I've had a busy week! During class on Tuesday, we watched a Japanese "noodle western" -- a spoof of the old "spaghetti westerns" -- with subtitles called "Tampopo," the Japanese word for "dandelion" and the main character's name. Our teacher loves this film and he wanted to convey to us that we should put our all into whatever food we plan to make for our last class, when we use our "Out to Lunch" projects in our final critique. I've watched films with subtitles before, and even a very good one in Japanese ("Shall We Dance"), but this one was way too over-the-top for me. It gave me a headache! Needless to say, we didn't get much work done in that class, but I did manage to show my teacher the aluminum template for my Chinese takeout box. He seemed very pleased with it, and said "it showed" that I put a lot of time and effort into filing and sanding the edges! He gave me some suggestions regarding the hinges for the top flaps, so I will be working on those this week. I also cut up the remaining piece of aluminum sheet into two squares and one rectangle, which I will use to make a serving platter and condiment dishes...for sweet & sour sauce and hot mustard, for example. I still have a lot to do, and we're nearing the end of the semester, with two or three classes left at the most! He hasn't given us a date yet for the final critique. Wish me luck! ;)
On Thursday, we had our monthly BSNJ meeting. The program was revamped at the 11th hour to provide interactive demonstrations of various wire and metalwork tools, as well as a bead loom. I knew about a lot of them -- not all -- and waited for the crowds to die down at the stations before checking them out. I used my time wisely, though, and finished the embellishment on my chopsticks. I used half hard nickel wire (much more difficult to work with than dead soft wire, but it was what I had in the 18-gauge size I wanted to use) and coiled it around the top end of each chopstick. I added a pewter oval bead to the end of each stick...one side says "love" and the other side has Chinese characters on it; I presume they also say "love." I had them in my stash to be used as weighted charms for the clasp end on bracelets, but I liked the idea of using Chinese character charms for the chopsticks. :) So, that part of the project is finished! :D
I also added turquoise Greek leather to one of the resin pendants I made a few weeks ago. The pendant has two Turquoise chips in it, along with a couple of Cowrie Shells and Freshwater Pearls. The turquoise color of the leather picks up the color of the gemstone beads perfectly! :D
Today was spent with my older niece for her 10th birthday outing. We went to lunch at the Bagel Chateau -- both of my nieces LOVE bagels -- then to a local bead shop, and finally to Carvel for ice cream, which this niece LOVES. :) We made necklaces at the bead shop, something I had done with my younger niece last year. Jamie chose two puzzle piece "Best Friends" companion charms, and made a necklace for herself while I made one for her sister. Both girls love their necklaces, so it was a successful day overall. ;)
I'm still very behind on updating my photo files. There are only so many hours in a day, and I have to fit some downtime in there or I will go crazy. :p I should probably take a week off from the office job for a "staycation" at home to get my other stuff done. Maybe after school ends next month. :)
Have a great week! :D
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2 comments:
Hey Kristen, if you post a pic of the bead, I can tell you what the characters say!
Hey, Lena! It's on the pic of the chopsticks I sent you. A classmate's friend looked at them and said they say "lovely." The first character was "love" and the second one made it an adjective. :)
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