Hair Bling

I've been letting my hair grow out a bit over the last few months and once again looking for the perfect hair barrette.  After traveling across town to find a bit of stranded copper grounding wire (not sure what the hardness of it is but it holds it's shape very well), bringing out the beads, made a few of my own. 

Fall leaves 

I love them.  Pretty and really hold my fine hair in place.  Best of both worlds, functional and pretty.

pretty peacock beads

I have since made a few more but haven't made the time to photograph them and post them. 

You can check them out in a few days at www.twistedcoppertop.com

Repairing a bracelet

Going out for dinner the other evening I decided to wear one of the bracelets I made a few months ago.  It was the first one I made and at the time I knew it was a little big.

Copper wire wrapped bracelet

Wearing it a confirmed that there was not a gal or guy around that would find it comfortable.  Not only that but I found a wayward wire that caught on my sweater....a real no-no in my world.

So it had to come home and get repaired. 

hooks being removed

Both sides of the hook assembly had to be removed.

both sides

Then straightening the wires without damaging them to much and adding a bit of tape to hold together.

keeping everything straight

Re-wrapping and trimmed the wires a half inch adding the hooks back on and the exposed wire disappeared.  No more snag and it now fits a large wrist reasonably.  Job well done.

Look mom all fixed

Nice and tidy, fits well.

Also a great lesson learnt.  Make sure you tuck in all the wires.  Make sure you cut it at the right size and do not be afraid to fix it.  Mistakes are how we learn.
I wore it all day yesterday just to make sure.  Decided to keep this one for myself as a reminder and because I loved it.  Comfortable and fun to wear.  I'll make a few more to sell.

Copper earrings

I've been having fun making copper earrings the last while. 

Earrings are very interesting to make as there are quite a few things to think about.  Do you make them copies, or do you mirror them.  It can even be fun to not make them identical but just a little different.

Just a little different

Making copper earrings takes a little more time as you can't just buy the hoops as you can with  silver or gold ones.  So I made a jig in the wire thing-a-ma Jig making it possible to make matching pair at a time.

I love them and have decided that I would make even the silver and gold hoops the same way.  Making my earrings totally home crafted.

twisted wire dangles

Buying a few sample packs of different wires, gauge and shape, has let me experiment with different looks as well. Twisting a square wire makes the dangles in the twisted dangle earrings reflect light adding a little more bling.

Adding Czech crystals also adds that nice bit of bling catching the light. 

You can check out more of the latest Terry creations at https://twistedcoppertop.com

Now onto fixing a bracelet I made the other day.

"It's always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem worthwhile. "  Gary Marshall

A new store site

Two weeks ago my son put together a new store site for myself ( https://twistedcoppertop.com ) and a natural skin care crafter named So Fresh Products (https://sofreshproducts.com).  I've been having a ball setting it all up and trying to make it look attractive.
It all started with a conversation at the local pub after work on a Friday night.  Sitting next to a very nice lady who just so happened to need a storefront to market her homemade skin care products.  She said "I need", I said "so do I" and Tyler said "I can do that and it might be fun".  So now Tyler has a business that can get us little crafters, inventors, or the guy that just wants to get a web page out there for a reasonable cost (https://fromthe.blue).

But back to the Twisted Copper Top store.  The hardest thing is trying to get the photos just right.  Clear, interesting and that show off the jewelry that I have been making as of late.  I must have spent hours trying different angles, stages, and camera filters.  I even tried the scanner to see if they looked better.

scanned picture

I tried 2 different cameras, my phone and discovered that the best was my little old (20 years?) instant camera on the food setting took what I thought were the best photos.  Days playing with different props, and lighting, keeping a record of what I was doing.

using an old crock pot as a prop

Finally to find a simple solution in a glass pitcher, a lot of tissue paper, and a bright sunny location.  These were a few of the photos that ended up in the web store.

I liked the background

nice and clear

It was interesting to find out how much time and effort it takes to manage and upkeep a simple web store front, almost a full time job.  With no distractions; I miss people dropping by and visiting and the communication that you have in a real store front.  But the nice thing about this is that I can do it from anywhere and the adventure is about to begin.

In the middle of all this renovating, we (my son and I) also decided to do a bit of purging.  A bit turned into a bit more and and a bit more again.  It felt great once it started and became easier as the purge went.  Things that had been stored in cupboards, closets, and under beds for the past years ...... gone.  Every Sunday for the past 2 months Tyler and I took 2 carts to the Salvation Army (thank goodness it is only 3 blocks away) twice.  Between Sundays I would have the 2 carts filled again.  

A lot of my fabric went to the Century House and to the Trout Lake Community Center and believe it or not I have just 2 boxes left of my favorites left.  No more hording a stash that I am never going to get to.  Over 10 boxes to a good home where they can get used.

Terry at 16 years 

The other big purge was my photos.  Having 11 photo albums that I couldn't remember the last time I took out to look at; I sat, had a cup (many over the weeks) and scanned all of my old photos, by date, into the computer.  It was a awesome thing to do.  I'd forgotten a lot of things and places and people over the years.  I was so nice to remember everything.  Some a little sad but the majority was fun, laughter, and good friends.  

Terry's rock garden in the making 1999

I was a little worried about throwing out all the originals but after thinking about it.... I never looked at them and at least this way I can put them as my screen saver and smile and enjoy them on a regular basis.  And just think 11 binders (2 more boxes) out the door.  I remember at 16 being able to throw everything into the old Chevy II, including the cat and off I would go.  I am so looking forward to being a gypsy again.  But maybe not in a Chevy II this time. lol

I'm back

Life has been good and very busy the last few months.  I finally finished painting and cleaning the apartment and it looks great.  It took 3 weeks to finish the kitchen.   Ceilings were the hardest though and boy did they need it.  I'm not sure that they had ever been painted before.

Painting the ceiling.

I had to be careful with the first coat of paint as to much back and forth with the roller and the stucco started coming off.  Oh well, 6 rooms and 3 coats later and all done.

Next came the kitchen; only able to sand, clean and paint 3 cupboard doors at a time; just not enough space. So in between paint drying on the doors I was able to get 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and the hallway finished.  All hard work but total worth the stiff and sore muscles, occasional bruise ( a bit of a klutz sometimes) and sore feet (my own fault from not putting on shoes to climb the ladder).

Doors off getting painted

Nice clean and painted.

The light grey of the walls turned out beautiful and amazingly change color with the light.  Paired with a bright white trim and accessories, the rooms look classic and clean. 

We also changed out the bathroom vanity making them a lot more modern and updated, even the faucets, which are so cool.  They have LED lights in them that change color according to the temperature of the water.  How cool is that.  

our faucets

The condo goes up for sale tomorrow and a new chapter of the 'life of Terry' begins.  I am so excited. 

So... stay tuned, I promise to try and post on a regular basis for updates.  Besides we have a lot of crafty things to do and try.