"If I Had a Hammer..."

... as Pete Seeger wrote all those years ago... "I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening all over this land."

Well, I DO have a hammer, much to my surprise and delight! Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio had a blog giveaway that I blogged about a short while ago. I was completely blown away when I discovered that I had won the embossing hammer that was part of the giveaway. A great big whole-hearted THANK YOU to you, Cindy! Looking forward to hammering all over the land. :-D

And this morning while enjoying my cuppa, I opened up the latest Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine that came in the mail yesterday and staring at me was an article by Cindy. You too can make this gorgeous "Concerto" necklace of hers!

Check out Cindy's blog for more of her work and generosity!

Today will be a torch day for me - first one in a long time! Last night I finished felting and fulling my ocean vessel and today I'll be making some beads to add to its surface.

Here's a look at both sides of the vessel after it was laid out in the wet lab.

During the fulling of the vessel, I ended up removing some parts of the coral as well as the "stem" on the kelp. I was unhappy with the way the kelp looked, and I have an alternative that I'm going to try. Right now, the vessel looks a whole lot different than it did when I took these pix. And when I finally finish it, it will look WAY different!

This is the largest vessel I've made so far - it stands 8 inches tall and is 6 inches wide. I'll start embellishing it this evening - can't wait!

And now the torch is calling me. Go have yourselves a happy and creative day!