MONDAY HODGEPODGE

Chaco Sun pendant.

Bronze Buttons.

Pink flexshaft handpiece! It's pink!

Knew Concept Jeweler's Saw.

Well, it's Monday. I planted my tomatoes today. They are now in the basement on heated mats underneath the big fluorescent lights. I planted 48 plants, 13 different varieties. Sounds excessive doesn't it? I know. But I really like tomatoes, plus I'll give some of the plants away. Anyone want one? I usually have a big garden. This year I'll plant tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, basil (for the pesto that I freeze), patty pan squash, cucumbers, and lots of cosmos and nasturtiums. Please call me this summer if you want zucchini! I love it, but during a good year I nearly resort to leaving it in unlocked parked cars! Like last year, it's a little sad to plant my garden. It makes miss Mom and Dad even more. But, it would be even sadder to not plant it. When the the tomatoes come up in a few days I'll post some pictures as they grow.

I was in another Etsy Treasury today. It's nice when someone does that. It increases the traffic to your store which is also nice. This one's titled "The Sundance" and includes my Chaco Sun Pendant. See the treasury here. Thanks to CozzeCouture for including me.

Another thing I've been up to is making buttons. Julie, one of the two wonderful bead weaving instructors at Bead Haven is making cool stone and leather wrapped bracelets that are so hot right now and she needed some unique buttons for clasps. Think I made enough for her to choose from? I think we may soon do a shared class (buttons in the morning and bracelets in the afternoon). I think it'd be fun. I'll post photos of some of her finished bracelets as soon as I can.

Next, things I've been coveting. I totally don't need this, but how cool is the pink flexshaft handpiece. I love it! I already have this particular size handpiece, so I can't justify it, but IT"S PINK! Check it out at Rio Grande. The other thing I've been coveting is this new jeweler's say from Knew Concepts. The frame is made from aircraft aluminum making it very light weight and rigid. The reduced weight should help with fatigue, which is great since I'm having such trouble with repetitive injury to my hands right now. The rigidity should greatly reduce blade breakage. I'm a decent sawer (is that a word?) but I break a lot of blades. Not a big deal, as blades are cheap, but it's a pain to stop and replace them. Plus, it looks cool too. I must admit that I indulged myself and bought this. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I'll let you know what I think. Check it out at Rio Grande.