My Latest Creation:Byzantine & Beads Bracelet

I made this as a birthday gift for my sister. Glad to see my new chain maille skills are coming in handy.

Getting Crafty

Sometimes necessity is the mother of craftiness--or a damn good excuse to break out the beads and fabric!

The last couple of weeks were very busy but created opportunities for me to make some things that have been on my list for a while.

Drink markers:


My friend and her husband recently moved in to a new apartment. Her housewarming (or "apartment heating" as they called it) was the perfect occasion for me to make these drink markers as a housewarming gift.

The rings are meant to go around the stems of wine glasses so you know which one is yours.

The rings are cut from a coil of sterling silver wire. I bent the ends to form a hook and loop closure.  The beads are metal, glass, and stone.

Covered Ceremony Book


I've used the same half-sized Avery binder for most of the ceremonies I've done in my 5+ years as a Life-Cycle Celebrant®. In fact the same sheet of  paper has decorated the cover for most of that time.

I noticed before my my most recent wedding that my book was starting to show it's age. I'm trying to polish my professional image a bit. I plan on  redoing my website. I just started revamping my ceremony wardrobe. So I knew the book needed to be dealt with. I have another one, but there is something wonderful about knowing all the couples I've married and babies I've welcomed all from that one book.

I decided to make a cover. I have lots of fabric samples. I folded one the same way I used to fold paper shopping bags to make book covers when I was kid. Instead of taping it, as I would have a paper cover, I hand sewed the cover onto the book.

This cover has pockets inside for my phone and reading glasses. Next time I make one, I'll take pictures of the work in progress. I have a larger book that I use for ceremony readings and for funerals--where I have podium and don't have to hold the book up. I'll be covering that too.

My New Super Power

I've been taking pottery classes--a gift from my wonderful husband and well timed. The classes were to get me out of the house and to relieve stress. There is something about getting one's hands dirty that is very therapeutic. This is the one scheduled activity I have where I'm not shooting for perfection, as I do with the day job and the ceremonies I write for my clients, and when I'm teaching.

It's good to be a student for a change. When I'm at the wheel it's about fun and learning. When a piece collapses on the wheel it's all part of the fun.

This week I made a break through. I created three pieces and two actually came out more or less as I had intended. (My previous attempts can be best described with the words "let's see what happens this time.")

And so, my new super power is revealed. I can turn this

into this

and this

into this.

Of course sometimes things still go a bit wonky.  This

was headed towards becoming a nice cylinder when it collapsed.

But I still had clay to play with on the wheel and, while unstable and unpredictable, I was still happy with the results, so I kept it.

I Made This!

Things have gotten very busy since the holidays.  I have lots of things I want to post about, but no time to write. Hopefully I'll get caught up soon.

In the mean time, I wanted to show (ok, show off) some of the fruits of my labor. I've been taking a pottery class. Last weekend I made these!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

About Last Weekend: Rescue Diving, Balloons and Tie-Dying

So here is my catch up post.

Last The weekend of Aug. 8-9 was amazing! For one, I finally did my dives for my Rescue Diver cert.  Special thanks to Chris Muller for playing the 'distressed diver' for me. I failed to rescue him several times and when I finally did rescue him, well I hauled him out of the water and dropped him on a pointy rock. Luckily he wasn't hurt and the exercise is as much about learning strategies and our own limits as it is about succeeding in the rescue.

After the dive, Paul and I went for dinner and after that, we took an unexpected detour. When we left the restaurant, Paul spotted a hot air balloon. So we gave chase.

We tracked it for several miles, eventually it passed over us, and came to settle in an athletic field--but not before we had the pleasure of witnessing some impressive, precision flying as the pilot guided the balloon through the goal posts.

All this was followed by the smoothest landing we've ever seen.

If you're curious, we spoke to the pilot after and he gave us his card:

American Balloon

And finally, tie-dye.

The next day, my niece had a tie-dye birthday party. Everyone was issued a white t-shirt when they arrived. On a table was a few boxes of rubber bands. Gloves, buckets of dye and fixer (I think it was vinegar) waited outside. (My sister did a great job getting all this planned.)

Anyway, I had never tried it before and was excited to try my hand at it. Paul picked up a couple of adult sized Ts for me so I could try. I close with the results.

Busy Weekend and Busy Week

I am up to my ears this week but I wanted to at least post a preview of some of the things I plan on writing about.

This weekend was a very full one. Paul and I got started on a few projects we've been talking about for a long time. One was to get me through my dives for Rescue Diver.

Now I'm contemplating going for Dive Master, a professional rating, over the course of this coming year. I am also thinking about getting trained as an EMT--if it fits into my teaching schedule for this year.

Saturday afternoon, on the way home from diving, we found ourselves on a spontaneous balloon hunt.

And then Sunday, at a party celebrating my niece's birthday, I tried my hand at tie-dying for the first time.

This week I am preparing for a trip. This means packing and planning and an a 2 hour activity that I call disarming my purse. (So many things you're not allowed to carry any more!)

And once again, I am posting well after midnight. So off to bed with me. More to come when I can catch my breath!