At the start of the year I made a little promise to myself to see more bands live. I love live music, the atmosphere, the crowd, the sing-alongs. 2011 had the tough target of 1 to beat. I kicked off with Professor Green at Leeds Academy in April. Rap is one of my guilty pleasures and I became a bit obsessed with Pro. The gig was great, loads of energy, D.P.M.O was my highlight of the evening.
A week later and it was Alkaline Trio at Middlesbrough Empire. What a cute venue! Trio were supported by Dave Hause who was awesome. I rarely like a support act but I loved him! Trio were great as always, playing my favourite songs and some that I had forgotten how much I liked.
NOFX at Newcastle. The thing that got me here was Less than Jake. I didn't have anyone to go with so wasn't going to bother, but then I couldn't just sit about knowing that they were playing 45mins away from me! So I went on a little adventure and it was so worth it. Less than Jake were their usual brilliant selves. Always full of energy, I can't help but be happy at an LTJ gig. Great selection of songs, great singalongs. NOFX were ok. There was some moments of brilliance, but then some moments of boredom. I've seen them twice at Leeds Fest and loved both times, full of laughter so I was a bit confused (and miffed) at the boredom.
Bruce Springsteen. What a legend. No support act and played for 3 hours solid, you can't fault him. There was some new stuff and the obvious songs but then some gems pulled from the massive back catalogue and requests from the crowd. The singalongs to the last run of hit songs was immense.
Green Day at Shepherds Bush. Best. Gig. Ever. No arguments. No exaggeration. Probably the most expensive gig I've been to if you factor in travel and hotel but so worth it! The week before was spent waiting for the announcement of a secret show and then there was the stress of getting a ticket and organising everything then waiting in the queue for what felt like forever, anticipation levels were high. Getting in to the venue, you could feel the excitement. Sold out in seconds, it was jam packed. I was pretty much in the middle to start with but got to the front-ish after a few songs, it was hot, sweaty and mental. There was a good mix of new songs, old-ish songs and really old songs. I love that this was a gig and not a massive concert, nothing fancy just the guys having fun. Highlights were Billie Joe's dancing, Going to Pasalacqua played by a guy from the crowd and King for a Day. LOVE that song especially live, what's not to love about a saxophone/kazoo off?
The Road to Warped ended my gig adventures. Manchester with LTJ headlining then Leeds with NFG at the top spot. Both epic. I really enjoyed NFG, I wouldn't class myself as a fan, but I enjoyed them both nights. Leeds marked 16 times seeing Less than Jake and they honestly never get old. The dodgy jokes, random stuff happening on stage, the sing along to Plastic Cup Politics, I'd watch it every night if I could.
2013 kicks off with The Gaslight Anthem then Green Day. Bring it on.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Candle Making
Jam Jar 2 - the Return of the Jam Jar
My next jam jar idea was as a tea light holder, just the right size to pop in a tealight? No. Too small. No problem, I can just make one to fit.
I am bidding on a candle making kit from eBay but I am slightly impatient so I asked Jilly if she had anything I could melt. She has a secret stash of bargain candles from car boots and jumble sales but would only let me have two!
Chop up your candles to make it easier to melt. Try to get all the wick out before you go to melt it.
Pop the wax in a double boiler. I fashioned mine from an old pan and a Golden Syrup tin that I found lying around - its a bit of a dangerous weapon but it did a good job. You should aim to warm the wax until it's all melted, dont let it boil. It takes a bit of time so while you are waiting sort out the candle wicks.
I had bought mine from eBay a few months ago with good intentions. I used sticky dots to keep them in the centre of the jar. I spray painted the jam jars using a chrome effect spray paint to make them a bit prettier.
Wax all melted? Pour it in. The syrup tin bent easily to make a little spout. If you put the containers on some grease proof paper you can scrape of any spilt wax to melt again.
Leave to set. You should keep a bit of wax back to top up the candles if the wax sets short, mine ended up with a big dip in the centre. As you can see, my two scrappy candles only just did two jam jars (I then went and found another random one, hence the colour change!)
Light and enjoy!
My next jam jar idea was as a tea light holder, just the right size to pop in a tealight? No. Too small. No problem, I can just make one to fit.
I am bidding on a candle making kit from eBay but I am slightly impatient so I asked Jilly if she had anything I could melt. She has a secret stash of bargain candles from car boots and jumble sales but would only let me have two!
Chop up your candles to make it easier to melt. Try to get all the wick out before you go to melt it.
Pop the wax in a double boiler. I fashioned mine from an old pan and a Golden Syrup tin that I found lying around - its a bit of a dangerous weapon but it did a good job. You should aim to warm the wax until it's all melted, dont let it boil. It takes a bit of time so while you are waiting sort out the candle wicks.I had bought mine from eBay a few months ago with good intentions. I used sticky dots to keep them in the centre of the jar. I spray painted the jam jars using a chrome effect spray paint to make them a bit prettier.
Wax all melted? Pour it in. The syrup tin bent easily to make a little spout. If you put the containers on some grease proof paper you can scrape of any spilt wax to melt again.Leave to set. You should keep a bit of wax back to top up the candles if the wax sets short, mine ended up with a big dip in the centre. As you can see, my two scrappy candles only just did two jam jars (I then went and found another random one, hence the colour change!)
Light and enjoy!
Monday, 3 December 2012
Jam Jar City
We go through loads of mini jam jars at work and every now and then have been asked to save them for random reasons. Recently, I asked everyone to collect them so I could use them to keep seed beads in and ended up with a giant shopping bag full! Really didn't need that many but it seems a shame to just chuck them in the recycling now so I have set myself a challenge of using them.
Jam Jar Use 1 - Bead Storage.
They are clear. You can see what's inside.
They have a lid. The insides won't spill. You can use it as a little tray.
They are quite small. Good for tiny beads.
They can stack.
Easy start.
Jam Jar Use 1 - Bead Storage.
They are clear. You can see what's inside.
They have a lid. The insides won't spill. You can use it as a little tray.
They are quite small. Good for tiny beads.
They can stack.
Easy start.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Silversmithing - Christmas rest.
We have finished our first term of silversmithing and I have loved it! My stone set ring is complete and I now have a new shiny, swirly ring. My only worry is that I might run out of fingers for all theses rings!
The swirl ring was adapted from a book. I wanted something quick to do so it would be complete before the last lesson so this was simple enough. We didn't have any wire of the thickness the book suggested so I improvised and soldered two lengths together to get a wider piece. I then filed both ends slightly as this apparently helps to get a better spiral. Then using round nose pliers I bent the ends round and then shaped the ring on a mandrel. I then bent the spirals into position and soldered the join. Out came the mandrel to shape the ring again, a few tweaks of my spirals and then I got to use a polishing machine and jeweller's rouge which made my ring go super shiny and was so much quicker and easier than polishing by hand!
Over Christmas I need to get some ideas together for my next projects, the world is my silver oyster!
The swirl ring was adapted from a book. I wanted something quick to do so it would be complete before the last lesson so this was simple enough. We didn't have any wire of the thickness the book suggested so I improvised and soldered two lengths together to get a wider piece. I then filed both ends slightly as this apparently helps to get a better spiral. Then using round nose pliers I bent the ends round and then shaped the ring on a mandrel. I then bent the spirals into position and soldered the join. Out came the mandrel to shape the ring again, a few tweaks of my spirals and then I got to use a polishing machine and jeweller's rouge which made my ring go super shiny and was so much quicker and easier than polishing by hand!
Over Christmas I need to get some ideas together for my next projects, the world is my silver oyster!
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