Thursday, January 22, 2009

Busy, not procrastinating. Just finished decorating an English Pub & Restaurant and now have taken on 2 photography assignments. Toss in 9 pets and my "real" job and find me "Not Guilty" of procrastinating on home crafty projects. Smiles

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

"Waa..what happened to the 'tricity Wally?" One of my favorite lines from "Leave It to Beaver". So, I know quite a few of my friends are 'a scared of 'tricity but rewiring a single socket lamp is truly simple. All the instructions are on the back of the package and there are only 3 short steps. I purchase the cord (with the plug intact), then purchase the socket separate. I find it's cheaper this way. I first strip out the old wiring then give the lamp a good cleaning and allow it to dry out throughly for a day or two before rewiring. I've had this very old lamp & all the replacement parts for about 2 years with intent to rewire. Not only was the wiring a disgrace , it was filthy and someone had pasted stickers and pictures all over it. What a cleaning job that was. Here it is, finally finished, and it fits perfectly in the spot I had intended it for. Being quite old, I uncovered some asbestos insulating in the old socket so, do be cautious of this and ease any asbestos out slowly and carefully avoiding inhalation of any particles. The detail and color of this old piece are stunning and of course, who doesn't love roses and Lily-of-the-Valley? Don't pass up bargain beautiful old lamps just because of poor wiring. I promise, if I can do it, you can too.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Another embarrassment, this scarf I completed on Dec. 30th as part of my boss's Christmas gift. Yep. Dec. 30th. I finished it from the backseat of a long drive to an antique mall out of state. Pull over please,I have t throw up. Fortunately , not many folks elect to have surgery over the holidays and our unit was at a low census and I had the week of Christmas off, ( I heart my job!),and spent it wildly clicking needles to complete scarves, hats and mittens. Not a good enough excuse for giving your boss their handmade, tardy gift. She seemed thrilled with it and the gift card that accompanied it. She had recently bought a winter white coat and needed a scarf to go with. I think I was able to pull it off, but definitely not the way to fish for a raise.