A fly in the works...

As you may know, I have been working on a tutorial for my seahorse pendants for some time. I finished taking the last of the pictures over the last couple of days,and was excited to be so close to being done, but when I sat at the computer to edit them and insert them into the tutorial, I discovered that my husband accidentally deleted a section of them from the middle of the batch when he was updating our computer, so now I have to start over again making another seahorse and retaking all the pictures. He felt so bad! I told him not to worry about it, and I plan on pushing today to try to retake them all in one fell swoop. Good thing I did all those chores yesterday, so my day today is free. On the bright side, the first seahorse I made turned out beautifully, so it isn't a total loss.





In the evenings, when my husband and I hang out together, I often sit and do wire work while he works on his laptop in the chair next to mine. The other night, I was looking at a big (10+ carat), orange tourmaline briolette in my collection, and thinking I wanted to make something with it. Another wire artist friend of mine makes these cute little wire bugs, which I've always wanted to try, and I thought that the briolette would make the perfect insect abdomen!





I opened my sketch book and started drawing up the image I had in my head. I imagined lacy wire wings, so that the color of the briolette would peek through, and planned the paths the wires would take to become the legs and wings. I didn't start it that night, as it was getting late, but the next evening, I began cutting and wrapping the frame together. I made the first wing that night, and couldn't wait until the next morning to finish it! It turned out even better than I planned! And, I have several large marquise-shaped briolettes of smokey quartz that would also work nicely with this design, so I plan on making another one soon, and taking pictures to make a tutorial for this design, too.



Now, I'm off to gather the things I will need to retake my seahorse pictures.
See you again soon! :D
~Pippi

Atlantis

The end of October found me itching to play with my wire again, and after a jewelry friend mentioned sneaking in making a ring between her other projects, I decided a ring was in order, too. I had a vague idea in my head when I started it, and wrapped the band and part of the setting base, but then I had to look through all my stones and beads to decide what to feature in the ring. Nothing seemed to look right until I spotted a small octahedron fluorite crystal, like two pyramids with their bases stuck together, sitting on one of my shelves in my work room.




The crystal is a very pale shade of blue, with golden flecks of iron pyrite crystals near the point of one of the pyramids, and when I held it to the base of the ring, I knew it would be perfect! For some reason, the color and shape of the stone reminded me of Atlantis, and I curved and curled the wires of the setting into coiled waves rising up around the stone, like the temples of Atlantis sinking into the ocean. The coils of the setting lace around the stone like filigree, and the shape of the crystal peeks through the swirls.





Since I finished the ring, it has become a new favorite, and I have hardly taken it of since it was done. It sits majestically on my index finger, and looks like a ring a high priestess would wear. The night after it was done, I wore it to bed, and was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the full moon shining through my window onto my pillow like a spotlight. I raised the ring to the light, and marveled at it in the moonlight. Magical!

So much for National Blog Posting Month!

Here it is, the end of the month, and I am finally posting in my blog - so much for National Blog Posting Month! I spent most of October madly canning up the pears from my trees before they went bad. I canned 24 pints of pear slices, 5-1/2 quarts of pear pie filling, 8 pints of pear sauce, and three jars of pear butter. The pear butter took a couple of days to make, and a half a stock pot full of peeled and sliced pears cooked down to three small jars, plus enough for a slice of toast. It tastes divine! Well worth the effort!





I was in a slump with my jewelry making, so I whiled away my free time crocheting. I found a really cute sweater pattern online some time ago, and decided, finally, to make it for myself. I used Lamb's Pride yarn in a sunflower yellow. I had to alter the pattern a bit, as the sleves were too small when I followed the pattern.





I used some of the leftover yellow yarn to make the tapestry crochet skull in a Dia de los Muertos bag, inspired by a variegated yarn that looked like serape material when crocheted. I added crocheted roses below the skulls on the bag, scallops of bright sapphire-colored yarn along the bottom, and a fringe of turquoise stones and bone skull beads along the top of the bag.





After finishing up my crochet projects, I finally felt like playing with my wire again, and decided to make a ring last night. I had a vague idea of how I would make the ring, but didn't decide on a stone to use until it was almost half way done. I had a small fluorite crystal I had been carrying with me for years, and realized it would be perfect in this ring. The crystal has inclusions of pyrite - small golden flecks that sparkle in the light. The stone is the palest blue, and I wrapped the coils of silver wire up around the stone, over the pyramid shape of the crystal's top like the waves drawing over the lost land of Atlantis.









Now, I am back in the swing of things with my jewelry, and am off to make something else.
Thanks for stopping in!
~Pippi

Pears Today, Pears Tomorrow (or Pippi's Adventures in Canning)

I love this time of year! The fruit trees are all heavy with their bounty, and I can't help but take advantage! I was out in my garden yesterday, and my neighbor called over the fence to me, "Pippi, the plums are ready! Come get some!" So I gathered up my picking bucket, and chatted with Marie as we picked the small, deep purple plums that covered the branches. They looked so pretty, I soon ran to get my camera, too!



I picked 3 gallons before heading back to my kitchen to clean and wash them, and cook them into jam. The plums are a small Italian variety - tart, and about the size of a large olive, and I knew that pitting them all by hand would be a huge chore, so I decided to try something different.



I cooked a smaller pan full of the plums, with a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan, and when the fruit had softened enough to fall off the pits, I poured it through a strainer, and mashed it with a wooden spoon, to get as much of the pulp from the pits as possible. Then, I poured the fruit puree back into my stock pot, and made the jam as usual. Way easier! I took these pictures while the second batch of jam was still in the heat bath.







I made 18 jars of the plum jam last night, and decided that I would can pears today. Last year, we had a good crop of pears on the two trees in the front yard, and I dried most of them, so this year, I decided to make canned pears, instead of drying them. I picked about 40 pears this afternoon from one tree, brought them in, washed them, and started peeling and cutting them into eighths.



I made a light syrup with organic cane sugar, and a small amount of orange juice (to help keep them from darkening), and then, as I filled each jar with as many pear pieces as I could stuff in, I poured the syrup over them, closed them, and then heat treated them to seal and preserve them. I filled the twelve wide-mouth pint jars I bought this morning, so as the second batch was in the heat bath, I scooted down to the store to buy another dozen for tomorrow's canning. I'm sure I will be buying even more jars before I am done! It will be so nice this winter to have pears whenever we want them.





I think I am going to play around with canning pear pie filling, too. Pear pie is one of my favorites (that and cherry), and we usually only have it in the fall, but it would be so nice to make a crust, pour a jar of pear pie filling into it and bake it in the cold winter months, too. I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy Fall, everyone!
~Pippi

5 lessons about the way we treat people

Several people have sent me this in an email in the past, and as I saw it again today, I thought I'd share it with all of you, too.

P.S. Thanks, Dave! :D


5 lessons about the way we treat people


1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.


During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student, and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.



2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain



One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.. A special note was attached.

It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.



3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve..


In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him..

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left..

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.



4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.


In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway.. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.



5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts.....


Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Have a great day!
~Pippi

More Egyptian Coils and a New Steampunk Necklace...

As you know, I have been playing with the Egyptian coil technique for the past week. The whole time I was making coiled bracelets, the steampunk winged scarab I made as a demo for a step out article I recently wrote has been sitting beside me waiting to be made into something wearable. I wanted to incorporate the Egyptian coils into the chain for the pendant, but didn't want to overwhelm it with so many coils, and I only had a few feet of the 20 gauge copper wire I used for the frame of the pendant left - not enough to make the whole chain using the Egyptian coil technique, anyway. Another challenge I faced with this piece was how to attach the chain to the pendant.





As I looked at the wire wrapped scarab, waiting for the ideas in my head to come together, I decided to echo the spirals at the ends of the wings in the chain by making two sections of Egyptian coils, but with more open coils like the wings, and wrapping them with matching seed beads and watch parts, to tie the designs together. I had just enough of the 20 gauge wire to make six links - three for each side, and a shorter piece left over that I used to make the bail for the pendant. I also had some 5mm round Swarovski crystal beads left over from a bracelet I made for my daughter for Christmas last year that matched the seed beads, and I used these to make the chain, to give the necklace a bit more sparkle.





Each of the Egyptian coil links was wrapped with 4 feet of hair-thin wire, seed beads, and selected watch parts, and linked through the next. I didn't wrap a stone into the center of the coils like I did on the bracelets I'd made, as I wanted them to have free movement as part of the chain. The weight of the pendant helps keep the Egyptian links lined up when worn.





The bail was a bit trickier, and I doodled in my notebook for a while until I came up with the shape I wanted for it, and an idea of how I would attach it. I echoed the wrapped seedbeads from the wings around the top center of the bail, and wrapped one of the Swarovski beads into the loop, then curled the sides around and over the top of the wings to make loops to attach the chain. This also gave the scarab what looked like a head with curled antennae.






The bulk of the chain is made up of the wire wrapped Swarovski crystal beads. I added a couple of double coiled copper links to the chain, to give it some variation, and used a large, open gear at the top of one of the Egyptian coil sections to attach it to the rest of the chain. And, to finish the design, I made a coiled hook clasp, which I hammered flat, to bring it all together, so to speak.





This piece turned out better than I'd hoped, and gave me some ideas for the next piece I am working on for the Etsy Wire Artisans Guild's September Theme Challenge - Pirates. I will be continuing my experimentations with the Egyptian Coil technique in this challenge piece, using ideas from the necklace I just completed.

Stay tuned!:D
~Pippi

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Years ago, when I worked on my friends' organic farm, harvesting would begin early in the morning, and we would take a break around noon for lunch. When the zucchinis were producing like mad, Katherine would make up a big pan of chocolate zucchini cake from her mother's recipe, and we would hurry through our lunch, so we could pig out on her cake for dessert. It is a great way to use up a bunch of zucchini! I wrote down her recipe, but lost it somewhere in one of my moves, but often thought about how yummy it was.

So, when my neighbors told me to help myself to the stuff in their garden while they were away, and I found two huge zucchinis, my first thought was chocolate zucchini cake! I looked through all of my cook books for the recipe I'd copied, but to no avail, so I decided to just wing it. Mine turned out so well, I decided to share the recipe with you all. This one is really rich and chocolatey! (and a great way to disguise zucchini for your kids!) :D

Pippi's Chocolate Zucchini Cake


Ingredients

2 cups (organic) flour (I use 1 cup white, and 1 cup whole wheat)
1-1/2 cup organic cane sugar
3/4 - 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Dagoba Organic Cacao Powder)
2-1/2 tsp baking powder (I use Rumford's non-aluminum baking powder)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups (organic) olive oil
3 cups grated zucchini
5 oz. dark chocolate, chopped (I use Scharffen Berger 72% cacao chocolate - Chocolate chips work well, too.)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (or substitute 1 cup of rolled oats if you don't like nuts)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a spring-form pan (a 9" x 13" pan will work, too).

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder until well blended.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the oil and eggs, and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the zucchini, chopped chocolate and nuts/oats until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour into the cake pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan, before turning it out onto a plate. You can eat it as is, or frost with your favorite chocolate frosting. Enjoy!