, which is completely awesome. When applying eyeliner to your upper lid, do not be overly concerned with neatness. Now here's the tip- smudge the eyeliner, but hold the brush with the bristles facing downward, and smudge using upward strokes. He also used the brush pointing downward trick when applying eyeshadow to the lid. I cannot wait to put this to work tomorrow morning.

Allrighty then. Hope you enjoyed this little tip. Let me know if you try it, and whether it works for you. I think the story for tomorrow will be about how I gave another student herpes.
Until tomorrow,
Jen

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Are there more sheep than people in Ireland?

2011-06-01T18:16:00.001-04:00

Today we drove from Galway to Belmullet. When we told the clerk at the desk where we were headed, she gave a wry look and commented that someone must have family there. As a matter of fact, Henry has traced much family back to the Belmullet area, and that was the attraction. Belmullet is in the northwest of Ireland, on a peninsula that could almost be an island. We stopped in Westport at a manor house turned weird Disney-like park.

It rained a bit while we were there (huge surprise, I know) so we didn't get to enjoy the gardens and grounds that surround the house. We did get this photo op, which I had been waiting for for days

The leaves on this mystery plant were huge and would have made excellent umbrellas had they not been exceedingly prickly.

We also saw sheep. We see sheep almost everywhere. I could not find a definitive answer as to whether there are more sheep or people, but if there aren't more sheep, it's close.

We were never enveloped in sheep, but they are everywhere. And they are not all that bright. But they sure taste good. The paint marks are distinct to each farmer, as many use common grazing areas for their sheep and also because sheep just roam around, and you need to be able to tell whose are whose.
Oh, there are cows too- can't forget the cows

If you get an ordnance map for the area you are driving through, it will give you great details of the countryside. There are literally thousands of old to ancient things to see, if you know where to look. Here's an old tomb, just on the side of the road, in someone's side yard

Oh and we finally remembered to use my tiny tripod to take a picture of all of us together.

Day 7-A Test of Endurance.

2011-05-28T18:37:00.001-04:00

Day 7 proves to be the most uncomfortable of the days so far. It rains so much that we can't possibly get dry and so we are damp and cold all day. This is very unfortunate as we visited a sheep herding demo with border collies at Joyce County Sheepdogs Remember Babe? These dogs are outstanding. So excited to work. As Roy was showing his technique, the other 5 dogs were in their pen, barking and jumping, wanting to get in on the act. Here is Roy

Roy and about 20 of his flock of sheep were in Marley and Me.

Owen Wilson spent a better part of the afternoon drinking tea with the Missus and this little girl who was 10 days old at the time

Kaylin is 2 1/2 now and had as much to say about shepherding as her father. It was raining pretty hard when the demo began, but she put on her Hello Kitty wellies and her slicker and hat. Her dad gave her a wee shepherds crook and she was off. I wanted to take a video of it all, but it was raining so hard, I couldn't risk damaging my camera.
After the demo we stopped in the local pub, had some soup and tea and drove around some more.

I barely even took any pictures, that's how bad it was out. We headed back to Galway for dinner and bed, with hopes that day 8 would go back to wind with a bit of sun.

Day 6- Of Wind

2011-05-28T18:15:00.001-04:00

I keep telling myself to stop trying to figure out the weather. But our activities are so dependent on mother nature, it's hard not to obsess. Today it was Mountshannon, the final resting place if Monsignor Liam. It is a lovely little town, we visited his grave and then had lunch in his cousin's Hotel/pub.

Then we zagged back east to the Cliffs of Moher. Now getting back to the weather, as near as I can tell, we are either going to have rainy weather or extremely windy and somewhat clear weather. Today was the windy and clearish variety. This made the cliffs additionally interesting as there was the added fear of being blown off the cliff- literally.

Why does photo-pinching objects never get old for me?

So then we drive to Galway and saw stuff:

We were driving and saw this by the beach and drove down a path to it. It is just part of someones front yard. Pretty cool.

And if you ever get a chance to eat an Irish strawberry, do it. Possibly the best tasting tiny things ever!
Coming up next- liquid sunshine!
Oh and this is the night that my body told me to eff off. As we were walking through the pedestrian mall in Galway, I started feeling funny, and not in a good way. We picked a restaurant, I ordered - TANDOORI CHICKEN! See, clearly not right in the head. Food comes, the room seems awfully hot. People get nervous. Ann, the good friend that she is, walked me, quickly back to the hotel. I had a moment during which I was convinced I'd have to try to vomit in a rubbish bin with a teeny tiny opening. But I made it. I crawled into bed and slept the sleep of someone who desperately needed a good nights rest. Moral of the story, if you are tired, rest, you big dummy!

Day 5: normally weather like this

2011-05-25T19:29:00.001-04:00

would see me in bed, with a book. But that's not what we do on this vacation. Hey, we booked a trip to Ireland, not Antigua, we knew weather would be persnickety. Today it showed us how cranky it could be. Bear in mind this did not stop us. I bought a toasty warm woolen sweater and cap, I fear not drafty, damp, blustery weather. Today we toured the Ring of Kerry. This is not a geography lesson people, so if you want info on what that means, it's called google. Anyway, here is a smattering of what we saw:

Hills, and water and rocks!

Fucshia growing wild on the sides of roads

The remains of ancient fortresses

Cliffs and water!

Fog and remains of fortresses- hmmm how can we get to it?

Answer, find a terrifyingly narrow road/sheep path and drive down it

Tada!

Nice and ruiny!

Foxglove and rhododendron grow wild in this area

The ocean

This is what seems to pass for sand so far at beaches in Ireland.

Some more water, cliffs and ruins
And a colorful town

Tomorrow we leave Killarney, go to Mountshannon, then Cliffs of Moher and then two nights in Galway. Till then, ciao!

Care for a jaunt?

2011-05-25T19:09:00.001-04:00

Day four, Killarney Jaunting tour
a horse cart ride and boat tour of
some of the most beautiful scenery ever. We took the Gap of Dunloe tour. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The weather behaved beautifully (thank you,thank you, thank you),

our horse fully entertained us,

and the boat ride was grand.

If you ever have a chance to do this, jump on it! It's touristy, but fun and come on, you know you want to!
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Attempting to Flee Dublin

2011-05-23T19:28:00.001-04:00

We underestimated terribly, the amount of havoc our President visiting the city of Dublin could wreak for us. We thought we had planned accordingly. I was originally going to kvetch about it a whole lot. Then, later on when I'd seen the coverage of his visit I thought better of it. He seemed to enjoy it. He grabbed that cell phone and he finished that pint of Guinness. When we finally got a cab to take us to Hertz, we discussed the fickleness of Ireland's weather with our taxi driver. Quote of the day "it's like living in a car wash". Thank you Mr. Taxi driver. We are on vacation, we survived, it was no big deal in the end.
Our late start made us change our attitude about what we wanted to accomplish. We took an Amazing Race attitude. Rock of Cashel? We nailed it:

Then a race to Blarney Castle to kiss the stone. We got there just before they stopped for the day. The sprint up to the top kept me from thinking about what I was about to do- lay on my back over a hole and lower myself down to kiss a piece of rock. Done!

Now we strolled around the grounds and enjoyed a lovely park:

Oh and Henry is doing an awesome job of driving us around, on the left side and driving a manual transmission diesel machine. Thanks Hank!

Oh, and 80 mph gusts of wind, yet so lovely.

Day Two

2011-05-23T03:42:00.001-04:00

Day two of what is apparently to be a pub crawl of Ireland. Second day in Dublin, after a good night's rest.

After a hearty breakfast we
headed to the Jameson Distillery.

After the tour there we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse for the tour and a pint at the bar.

On the way over there I decided I wanted to photobomb as many pictures as I could, including our own. Net result, I got all hot and sweaty from hopping around trying to get into pictures, but didn't actually get into any shots.

We also had a quick sandwich there, because although beer is food, I require something that needs to be chewed. We hit two more pubs (and walked past Dublin Castle, which looks fabulous but was closed already).

We will head out extra early tomorrow morning as Obama's visit is putting a cramp on our Dublin visit. We head off for a couple days in Killarney next.

I am aware that this post is disjointed and nonsensical. That's what happens when you write a post after a long day and then add pictures and publish it the next morning. Later!

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Greetings from the Emerald Isle

2011-05-22T05:23:00.001-04:00

I'll make no excuses for the disappearance from my blog. I will say I've been a little busy, but I figured that my trip to Ireland would be the perfect impetus to get me blogging again. The wifi situation is a bit sketchy, but I'll get them up at some point.

Day one and we are in Dublin. To me, traveling between time zones is tantamount to time travel. At the time I am typing this, it is 5:24 home time and I have essentially been awake for over 24 hours. I thought I'd sleep on the plane, but the acute allergy attack I suffered kept me pretty awake despite combining antihistamine and Guinness. I saw the sun rise over the Atlantic. It was lovely and the first sun I'd seen in over a week.

Anyway, we landed in Dublin around 3:00 am our time and spent the day roaming around. Our cab driver from the airport was lovely.

Ann and I wanted to keep him. It was a challenge to get us to our hotel (Obama is scheduled to arrive monday, the day we leave), but he got us there and imparted some wisdom, and we (Ann and I) missed him after he'd driven off.
It rained off and on, but we didn't let that dampen our enthusiasm for wandering around aimlessly in circles. We ate and drank

and shopped a bit.

Our hotel is right near Trinity College in a pedestrian friendly area of the city, so wandering was fun if not a trifle damp.

The parks in Dublin are lovely and full of sculpture

Even the doors are lovely

Tomorrow we visit Guinness and Jameson and more touristy points of interest. As of right now,I am extremely jet lagged and punch drunk. Hopefully subsequent posts will be more coherent. Or, maybe they wont. The successful completion of tomorrow's activities may come to bear on my posting abilities.

He Called it "Kicky"

2010-09-29T09:39:00.001-04:00

Heading out the door this morning, my husband kisses me and murmurs "isn't that a kicky outfit". This brings me up short. My husband and I have an agreement. If I am experiencing a wardrobe malfunction, I have something in my teeth, or anything seems awry once I've left the house, he discreetly informs me. I do the same for him. Other than that, we generally do not comment on one another's wardrobe decisions. We are both fairly conservative dressers, so we know what to expect from each other when we leave the house.
"Kicky? Kicky? What exactly does Kicky mean?"
"it's interesting"
"what is interesting about this outfit?"
Now I had already determined for my own damn self that my outfit was different for me.

Little gray cable-knit dress, striped tights and Mary janes. I know this reference is incestuous when applied to my husband and I, but he is the Alex P. Keaton to my Mallory. He is republican to the core and is singlehandedly bringing back the sweater vest. I wanted to know what his issue was with my Kicky outfit. After hemming and hawing, he revealed his distaste for my tights. I tried on two different pairs of boots and different flats, but the tights were the deal breaker for him. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Fortunately for him, he has not looked in my sock drawer lately. It would send shivers down his spine. I have been stockpiling tights in every imaginable pattern and color for this fall/winter season. I hope he is comfortable with his new term, because he will be using it a lot.
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what does creativity mean to you?

2010-08-30T14:38:00.001-04:00

I was checking up on the blogs I love to read, and on How About Orange, Jessica included a link to this quiz. I took it, and wasn’t surprised.

“Creativity enriches you

Creativity is separate from the real world for you. But it’s a magical world in which you like to immerse yourself. When you’re involved in it, you get the wonderful sensation that there are no limits, that anything is possible. What you are really looking for is harmony — you want to feel you are a part of what you create. Planting flowers, writing poetry, embroidery or putting together a photo album, these are all suited to your sort of quiet creativity. You want to fall in love with what you create. You also think of creativity as a part of you in which you can take refuge and feel protected. As the psychoanalyst D Anzieu explained, creativity acts as an ‘encouraging parent — loving, enriching and supportive’. You would love to use your creativity to retreat into a world that is kind and reassuring. For you, being creative means having the chance to become one with what you create, bathe in the glory of it and allow yourself to be taken over by it. This is why you seem more suited to the sort of creativity that calls for gentleness, subtlety, harmony and patience.”

Take the quiz, please, I want to know what it means to you, too.

Coming soon- a new website! My uber talented and amazingly generous sister, Abbi Peters, did me a solid by removing the website design from my hands. We used Patterncooler to create the backgrounds and patterns used, and Wix to create the actual site. I was getting so bogged down between creating the patterns (mesmerizing, you could lose hours to Patterncooler) and just not being familiar enough with Wix, she swooped in and in a day, had it pretty much ready to go. Once it is running, you will be able to use my domain pulledsugardesigns.com to access my store, my blog, to contact me and see a gallery of work. I am in the process of getting the photos into my flickr account. Then I will have to redo my store, and the blog, because the current themes do not jibe with my new site’s feel. When you decide to undertake such a thing, you never realize how much work you are creating for yourself, until you are really invested.

So, that’s what is going on here (oh, I also have a gorgeous new nephew, welcome to the world Luke). What’s up with you?

so I have this dog….

2010-07-12T17:17:00.001-04:00

Long time no post, I know. I started this post in the beginning of May, and never got back to it. I made bunches of jewelry in April (for the ECCOTA Gallery), but for various reasons, took pictures of nothing. My life is pretty scattered right now, and here is an example of how.

So I have this miniature dachshund. She is nine. This dog is a giant pain in the ass on paper, but I love her to pieces. She is admittedly a replacement for the kids I don’t have. I try not to anthropomorphize her too much, but she does have a lovely sweater collection (she gets cold in the winter) and she has some really cute Halloween costumes.

About four years ago, she injured her back, and had spinal surgery. The surgery was an amazing success. She went from being almost completely paralyzed in her back end, to regaining 90% strength in her hindquarters. These past four years, I have always accepted, in a back corner of my mind, that she would probably lose use of her hind legs some day. A spinal injury is so fickle, she could reinjure it playing too hard, or scar tissue from the incision could cause pressure on the spinal column, you never know.

In early May, she started favoring her back left leg. I could not find anything wrong with it. Then I noticed that when she walked, her hind end was less in sync with the front than usual. Mother’s Day weekend my hubby and I traveled and left her with a dear, dear family, who care for her as if their own. When we got back she hadn’t deteriorated, but she hadn’t improved. That next Sunday morning she was the best she been in a while, really wanting to play. When I came home later that afternoon though, she had gotten worse, now favoring her right side, but the left side wasn’t strong enough to support the entire works. This means she was dragging herself around, with that one back leg making feeble attempts to help her scoot. Well, long story marginally not as long, she is back to normal again, but for a month I was dealing with a dog with so-so bladder control, scooting around, acting like nothing was wrong. That is taxing on a lady’s energy.

I am feeling very drained lately. Not physically, but in my psyche. I’ve got a couple of things using up my mental energy, and I’m not sure when that will be over. I made a commissioned piece recently, and thankfully it was based on another piece I had made, or I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t know if I could have pulled an entire design out of thin air. I hate feeling like this. I know it will pass, but I feel guilty when I have an opportunity to be at my bench, but I pass it up with a wan “I don’t feel it”. It is so lame, but I have learned that when I am in this type of funk, I am much better off riding the wave. Forcing myself to make stuff usually ends in ugly, tortured metal. I did sit down this past weekend for a bit. I had some leftover fine silver rings, and I fashioned them into an acceptable necklace (again, nary a picture). I am still working on the clasp, but I think there may be a light at the end of this tunnel.

Or, it could just be a train….

Thank you x’s 7

2010-04-23T14:32:00.002-04:00

I had a lovely surprise this morning (aside from my Greek dressing-bomb debacle). I was given this honor:

Susanna Originals awarded me this honor, and I am very excited. Susan has a great blog, where she writes about her her lovely jewelry journey(with wit and humor), and talks about life on snake free Prince Edward’s Island- yes, she’s from Canada! Someone from another country reads my blog, too cool. Anywho, there are two requirements for accepting the award, one you must reveal seven things about yourself that no one else knows, and secondly, you must award 7 other blogs this award. Too neat, I get to let seven other bloggers know that I love what they do- this really is twofold cool.

So, seven things you don’t know about me- when you talk as much as me, I can’t imagine there is anything left, but here goes:

I am terrified of heights, but love roller coasters and most other amusement rides. I was in full freak out mode at the Grand Canyon this past fall. My husband is climbing around like a Billy goat, and all I can think is “Do not fall, do not fall, do not fall”, about myself. If there had been somewhere to strap in at the Grand Canyon, I would have been fine.
If I love a book, I will read it over and over again. Some examples: Little Women, Dune, The Dark Tower Series (by Stephen King). If I love it, I LOVE IT!
I love to be organized, but find it very challenging to stay that way. So far, the only organized area in my house that really works is my vanity counter system, which keeps my next secret ( and here) hidden away…..
I am addicted to lip gloss. I must have 75 lip glosses of all kinds. I tell myself I am looking for the perfect one, but I think we all know that I just have a problem.
I am allergic to certain types of fresh fruit. Specifically, I cannot eat raw apples, pears, plums, peaches or cherries. I can eat them cooked. I can eat citrus, melons, grapes, berries. Weird, huh? Apparently (this comes from another woman who suffers this, I actually know two other women who have this problem), it happens in women of western European descent, the onset is usually late puberty, and can be reversed by childbearing. Apparently, we are sensitive to an enzyme in the fruit. There are varying degrees of sensitivity. One woman can only eat bumpy berries (meaning they carry their seeds on the outside), some can’t eat fruit at all, even cooked.
I am a big crybaby. I have been known to cry over commercials, TV shows, movies and books. Pitiful, I know. The worst of it, is that I also can cry when very angry. Nothing worse than being furious, and crying at the same time.
I think that I am making jewelry for the woman I wish to become. It is weird, many of my pieces don’t match what I would perceive to be my current “style”.

Now for the next task- picking the seven blogs I wish to pass this award on to. It will be hard to limit it to seven, but here goes nothing, and in no specific order:

A Metalsmith’s Journey. Janice is a wonder woman of sorts. She creates amazing jewelry, runs the Jewelry Artist Network, is a single mom, has recently changed over to a raw lifestyle, she does it all, in the same 24 hours the rest of us has.
Ginga Squid . Vicky creates the most delicious fiber and gemstone (often combining the two) treats. She is from New Zealand, and her works are over the top amazing- handspun wool and unique stones, and cute kiddos too!
Kelsi’s Closet Jewelbox : Melissa’s jewelry is swirly goodness, and her Tool Time Tuesday Tutorials have great information for those of us just starting our tool addictions!
Stephanie Distler : Stephanie is also quite the mixed media wonder woman. She does a little bit of everything- artbead dolls, jewelry in sterling and copper and beads, and is very active in her community, whew, tired just thinking about her schedule!
Painting with Fire Artwear : Barbara’s article in Belle Armoire about torch fired enamel was so inspiring. She is a gifted artisan who is very generous with her knowledge. I learned about the next blogger from Barbara’s Ning site Painting with Fire…
Beautifully Broken Me : Another talented and generous woman, featuring copper and resin and enamel and neat little bits and baubles. Her site is full of inspiration.
Chris Kerr Jewelry : Chris can and will stamp on anything metal! Her embellishments are so lovely and bring a smile to my face. She’s been having a rough time with wrist issues (a nightmare for sure), but she is coming through it, and continues to inspire with her work.

Okay, so this blog entry took WAY too long to write. I am up to my armpits in jewelry components which need to be transformed into jewelry before Friday. I am in low-level freak out mode right now, trying to get a gazillion things done so that I can drive up to Ridgway, PA to participate in the Spring Things exhibit at ECCOTA. I leave Thursday, after a short work day to make the four hour drive. I still also have to pack. Things could get very interesting.

Thanks for checking in!

Jen

Technorati Tags: Beautiful Blogger Award,Ridgway,Springs Things

they are DONE!

2010-03-29T17:19:00.001-04:00

just a quickie-

The wind chimes are done! You are probably all sick of hearing about them, but I guess because they are on a scale larger than I usually deal with I just can’t stop talking about them. Anywhoo, here they are… they sound pretty good now, and I think they will not be my last set. I made them for ECCOTA's 4th Annual Feed the Arts Soup Benefit on April 8th. Click the link for details. If you are near Elk County PA that day, I highly recommend this event. $7 gets you in to taste 25 homemade soups, complimented by bread and desserts. There will be a door prize awarded, and there is a silent auction featuring handmade items from area artists. Go ahead! Feed the Arts!

I also made this:

for a bride getting married on the first day of fishing season. I hope the lures I used are not laughable, as I do not fish, and have no expertise in the fishing arena. I hope she likes it, and if the lures are weird, I hope they at least make her smile, not cry.

Okay, that’s it for now- thanks for checking in!

Technorati Tags: wind chimes,fishing lure jewelry,ECCOTA,Feed the Arts

giving what’s owed….

2010-03-24T18:07:00.001-04:00

My lovely girlfriend and fellow blogger Janis (hi Janis!) nudged me the other day while I was up on a tipsy soap box about blogging, that I probably was a little behind on my own posting. So here goes a quickie…

I offered to make something as a donation for an event my sister Abbi has something to do with (see ALL that helpful info I was able to provide- scary). She asked what I had in mind- meaning thanks, but something other than jewelry please. So I had this hare brained idea that I could make enameled copper wind chimes. I even sketched my ideas! That is huge for me- very little of my creative process involves sketching out my ideas.

So I dove in, and things were going swimmingly until I hit one of the pipes with the handle of my hammer to see what it would sound like. Lets just say that when my two year nephew bangs on pots and pans it is acoustically more pleasant than these wind chimes were shaping up to be. Luckily, I had only dry fit all the components together, and I had bought an extra length of copper pipe. I googled making wind chimes, and just as I had hoped, I found a tutorial that had a chart that gave me the specific lengths of pipe for each note, also the spot where the holes for hanging needed to be drilled so as not to interfere with the sound waves- pretty intense. (I could have skipped this whole first step had I only googled first- that is not lost on me). I skimmed the entire post, it was very involved, but it really made a 100% difference in the chimes. I’m not saying they could be used in an orchestra, but they sound quite lovely now. I have cut, drilled and enameled the new set of pipes. Tomorrow morning I will set all the hanging mechanisms for the pipes, and once again dry fit all the pieces together. I am in a bit of a time crunch now, as they are due to Abbi the first of April, but I will snap a few photos, to show my process. I also need to pick up some type of wooden finial to use as the “striker”. I am enjoying this process, but don’t think I will be adding these to my web store any time soon. I don’t think anyone would be willing to pay for the time it takes to put these things together. I will never again wonder at the price of beautiful sounding chimes (not that I ever thought the prices outrageous, I just now have personal experience with the why behind the price).

Work is crazy, of course, but we are down to the final 3 weeks of tax season, so the finish line is visible, but this final push is always a bit painful. Tempers run short, but we also get a bit punch drunk as well so we vacillate between killing ourselves/each other/the clients and peeing ourselves when we do something silly. So posts will continue to be sporadic until then.

Another announcement: my sister Abbi and I will be testing the podcast waters. We have been wanting to collaborate on something for a long time, and given we live four hours away from each other, this seems to be accessible for both of us. We’ll see. Maybe we just want an excuse for a scheduled phone call to each other. We are also working on some jewelry component design ideas, but that is still a bit vague, so more details to follow.

So, this ended up being a bit longer than expected, but just as rambling as expected.

The moral of this story- be careful what you wish for. Seriously though- thanks Janis for the gentle reminder. Sisters in blogging!

Technorati Tags: wind chimes,copper wind chimes,enameled copper,podcast

Where to begin?

2010-03-10T23:00:00.001-05:00

So I am attempting to use a mobile blogging app, from which I won't be able to post any pictures. I had my doubrts about this, but typing using only my thumbs is actually going better than expected. I figured I can always add any pictures later- I had to get my thoughts down, they couldn't wait any longer.
So the last week of February was a doozy here on the east coast. I ended up with two snow days and a foot of snow. I made the most of those days off, which were quite a gift. These late winter months are generally a creative black hole for me. But two days at my bench, coupled with the excitement of a new medium to work with has gotten me through these usually creatively void days. I will also give some credit to a new part of my life, guided relaxation. I stumbled onto a free weekly podcast by Elizabeth Irvine that has had quite an impact upon me. When I told my husband I was trying this relaxation technique, he was puzzled. " you can sleep any time, any where, why do you need this". Why indeed, when he was right. I can sleep at the drop of a hat, napping being a treat I indulge in often on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Lately, I had been experiencing some chronic pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulders, making my sleep fitfull. I would rise in the morning achy and not feeling rested. I've found that since spending 15 minutes before bed using this very simple technique I wake up refreshed, with energy and zero stiffness or pain. I have been getting up early and allowing myself an hour of time at my jewelry bench before work almost every morning these past two weeks. You'll also probably roll you eyes at this, but I really think it also alleviated my usual PMS caused witchiness. I know,TMI. Anyway, I guess you can already tell that I highly recommend giving this a whirl. The price is right, and there's really no loss if it doesn't perform for you, the miracles I've just described.
Let's see, I have also entered the final year of my thirties, which is freaking me the eff out. Where did my thirties go? I remember watching "Thirty Something" and thinking "Christ, these people are old and whiny". So in honor of my 16 year old self, I have promised not to whine out my last year of my thirties. Instead, on the advice of my sage friend Janis, I will make it a terrific year. Thanks to all who so kindly thought of me and sent so may great wishes my way. I have more to say, but think I will save it for now.
I apologize in advance for what is going to be an even more poorly edited post than usual, given the fact that a 3 inch wide screen is near impossible for an old fogey like myself to read. Wow this is a weird post, but oh well, I am going to hit publish anyway thanks for checking in- oh, forgot to mention that my sister abbi and I have a new creative venture in the works for the near future. I'll let you all chew on that for a while- you may leave your guesses in the comments if you'd like. If anyone guesses correctly, I will send you a treat! There, that's fun, right? Worth slogging through this poorly edited mess? You can be the judge of that later!
Ciao for now!
Jen

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

anticipating spring…

2010-02-15T17:37:00.001-05:00

I don’t know about you guys, but when I am learning a new skill, I get so absorbed in practicing the new skill that I forget (temporarily) to make entire pieces of jewelry. Case in point, torch fired enameling is my obsession of the day, and I am making these little morsels of jewelry, a pendant here, a pair of very simple earrings there, but not anything substantive. This weekend I made an effort to change that.

Last week I made this cute little flower. I cut, filed, domed and then enameled it. Getting enamel on a concave rather than flat piece of work is quite a challenge, given that you need to enamel the front and back, and I don’t actually have the proper equipment to hold the piece while making it 1000 degrees. Anyway, I got it done, and it is cute, and I wore it on a copper ball chain for a week as a pendant. But I like my jewelry to be a little more involved than just hanging something off of a chain. So I gathered my wits about me, and made this…

I made links of 16 & 14 gauge copper wire that I balled the ends of, and then enameled. The beads are lizardite rounds on 18 gauge copper. Looking at it objectively, I think I will make the diameter of the larger links smaller. As it is now, those links are too big in relation to the focal. I will just slip them over a smaller mandrel than I used previously, and tighten them up. I’ll have to add a couple additional links as this will shorten the overall length, but I think it will improve the proportions of the piece.

a detail of the links.

This is my jumping off piece for a show I will be participating in at the ECCOTA gallery this spring, Spring Things. “•Springs Things Exhibit- runs April 30-May 31, 2010 in the ECCOTA Gallery. A multi media exhibit featuring those things that start emerging with spring. Two deadlines- March 2- confirm your participation and April 23 delivery of your work. Contact Abbi Peters 814-772-7051, eccotadirector@windstream.net for more information and confirm your participation.” I have ordered additional colors of enamel, but I think this will be the focal piece of my display.

While on the subject of new skill sets, I have a question to throw out there. I find that I am learning new techniques, and then I compartmentalize my skills, and have a hard time utilizing more than one technique in a piece of jewelry. I love to wire wrap, and I adore my Shrinky Dinks, and I can etch just about anything onto a piece of copper, but I have a hard time integrating more than one of these subsets into one piece of jewelry. Is this just a “me” thing, or do others of you find that you pigeonhole your skills?

I would also like to share a new fun place on the interwebs to find more out about torch-fired enameling. Painting with Fire is a new group put together by Barbara Lewis, whose article in Belle Armoire magazine started this whole enameling insanity for me. Please stop by. The people are friendly, and you could learn something new, or see pretty pictures of what other people are doing with enamel.

I think that is it for now.

Thanks for checking in….

Jen

Technorati Tags: torch fired enamel,copper jewelry,ECCOTA

painting with glass…

2010-02-01T17:02:00.002-05:00

jewelry corner:

So, for the last month or so, I have not really spent much time at the workbench that amounted to any finished pieces. I have spent time getting my workspace set up so that I don’t kill myself. I also treated myself to some new supplies, and am teaching myself to torch enamel.

I saw an article in Belle Amour Jewelry (a beautiful magazine, that I usually don’t buy) about how easy it is to enamel copper using your torch. I was immediately enamored with the the whole process. With little extra equipment, you can add color and texture to your copper.

My first order from Frantz Art Glass was only four colors (clockwise from top middle- red orange opaque, transparent bonnet blue (shown over white), white with speckles of the orange red and grey green). Not very smart on my part, when they offer a 40 color sampler pack that was very reasonably priced. So that was my second order, and using additional colors from that order, I created the “buttons” that match the wire wrapped green opal, and then I wanted to check out the difference in the two yellows included in the sampler. So there has been much “playing” until this past weekend, when I actually cut out some pieces of copper in order to create some earrings.

I LOVE color, but am not always successful in how I combine it, so I often take cues from fabrics and designers. I am currently obsessed with Amy Butler, so I wanted to use the colors from a piece of her scrapbooking paper…

not feeling that Amy Butler vibe? Well here, let me make it a little more clear for you…

…how completely off the mark I was. I certainly have some practice before me. This is after approximately three additional firings with transparents over the garish opaques. This picture actually tones down the heinous nature of this color combo- apparently my camera is not interested in accurately recording anything this ugly! So I said to myself- self, why are you trying to run, when you haven’t even finished learning to crawl with this new technique. SO I took some deep breaths, and went all mono-chromatic on myself.

The pendant is pale petal pink with dark petal pink, the earrings are dark petal pink with light orchid. The bail on the pendant is a piece of 16 gauge wire that I torched until the ends balled up, and then I enameled that with moss green. And since the set didn’t make me vomit, I wore them to work today. I hammered a tiny border of texture around all the pieces, and I don’t think I will do that again, It makes it more difficult to get a clean edge of enamel. So, I am very excited to make fun enameled headpins, and you can safely assume for the foreseeable future that everything not nailed down will be enameled until I am happy with my technique.

I will take pictures of my enameling set up, just in case any one is interested in how my mind wants to do things.

food fun:

the last two weeks, I have been inspired to try some new recipes, and with the help of the Epicurious app, on my Itouch, I found some very inspiring Asian recipes to try. (have you tried this app? It is awesome, it is free and it will create shopping lists for you, which as far as I am concerned is the most awesomest part of it.) I made a shrimp with red curry for my brother and his lovely vegetarian wife two weeks ago. Her dietary choices force me to stretch and I LIKE it! I also made a simple stir fry of snap pea tops, that were on special that day at the Asian Food Market. They were quite tasty. This past weekend we entertained my husbands friend Five-Star and his wife. He likes spicy and she does not, so I made chicken with coconut milk and green curry, a marinated flank steak, napa cabbage slaw, a broccoli salad, and a baby bok choy dish. When I set out all the food, I felt silly for making that much food for four people, but I have to say, we made quite a dent! I also am in love with left-overs, and am married to a man who will eat said left-overs, so it was a win-win for my household.

travel:

It looks like my hubby and I will be traveling with friends to Ireland in spring of 2011. We are in the early stages of planning this trip, so ideas of things to do and places to see on the Emerald Isle are welcome. Looks like this will be my present to me for my 40th birthday. Did I just type that? gulp. I did.

On that depressing note (the turning 40 part, certainly not the travel part) I will bid you farewell, dear readers. Have a lovely week, and I challenge you to try a new recipe this week. Actually, lets up the ante on that. I challenge you to a meal entirely comprised of new recipes/foods. Yes, visit a new aisle in the market, or go to a grocery store you’ve never been to. I adore going to the Asian Food Market, and walking up and down every aisle, and trying to figure out what stuff is for. If you have a family, you can make it a fun night of some kind of learning- really I am running on fumes now, can you tell?

ciao-

Jen

Technorati Tags: Amy Butler,Epicurious,green opal,Thompsons Enamels,Frantz Art Glass,Ireland,Asian Food Market,copper jewelry

time for a little introspection- very little….

2010-01-12T14:25:00.002-05:00

Well, it has a been a whirlwind month since I last posted. I had to actually visit my blog to remember what that post was about. Then I went back again to see what I have been posting about in general. This blog is emblematic of my life in general. My posts have been sporadic, and the topics have been scattered across the board. So it is with my life, things happen in fits and starts, and I have trouble focusing. I contemplate having separate blogs for jewelry and life stuff. For now, I reject that notion as just adding another element in my life to neglect. I like bulleting, so maybe I will try to have little segments within each post. Let's try that right now, shall we?

Jewelry corner:

I have sorely neglected my jewelry this past month. I can post a picture of the piece I made for a cousin’s wife:

Amethyst and quartz crystal, wrapped with sterling silver, accented with fine sterling, fused links and heart centerpiece. The original centerpiece was a fine silver free-form daisy, but our cousins two little girls vetoed the flower and requested a heart. I was dubious at first, but the slightly off-kilter heart came out quite lovely.

In other jewelry news, I had to take apart and then reset my photo “studio”. At first, I was a little irritated by this, but it gave me the opportunity to streamline the set up, and I am so glad I did. For some reason, I had this giant laundry basket of props and other crap that at some point I had deemed critical to my jewelry photographing kit. Well, I have it pared down to the bare minimum, and that will make it so much easier to break down when I do have to. ( My studio is on an extra table in my dining room, so occasionally when I entertain, I do have to break it down.)

I did make a pretty cool pendant with some large, square, green opal beads that I have been having trouble figuring out what to do with. I realized I’d like to frame one as a focal, and here is what I came up with:

Green opal puffed square (approx. 30 mm) framed in copper, with moonstone, amazonite, and MOP accents.

I am now working on a necklace for this. I have soldered some copper links and a center element for it to hang from (not really a bail, as the frame has a bail “hook”) and will wrap some links of amazonite, maybe some smoke quartz and possibly a third stone, it depends on what is in my stash.

I have gotten back to my bench on Wednesday nights, and will be putting my nose to grindstone, as tax season is coming, and my schedule gets much less forgiving until April. My MIL wants to have a jewelry show for me in February, so I have to set my sights on that and WORK, happily and dutifully!

Family:

Woohoo, can finally talk about the fact that I will have a new niece/nephew to dote upon! R2 will be making an appearance late August, and I couldn’t be more excited for my sis-in-law and her hubby. They had to announce to immediate family on Christmas Day, when we were plying her with shots of Spiritus. What a great excuse not to do a shot! So, I did hers for her! For the next 8 months or so, I will dutifully do all of her drinking for her!

Photography:

I was inspired the other day to stop on my way to work to take these two pictures.

The sky was by turns sulky, and bright and threatening. There were almost perfectly horizontal bands of clouds of varying degrees of “cloudness”.

I also received an Eye-Fi card for Christmas, but have yet to set it up. We had a “wi-fi-palooza” of sorts at our house over New Years, and this was unfortunately overlooked, when setting up our technologies. I am not quite sure how I will use this to my benefit, but when I figure it out, I will let you know!

So, that worked out pretty well. Now I just have to apply a little effort to getting my life in order, and all will be right in the world! Or at least, my little world. Happy New Year to all, and may 2010 be happy and healthy and whatever you wish it to be!

thanks for checking in,

Technorati Tags: Pulled Sugar Designs,Eye-Fi,amazonite,copper jewelry,Green Opal,Fine Silver,Sterling Silver

she’s making a list, and then not doing anything on it…

2009-12-09T11:59:00.001-05:00

I like to have a vague outline for my weekends. I try not to get too specific, because spontaneity doesn’t like bulleted lists. My foggy vision of what this past weekend would include was sort of like this: Friday, spend some time at the bench, and get a couple of loads of laundry thrown in. Saturday, while Scott is at the Rutgers game, get the house straightened up so that cleaning can happen, so that holiday decorating can happen. Make three different cookie batters. Sunday, bake said cookies and celebrate my dear MIL’s milestone birthday.

Here’s what happened instead:

I made a commissioned piece for a cousin’s wife

Its a Christmas gift, so I won’t post a picture of the completed necklace until after. I was uber-pleased with how it came out, I hope she feels the same.

I blew bubbles on the deck

Blowing Bubbles in December 2009 from Jennifer Herbert on Vimeo.

If you, like me take dreadful movies, use a program (I used Microsoft movie maker cuz its free) to edit it and hopefully improve it. I used the auto movie feature, chose a style (I chose old timey), and it does all the cutting/editing etc for you, and you end up with something decent. I should have cut it a little short, but hey, there is a stop button, you didn’t have to watch the entire thing!

I made some flannel flowers

This picture happens to be the front and back of the same flower that I made into a pin for my MIL.

I made an ass-load of cookies

I celebrated my MIL’s birthday.

Not bad, not bad at all.

One caveat- Christmas Eve is coming, whether I have my act together or not. Ummm, welll, uh, yeah. Did I mention I go to PA next weekend to visit my goddaughter and her family? Yeah, my time management skills have obviously not improved over this year. Or maybe I have decided that I need to savor the little joys that are there if you just slow down long enough to blow bubbles on the back deck, you know?

Thanks for checking in-

Jen

Technorati Tags: bubbles,bubble grill,silver jewelry,felt flowers

hard to buy for?

2009-11-24T11:32:00.002-05:00

I have been told, numerous times, by different people that I am hard to buy gifts for. I have people in my life who I find it difficult to find that perfect gift for as well, and can sympathize. When times are tough, and there may be less cash available to spend on gifts, it is more important than ever to find a gift that will be adored by the recipient. I think I have found a handy little tool that might just ease some gift buying stress out there.

You probably already know about the Amazon Wish List. Well, Amazon has improved upon that. Everything in the world is not available through Amazon (hard to believe, I know), and to remedy this situation, they have created the Universal Wish List button. This creates a button on your browser tool bar that allows you to add any item, from any store on the web to your Amazon Wish List. So, although I don’t have the capability to have a wish list on Pulled Sugar Designs, you could add things from my store to your Amazon list. This also consolidates all of your desires onto one single list, instead of having lists on several different sites. This is so cool. I have added jewelry making equipment, items from favorite Etsy stores, all different things to my own wish list. You can then add a Wish List button to your blog, or send out an email to people looking for gift ideas that includes a link to your wish list.

I prefer it if I am inspired spontaneously to buy a gift for someone. Sometimes inspiration needs a push, and this button may be just the thing.

Jen

what makes YOU happy?

2009-11-19T15:04:00.001-05:00

here are a selection of things that have made me happy recently:

this is a crazy little solid perfume I found at Sephora-it’s not only the scent that makes me happy- look at the adorable box it comes in, just too pretty. I should have snapped a photo of the actual perfume- its like a tiny solid deodorant that rolls up and down.

another thing that makes me happy- Happytape! This assortment, called oragami, comes in its own diminutive dispenser box.

The tape is made from japanese washi paper, slightly translucent, and oh so fun! I use it to package my baubles:

crazy eggs that my friend’s father’s chickens lay (I’m not even sure I got that right)

I didn’t do the greatest job of photographing these eggs so that you can see the differences in them. The front, white egg is an “extra large egg” from Costco, the middle brown egg is another one of Buzzy’s eggs, the last one is the biggest chicken egg I have ever seen. Here are two close ups:

The egg is actually all crinkled on top. I just imagine that chicken trying to force that big old egg out- ouch!

my new work area makes me very happy!

I haven’t moved everything down yet. I move something, use it, figure out where to put it, maybe move it again. The only problem I see is that the wooden potting bench that I am using is not “solid” enough (for lack of a better word) for any real hammering/pounding I may do. When I punch out circles of metal, for example, I have to put the cutter on the floor because the surface of the table is too “bouncy” (I know there are actual terms for what I am trying to describe, but the vocabulary eludes me). Anyway, it is very convenient. Behind me, there is a double basin slop sink, one bay of which is completely stained with etching chemicals. The other basin is fitted with a stainless steel strainer for my tumbling shot to be drained and rinsed.

The last thing that made me very happy this past week was “Fantasy Thanksgiving”, a holiday I made up so that I could spend time with friends and family who couldn’t possibly all fit around my Thanksgiving table.

Here is my lovely vegetarian sister-in-law proudly displaying her first ever roast turkey!

we set up a family portrait area

a family portrait (of family that was around at that moment)

snapped a shot three seconds before that little truck became airborn…

we had a kids activity table, and music and some games. And FOOD, copious amounts of delicious FOOD, more food than you could imagine. Throwing a potluck dinner is good fun, I highly recommend it. I also can’t extole the wonderfullness of making up your own holidays- why should Hallmark get all that fun? Pick a day, call it what you will, and get as many loved ones together as you can!

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, and what it means, think about what makes you happy, and what and who in you life brings warmth and a smile to your heart, and celebrate those people, places and things!

Technorati Tags: sephora,Happytape,Thanksgiving

new color options available

2009-11-11T11:53:00.001-05:00

I really like being able to go down into my workspace and create all by my lonesome. I also appreciate that many of my projects are portable, so I can bring them up and work while watching television. It did drive my husband a little batty that I kept digging through my bead bin while V was on last night. The rustling of all those little baggies was apparently distracting. Well, we got through it “whew!”, and I have a total of four color combinations to chose from in the large teardrop earrings I have on sale as the Item of the Week in my store. I hope to have the smaller version of this earring up this weekend. Here is a self portrait snapped wearing the Garnet and Rose Quartz combination so you get an idea of their size.

As you can see,even though they have presence, they don’t pull on my lobes (which are quite soft and susceptible to “large earring drag”).

I guess that is all for now. I will also be posting pics of my workbench soon, before it becomes completely submerged in metal and stone!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Technorati Tags: tear drop earrings,V,Pulled Sugar Designs,Item of the Week

leaves, and onions and shells, oh my

2009-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have to say that the best thing I have done for myself lately is to set up my workshop in the utility room. Our laundry/utility room is on the lower level of our townhome, is a good size and was being under utilized. It took a lot of fortitude and trips up and down the stairs, but it has been completely worth the effort . I am not entirely finished. I made a commitment to myself that I would not rush this process, so I have been bringing things down from my upstairs work area (desk) bit by bit. I will work on something, bring down the tools/supplies necessary and then decide as I am working where to store it, where on my bench does this tool make sense. If you are trying to organize any workspace such as this, I can’t recommend this method enough. I realize it is probably not feasible for everyone, but if you have the opportunity to do it this way, try it!

So, what are the fruits of these labors, you ask? I needed more earrings for my site, and I love this bulbous tear shape, and I love to wire wrap, and I am really working on my soldering skills:

they are going up on Pulled Sugar Designs today. They will start as the item of the week, but then will move into regular stock items, along with additional color combinations and a smaller size as well. These are pretty large, at least 3 1/2 inches long, but are SO featherweight, really comfy, and swingy and fun. They will be on sale while they are the item of the week.

I also created this ring:

please ignore my heinous knuckles in this picture- I snapped it quickly before work. The band is quite wide- 1/4 of an inch. The leaf is hand forged and pierced from etched copper. I’ve been wearing it all day today, and am quite pleased with the comfort of this ring. I did realize why I do not like to make rings. Earring and necklaces, once you put them on, you don’t really look at them all day long. A ring however (and to a lesser degree a bracelet) you can stare at ALL DAY LONG. It is on your hand, it catches your eye, you wash your hands, etc. If there is a tiny imperfection, I will stare at that minor scratch/dent/(in this case tiny spot of solder on the bottom of the leaf) and will not be able to concentrate on anything else about the piece. And so although I try to make all my pieces of jewelry as perfect as possible, a ring to me is the most unforgiving accessory there is.

I also worked on these fun chandelier earrings:

They are near impossible to photograph so that they look as pretty as they are. They are dyed shell, in little shapes, accented with sparkly faceted glass and sterling wire. There will be at least one additional color choice with these guys. They are dangly, but not too long- approximately 2 inches form the ear wire.

Okay, two posts in as many days, kind of scary, I now.

Thanks for checking me out-

Jen

Technorati Tags: tear drop,earring,copper jewelry,ring,chandelier earring

new, new, new

2009-11-09T15:12:00.002-05:00

Well, with the brainstorming assistance of Janis and Abbi, I have selected a NEW name for my business. I wanted the new name to reflect on my foodie past, and just sound neat-o, so I am pleased to introduce Pulled Sugar Designs.

For the month of November, both sites will feature identical merchandise. After November, Little Epiphany will feature only my Christian inspired designs, and Pulled Sugar Designs will be everything else.

Abbi has offered to rework the Dahlia logo she designed for Little Epiphany to match my new esthetic (so generous, and I am so grateful). That is probably the last non-jewelry production related item to take care of for now. I am however, toying with the idea of splitting my blog in two- having a Pulled Sugar blog, it would cover jewelry and my business, and then keeping Little Epiphany, but focusing on life and everything else over there.

Speaking of jewelry, here is a mixed media piece I donated to the Women Who Care kickoff event held recently in PA. It is copper, etched brass, Idolite nuggets and Shrinky-Dink plastic pieces.

I riveted one of the poly shrink pieces to the etched brass. It was very difficult due to the brittle nature of the poly shrink once it has been baked, but after a couple of failed (broken) attempts, I got it!

Here is another completed piece I have donated to the ECCOTA Gala. African turquoise, serpentine and copper. It is a weighty piece, but very comfortable. I wore it to work during the week (I often do this to make sure a piece is comfortable and or sturdy) and it really perked up an otherwise plain outfit of slacks and jewel-neck black sweater. I think I will offer a similar piece on my website for sale soon.

I really enjoyed creating the different copper “cap” elements for the African turquoise beads.

I will be loading up some new items for sale this weekend, and will be offering a special coupon code for black Friday, so get ready to shop from the comfort of your home!

Technorati Tags: Pulled Sugar Designs,ECCOTA,Women Wo Care,copper,african turquoise,Shrinky Dinks

what day of the month is it?

2009-10-13T18:02:00.004-04:00

I don’t know about you, but from August on, the days have just flown by. It is like that cheesy special effect where the wind appears to be blowing pages of the calendar off, clueing us in to the passage of time. It has been a nice summer, and fall is looking just as lovely and twice as busy. Fall for us is second only to the “holidays” in terms of a crowded schedule. I like that, but sometimes you have to stop where you stand and just breathe. So I am taking this moment to breathe, reflect on some stuff, and share it with you.

I just looked back at the last time i posted it here, and it has been almost a month and a half. That is slightly embarrassing. Since that post I have:

run through a sprinkler
cut up a whole roast pig
been to the Rutgers Football home opener
been to the Giants home opener (Last in the current stadium)
played bunko
made copious amounts of jewelry
installed a wireless printer-then had to reinstall it with wires which really annoyed me
had a tooth extracted partnered with a bone graft with a surprise cavity fill thrown in (why not? I was already there…)
blew bubbles on the deck
went to a couple of farmers markets
had pumpkin pancakes (with chocolate chips)
attended my 20th high school reunion
went to Phoenix for a week
went to the Grand Canyon and Winslow, AZ
Celebrated my Dad’s birthday by tailgating at yet another Rutger’s game
made several pot roasts

Now that it is all in black and white, it doesn’t look like so much, but then this weekend I will be teaching a jewelry making class with the fabulous and talented Stephanie Distler, at the ECCOTA gallery in Ridgway, PA. We will be teaching a make-n-take workshop, Poly-Shrink pendants.

some samples

cute- right?

Basically everyone will get to make a fun and gorgeous Shrinky Dink pendant and necklace to hang it from. It is for ages 10 and up. If you will be in the area, please stop in, you will be able to register that day, but you can also preregister at the ECCOTA website.

Right now it seems that the only consistent thing in my life is the inconsistency. I am trying not to use that as an excuse to act like a whack-a-doodle, but I guess I am. I need to buckle down, and get things in order in my life. I need to retake CONTROL of my life. And, to add a little more weirdness into the mix, I am considering changing the name of my jewelry design business. I will retain Little Epiphany, because I am considering making that a Christian jewelry line. When I picked the name, it seemed so great- I love the word epiphany, and most of my designs are little ideas or epiphanies, that I bring to fruition. But, that word is a huge pain in the tuckus. I myself have misspelled it several times during this entry alone. When I Google it, I finally come up, but always after a massage service. When it came to creating my domain name, little epiphany is awkward- the fact that the second word starts with the last letter of the first word is difficult to deal with. That’s when you start hyphenating and underscoring things. I really didn’t know anything about naming a business except to check with the state of NJ to make sure no one else had it here. I am also TERRIBLE at naming things, just awful. My pets’ names are unusable, but for different reasons. My name is terrible to use, so long, and there are already several famous Jennifer Herberts. My maiden name isn’t much better. So my sister is helping me (along with unsolicited, stream of consciousness ranting from my husband, if he suggested “stinky britches” one more time Sunday night, I would have punched him in the ear). We are trying to get that foodie angle into it. Possibly a play on food and jewelry terms. One that we really liked is taken- so loved it and now we can’t get past it (I won’t even put it here because then you won’t get past it either). We seem now to be attracted to “Pulled Sugar”. Can’t explain it, we just like how it sounds. Before I jump ship from the SS Lil Epiphany, do any of you have any suggestions or thoughts on “Pulled Sugar”? I figure, what the heck, maybe one of you out there have a talent for naming things. If I use your idea, there might even be a little treat in it for you…

Technorati Tags: Stephanie Distler,ECCOTA,little-epiphany.com,poly shrink pendants

something new….

2009-08-25T15:22:00.003-04:00

Technorati Tags: online store,little epiphany,jewelry

I am excited to announce an exciting new venture for me here at little epiphany. As you may have noticed, I’ve got a new masthead here on my blog. I did that so that it would match…..

my new online store!

It took me some time to get my act together, I won’t bore you with those details, but it is done, and I am glad. I have started small, limiting my items, but I have plenty of room to expand, and it is easy enough for me to change my stock, so that I can do it very regularly. In fact, since opening http://www.littleepiphany.bigcartel.com/ I have decided to add one additional category, “item of the week”. Each week, I will have something fun up for sale, just for that week. It could be a prototype, or a sample, a brooch, a necklace or a bracelet, you won’t know until you check it out!

I want to take a moment now to thank all my friends and family who stand by me, support and encourage me, in all I do. Thank you, thank you, I love you all!

I now I will go back to quietly hyperventilating in my corner- paper bag, please!

back to the real, and a new favorite thing

2009-08-17T15:31:00.001-04:00

So, last week was our annual week at the beach (or “down the shore” if yuse from Joisey). Once again, the weather was quite (if not completely) cooperative, and a lovely time was had. It was interesting to have such a young spud as an active member of the vacation household (last year he was quite literally as active as a potato, being only a few months old). I will say this- there is nothing as refreshing as a 15 month-old’s perspective on vacation. Why? Because to them every day is vacation, right, so jump to mommy, I want some hummus and no more of that sand, ok? Hudson is blessed with a sunny disposition, which in turn shone upon us. Even when he was crabby, he still broke through with a grin as if to say “Hey, I’m having a moment, it’ll pass, after some milk and a nap, okay?” And it always did. Never before has our house had so many spontaneous dance parties. We almost always had music playing, just white noise for the most part, but he would get inspired by a song we hadn’t even noticed, and then before you knew it, even Uncle Ceiling Fan was dancing around with Hudson. A sample:

Beach Balnket Dance Party (of one) from Jennifer Herbert on Vimeo.

Also, two pics that I took this week.

Doesn’t this guy look like Richard Branson of Virgin Records/Airlines fame?

He roamed up and down our beach, with the flippers on and the hand-flipper-glove hybrid-thingies as well, very serious for Beach Haven’s standards.

But anyway, I am back to my sand less, wave less life, which means I am also making some things! I’ve had some Shrinky Dink stuff banging about my brain, so yesterday I picked up a package and went to town! I have no memories of ever actually making Shrinky Dinks as a child, weird, huh? Maybe my mom felt that adding a hot oven to the activity roster of four children was just too much. Anyway, I got out a whole bunch of crafting tools I ALREADY OWNED- copyright free image book, markers, colored pencils, scissors, shape templates, punches, stamps and inkpads, stuff I had been sorely neglecting. Here’s a picture of the largest piece I made. It started out a whopping 6 inches across

The quality of this picture is terrible, but in my defense I took it very early this morning as I was simultaneously making breakfast and crafting and playing with the dog, so photography was going to suffer, for sure.

Here are my finished little guys:

The largest is just over 2” square. I can’t wait to combine them with my copper and brass dog tags, and some stones. I am also psyched to make some earrings too- I am totally freaked out by earrings that pull the lobes. I think there are few things as unattractive as a woman whose lobes have been tortured by those huge-ass earrings she insisted wearing in the 80’s, am I right? I’ll be able to make some substantial earrings that won’t harm the lobes, very cool, yes? Going back to the fact that I am able to employ those neglected already been bought crafty supplies- I think I will be investing in some fancy watercolor markers. I think they will enable me to achieve some interesting coloring effects that the pencils are are not.

I would love to see the lovelies others have created from this versatile medium-please feel free to share! Meanwhile, I’ve got to get back and preheat my oven!

Technorati Tags: Shrinky Dinks,poly shrink film,Branson,Long Beach Island,vacation,dancing baby

country graffiti

2009-07-20T15:46:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday I went to visit my grandma, and on my meandering way home, remembered to stop and take these pictures:

I had seen them a while ago, but hadn’t the time to stop and capture them. As I approached, I hoped that by putting off photographing them, I hadn’t completely missed my opportunity (maybe they had been painted over, or maybe the silo thingy wasn’t there anymore). I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled into the drive next to what I will call a silo for expediency. I didn’t get out of the car because it was private property, and I feel a bit odd when I stop to take photos like this without permission. Anyway, they are still there, they are still lovely, and fun and I finally have snaps of them. I think about the kids who painted this. I feel happy that the subject matter is funky and innocent and playful, things sorely lacking in today’s world. I will probably find out that this was done like 20 years ago. If it was, I hope that as parents now themselves, these former “taggers” have encouraged their children to be just the things I see in this graffiti on Charlestown Road.

woohoo, preachification, ended, my Grandpa Myers would have been proud, even though I never mentioned Abraham and Sarah once in this whole post.

oh, and PS, I am working on something that has been along time coming, and I hope to reveal by the end of next week!

Channeling Bob Ross

2009-06-24T15:54:00.002-04:00

Has anyone else in the Jersey area noticed the outrageous cloud formations of late? I cannot remember ever seeing these kinds of sky displays in our tiny state. They remind me of pictures you see of big sky country, or Arizona, not our little corner of the world. It is a combination of threatening grey thunder heads, and brilliantly outlined poufy white, and scuttling wispy translucence. Happy little clouds and enormous grumpy clouds, we have them all. I feel compelled to photograph them, but only succeed in flattening them, removing all the dynamic drama of them. (I searched YouTube for quite a while, looking for a clip with Bob Ross discussing his Happy Little Clouds, and could only really find him making a friend tree for a lonely tree, cuz we all need a friend. Amen Bob).

On a less patient with the note, what is with this parking job?

This exemplifies the driving “idiosyncrasies” of other motorists that I have been witnessing lately. For the past week, people have been incapable of staying in their own lane, or of deciding which lane they want to be in (there is a difference, just think about it for a moment. There, see, you got it!). People on the road: I just want to get back and forth from work safely. I do not speed, I use my turn signals and I want courtesy from you whackadoodles out there sharing the road with me. We can all be happy little clouds out there, sharing our happy little sky, just please look around you!

That is the end of my rant- I think this weather is finally getting to me!

Oh, by the way- two new styles of necklaces up at Jeanne-Maries- take a peek!

Technorati Tags: Bob Ross,clouds,bad driving

Traversing the bridge

2009-06-12T15:23:00.001-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of spending a little quality one-on-one time with my 13 month old nephew, Hudson. It was a lovely Saturday morning, and while his mama got her hair did, we hung out in Raritan. I was a little nervous about entertaining a toddler by myself, they are very tough audiences, but then I decided to check out the Nevius Street Bridge.

It is an old span bridge that was recently converted into a pedestrian bridge. It was safe, and clean, and provided just the right amount of interest and structure to keep him occupied. He rode to the far side in his stroller, then used the railings to crab-walk his way back down. He had a running commentary the whole way, sticking his arm through the struts and occasionally letting out his trademark “oooooooh!”

The video ends abruptly, as we happened upon the only spider web on that entire bridge. I bailed, and grabbed him. I hate spider webs. Ever try to walk on the pedestrian walkways on the Clinton Bridge? The spiders are as big as your thumb, and they leer at you like some kind of Stephen King character in one of his novels, not pretty. Anyway, try to not listen to my screechy witch voice, and pay attention to the cute baby, ‘kay?

The rest of the day was spent doing other fun things. We went to a park in Somerville, and took pictures of the peonies…

Then we froze our butts off at the pool, and he went home before any crankiness could set in (talking about my crankiness, Hudson is a model citizen). A lovely day.

the evolution of a thing

2009-05-29T11:17:00.001-04:00

Memorial weekend was a wonderful time for me to work on some ideas for necklaces that have been banging around in my brain for quite some time. I enjoy seeing and hearing other peoples processes, so I though I’d share how this all went down, since I can show you how the design evolved.

First of all, I sketch very little. My rendering skills are terrible, and I only use drawings to capture VERY rough ideas, so that they don’t escape me completely. Many people detail their designs fully on paper before they move to materials. As my skill sets become more complex, I will be forced to improve on this. For now though, I am happy to dive right in and try to figure out how to realize my ideas as I go along.

I became obsessed with vintage Lucite flowers very early on in my travels. I found my first few in a lovely shop in San Diego (once I remember the name, I will share). I then found several sellers on eBay that could supply me with these little lovelies. I started out making sterling silver, wire wrapped pendants using them. More recently, I’ve been working in copper, and wanted to incorporate the flowers into those designs.

I wanted to do something with a very organic feel, and this is what I came up with.

Utilizing copper tubing, ball chain and wire, the first couple were nice, but I felt they were stuffy, and over-composed

The 18 gauge wire was rather stiff, and I was wrapping it so tightly around the tubing that I was making it difficult for myself to attach the flower and other decorative elements. I was also experimenting with how to deal with the chain.

In this version, I dropped the first link or so into holes drilled at either end and then hammered the tubing to distort the holes slightly, using tension to hold the chain in place.

On my next version, I wasn’t happy with how I had wrapped the tubing, so I removed it. In order to reuse the wire, I annealed it (heated it evenly to redistribute the molecules and soften the metal), and discovered two things- heating had colored the wire in an appealing way, and the wire now had some interesting kinks and twists that made it more natural looking when wrapped onto the tubing.

A mistake I made in the beginning was drilling the holes in the first three tubes right off the bat. I quickly realized that it was totally worth it to just thread the chain through the tube- those three inches of chain were not worth effort trying to secure the chain some other way.

In the bottom example, I figured out to ball the ends of the wire, which creates a bud effect, and solves the problem of where to end the wire wrapping. The end is now a part of the overall design.

I then decided to take apart the original orange necklace…

I am really happy with these necklaces. The loose style is a departure for me- I am usually the meticulous wrapper, very anal- which feels very right. I am also happy to have figured out how to use a bunch of these lovely flowers, which have languished in my bead collection for far too long.

del.icio.us Tags: jewelry,handmade,copper,lucite,flowers,wire,tubing,necklace,ball chain

Happy Day to all you Mothers!

2009-05-08T10:48:00.004-04:00

My Mom will be in Florida this year for Mother's Day, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to her.

Knowing how you love those lilacs I cut a huge bunch of them...

I strapped them in for safety, and headed for home.

A side note here: I have allergies, and these past four weeks, they have been raging. I wake up every night at 3 am and have to use my allergy nasal spray, I take another medicine to control the rest of my symptoms and my asthma. Closing myself up in a small car with a bucketful (or actually a plastic pitcher full) of lilacs was not the brightest thing I've done this week.

I stopped the car at one point and contemplated chucking the whole mess out, but settled on snapping this pic instead. See how the flowers are stroking my shoulder in a menacing fashion? They did this the whole ride home, in addition to almost choking me with their granny-perfume.
Once they were in the house, with room for fragrance dissipation, they were quite lovely. I hope they make it to Sunday, as they opened a week and a half early this year, and are slightly past their prime.

In the end, they were worth the effort. Very much like having children, I imagine.

Happy Mother's Day, y'all!

board of health go home

2009-04-17T13:34:00.006-04:00

I updated my FB status today, commenting on the lamentable status of my purse. I walk around with it and puffs of dust and scraps of receipts fly around me, ala Pigpen. I know that all you know that I am a person who likes to use hyperbole to get my point across, but I decided to photo-journalize the facts of this case, to prove that I am in fact NOT exaggerating.

exhibit A:

This is what it would look like if I just plopped this bad boy next to you on the bus.

let's really examine what is going on here-shall we?

exhibit B:

I dump all contents onto couch in reception area of office.

let's take a closeup or two to see the carnage in horrific detail:

exhibits C & D:

Here, you see all the fast food and gas receipts along with a months worth of deposit slips. Also shown, the earrings I am fixing for my mom, my magic wallet (exploding), and entire pack's worth of Orbit mint mojito gum wrappers, and the keyring of all my "preferred shopper" type of key tags.
Here we see not one, but two pocket packs of tissue, hand cream, car and other keys, gas-ex, one of two lens cloths, phone and blue tooth earpiece, camera case, an obituary and the directions to that person's viewing, the key to Alisa's house and a three week old shopping list- is it all becoming clear now?

Now, here is the show-stopper, and the reason I walk folded over to one side (drum roll, bitte)

I have admitted to being addicted to various lip products, and here is what happens when said addict keeps throwing those beloved little tubes into her purse without ever taking some out. My lipstick bag is very slime, designed to hold a lip liner, a lipstick, a gloss and my beloved Timewise lip primer. As evidenced in this picture, I have far exceeded these parameters.

So I sorted through all the junk, and kept the good
Here is what I normally tote around (minus my camera case, I must have put that back in before I snapped this pic), fairly useful things that get me through my day- now you can actually see some of the things that were there before, but were buried. My tweezerman emery board in a case, Tide pen, little notepad in its green paisley embossed metal case, splenda in convenient pill form, my asthma inhaler, my business card case, my awesome tampon case, and finally my truly wonderful reusable shopping bag which will be documented later. ( Tax season must really be over, look at me, even including hyper-links, woohoo, FANCY)

There we go, all purged and spring cleaned. Now if I could only dump the contents of my house out like that, all would be right in the world, my little world.

next, I will work on my posts for project 365, which sadly, has been neglected, and will not be a true experiment in pictures every single day. I will post what I have, and promise myself I will get back on track!

i think it's finally done...

2009-04-08T08:22:00.003-04:00

I've been working on this one for quite a while...

I bought these garnet last summer (I think), and then was faced with the quandary of what to do with them. I loved the boldness of the Wilma Flintstone I had made last winter, so I took some cues from there. After trying several combinations with the garnet (which is black red, quite opaque)I settled on turquoise and copper. I had tried combos that were more "formal", but I really like the casualness of this arrangement. I then decided to fabricate the bead caps, because everything I was trying to accent with just didn't have enough presence. The front of the necklace is on memory wire. I then had to create the back of the necklace. My first design had these bars that looked like horse bits. They succeeded in hurting my neck (this thing weighs a ton)so I realized I needed something wide, to help support the weight of the stones and keep them from digging into my neck fat.

The clasp is also now nearly invisible, which in this case is a good thing. Now I think I will sell her. I have this pathological desire to keep all the pieces I create that I adore. They are much like children, I think, I need to set them out into the world, if it will have them.

PS: any opinions on using the background paper? I kind of like it, but don't want anything too distracting. Here are pictures without background

Please comment...

stopgap measure

2009-04-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

Took this yesterday, thinking my new pink sweater would look lovely against the fresh pale green sproutiness- well, I was wrong, but thought it looked OK as black and white. I only have a few minutes, I am busier than a 1 legged man at an ass-kicking contest at work, and it seems I will be getting busier in general. My girlfriend Mary, online entrepreneur extraordinaire, has graciously agreed to SELL MY JEWELRY! I am a combination of trembly, sick to my stomach and that-girl throw my hat in the air excited.
I think this could really happen....
shit

oh and here's the link!

project 365: day 125: blush

2009-02-26T08:59:00.000-05:00

As a very fair skinned person, blush is very important to me.

project 365: day 124: lipgloss, again!

2009-02-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

I did cull my gloss down so that it encompasses only two drawers. I am going to toss out the Burt's Bees. It has this bad citrus scent, and it dries the crap out of my lips. And yet, you see it is still in one of the drawers. It is a sickness.... The tin of Cargo is awesome, the colors are amazing, but the tin is a bit of a pain in the arse, and always having to have a lip brush is on the inconvenient side, but still, great gloss.

project 365: day 123: Lipgloss1

2009-02-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

I am addicted to lipgloss. I think I've found the perfect one and then it gets discontinued, or I get bored, or I just get distracted by shiny pretty. In the center is one of the glosses from Stila, that I bought in a three pack from Costco. I didn't have the highest hope, thought I'd like maybe one, but I love all three. Oh, and the best part, they were like $14, for all three. Seriously, why wouldn't I? Oh, and by the way, that's how an addiction starts...

project 365: day 122: foundation

2009-02-26T08:46:00.000-05:00

Mary Kay makes the best foundations, hands down. I have many shades and coverage levels for all year round.

project 365: day 121: Primers

2009-02-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

The next couple of posts will examine my hoarde of beauty products. What is in all those little drawers?

Artists need to prepare their canvases properly, and I put that theory into practice with my face. I don't necessarily use these products every day, but it is important to have them when you need them. The middle and right products are probably my two favs. The Supernatural is a tinted magical cream that can be used alone or under makeup. On the right, my MK Timewise lip primer. I have one here and another in my purse at all times. It keeps my lipstick in place, no more feathering for me.

project 365: day 120: Organized!

2009-02-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

It has come to my attention that this is interesting. Just before Christmas, I was straightening up, in anticipation of entertaining. Instead of my usual procedure of cramming things in cupboards and closets and then slamming the doors, I decided to actually organize some stuff. This is the counter of what is technically the guest bathroom, and it had become overrun with my cosmetics. I purged A LOT of stuff, and the rest is neatly labeled and put away in these drawers I found in the hardware department of Target.

project 365: day 119: winter!

2009-02-19T08:50:00.008-05:00

It took me the better part of a day to accomplish this:
It started out looking very much like this:

After I was done I did this:

project 365: day 118: another from TDoS

2009-02-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

This has been in the drawer for a long time. The serpentine are very large, and I bought the carnelian before I understood grades of stones. This will also be taken apart.

project 365: day 117: drawer of shame examined

2009-02-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

so, due to the grey weather, I figured I would examine the items within my drawer of shame. I LOVE the olive jade rectangles in this one, but the rest of this just doesn't work for me. Taking this pic inspired me to take it apart, but I still haven't figured out what to do with it...

project 365: day 116 Alstede barn

2009-02-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

I am working on using my camera in manual mode, except for focus, which given my eyesight, would be bad.
I believe this barn, on Pleasant Hill Road, is part of Alstede farm. So pretty against the blue sky...

project 365: day 115 default pose

2009-02-14T11:46:00.003-05:00

Hudson, having been photographed so much, now has a default setting when the camera comes out. Want proof, see below:

the scrunchy eye thing is new, so is the fake laugh. they learn so fast...

project 365: day 114 some church

2009-02-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

there are two churches on main street in succasunna, that are next door to one another. this is the prettier of the two (in my opinion), but not sure what flavor it is. see, i'm sooo on top of my religions

project 365: day 113 tornado twist earrings

2009-02-14T11:34:00.000-05:00

copper, wrapped around brass wrapped around sterling. not going to set the world ablaze, but they are a really good everyday earring.

project 365: day 112 Calendar confusion

2009-02-14T11:22:00.000-05:00

I got through almost the entire month before I realized this was what I had written on my work calendar. Dorothy says it was because she was talking to me as I was writing, I say she's sweet, but wrong.

project 365: day 111 snow covered bushes

2009-02-14T11:14:00.000-05:00

The crazy winter weather this month has made for some interesting pictures, but that is all the good things I can say about it right now.

facebooking, hmmmm (yes, it is a verb), or, I am a crazy person, protect your children from me...

2009-02-09T13:22:00.003-05:00

In the past few months, I joined Facebook, and am an admitted addict. My husband does not understand the attraction, and no amount of hard sell will change that, which is fine. I am a voraciously social person. I get very attached to the people in my life, and even after a relationship may have ended, I still wonder about their whereabouts. I do not obsess, but something may remind of that person (a song, an expression a smell), and I just think "what is Jill up to these days?" In many ways, Facebook eliminates these mysteries. I know that one friend is happy, another is glad to be home, or watching a movie, or eating something tasty. Mundane little nuggets that make you feel connected to that person, who could be doing that inane thing, thousands of miles away. In many ways FB satisfies the sentimentalist in me.

I am a bit shy about requesting friends, though, especially people from high school. That was a tough time for me, and I know that my teen social skills were even less stellar than today's. I take rejection very personally, and wonder what they will think when they see my request, blahh blahh blahh, I apparently need a shrink. ("My neuroses are part of my charm", at least that is how I try to sell it). Anyway, I recently added my maiden name to my FB, so that if someone really wanted to find me, they could. Well, just recently someone did.

This was a junior high and beginning of high school classmate. In seventh and eighth grades, we spent a lot of time together, and our relationship was one of those cantankerous, snarky, picking-on-each-other things, that in retrospect, is questionable at best. His family moved away after freshman year (I think).

His name had kept coming up as "people you may know", and I had decided that, yes I do know him, but he can stay on the right hand side of my FB page. After I changed my name, he put in a friend request, with the message "Well, look who I found...How life?Do you keep in touch with any old friends?"**. I accepted the request, but didn't respond back to the message. I have several "friends" that I don't correspond with, and that is fine, and I felt this was appropriate with "Seth".

So, a week or two later I get this on my wall: "So you dont want to talk to me or what" which gets me a little fired up. Bad grammar aside, Facebook is supposed to be fun, and this was feeling not fun. (Reading this post so far, I realize that it sounds like I am overreacting, which is why I gave some back story on the relationship with said snarkster. I could hear the tone of his voice inside my head, and the tone was not good, that tone had not changed since high school, also not good). So, I replied back, and I must paraphrase "whoa there cowboy, don't get all FB creepy. We all have lives outside of FB, just been a little busy" which is all kinds of witchy/bitchy, zero to sixty in seconds, I know. To which he replies "Oh my...I see some people never change",to which I reply "agreed", and he unfriends me (which is why I couldn't copy my exact reply from his wall, he unfriended me).

See? Just what I was worried about. Drama. High school drama (the worst kind), which is exactly why I am skittish about people from my past. This whole discourse makes me sound unchanged during those long 20 years, still so defensive and sarcastic. I have changed, I have softened a little, and I hate how easily I slipped back into the role that people expect me to play. I hated my role in high school. If I were forced (at gunpoint, death threats to loved ones) to go back and do it again, I would do very little the same. I would hopefully take myself less seriously, and just be a happier person.

I am a happy person, and now "Seth" won't have the opportunity to bask in the glow of my deliciously insightful status reports. He'll never know that I wore super-cute tights today, or when I am forced to yell at clients, or if I am having a hard time figuring out what to eat for lunch. So sad, so sad.

The moral of this super long, incredibly silly and self indulgent rant? Have fun, people, laugh a little (especially at yourself).

Life is too short to take shit from some dick on Facebook!
(that would make an awesome tee shirt, or flair!)

**these were direct quotes (complete with bad grammar) cut and pasted directly from FB. Thank you technology!

By the way, he's not the first person to unfriend me, (take a moment to get over your shock), but his unfriending makes way more sense than the first. That one is still a frackin' mystery (person in question friended and unfriended me twice! You think I am mentally unstable...).

(all this use of friend and unfriend as verbs has made my spellcheck all wacky)

next posts will be to catch up on project 365!

project 365: day 110: Sunrise over Bridgewater

2009-01-20T15:55:00.001-05:00

Taking the dog out this morning was beautiful. The sun just rising, snow still clinging to the branches, very cold, but still. A wondrous winter morning, how long will I be able to appreciate this beauty before the frigidity gets to me?

Oh, and I am caught up! Yeah!

project 365: Day 109: Pendants

2009-01-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

a couple of posts a go, I showed some pendants in progress. Here is one side of them, the shots of the insides was not great, I will try again. Upside, I still have them to rephotograph, downside, they are Christmas gifts that have not been delivered yet, yikes!

project 365: day 108: Hudson eating a leapfrog

2009-01-20T15:40:00.000-05:00

I tried to crop out as much of my nephews hair as possible from this one. It seems his dad got a little happy with lotion after bath time, and he emerged with a greasy, cowlicky, wonky little 'do. This did not prevent him from having a fun little time at his momma's birthday celebration.

*A note: I considered posting a pic of his mom opening her fabulous "As Seen On TV" gifts, but refrained, not wishing to hear her going on and on about skin, hair, facial expression etc. Hudson is a much more compliant subject.

project 365: Day 107: Lizardite and copper Scarf/kilt pin

2009-01-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been working on these scarf/kilt pins. This design is approximately 3 inches long, the stone is lizardite. I photographed them on slate, which I think I like. It has some natural texture, without being distracting, and it is not shiny, which is what I battle with the jewelry, I don't need that struggle with the background too.

project 365: Day 106: Pantry Blasted by Cylons?

2009-01-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

About 10 minutes into the Battlestar Galactica premier, we heard a crash from the kitchen. I knew exactly what happened, as it had been imminent for weeks. We looked at each other and shrugged. The cans will be there, we had to know the truth!

project 365: day 105: Frosted cottage

2009-01-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

Another of my favorite house in the world, this time complete with frosting!

project 365: day 104: Earrings

2009-01-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

I am really trying to get my act together with my jewelry photography. These are hand forged copper earrings, using a bubbly glass with gray paper inside as a background. I think the bubbles are too busy, and I need to get those fingerprints off the copper before CSI figures out that crime I committed...

project 365: Day 103: Bliss Road

2009-01-20T14:36:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Schlank, this one's for you...

project 365: day 102: Licking the fence

2009-01-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

I hear you saying to yourself "hmm, another large yak-like creature, licking a chain link fence, this girl has jumped the shark". Well, so what if I have? It is January, people, and in this part of the country, it is colder than a well diggers shovel. Therefore, if I can open my car window and take a picture of it without getting snow in my shoes, I will. Now, I will take my toys and go home...

project 365: day 101: Swoon Print

2009-01-20T14:27:00.000-05:00

On January 3, I attended an event at the Brooklyn Museum, 1stfans. The artist Swoon was there, doing free prints for members. I was a little bummed when I picked mine up after it had dried, someone had taken mine by mistake and left this one. I had picked a paper with a purplish hue and texture. In retrospect this worked out much better. This is how it looks after I trimmed and "mounted" it.

project 365: day 100: Mary Kay!

2009-01-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like 100 days of photography is a milestone, and this entry, maybe not so much. But, I bet many people did not know that I am a Mary Kay consultant? Maybe only a PU (personal use only, said with scrunched up face, holding nose, right my dear Director, Paulina?), but a bonafide MK consultant nonetheless. I went to go pick up my order. By the way, the Cadillac you see is actually a much pinker pink than my camera could justify. PINK!

project 365: day 99: moon

2009-01-15T18:01:00.000-05:00

I always think of Cher's grandpa in Moonstruck when I see the moon like this. AAAooooh!

project 365: day 98: bowed aspen

2009-01-15T17:58:00.000-05:00

another casualty of the icy weather we are experiencing here in Jersey.

project 365: day 97: ice bud

2009-01-15T17:55:00.001-05:00

icy bud tips from the lilac bush at work that will probably do its last flowering this year.

project 365: day 96: thievery

2009-01-15T17:52:00.000-05:00

Hey, we've all done it. Stolen some wi-fi from someone not smart enough to lock it down. But dude, you do this all the time, and seriously, you are probably squatting in front of the person's house from whom you are stealing, broadcasting for the entire neighborhood the fact that you are a cheap ass-hat, stealing bandwidth! Douche!

project 365: Day 95: swirl pin

2009-01-15T17:47:00.000-05:00

I am working on a series of completely hand forged scarf/kilt pins. This is the first, 10 ga half round brass wire, soldered onto a 16ga copper handmade kilt pin. I still have to pickle the copper plating off of the brass, leftover form the annealing and soldering process. Whew, that was a boring mouthful!

project 365: Day 94: icy stream

2009-01-15T17:43:00.000-05:00

I snapped this of the icy stream that runs in front of my grandma's home, just as we were leaving from lunch.

project 365: day 93: brookly museum

2009-01-15T17:38:00.002-05:00

My sis and I went to Brooklyn Museums 1stfans event, she was in charge of the camera, but I did take a few snaps, and this is one...

project 365: Day 92: Superstars

2009-01-15T17:12:00.000-05:00

My godchild Aerin and her little sister Carrie, yucking it up at Poco's in Doyletown. This is approximately 45 minutes before Carrie (who is three) decided that she had had enough, and it was time to go home!

an extra treat for you, faithful followers

2009-01-15T17:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the previous photo, unedited. See how photogenic my sister in law's dog, Olive, is? If I had a dollar for every picture I have inadvertently taken of this dog's butthole, I wouldn't need my day-job! My husband also seems aware of this icky addition to the portrait of him and Hudson, but is powerless to prevent it.

project 365 day 91: Uncle Ceiling Fan & Hudson

2009-01-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

Here's Scott in a rare Hudson holding sighting. See how thrilled he is to be in charge of a squirmy 9 month old. Its not that he doesn't love his nephew, he really does, and has never before shown so much interest in a little being. He just doesn't want to be in charge of said being. Little ones are so unpredictable and squirmy, and have the propensity for kicking one in the nuts unexpectedly...

Project 365 Day 90: Wellies

2009-01-15T16:46:00.000-05:00

This is one of two pairs of wellies I own. This pair stays at work, because I never know when I'll need them to: push a client out of mud, shovel snow/ice, push myself out of snow, take care of flooding in the office.
They have saved my fancy shoes, many times.

Project 365: Day 89: Aspen

2009-01-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

This aspen caught my eye on the way to work this particular day. The stark white against the very bright blue.

project365: day 88 Cake!

2009-01-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, Scott's Grandma got me a silicon cake pan in the shape of a stadium. In honor of Rutgers playing in a bowl game, I mad a devil's food cake with cream cheese/chocolate chip filling.
It was yummy!

project 365: Day 88: Failed Flower

2009-01-14T17:19:00.001-05:00

I had a real vision for this little guy, which now, after some advice for friends over at the Jewelry Artist Network, may be partially realized. Seriously, I thought this would be amazing, wrong. The petals are brass, the center copper. I know now how to restore the brass color, but my soldering sucks, and it is a mess. I think I'll add it to my drawer of shame, and when I have some time, and it' s warmer so I can work outside so the super-pickle doesn't kill me, I'll put in a little more time and effort, and see if I can't realize this little daisy's potential.

project 365: Day 86: Copper pendants

2009-01-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

This is the outside of some copper pendants made for friends. If I can figure out how (I will probably have to edit this post) I will add a picture of the insides, too.

project 365: Day 85 Amber

2009-01-14T17:06:00.000-05:00

A loooong time ago, my sister asked me to re purpose a bracelet of amber. It had been made using heavy cotton cording, which over time had stretched, rendering the bracelet useless. I just have to figure out a fastening system (calling it a system is never a good sign) as well as antique the copper. Will post pics when finished.

Project 365: Day 84 : Hudson's first Christmas

2009-01-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

I love this picture of my nephew (on his Dad's lap) Christmas day. He's slightly wiggly (as a nine month old should be), but I managed to capture his face in focus. Also, his Dad is not making too weird a face, a Christmas miracle!

project 365: Day 83: Turducken in progress

2009-01-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

This is Christmas Eve 2008's turducken, about 12 hours in to cooking. It will require about 9 more before completion...

project 365: day 82: little less caffeine?

2009-01-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

This little home is across from the Quickcheck near my home. Their lights are very exuberent, and it seems like maybe they should lay off the extreme coffee, no?

project 365: day 81: my eqipment is old...

2009-01-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

While preparing the enormous quantities of stuffing required to fill a turducken, I noticed that my V-slicer (poor mans mandolin) was made in West Germany. Yes kiddos, there was at one time 2 Germanys. I also owned a TV that had knobs, that you rotated, to change the channel, old, my equipment, or just me.

project 365: day 80: You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here...

2009-01-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

This was the final straw, he has snow accumulating on him, for chrissakes! Shooed him away again, fearing that maybe he was ill, and couldn't bear the possibility that I might have to stare at his little corpse. He hasn't returned...

project 365: day 79: pendant

2009-01-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

this is a wire wrap necklace I am working on. more pics when finished, hah!

project 365: Day 78: pre-etchbath photos

2009-01-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

here are some small pendants ready to etch. This batch convinced me to find those Sharpie paint pens.

project 365: day 77: He's back!

2009-01-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

Assuming its a boy bunny. Haven't gotten close enough to check its bits...

project 365: day 76: icy grass

2009-01-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

project 365: day 75: BUNNY!

2009-01-09T10:24:00.000-05:00

OK, so, this bunny would be behind our shed, every morning for four days, in the same place and position, freaking me out. I finally poked at it (no contact, of course) with a deck broom handle to make sure it could move. It did, and didn't come back, or did it?

project 365: day 74 Work space

2009-01-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

here is a crappy shot of my work space, as clean as it gets. That does means that I'm not working on anything, but there is satisfaction in seeing the top of that desk.

project 365: day 73: lights in Hillsborough

2009-01-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

I hope to one day catch the truly awe-somethingness of this family's yearly holiday display. At last count, they have 17 separate blow up lawn ornaments. The picture is horrendous, yes, but perhaps a reflex action on the part of the camera to protect itself, and us from this display. Damn, I need a wide angle lens!

project 365: Day 72: Easy Cheese

2009-01-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

This is the easy cheese we found at my in-law's house. It is cheddar cheese flavored, not the peanut butter flavor, indicated by its color. Note the date on the bottom of the can. From a purely scientific standpoint, we now know that yes, easy cheese does in fact go BAD!

project 365: day 71: Drawer of Shame

2009-01-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

While preparing for Christmas Eve, I have been making a concerted effort to actually put things away, not shove them into some dark corner. I was cleaning my workspace, and opened up my drawer of shame. Unfinished projects, abandoned for a variety of reasons. I resolve to take care of one of these a week in 2009, whether it be finishing, or dismantling and scrapping, this drawer will get emptied...

project 365: day 70: Lunch!

2009-01-09T09:47:00.000-05:00

This repulsive looking concoction is one of my favorite lunches. Nuke a potato, nuke a box of birdseye broccoli with cheese sauce, voila, lunch!

Project 365: Days 65 through 69

2008-12-11T15:52:00.002-05:00

Day 65: December 6, 2008
At the end of the day at the craft fair that made me famous (in northwestern PA, anyway), I realized I had better take a picture of two. More proof that I need a better flash.
Day 66: December 7, 2008

I love holiday lights. Good, bad, pathetic, I love them all. This is an example of very enthusiastic for the size of the home. This home is one story, and probably only five rooms max. There is enough bling and hoo-ha for a house three times its size. I do feel the need to drop off a couple more boxes of icicles, so they can finish what they started...

Day 67: December 8, 2008
This is one of three such ginormous bovine creatures that reside near the Morristown Armory. This one happened to stop licking the fence and pose so nicely. I want to call them oxen, but they could be some kind of yak or whatever.

Day 68: December 9, 2008

The skeletal remains of hydrangea on a rainy day.

Day 69: December 10, 2008

More lights, this time on Main Street in Succasunna. I believe this to be an excellent example of the proper use of white lights.

Project 365: Days 60 through 64

2008-12-11T15:46:00.003-05:00

Day 60: December 1, 2008
We got snow while in Illinois. This tree was out in front of the funeral home. Everyone else was trying to take pictures of it through the window. I was the only one who was willing to go outside, and it came out pretty.

Day 61: December 2, 2008

Because of the snow fall the previous day, and the bitter wind and cold, the funeral service took place inside the mausoleum. I know I end up taking a lot of pictures in cemeteries, and now at funerals, but its not a thing for me per se, its just sometimes the best picture of the day happens in these places.

Day 62: December 3, 2008

I love looking really close up at things. When we were little my brother had this book called "Tiny Monsters" (I think) and it was these macro pictures of bugs, and that close up they did look monstrous. This is the end of a rotten fence post. Again, not every pic is going to be coffee table book material, people!

Day 63: December 4, 2008

When not sure of what to do, take a close shot of something mundane. I call this "Tools of a Trade".

Day 64: December 5, 2008

I am obsessed with these little guys. They reside at a horse farm, and they are not out in their paddock every day. I look for them every day. Of course the one time they are out, they are standing as far away from me as they can. At some point the owners of this farm are gonna slap a restraining order on me for harassment! Hah!

Project 365: Days 55 through 59

2008-12-11T15:36:00.005-05:00

Day 55: November 26, 2008

This is the door of a cool farm outbuilding that I pass on my way to work. It is part of the Alstede farms of Chester, but not the main stand that is on 24. I will soon take more of the main barn, which is lovely in a very timeworn way.

Day 56: November 27, 2008

I was "commissioned" to take some family portraits and baby pics for the Resners on Thanksgiving day. The baby is uber photogenic, and his father is our family's Chandler Bing, but he manged to not make a goof y face in this and another couple of shots. This photo shoot has not totally convinced me that I like to take pictures of people, but the fact that I did get a couple of good ones, makes me hate it less.

Day 57: November 28, 2008
Now, I am not going to pretend that I get into this project every day. This photo is absolute proof of this, but at least I tried to make something ordinary a little interesting. Oh, whatever. You try taking a picture a day for a year, it is not all great pictures!

Day 58: November 29, 2008

We traveled all the way to Crystal Lakes, IL to eat tater tots! Oh, yeah, and to pay our respects to our grandma...

Day 59: November 30, 2008

My Mom's immediate family playing a rousing game of GOLF!

Goodbye Grandma Myers, part 1

2008-12-03T17:11:00.008-05:00

My grandmother passed away on Wednesday, quietly. My Grandma Myers did everything with enthusiasm. She loved big, cooked with zeal, prayed with fervor. The final years of her life were filled with pain and confusion, but on her good days she still shone with beauty. She was the first older person I knew who could giggle without self-consciousness. She had cheeks like warm summer peaches, so soft.

The family who could, gathered in Woodstock, IL to pay tribute to her life. We laughed a lot, cried a bit too, but mostly just enjoyed being together. We pored over old pictures, reminiscing of her sense of humor and adventure. We played dominoes (although her game of choice was Rummage), shared meals. There was praying, and some more crying. Family thought lost, came to pay tribute to Auntie Helen. I think she would have approved of our efforts, because next to Jesus, family was above all else.

She was buried December 2, 2008, weeks shy of her 95th birthday, next to her husband of 68 years. The church fed us well, a lovingly prepared meal, and we parted ways, each heading for home, hearts heavy with loss, but gladdened for sharing these days.

Thanks grandma, for sharing the art of the giggle.