My Weekend: the Brunswick Heritage Museum

Posted on June 26, 2013 by jesseesuem

This past weekend My Sister in law, her husband and three adorable kids came up to visit the railroad museum we have in town. It’s in downtown Brunswick and about a block away from the train tracks (which are right next to the Potomac River). I was a little unsure about how exciting it would be at first. I just went along with it because I enjoy seeing them.

What I did not take into account was that model trains come with little model houses! Loads of little houses!! I LOVE little houses! (you can read more about my love for them here) Some were even interactive! You could press a button and a house would look like it was on fire, or a ferris wheel would turn. It was so neat. Plus all of the sets were based off of local areas. There was a Washington DC train yard, Gaithersburg in the early 1900′s, Brunswick in the 50′s and a bunch more.

It was really hot inside though, and my nephews weren’t really tall enough to see most of the exhibit without being held, and holding one year olds while being really hot isn’t exciting. So we didn’t stick around too long. I really want to go back in the cooler months and get some better pictures, because again, I really LOVE little houses!

The rest of the weekend was also spent with family. We had lunch and play time with my sister in laws family, which was great. We then went to a birthday dinner for my husband and baby brother with my family that same night! On sunday we went and saw Monsters University with my sister and her family. That was really nice too and the movie was AWESOME!!!! Which means we’ll probably see it again soon.

I really needed this past weekend. I haven’t completely been myself and have been feeling really sick. I’ve had two colds in two weeks and also super horrible stomach pains. I found out I’m so bad off with gluten that I can’t even have dark colored sodas!! Caramel coloring has a little wheat in it! Ugh. My husband had bought a case of bottled coke a few weeks back, and I think me drinking one every so often really screwed with me. So no more soda for me! I hardly ever drank it anyway, so it’s no big loss. Today has been the first day were I actually have the strength to really work and get some stuff done. I’m probably more excited than I should be.

Adventures in Casting: Rings

Posted on June 13, 2013 by jesseesuem

Lately I’ve been testing my limits when it comes to casting. I’ve been doing it for so long, yet I keep using the same supplies and same process each time. Using the glitter as a filler lately has opened my eyes again and all I want to do is Cast things for me now. Stuff to test what I can do exactly. I know how to make a two part, 3D mold (as you can see here) but it’s not how I mainly cast things. I usually just build a foam core box and lay things flat on the bottom and fill it with silicone. Simple. Well, that doesn’t work for everything, like say, rings. I had to do a lot of testing with the silicone and the way I lay the pieces in the boxes. After a few mishaps with the silicone reacting badly with glue, double sided sticky tape not being sticky, etc, I ended up with the pieces you see above!!

The originals were hematite rings. The kind you get at the beach for $1! I’ve always loved them, but they never lasted long on my finger. I would end up breaking them on some hard surface within a few days. Hematite isn’t the strongest mineral.

The mold making was the hardest part really. The casting was super simple. I used a slow curing plastic because of the blended pieces I was trying out, so there’s loads of bubbles in this batch. I really don’t care though, since these are for fun. Tests. I’ll be keeping most of them, and a few will be sent out to my product testers (I have a small group of girls who test out my pieces and send me feedback). I’ve also sent a few to loyal customers already too.

So now a question… Should I sell these? Or are they only worthy of a gift in large orders? I’m not quite sure if there’s a market for plastic rings in weird colors. I guess this is something I should look into!!

Shop Update: Arrows & Eyes

Posted on June 3, 2013 by jesseesuem

I was able to get a bunch of new pieces up in the shop over the weekend. There’s a few Large Arrow Necklaces and around a dozen new Blythe Eye Chips!

I’m also in the midst of editing photos of some medium sized arrow necklaces and even more eye chips. Once the skies aren’t as dark I’ll get even more new pieces up! So make sure to keep an eye on the shop!

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My Weekend: Boonsboro Carnival

Posted on May 31, 2013 by jesseesuem

We spent last Sunday afternoon checking out a local carnival. It was CT’s first time at one actually! She rode a few rides and ate a bunch of carnival food, and only really enjoyed the funnel cake. She loved it all so much that I doubt this will be the only carnival or fair of the year. We have a bunch of towns around us that do them, and I can’t wait.

Sneak Peek: Arrows and Flat Gems

Posted on May 30, 2013 by jesseesuem

I felt like I’ve been editing photos all day! Seriously, and all I have to show for it are these two photos!!!

I’m trying out colored backgrounds for a few of my new pieces and when I show off unfinished pieces on Instagram. I’m not entirely sold on it yet, but I’m never sold on anything when I first try it, so we’ll see. What do you think?

Also, this is just a tiny sneak peek of all the new pieces coming in the next three weeks! I was able to cast A LOT this past time! Half glittery, half solid and opaque. I even figured out how to blend opaque plastic where it fades from one color to the next. I’m proud of myself, Ha. It’s the small victories!

I was going to update everything in the shop all at once, but I feel like that puts too much pressure on myself and also takes away from family time. So expect to see a few pieces added to the shop here and there, no rhyme or reason, just when I can find the time to edit and list.

Also, just a friendly reminder that you can still enter our 10 Year Anniversary Giveaway until Sunday night. Just check out Tuesday’s post!