As Promised... What else I've been up to

These are some more of the collages I did on a dismantled vintage file folder box.

Also covered with a netting of tinted cheesecloth secured with self leveling gel medium.

The caption says "Reach for the moon to make dreams come" taken from an old typing book

 I was really just noodling around with images that day... just having fun.

"We look as well as  the way we look at things".

...also taken from a typing book

 "Peaches"

 Summer revisited us with a very comfortable 80 degrees. ( about 27 C)

I often take breaks from the studio for some outdoor exercise and chores

Been really enjoying the sari silk ribbon in my designing.

These just up on Etsy today

I had meant to take some photos rather than showing scans but then it started to rain.

I did get my photographing kit safely sent to Maine so I can bring it back when we go there.

Revisited an old bead that I had saved for several years. I had been trying to get the effect of seaweed and a tide pool. No one else got it though apparently! I still like it.

Raw Garnet and semi-precious stones.

I had a request to see if I could design some drops. This is what I came up with. I plan on having a day of production to make some more in different colors.

Any suggestions?

There was more to show you but dial-up hijacked the post.

The caption says

"It is possible that in 30 years or 40 years there will be very few factory jobs Then millions of workers will be freed to do other types of skilled work and they will have more leisure time"

Taken from a vintage typing book

Funny that I didn't find this quote until the rest of the collage was finished. I thought it fitting to add it in.

I was experimenting with adding tinted cheesecloth onto the surface with self leveling clear gel.

Two hours of trying to upload photos with two disconnections has left me with just this one image of today's work. I had an old vintage file box that I had dismantled for backgrounds. I made four collages to show you and now you'll have to wait until I can get a better connection to upload them.

Summer has decided to return to the subarctic here after a cool and rainy June and July. I know some of you would love to trade in your heat for our cooler weather right about now.

Top of the World Highway Trip... and Taylor Too

Yet another sticker sign. This one is on the Taylor Highway in Chicken, Alaska.

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to put a posting up. There was a holiday in there and yeah, now I remember, the sun came out again after being absent for awhile.

We headed out for Dawson City, Yukon and Eagle Alaska for the long weekend over the Fourth.

We seem to like to join in with the Canadians and celebrate Canada Day on the first of July.

I think I may be honorary Canadian with my Maine roots and Alaskan residency...at least I like to think so.

For some ridiculous reason they are closing the border at 6:00 PM (US's Fault)

so we spent a night camping at the border in the teardrop trailer and were the very first ones though in the morning. We're waiting for the ferry to cross the Yukon into Dawson City.

Dawson City is one of my favorite summertime destinations with funky buildings and boardwalks and its gold mining history. There's always fun to be had at the legendary "Pit" bar .

You can get some fresh morels in the local store...for a price

And imagine the glamour inside this beauty salon!

We had lunch at Klondike Kate's and I got to meet a fellow blogger,  Jeffrey from the blog 

Nose to Tail

He's a cook at Kate's and writes about cooking gourmet creations with wild game...can you say tasty?

Then I found this gorgeous boro canvas shed that was completely made up of pieced together old canvas. I woulda like to roll up a few yards to take home!

Always interested in old graveyards everywhere we go.

After our night in Dawson we had a wedding to go to in the remote town of Eagle, Alaska.

The wedding was right on the Yukon at the old school site.

The brides father even constructed outhouses for us. There's no SaniCan service this far out.

We left a day earlier than we had planned when the rain started to dump.

The Taylor Highway had washed out last year taking a US Customs agent that was driving the road with it. It had washed out again already this year and we didn't want to take any chances on the eroding mountain road.

I did get to visit my friends Ron and Mary from Yukon Ron's

The community was hit hard by the flood a couple of years ago and road closures so that now no tour buses will travel the road which has severely impactedthe sales from their jewelry business.

They had a big tent downtown that they called the Eagle Mall which would be in operation when the buses came through. Mary is realizing that she's going to have to beef up her online sales

Have a look here to check out some of their artistry.

We talked about product photography which we are both working on.

I was impressed by her setup that mary had gotten from a friend.

After a little research into the brand "Square Perfect" I was dismayed to learn that they WON'T SHIP TO ALASKA! 

I'm going to have to wait until November  or get someone in the states to ship it to me.

(any takers?)

Somehow I love the way the lowly black spruces look after a wildfire.

There was plenty of evidence of a previous massive wildfire along the road from years before.

Stunning views from the Taylor Highway

How about a little fireweed?

Can't you just imagine some mammoths walking about here?

What happened is that the sun finally came out last week and I wouldn't go near the computer quite so much. My frustration with the spotty access has nearly weaned me from it for the time being.

I've been working on some new designs.

I must say I have been inspired by some other folks  (Fanciful Devices, specifically) styles lately and had the idea to take the head pin process a step further and torch baubles right onto pre-made doohickeys.

You can see what she did with a pair of my lampwork whorls on this post link too. very cool, wish I had thought of it, she's so amazing with her designs.

I had some interesting links from some chain I picked up at the gem show ( the eyes)

This was the first set of wires I made with 18 gauge annealed steel.

After that set I decided to add another loop and hammer them as well ... yay new jeweler's bench!

I'd been meaning to cover this torso for awhile since it was bright orange plastic. 

My son just gave me a crate full of old encyclopedias to cut up.

I think she may come in handy for some of my jewelry photography, don't you think?