Diet

My clothes are getting tight, it is time to do weight watchers and loose these 10 pounds that have crept up on me. Since I am under 150 pounds my points for the day are between 18-23. One of the most important steps
to this diet is writing everything down and measuring amounts. It also helps to have support. I lost 10 pounds before with them. I did go to their meetings. It is good to join and go for awhile just to learn how it works and get all the material or get it from someone that has it and can explain the program.

I like it because I can eat anything I want.

It is surprising how many people, in the USA, do not get enough vitamin D even in places like California. A blood test can show if you are not getting enough. Another item many people do not get enough of is protein, which is surprising.

How much protein you need.
1/4 to 1/2 gram times your body weight in pounds.

Read the following article which is where I found the information on protein. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/1005/sc1005-protein.html

How to make a wood jewelry pendant

Making pendants.
wood
bail
E6000 glue
neckace
art picture or paper
diamond glaze
modge podge or other glue to adhere paper to wood.

You can use many differnt designs and techniques to make these pendants. Most of mine are from prints I
have designed. I use photoshop to reduce them to the size I want, which is a little smaller than the pendant. They have been sprayed with Goldens archival sealer to keep the ink from bleeding. This will need to dry.
My circle flower is made by cutting paper pieces which are then glued to the background paper or to a painted surface.You can make your own paper or buy scrapbooking paper.

Wood-Luckily, my husband has the tools to cut my wood for me. These are a little over 1 inch.  They are much bigger than the scrabble pendants.  I plan on having those too.  Each piece of wood is sanded down and sealed before it is painted with acrylic.

Acrylic-I use the craft jars that most craft stores carry, such as Ceramcoat by Delta.

Use the modge podge to glue the picture to the wood or use any other glue you want to use. Let dry 10-20 minutes.

Place wax paper down to keep the diamond glaze from sticking. Do not shake the glaze. There are differnt techniques on using it. Some people place a glob in the center and pull it out.  Others make a rim around the wood and fill it in.  Bubbles can be pushed off to the side and wiped off or pop with a pin. You may decide to do a second layer the next day after the first layer dries.  After it dries,you can sand it with fine sandpaper if you need to.

I did finish the heart with diamond glaze but plan on using resin on the rest.

Glue-E6000 is widely used by jewelry makers.   Use this glue to add the bail to the top of the necklace. I will write more on resin in a future post.

I am taking some metal smithing classes.  There is an example in the photo of one of the pieces I made out of brass and copper. We are making a bird nest this weekend.