A New Gateway

Today I have another home repair to show off!  This one was a relatively simple fix.  The old swinging gate that was kludged together was really bothering Alex.  He is probably the one who uses it the most, to get stuff from the cars to the garage, where is where his studio is.  The old gate was rusted, wired together, and had a wheel that always fell off. Also, it was one wide gate, probably 8-10 feet long, and it swung out in one piece, which required lots of clearance to move a car or something big in and out of the driveway.  Here's a collage of pictures of the old one.

And now the new one!

This one opens from the center and it's all shiny and stuff!  Alex was able to get the old one down and the new one up in about an hour, and it's such an improvement.  He also got parts to improve the old grill and worked on that last night.  The side yard is looking good with the new picnic table and all these improvements!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

More New and Old Lumber

 I wanted to wait until October to start thinking about the whole Halloween thing, but I just love it too much to wait anymore!  Plus, I glazed these neat bones in a new white crawl glaze and I just love them!  They look like burnt painted wood!  I just did the two of them as a test...I am not sure what I will end up using this glaze combination on, but I see a lot of possibilities. It looks a lot like the wood around the old basement windows that I just had replaced, actually.  I have been wanting to get these rotting, peeling, and broken items out of my house in exchange for shiny new ones, but they do happen to inspire me as I am dragging them out to the curb on garbage day.

 So speaking of old and new things, you may recall that my glass patio table blew over in the strong winds the other day and it was destroyed.  It just happens that a plan for a new picnic table had been in the works, and part of it arrived today!  Alex's family is very involved with the Boy Scouts, and they had access to some slightly used items that were used for the big Jamboree this summer.  This is a huge event, and they bring lots of stuff for the boys, and when it is done, it gets auctioned off to raise money for the Scouts.  Alex saw these and thought they would be great for my yard!  It's a convertible table/bench, and I will be getting two of them, so we can fit ALL of our friends when we grill and have gatherings.  Maybe there is still time for an Autumn cookout to break in these tables?

Even Zoey approves!  We are going to head out today to get some stuff to treat the wood and do a few more projects around the house.  Hardware store, here we come again!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Playing with Colors

 Remember the goodies I showed a little while back that I got from Missficklemedia?  I finally got around to using some of it!  I wanted to design some Spring themed jewelry for magazine submissions and, as usual, had trouble with color.  I decided to think about rainy springtime days as my inspiration (which was not too much of a stretch, as it was a rainy autumn day when I was working).  The aqua and blue tones worked out perfectly, as I paired them with some seafoam glazed items and contrasted with some bright lime greens.  I am just going to show some sneak peek details here, to keep it all a surprise.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Book Giveaway: Bead Chic by Margot Potter

 I have the final book giveaway of September for you today, and let me tell you, it's an amazing one!

Bead Chic: 36 Stylish Jewelry Projects & Inspired Variations is an exciting book by Margot Potter which is full of the kind of gorgeous projects that you might expect from this skilled designer and author.  The concept of the book is really fun... it shows you many different techniques and examples of taking a jewelry design that you see and using it as inspiration.  Margot had several other designers collaborate in parts of this book, including myself!  We were given a project from the book and asked to create our own piece of jewelry, using the project as inspiration.  I really enjoyed the challenge!

These are the two pieces I made for Bead Chic.  I am really pleased with both of them and was honored to be asked to participate in the challenge.

I have one copy of Bead Chic to giveaway this week.  I will choose the winner on Friday, October 1st!  Leave a comment and tell me someone who inspires you artistically.  Good luck!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Old and New Lumber

 I made this collage of some newly listed Lumber Components that I just listed in my Etsy shop.  Thanks to Lorelei for her wonderful tutorial on the Art Bead Scene blog on making collages in Picassa.  It was very helpful... I have been wanting a tool like this for a long time.

  While I am creating new faux wood items, I am also digging away at destroying real and old wooden things.  Look at my victory over one of the root balls that was standing in the way of my new fence plans!
Here are this week's Extra links: A Bead A Day
What does your Monday jewelry look like? Do you find you grab more sparkle for an added boost?   About.com Jewelry Making
Are you trying to pinch those pennies when it comes to making jewelry? Here are some ideas to help you out. 
Art Bead Scene
This week we have a Monthly Challenge treasury to share and inspire you.    Barbe Saint John
Bead Chic by Margot Potter Book Review and Giveaway   Beading Arts
Have you seen what you can do with macrame? Don't think hemp, think colorful and modern!   Carmi's Art/Life World
Another felted and beaded pendant is turned into a necklace by Carmi.   Cindy Gimbrone, The Lampwork Diva
This week's Wednesday Wire is all about the rings.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie faces her fears of home improvement by relating it to her beloved jewelry crafts.   Katie's Beading Blog
Katie's dreaming up jewelry projects inspired by the season. Leave a comment for a chance to win a Beads, Baubles & Jewels DVD!   Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei and Nancy Schindler paired up for a beading challenge, check out the results here!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews the amazing tutorial, Color Drenched Metal, by Shannon LeVart, which is available at Shannon's Etsy Shop: missficklemedia. This is a FANTASTIC opportunity for eager designers to learn how to patinate a variety of metals in gorgeous, vivid colors!    The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
To celebrate his birthday, Andrew hosts a week of giveaways! Five days! Five giveaways!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Song Lore Saturday: No Such Thing and One Angry Dwarf Mashup

 Welcome to this week's Song Lore post and the final school themed post of the series.  Whew!  When I started the series I had three pretty solid ideas but have been at a loss for the fourth to finish the month.  I have been thinking about it all month until today, when I got hit with two song inspirations.  They are somewhat similar in content, so I figured I would combine them and make one necklace.

  The two songs are "No Such Thing" by John Mayer and "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" by Ben Folds.  They are both songs that have to do with how school can be a terrible time and not realistic in its expectations.  I think I remembered these songs because I watched some of Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" this week, which is a series of short videos aimed at young people in the LGBT community, with older people talking about their experiences, reminding that it gets better when you grow up and get out of school.  I remember being in school and really struggling, and worried that life would always be horrible, so I think this project is really good for people of all kinds.

Anyway, the necklace I made is very layered with symbols taken from the songs. (Lyrics here for No Such Thing and One Angry Dwarf) I started with one of the antique globe cards that I got at an antique store.  World globes remind me of school, so I thought it was a good starting point (plus it symbolizes the "real world" from John's song)  I have added a little key that reminds me of a locker padlock key, two beads made from an old ruler (4&7 inches from Ben's song), the pencil links and grid links ("stay inside the lines" and "plot it out in black and white" from John) and some plastic army toy wheels (for the GI Joe reference from Ben)

I am pleased with the result and think it is a kind of surprising design considering the inspiration.  I must say, today felt like my days back in art school (which was SO much better than high school...it DID get better!)  Jeremy is working on a new creative project, too, so there's lots of fun artsy energy flying around today!

Here's John Mayer's "No Such Thing"

and Ben Folds' "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces"


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

TGIF: Today's Book Giveaway Winner

Oh geez, I am going to get an F on my blogging report card.  The week just got away from me and I almost forgot to do the book giveaway!  I will definitely have to postpone the other book review until next week, but I will announce the last giveaway winner tonight:
Congrats to Amy aka Tawneypup (who entered on my Live Journal feed)  She wins a copy of Kids Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse!  I will get your book out to you very soon...  Hope you enjoy it! It's sleepytime here.  Night, all!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

People in Glass Houses

Well, it sure is the week for glass at my house!  First, the basement windows got removed and replaced with new glass block.  And then today...crash!

It was a super windy day today!  I didn't realize how windy it was until I heard a big noise outside.  I thought it was just the garbage can being blown around the yard, but was surprised to discover that my patio table had been knocked over.  The glass tabletop shattered into a million pieces!  Bummer...

It was a good little table.  It had been a hand-me-down from my parents.  I used it for two summers and we had many grilled dinners with friends crowded around it.  I also enjoyed it in the mornings, when the neighborhood was quiet and it was cool enough for me to work on beads.  Alas, it will be missed. Next spring, I will look for a new table.  Perhaps something without glass, something a bit bigger, maybe wood or metal.  I'll put the metal parts on the curb and some metal scrapper will pick it up...or maybe some inventive crafty person who can figure out how to reuse it.

I grabbed a few of the pieces of glass because I thought they were pretty.  It is that safety type glass that breaks into little pieces instead of shards.  I figure it might make a good photo backdrop.  I've been experimenting with different backgrounds and borders...what do you think?

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Through Improved Windows

Look at my shiny new window!  This is one of two with a vent!  I love them!  They make the outside of the house look much better and it's so much brighter in the basement now.  I am eager to see if it is warmer down there in the winter, because those old windows were so drafty.  I'll just show you the one close up, because they are all basically the SAME!  What a change from the mish-mash of weird and random window parts from yesterday. 

They are so pretty!  All eight of them.

Here's a pic of one side of the house, the one that we use most often.  We grill food out there and sit at the table to craft or eat and the dog likes to hang out on the driveway.  It looks so much nicer, now.  Next up are replacing a few of the house windows... I have 6 windows on order, so they should be ready in a month or so.  I decided I could afford about half of the house windows (damn bungalow with its million windows!!!)  so I am doing the bedroom and the second bedroom (aka the bead room) and that kitchen window that's high up on the wall in the picture above.  The two bedrooms are the draftiest rooms in the house, and they are two of the most used rooms, so I will be happy to have more warmth there in the winter. They are sort of Kludge windows too... see the X's made of random bars?  Two of the four of them don't even open in the summer, so that will be a nice change too. Maybe I will save up for the front windows for the spring.

And here is the back side of the house.  This past spring, this area was filled with weeds and shrubs and vines... a real jungle.  You may remember that when I cleared it out, it caused a disruption in the eco system and I had carpenter ants in the house, as well as a small leak in the basement.  I think the ants are under control now and Dad installed that gutter, so the leak is fixed.  I hope that in the next week or so, I can get the wire fence up and extended to the end of my house (do you see the end of the fence in the right side of the picture?).  I am still unsure about getting the privacy fence up in the rest of the yard, though.  That might have to wait until spring.

Today I am waiting for the cable guy to arrive.  I have finally had enough of Comcast and signed up for WOW while at the art fair last weekend.  I am looking forward to a lower bill and hopefully more consistent service.  Hopefully my next blog post will be from my new internets!

That's the wrap-up of what's going on at my house!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Kludge Windows

From the house that brought you Kludge Fence, I present... for one day only... Kludge Windows!

Here is a lovely collage of my eight basement windows.  They are lovingly crappily constructed from random pieces of glass, rotten wood, screen, nails, bars, assorted pieces of grating, and the occasional sock (you know... for insulation!)

I really hate these windows and am deeply embarrassed that I have lived with them for so long.  They look to me like something from the Flickr group Entrance to Hell, especially that top window at the front side of the house, which I revealed when I pulled the makeshift plywood board out of the window hole a couple of weeks ago.  Had I known they would have been as reasonable to replace as the quote I got, I probably would have done it years ago.  Decisions on this house were not always so fully in my hands, though.  Now that they are, I am making lots of progress to make the house more energy efficient and less of an eyesore.  I am quietly blogging while a guy is hammering away and busting out the old windows, in all of their kludge filled glory.  Hopefully by the end of the afternoon I will have some shiny new glass block window pictures to show you!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Andrew Thornton's Earthenwood Giveaway

Look at what Andrew Thornton has up for grabs on his fabulous blog: a generous selection of my handcrafted ceramic toggles and beads!  You have until Monday the 28th to enter to win by commenting on his blog post.  His birthday is coming soon and he is celebrating by giving lots of cool stuff away!  Andrew has excellent taste in beads and often offers sets of carefully chosen components from the finest artists in his online store and sale site.  Of course, those are the components that he isn't using to create his gorgeous jewelry pieces that you can see in all the best beading magazines.  His blog is a daily read for me...it's one of the first ones I look for new posts on in my Google Reader bloglist.  Show him some birthday love by visiting his blog and enter to win some great stuff!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

TGIM: Monday Book Giveaway: Kids' Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse

Congrats to last week's book giveaway winner Amanda! I will get your copy of Creative Crochet Jewelry out to you soon! This week I have another book to giveaway to celebrate Back to School September!  You are in for a real treat with today's book...

A couple of months ago, I received a copy of  Kids' Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse: And Other Treats for Colorful Celebrations by Liv Hansen & Kaye Hansen.  It has taken me quite a while to review it, not only because I have been busy, but also because I keep coming back to this delicious book to take another peek at the eye candy within.  The authors have gathered a collection of exceptionally fun cakes and treats that any kid (or adult) would be in awe of... and they give you the step by step recipes and techniques to make them yourself!

When I was first asked to review this book, I thought they would be cakes that kids could make.  That's not really true, as these creations are very detailed and elaborate.  They really are for more of an advanced baker or decorator, although the instructions sound effortless and made me (a beginner with baking) want to pick up a pastry bag and get started.  The book does go to great lengths to find parts of the process that kids can help with, in the *Kids Can* sections.

Some of my favorite recipes are the marshmallow fondant, the root beer cake, the funnel cakes, and the whoopie pies.  These all sound really delicious and offer nice variations on dessert options. There are many really fun and colorful cakes for boys and girls..something for every flavor and design taste.  The photographs of all the colorful treats are lush and crisp, and the elaborate piping instructions make it look very easy to create the distinctive cartoon-like look that the authors specialize in. One of the more interesting projects are the fishbowls filled with colored "water" gelatin with chocolate decorated fish and seaweed floating in them.  This is just one of the many fun themes such as fairies, monsters, zoo animals, and other images that any kid would absolutely adore.

I have one free copy of Kids' Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse to giveaway to one random commenter on today's post!  To enter to win, tell me what your favorite after school treats were for yourself or to make for your children.

I will choose a winner Friday, September 24th, when I will have another great book to give away!  Check back next week to see if you have won.

*FTC compliance disclosure: the book mentioned in this post was provided as a promotional gift for review or design purposes from Clarkson Potter/Potter Style/Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

DIY Fair and Extra Links

  Just a quick post today before we head out to the second day of the DIY Fair.  Here's a look at part of our booth above.  We are hoping for a clear day today with more great music and lots of people.  
Here are this week's Extra links: About.com Jewelry Making
Check out this new rivet gadget for making cold connections with your jewelry.   Art Bead Scene
Looking for inspiration for the ABS monthly challenge? Come check out the list of Art Deco sources at ABS.  
Barbe Saint John
Barbe reviews some Rings and Things Halloween Beads and is giving some away too!   Beading Arts
Wool roving for a necklace? Cyndi's tutorial is finished! 
Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses her Parisian ribbon collection to make some fabulous beads.   Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy brought back some beach treasures Lake Huron. She's created a keepsake with them you'll want to see.    Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie reflects on the politics of the playground for a series of hopscotch themed pendants   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean explores creative jewelry design using inspiration employing wordplay--what do you think?   The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew gets interviewed by Ray Hemachandra for a Blogger Profile on Lark Crafts: Jewelry & Beading. 

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Song Lore Saturday: Old and Gray

Today's Song Lore post is another one about school and youth. While I was playing with my pens and pencils while working on my pieces for the last two Song Lore posts, I had this idea to cut up some colored pencils so the colorful cores were exposed.  I had this great copper bezel from Nunn designs and fit a bunch of the slices of pencil into it with a tip of a pencil.  I filled it with Ice Resin, along with two little round link bezels to match.  I am very happy with these pieces!
 The song that provides the inspiration is Old and Gray by the Dance Hall Crashers.  I can really relate to these lyrics:
"I remember when I used to be so young and so carefree
Now my life is filled with problems and responsibilites
Getting home by four to watch richie rich and scooby-doo
Was all that ever worried me, it was all I had to do
Looking at the older kids, always thought they were so great
Saw them hanging out at parties, always got to stay out late
By the time I reached that age the novelty had all but faded
Now that we are old and grey we've become annoyed and jaded" Maybe the pieces I made are not clearly reflected in this inspiration, but something about the mention of the cartoons makes me think of my personal experience.  I did love the cartoon shows, and spent many hours coloring with pencils and crayons and markers.  I don't use them much anymore, but just seeing them makes me think of being a kid.  I also like the contrast of the song title "Old and Gray" with the very colorful pendant. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video clip of this song anywhere, so here is a song that I have never heard by the Dance Hall Crashers called "Go".  I love the sound of this kind of ska... it reminds me of high school and always seems to get me energized and bouncing all around!



Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Skipping Class

 Sorry friends... I had promised another TGIF September book review and giveaway today but I have not been feeling well and I am trying to recover in time for the long weekend show.  It's been pretty hectic, but I think we are ready and I am rested and better prepared.  Come back on Monday where I will have a really sweet book to review and giveaway.

If you are in the metro Detroit area, stop by the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale this weekend!  It's free, there will be lots of great art to see and music to hear, and delicious food and local beer too! 

Oh! and edited to add:  I am having a sale in the Etsy shop this weekend!  Everything has been marked 20% off until September 20th (with the exception of wholesale bundles).  So click on over and pick up some new goodies for the start of the new season!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.