Friday, April 30, 2010
Last Day for Handmade Necklace Drawing
Today is the last day to become eligible for my Handmade Necklace Drawing. Make a purchase from ANY of my shops - Aunt Nancy's website, Aunt Nancy's Etsy shop, or Jewelry From Tucson - and you will be entered in the drawing! For more details, go to Aunt Nancy's website.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A Scavenger Hunt for Mother's Day
Just look at this wonderful basket of goodies! Wouldn't Mom just love a basket full of luxury!!
Click HERE for the details of this scavenger hunt.
And good luck! I hope you win. :)
Click HERE for the details of this scavenger hunt.
And good luck! I hope you win. :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Soap Molds
I was talking to another soaper about soap molds, and I was once again telling someone how much I love my molds! Ray made them for me about 2 years ago, and they are still as good and strong as the day he made them! Just a bit of staining from the soaps, which is to be expected.
Here's a pic of one of them (I have 4 in all) in pristine condition, before any soap hit them
There are piano hinges on the long sides so I can just fold down the sides to get my soap out. On the ends, a threaded rod runs through holes on each long side, a wooden end piece is placed on the inside of the rod, and then I tighten it all up with a wing nut. This is what holds the whole thing together. When ready to unmold, I just undo the wing nuts, remove the rods, take away the end pieces, and fold down the long sides.
The next sequence of photos shows how I take the soap out of the molds.
Peel off the freezer paper, and I'm good to go!! To clean them up, I take an old expired plastic credit card or gift card and scrape any excess soap off. Put the ends back on, tighten everything up, and back in the soap room until I need them again.
One thing I really love about these molds, is I can pour at a very thin trace and they do not leak!!
And here's a recent pic of the molds ... a little soap stained but still going strong! I expect these babies to last me a long long long time!
Here's a pic of one of them (I have 4 in all) in pristine condition, before any soap hit them
There are piano hinges on the long sides so I can just fold down the sides to get my soap out. On the ends, a threaded rod runs through holes on each long side, a wooden end piece is placed on the inside of the rod, and then I tighten it all up with a wing nut. This is what holds the whole thing together. When ready to unmold, I just undo the wing nuts, remove the rods, take away the end pieces, and fold down the long sides.
The next sequence of photos shows how I take the soap out of the molds.
Peel off the freezer paper, and I'm good to go!! To clean them up, I take an old expired plastic credit card or gift card and scrape any excess soap off. Put the ends back on, tighten everything up, and back in the soap room until I need them again.
One thing I really love about these molds, is I can pour at a very thin trace and they do not leak!!
And here's a recent pic of the molds ... a little soap stained but still going strong! I expect these babies to last me a long long long time!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The making of a turquoise heishi necklace
These are a couple of pics of turquoise heishi and assorted findings for making a necklace. Click on the photos to enlarge.
A very nice light sky blue with copper matrix. The slightly graduated strand is 16 inches, the other strand all 6mm is 20 inches. The graduated strand is in nicer condition than the other. Plenty of 4mm round sterling beads. Either a toggle clasp, or a lobster claw clasp. The lobster claw is safer for lighter necklaces. I put the red coral beads there because ... well, because I love red coral with turquoise.
So we decided on the graduated beads. As I was stringing them, I weeded out any chipped beads. I like to use the round silver beads around the back of the necklace because I found that those little heishi beads like to snatch at your hair in the back. Little devils!
And the finished necklace:
A very nice light sky blue with copper matrix. The slightly graduated strand is 16 inches, the other strand all 6mm is 20 inches. The graduated strand is in nicer condition than the other. Plenty of 4mm round sterling beads. Either a toggle clasp, or a lobster claw clasp. The lobster claw is safer for lighter necklaces. I put the red coral beads there because ... well, because I love red coral with turquoise.
So we decided on the graduated beads. As I was stringing them, I weeded out any chipped beads. I like to use the round silver beads around the back of the necklace because I found that those little heishi beads like to snatch at your hair in the back. Little devils!
And the finished necklace:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)