Copper Enameling

Currently I am taking a copper enameling class through the city's parks & rec department at the Cultural Arts Center. I am a newbie and it took me a bit to get adjusted to the medium (glass powder and copper) and using the extremely hot kilns (1500 degrees F). I have learned a few techniques so far and my instructor wants me to do cloisonne before the class ends.

Photo below: the selection of glass powders

Photo: the row of kilns in class with a variety of trivets and trays stored underneath (used to hold the pieces while in the kiln)

Photo: a peek inside the kiln

Photo: my very first piece - playing with the colors and using the "paper towel stencil" technique (don't know the official term) with some of the copper still showing; this piece has 2 layers on the back (for support) and 3 or 4 layers on the front

Photo: my 2nd piece - a fall forest with the last firing a "sugar firing" where the powder doesn't melt completely which adds texture to the canopy of leaves; this piece has 2 layers on back (for support) and 6 or 7 layers on the front (took 2 class sessions to complete)

I have started on my 3rd piece (4 layers so far - and that is just the back and the basic background) and I will be painting with the powders. I don't draw so hopefully the image will turn out okay. I am making a small medallion for my husband to attach to his new home-brew system that he is making. I will post a photo when I complete the piece.

Wheat Allergy

A week ago I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy. I had been suspecting gluten but did not expect to have such a strong reaction to the wheat allergy test. I am still in shock and disbelief. Eating wheat-free in western culture is a challenge. Wheat is in many foods - some that I would never expect to find wheat or wheat parts. Right now I am totally avoiding breads & pastas and once I get wheat-free otherwise, I will explore the world of non-wheat flour.

I am learning that besides the obvious flour, cous cous, noodles, cereals, crackers, and gravies, many foods have or may have wheat including soy sauce, honey-roasted peanuts, soups / chili, licorice, and fake crab meat. I have heard root beer is bad for wheat allergies but I don't see any wheat ingredients. I definitely have to read the ingredient list of everything I purchase now.

I am relying heavily on corn & rice flour based items and nuts to fill the wheat hole in my diet. I am eating more Mexican cuisine lately and doing basic meals of grilled meat (my husband LOVES to grill), veggies (roasted/steamed), and rice or potatoes. My husband has diabetes so he can't eat much of the foods made with corn, rice, or potatoes. We may be having separate side dishes and not always overlap our eating habits. I have not meal planned much in the past but may have to get into the habit of it.

Gluten-free is not the same as wheat-free. It is amazing how many people - in restaurants - don't know this. Some think if an item is gluten-free, it is wheat-free. Not necessarily true.

Although I avoid fast food as much as possible, I was curious about their ingredients. I was surprised to find that McDonald's has wheat in their fries and grilled chicken (Burger King and Wendy's do not).

The silver lining is I am conscious of every food I put into my body and am no longer eating some of the less healthy foods (i.e., breaded/fried items). There are still plenty of wheat-free junk food items unfortunately.

Stampin' Up!

Since I saw my first rubberstamp in college, I have been hooked. Recently, I became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. Below are some cards I used as samples at my first workshop. I also list the supplies used to make the cards. If the supply has an * next to it, that item will be available only until June 30, 2011. I have a website on which you can order items or check my calendar of events. On my website is the complete list of rubberstamps and accessories being discontinued after this month (order by June 30 - rubberstamps will be available the whole month while the accessories will be available while supplies last). Contact me if you want to learn more about rubberstamping, the supplies, techniques, or how to host a workshop (& earn free product).

Stamp set: Lovely As A Tree
Paper: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Woodland Walk* (Designer Series Paper)
Ink pad: Soft Suede
Marker (to color the white ribbon): Old Olive
Other: 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon Whisper White (colored Old Olive with a marker), Word Window Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (need a die cut machine to use the embossing folder)

Stamp set: For All You Do
Paper: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise Pattern Designer Paper
Ink pad: Melon Mambo
Other: 5/8" Satin Ribbon Whisper White

Stamp set: Fun & Fast Notes*
Stamp wheel: Fast Flowers*
Paper: Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink pads: Basic Black, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Blender Pen or Aqua Painter

Stamp sets: For All You Do
[Note: the Happy Birthday is from the set Something to Celebrate (hostess only) and is no longer available - sorry!]
Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry
Ink pad: Rich Razzleberry

FLW - Westcott House

This past Saturday, John and I did a day trip to Springfield, Ohio and the nearby area. We took a wonderful tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House. {click on the link to see their website} The house is the only FLW Prairie Style in Ohio and was built in 1908. The home touches the property line on both sides. At one point the house was converted into apartments which really changed the architecture. The restoration of the house took about 5 years. Photography is not allowed inside the house so I have only exterior shots. The bedroom closets are the largest I have ever seen in a FLW home. It is believed that Mrs. Westcott was able to convince FLW to have built-in drawers inside the closet. The Westcott House Foundation has done a fabulous job with restoration and care of the beautiful home.

The Westcott House is available to rent for events and does host several public events. On June 11 there is a celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright's (144th) birthday. Check the website for more information.

The garden and the garage - not carriage house as they had automobiles. There were a couple stalls for ponies (for the children?).

The walkway between the house and the garage

A view of the back of the house and garden.

Brayer Workshop

Card from Beginner Brayer Class (design by Michelle Zindorf)

This past weekend I took the beginning and advanced brayer workshops that Michelle Zindorf offers (her website). It was great fun and I was amazed at my finished cards. I became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator this year (my website) and Michelle uses all Stampin' Up products since she is also a Demonstrator. I enjoyed the weekend and being with other enthusiastic stampers!

Card from Advanced Brayer Class (design by Michelle Zindorf)

Amicalola State Park - Georgia

The Amicalola Falls are visible near the top of the treeline in the middle of the photo. It is the highest cascade waterfall in the Southeast (perhaps highest east of the Mississippi River?) at 729 feet. Amicalola is derived from the Cherokee word for "tumbling waters".

The park also has an 8.5 mile approach trail to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail (Springer Mountain).

This is a zoomed image of the top part of the waterfall from the reflecting pool at the bottom. You can see the bridge spanning the top of the falls.

I took this photo while standing on the bridge over the beginning of the falls.

There are 604 stairs from top to bottom of the falls. We didn't take the whole staircase - just a bit at the top and the middle to get different views (that's why John has a smile on his face - not winded from hundreds of stairs).

This is the trail we took from the parking lot to the middle of the falls viewing bridge. The sign posted on the trail reads "This trail is 1,250' in length and the rubber surface is made up of many different sizes of industrial tires that were ground and colored. Approximately 1,300 tires were used and the ground rubber is bound together with a polyurethane aromatic binder. Reuse is one of the three 'R's in efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle to save our planet."

The falls above the viewing bridge.

The falls below the viewing bridge.

Walking back to the car, we looked up the hill and saw this sight. When we got back to the visitors' center, John asked a ranger about it. The vehicle is a moonshine truck that was either outrunning the revenue guys and lost control or the moonshiners pushed it down the hill to distract the revenue guys. The ranger said there is another moonshine truck rusting under the bottom part of the waterfall stairs. Moonshine was (is?) a big part of the economy and culture - even during prohibition (probably more so then).

More Sightseeing in Atlanta

While in Atlanta, we toured CNN, wandered around the Georgia Capitol, and had tickets to see Ben Bailey's (game show host of Cash Cab) stand up show.

The CNN tour started on the 8th floor - escalator up and stairs down. You can see it's a large building and the TV in the bottom quarter of the photo is showing the press conference President Obama had on Friday. We saw the studio where the newscasters were waiting to broadcast after the press conference ended. The area under the TV is a food court which had been taken over by Kentucky basketball fans. The Georgia Dome is around the corner from CNN and the SEC Championship games were played there. On the transit system train to get to CNN/Dome Station, we were surrounded by Kentucky fans that packed in standing shoulder to shoulder and shouting "WHITE!", "BLUE!". It was quite amusing.

The Georgia Capitol is in a less rowdy part of town.

The Senate had some activity going on and people about but by the time we got to the public viewing area, the room was empty. So we walked around to the House of Representatives.
The chamber was empty except for the Door Manager (I think that was her title). So she talked to us for a bit about the chamber and how it operates and some of the history and then let us wander around and take pictures.

I was able to stand behind the front podium but the others were roped off. The back windows on the right is the room for the newspaper media and the windows on the left are for television media.

John liked being able to see the "behind the scenes" view with phones and lap tops under the desks / podiums.

The representatives' desks had a diagram of the layout with who say where on top and the "dashboard" with a (?) beverage cup coaster; a speaker; buttons labeled RTS, RTF, YEA, PAGE, and NAY; and a microphone.

I found the desks quite interesting. They are the original desks (restored) and the desks used to be the representative's office also - you can see the mail slot on the front! (Had to take a photo of this desk since the name matches my blog name - but not a relation, as far as we know.).

When we were planning our trip, we discovered Ben Bailey was performing in an Atlanta suburb. We reserved tickets for his show at the Punch Line. I haven't laughed that hard at a comedian's stand up routine since I saw Jay Leno's performance in 1989. It took a day or so for my sides to stop aching from laughing so hard. If you are a fan of Ben, he has a special airing on May 21 (or 22) on Comedy Central. It's bound to be hilarious.

The World of Coca-Cola

This afternoon John and I spent several hours touring The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. It was better than I expected (I knew it would be a big advertisement for their products and a collage of Coke paraphernalia). We had fun and enjoyed most of the activities and exhibits. The highlights for me were

the Coke dispenser used in space,

a variety of Olympic torches,

and the tasting room. Over 60 beverages that Coca-Cola makes and sells around the world available for unlimited samples. Some tasty ones (I hadn't had Inca Cola since my trip to Peru) and one was the worst beverage I had ever tasted (Beverly sold in Italy).

There also was a dispensing machine that allows the combination / mixing of several Coke products. John enjoyed making a combination that tastes like a creamsicle.

This vintage ad caught my eye. Back then a BIG 16 oz bottle served 3 - today a 20 oz bottle serves one (the nutrition label says serves 2 but most people treat it like 1 serving). Either way, portion sizes sure have changed over the years.

PostMuse and her Orphaned Postcard Project

Quite some time ago while surfing the net, I came across PostMuse's blog about her Orphaned Postcard Project. PostMuse has a postcard collection and has decided she'd rather not have blank backs on these postcards. You can view a list of available cards to "adopt" and she sends them to you addressed to herself in an envelope. All you do is write on the back of the postcard (preferrably about the place/item on the postcard), add the appropriate postage, and drop it in the mail and it goes back to her and her collection. I think I adopted 5 postcards. She does post her received postcards on her blog. This is the first of mine she has posted. Once she receives the postcards back, she sends a thank you postcard to the sender. If you like postcards, check out her blog - you may even want to adopt some postcards.

Bread Machine

For my birthday last week, my husband gave me a bread maker. We (he) made bread with a mix for the first run. The bread turned out well and quite yummy - whole wheat with sunflower seeds, flax seed, and molasses.

Pounce Wheels

When making sheets of artistamps, I use decorative scissors or pounce wheels. Some people in one of my swap groups wanted to see the pounce wheel patterns and size. I made this guide showing the straight(ish) line and some torn to view the pattern. I believe I used the #12 in my last booklet of artistamps. Note: you can click on the photo for a larger view.

Hand-carved rubberstamp

I discovered my love for rubber stamps in college. I had a hard time finding stores that carried them and this was before the ease of the internet and on-line shopping. Several years ago I learned of letterboxing, which is a combination of clue deciphering, hiking, and rubber stamps. [To learn more about letterboxing check out AtlasQuest, Letterboxing North America and Wikipedia] That's when I started carving my own rubber stamps. I am self-taught but wish to learn other methods or ways to do more intricate designs.

Last year I hand-carved a rubber stamp for a swap I did on Swap-bot. It was sender's choice. My partner likes leaves so I decided to carve a Buckeye leaf. After looking at images online, I hand drew a leaf with pencil. I then rubbed the pencil drawing on the block of rubber and carved.The end result with my initial pencil drawing and the inked stamped image.

I sent the stamp to my partner the Netherlands. I liked the carving so much that I did another one for myself!

Happy New Year!!

For New Year's Eve, John and I decided to do something different. My sister and her family had given us a gift certificate to Ohio State Parks for Christmas. Since the weekend was supposed to have mild weather, we went to Mohican State Park and got the New Year's Eve package. By Friday all the snow was melted and we didn't even need coats.

This is the view from our room in the lodge. Each room has a private balcony with chairs.

The two-night package included a gift of champagne (sparkling wine), two champagne flutes, and a box of chocolates. The buffet dinner Friday night was quite tasty and part of the package.

The DJ party was fun with lots of decorations, hats, and horns. But my husband did comment that it felt like we were at a stranger's wedding reception since we didn't know anyone. We met some interesting people and I was surprised to learn so many were locals. But there isn't much else around there for party venues.

The package also included New Year's Day brunch buffet. This is the view from our table.

We stayed in the lodge through Sunday. It rained most of Saturday so we didn't get to hike like I wanted to. Around 11pm on Saturday the lodge lost power. The emergency lights turned on in the hallways and lobby but the rooms were pitch black. John and I hung out in a seating area near a light in the hallway by the lobby. We were given flashlights (a shake-to-charge kind and a left over Halloween themed kid one). Soon a bat was flying around the lights and causing a commotion in the lobby. John turned on his flashlight to get a better look at the bat...and the bat flew towards his light. He kept his flashlight off after that and I had a good laugh. Overall, it was a very nice, quality time, relaxing weekend.