SNOW!!

Only in Iowa ........7 AM






Iowa 5 PM........



It seems Mother Nature is going out with a roar!

Who knew what a sharpie could do??

What magic can happen when you combine a sharpie, some muratic acid and hydrogen peroxide...





I have wanted to try etching so used up my cheap washers--brass and copper. I played with different sized sharpies and soak time.




I was pretty pleased with the results so now will move on to some real pieces!

                                                                       UPDATE
I have had a lot of you asking about this techinque.  I did quite a few searched and researched for the method I was comfortable with.  Here is one of the sites... 
http://www.ehow.com/how_7840182_etch-hydrochloric-acid-hydrogen-peroxide.html
                                 Make sure you do your homework before you play!!!

These are a couple of pieces from techniques I learned at my workshop in Galena. We used the arte metal shapes as our vessels. We then filled them with polymer clay. After they were baked and cooled we painted them first with black acrylic , let dry and then used steel wool to remove the top layer of paint. Alcohol inks were then used to color them. Finish with a light coat of krylon and you have a very unique pendant.






I am on the hunt for some chunky chain to complete my project!

America's Bird

Our trip home from Galena we traveled along the mighty Mississippi...the great river and America's bird....



Sabula Ia, the eagles have landed!! There were over a hundred sitting in the trees and on the ice(click on this one to really see all of the birds)They are very smart birds they were all on the side of the lake away from where people could get to them!! The ice was just black with birds at the foot of these trees.





Taking care of the winter kill of carp.


One of the many water fowl along the way.




To end something near to my heart....Farmall Tractors....lost but not gone...

A Weekend of Total Bliss Vintaj Style

I had the wonderful pleasure of attending the Arte Metal Madness Workshop this weekend at the Vintaj Store in Galena, IL
Upon entering the store it is first full of overwhelming beautiful handmade jewelry and then the junker in you is amazed at the use of repurposed salvaged doors, mouldings and hardware.



Jewelry mounted on old barn boards




An old screen door used as an earring display




My photo does not do this whole wall justice...the old green color moulding on top of barn boards Oh my!!



salvaged doors used as displays




Up the stairs we went to the classroom...






Jess along with others taking a short break during lunch hour....they actually were busy setting up for our afternoon of NOISY jewelry making!!!



I can't even begin to thank Jess and Betsy for their hard work and teaching abilities....and to put up with all the hammers banging away at the same time...
We altered, distressed, reliefed and learned new techniques...so much more. Once I unpack I will share with you the wonderful projects we did as well as the loot we came home with---OH MY!!!!! Thank you so much to all the Vintaj ladies and Megan(I hope I remembered it right) in the store for helping me come up with a fabulous new design for the washers!!

Shutter Pals

While out on errands this weekend we came across a bargin camera worth trying so here are my favorite subjects...(click on the pictures to see them bigger)



Bud wondering why I have this big black thing right in his face....







Bob in his usual upside down sprawled position....







Really in Bud's face..






Foo Foo girl...her pretty long fluffy hair....





tree climbing





Started with this....


cropped to this




Not bad for cropping this much!







You just have to love Bud, he is our guard cat.....our big boy. He is so tall he makes the others look like midgets!

These were all taken with the auto program of the camera---I did play with the manual settings and will have to get them here..I switched to the new editor and for some reason it doesn't like to upload pictures! All in all for the price of the camera I will take the 10 MP instead of the 12 I was looking for.

Commuting....

What do you see on your commute to work?

Daybreak

A dusting of snow....

Eagles at the wildlife area