Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tools of the Trade

I tend to treat myself to one new major purchase for the store each year. In 2007 it was a system of storage cabinets to hold everything in, 2008 was the bandsaw, 2009 /2010 was a new house with a whole room dedicated to crafting and a laptop, and in 2011 I upgraded our poor 17-year old Dremel tool.

With the excitement of a new toy, I thought it'd be fun to do a post about some of the things I use to make the things you see in the store.

Safety Equipment
 I'm not joking when I say that the safety equipment is THE most important thing.  I use a pair of padded goggles rather than just safety glasses so no bits of crap can fall behind them.  Those I didn't actually buy, they're the ones I got after LASIK and they were much more comfortable than what I had been using and worked better.  And really, that's the key to safety stuff-- it NEEDS to be comfortable.  Don't get the cheapest pair of glasses, they're going to pinch your nose and give you a headache.  Don't get the cheapest pair of ear plugs, you'll "forget" to put them in.  With safety equipment you want something you can wear comfortably and work in for a long period of time.  Don't kid yourself, you're not going to wear it otherwise.  Generally, when working I'll wear (as needed)
  • Safety goggles
  • Hearing protection (I use behind the ear plugs like these)
  • Hair sticks (seriously, hair down around power tools is stupid and dangerous)
  • Leather wrist guard (when using a cutoff wheel on the Dremel)


Dremel 8/200 12V Max Lithium-Ion Cordless

Yeah, it's a bit beastier than I really needed, but I thought to get this one rather than the smaller, lighter 7V cordless because I wanted to be able to use it for other household projects too.  Turns out that weight-wise it's just a hair heavier than my older corded Dremel, and without the stupid cord in the way the balance is a lot nicer too.  On the old Dremel when you'd turn it off the bit would keep spinning until it's inertia wore out and it'd slow to a stop.  With this one, there's an internal brake, so you turn it off and it STOPS.  Very nice.

To go with that I use a keyless chuck  (on the right), which means that I don't have to use a key each time to change out a bit.  It's not expensive, but it's a massive time-saver.


Dremel Workstation
This little guy serves a few purposes.  It works by you locking the Dremel into it and then you can use it as a drill press, which is awesome for getting nice, straight holes.  At the moment the old Dremel is actually in this because then I don't have to go through the whole process of putting the cordless in there each time I want to use it.  Another cool feature is that the entire Dremel pivots in the station and can be locked, effectivly turning it into a mini bench grinder when using an abrasive disk bit.


Hitachi CB67 10 Inch Band Saw
This is what I use for cutting sticks to length and getting them nice and square on the top.  It isn't a huge bandsaw, but it's more than what's needed for what it's being used for.  Before we got the house it was actually on the "dining room table" (read: my work table) of our apartment; now, thankfully, it lives in the workshop in the basement. A side note on safety... you should NEVER NEVER wear gloves when working with either a drill press or a band saw.  Without them you'll just get cut, with gloves on you'll likely get pulled into the machine as the fabric gets grabbed.








Refurbished Dell Latitude Laptop
This might seem like a strange store purchase, especially considering I have a desktop as well, but it has probably been the biggest time-saver.  The problem is that the desktop is not in my workroom, and when I want to check what a stick looked like to recreate it, review what I need to do for a custom order, or look at what things need to go in which boxes I had to literally walk back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  Now, the laptop sits on the worktable, allowing me to quickly access whatever information I need.  When boxes need to be filled it migrates to my shipping table.  And when I'm making things I can quickly reference previous sticks, custom order requests, as well as listen to music or play a movie in the background.



Thinking about trying this sort of thing?  DO IT! :D  Don't be intimidated by tools, they're not scary.  They are not the sole domain of one gender. They are there to make your job easier.  Besides, girls have the unfair advantage that they'll actually read the directions that come with a new tool.  So you'll be safer AND actually know how to use it properly!


Monday, February 7, 2011

Treasuries Galore!

Well, it would seem that our circle has grown quite a bit! In about a week we went from 13 to 50 followers on the blog! Hurrah! I've mailed out discount codes to everyone, so if you didn't receive one check your spam filter, it will have come from night.blooming.garden@gmail.com. If you still don't see it, just email me and I'll get it out to you right away!


I've been fortunate enough to have been featured in several treasuries as of late. What's the big deal about treasuries? That's how one could (possibly!) make it to the front page of Etsy. Etsians gather up collections of items, and if the treasury gets enough hits/clicks/modmin affection then it will be put on the front page. It hasn't happened to me yet, but perhaps one day!

So on a dreary morning, enjoy these beautiful collections of items!

'For the love of amethyst' by kmaylward



ELISE Plum Hydrange...
$28.95

30% OFF SALE - Love...
$6.30

Wool Silk Felted Ar...
$99.00

Peacock Dangle Earr...
$21.00

The Plea of Amethys...
$15.00

Purple Grapes on a ...
$54.00

Plumeria - Amethyst...
$29.00

Celebritot Incognit...
$48.00

Purple dress with b...
$271.00

White Gold Hydrange...
$29.00

Dusky Pink Flower C...
$16.00

Purple Iris Card bl...
$4.00

Mobius twist scarf,...
$55.00

TWILIGHT WINTER ---...
$20.00

Handwoven Fab -- Ri...
$65.00

Ladies lace ruffle ...
$35.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'Irish Roots' by Gibbihunterhope

Irish roots, the emerald isle. Home of my heart. My first engagement ring from my husband was a claddagh, sterling silver with an emerald in the middle. We purchased it in a little shoppe in Boston.


Leather belt 1.5&qu...
$20.00

All green Irish the...
$30.00

RESERVED for Chevel...
$24.00

Pocket Size Tri-Fol...
$30.00

Celtic Knot Trefoil...
$25.00

Karma Squared - 5x7...
$15.00

Celtic Double Swirl...
$20.00

Barna Woods
$20.00

Sterling Silver Cel...
$185.00

Vintage Rare Trifar...
$32.00

Patroness of Poets ...
$13.00

Little Leprechaun F...
$26.00

Motherhood Knot -pi...
$50.00

Vinyl Wall Decal St...
$21.95

Famine Museum Garde...
$4.50

sterling claddagh r...
$12.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'In Kingdoms Far, Far Away...' by ChaelenDesigns

This is my first treasury. I have dedicated it to the realms of fantasy and fairytale: if you travelled to some of those far-off magical kingdoms, what might you find there?


Supporting the Moon...
$30.00

Carriage in Waiting...
$20.00

White Dragonfly Hat...
$45.00

SALE Fairytale Prin...
$600.00

Through the Forest ...
$30.00

Emerald Dragon Gold...
$150.00

Bella No.23, Large ...
$

Fallen Leaves Hair ...
$6.00

Wicked Hat Black on...
$85.00

Valenwood Labradori...
$42.50

Sapphire Wind -- We...
$40.00

Peacock Fairy Tutu
$175.00

Royal Blue Fantasy ...
$125.00

Blue Asian Flame Dr...
$160.00

White Princess Witc...
$48.00

Alice in Wonderland...
$1250.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.



'Into the garden' by GemmaCat

Whether it's a window box or acres of fertile soil, our gardens become a little piece of us. In this treasury, I've tried to capture the pure sensation and textures of my ideal garden."In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful." ~Abram L. Urban


11 inch Enchanting ...
$16.99

Copper China Bird H...
$160.00

Real 4 Leaf Clover ...
$32.00

Sun Shower - 8x10 S...
$23.00

Red Oak leaf jar g...
$31.00

The Eye of God Oak ...
$

Moss and Ivy - natu...
$25.00

Moss Green Cabled F...
$40.00

Hummingbird
$52.00

Bramble & Briar sol...
$9.95

Mason Bee Box, Recl...
$27.00

Hair Forks New Mic...
$

Fine art photograph...
$30.00

Womens Tuatara Hood...
$138.50

A Sense of Spring -...
$12.00

Sevenwaters or Six ...
$22.50

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.