WAND-ering up some magic

Let's get one thing straight: I am a man.

Furthermore, I'm a US Marine. Implications there include toughness, brutishness, and no nonsense.

The image inspired should have nothing to do with fairies or magic.

However, I swim in a sea of estrogen. Until the recent acquisition of the guinea pig, all the members of my household were female. Waves of touchy-feely drama wash through periodically. Tears are a fairly common occurrence.

Every now and then I have to explain why there's glitter on my uniform.

Brenda and I have striven our whole stint as parents to make a home that inspires creativity, one where fantastic stories and out-of-the-box thinking are as usual as the mundane, day-to-day matters of life.

Whether it's the constant stream of Tolkien's work, indoctrination into Frank Hurbert's Dune, a steady diet of Monty Python, or eating dinner with T-Rex arms as an etiquette lesson in keeping elbows off the table, we're doing a lot to raise two creative girls.

That, or a couple of nut cases.

So when the request came in for magic wands, I was all over it. New territory for me, I plunged in and left lots of scrap on the workroom floor before coming up with something nice.

The original idea was to make something simple to keep the kids entertained while the parents perused other items at my craft fair tables. True to form, I can't do simple and my first wands featured shaping, stain and inlaid acrylic. One of them even had a chamber in the handle with "mermaid hair" inside.

I'm currently using some glow in the dark acrylic I found, which I think the kids will like, and for one I shaped acrylic into a blue talon and embedded it. Adding wood burning helps customize each wand, too.

But honestly, my favorite part is the stories that go with each wand. They're each accompanied by a unique 500-word fantasy story on how the wand came to be. We've done a gnome vs. a bear, a desert boy turned mermaid-lover, a war between goblins and fairies, a woman who turns into a fish, and a few more.

You know, I once fancied myself a writer. I've had a few things published online. Best of all, when I read the wand stories to Hope and Grace at bedtime, there's always a pause, followed by "Oh, that was great! I loved that story."

And that's why I do what I do.

What's in a name?

Thinking about changing from "Hope & Grace Pens" to "Hope & Grace Gifts."

What do you think?

When I started this little fiasco a few years ago, everyone told me, "Don't put 'pens' in the name. Keep it open in case you get tired of making pens."

Well, at least that hasn't happened. I'm still as passionate about fine writing instruments as ever. But anyone who's browsed my stores knows there are a lot more than pens there. If it's useful and beautiful, I'll try my hand at it.

But what's really driven this consideration is the survey so many of you were kind enough to fill out. The majority of you -- 66.6% as of now -- order my work as gifts for loved ones, friends and acquaintances. Hope and Grace (the real Hope and Grace) both agree that my work is more likely something you'd order as a gift than as a treat for yourself.

It's not an easy decision. I've invested a lot of time, effort and a little money into building a brand. That's not the kind of thing you abandon on a whim. Then again, it's only one word and at the tail end of the name at that. I wonder if I'd "lose" anybody who came back looking HGP and finding only HGG?

So, I'm soliciting feedback. Let me know! Should I make the leap?

Drifting Along

What is it about driftwood that's so alluring?

It's not really useful. Some of it is pretty rotten and worm-ridden, generally unusable as wood goes. Then there's the shape. Imagine every twisted sadism Mother Nature can conjure to torture the original path of growth and you'll see what I see walking the shores of the Potomac here in Quantico.

But then, maybe that's it. The bark's been stripped away. Nothing left but the bones, twisted and weathered by time and tide. Soaked, dried and re-soaked perhaps a thousand times, watermarks deep within the veins.

I regret staining and distressing the deluxe desk caddy I recently finished. In hindsight I should have left the tan and gray natural sheen in which I'd found it. Clearly it hadn't been in the water long. Some of the original color remained, though it was split and wormholed and a little rotten in spots that had to be sanded away and stiffened. But staining and finishing it removed the telltale traces of its time in the Potomac. The distressing brought it back a little, but not enough. The satin coating may protect it, but makes it more modern than rustic.

Well, lesson learned. I still have plenty of treasures Grace and I gleaned from the sandy river shore. No staining in their futures. I like the electronics stand for these in particular. There's something about the marriage of worn nature and sleek electronics that's just cool.

And there are plenty of other device stands I've brought to life recently. John R. in Iwakuni showed me how to make these almost two years ago, but these are the first I've put my hand to. Very simple concept, though sometimes tricky to perfect. I have other plans and designs in the works as well.

So I like merging nature and electronics. What are abstract concepts would you like to see? Leave comments below.

Something in the mix

Based on the popularity of the pen making process posts from a few months ago, many people might also be interested in seeing the acrylic mixing and casting process.

Now, I don't cast all the acrylic pen blanks I use. But I did start casting acrylic since returning from Japan and the acrylics so far are quite beautiful.

The acrylic I'll use here is Alumalite. It's an easy 50/50 mix of parts A and B with a healthy set time of about 7 to 10 minutes. The label says 15, but I really need to get it under pressure before then to get the bubbles out. The coloring powder is from a gorgeous set I received as a gift. They're mostly pearl-sparkling colors.

Here is one part with a healthy scoop of blue powder with a hint of green for an aqua flavor. I mix the powder in the part B only to give me a little extra time to get it thoroughly stirred and mixed before adding the part A, which will start the clock before the acrylic hardens.

I mixed one blue and one white pearl, shown here with both parts A and B in the cups. Have to hurry now!

Ok, the acrylic is poured into the mold. The black mold at the bottom is the perfect length for the Executive pen set. There was a good bit extra from the mixing, so I had two PVC molds on standby. I place them in the pressure pot and seal the lid.

The pressure is on! 40 psi of air pressure will remove any air trapped in the acrylic from the mixing process. I'm very careful stirring, but some air gets trapped in the thick liquid no matter how you try to avoid it. Getting it into pressure before the acrylic hardens will ensure there are no voids in the finished blank.

I leave the acrylic in pressure for about three hours, long after the set time. After relieving the pressure, these blanks sat overnight, ensuring beyond any doubt they are done setting up.

And here's the finished blank, quite lovely if I do say so myself. By the way, I won't use the PVC molds any more. The first time I tried them, they popped right out with a little coaxing from the hammer. These, however, had to be cut out.

And now the fun part. Just like the previous post, the blank was drilled, glued, and trimmed. Now it goes on the lathe for shaping.

Turning leads to sanding ...

Here's the blank during the sanding process.

And here's the finished pen in its rhodium setting.  I hope you enjoyed the journey!

Please leave comments below!