Wedding Season ~

Wedding season is here! 

I've been working on two new wedding designs & one of them is ready for the reveal!

I'll be listing these shortly, but if you need any before I get it done just convo me through Etsy 

Here's the link to all the stuff  going on at Anvil Designs lately

LOVE~

A Darling Love Story ~

~ A Darling Love Story ~

A darling lady contacted me through Etsy to ask if she could send me a bullet shell that was sentimental to her husband. 

She wanted me to turn it into a key chain. 

She planned to give it to him for Valentine's day. 

I had done this before, told her as much and gave her my address. Previously though, the shells I have done were shot in 21 gun salute at funerals. I'm asked to put the deceased's initials, birth and date of passing on them.

She then told me the casing/shell was the first bullet her son ever shot with her husband. I got misty. I come from a shooting family. It's a milestone. A beginning of life milestone. 

I had never been contacted to do a "first shot" piece.

After a little back and forth about what she wanted it was revealed the bullet casing was much smaller than the ones in the listing and which I normally use. We were both momentarily disappointed that I was unable to put all the characters she originally wanted as they simply would not fit. 

Truth told, I wasn't certain I could even do much with it at all...

Anyone who knows me well could tell you I'm a bit jaded by life but this love story gave me some hope. I told the darling lady I enjoyed a good challenge and to go ahead and send it. Even if I could only stamp it with a heart it would warm a couple of hearts.

The Letter & Brass Arrive

A few days later the letter and casing arrived & I set to work~

The Work Begins

I had told the darling lady who was now a client we could fit more on it if I smashed it completely flat. The process pushes the pin out.

Once it was flattened / smashed I was able to see what would actually fit. The client had wanted me + you with a heart as her first choice. Unfortunately that wasn't going to work.

Her second choice was C + S with a heart. 

That would fit but I had another problem to deal with first. 

The tip end had literally taken a beating even though I tape it off and concentrate on the pin end. The reason I don't work with this size much is they aren't as malleable. For every success there is failure. A 50/50 chance doesn't work for stocking my shop on a daily basis. At some point the tip end needs to be flattened & it's a lot of stress on the thin brass.

Raw Rivet, Stamping & Pre-Drilling

I decided a copper rivet would add strength and stability so I added that and then began the stamping. I also pre-drill the hole for the key ring. The size depends on which ring a client chooses.

Next Step - Polish, Darken & Drill to Size

The polishing process naturally sets the oxidation into the stamping imprints and a black sharpie evens it out. 

Detail

I love how even in the "smashed" state one can still see WIN (Winchester) and 9MM

The Finished Piece

It makes me very happy!

One Last Shot with the Pin

I got a little punny with that title!

Here's to True Love

Throwback Thursday & 5th Anniversary Etsy Promo

We are so excited to be celebrating our 5th anniversary! 

We did a gift with purchase on Jan 24th & now, for a limited time we have brought back the first listing we put on Etsy! 

A "throwback listing" if you will.

Promo Listing

This was not only our first listing it resulted in our first sale!

We are offering these rustic vintage spoon markers for our original listing price of $5.00 each ~

You "pick" from the following 5 Styles:

BASIL
HERBS
MINT
SAGE
THYME

For fun I included a photograph used in our very first listing

I can't believe I used Papyrus font! LOL

Now I know the title here says "Throwback Thursday" and today is Friday... this post was scheduled to be published yesterday but things happen.

A day late and a dollar short. Have a great weekend ~

Anvil Designs 5th Etsy Anniversary January 24, 2015

Anvil Designs is celebrating our 5th anniversary on Etsy!

~also known as Etsyversary~

*We want you to celebrate with us*

Gift with purchase January 24, 2015 only.
**one per customer** 

One of three styles representing our best sellers will be tucked in with your purchase. Basil, Thyme or Herbs.

Hand stamped, rustic, vintage spoon.

Looking forward to the next 5 years!

~Thank you~

Guest Room Redo @ the Ranch

So PJ was coming for Christmas and was pretty much going to have to sleep on the couch or in my vintage trailer "Ethel". At first I didn't think much of that because I was so excited she was coming! We hadn't seen each other since I visited her last Christmas... 

Also, Ethel is also know around here as "The Guest House". Some guests love Ethel so much they take "first dibs on Ethel".

Ethel

A little over 2 weeks before she was due to arrive on Christmas eve I realized that it was ridiculous that we didn't have a comfortable place in the house for a single guest due to every room being either under construction or being used as storage for stuff removed from construction rooms. Sigh.

This house has nine rooms and six are in various stages of either "renewal" or "total makeover". Double sigh. Worse, some of it has been under construction for much longer than most would consider normal...

So on 12/6/14 eighteen days before PJ was to arrive I decided that we were going to have a decent guest room for her to stay in!

This is what that room looked like on 12/6/14

You cannot tell in this picture how horrible the wallpaper is and the wallpaper border isn't shown. The carpet is at least 14 years old. The ceiling is icky popcorn. 

This had been my office for years and I hadn't done anything to it. It was as is from when I moved in. It was a room I went in, did my business and went out closing the door. In the greater realm of well laid plans I always thought this room would be the last to get done.

What had changed besides PJ's impending arrival was I never liked this room as an office. One of the two windows was under the patio cover. Dark except for a couple months in the winter (shown in this pic, looks so bright). The other was a western exposure that every afternoon was unbearable from the sun. I pretty much never opened the blinds on that side. It was perfect for the guest room because most guests only sleep in there! 

I had moved most of my office to a corner of my bedroom and frankly I was much more comfortable there.

The light was better. The mood of the room was somehow better. I was more productive here. Perhaps because this room was mostly done and I LOVED it! 

Next post, 18 days and counting...

Road Trip Series Assemblage Necklaces #3

Road Trip

3rd in the series

Flat Tyre 

found object, vintage toy car, rosary style, mille flore, skull, turquoise, glass, ceramic, shell & copper assemblage necklace by Anvil Designs / Barn Swallow Studio

May only your jewelry get a flat tire ~

Road Trip Series Assemblage Necklaces #2

Here we have the second vintage toy car in the Road Trip series.

The Road Trip necklaces are available in Anvil Designs Etsy shop and on anvildesigns.com  

Barn Swallow Studio is a little shed on my property where the swallows build their nests in the eves. One day it may be a proper artists studio and retreat, heck it may even become it's own shop. For now I use it for my vintage assemblage pieces.

2nd in the series

*Highway Star*

Assemblage necklace using a vintage diecast "TOOTSIETOY" (as found) as the focal piece. 
Also features beads of Freshwater Pearl, Lampwork, Swarovski Crystal, Crystal & Glass. 
Handmade findings and vintage rosary sections.
Car is marked TOOTSIETOY - Chicago USA - 2
Car is 2 1/2" long - Total necklace length is 26"
One of a kind~

Available on Etsy

Full Shot

Clasp Detail

$95.00 on Etsy

I love it, I need it, I bleed it ~

Road Trip Series Assemblage Necklaces #1

I'm on a "roll" making these little vintage toy car necklaces. 

Not only are they fun, nostalgic & colorful, but wear one to Home Depot or a car show and expect to get stopped every ten feet! 

Men and kids love these! Occasionally the hot rod or truckin' mama will stop me for ooohs and awwws but it's mostly men. 

The kiddles, they point and always have an "out of the mouths of babes" comment.

1st in the series

  Counting Blue Cars  

Assemblage necklace using a vintage diecast "Midget Toy" car (as found) as the focal piece. 
Also features beads of Turquoise, Mother of Pearl, Pearl, Agate, Crystal & Glass. 
Handmade findings and a vintage rosary sections and medallion.
Total length 24 1/2" - Chain 20" and Car dangle 4 1/2"

sold

Clasp Detail

Full View

Rolling down the highway~

A Few New Fall / Halloween / Thanksgiving Items

Available now in the Anvil Designs shop~

Halloween Set

~

Harvest ~ Thanksgiving Set

Fall is upon us, happy harvest!

Carpe Diem or Etched Bullet Shells~

When the cat’s away the mice will play. So the saying goes.

JD is in Wyoming building a custom garage for his friend who moved there last month. He’ll be gone about 5 weeks. I have wanted to try some new techniques and designs but never seem to have the time…

Carpe Diem! This week I seized a day or two and tried etching some brass bullet shells. I have wanted to do this for so long. Since I was trying it out for the first time and was uncertain of how they may come out I have to say I kind of scribbled on them, threw them in the solution and crossed my fingers.

Surprise to me! They didn't come out too bad for a first batch! 

~Hot off the press ~ Focal beads~

~These will be earrings when finished~

Birthday gift for a friend ~ Happy Birthday Kika!

~Inspired by The Secret Life of Bees~

Happy creating~

Building Horse Jumps - Part 2

Click for part 1

The next jump we built was a Straight Plank and was the easiest one of all. The materials used for the plank were 1" plywood and 1 x 4 lumber and staples. The plywood was cut into two sections at 4' 6" for a total of 9' long and 12" tall. As mentioned in the previous post, the customer already had standards and 10' poles so everything we built is 10'.

Straight Plank

I need to make a correction here, the ends are all 6" NOT the 3 1/2" I previously stated. A mars / venus thing...

The plywood is stapled between the two 1 x 4 boards and a 6" section of 1 x 4 is stapled into the middle on the ends for durability and stability.

I had to put a smile on JD's face because I said this was fun and his face did not express that in this shot. He was saying "hey bartender put the camera down and get me a beer!" He looked like he was about to howl at the moon.

I decided to add a hat because hey, it's PicMonkey!

Here's a preview of the Wall and Roll Top for my next post~

Happy trails~

We Built Horse Jumps & It Was Fun~ Part 1

And I used some junk hose! 

JD is a carpenter by trade so this project was easy peasy for him. But some of these jumps could be built by anyone who has a skill saw, a staple gun and the desire. 

The Gate

The Gate was built 100% from 1 x 4 lumber, 12 ft. lengths. The lady we built the jumps for already had standards and 10" foot poles so these jumps are finished at 10'. Unfortunately I didn't start taking pictures until this one was completed. JD cut the 1 x 4's into 2' sections and stapled to a 10' board with 4" spacing. Then he sandwiched between a second 1 x 4 top and bottom. He allowed 6" on each end of the top board to accommodate the cups.

Brush with Flower Strip

For the Brush with Flower Strip we considered using pallets as that's what the customer suggested. We didn't have any pallets in the proper size and after walking around the property measuring every pallet JD declared "I could have made it by now"... so back to the garage. This jump is constructed similar to the gate but also uses 2 x 4 lumber for the 3 vertical boards to allow room to add "brush" to the middle. The top horizontal piece is also a 2 x 4 holes were drilled across the length for a flower strip. Small scrap 2 x 4 pieces were used in the bottom rail to add strength and stability.

Detail

Picket Fence Plank

The picket Fence Plank was built with 1 x 4 lumber and common landscaping stakes the customer supplied.

The pickets were cut to 1' and the customer will use poles above to create the height she needs for beginners to more advanced riders. 

Layout

JD spacing the pickets

Cutting more pickets

Part 2 will show the 3 other jumps we made. A wall, plain plank and a roll top. We delivered all of these unpainted per the customer but I'll also update later after she's painted them and set up the course!

Wishing you nothing but clear rounds~

Using Every Little Scrap~

I love to use every piece I can when working with the vintage silverware. Sometimes you make a mistake when stamping or bending and end up with odd pieces. I have been or will be turning these odd pieces into beads, buttons, guitar picks, toggles and anything else I can think of so nothing goes to waste.

To that end here are 2 new listings of items I have made using every little scrap~

I Pick You (sold)

This pick was hand cut from a 1930's spoon bowl I flattened. It is silver-plate over brass & it does show some wear from it's previous life as a spoon. I have filed the edges so smooth it's like butter. I drilled a small hole off center so it could be used as a charm if you don't want to use it to play.

 It's truly one of a kind ( OOAK ) if you like food and music and want a pick with an 80 + year old vibe rather than some mass produced blank from overseas, look no further. This is a no waste, upcycled product.

I Pick You had only been listed for a few days with 2 views when it sold!
I consider that real success! I already had another one I was working on and decided to show a before and after. 

Next time I'll have to do some progress shots as well~

Music Is Life

This pick was hand cut from a 1916 era spoon bowl I flattened. Holmes and Edwards Silver Inlaid Pat 04 ~ Jamestown Pattern circa 1916. I tried purposely to leave as much of the original patina on this one as possible. The back side has a lot, the front lost a lot! The soul of this pick is almost 100 years old~

I almost always listen to music when I'm creating whether it's my art or cooking. Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my favorites to cook with and create by.

Here is a rare video of SRV

 

Follow Up - Collecting Arugula Seeds

I saw something while I was perusing Pinterest and had to post! 
This is cute on it's own but it's also a follow-up or more like an addition to my seed collecting post (here)

Flowers and a seed packet pattern... | Content in a Cottage

Woman's Day offers us this darling mini pattern and accompanying label template:

And as one is prone to do clicking about Pinterest and one click leading to another I found one more for us seed collectors:

This one from Heavy Petal

Happy gardening & seed collecting~