Monday, October 06, 2008

It's a Dirty Job

But someone's gotta do it.



That someone is me and my mama. Those fingers in the photo belong to yours truly. Surprisingly, they are actually pretty clean for an afternoon at the bench. Those fingers usually walk away much dirtier than that, but it was a relatively small job and I had already washed them a few times in between.

That green stuff, if you're wondering, is a safety tape that helps protect my tender little digits from burns while polishing metal. You'd be surprised at how quickly metal heats up to incredible ouchiness while being polished by a rotary tool at 22,000 RPM.

My poor little fingers. I abuse them so. You see the bandaid under the safety tape? That was from jamming the tip of an X-Acto knife into it while cleaning my bench. Cleaning is bad, bloggy buds, and trying to put a cover on an X-Acto knife when the cover belongs to your OTHER X-Acto knife, so it does not fit this one properly is even more bad. I jammed it in pretty good. Shhhh, don't tell my doctor... I'm not exactly up to date on my tetanus shot.

Ah well. All the dirt, shmudge, cuts, bruises and burns are worth it cause those dirty and abused fingers make such pretty things.

Like this pair of tassel earrings:



Or this textured pendant made from metal clay:




How about some gorgeous pink coral stones from Hawaii?



Or another PMC pendant, this time with a Celtic knot:


Aren't you glad we aren't afraid of getting our hands a little (or a lot!) dirty?

I'm guessing we won't qualify for a visit from Mike Rowe.

12 comments:

Siddhartha said...

I was really shocked to read that those beautiful fingers have to withstand such a stressful duty - and those jewelries are wonderful. But anyway, do take care the next time you polish metals. And please do not neglect your health.

The Rock Chick said...

No one said beauty is painless, right? Gorgeous pieces. I especially love the pendant with the Celtic knot.

I think all you have to do to get Mike Rowe out is make more of a mess than you have to! He seems game for anything. Isn't his show great? He cracks me up.

heidi @ ggip said...

Dirty jobs is one of our favorite shows.

I love the new necklaces and the coral. LOVE the coral. My mom would like it too.

ANd I imagine there is a bit of danger in the whole jewelry making bit!

Jessica Morris said...

Is that bowl one of the multiple ones you got? :)
I like your new photo props! Looks good Crystal!

I don't think amazon was the site you were referring to, but if it was I'd suggest not returning the items there - they've been cutting accounts of people who have a 10% or higher return rate, and even tho it was there fault you got all the extra stuff it would stink big time to have your account suspended. But I have my suspicions that it's from an ... um... overstocked site :-)

Crystal said...

Yep, the bowl, the bamboo mat and the box thing with the lid are all from the order I placed. And now I have two. :oP

It's not Amazon or Overstock. I'll tell you in an email if you want to know the store. I just didn't want to put it out there on my blog. Didn't want to get sued or something. :oP

Bethany said...

The dirty hands are worth the end result!!!!! Nice work!

Jen said...

I agree with Bethany :)
They look lovely Crystal

Anonymous said...

You really out to have that gangrene checked out.

Jessica Smith said...

Crystal, I tagged you in a meme, since everyone else I know has already done it. Check it out at

http://simplebeautyfromgod.blogspot.com/

By the way, I love the jewelry you and your mom do. Absolutely beautiful!

~Jessica Smith

Claire said...

They are gorgeous, Crystal!

Cxx

Shannon said...

the celtic knot pendant is awesome!

Julie Ann Art said...

i just showed on my blog what a mess i make when i paint. :] aw well, it's still a good time. :]