WANT!!!

These would be the coolest shower tiles ever. I want these so much I just can't stand it. I can imagine doing the entire bathroom, floors and walls, in a mix of these and other tiles. Think of the footprint changes as you step out of a hot shower, too.

Source: inventables.com via Sandra on Pinterest

Oh so charming Steampunk

Source: etsy.com via Sandra on Pinterest

Steampunk may not be my thing, when it comes my personal design style, but this was just too awesome and adorable, all at the same time.

Productive weekend without the kiddo

So I met mom for lunch yesterday and let her take the little man for the weekend. We'll meet up with her tomorrow afternoon to pick him up and I can't wait. I really miss him when he's not around.

However, I didn't let missing him keep me from getting a few things done:
-Vacuumed the downstairs and boy did it need it.
-Went to a friend's house and taught a jewelry lesson to her and her grandkid (really, I just loosely plan the project with a certain set of charms/beads/pendants and a project type as the focus of the day, let them do most of the design to their tastes, help and instruct as needed).
-Helped hubby shop for a new TV over the phone while sitting at home with the pups, helped him hang/hookup new TV, helped him buy a bigger new TV and plan a return for the current new TV.
-Also got hubby to put together my new bathroom storage cabinet (plain white wood, doors, stands over toilet) or, as he calls it, the "I don't care what it is as long as I don't have to see tampons anymore thingy". 
-Had a date night with my sweetie at Peak City Grill in downtown Apex. A bit on the pricey side and my steak could have used some seasoning, but very enjoyable. Our waiter was great as was the atmosphere. Loved that we could support a local establishment and have a very nice, very adult meal. I'm sure we'll head that way again in a few months. Hubby says he gives it a 6 or 7 out of 10.
-After dinner, I decided to finally assemble the ingredients for laundry soap as shared by an old friend (recipe to follow). I'll take some to mom tomorrow and let her try it, too.

...and before we head out to get the baby boy, I'm hoping we can install the attic flooring kits I found and put a few things up there and out of the way.

I love weekends where I feel I've been productive but not rushed and stressed to do so.

Anyway, here's the laundry detergent recipe:

     Ingredients:

• 1 bar Fels-Naptha soap, finely grated (use microplane grater or a food processor)
• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
• 1 cup baking soda (optional, just think it might get rid of smells a bit and makes whites a little better looking)
• 1/4 cup OxyClean or similar product (it's completely optional)

Mix it all up really well.  It won't look completely uniform, but it's okay.  You can pour it in small batches (about a third of the recipe at a time after it's been mixed) into an old blender and pulse it a few times, just to mix it really really well and make sure any clumps are out.  I think it also grinds it a bit finer, which may help dissolving in cold water washes, but it really isn't a necessary step. 

Put in an airtight container.  You only have to use 1 tablespoon for a small load, 2 tablespoons at MOST for a large or grimy load.

Look at what I've been making

Aren't they pretty?  :-)

 

Dichroic glass capped in clear glass, then fused in a kiln.

Want!

http://geeky-dad.tumblr.com/post/3869493918/my-daughter-is-turning-one-soon-and-i-decided-we
How cool is this?!?!  I've been looking for a great growth chart for my son. The ones I've liked so far were a bit too expensive for what it is. Yes, memories ... how do you put a price on memories ... well, $50+ for a very large paper ruler seems like a lot to me. But this, well, this is just full of awesome.

I've been featured!

My very creative and talented friend, Tish (of Just A Tish designs), featured a glass pendant I made in one of her fantabulous necklace designs.

http://justatish.blogspot.com/2011/03/sandra-wills-glass-artist.html

Love it! Be sure to check out her blog as well as her jewelry site:

http://www.justatish.com/

In addition to jewelry (stop by to see her awesome wire work), she also sells stone specimens and some supplies.

But, back to the pendant and necklace design, doesn't it just scream Spring to you? It's great and I adore how put all the colors of the beads and gemstones together.

Thanks for the love, Tish!

Yay! New toys!

So I just finished a month-long contract doing some technical writing work. I had fun, but now that my brain has gotten a good workout, my muse is starting to pop back up.

I just ordered new business cards and matching earring cards from www.zazzle.com. I think I'll enjoy the professional pop they'll add to my work. Plus, I don't have hours to dedicate to making my own cards now that my little man requires so much attention.  Instead, I'll just be adding adhesive earring clipcards to add to the back of the earring cards. I need to get new shutters (after 5 years of using them), but my earring displays will be top notch this year.

I also ordered some goodies for my kiln. Some new pre-cut dichro glass ovals and circles, and various glass enamel decals for pendants, a business card slumping kit for a special order I have, and lots of textures to use with the metal clay I got for Christmas. I think I'll start simple, with some shaped pendants and textures applied to those, before trying too many fancy things.

As I start making new things, I'll post pics of course. So stay tuned. :-)