Happy Birthday to ......ME!

This is something I've wanted for a long long long time. So, for my big 5 0 birthday, I gave myself a nice little gift.

I decided to document the unfolding of my new Studio here.  Sooo, I'll start at the beginning.

The very beginning...

                                                              Rumor thinks it's all good!

                 Building crew has left and the crew of Me and Hailey are clocking in....Time to paint!

Yes, that is Pottery Green and YES that door is pink... well it's more salmony rose and the trim is kind of khaki!!! The door came from a house that was pretty much gutted due to Hurricane Ike. The woman that I bought it from wanted me to send her a picture of the door once we had it painted and put in. It's the perfect door!

Next we start on the inside, whoa!!!

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Lighst!!!..we need electricity!!

I thought I could do this by myself so I went and bought everything you would need to wire my Studio plus some.  Then, I started thinking about getting electrocuted and how that would kind of just go against everything I was working towards....namely...becoming an artist in glass...haha* so I hired someone.  I jumped on Craigslist posted an ad and poof voila I had 8 replies. I decided on this guy and well, the drama began! When all was said and done.....

       BUT... He left without putting up my outside lights!!  UGH! So, needless to say, I called him back!

After he did his quick "put up the lights for this biatch and go" job, the crew of Me and Hailey examined the not so great job and took everything down. During this 're-do' I experienced a nice little jolt of electricity!  I thought I was going to fall off the ladder....whew* From looking at the above pic you can see that the jolt did not halt our perseverance. dah dahhhh* Motion detection lights!!!! Oh, and you can also see the small deck we built.

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Now for the inside.... 

Decision: sheet rock or primed paneling? (I know the door really looks pink in this picture...aagghhh*)

                                               Going inside to insulate, cover walls, etc etc...

As you can see from above, I chose primed wall paneling. It was easier for us to lift, but you should have seen us driving home with these 4x8 panels sticking out the back of my Nitro! hahaha I should have taken a picture of that!!! We are sooo lucky we weren't pulled over by Mr. Cop!

We attached the paneling with Liquid Nail Adhesive plus paneling nails. This is where the Olive Oil came into play. That adhesive can get all over you...UGH!!!

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Next, we trimmed the windows and the walls!

Continuing to use the adhesive (we gained some control) and nails, we actually were able to frame the windows with trim. Not perfect.. no.. but it looks okay. 

* Added Note: Waterproof Silicon on top of Liquid Nail Adhesive keeps Olive Oil from doing it's job!

Little more finish and some paint. Now it's more about mustering the strength to finish the jobs....whew*

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Put off working on the Studio for two days...UGH. This shame made me get off my duff and tackle some ceiling insulation.  Oh, how I hate working with that stuff...the mask, the goggles, the long sleeves,... a Hazmat suit would have been better! ....geesh*  But today, I used my head.... no really... I used my head to put the insulation up in the ceiling...hee*  There were a few times that I wrestled with the ladder, but I won and my head stayed put and held the insulation in place...woo to the hoo!! (as Dana would say)

Here's the results....

Saturday I sat in Midas waiting on car maintenance stuff instead of working in the Studio:( Finally, after leaving, I made a run to Lowe's to pick up a few things. I actually got in a couple of hours before dark.  

Did you know that Goo Gone nor Nail Polish remover will remove heavy duty Magic Marker? I made a mess!

 Drove to College Station and rented a Penske truck to haul back the free cabinets that my daughter, Kendel, found for me...wooohooo! PROGRESS!!!

more as we go....=]

Well, we rented the Penske, picked  up more lumber while I had this BIG truck, loaded up cabinets and drove back home that night in rainy nasty weather. Hailey and I were drenched while we did our best to unload the cabinets and extra lumber...UGH!! We were soo cold, grouchy, and tired but we got most of it out. I decided to leave the heavier large cabinet pieces inside the truck, in hopes that the rain would subside. After waiting for what seemed like forever, I halted the project and we went inside. I had to get the truck back asap so I set the alarm clock for 4:45am so we could finish unloading and clean the truck. Of course it was still dark, still cold, and still nasty weather, but we did it! I guess the pressure of having to get that truck back before the doors opened gave us the energy we needed (having to pay an extra hundred dollars helped as well). The truck was turned in by 7am and we were through with that part...Whew!!

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Weeks later...

Holidays have come and gone and I finally installed the first cabinet...sigh*  I'm soo thankful for the sunshine! It definitely motivated me to get going and get something done!  I've decided I'm not going to post pics until I have all the cabinets in. Hopefully they will look nice enough I won't mind showing them off...haha*

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I'm so proud of the work that we've done so I just have to post at least one or two pics.  As you can see, I still don't have ALL of the cabinets in, but almost. I sure wish I had kept up with dates on this project...whew*

                                    

Details:

My workbench with a mounted range hood for the beginnings of the ventilation system. I've mounted a magnetic strip across the front to hold tools. The recessed shelves were created to save some room on the workbench. The lights....well, the entire top space will eventually have metal duct work in front of it so I decided to use rope lights behind styrene for a bit of extra light in the work area. If you look on top of the bench you will see a square tile. Eventually, the entire bench top will be tiled along with the floor. You can also see a bit of the cabinets.This is the main torching area. I just love my little recessed shelves!!!

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Okay... so now I'm on week 2893 of this project!!!  haha* It sure feels like it anyway!  The last couple of weekends have been really productive.  With Hailey's help, I was able to get the rest of the cabinets in plus we actually figured out how to use the laminated counter tops in a way that would work. As you can see, I hung some shelving above the jewelry making station and built a peg board to help organize my tools.  I've been so blessed with great FREE cabinets and I'm sooo excited that it has worked out. It's actually starting to feel like a Studio!

Still haven't tiled the bench or floors but that's coming soon.  The white board on the right is holding my small containers of frit, which I will be using when making glass beads.

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We've been working really hard in this nice weather. It's enabled us to finish the tile, the ventilation, which was Hell and actually move some of my "stuff" to the Shedio. The Tile. Oh my mercy. I wasn't sure I was going to recover from that whole experience..haha* I was soo sore after a few days of wallowing around on the floor, hammering, sweeping adhesive and placing grout. Yes, you heard me, placing grout!! I finally would get to the point of just using my fingers to make sure I had it in every little nick and cranny. 

For my first tile experience.. I'd have to say it's not too bad. I do have a couple of places that are giving me a problem but between Google and YouTube we will be able to solve the issue I'm sure. I don't have really good pics of the tiled workbench and floor but will at some point. 

Drum roll..... here is "some point"!!! tiled floors!! and....tiled work bench!!

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The Ventilation! I still have an adrenaline rush when I think about climbing on top of two different ladders, yes to the top, to mount a wooden box on the side of the Shedio. This box holds my inline fan. The fan is pretty powerful and provides suction through duct work, enough suction to pull any and all fumes (and air) away from my face while I use my torch. As some of you may know, the fact that I'm not breathing in any contaminates is a good thing. After I built the box and the brace it had to be attached, hence the climbing up the ladder.  I'm not too afraid of heights but I have to say I was nervous being on the tip top of the ladder, drilling and hammering....sometimes after dark!!! It's up and seems sturdy, hopefully it will withstand a hurricane.....yikes*.... that might be asking too much.

                    The finished box has a front with a screened opening cut for the outgoing air/fumes.

                                                                            Does it work?

Why yes it does!!! woohooo!! This made me very very happy to see the incense test working. Lighting the incense while the fan is on, allows you to see how any type of fume would be pulled up and through the duct work, then out by the fan. In the pics above, you can see the smoke being pulled upwards, through the vent hole in a nice straight line.

 Oh, in the first picture, you can also see where the torch sits and what looks like bike handlebars.. those are my arm rests.

Next and hopefully last will be the Propane....sigh* Propane has to be stored outside and needs to be installed through a copper or gas grade pipe. Assembling this could also get a little scary.

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Well, lots has happened since my last update. Here are some pics to show just how much.

    Let's start with a little SAFETY!!  Yeah, if you plan on having a torch lit in your small space, it's best to          have a....FIRE EXSTINGUISHER!!!

                    Next we'll move on to the reason we need to be concerned with SAFETY!!

 Fuel!! a.k.a. Propane. You can't simply run the hose through the wall. When bringing in fuel it has to be "piped" in. Thank goodness for my lampworking forum where I found step by step pics and info on how to construct this. As a matter of fact, I don't know what I would have done without Lampwork Etc, especially Dale, Linda, De, and several others. Oh, and I have a new pipe wrench to add to my tool collection. It weighs 100 lbs (ha) and will never be used ever again...with maybe the exception of protection. It could possibly hurt someone really bad if aimed correctly. grin*

You need Oxygen as well as Propane. Therefore, I have an Oxygen Generator instead of renting large oxygen tanks. This Oxycon is not your average bear. It was formerly used for people who have difficulty breathing. Let me just say, it can't be used for that anymore it would cause serious damage. It's been suped up for melting glass.

Once you have both oxygen and propane ready to go with hoses attached you will need to attach the other ends to....

                                              My Carlisle Mini CC Torch.. wooohoooo!!!

                 Then, you take your life in your own hands and go through this 50 step by step process so                   that you can do this....

              If all goes well.... nothing blows up including you and the new Studio, then you get to do this.....

     You will need to do this for quiet awhile until you can form a decent bead.... I've been practicing and          practicing...

                                Can you tell?    beads, beads and more beads oh and stringers.

                                               And hopefully, I'll be able to do this one day.....

                                              I'll grow up to be just like SLC-Uniques

 If only I could make a Vessel like hers! I've recently learned to Never say Never... hence getting married again after all these years....woot! So I keep trying to make my baby vessels look like this... long road but there is always an end to the road. right?

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                                                 For more details.....Check out "Building My Studio"