Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

The other day one of the guys at the gym commented on how tan he was from spending every weekend at the lake . I lifted the leg of my capris to let him compare his leg to mine and he informed me that I should be spending some of my free time in the sun. I disagree, I love being pale and can’t think of anything more boring than lounging in the sun for hours. I have things to do.

I wasn’t always this way. As a teenager, I spent many weekends basking (or baking) in the sun. I remember trying to get my “base tan” so I could go to the pool daily without sunscreen. I had two horrible burns, including one that resulted in my needing prescription burn cream, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to be bronze. This was the 80s and everyone loved to be tan.

About 20 years ago, I read an article on the dangers of tanning and started wearing SPF 15 sunscreen under my makeup. But I would still tan every so often, especially if I had a special event to attend. Then the popularity of self-tanners soared and I jumped on board. I dealt with the smell, stained sheets, the streaking and scrubbing it all off to start over because it meant I could look tan without wasting my time sweating in the sun.

Manufacturers of self-tanning products made improvements and claimed their product wouldn’t streak or smell. I found one I liked that was easy to use, had very little odor and left me with a realistic glow. It was also $50, ouch. Because it lasted almost a week before starting to slough off, the bottle lasted almost all summer, but I’m cheap and didn’t want to keep investing in it. Then I found leg makeup and bronzers that lasted until they were washed off with soap and water. Not bad, but messy. Most of the sprays misted all over the bathroom floor or the tub and were hard to remove (because they were sweat-proof).

This year, I’ve embraced my whiteness. I attended a wedding wearing a short black sheath dress and heels – bare legged. No one gasped or was blinded by my legs. And they looked pretty darned good, if I say so myself. Sure, I like the idea of a tan but the reality is that I’d rather be pale and healthy than tan and wrinkled or have cancer. Go pale chicks!

Most of my jewelry work is production which means I create the same thing over and over. It’s not horrible but it’s also not creatively challenging which is why I enjoy the occasional commission work. Problem is the pressure mounts when I think about creating something special for someone. The pressure only increases when the materials I’m working with are costly. Yep, I’m talking about my current project: the gold granulated ring.

Granulation is a technique I’m very comfortable with so you’d think this would be no big deal. I normally granulate in fine silver which is even harder to fire than gold because it can melt more easily. So why in the world would this bother me? Well, for starters, it’s expensive. Second, it’s a 25th anniversary gift which means it needs to be great. Third, I don’t work in gold often so I need to re-acquaint myself with its properties.

So far things have gone, how shall I put this, ok, I guess. I’ve managed to accidentally drop my granules container onto the floor three times, I dropped the ring once (and had to reattach granules I picked up off the floor), I came dangerously close to melting a section and yesterday I granulated a single fine silver granule onto the last section (which looks cool so I’m going to leave it). While working on this piece I’m also granulating a bracelet section in fine silver and have no problems at all with it, naturally.

I’ve checked and rechecked the piece and am confident that no granules are going to fly off at the last-minute so I started attaching the 18k bands. Because the granulated section is 22k it’s very soft so it needs the strength of the 18k rim so it won’t distort. I like 18k rather than 14k, which is even harder, because the color is close. 14k would be too much of a contrast. Naturally, I had trouble attaching the first band. I soldered it several times, overheating it once, before I got that sucker attached. In the meantime, I’m learning a lot about how gold reacts under the stress of heat and am managing to correct any mistakes I’ve made.

But artists are a superstitious bunch so I won’t brag about how wonderful it looks until it’s completely polished and in the box. Right now I’ll just say that it looks ok and I’m hoping it can be saved!

I’ve had a lot of wonderful birthday celebrations in my life, including two surprise parties, but last night was one of the best. I think what made it so wonderful, besides the company, was the fact I didn’t even expect a celebration three weeks after my birthday.

I’ve known Mary since we were 10. Although we haven’t always stayed in touch, we reconnected years ago when she moved back to Springfield and consider each other family. Her kids even call Steve and I aunt and uncle. I love them like they were my own. With our busy schedules we haven’t been able to meet and celebrate my birthday. She suggested lunch, but I wanted the four of us to go out to dinner.

Last night we had plans to eat Indian food at one of Mary’s favorite places, Gem of India. Steve and I have never tried it and were excited to experience something different. Mother Nature had other plans as a huge storm knocked out electricity to the restaurant and surrounding area. When pressed to make a decision of where I go, I chose Tong’s because I love it and it was close. Mary had never eaten there and was excited to try Thai food. She greeted me with flowers and a big hug and I knew the evening was going to be fun. I have to insert here that she looked adorable in her Indian tunic, leggings, gold sandals and chandelier earrings. I love all 5 feet of that woman (that’s 5 feet with heels *giggle*)!

We sat down, immediately ordered wine (priorities, you know), and started perusing the menu. I have a couple of favorites so I made suggestions and Steve ordered an appetizer. The restaurant was quiet but our table was already getting loud. Our waitress, Colleen, was fun and engaging so we knew it was going to be a great experience. We toasted to friendship, birthday, family and love and were soon on our second bottle of wine. Mary loudly proclaimed it was my birthday so everyone would know. As we were finishing our meal Tong, the owner, came over to the table and asked if we’d do a Tequila shot with him in honor of my birthday. Well, yeah! We then convinced him to let Colleen have one too and soon six shot glasses of Tequila were on the table. He then  started entertaining us with stories of his life. He has spent time in the music industry and has known John Lennon (who he declared a jerk), Gregg Allman, David Bowie and so many others I have forgotten their names. At one point I wondered if he was bullshitting us, but he had pictured of himself with these people to prove it.

Throughout all of this, Mary kept saying to me, “This is the best birthday ever,”  which made us giggle like crazy, well maybe the wine made us giggle but the whole thing was pretty funny. Things took a turn for the funnier when Tong started telling us about his kickboxing skills and lifted his pant leg to let us feel his calf muscles (which were like brick walls). As the meal came to a close, Mary told Colleen that she looked familiar and discovered they had taken belly dancing classes together. A few minutes later, we all whipped out our iPhones and sent Facebook friend requests to each other so we could keep in touch. It was hilarious.

It was still early so we drove over to the new serve yourself yogurt place, Orange Leaf, and had dessert. Mary had just bought a pool table at a garage sale a week earlier and invited us back to the house for what she called “Dago Pool.” Yes, I know the term “dago” is very politically incorrect, but it’s what she calls Doug, who’s Italian so it’s more of an endearment in this case. The reason they call it dago pool is that the pool table doesn’t quite fit in the living room so you have to use a short stick for several of the shots, or open the window and stick the cue out (really!). The table, a Mizerak, was purchased at a yard sale for $75, which included delivery. It is gorgeous! Mary opened a bottle of wine and we played and laughed until almost midnight.

Good food, great friends, lots of laughter and dago pool made this the best birthday ever! We declared July 16th my new birthday!

I rarely work with gold, not because I don’t like it but because it’s so expensive. It makes no sense for me to stock gold pieces when most of my customers prefer the look and cost of silver. When I was recently approached by a friend who wanted me to create a gold ring for his wife, I jumped at the chance to work with it.

Granulation is usually done in high karat gold, meaning 22 or 24k or 18k green gold. I’ve only worked in 22k and it’s divine. The color is rich and buttery and granulating is easier because the gold doesn’t melt as quickly as fine silver. The last gold piece I granulated was a ring band I wear daily. I’ve received a lot of compliments on it which is what led to this job. Pricing was the hard part as I rarely charge for my time (I know, I know I should) but Sarah helped me figure out a price that was fair to me and my friend. He agreed and I was ready to go.

I ordered the gold and braced myself for the cost. Not horrible, but I sure could have bought a lot of silver for that amount. It arrived and I opened the package and just looked at it. Beautiful. Rich, buttery and oh so expensive. I’m normally not a fan of gold, but 22k gold is different. The color is so yellow, but in a deep way. It looks great on the skin and feels very luxurious. Ok, maybe I’m waxing a bit poetic here, but I working with it has created a new appreciation for it. Now the hard part of creating the ring, without melting it, begins. Granulation runs a fine line between fusing and melting. A very fine line. In fine silver, the time between the two is very short whereas in gold you have more leeway. Trouble is, gold is expensive so there’s the mental factor of how much money is at stake every time it’s fired.

Time to call Sarah for some support. She told me not to worry if I mess it up because we’d call Doug Harling (friend and master of granulation) and he’d help. She also said she was about ready to start on a gold granulation project herself so we’d be in the same boat. I felt a little better but not much. I formed the ring, making sure the seam fit perfectly, and set it up to fuse. Things got a little hot and I do have one spot that’s a little burned, but it will be covered by granules so I’m not worried. Then I held my breath as I went to round out the ring and hoped the seam had fused completely. Hooray! It did! I worried that the gold had stretched and gotten too big, but it fit me perfectly which means it will fit the client. I have the feeling I’ll be doing a lot of worrying and breath holding through out this project!

One part down, many more to go. I’ll begin granulating this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Today my little sister turns 40. According to her birth certificate, her name is Mary Elizabeth but I don’t think I’ve ever called her that in her life. She was born when I was 4 years old and was named after my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Pence. My parents immediately began thinking up nicknames so they wouldn’t have to call her Mary Elizabeth or Mary which, when paired with our last name of Johnson, was too boring. Baby Beth, Mary Liz and Liz Beth were all suggested but the name I loved, Ralph, was the one that stuck. You see, I was an impressionable young child who loved to watch Green Acres. Any of you who watched the show may remember the “brothers” who did work around the house. One was a girl and her name was Ralph, hence the nickname. The name stuck and it’s now become so common in our family that we don’t think about yelling it out in public (where we’ve received some funny looks).

I didn’t want a sister and I wonder if the male nickname was because I secretly desired a brother. Actually, I wanted an older brother but my mother explained that it would never happen because I had been born first. When Ralph came home from the hospital I was underwhelmed. My initial thought was that I didn’t want her touching my stuff. That thought lasted for many, many years and were the basis to many fights. I think I even asked my mom when she was going to leave. She never did, and I’m really glad of that now.

When Ralph was about 2-3 years old (mom will confirm the age), she and I went to the mall with my mom and our aunt, Susie. Somehow Ralph got away and was lost for a short period of time. I remember how upset mom and Susie were and I tearfully declared that I really loved her. Of course, that has never been forgotten but it’s so true. I really love my sister.

Today she’s a wonderful mom to two of the cutest kids I know. She is also my best friend and I enjoy spending time with her and her family and chatting with her on the phone which we do weekly. Happy Birthday Ralph. I love you!

Whew! It’s been a while since I’ve posted and my main excuse is that I’ve been really busy with a project at work. Several months ago Kathi, my boss, came to me and said we were going to create and launch a line of bath and body products exclusive to Harem & Company. She’d already come up with the name, LemonDrop, and the scent, lemons naturally. She said she wanted me to be involved in the creation and execution. Thus began a really cool adventure.

I told Kathi that lemon was one of my favorite scents but that it’s a tricky scent in the fact that it can easily smell like cleaning products. She agreed and the first scent was dismissed because it did smell a little medicinal. The second was too “green,” the third was just off and so on. Finally, we found one that had an undertone of vanilla making the lemon warm. While I’m not a fan of vanilla in any form, I found the addition of it to the lemon to be refreshing and nice. We sniffed and sniffed for what seemed like hours but kept coming back to the warm lemon fragrance so we knew we had our scent. Meanwhile, the graphic designer was hard at work.

I was glad Kathi didn’t ask me to design the logo because I don’t really consider myself a graphic designer any more. I’m more of a graphic design coordinator nowadays. We hired Kim Grimm, a local designer who used to work at a big advertising agency before venturing out on her own. What I loved about Kim was that she immediately understood the project and her first design ideas were spot on. I had the idea of a drop that looked like a slice of lemon (lemon drop, get it?) and she ran with it. A few tweaks in the color and font choices and we were set.

Now came the hardest part of all: figuring out all the formulas. We worked with a local company who makes bath and body products and has several formulations in their regular inventory. We decided on an exfoliating shower gel, a bubble bath, a foaming sugar scrub (my personal favorite), a body lotion, a shea butter body souffle (originally body butter), a hand cream, bar soap, candle, lip butter and body, room and linen spray. Not only did we need to test all these formulas and tweak them so they met our high standards, we also had to test fragrance strength, color and packaging. Originally the body, room and linen spray was supposed to be a soft yellow until someone pointed out that it looked like a urine sample. The original body butter left a waxy residue on the skin so it was replaced by a shea souffle. See how difficult this is?!

Once the formulas were finished and the color finalized, the label designs and text had to be done. Whew! I’m already tired! Almost every formula had 2-3 labels and many were different sizes. Kim, being the professional she is, made the whole thing seem easy and all I had to do was write fluff copy for each product. I started by writing a whole list of descriptive words then just wrote a sentence or two about each item. With the help of Kathi and the rest of the staff, we fine-tuned the copy and we were set.

Now all we had to do was sit back and wait for the product to be delivered. While that was happening, we started planning the launch date of June 30th. Wendy, who owns the company creating the product, assured us she could have everything made and packaged. All was well. Then the label company called to inform us their presses had been down for two days and they weren’t sure when the labels would be done. Um, no, that answer is not acceptable! Fortunately, they got them back up and running and the product was delivered the night before. Margaret, Tina, Estelle, Kathi and Jentry all stayed late to merchandise it and get it ready for the grand unveiling.

What a day June 30th was! When I walked into the store it looked fresh, light and clean. We had a steady crowd all day and received rave reviews on the product. I was exhausted when I got home (as I’m sure everyone was that night) but proud to be a part of such an adventure. It was really cool to see something from the beginning to the end and know I had a hand in the creation. Stop by Harem & Company sometime to see it yourself. I think it’s a really great line!

Saturday I celebrated my 44th birthday. It’s funny because I don’t feel 44 and I’m told I don’t look 44, but my driver’s license (and my mom) tell me I am 44 years old. I have so much to be thankful for and thought I’d take a moment to reflect. No, this list isn’t original since Cindy created one for her 44th birthday and my mom recently did one in my honor, but I think we all need to remember the things that are important in our lives.

44 Reasons I’m Grateful To Be 44 (in no particular order):

1. Steve. Sometimes I have no idea how he lives with me, but I’m glad he does.

2. My dad. He has taught me so much about music and has always been a great listener.

3. My mom. I inherited her stunning good looks (especially the legs) and her wicked sense of humor.

4. My sister. I spent years being annoyed by her only to realize, one day, she was my best friend. She’s hilarious and has given birth to two of the cutest kids I know.

5. My stepmom and stepdad. I hate those terms, but I’m so glad they married my parents. My mom and dad created and raised two great kids, but are enjoying life with wonderful partners.

6. Julia and Lydia. They make me smile every time I see or talk to them.

7. Mary. We met when we were 9, became fast friends, parted ways as teenagers and reunited several years ago. She is my other half. She knows me better than I know myself and loves me unconditionally. 7.5. Mary’s family. I adore her children and her husband.

8. Valerie. When we met, 25 years ago, we instantly hated each other. She thought I was stuck up and I thought she was a wild child. All it took was one fraternity party to turn us into friends. She makes me laugh so hard and has excellent taste.

9. Cindy. My best friend from grade school. We met on the first day of 4th grade and managed to grow our friendship through the rough high school years. To this day, she still makes me laugh.

10. Sarah. She inspires me to be a better metalsmith, is always upfront with me and makes me laugh all the time.

11. Suzanne. Yet another example of initial dislike that turned into friendship. We’ve had our ups and downs, but she never fails to call me out when I need it and gives me honest feedback when shopping!

12. Red wine.

13. Dark chocolate. Especially the Lindt variety with the chili powder. When paired with red wine it’s delicious.

14. My first husband. Yeah, I know this one’s a shocker, but being married to him forced me to re-evaluate what I really wanted in my life. When Steve came along, I was ready for him and knew what I really wanted.

15. Sushi. Mmmm, sushi.

16. My house (is a very, very, very fine house). Steve and I feel so blessed to live here.

17. Pavel. My personal trainer is like a brother to me. He annoys me to no end, but cares about me and looks after my well-being. I look forward to seeing him every day.

18. My gym buddies – Dan, Kyle and John (when he’s there!). I know if I don’t show, they’ll give me a hard time for not being there.

19. My dining room table and chairs. Steve waited for 8 hours at an auction to bid on them and got them for a steal. I’m just glad we have a dining room large enough to have it open with all the leaves in place.

20. Cowboy boots.

21. The perfect stiletto heel.

22. Lemon cake.

23. Gin

24. and tonic

25. with extra limes

26. Key Lime pie

27. Pizza

28. Tulips

29. Daisies

30. Fashion magazines

31. Chicago. It really is my kind of town.

32. White wine

33. Good beer

34. Music – especially my LP collection.

35. Turntables

36. Jeans. The kind that make me look like I have a butt and make my legs look a mile long.

37. Guacamole

38. My grandparents. They were all so different but they taught me so much.

39. Coffee

40. Home made bread

41. Electric pencil sharpeners

42. Flip clocks

43. Aluminum Christmas trees

44. Celebrating birthdays. Hey, it’s better than the alternative!

I’m sure I could go on and on because I feel truly blessed in my life and I think that’s the best thing of all.

Seven years ago today, my sister called me on the way to the hospital to tell me she was in labor. At that point, she was still convinced she was having a boy, but I assured her we all wanted a girl. A few hours later, Julia Ferne entered the world. She was a beautiful baby (yeah, yeah everyone says that, but it’s true) and has been a delight ever since.

Julia is an active, creative girl who benefits from her parents strict limits of television and computer games. My sister is a great mom who has encouraged both girls to use their imagination to entertain themselves. Julia is quite an artist and loves to draw and paint. Like her Aunt Tammy, she doesn’t like getting dirty, but she produces great artwork!

Julia is also a serious planner. When it came to planning her Uncle Steve’s birthday, she had the whole surprise coordinated. She even told me how she was going to get Steve and Blair (her dad) out of the house while we decorated for the party. She’s quite a hoot.

The best thing about Julia is hearing her say, “I love you, Aunt Tammy.” Julia, I love you too, more than words can say. Happy Birthday!

Like most of you, my father is an important part of my life. While I think we should honor our parents every day, I would like to pay tribute to my dad today.

I grew up in a musical house thanks to my dad. From an early age, dad was involved in music. First he played classical piano, then graduated to drums and guitar. He was in a band when my mom met him and I’m sure that was one of the things that attracted her to him. We girls can’t resist a musician! It’s from my dad that I learned, not only about music, but about the artist, the songwriter the band and why all of that was important. To this day, I still open my CDs and look at the liner notes so I can see who wrote the songs and who’s playing in the band.

His love of music transferred to me and I started taking piano lessons in the sixth grade. When I advanced, I used his old sheet music to play Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart. I challenged myself to learn the difficult pieces he’d played as a child. I’m sure he wanted to cringe when he heard me stumbling through Pathetique, but he never said anything. Regardless of what I tackled musically, dad was always there to support me.

One thing that amazes me about my dad is his ability to befriend people – usually the people who are a little different. Perhaps it’s his background in psychology, but dad treats everyone fairly and doesn’t judge. He was a counselor for many years and I think his success was due to the fact that people felt comfortable around him. Dad made mistakes – we all do – but he is a better person because of them. His ability to succeed from his mistakes have given me the utmost respect for him as a father and as a person.

Happy Father’s Day, dad and thank you for being a great father, friend and person. Below is one of my favorite picture of my dad. I was taken during the summer (probably in the mid-70s) at Kimberling Oaks Resort in Kimberling City, MO where we spent many summers. I love how cool he looks in his fishing hat and retro sunglasses.

It’s no secret Steve and I don’t excel at D.I.Y. projects around the house. Still, we take pride in our home and want to keep it looking as good as possible so we attempt projects now and then. We’ve done mostly painting and small repairs, but the biggest project we’ve attempted to date was re-staining the deck. I mean, refinishing the deck which is what ended up happening.

We had a lot of great advice. Mom and Burl had done their deck a couple of years ago and Pavel does decks all the time so everyone had tips and tricks for us. We learned that the worst thing you can do to your deck is apply a waterproof sealer which, of course, is what the previous owners did. The sealer bakes in the sun and turns to resin making it impossible to remove unless it starts to flake or you sand it. Power washing will only take you so far in topcoat removal. Steve power washed the deck between rainstorms then used a power sander to get the rest of the crap off. It was a grueling process. In the meantime, we found a great deal on stain, chose a redwood semi-transparent color and got ready to go. Steve spent a week ago Saturday working on the front deck because he figured he could make mistakes on it and learn the staining process before tackling the back deck, which is where we spend all our time. Pavel had suggested he use a simple 1 gallon weed sprayer to apply then go over it with a brush. It worked well. On Sunday, I took over the tedious task of painting the railing. The entire time it took me to paint what little railing we had on the front, Steve took to sand the rest of the back deck. Whew! This was getting tiring!

Fast forward to this past Saturday. Steve had worked throughout the week staining the back deck and had taken some advice from yet another source to get a painter’s mitt to stain the railing. By Sunday morning the deck was stained, railings and all. But wait, there’s more. The finishing touch would be installing low-voltage accent lights around it so we’d have light at night.

Naturally, Sunday was blazing hot. I guess that’s better than pouring rain, but not by much. And we decided to install said lights in the middle of the afternoon while it was hottest. We’d purchased the lights earlier in the week, taken them home and hooked them up to see how much light we’d have. Good thing we did because I initially wanted two sets and one is plenty. we mapped out placement so when it was time to install them we knew exactly where they’d go. Steve, being the mastermind that he is, managed to squeeze every inch out of the 50 feet of wire that came with the kit so we didn’t have to buy more. Several hours, and near heatstroke later, we had lights.

We put everything back in place, cracked open a beer and took a look around. I mentioned it looked like an ad, in a good way, and Steve agreed. Yep, sometimes we amaze ourselves. If you need us, we’ll be on the deck.

Here’s pics during the daytime:

Here’s what it looks like with the lights on: