Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

You know how a painting by Monet looks wonderful from far away, but up close it’s a mess? Well, that’s what my piece is like. This looks really good from a distance, but it’s a mess up close. This bracelet was the most intense, hardest piece I’ve ever done so I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. The bracelet is about 1 1/3″ tall and fits my wrist like a bangle. It has one hinge and a clasp that looks like a hinge, but you pull out a pin to open it. Let me know what you think and I’ll let you know if I get an A on it. Please forgive the fuzzy pics, I’m still trying to learn the new camera.

Here’s the bracelet open. I do love the cutwork I did so the enamel would show through.

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Steve has been talking about wanting a home theater system for, oh I don’t know how long. He’s always perusing the Circuit City and Best Buy ads, is willing to go out the day after Thanksgiving to shop, and brings up how he could have bought his dream system with all the money I spend on shoes (ok, that’s probably a legitimate argument). Anyway, I always get sick of him talking about it and tell him to just go out and buy the damned thing! Problem is, he wants a really good system we can’t afford. Until today.

As we were enjoying our morning coffee and Sunday paper, Steve spied a deal at Circuit City for a Denon home theater system. I have no idea what all comes with it, but there’s speakers, a DVD player and probably a dishwasher. Anyway, he notices the price is $299 with a $30 rebate. After doing some Internet research, he determines the ad must be a misprint as it normally sells for around $700. After thinking about it for a little while he decides he’s going to check it out even though it probably has been corrected by now even if it is a misprint. I was working on my enamel piece so I told him to go without me. Turns out it was a misprint and the system was supposed to be $600 but Circuit City honored it because they hadn’t caught it yet. Score one for us. He’s been in the den all afternoon hooking it up and marveling at his wonderful deal. We’ll be enjoying the Oscars tonight in surround sound.

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I survived my day as a MAC girl and had a lot of fun. It wasn’t as busy as Melissa had hoped, but things got hopping around 4:30. Here are some pictures from the day. I want to state that I have never worn lipstick this color or quite that much eye makeup, but I had to look the part. The hot pink lipstick we’re all wearing was actually the top seller yesterday and the counter sold out of it. Ditto for the hot pink eye shadow.

This is Jennifer and I looking Barbielicious:

Jennifer and Amanda show us their best Barbie pose:

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Today I’ll be working at Dillard’s as a MAC Cosmetics girl. Actually, I’m the hostess for their “Barbie Loves MAC” event. I got the job because I know several of the MAC artists really well and was telling them how much I loved Barbie as a child. Melissa, the counter manager, said I should come work the event. I have one of the highly coveted Barbie Loves MAC t-shirts and promises of some make up goodies to come. It will be interesting to work retail again even if I am just checking in people. I’ll have pictures later of my MAC Girl look and some of the staff.

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On February 28, Steve and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary (our actual anniversary is Feb. 29). For the past ten years we’ve gone to Kansas City for the weekend. It may seem a bit lame to some people, but KC is our place and we really enjoy the weekends we spend there. This year, however, we can’t take the trip and I’m a bit bummed about it. This weekend I have to work on my class project that’s due on Wednesday (and I’m seriously behind) and next weekend, Sarah has scheduled a workshop on Sunday with visiting artist Elliot Pujol. It’s a workshop I can’t miss and really don’t want to. I realize that not taking our annual trip doesn’t make the celebration any less special, but it is a bummer. Steve and I both need a break and can’t seem to get one. The next trip we take is the second weekend of March to the Best of Missouri Hands conference in Jefferson City. This means I go to the conference all day on Saturday and part of Sunday while Steve hangs out with my dad and Karen. Yee haw.

It will be a good anniversary - I just know it will. We’ll have a nice dinner out, I got Steve a really great gift, and we’ll talk about when we first met. It will be nice. But it’s no Kansas City.

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Ok, I think I’m ready to admit I have a problem. Hello, my name is Tammy and I’m a Christmas LP-aholic. I can’t stop buying them! I’m so excited my collection is so large. Valerie and I went shopping Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I expanded my LP collection quite a bit. I also went through all the cool LPs of my grandparents and added even more. Here’s my Christmas collection so far:

Now, here’s what I’m playing all these LPs on. It’s my totally groovy Califone 1430C record player. It gets great sound. Note the killer Nancy Sinatra LP in front. Thanks for finding that one, Valerie.

Here’s my cool record rack I found for $1. It doesn’t hold very many, but it looks great. I have it filled with all the Christmas LPs plus some I’m using just for art. Most of the LPs have great cover art, but the record is in bad shape. For $1 I don’t mind paying for some kitsch.

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The bathroom is done! All the trim was painted and installed last weekend and, except for the final sealing, we can call this done! Hooray!

Please admire our handiwork. This bathroom re-do would not have been possible without the help of Kevin, who is a really good friend! Thanks Kevy!

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Last night was the final class for welding and I received my certificate showing I’d completed 20 out of 20 hours of beginning welding. Woohoo! Advanced class starts on Tuesday and runs three weeks. I got a taste of things to come as I started TIG welding last night. Well, I used a TIG welder, but I just made a mess. It’s really tricky, but once mastered, the results are spectacular. TIG welding will allow me to join multiple pieces without solder. This means I can easily enamel them without worrying about my solder breaking down in the kiln. Sarah is planning on buying a TIG welder so I’ve got to quit playing with the plasma cutter and learn this thing! Wish me luck.

Oh, and bonus points for you if you can name the movie where one of the main characters used the words “bona fide” to describe her suitor.

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Last night we got to use the plasma cutter in my welding class. It’s so cool! I was the only one really interested in using it so I played with it for about 1 1/2 hours and told the guys they’d just have to kick me off if they wanted to use it. I toyed around with writing my name, making straight cuts and cutting different materials. I discovered that cutting through aluminum creates a nice finish, but is really messy. Joe, the instructor, gave me some 1/4″ steel to cut and I made a plaque with my house numbers. Now, I realize this isn’t great art, but for just 1 1/2 hours of practice, this isn’t too bad. Joe seemed impressed. This is cutting through 1/4″ steel - wicked!

Since it’s cold outside, I wanted to share photos of what the cats do all day. Yep, they’re spoiled rotten.

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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Hope you have someone to snuggle with during this cold day. I’m drinking a nice hot cup of coffee and munching on a heart-shaped sugar cookie (hey, it broke while I was frosting it so I HAD to eat it). Nothing like a healthy breakfast to start the day.

Steve and I don’t really do much for Valentine’s Day since our anniversary is just two weeks later, but I did get him some good dark chocolate and a nice card. He got me a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, some gum (for after the chocolate) and a new MAC eyeshadow (’cause I needed another one!). The best thing he did for me today was throwing the paper on the porch so I didn’t have to trudge out into the snow to get it. Now, that’s love.

Have a warm, happy day everyone!

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