Lovin' the Irrelevancy

Photo above...Totally irrelevant...tube sock flip flops...a fad that never made it !!!

Honestly I have to admit that I've enjoyed the creative and totally irrelevant comments received on my last post.  It was just what I had asked for and you, dear blogger friends, didn't let me down.  Since many people do little more than glance at my blog and few bother to view the wonderful comments that I am blessed with, I decided to continue being quirky  and do something else totally different...I'm posting the completely irrelevant comments on my blog post :

The Lanylady left this irrelevant comment: "I'm having hot dogs tonight."
The Hairy Peach stated: "Ooohhh....the sky is blue!"
 
Aly of Alygatr remarked: "Personally Cinnamon Roll Quaker Oats oatmeal is my favorite. Come to think of it, I just ate some! "
 
T at PoppyPlace proclaimed: "There is a crazy bird that keeps flying against my window! "
 
JamberrySong reported: "And so I told him, What a beautiful dog you have, mister! He was not amused.  ;) ;) " 
 
So Many Memories  noted:   "My right eye won't stop twitching! " 
 
One thing I'd also like to point out that IS totally relevant is that each of these commentators have their own wonderful blogs that are well worth visiting...and following.
My thanks go to each and every one of you.

Irrelevant Relevancy

And so as I was saying....
Suddenly my words seemed to have no relevance.

Photo above...A glass trinket box that a friend of mine made with jewelry that I crafted...relevance to this post...none at all !

Have you ever left a comment on someone's blog and the blogger decides, later, to "edit" their post? Oh I don't mean go in and correct a couple of typos or switch a couple of words around to make a sentence flow better, I mean totally delete a paragraph, a whole subject in their post? I recently had this happen to me. For some reason I returned to a blog and realized that the post had changed and the particular subject I had replied to was no longer a part of the post. Soooo...there was my comment, completely out of context with the post...and everyone else's comments. It was like I had dropped in from outer space, or was whacked out from a chocoholic over-dose. I considered leaving the comment but it no longer fit in with  the rest of the post or comments, it was so irrelevant that, with embarrassment, I was compelled to self-delete.

Photo above...Triple strand necklace of pearls, rose quartz crystals, mother of pearl carved leaves and handcrafted links of sterling silver wire that I made a few years ago. Never could sell it, not sure why, I think it's lovely...irrelevant?...Oh absolutely, totally irrelevant !!

Now my challenge to all who are game is let's see how irrelevant you can make your comments to this post. LOL I'm sure you can come up with some humdingers. :D

Trouble getting from Dream to Reality

Have you ever had an idea but had trouble turning it into reality? 

photo above...elbow deep in a project (idea) that is giving me fits.

I know what I'd like to do but lately my beads seem to be fighting me and I'm getting rather frustrated.  First I couldn't find chain that I could afford  liked, so I decided to make the jumprings and put one together myself.  Using 20 gauge wire I began coiling and cutting away.   Now I'm finding that the jumprings are not staying closed as the beads that I'm adding are too heavy for this application.  Oh bother !

Photo above...The small section that I've done but it's not working out.  Right now I'm having trouble with my homemade jumprings as they keep opening up with the weight of these beads.  As you can see it is going to be a black and white theme with a marvelous Venetian glass bead as a focal pendant.

Photo below...Using some of these black and white beads -

photos below...Maybe a sprinkling of crystals -

Photo below...and a splash of these jet black hearts with an AB finish  -

photo below...Then, just for fun maybe I'll throw in a couple of these?

A Day For Silence and Prayers

Tomorrow will be a day of silence as we offer our prayers to a country devastated by the brute forces of  our dynamic planet.  All too often we take our world for granted and forget the power that wells within it.
 
Though this Earth of ours has mellowed much in the hundreds of millions of years since it was first formed, it is still capable of cataclysmic forces that can wreck destruction beyond mankind's imagination.  Sorrowfully a whole Nation has fallen victim to these unfathomable forces. 

It will take much time for Japan to make a full recovery, in the meantime we should offer our help in whatever ways possible and keep them in our prayers.

Not So "Smart Bargain" Conundrum

My dear blogging buddies, I am turning to you for your advice, suggestions or recommendations.

Recently I placed an order for some jewelry supplies and upon impulse added a few "smart bargains" to my order. Big mistake...be wary and beware of those notorious Bargain Sections ! The price seemed great and from the photos the items looked attractive but photos can be deceptive. When my order arrived I was pleased with most of my merchandise however the "smart bargains" were disappointing. Yes I could just return them but at times the hassle of the return process is not worth the effort for the refund.

So here's my dilemma, the foil and glass pendants that I ordered are not quite the quality that I expected. Several of them are missing the glass coloring and or the silver foil, allowing the stark black backing to show through in certain spots.

Photo above...the black showing through the crackling is expected and a part of the overall desired effect, however the black arch at the bottom of this pendant is not a part of that effect and is unattractive.  It sticks out like a huge zit on a prom queen's nose!

I'm thinking about getting a few large round filigrees to cover the pendant front. The filigree will allow some of the prettier elements of the foil work to show through however these are pretty large rounds of glass, at least 50mm, plus the pendants are domed this means I'd need at least a 60mm round filigree to be able to wrap it securely across the pendant's front and bend it to the back of the pendant all around. Filigrees of this size are not easily found.

Photo above...Here the missing foil is at the top of the of the lower pendant  which isn't bad and might be hidden by the bail.

Another option, other than donating the pendants to Goodwill, is to mount elements to the glass to conceal the flaws. But what adhesive is truly powerful enough to permanently bond a glass bead or metal charm to smooth, hard glass? In the past I've utilized such adhesives as G-S Hypo Cement (which I know will not hold glass to glass), Loctite 454 (it's strong but I'm not sure it's strong enough) and various 2 part epoxies (which seem to vary in their holding capabilities and none have impressed me as being durable enough to hold a metal charm to the surface of a domed glass pendant). I've heard raves about E-6000 but my experience has been less than stellar with it, perhaps the tube I purchased was old? I found E-6000 was rubbery and once it set up it could be easily pulled off of a smooth hard surface, much like rubber cement.

I greatly appreciate any advice or input that you care to share with me.

American Idols

I have my heroes and even if these wonderful men and women weren't out rescuing people trapped in automobile wreckage, or putting out a raging fire they're still my idols. 

This firetruck with its marvelous crew  came around do a routine check of  neighborhood fire hydrants.  I had my camera in hand, waved to them and asked if it would be alright to take a couple of photos.  They waved back, nodded yes and gave me a thumbs up.  

My local fire hydrant passed inspections with flying colors. :)

Getting Hooked on Steampunk

In the beginning Steampunk wasn't quite my thing but lately I've come to appreciate it more and more.  Since watch parts are an essential ingredient in Steampunk design, much like salt is to bread making, I found myself surfing the web looking at designs featuring watch parts.   From there I went to sites that dealt in Steampunk supplies and then on to watches and Steampunk pocket watches.  I found myself in awe over a site that had amazing Jules Vern meets Flash Gordon, genre watches that I thought I had bookmarked but now, unfortunately, I can not find it.  Have spent hours going through my bookmarks and searching the Internet,  it as though that site has disappeared...don't you hate it when that happens?

So if anyone runs across a website that has a dark Steampunk look and feel to it and that has some amazing Steampunk pocket watches that look yellowed with age as if they are 200 years old and were inspired by Captain Nemo's submarine "The Nautilus" please let me know...in the meantime I'll continue to search.