Gearing Up!

I've been into rings lately. When I say "into" I mean obsessed. At the moment I have more rings than anything else in my shop, with more sitting on my coffee table, patiently waiting to be listed. All the supplies for these rings were hand chosen by myself, and each ring is one that I would personally want to own and wear. In fact, I can say that about every item in my shop. So I am happy to bring you these items and more to follow them in the very near future!

I can't even express how happy I am that St. Patrick's day has come and gone. Working as a full time server/supervisor at an Irish "Pub" St. Paddy's day is kind of a BIG DEAL. I was dreading the holiday as it approached. After over $1000 dollars in sales as a server, starting at 2pm and ending at 12:30, my 10 hour shift finally ended and I was allowed to go home "early". Oh my legs! How they ached and still do! To top it all off I'm working six days in a row this week so I won't get any actual rest until Friday! I was able to take a nice long bath when I got home and then I slept for a good 10 hours!


The coming of St. Patrick's Day means that April is just around the corner and that warm weather is approaching here in South West Florida. Spring has almost sprung and the flowers I planted are about to bloom. When the weather gets hot and humid it means one thing! The snow birds can't dish the heat and they start to fly back up north! Busy season will be ending soon and I will return to a 5 day work week and we will no longer be short handed at work! My stress level will return back to a some what normal level and I will be able to concentrate more time on my shop! Although I think I do I pretty good job of it even when season was here. I will be happy to be in a more relaxed state and spend more time on what I'd like to be doing instead of life's obligations.


My boyfriend and I also plan on moving this summer. Come July we have the option of renewing our lease or finding a new place to dwell. We have been here for a while as it is and although it's not bad diggs we are looking for something larger. I believe will be able to find something comparable if we keep our eyes open. I am excited for a move because it means getting rid of a lot of old stuff and the possibility of gaining a larger work area. Instead of the living room as a hobby area/catch all. Two bedrooms has become too small and I would love to have an office work area to spread out in once again.

 I will leave you with this update for now and will make sure to update more often with further details about how I plan on improving the shop and what else has been going on in my life! More DIY's and Shop Item's coming soon so stay tuned!

How to Make a Bangle

Here's a fun tutorial from lumi.co on how to make a message bangle that's one-of-a-kind, done in the sun, waterproof and weatherproof. Even after several trips to the beach, it won't fade or wash off! Essentially, it's the Perfect Summer Bangle.


Used in this tutorial:
 

Inkodye Red

Prepare. All you'll need for this project is a raw wooden bangle (we got ours from DIYBangles.com), a black paint marker, plastic wrap, and some Inkodye!

Transcribe. Write your message on a piece of plastic wrap big enough to wrap around your entire bangle.

Perfect. Carefully practice wrapping it around your bangle to see how it'll look. Once your satisfied with your message, you can put the plastic wrap aside while you move onto the next step. It took us a few times to get the penmanship right!


Pour. Take the Inkodye color of your choice and pour it onto a plate or palet. You will need very little dye for this bangle, so don't pour too much!


Brush. Cover the entire bangle with inkodye for a nice even shade. We also painted the inside to keep things easy.

Wipe. Make sure to remove all excess Inkodye and keep wiping until the bangle feels dry. This will prevent condensation inside the saran wrap when you place the bangle in the sun. And don't worry about wiping too much--the Inkodye has already been absorbed into the wood.

Wrap. Take your plastic wrap and place your message wherever you want! Once you're happy with the placement, pull the plastic wrap taut by gathering it towards the back of your bangle.


Tape. Take the gathered saran wrap and twist it towards the middle. Tape in place.

Expose. Bring your wrapped bangle out into the sun. The color will start to appear instantly!

Develop. Leave the bangle out for four minutes on each side. We recommend turning it front to back and flipping it upside down to ensure all areas develop fully.


Cut. Once it's finished, bring the bangle inside and cut through the tape and saran wrap.

Reveal. Peel back the saran wrap to reveal your dyed message! Once all the plastic is removed, it's ready to be washed.


Wash. We recommend preparing a very hot wash bath using dish washing detergent as soap.  Let the bangle soak for at least 20 minutes, occasionally scrubbing the printed part with a brush or a sponge.




Enjoy. Flaunt your one-of-a-kind summer bangle and don't forget to carpe diem!