Extreme Flowers

I thought I would share pictures of flowers again.  I was playing with different effects in Picnik and these are some of the images I came up with.  I think the above photo is neon with a crystal ball effect - I really like the crystal ball effect.

Enjoy the show!

If you have never played with Picnik I highly recommend uploading your images and see what you can create.

Tonight mom and I will finish putting together necklaces and taking photographs of the necklaces.  I am also working on a photo collage of photographs of myself, my dad, my two grandfathers, my great-uncle and my great-grandfather (if I can find that picture) of us in military uniform.  I am hoping to get that done tonight to post tomorrow for Veteran's Day.  Busy, busy, busy.

Inventory Day With Help From the Cats

Computer Set-Up & Lily (our helper)

Today was inventory day - mom and I are preparing for our three day show this coming weekend.  We have to change all of our tags to the inventory numbers the library needs because we aren't collecting the money the library is (this is their fundraiser).  We have a vendor number, the inventory number and then the price on the tag.  At least we are being smart about this and writing down our numbers with the numbers we are now labeling the inventory with so it will be easier to re-tag everything after the show.

We did the inventory in mom's kitchen which is sooo much warmer than out in the garage.  We laid out all the bowls first, so I could take photographs of the ones I haven't yet, and then mom could tag everything with the new numbers.  Mom does this because her handwriting is so much nicer than my scrawl.

It was so much easier having everything laid out so I could see what had already been photographed and what still needed to be photographed.

I have found a new area for taking photographs during the wintertime, because I sure as heck am not going outside to take pictures during the winter.  I am using mom's sun lamp for lighting and then a gray background to lay the pieces on.  I like gray, I think it is soothing.

I had to share one more photograph of Lily, mom's youngest baby.  Both Lily and Sasha, mom's other cat, love the bubblewrap.  Of course that only kept those two occupied for a little bit and then they had to be into everything.  Sasha wanted to be petted while mom was writing and Lily had to play with everything.

While mom is finishing up the last of the labeling I am posting some new pendants on Etsy.  I am listing the red maple leaf pendant; the air, earth, fire pendants (because I may have someone interested in the water pendant); and a lotus pendant.

Boy, this weekend was busy.  It is nice to be so busy but oh so tiring too.

Saturday Enameling Session

Mom Forming Bowls


Today was our last enameling session before our three day show next weekend.  I was able to enamel nine bowls and a bird pendant.  While I was enameling mom was drawing up and then cutting out our ABS November Challenge piece, sawing out another bowl and another bird pendant.



November Challenge



Tree Sawed Out

 

Mom's Mess - copper shavings and scrap


I am so glad mom finds sawing so relaxing and she wants to saw out the pieces.  I will saw if I have to but if mom wants to saw more power to her jeweler's saw!  It is funny, each of us saws a piece out differently.  When I saw out a piece I like to saw out the inside first and then saw the perimeter out.  Mom is the total opposite, she saws the perimeter first and then saws out the middle.  And I am the one who taught her how to saw.

Here are the finished enameled pieces.

Japanese Fan Bowl

Kokapelli Bowl



Man in the Moon Bowl

 

Opaque blue bowl



Transparent purple bowl



Transparent yellow & transparent purple bowl

Transparent Blue bowl



Transparent red and orange bowl





Yellow Green Bowl



















Mom and I have also been working on creating bracelets and necklaces for the show next weekend.  Right now we only have one new necklace and seven new bracelets for the show.  I just finished up the bird pendant and we have another leaf and frog pendant to make into necklaces.

And here is the final picture of the day; the bird pendant.  Unfortunately the holes filled up where we connect the necklace to.  Mom is trying to figure out a different way to connect the bird to the necklace.  Our favorite saying when things don't enamel the way we want, "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome".

That is it for today.  Tomorrow is inventory day - so not looking forward to that.  I hope you all had a productive Saturday.

Finished Bowls and Pendants - Grab a Cup of Coffee and Read On

Mom Sanding

Mom will probably kill me for posting this picture of her, hair not done and she is in the zone sanding, but this is us working away on Sunday.  Mom finished up sanding six "ThumBOWLina" bowls, sawed out and filed/sanded a blue bird pendant and a Kokapelli bowl.

ThumBowlina bowls to be formed

Kokapelli bowl to be formed

Bowl and pendants to be sawed out

While mom was working on sawing out, filing and sanding bowls and pendants I worked on finishing up the enameling from last week.  Oh, I did take breaks to take photographs of mom working on the blue bird pendant because I am creating a slide show of how we make our pendants out on Flickr and Facebook.

Cracking of Enamel

Enameling was interesting on Sunday.  Because the weather is starting to become cooler, we found out certain colors will crack when you take the piece out of the kiln.  Since mom and I just started using the kiln this summer we had no idea that this problem will occur.

So, we improvised, adapted and overcame the problem!

Space Heather Set Up

Mom got the space heaters out, we made up a little table and put bricks on it so I could put the hot enameled pieces next to heaters to keep the enamel from cracking.  Mom's a genius!!!  I think I will keep her.

Pendants out of Kiln

Bowls out of Kiln

Here are images of the finished pieces.  Sorry for the poor quality but I was not able to take the pics until the evening and the sun was going down and there were shadows.  But at least you have an idea of what we finished.

Earth and Air

Fire and Water

Red Creek Jasper Frog



Red Creek Jasper Leaf



Transparent Red/Orange Leaf

Dragon Fly Bowl

Fields of Grain Bowl

Flame Bowl



Lotus Bowl



This week I plan on finishing up six bracelets and a necklace that mom worked on.  I just need to crimp the ends and then take photographs of everything.

Bracelets to Finish



Bracelets to Finish




Necklace to Finish

That should be enough to keep me busy this week! Along with taking photographs of all the inventory - joy.

If you stuck with me this far you should stick with me a little bit more.

Lori Anderson, Pretty Things,was kind of enough to let mom and myself participate in her monthly Cup of Bead Soup.  If you haven't checked her Cup of Bead Soup out I would highly recommend it; Lori has created some of the most gorgeous jewelry with the beads that artist's have sent her - awesome!

Mom and I decided to send Lori an enameled copper "Lotus" pendant and some of our lampwork glass beads.  Mom loves these beads and I had a bracelet made out of these beads that mom kept trying to steal and I wouldn't let her.  Mom and I can't wait to see what Lori creates with the goodies.  I am so excited!

I guess that is it for now.  Thanks for sticking with me as I babbled on about what we worked on.  This coming Saturday will be another whirl wind activity of enameling and then Sunday is inventorying day (YUCK!).  We need to have the inventory done because our three day show is November 12th - November 14th and both mom and I are so excited.