Little Lost Duckies

Last week, my mother showed up with a cardboard box that was peeping...

Apparently 2 tiny little ducklings were out in the street in front of her real estate office--lost & all alone.

 So; since I am already set up for ducks, they came to live with me :)  I had to keep them in the bathroom for the first week; they were tiny & it was cold at night.  They have since moved into the greenhouse & I let them out to wander & eat grass whenever I'm outside.

They follow me around wherever I go; running after me as fast as they can; so cute!

Duckies are such happy little creatures; I'm glad to have them around :)  

I don't know what kind they are; I assume mallards, but I guess we'll see in a few weeks when they start getting real feathers :)

The Boo-Cat is unimpressed...

In other farm news; I have 2 broody banties; they are  both sitting in the same nesting box on a huge pile of eggs, lol.  So, hopefully in a few weeks we will have more tiny fuzz balls running a-muck! 

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow :)

Happy Spring!

Amber

Reception this Saturday

If you are in Boise this Saturday; stop in at Subspace & say hi.  I'll be there with new jewelry, wall art, & more.  Will be giving out tickets to Carnevale too :)  Wine & treats will be served;

hope to see you there!

Amber

More Custom Trophies

This commission was for a RC Race League in California :)

 Made from scrap steel & a few engine parts.

The finishing touch; an acrylic plaque with the UF1 logo.  These are shipping out today; hope they like them!

Amber

Custom Business Card Holder

 A custom commissioned business card holder made from aircraft parts, hardware, & scrap metals.

 

He wanted it to serve as his desk name-plate as well; which worked out perfect with the large speed tube.

This was a fun one to build; & I think it came together pretty great :)

Hope he likes it too!

I shipped it out to California last week :)

These sorts of little projects are always fun; this is one of my favorite ever card holders I've made; minimal welding; most everything is bolted together for a clean, polished finish.

Happy Monday!

Amber

Puzzle Piece Custom Trophy

A set of custom trophies made from aluminum puzzle pieces;  this is the beginning :)

Pieces cut by machine; soon to be polished  & colored...

 I picked up all the pieces (literally) & proceeded to polish & then color them...

Instead of Easter Eggs, I got to color puzzle pieces this year  : )  It was just as much fun, to be honest  ;)

 And after drying; all the pieces went together to make 2 trophies; pretty cool: I think :)  Lots of drilling & looking at the overall design; but I think it all came together to make a really cool design :)

The puzzle pieces are joined together to form the logo of the company who is presenting awards; lots of color & dimension; this set is probably the most unique trophy design to date (besides the NRA NASCAR Trophy)     I love the colors & the dimension of the individual puzzle pieces :)

I hope they like it too-the logo is a brain made up of puzzle pieces; do you see it???  

Amber

New Soldered Copper & Crystal Jewelry Creations

I just wanted to share some of the new jewelry I've been working on the past few days :)

This one is made from hammered copper that has been soldered to a crystal optic lens (thing).  I love the unique triangular shape of these pieces :)

 An old brass key with more pounded copper & crystal accents.

This one is a glass piece with copper, rhinestone, & silver baubles.  (not actually new: it was made for Boise Fashion Week 2012--just never got a good pic of it ;)

And; another BFW creation; this one is also copper wire that has been covered in silver solder.  I love the glass lens; it has a golden iridescence to it; very unique.

 Another lens, hammered copper & dragon-fire crystals; they change color from red/orange to purple/pink.

And a smaller lens accented with copper & silver crystals; they look like tiny disco balls :)

I'll be listing of these on my Etsy shop over the next few days.  If you see one you are interested in--email me at refinerii@yahoo.com :)

Amber

Steel Kitty-Cat Garden Stake

I finally got the first prototype kitty cat garden stake done :)  It's soooo cute!  Overall; it stands 4 feet tall & is made from heavy 10 gage steel.

I'm hoping to have this design, along with single kitty-cats in my Etsy shop soon; working on pricing options :)  I think it would be really cute in polished aluminum too.

As is; the steel is bare; it will rust naturally over time; eventually to an even rust patina.

 

Such cheery little garden cats :)

Now I'm all exited to get my chicken design done!

If you are interested in having these kitties in you garden; contact me by email at refinerii@yahoo.com.  I would like to get more cut next week; & pre-orders make it easier to do : )  

 

Amber

Colored Metal Experiments & Projects

About at month ago, I came across some automotive paint; a unique product perfect for adding color to my bouquets & other metal projects as well :)  I've been having a ball experimenting on the bio-hazard & nuke coasters, aluminum bangle bracelets & wedding bouquets: just wanted to share the latest

This bouquet shipped out today, along with 4 matching bridesmaid bouquets.

The paint is a semi-transparent color; letting the metal shine through & reflect through the color--so perfect for this application.  It's hard to see in the photo; but in real life the finish is like a candy-apple, only blue :)

The bride's dress is ivory with an indigo blue band at the top & around the the hem of the dress; I think she made the perfect choice with this bouquet--it will contrast against the ivory bodice & has tons of sparkle & shine!

To get the perfect match, I first sprayed the blue color, then did a light overlay of  "smoke" to tone it down just a bit.  Then a finish coat of the transparent blue finished it off for the perfect match.  

I am not a big color person; I tend to stay with very natural colors in my wardrobe & have always preferred the look of natural, bare metals in my work: but I will admit that experimenting with color is a lot of fun!

It's hard to see in the photo; but in real life--these bangle bracelets have such a cool finish; you can see the custom polish I did to the bare aluminum through the candy-apple colors; so cool!

The bangles will soon be available on my Etsy shop, along with lots of other new fun items :)

More to come ; )

Amber

Making the F Awards Video

A sneak peek into my metals workshop & the making of the Framed Awards : )


Amber

Ultimate Frisbee Trophy

Just finished up tonight; a custom aluminum & copper trophy for the Memphis Ultimate Frisbee League :)

Lots of hardware & a polished finish; this is one of my favorite ever trophies!  I love how the sunburst pattern in the middle turned out.

It's big too; 19 inches tall, & the copper pieces on the base are thick & heavy; making the trophy quite substantial :)

Besides the base; this one was made up of a lot of little pieces that were bolted together; it was a pain to put together & get everything just right (I think I took it apart & put it back together at least 5 times).  But, I love the end result...

I hope they like it as much as I do!!

Now that I'm caught up on trophy commissions; it's turned into a wedding bouquet craze around here: all of a sudden I have a stack of big orders :)  I've been experimenting with some new techniques & colors; pics will be coming soon.

Amber

Trophies, Chickens, & Jewelry

Well, that's a bit of a random title, lol :)  But, that's what the last week had been...

 

I shipped off a custom trophy for the Mayor of Chicago

A mix of metals & custom acrylic plaque; I think it turned out pretty cool; it stands about 14 inches tall & will be presented to the Mayor for sustainable city initiatives.

In the Refinerii Farm Division; we added 4 new bird-brains to the Thundering Horde.

All Banties (half sized chickens), & sooo cute!  While working in the shop today, I had the big door open, watching them exploring their new surroundings.  3 tiny hens & one tiny Roo; he is the smallest of them all, lol.   I already have 2 banties in the flock & I'm hoping to have some cute little bantam chicks later this spring.   There was an add on Craigslist for bantam hens & the address was right up the street, so I couldn't resist going for a quick look: of course, I only planned on 2, maybe 3...but we came home with 4!

 

And, I've been working on some new jewelry designs---looking at doing a show in April; more details to come :)

 The last few things I have made are very Goth...blood red & black & silver; kinda a departure from my normal look, but I'm having fun :)  

And for the week to come; it's bouquet week---last week was trophies, this week is wedding bouquets--all of a sudden I have quite a few big orders...and some very different requests ; )  I have a few drying out in the shop right now that I'm pretty excited about--more pics to come.

Crossing my fingers for warmer weather this week...

Amber

Carnevale 2013--now taking applications

 Carnevale applications for performers & vendors are now available.

Download the apps at

www.IdahoBotanicalGarden.org

This is going to be another magical year in the Garden--mark your calendars :)

We will be bringing the costumes, gourmet treats & drinks, performances, art & fire back to the Garden in June: hope you will join in the fun!

Be sure to like the Facebook page to stay up to date on costume categories, new additions, vendor announcements & more.

GardenCarnevale

Hope to see you there!

Amber

Framed Awards

Last night we sent 132 trophies with the Framed crew on their way to Las Vegas.

The awards will be presented on March 12th at the Framed Awards to the best of the best in the photography business : )

There were 32 categories for awards, & we also made 100 nominee awards as well.

Cute, eh??  The nominee awards are about 5 inches tall--just a mini version of the larger award trophies :)

These were all made from aluminum, with a nice polished finish & clear acrylic plaques to finish them off.

It was a lot of trophies to clean & polish; my right hand is still sore from running the grinder for so many hours...but, I love they way they turned out.  And, the nice thing about making them all aluminum; I could actually pick up the box with all 32 trophies: usually with steel awards that would not happen ; )

The Framed Network produces a web series that highlights professional photographers & what they do; each episode offers a sneak peek into the inspiration, set up & technique behind a photo shoot.

Amber

The Thundering Horde gets a Treat

The Thundering Horde of chickens got a treat the other day...

they came running at full speed from all the way across the yard when they saw that I had something yummy for them :)

Stale cream cheese: they love it!  Really, they love any kind of cheese: it's their favorite treat :)

 

It cracks me up to see them make such a mess of themselves: not very lady-like at the dinner table, I must say....  

Crazy birds :)   They have started laying eggs like mad in the last week; the weather is warming up & the days are starting to get longer: I think they're getting spring fever.  I can't complain about my overflowing egg basket in the fridge, though :)

 

Amber

Catching Up: Lots of Little Projects this week

It's been a busy week...busy working & building, not blogging :)

Lots of trophies this week: the above is for an Ultimate Frisbee League--I think it's going to be one of my best trophy designs ever!   We shall see when it's completely finished.

Also made one this week for the mayor of Chicago, & just shipped 2 to California: 5 year anniversary awards :)

Also, tomorrow will be finishing up a run of 132 awards for the Framed Network: omg!  They are very cool looking: pics to come...

And: I've been working on some new things:

polished aluminum coasters with transparent color: so much fun!  I came across a specialty automotive paint that is perfect for adding a nice color to the metal, while still letting the polish shine through :)

I couldn't resist trying some color on the aluminum bangle bracelets :)  I only had a few available & I'm sending them out to friends for testing of the durability of the color finish.  I have always shied away from adding any sort of finish to the metals I work with, so I want to make sure that this color will hold up over time before I put these out on my online shops for sale--- I would hate to sell something & then find out later that it didn't hold up.  

I must say, though: playing with the color has been a lot of fun: the possibilities are exciting!

It's been a long week & I'm looking forward to the weekend & a few down days.  Next week: visiting some new suppliers, presenting a proposal for a human-scale birdcage for a stage performer, & getting the first kitty-cat garden stakes cut :)

I can't wait!

Amber