Focus on Life Week 30 - Catch the Sun

This week's Focus on Life is Catch the Sun.

On my way home from work on Wednesday I called mom to see if she wanted to sit outside and just chill (so you know I am seriously not an outdoors person!). I said I would stop and get drinks (fruit drink for me and diet vanilla coke for mom) and I would meet her at the house.  When I got to mom's house (soon to be our house) I set up our comfy lawn chairs (they recline and are so comfortable) and had our drinks waiting for her when she arrived.

While we were talking I took out the phone and looked up and took a picture of the clouds moving through the sky (the corner of the roof is my new extension - they are still working on the construction but I am hoping I can move in soon).  I don't know about the rest of you but our week here in Indiana has been awesome - in the 70's - perfect weather!!!  That is the only reason I voluntarily sat outside :)

This weekend mom and I have a show in Monticello, IN - Broadway.  This is mom setting up for the show - trying to decide where to put all the necklaces.

The final set-up (though we will leave early so mom can fiddle until the show starts).  On each side of the table we have our shadow boxes with our enameled plates and masks in them.  I will try to take better pics over the weekend (I am having trouble with the glare on the glass).

Thanks for stopping by and please head over to The Studio Sublime and check out what other's caught in the sun this week.

2013 Ann Arbor Street Fair Recap and Inventorying

Ann Arbor Street Fair 2013

It is again that time where I tell you all about the most awesome time I had with my friend Lisa at the Ann Arbor 2013 Street Art Fair.  This is our fifth year attending and it seems to just get better and better with each year - though I seriously could do without the heat.

As usual Lisa and I stopped at Marnee Thai Restaurant for the most awesome chicken Pad Thai.  The street fair is awesome but I have to tell you the Pad Thai is to die for!  I have no idea what I will do if this place ever closes - I think bawling in the street would commence.

Of course I have to show you the University of Michigan flag flying in the wind on their Union building.

People walking up and down the streets looking at the wonderful art.  I do have to tell you I sucked at taking pictures this year.  It was hot and it was all I could do to get the camera out to take pictures of the fire hydrants.  I usually take about 400 or more pictures but this year it wasn't even 200 (mostly fire hydrants).  I even broke down before Lisa and said lets rest and take the trolley - that is how hot I was and how much my feet hurt (I have really bad plantar fasciitis and I think I blew out the inserts in my shoes on Thursday and not much padding for my feet on Friday).  Plus I had sweat going where you don't want sweat to go people!!!!!

Overall I loved our trip and I wouldn't have changed it for the world (though a little bit cooler would have been nice!).

Here is what I ended up buying at the fair:

The bell is for mom and me for the house.
It is our house warming gift for the extension -
we are going to put it in the garden between the
house and the extension

This is a new artist, I think because I don't remember seeing them last year.  What they do is take old fire extinguishers and make them into bells.  Each of them have a different sound to them.  This is the smaller one that I really liked how the bell sounded.  They had these huge bells that I wanted so bad but out of my price range and not sure how I would have got them in the car.  Plus I think Lisa would have killed me if we were dragging that huge sucker around all day :)

Gorgeous oil painting - love the colors and textures of the painting.  Lisa bought two of his paintings and I seriously hope he is there again next year.  Of course I will have to see how much wall space I have left after I move into the extension and we hang all of my paintings, photographs and prints on the walls.

Awesome polymer clay artist.  I bought mom one and the other two are mine.

Mom's little guy - she has named him Oscar and he sits next to Wilbert, the dragon, in her curio cabinet.

The sculpture lizard - no I don't have a name yet for her.

The frog and lizard together and I am also working on names for them.  I just like how the frog is holding the lizard and the lizard has his hands wrapped around the frog.  I just loved their faces and how they were holding each other.

Here are some of the images of the fire hydrants - I won't bore you with all of them - be glad, be very glad!!!

That is it for the trip.  Like I said I look forward to this trip every year and I am glad mom told me to go (I think I would have been moping around if I hadn't gone).  Mom is a good egg and so is Lisa for putting up with me!

Now that I was back from the trip mom and I had to start working on the inventory for our show this coming weekend.

Google Images

This is us as we worked on typing up the inventory sheet (this show has it's own numbers and of course it is different from other show numbers or our numbers).  Mom and I kinda get frustrated and we both have to go to separate rooms.  Needless to say the inventory sheet is done, the numbers on labels are done and we just have to get the labels on everything (bowls, pendants, and earrings were done Sunday - necklaces now need to be done).

Now that you have seen us at our worse :)  Since the show is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday I have closed the Etsy shop.  I will try and open the shop back up on August 4th but you never know what is going to happen between now and then but that is my plan.  If there is something you are looking for please email us and we will let you know if we still have it or we can make you what you are looking for.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Focus on Life Week 28 - Pretty Patterns

This week's Focus on Life is Pretty Patterns.

Sally sent us the definition of a pattern and then told us to get to snapping:

• Pattern:
• A form or model proposed for imitation
• Something designed or used as a model for making things
• An artistic, musical, literary, or mechanical design or form
• A natural or chance configuration

Mom just finished working in the garage and putting everything back where it is supposed to be.  Mom also threw out stuff we weren't using, had no idea we had that, and WTF kind of things.  So, the flood from the pop up storm, in the garage, was sort of good thing - mom cleaned out the studio.

So, now we can find things and I found the patterns we have set aside for enameled plates.

Pieces that need to have the perimeter sawed out and mom
saw out the interior

Patterns to be glued down on the copper

Piece mom is sawing out now - it is hard to tell but the white
paper has a nice green patina from the flood when it got wet
and the copper bled through - NICE

Now I am also trying to find patterns I like for a stained glass window for my bathroom in the extension.  These are some patterns I have been looking at.

I am trying to find a pattern for Forget-Me-Knots but I haven't yet.  Of course that means we have to go through all of mom's stained glass to find the perfect colors - now that will be a chore - NOT!!!  All those pretty colors to look at.

Thanks for stopping by.  To see everyone else's patterns head on over to The Studio Sublime.

Extension Update - So Excited!!!!

via Google

I love Calvin and Hobbs and this is was a perfect picture to show how excited I am about how far they are on the extension.

So, without further ado here you go:

Siding is going up - what they did was take the old siding from the back of mom's house and put it on the side of her house facing away from everyone.  Now I think mom has made the decision to just have the whole house re-sided.  When you stand at the corner of the house (to the left) and look at the new siding and the old siding - the old siding looks really, really, really bad.  So, because the house has to be appraised when this is all done mom made the decision to have our contractor just re-side the whole house (that made him happy and mom happy!).

The wiring was put in on Sunday and Monday.

Plumbing was put in today - they are running the pipes through the ceiling.  Those red and blue pipes will expand 30 times their width (or something like that - can you tell I am not a contractor or plumber?).

Mom and I had no clue what this pipe was doing running into the ceiling so we asked - it is a sewer vent so the smell doesn't back up into your house.  Things you learn.

The plumbing for the sink and the toilet. 

And of course the best part of the extension - my big honking shower!!!!  I LOVE IT and it is mine, all mine I say!!!!

I think the wiring and plumbing is going to be inspected tomorrow and the a/c unit will be installed sometime this week.  I just brought over the paint (loved the paint from my house and wanted the same paint colors in the extension) so the guys could get their brand of paint to paint the extension when the walls are up.  Thank goodness they paint and they said they would paint the interior for us - now that brought on a major happy dance there!!!!!

That is it - sorry nothing new to show you guys on things we have made lately - too busy with the kids.  Last night mom worked in the garage to clean up the mess we had from the flood a few weeks ago.  We still need to get the inventory out and make sure nothing was damaged - I guess we should do that soon since we have a show in three weeks.

I hope we can get into the studio this weekend - I have some major ideas going on but need to be able to move to get things done.  Stay tuned for updates on new jewelry pieces and extension pictures.

More Etsy Listings

I have just finished posting the last of the new pendants into the Etsy store.  I am done listing for the next few weeks; now mom and I need to prep for our show the last weekend of July - this is our three day show in Monticello, IN.

Here are the final pendant listings:

Medium Sunburst Pendant

Hedgie Pendant

Small Sunburst pendant

New Enameled Pendants

Photo taking yesterday

Now that the kids are back home mom and I can start working on new pieces and post pieces to the Etsy shop - since I have had new pendants to list for over a month.

Here is what I have got posted so far:

Wolf Pendant

Wolf Pendant

Feather pendants/earrings

Turtle Pendant

Kokapelli Pendant

Torii Gate Pendant

Turtle Pendant

I have a few more pendants I need to add but that will have to happen tonight when I get to mom's house - now that I am back at work trying to get caught up on two weeks of stuff.

Have an awesome week everyone!