Metal Stamping Spoons

Don't forget to link up to my current party and also see if you can help FIND MADELEINE!!!!!!

I've finally gotten a chance to try some metal stamping and I can tell you.... I love it. I totally chose the wrong size on the stamp set: 1/16" (1.5mm) is a little small to make much of a show on silverware. So, I've got to step it up next time. I guess that means I have to do some shopping.........aw, too bad. ;-) 

Here's how I did it:

My set of silver plated utensils have reached the end of their use. 

At the table, that is. 

They've got plenty of *other* uses I can put them to!!!!!
These are the tools you'll need:
Stamp Set
Pliers
Steel Wool (or Sandpaper)
Hammer
Permanent Marker
Silverware
Rag

You should probably have an awl, some heavy and iron to pound your utensils flat on.....I didn't have that. I used a junky, heavy duty, all-purpose table. 

Wrap your utensil in the rag and start flattening it out:

Then, get a general idea of where you want your letters to go (I just free-handed it), hold the stamp tightly to the spot, and pound it (I found about 5 good, strong taps did the trick). 

Then, cover the stamped area with black permanent marker:

And, scratch away the marker with the steel wool, leaving some within the stamped letters, giving it some nice depth. 

If you want to make your fork curly, you can use the pliers to slowly curl the fork (once it has been flattened)  tines into shape. Your gonna need some muscles for this part. :-) 

I think it turns out pretty cool. 

You can see how teeny those letters are, though, can't you? I totally need to buy a new set. 

I shared this post at the following fun linky parties:

Petals to Picots

Funky Junk Interiors

Blogging For Madeline and A Marvelous Mess!!!!! #blogging4madeleine

I am joining up with a British Campaign to help find Madeleine McCann, who was taken from her parents apartment in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, when she was three years old. This year is her 10th birthday and the picture above is an approximation of what she could look like. For more information about Madeleine, you can go to Madeline's website here: http://www.findmadeleine.com/

If you have any information about her please be sure to immediately contact your local police station and the Madeline investigation hotline: 44 845 838 4699 or email investigation@findmadeleine.com 

If you would like to blog for Madeline as well, all you need to do it include the hashtag #blogging4madeleine when you share it on twitter or other social media. Also, be sure to take part in the Missing People's International Missing Children Day on May 25th and take part in their Big Tweet. We bloggers can really make a difference in helping spread the word and get those ears to the ground.....let's use our blogs to help!!!!!

I like to mention in this post that if you're from Maine and you're interested in trying a new brew..... AND supporting a local organic farm, then go to Frontier in Brunswick this Wednesday the 15th at 7pm and get a taste of Ox Bow Brewing Company's new beer called Loretta, made with spelt from the Webb Family Farm in Pittston. There will be some awesome music playing as well: Dark Hollow Bottling Company!!! Tickets are $10 and totally worth it. By the by, that is a picture above taken by me of spelt, before it has been milled. 

My favorite from last weeks party was (hands down) this one:

Moss Necklace from HGK. I'm pretty partial to that necklace, it's just beautiful. 

Now, on to the party:

Real Estate Sites

I have certainly done my fair share of searching Real Estate websites. Ten years ago I would have been searching for apartments and then as time passed I started looking for houses. How a company displays itself professionally online can say a lot about how updated they are as a business and what they can offer you for options.

In thinking about this post, I did a quick search for "Maine Real Estate" on google, to see if I would come up with any local Agents sites that had gotten a lot of traffic. The closest one I could find was Legacy Properties, which is Sotheby's International properties..... and definitely not local. So, Maine agents are a little slow on the whole website-for-your-business end of things. 

When doing a search for Calgary Real Estate, I had a ton of options come up. Loads of Realtors with loads of websites for me to explore. The reason for writing this article is to do a review of one of the sites in particular, the Cliff Stevenson Group. I found his site near the top of the 3rd page in on google. Not too bad, considering the competition!!! I did a lot of pawing around on his site and truly found myself pretty impressed. Maybe I'm just some silly naive Mainer who doesn't have lots of Realtors filling up my local google search, but I though Cliff's page was quite well done. 

I liked how integrated the site is into modern technology and social media. On the upper right corner is all the info you need to contact the groups, including all the social media buttons you could ask for. They even have a blog. Below that is a quick search gadget for those of us who don't want to take the time to meander around the site.  The tabs above the gadget map out the whole site as simply as can be.....and if I imagine myself as someone who is not technically savvy, I can picture how easy it would be to figure out how to navigate around the site.

One critique I could give would be more photo's!! I wanna see the places you've sold or are selling, even if it is a small picture. Sure, some Realtors can make a picture fairly misleading..... but I'd rather have something and trust that you guys are being honest with it, than nothing at all.

All in all, I think those Calgary real estate agents are in for a fun surprise with the Cliff Stevenson Group!!