Working on the road

The other day an order came in for 50 zipper pulls. All earthy and no glitz.  So I pulled out the bead box and a paper plate and went to work.

Paper plate and beads.

This is just after we arrived at the Stevens State Park in northern Oregon.  We arrived and set up camp, went for a walk in the old growth along Coffenbury Lake (what a name) and I started making zipper pulls.

5 to start

I have to say that is is so quiet here that I managed to get them all done in one evening.  It was fun to sit and create these little gems.  Now all that needs to be done is bundle them up and mail them off.

I can hardly wait to get started on a few larger wire wrapping projects I have with a few crystals and stones I picked up in New Westminster before we left.

Love these stone textured glass beads.

A little more organizational skills needed!

Well everyone is in the bus (RV) and the adventure has begun.  I have all my wire and glass and beads loaded but it may be a few days before I can pull them out.  We ended up staying in New Westminster 2 extra days so we could take care of the mess.

The mess

Ended up taking another few loads to the Salvation army and trying to down size again.  All the crafty tools and bits and pieces are in the closet, on the top of the other stored things so will not be hard to find once we get the place sorted.  So back to arts and crafts next post. 

Don't for get you can follow the adventures of Terry and her son and the 2 cats at 

https://fromthe.blue/tiki-view_blog.php?blogId=1

Crafting on the road

The pack, purge and move into a little 28' Rv is almost done.  Then it will be crafting and having fun on the road.  I haven't had much of a chance to play while the epic journey begins and am missing it. 
Next week we will be on the road and I will have time to get into a routine and just think of all the inspiration wandering will bring.  A little beach bling maybe?

Till next week.

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.