Read My Hands

A Hand book brings on so many more meanings when it is actually made into a hand. I used a jigsaw to cut through the books. The children books were easy, but the "Handbook" was quite difficult. I have to wonder how much paper dust I now have in my lungs. Ewww.
PS. I just love the saying "Read My Hands". I think I might make a shirt that says that. It is interesting that when someone meets a Deaf person, they expect them to read their lips. Why can't we learn to read their hands, which is a bit easier than reading lips (have you ever tried it? It is tough!)?

Chip Hand

The Hand Gods were looking down on me today when I opened my snack pack of Salt and Vinegar chips today. I am sure you have seen the potato chips that have the face of Mary on them or other images. Well how lucky was I to find this chip during my hand project and the perfect image!! Amazing, don't you think?!?! :)

Loving Hands

Today, my family and I went to the gravesites of our relatives that have passed away. I do have to say, I actually enjoy traveling to Odgen and Eden to visit the cemetaries. I absolutley love Eden and would love to live there someday or have a home away from home there. (Awww dreams) I arranged the standard mums in the form or "I love you" sign in ASL. I tend not to use the ILY sign much because it is over used by everyone now and the Deaf community feel the sentiment behind the sign has been diminshed by the over usage, but I had to make it stating how much I love my Big Brother and Great Grandpa Story. I never met them here on this side of the veil, but I know for sure we were all incredible friends in the heavens. The similarities between myself and my Great Grandpa Story are uncanny! He passed away 2 years before I was born so we had the amount of time to really chum it up and I love him so much.

Hands Down Dominos

I don't belive I have ever really played dominoes in the correct way to play the game. Aren't dominoes for setting up and knocking down? Film of it going down to come later, technical difficulties at 15 minutes to Midnight.

Fused Glass Hand

I have always wanted to work with glass. In a previous post, I made the stained glass hand, which was really fun, but I still want to do more. While aisle wandering at Hobby Lobby, I found a home glass fusing kit that you can fuse glass in your home microwave! I was so excited. I have always wanted a kiln to fire pottery and glass. It is too small for pottery, but it fits little pieces of jewelry perfectly. So, with coupon in hand, I returned to Hobby Lobby today to purchase my mini kiln. It was really fun to use but you had to keep the item in the kiln for 30 minutes, the suspense kills me, but the end result is super cool. I will have to make this into a necklace pendant and wear it around town. Hopefully I can learn more techniques using glass.

Peppe-hand-i Pizza

For the last day of my ASL III class, we had a treat day so I had to incorporate my hand project. I have been thinking about making a pizza and when everyone said they were bringing sweets and stuff, I thought I would bring an equally nutritious food and make the pizza. I bought a pre-made pizza at Harmon's and did have doctor it up a lot. I think I put on too much cheese, but it was still good.

SOOOOO Long O

In honor of Oprah's last show, I made a hand looking like the letter O in ASL. This was made from some type of pipe. I had this idea before the project began and had to make it today for the last show of Oprah. I watched it, and I must say, I thought it was kind of lame. All she did was talk. Boring. Oh well, she will be missed. I made cut this hand entirely on the table saw, with a bit of hand sawing after 2 other tries making incorrect cuts and cutting the thumb too short.

Dandy Handy

Today is day number 30!! It has been a whole month, how time flies when you are having fun!! I have been wanting to use a dandelion for one of my projects for a while now, I would run past them but was far from home and didn't want to travel holding a very fragile dandelion. Today though, I found a prime specimen in the yard of a neighbor ( I have to think they wouldn't mind me picking this out of their yard. I first tried to get the green thingings on the bottom to make a hand. It is hard to see in the picture though. Then I tried to shape a hand by picking out each seed separately, one by one. That seemed to be very challenging so I ended up pulling them all out and gluing 5 seeds back in place. They were so fragile and tough to work with, but I still think it is cute.

Insulated Hand

I love the store Smith and Edwards!!! Every spring I have to go, just to go. It is just in the air. Before this project, I walked around the store looking for stuff to make hands out of. My favorite part of the store is the army section. I have no idea why I love it, but I just do. Here are some insulators I found in the army section, I guess to insulate wires, not a clue, but they made a great hand.

Hand Quilted

Today's hand is a paper pieced quilt block. I had seen a paper piecing quilt block on the Internet, but when this project came around, I could not find it again so I made this one up. Paper piecing is not like regular quilting which is usually just squares and triangles and sometimes curves. Paper piecing you use a template and layer fabric on the paper and sew along the lines. It is kind of tough, I think, and I have had some practice (I made a Santa paper piecing quilt last year for Christmas) but I still think it is hard sometimes. I think I have decided along this project to make a quilt with various quilt blocks. We will see how it works out. Sounds like fun to me!

Cool Pool Hand

I am definitely not a good pool player, but I was not going to turn down an opportunity to hang out with some Deaf people. I know it sounds weird, but I need all the help I can get. It was lots of fun and kudos to my best signing buddy, Sheri, who invited me and was my photographer.

Hork or Fand

Ever hear of the Spork? Now introducing the Hork or Fand! It was kind of odd looking around the DI searching for the best fork to bend and had a smaller handle. Fun hand to make!

Postage Due

While my Grandpa Bahl was in WWII, he was stationed in New Zealand working on planes, he and my soon to be Grandma, would correspond with each other very frequently. Just as my Grandpa and Grandma do, they saved everything including the stamps on the letters they exchanged. After my Grandpa died a few years ago, we went through all his stuff and found numerous photos from that time (he developed all his and other soldiers pictures so if one of the men had a great picture, he would duplicate it for himself as well) along with letters and an envelope filled with stamps. They all have the stamps on them stating when and where they were mailed from and are so colorful and beautiful. These are photocopies of the original stamps all from Australia with kangaroos, koalas, kiwi birds, and kings and queens I cannot identify. I did not want to use the original ones if they have any value, which I hope and bet they do.

Mesh Hand

This hand was made out of a sheet of metal mesh. I have wandered around numerous stores, searching for material to use to make hands. A package of mesh called to me. It was actually harder to work with than I thought. It would tear all the time. I didn't think metal mesh would tear, but I guess it is kind of delicate, so I used a light touch and gentle hand (hehehe) while working with it. I formed the mesh around my own hand which was kind of difficult working with only one hand. I got it to work thought after much manipulation.

Flower Power

I again have a ton of pressed flowers. A few years ago I made many pictures that I used flowers to make words, mainly last names for relatives and we also did a camp craft for the Beehives when I was the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. I have a great time trying to figure out what combination of flowers and petals will go well together to make a hand or letter. It is quite difficult though since the flowers are so delicate. On every picture I make, I have to include a heart shaped clover leaf. I think it is just sweet, cute and so crazy that a leaf is in the exact shape a perfect little heart.

Petal Hands

I have a ton of silk flowers from past projects I have done and I thought the petals would be a perfect medium to make hands. I couldn't decide on just one color, so I had to make a few. I think they turned out super cute.

Olive Juice

Who, when they were little, did not put olives on the end of their fingers? I sure did, maybe that is why I can't stand them now. Today at church, My sister who teaches the sunbeams, thought a  lesson on hands. What a coincidence! I, of course, had to go to her class to take part of the lesson. I did try to teach the kids some signs like "Mom" and "Dad", but their hand eye coordination had much to be desired. I think some of them thought I looked kind of weird waving my hands around. I had to have them put olives on their fingers and take a picture of them. They were all so cute. Isabelle, the little girl in the last picture, ate almost the whole can of olives. I hope she didn't go home with a tummy ache.

Knit One, Purl Two, Hand Three

One reason why I love hands so much is I love making things with my hands. I like doing handiwork like knitting, tatting (as seen in a previous post), crocheting, throwing pottery, etc. I have knitted a few things in my days, a few successes, many failures. If you look closely at the hand, I tried to knit in the creases in the hand by the thumb and the life line. Just a pattern I made up myself. (I doubt any sane person would make up and publish a pattern for a hand. If you make a comparison between me and an insane person, I plead the fifth!)

Good Luck Horseshoe Hand

Since today is the greatly feared Friday the 13th, I thought I needed some extra luck. Horseshoes are supposedly lucky. If the shoe is hung to look like a U, it is said to collect luck that is floating by. If hung upside down, the luck all falls out. Well it must have worked. Today was just fine with a fabulously long and rejuvenating nap.

Holding on to time

When it comes to making hands, it seemed logical to use clock "hands". I had to take a part a few clocks to make it, but the DI is the best place to search for supplies. I tried to make the time the date I made it, 05/12, but I think it moved a bit while photographing. I was unable to post this yesterday since the blog was down but here it is and I promise I made it on the correct day.

Stained Glass Hamsa

I have worked with glass before, but just cutting it into squares and straight lines, so this was my first stained glass attempt and it was really fun. I still need a lot of work with my soldering. It is tough working with molten hot liquid metal. The hand is in the shape of a Hamsa. It is from the Middle East and is a symbol for protection. I liked this design because many Hamsa's have an evil eye in them and it reminds me of my amazing trip I took a few years ago to Greece. They had Evil Eyes everywhere which is said to ward off evil spirits. I will take all the help that I can get!

"Orange You Glad You Aren't Doing This Project" Hand

This is just an orange peel cut into a hand shape while on the orange and then after pictures were taken, I peeled it off the orange and you have the latter picture. I must say, I am kind of getting tired of this project already, but I will forage on!!! Head held high and hands busy creating.

Hard Wired Hand

I was born to sign. I absolutely love sign language and all that goes with it. I think I was just hard wired to do this. It is not easy, but everything worth doing is usually hard and a lot of work. These 2 hands were made from aluminum wire and thankfully it is easy to bend!

Happy Mother's Day

Of course, flowers are just the perfect gift for mother's day, so in honor of my mom, I made a bouquet of flowers made out of hands. Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there!!!

Green Thumb and Hand

The only time I like to garden is the beginning of Spring. I do get Spring fever but it only lasts for a few weeks, if that. I do enjoy getting fresh vegetables from the garden so I plant a garden and try to keep it up. This is a hand shaped with lettuce and spinach. I can't wait for it to fill in so I can go outside and pick me a salad. Maybe later in the year when it does fill in, I will have to take another picture.

Wax Stick Hand

I have never used these "Bendable Wax Sticks" but when I saw them in the store and they were only $1, I thought it would be a good medium to use to make a hand. They were surprisingly satisfying to use and kind of fun. This hand kind of reminds me of a rug. Maybe later this month I will have to make a hand shaped rug.

Cinco de Hando

In honor of our neighbor Mexico, I enjoyed one of my favorite kind of food. I love Mexican food, especially Chile Verde. I get it whenever I go to a resturant. Buenos Noches Amigos.

Hand over my Diet Coke and nobody gets hurt!

If you know me, you know I love Diet Coke; maybe a bit too much! I had an excess of Diet Coke cans so it had to be transformed into a hand. Aluminum cans are surprisingly easy to work with and I have actually used them in many crafts. I guess I am saving the earth one can at a time.

Fly Hand



I like to fish. I stink at fishing. Since I am the only person on my father's side that has the least bit of interest in fishing, I recieved all the supplies and stuff that my Grandpa Bahl had while he was an avid fisherman after he passed away. He had tons of supplies: feathers, fur, hooks, a fly tying kit, loads of flys he already had tyed, and lots more. I used his supplies to make this latest hand. I wonder what kind of fish this would catch? 

Peacock; Peahand

Peacock feathers have always had a soft spot in our family. My Fantastic Great Grandpa Story practically had a zoo at his house and raised many peacocks. My mom and sister have fond memories of walking around the farm and collecting peacock feathers. My sister is kind of obsessed with peacocks; she even made a peacock halloween costume for Halloween one year.

Hand Earrings

Here are some earrings I made using beads and earring fixtures already made. I really like bead working and making mostly necklaces with a variety of different beads and fixtures. One week down!! 51 to go....