My hanging candle lantern hooks project

Early this spring Nick and I came upon one of those awesome country yard sales

down the road from us that makes me giddy with frugal joy.

I was able to buy 7 of these assorted candle lanterns for a mere $.50 each (and the

perfect bird feeder too for the same price.) But how was I going to use them on

our lovely back deck?

So I pulled out my trusty coil of 9 gauge aluminum wire we use for all our

 hanging vases and other aluminum wire items we sell in our Etsy shop.

With my favorite 27 year old pliers I came up with this design (which we also

make earrings similar too.)

Then hammered it with my hammer and anvil to make it stronger.

Put the hook on the lanterns…

and hung them up on the handy support rods that run across our porch overhang,

This is the delightful view out our kitchen window.

You know you've been working a lot when....

you break your top of the line, $30 something Swanstrom pliers!My favorite ones too!


yep, the other part is in there.


I called Rio Grande (the company I bought them from) and they said to send them to their Returns Dept. and they'll see if they meet their warranty replacement criteria.
I was just using them on my 9 gauge aluminum wire when, SNAP, they broke. Luckily I have another similar pair but the handle is longer so I don't like them as much and the tip is narrower which makes me worry they will break soon too.
We've been getting lots of orders which is great but both Nick and I are stricken with a nasty cold that has sapped us of energy and filled us with gooey phlegm and aches. My voice is now going too. I just hope we get over it before next weekend when Holiday Market starts.All my plans of making lots of stock before the market seems to be slipping away. Luckily the kids don't have it (yet- knock on every piece of wood and good juju superstition that might save them and us from this virus.)

I got new pliers, I got new pliers!

After our big successful holiday season we decided we needed to spend some of that hard earned money on some new tools. Of course Nick is always ready to buy some new tools but it took me a while to get with the plan. I've been really attached to my crappy old pliers that I've had for probably 15 years and I was raised by the cheapest parents on earth ( I mean frugal and clever Mom and Dad- really!)
So we broke out the Rio Grande catalogue and made some purchases (that can be put towards our softening our tax burden.)

These are the heavy duty big Swanstrom made in the USA round nose pliers.($56!-I could crap in my pants from spending that much money on a pair of pliers). I'll be using these on the big aluminum wire (when I remember I have them) for those large curves.

These are my old cutters. The ones on the left are the special heavy duty pair that Nick customized for me for the big aluminum wire. They work great and I will still use those exclusively for the aluminum.

These are the new cutters. On the left are the Swanstrom micro super flush cutters for a mere $37. (Sarcasm there from the cheapest woman on earth- me.) On the right are the Xuron micro shear flush cutters also made in the USA. They cost less ($18) than the Swanstrom and work fine but the tip doesn't come to as fine a point. My tiny fat man hands prefer the micro shears because they fit completely into the palm of my hand the way I like my pliers to be.

These are my pathetic old flat nose pliers. I don't even know what brand they are. The black handled ones on the left are my faves. The sad pair on the right with the really messed up handle were for when I misplaced my fave ones, which happens often on my crazy messy desk.

But these are the new glorious professional pliers. On far left are the Swanstrom micro chain nose, ($26)the Xuron in the middle and the extra fine needle chain nose Swanstrom($32) on the right.

They all do a fine job but my preference is for the swanstrom micro chain nose. Again, they fit perfectly into the palm of my hand and are light weight. They come to a nice point. You would think that the finer pointed tipped ones on the right would come in the micro shear handle size but instead the larger sized handle pair has the finer tip. The smaller micro pair have a nice small point to but it's not aa small as the larger handled ones. The Xuron are nice and thin nosed but don't come to a clean point. they have a slightly square tip.They also feel a little flimsier than the others. I guess that's why they cost less.

Here is a close up of the tips. In this picture the Swanstrom micro chain nose are on the far left and the swanstrom needle chain nose are in the middle.the Xuron chain nose are on the left. I realize now that we bought the Xurons from Thunderbird Jewelry Suppy, not Rio Grande.


I just got some new beads too that I will blog about in the future.

Now for some kid related stuff.

Max decided it was time to eat his nasty old gingerbread house that already didn't have any candy on it since he ate the candy before it even got onto the house. Henry, the nostalgiac horder will probably keep his in the gallery of old gingerbread houses and other miscellania from his childhood (next to the toilet seat he won't let us throw out because he "loves it"and the stickers he put on it two years ago) until he is an old man .

This is the view out our living room window.I was standing in front of it holding Max and he said "The tree looks like a dinosaur Mommy."

He's right.

Here's the close up-



See it now? He has his mouth open and has a hand with a finger pointing.The branches of the tree even look like the scales sticking up.

See it?

The kid's a genius I tell you...

Pliers and plants

After destroying 2 pairs of pliers ,Nick, my tool obsessed and loving husband gave me a stronger pair. But those left a nasty burred edge on all the wire. So he went off into his shop the other day and emerged with these newly modified heavy duty pliers that now give me the almost perfect cut. I say "almost" only because it still leaves the tiniest of raised lines but it is really a huge improvement and a pleasure to work with. I love that guy!

Here it is in action.

The results! Notice the clean edge.

What the old pliers used to do. See the pointy angled edge. Well good bye jagged ugly edge.

More hot plier action

A clean finish.

And now for some fall photos from around the homestead...

Sweet Max

Henry emerging from the barn where he goes to escape from his brother and play with the big boy trains.

Happy Max

A typical bramble of honeysuckle berries,poison oak,blackberry brambles,roses and other assorted weeds. Yummy goat food.

This beautiful bright red and shiny plant is the evil poison oak which flourishes on our land.But it's so pretty.

One of the flowers that continues to return each year despite my neglect. A carnation of some sort I believe.

Fidel relaxing