Monday, March 25, 2013

Catching Up: BAW and the Charm Swap

I procrastinated myself into a corner this week thanks to a yucky illness last week and the Etsy Metal Charm Swap 11 deadline sneaking up on me. OK, it didn't really sneak up on me. It more like gave me plenty of time while I ignored it until the last minute. At any rate, I finally came up with an idea (that I liked) for my charm based on last weeks Brooch, purchased supplies, and started on Friday!
Brooch 11 (from last week)

Yep, Charms were due Saturday and I started Friday! I'm the queen of procrastination. By Saturday afternoon I had all my parts and pieces ready to go! Jump rings made, tubing for rivets cut, tubing for spacers cut, texture applied to ovals, and holes drilled! 

Charm Swap 11 parts

Next, I applied a patina, distressed the patina, waxed each part, riveted them together, made a new batch of jump rings because the first was to small, and walla:

Charm Swap 11 Finished Charms

I love all the possibilities for this charm! I even made a few extra to put in my Etsy Shop.

Charm Swap 11 Finished Charm!
About half way through the day yesterday I realized that I also needed to make this week's brooch, so I utilized a couple of the extras:

Brooch a Week #12

You can learn more about the Etsy Metal Charm Swap at the Etsy Metal Blog and check out what the 19 other participants are making! For more on the Brooch A Week project head over to Flickr!

Thanks for reading! 






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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Behind The Redwood Curtain


I live in an area that is commonly referred to as "Behind The Redwood Curtain". In some ways, I live on an island composed of prehistoric terrain and incredible coastal expanses.
King Salmon
About 250 miles north of San Fransisco nestled in a temperate rain forest and edged by a fierce and majestic coast lies Humboldt County. Isolated from the rest of California, Humboldt County contains a wealth of lifestyles. It was originally solely inhabited by the Yurok, Karuk, Wiyot, Chilula, Whilkut and Hupa tribes, and later "discovered" by fur traders (many looking for the Northwest Passage),  prospectors, and loggers. As you can imagine, the community that remains is diverse.
Clam Beach
As an outsider (I'm originally from southern California, but have been in Humboldt for 16 years) I was stuck by the sense of community, interesting politics, and amusing characters, as well as the incredibly beautiful landscape. People go green here and they take it to the extreme and Humboldt State University is the seat of many of the green initiatives in the community. Hot topics in the area include salmon, crab, land use, timber, environmentalism, and marijuana. There are more artists in Humboldt County per capita that any other county in California.
Hammond Trail
Yearly events include the Kinetic Sculpture Race, The Oyster Festival, The Tour of The Unknown Coast, The Perilous Plunge, A Taste of Main Street, The Redwood Coast Jazz Festival, Reggae on the River, North Coast Open Studios, The Fortuna Rodeo and many more.
Mouth of the Mad River

 But the thing that engages and amazes most everyone is the trees.
Redwood Park

This post was part of an Etsy Metal Blog Carnival that asked: "Where do you live"? Follow the Carnival to find out where other Etsy Metal member live!
 Laura Jane Bouton: http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/ 
Rebecca Bogan: http://adobesol.wordpress.com/category/ ... -carnival/
Deborah Lee Taylor http://www.e5jewelryblog.com 

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