can you believe this is going to turn into something?

It is......check out the blog again to see how it turns out.

making vases

These are the vases that we are using for the 2 large centerpieces with will be placed in the synagogue for Abby's Bat Mitzvah. Here Abby is decoupaging the glass vases with the same paper we used for in envelope liner in the invitations. Actually we used the scrapes! no waste here!

future designer

Check out these fabulous fashions designed and executed by daughter Tamara. She took a Fashion Design Camp at St. Louis' COCA. Here she is on the runway and then posing in her green tee and cropped jacket. Both were remake redesigned. The green top from an ordinary tee shirt and the jacket from a man's button down shirt.

back to building

Last week I felt caught up enough on the Bat Mitzvah preparations to work on metal clay again. I buildt 3 mezzuzahs and 4 stars, adding to the mezzuzah and 2 stars I have already fired. Now comes the part I actually like the least. When the silver clay comes out of the kiln it has this sort of sparkly while film on it. You have the brush it with the brass brush to remove the film. It takes time and elbow grease and one of the main reasons I do not bother with manicures. It destroys my fingers and turns my nails black. Then comes the hammering and hardening followed by the oxidation in liver of sulfur, which smells like it sounds and also does a job on the hands. I 'll be working on these pieces for the next couple of days...hopefully the finish product will be worth the struggle.

another invitation

Today I worked on the invitations for Abby's girlfriend party. We designed a logo for the party, it's a Magical Mystery Tour. I can't tell you exactly what that means, cause it's top secret, but it will be a lot of fun. As for the invitations, I designed them in Microsoft Publisher and just printed them out on colored card stock on my home printer. Then I trimmed the cards down to 5 X 7 inches and added a 3 dimensional daisy to found at Michaels. It looked pretty funky and cool, especially in a pink envelope lined in paper from Mojo.

it's time to make more flowers.....

I did the math and I'm gonna be over 30 lilies short. So I'm back to folding, adding wire stems and wrapping with tape. I have about 9 more "bouquets" to assemble once these are done. Then I can add the leaves.
Oh, I decided I'm going to design and print up all the Synagogue programs myself. I think I may be crazy.

origami centerpieces

This week Abby and I have begun to assemble the centerpieces for the Bat Mitzvah luncheon. Abby is opening up the petals of the 300 origami lilies we finished previously. I am attaching the flowers to the long wire stems with wire and floral tape. Stay tune for the next steps.

shower invites

I'm making these shower invitations for my friend Erin who is getting married in August. Liz is throwing a Beauty shower for her and I volunteered to make the invitations. Erin has a very modern point of view so I didn't want to make anything very typical wedding shower. I went to Art Mart and picked up paper stocks and envelopes in pink and brown and this really cool Lace Card stock from Ki Memories.

making invitations

Today Abby and I have been busy assembling the Bat Mitzvah invitations. After we put the invites in the petal envelope with the response card and envelope, we had to attach a length of ribbon and secure it with tape and finally a "wax" seal. We used glue gun friendly sealing wax, instead of the traditional sort, because it was easier and will travel through the mail better. I order the wax from www.letterseals.com
Abby did the great job sealing most of the invites, till we ran out of ribbon with just a dozen more to go!

Calligraphy

It's time for me to address all of Abigail's Bat Mitzvah invitations. I am cheating and using a felt tip calligraphy pen instead of a fountain pen and ink. I have to admit the real ink would look better, but the process would take me twice as long, and we still have to assemble all the invites. Stay tuned.

Visit the Nishma Marketplace this weekend

I will be selling my handcrafted solid silver pieces at the Nishma Passover Journey this weekend. If you are planning to attend please came by my table at the vendor's market place and check out the mezuzot, star of David necklaces and tower necklaces. I also just made some earring featuring solid silver medallions and gemstones. The earring are only $35! Please come by and take a look and say Hi!

Budding fashion designers

I am in awe of my kids. They have been designing clothes and drawing fashion figures. Abby who is twelve, has a very methodical approach, and make everything just so. Tamara, who is 10, likes to combine different images form the latest catalogs from Saks and Niemans and make her own designs. Aren't they crazy good? I think so! Can you tell who drew what?

thank yous are almost done...

Abby, Tamara and I completed 100 hand decorated thank you notes. All that are left to do is the add a decorative sealing wax stamp to these few cards. I am leaving these for Abigail to do this week. Most every card is different! It was a fun project to do.
Now we are waiting for the printed invitations to arrive so we can start assembling them and then I am going to calligraphy all the names and addresses!Good thing we have six months to go!

working, working......

I've been busy this last week working on more PMC pieces for the Nishmah show at the end of March. I have sold some mezzuzahs and stars and I am really excited about the response I have been getting on the work. Have I decided to invents some money into PMC silver and make some more pieces. I built two little house towers, for long necklaces. I also made three additional stars and one more checkerboard mezuzah. Hopefully these will all fire successfully in the kiln tomorrow and I can finish working on them before the show. This picture shows the work before it is fired. It will shrink 10% or so in the kiln.
If I make any money at the show I will probably take some time and try to tackle the bronze clay again. Even though the mezuzahs did not fire well, people seem to love the look of them. I think with a little more patience and some different techniques I may be successful yet.

wavey mezuzah

I love the way this one turned out. I textured the slab of clay and then let in dry on the dowel I made from a rolled up magazine with saran wrap wrapped around it. I just estimated the thickness because the PMC will shrink when fired. It really came out great!

another failure

Well, only one of the mezuzah's survived. The rectangle one with the crackle finish is not a keeper. I was not crazy about how the crackle texture turned out. The piece was way too busy, and the construction, with the slanted roofs, was not sturdy enough and did not survive the brushing and hammering. It is my fault for not making sure the joints were strong during the building process. I have to admit that my heart was not in this piece. I don't think I loved the texture from the start and therefore did not take the care and patience required to finish this piece. I just wanted to make a diffferent version of the mezuzah. It shows in the finished project which I will not post, but instead send to the refinery to reclaim the silver.
The rounded wavey texture mezuzah came out perfect. It is a beauty. I will post it when I am done polishing.

right out of the oven

Here are two more mezuzahs I am working on. This is how they look when they come out of the kiln. They are a white silver color and are a bit misshaped. Next step is brushing and work hardening the silver. Then I will oxidize, polish, and tumble them. Stay turned to see how they come out.

another mezuzah

This one has square "windows". I think it kind of looks like a stone tower.

making thank yous

Abigail, Tamara and I are working on Abby's Bat Mitzvah thank you notes. Everyone is different. We are stamping, pasteing, drawing and even using sealing wax. We have a lot to make, but it's a lot of fun!

how it should look

I just made this mezzuzah in silver. Now this is how it's suppose to look!