New Cuff Bracelet in the Works!

 I've been very busy this last little bit with the Farmers' Market in Merrickville and with my lessons at Rain's Art in Metal for my metalsmithing courses. This is the last piece I did at her studio, and it is still in progress as I have quite a bit of work to do. I took a piece of 16 gauge copper sheet, sawed it into a 6" x 1" length, sanded the surfaces and filed the edges. I then took a piece of beautiful antique lace and wrapped it around the cuff blank and put it through the rolling mill, which exerts high pressure on the metal (and the lace, in this case), to imprint the lace pattern onto the surface of the metal.

 Here is the pattern close up! It doesn't look much like lace, to me it looks a bit like snake scales, but I love it either way. Now I need to get a rolling mill for my own workshop!! The only issue is that, with my being so busy with my baking, I kind of forgot about the cuff bracelet in my bag and when I took it out I noticed that it needed some cleaning on one side. Not a big deal, I just took a scrub brush and warm water with dish soap and started scrubbing. The only problem came when I turned it over to do the other side...

Alas! It has apparently been resting against a piece of copper that I had recently etched, and the etching solution mustn't have been properly rinsed off. Now I'll have to sand that part down, leaving that part potentially with a reduced image on that area. Oh well, live and learn. Now I know NOT to put anything that has been etched anywhere near any other pieces I'm working on!
See you all soon,

Happy Father's Day!

1910 Ford Car (Sorry I don't know the model exactly)

Well, I must say, the Farmer's Market in Merrickville is going incredibly well! The jewelery is selling well and the gluten free, low allergy baked goodies are almost all selling out. It is so wonderful to be able to meet the people purchasing my goods, and so neat to see the different sights in the diverse little village of Merrickville. Take the photo above, for example. Not one, not two, but at least a handful of antique cars were spotted cruising around Merrickville yesterday. And it wasn't even the weekend for the big car show and cruise! That happens on July 11 this year. If you like cars, you had best be in Merrickville early that day.

Looking at that above photo got me thinking about Father's Day as well. My dad loves cars. I think he dreams about them when he isn't fixing or racing them. When I saw this car and another park right in front of my Market tent, I knew I had to get a few shots.

I think these antique cars are alot like fathers in a way. They may not always be flashy, brand new and full of the latest techno-wizardry, but if you take cherish them, love them, they give you love and happiness back for many, many years (and maybe even teach you a few things about cars somewhere in there).

Here's to all of the great dads out there. We love and thank you for being you.