Week 11

In my fit of creativity I missed an awesome dinner with my family so a bit bittersweet...but, as promised, i present to you: the copper feather pen concepted last week!!!



It's not perfect, i ran out of copper wire when i was wrapping the stem, but it's still fun.


A cool thing that has happened recently is that I've been swapping headbands with gals from a forum i frequent for other cool things i want (makeup, fun things from asian shops, puppy treats, etc), which is a step in the right direction. I also made one with elastic this week but i didn't take a picture. It stays on well, but it kind squeezes my head- i like the tied ones better.

No, i still haven't made a youtube video but i have written step-by-step instructions! (Again, a step in the right direction):
Step 1: Find center of headband and center ontop of head. (hair should be pulled back, excepting any bangs you want out, whether your hair is going to be up or down. It's just easier)
Step 2: Tie a half knot at the nape of the neck.
Step 3: Criss cross the ends, wrapping them around each other until you reach the ends
Step 4: Twist this tail until it grows taught- tight enough to start to kink.
Step 5: Go with the kink, twisting the tail into a loop.
Step 6: Reach through the center of the loop and pull the excess through the hole to tighten the loop, leaving the ends inside- like a hairbun.


On a side note in my personal life, I've been doing other things to better my life outside of my art challenge:

-Cooking for myself (i'm really bad about feeding myself because i don't enjoy cooking and i don't like washing dishes-often there aren't any clean dishes to cook with) I'm easing into it with easy things- soups and sweets. Today was a veggie soup with hamburger and homemade french-style fudge. Bob also seems to be on a "make Samantha healthy" kick- he stocked me up on vitamins, viactiv (because every woman needs calcium), gummyvites (because i'll only take a multivitamin if it tastes yummy), glucosamine(for my bad wrist and joints), and folic acid (from my MIL. Bob said it was because I hurt myself all the time and as a metabolism booster it helps you build new cells- i said it was "hint hint- where's my grandkid" Bob's mom said it was both. lol)


-Getting into shape. i am generally considered "slender", but truth be told I am not "fit". When I work, I'm walking and lifting for 6-12 hours at a time, but my body is used to that, so i've started jogging. Nothing fancy, 5-10 minute jogs whenever i feel like it (about 4-6 days a week at random times of day), but it makes me feel better about myself.

-Gardening. This is the first place we have been where we have a yard that i can do something with. It's also the first place we've ever stayed for more than a year. I have a veggie garden, an herb garden, a thriving flower garden, a flower bed waiting on summer bulbs, and an arbor. It's the first time I've had a real tan in probably 5 years. I still have more seeds to add to the veggie garden. Even Bob is kind of getting into it- he planted strawberries. I'd like to issue a personal thanks to last year's halloween pumpkin for birthing a pumpkin plant and therefore the veggie garden around it.

well, that's all folks! til next week ;)

Week 10

I was inspired this week by the columbine I have in my garden (the photo is not one of mine). I originally started by drawing one. Then i drew in a person behind it and annoyed myself by giving her too much muscle tone and decided i was done drawing. So I got thinking about this thin copper sheeting I bought in a roll maybe 2 years ago and have not done anything with. I decided to make the flower out of metal. I just cut the shapes out with scissors. I did end up curling the back petals too much and i think proportionately they could have been shorter/closer together, but the general idea behind columbine is there. When i finished the flower, gave it a center of metal beads and wired it to a hairpin, it was totally missing something which i decided was a big black feather. I don't have any big black feathers, so i made a big black feather out of the same copper sheeting to complete the look. It's not my favorite piece ever but i do love it as a hair piece- i think it's striking, goes well with brunette hair, and would accent a headband well.
I'm more intrigued by the feather- it's the first time i've ever attempted to make a feather in this manner (scissor cutting thin sheet metal). I think the feather turned out really well and will definitely be making more feathers. I foresee a pen...

On a side note, i maintain now more than ever that this blog is definitely crucial in completing my goal. I really did not want to make anything this week. I've been working a lot and only have off one day this week and i didn't have time to brainstorm. Last week i wanted to make headbands- and it just so happened that we went out to eat (we had giftcards to olive garden) right next to a joann fabrics store and i could go in and buy fabric and make my 20 headbands. Headbands are so simple though that they kind of feel like a copout- i made 20 of them and with the intention of selling them when i make a store, but they're more just a fun thing that i happen to wear and at around $.75 each, why not make some extra and see if other people need headbands that they can custom fit too? But this week...nothing. no ideas- no desire to play. I made myself go draw because of the blog. I was unhappy with the finished drawing and made a piece, because i wasn't posting the drawing to the blog and in turn, learned a new technique that I WANT to explore. I don't know if people actually read my blog (well besides my family), but it doesn't really seem to matter in the long run. The blog is here and I have to post to it. 42 weeks to go...

Week 9

I felt like making fabric headbands...so i made 20 fabric headbands- 2 of each one, 1 to keep and 1 to sell. Still need to make a video on how to tie them. I like that they're another multiuse accessory- headband, waist sash, belt (just add buckle), I'm considering making purses that you could add these to as interchangeable straps or decoration.

I am considering the idea of a shop of multi-wear items. I've been meaning to make a few of my own magic wrap dresses (2 layer wraps that can be worn 100 different ways), i already strive to make my pendants wearable as hair decoration, my headbands are hand-tied (yes i know i need to make a how-to video, it's on my list) so they can be repurposed. What other multi-wear items could i make?

Week 8

I'm going on vacation this week so I didn't have as much time to be creative as I woud have liked. I did make 3 new viking knit chain pieces this week: a choker and matching bracelet in copper wire, and a green bracelet for bob made out of color coated copper wire. He complains that it's too big (it fits my ankle), but i originally made it in one piece and it wouldn't fit over his hand so i unwired the joint and added a clasp (the clasp adds a little less than an inch when fastened). The chain itself remained the same size which was the perfect size when it was one piece, but he can't collapse his hands to fit things over them the way a girl can- maybe he just hasn't had enough practice. lol. I told him I can take it back and wear it as an anklet and he said "no no! it's mine, i just wish it was smaller..." I like them. They're nice and shiny.


One thing I have noticed is that the smaller you draw the wire chain down, the more little imperfections/inconsistencies in the knitting show by creating little waves in the chain that keep it from being perfectly round when clasped. The looser chains bend into perfect circles, but the same chain drawn down tighter will not (unless my knitting is absolutely perfect and i'm just not there yet. lol).