How Do You Do It?

I don't know how y'all do it.

My past few weeks have been quite busy, filling orders one after the next, and going through the lessons in my class. I can't complain. My two children both attend full-time school, which leaves me with a large chunk of daytime working hours, and during those hours, work, I do. But somehow, I'm still working every evening too. And barely finding time for life's work, dinner, and oh, being a parent.

And then there's this wild and wonderful online community of folks who seem to do it all. With grace, and wit, and talent to spare.

Take Lisa, for instance. She home schools her four children, has a photography business, cooks up a storm, and finds time to write thoughtful, honest posts several times a week.

Erin got a surprising amount of posts published while she packed up her home and moved cross-country. And drove there with her two young kids.

Ella writes often, her blog full of gorgeous styling, very cool downloadable freebies, delicious recipes, and fun crafts--all while dealing with a health issue that effects her every day.

Heather is posting creative projects just a few short weeks after the birth of her third child. Oh, and she home schools her two older boys.

So many of you share so much, even when your husbands are far away for long periods of time and all the responsibilities of a family fall square on you (Erin, Emily, Francesca).

Valarie writes often on her three different blogs, in addition to her work as a composer/pianist,and if that wasn't enough, she just started her own publishing company and wrote a book.

Susie runs her busy illustration business, is pregnant with her third child, and is currently packing up/trying to sell her house, in preparation to their big move (newborn in tow) to a different country.

Me? I get a good healthy serving of what I have always wanted--an onslaught of jewelry orders--and I declare that something's gotta give. Total time-management wimp, I know.

I don't know how you all do it, but I'm in awe. (And I'm taking notes.)








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Taking The Plunge

Between a vacation to Florida, a stack of orders thanks to that print feature, another show to get ready for this weekend, and a class to prepare for, I am swamped. I kinda feel like the little one on the front of this log ride. Not even trying to hide the sheer terror of it all--teeth clenched, but going for it with my eyes wide open. Perhaps instead, I should shout out my battle cry, like "A" did. But then again, I could always just close my eyes and grasp on for dear life waiting for whatever happens to happen, like my other girl did. I don't know.

Whichever way I decide to handle it, I just wanted to say I'll be absent from this space, and from making the blog rounds, for about a week, as I take the plunge and catch up on my current roller coaster ride.

Newsy Bits

A few things worth telling, on this very snowy April first.

I just got the April issue of Boston Magazine that happens to feature my Copper Jewel Ring. This is my first time having my jewelry in a magazine, and I am thrilled.

 

Have you heard about Molly's new site, Blarter? The name is a mash up of "blog" and "barter," and it's a little bit of genius. Finally a site that encourages the trade of goods and service between bloggers.

Have you read Francesca's story about the orange cake from war times? An amazing story worth reading.

Do you know about 21 Secrets, An Art Journal Playground? It's an online workshop featuring 21 different teachers/sessions. Check out Amy's class called Three Little Words. She's pretty much the authority on art journaling, and one funny gal, to boot. 

That's all for now. I'm off to shovel snow. Very funny, Mother Nature. Very funny April Fool's Day joke.

Another giveaway!

Just a quick note to let you know that Molly over at A Foothill Home Companion is hosting a giveaway. Click on over to win a fifty dollar gift certificate to my shop. That's right, you get to pick.

And while you are there, check out the two other giveaways she is hosting. It's pretty much a magical wonderland of giveaways over there now though Monday.

Notes From the Jeweler's Bench

A Metalsmith's Morning (Glamorous it is not)

Each day starts with getting the girls up and off to school, followed by a little computer time. Then the work day starts, without fail, like this:

Make a (second) cup of tea

Tape up (to cover the cuts and scrapes that I seem to get every day)

Open the valve of the acetylene tank

Turn on the very high-tech ventilation system (Yep. That's snow out there. Thanks a lot, spring.)

Turn on the listening entertainment (This week, it's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Begin working my way through the scribbled "shop" to-do list

Do you have a morning routine that gets the "work" day started? I'd love to hear about it.

Giveaway!

Just a quick not to let you know EarthMama is hosting a giveaway of one of my items this weekend. The winner can choose from the pieces pictured above. Click over for details and to enter to win. There's also an interview featuring yours truly.

As a bonus,  I'll be offering a 15% discount for one week to EarthMama readers. Go git the coupon code!

A Mentor for Alex

Over the past two years, Alex (also known as "A") has been going through a piano tuning course, practicing on our own piano and tuning the pianos of friends whenever he gets the chance. But he always felt like he was missing something. He needed a teacher, a mentor, and had called a few local tuners to see if they would be willing to take an apprentice. All said no.

Last week, a friend put Alex in contact with an elderly man who is moving out of his home. This man is blind, and had been a piano tuner for 40 years. He had a lifetime of knowledge and piano tuning and repair equipment  in his home, and all he wanted was a worthy person to pass it all down to. Alex is over the moon to be that person.

And so the 80-year-old man whose hearing isn't what it used to be, who hadn't been down to his basement in three years, took Alex down there, blew the dust off a room full of tools and told Alex he could have it all, if Alex would just tune his piano.

He came home with old bottles of then-locally-made lubricants and glues,

antique tins full of tiny instruments used in piano repair,

...and more tools than Alex could  have ever hoped to acquire. Some of them cream of the crop, some clever hand-made inventions of a master of his trade. 

Their weekly meetings are now the thing that Alex looks forward to most, and each week he returns home with boxes of this kind man's lifetime career. Yes, he comes home with his arms (and truck!) full, but I can see that he is full, too. His spirit is soaring, and his brain is buzzing with the knowledge the man is so generously giving him—a lifetime of tips, tricks, and secrets. My husband is brimming with possibilities again, and it is good. 

Ice Cream Scheme

The other day, I shared this picture of custom-ordered word stones with my friends.  I got some positive feedback and then one person (one of my oldest friends) said, "Can you buy ice cream with those?" I was instantly transported back to one of my favorite childhood memories.

Brian and I were probably about 5 or 6, and desperate for ice cream (desperate!), but neither of our mothers would give us money to buy some. Getting our hands on the good stuff was going to require some ingenuity. So, we spent some time searching for small, round, flat stones—ones that resembled coins—and when we were satisfied with how many we had, we strolled to the corner store. Nervously, we each picked out our ice creams, and placed them on the counter. When the cashier told us the total, we nonchalantly tossed the coins on the counter, looking in every direction but his face. He paused for what seemed like an hour then said, "OK. All set," with a smile.

We were stunned. Our ice cream scheme had been a success! As soon as we were outside the store we broke into a sprint, dying to recount every detail of our "trick" to our older sisters. They were equal parts incredulous and jealous. We were equal parts boastful and guilty. And full.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to hear the kind clerk's version of that story now.

What about you? Do you have any stories/memories involving stones?

Thirty Four Seconds

1 package of clay

2 days of clay sculpting/photography

2.5 hours of post production thanks to "A"

3 story boards

10 sheets of construction paper

170 photographs

and countless clay poses

...all equal the 34-second long claymation movie, made by my girls. It features Super Horse and Power Puggy putting a house fire out. It's a real nail biter. (Don't be creeped out. The guy at the end is my husband, who didn't realize that picture of himself got in the mix.)

They'd like to thank the academy and, of course, their parents.

Wanna make one too? We totally winged it, but here's a good resource on how to make a claymation movie, if you're up for the challenge.

Teaching Kids the Magic of Color

The long cold days of winter are the perfect time to delve a little deeper into a few things I've been meaning to teach the girls. One such topic is color theory, and while the girls have known how to mix and make various colors since they were tiny, there's always room for practice. We also explored beyond primary and secondary colors, into tertiary colors and complimentary colors.

You want a big surface with enough space to mix lots of colors. I used baking sheets for this, and if you're using tempera or acrylic paints, it will wash right off with water. We started with only the three primary colors, along with one paintbrush and a palette knife. If you don't have a palette knife, you can substitute a butter knife or use clay tools, like we did.

Make a simple color wheel with blank spaces, and have the kids fill in the primary colors, and then have them mix the secondary colors. Encourage them to mix the colors thoroughly with the knife before painting.

From there move into tertiary colors, demonstrating how red mixed with orange makes red-orange, how blue mixed with green makes blue-green, etc...

After doing this exercise, my small girl exclaimed that there was no color she couldn't make. (I didn't have the heart to tell her about tone yet. YET.)

Next we talked about complementary colors, and how they relate to each other. We noted that they are opposite from each other on the color wheel, and that these colors tend to make the each other look brighter. Red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple—all common color combinations that look good together

I encouraged them to mix the complimentary colors together, and the girls were surprised to see that they all made brown. We compared the difference between the rich browns we had just made and the brown straight out of the tube. It was clear to the girls the difference in richness of a color made "from scratch." We talked about how, really, we only needed the three primary colors, plus black and white in order to make any color they wanted.

In college, my professors were always telling us to make the color, not buy the color, and that a mixed color would have richness, depth, and interest that a factory color would be lacking.

Like a good recipe, it's the quality of each part that goes into the whole that's the difference between a ho-hum finished product, and an amazing one. Keep this in mind as you encourage your kids to make their own colors, using their knowledge of the color wheel as a guide. Their finished paintings will have a new level of interest to them, as well as an added level of involvement. And having kids push paint around with palette knives is a fine way to spend a long, cold day.

For more tips on teaching your kids to use color in their art, read my Beginner Drawing Lesson for Kids post on color.

Imperfect

The imperfections

found in all things handmade

are the makers mark,

the joyous details,

the things I run my fingers across and linger on

with wonder and admiration

Just Ask

You never know what could happen if you just ask.

Shannon of The Spun Monkey is asking for help in getting her dream business off the ground. You can read all about the future Spun Monkey Dyeworks and Lounge here.

Jennifer of The Prairie Girl asked if I'd be willing to trade for a pair of my earrings. She's a crafty one, that Jennifer, so I opted for a surprise. Look what I received in return for my girls

But asking isn't always easy, I know.

I have put a few requests out there to the universe, and I'm going to patiently wait to see what comes of them. In the meantime, I have asked myself to please resume my yoga practice before I turn into the tin man. I have  a strong feeling the answer is going to be an enthusiastic "yes."

Have you asked for anything lately?

Me? A Knitter?

When I mentioned I knitted a hat as a gift last month, some of you were surprised to know that I knit. Well, I do, but I don't really knit. My knitting career is not prolific, nor are my projects always successful. No, I imagine my life as a knitter started much the same as every one else's—too many scarfs to admit, a bunch of hats, a few pairs of mittens, the famous Clapotis—but that's as far as my knitting went. I was too intimidated to attempt an actual piece of clothing.

That's where amigurumi came in, which I have done lots of in crochet. Little did I know that it would be a crash course in every increase and decrease a knitter would ever need to know. For this reason, I would recommend knitted amigurumi to anybody who wants to learn a variety of knitting techniques in one project.

I started with this little lizard last year.

I recently made this eggplant, from Amigurumi Knits. (The smaller girl begged for this, though she wouldn't put a real eggplant near her mouth if I bribed her with a puppy.)

Then my older girl came to me requesting a Lochness Monster (note to self: hide the amigurumi book when not in use) and it sent chills up my spine. I had nothing to fear, though. With YouTube at my side, I soon learned I could conquer most any pattern.

Lochness Monster pattern from Amigurumi Knits 

Well, with all this knitting "success," I got a little cocky. After falling in love with this sweater, I decided it was time for me to go for it. I was going to knit my first piece of real clothing, and dammit, it was going to be for me. (I know what you're thinking. You're probably right. Read on.)

And isn't it lovely? It really was a pleasure to knit. Not scary at all. I knew every stitch I needed to know, and she came along quickly.

But, you see, when you don't pay any respect to the gods of gauge, the sweater you are knitting for yourself ends up fitting your 7-year-old-daughter just perfectly.

Me? A knitter? The jury is still out.

How a Rock Inspired a Party (and a pin)

I was perusing the 5 Orange Potatoes shop in the hopes that she-who-was-about-to-turn-seven would catch a glimpse of the screen and point out a favorite. Of course, she took the bait and flipped for this little pet rock.

From the moment she opened it, they have been inseparable, and it didn't take long for mustache mania to hit our home. It eventually end up as the theme of her birthday party, too. We cut out a mustache for each guest—one for every size and possible 'stache preference.

Well people, I'm here to tell you, that if you're ever looking for fun? Just add mustache. There is nothing more entertaining than a gaggle of girls running around in mustaches. And, while I'm sure you'd all love to see some pictures of that mustachioed madness, I didn't get any (shameful, I know). 

Luckily, I know a couple of girls that were happy to reenact the scene for the sake of the family photo album.

I caught a bit of the mustache bug too, and made a few little mustache brooches to commemorate this stage of hers. Picasso had his blue phase, Ruby has a mustache phase. 

Notes From the Jeweler's Bench

I have decided to start a new series called Notes From the Jeweler's Bench, that I will post once or twice a month. I'll use the installments of "Notes" to:
1. show what I'm up to in the shop
2. give you tours of my space, tools, and equipment
3. demonstrate a few techniques, to take the mystery out of some of what I do
4. teach a few basic jeweler's skills.

You don't have to aspire to be a jeweler in order to appreciate this series. I remember being completely mystified (and curious!) when woman I knew told me she made her own wedding ring. Notes From the Jeweler's Bench is going to show you a bit of metal-shop behind the scenes, so when someone tells you they made their own ring/earrings/necklace you can totally play it cool and ask, "oh, is that cast or fabricated?"

Are you up for it? I hope so. Today, I'm going to show you the progression of a concept from sketch to finished product.

So much of the sketching I do is really just doodling. I'm not even drawing jewelry—just stream of consciousness pencil moving. Often, when I come up with something interesting, I'll turn into a drawing of some sort of jewelry. Recently I was doodling the most basic of doodles, a curly-Q line around a shape, and bingo! I hit on something. It started like this:

...and ended up like this: (I had been playing with the idea of translating my Christmas cards into silver)

So I made one of each of my girls...

...and strung them on a pretty chain that reminded me of those curly-Q doodles. Introducing the Doodle Silhouette Necklace. In addition to the necklace, Doodle Silhouette Charms are also available separately.

One thing leads to another, and new pieces are born from the original concept, like this Doodle Heart Necklace.

I think I'll keep playing with this, to see how I can develop it further. Until next time, happy doodling to you.

Gifted

Are you sick of reading about the holidays yet? I wouldn't blame you if you were, so I should probably give you fair warning that this post is, in fact, about the holidays.

I almost skipped writing about the highlights of our gifts, seeing as 1. it's nearly mid-January, and 2. does anybody really want to read a recap of presents? But as I read through other people's blog posts (like Nicola's), I found myself quite interested in their gifting. What better way to get good ideas for future giving, than from clever, creative friends? With that spirit in mind, here is a peek behind the scenes of our holiday.

The girls have an on-going spy game with their neighbors, and we thought they needed a few more tools for their spy kits. We added magnifying glasses (purchased at Imagine Childhood) for inspecting evidence, as well as a couple of custom stamps that read "top secret" and "suspect." I had the stamps made here, and I cannot say enough about the customer service this shop provided. My custom request went something like this: "can you make me a stamp that says 'suspect' but make it look like old-timey stencil/stamp please?" She knew exactly what I was talking about and, as you can see, the finished product is perfect.

When "A" gets on Craigslist it is never a good thing, and when he comes across a sweet find, well there's no stopping him. This time, there was no reason for me to stop him, as he had his eye on a pair of antique machinist's tool chests. For a couple of toolies like us ("toolies." you know, like foodies?), there was no hesitation. We said "Merry Christmas" to each other and he set out on his mission. He returned with these beautiful boxes filled with tools. I snagged the toolbox pictured above (though I have not "moved" into it yet), and "A" got the one pictured below.

So much time spent in our basement workshops requires a lot of warm winter gear. I knit this hat to keep him warm, and love it so much (it's super simple) there will be three more knitted up soon. (Pattern is from More Last-Minute Kitted Gifts.)

I have a confession to make. I purchased a handful of things for myself this year under the guise of "gifts for the kids." I am not proud, but boy am I happy I got them they got them. This book of iron-ons was one such gift, full of the coolest illustrations, ready to be applied to whatever we want. Let the embellishing begin!

And last but not at all least, these doodle prints from Artsyville. Each one bearing a cheeky little ramble about being yourself, being determined, and being creative. These were also "for the children" (wink wink). 


The gifting has not stopped for us, as a certain little someone turned seven last week, and someone else as a birthday at the end of the month. Onward we march, into 2011, friends. 

Words

I don't make resolutions, but I love the tradition of picking a word for the year. Only problem is, last year I chose a word and, come December, couldn't even remember what the word was. Clearly, I had not carried that word with me through my days. This year? No word, no resolution. Just a few blurry ideas with maybe a lofty goal tossed in for good measure.

In the spirit of all the wonderful words I have been reading about, I am sharing a few words that have highlighted the past few weeks for us:

Pulley: Made by "A," as a gift for the girls (inspired by this). Let it be known that the one rule for the pulley was that they may not lift people on it.

Renovation: The antique soapstone sink in our basement has been given new life. 

Oreos: from this recipe. Click over and make them. The sooner the better.

Sledding: a blizzard is good for this one thing, and was it ever fun.

Wishing you all much love and luck in the new year!