Fast Fasteners

As I was out and about on Sunday, I came across some motorcycles that took my breath away! 

First off, they are nice bikes...I guess. I don't really know but they looked fancy & expensive. But what filled me with joy was seeing all the fasteners in place, holding each bike together - this bike was my favorite!

Fasteners Galore

Look at all those - nice one, Yamaha!

Then there was this one...it isn't as impressive, fastener-wise.

X Ray Vision

Fasteners are everywhere - even in our bodies, even mine. I am the proud host a two titanium headless screws...that's what my orthopedic surgeon called them, although I would call them set screws but 'headless' works. 

To demonstrate this better, a friend of Freeway's just got a procedure done on his back and he sent us the X-Ray of what his insides look like - and he said we could show everyone.

 It's hard for me to believe that this is someone's actual back, and that this is NOT torture but an improvement!  I'm amazed.

So thanks to the 40 (yes, 40!) screws in his back (and of course the Doctors that put them there and the people who invented the idea), he feels better than before. 

Making Music

Because this is the week the NAMM Show happens in Anaheim, Calif. (see our past post on NAMM here) and because we love music (see our music posts here) and we're proud of showing off how integral fasteners are to many instruments, like the classic Fender Electric Guitar (see our post on the Fender here), we're introducing you to a great website called:

Vulpestruments.com

"An assortment of hand crafted instruments, made from recycled, reused and readily available parts"

There is a guy named Tom who just loves trying to recreate sounds he hears acoustically, or he finds something and thinks to himself how can I make a sound of this...and then he does. 

The site is wonderful for us because we love seeing nuts and bolts helping to facilitate such cleverness; we simply love seeing fasteners being used. Then, when they are used for something as cool as these instruments, we're just over the moon!

Here are some photos of his homemade instruments - he's made many more but we only picked a few. Click on each photo and it will take you to his website where he includes a video of him playing the specific instrument...he's just awesome.

And if you want to learn more about Tom, here's a short documentary about him. 

Tom is the best.

Fun with Fire Hydrants

How refreshing and fun does this look?

Today we're taking a closer look at fire hydrants.

Fire hydrants can be fun in the sun but they're also super important to protecting our lives and homes. And these important little protectors of fire are held together with our little product, fasteners.

Studs, bolts & nuts holding tight.

A stacked fire hydrant is like a double scoop of water valves.

This one has probably seen a few fires.

And this is the new Sigelock - the latest fire hydrant redesign, and it's still using nuts and bolts!

Assembly drawings show them too.

 I found this drawing of a patent on google.

I really do love seeing fasteners in action.

They're everywhere!

Letter-impressive!

This last weekend I participated in an event called CRAFT HAPPY and I did just that - I happily crafted.

There I took a class that taught 'How to Letterpress'.  Basically there was this fantastic old machine that we used to press a piece of paper on to a block with ink, and we made cards.  It was as simple as that.

But the machine that we used was far from simple!

This is the machine - it inks the brayer, the brayer inks your block and then it pushes the block with ink on to your paper - all with one pull on a lever.

That's the lever. The whole thing moves in unison with a single pull on that handle.

And look right there!

Fancy screws in the middle of it all - happily assisting our letterpressing. 

This adorable young woman is about to demonstrate how to pull the lever - and then...

Poof - VOILA - these cards are made!

And I made fancy envelopes to go with them - they look great...if i do say so myself.

It was so fun I thought about getting one of those machines for home but I hear they are in the $1,000 price range so I think I will continue borrowing this one for a while.

For more info check out this article on How to use a LETTERPRESS

For CRAFT HAPPY, which I highly recommend for next year, check out The Makery - they host it.

And last but not least, for your own class on the LETTERPRESS go to Creative Outlet Studios.

Now, who's going to be the lucky recipient of one of my THANK YOU cards...

Screws on the Beach

I know Summer doesn't officially start until the end of the month but I can't wait!

In honor of my favorite time of the year, here are some screws on a beach.

Those gigantic screws laid on that beach as part of an art project done in Australia last year. I love the photo so much I made it my desktop photo, so I will stare at it all summer long now.  I don't know who took the photo but the sculptures were done by Poul Beakhoj of Denmark  - there were 73 sculptures in total that transformed Cottesloe Beach, Australia in 2012.  I got the photo from ABC News Australia but I wish I took the photo...I wish I saw the awesomeness in person.

Fastener Fun in the Sun

The Saguaro was once a motel that the Joie de Vivre group has now turned into a cool hotel.

The reason I'm including it is because of the incredible canopy structure that you walk through as you enter the hotel (you can see the tip of it poking into the sky in the photo above.)

It's super huge and it shields you from the intense heat so you can't help but notice it and be thankful for its shade as you approach.  

And a girl like me can't help but notice what is being used to construct the thing.

Of course massive size fasteners are responsible. 

Seeing them uniformly being used makes me proud. They're so strong.

Then! When we went out by the pool we found another one!

These canopies are amazing. The geometric visual design of them, and their sheer hugeness, make for an awesome sight.  

This one really showed off its nuts and bolts.

Then, as I was admiring the colossal thing & enjoying the company of my sister...

another little friend popped into my view.

They really are everywhere!

It was then that I had a tiny little moment where I felt the enourmous contribution fasteners make on the world. I was having a beautiful weekend with my family, at a beautiful place, and the nuts & bolts of the world were supporting all of it.*

*End of mushy sentimentality. 

Tubing at the Queen Mary

After Thanksgiving my sisters, nieces & I went to the Queen Mary's CHILL - a super cool event they put on during the holiday season which includes Ice Skating and an Ice Kingdom. And by cool I mean it was both awesome & freezing! They turn their dome into an igloo and the igloo contains gigantic ice sculptures and ice slides - it was 12 degrees in there!  And outside the igloo they have tubing; you sit on a large inner tube while it slides down an icy slope.

And while my nieces were waiting in line to tube, I noticed all the fasteners that were holding the magnificent manmade slope together.

And underneath the rails.  

I wish I could have looked underneath the icy slope - I bet they're there too.

There they were - lots of little fasteners supporting my holiday fun.

And lastly, here's a video of the tubing fun to be had at the Queen Mary's CHILL

Why did the nut & bolt cross the road?

What happened?!  For all of eternity this little guy will be stuck in the road.

The Beach Bolts

Summertime is in full swing!

Even on our trips to the beach we find our fastening friends.

They're helping to keep the stairs up, so we can walk down to the beach.

Nuts, Washers & Bolts in action.

 Exposure to moisture makes them rusty...they work so hard.

A Mammoth Memorial Day

There is so much to see when you road trip to Mammoth Mountain.

This was in Pearsonville - you drive through it on the 395 heading to Mammoth.

Apparently they have a lot of hub caps but I only noticed one thing on this thing.

Nuts & Bolts! DO YOU SEE HOW MANY ARE ON HERE?!

Little ones, big ones & bigger ones...breathtaking.

And this is the gondola ride that takes you to the top of Mammoth Mt.

Those are the gondolas...

being held down (or up) by these massive rusty beauties!

Even on the inside...

nuts & bolts are holding it all together...

making it all possible to see this view! Truly breathtaking.

Then this guy walked by - his t-shirt was nutty (and bolty!)

And I discovered Mountain Hard Wear.

Both their name & logo caught my eye.

Lastly, driving the long distance gave me plenty of time to think about how wonderful it is to see beautiful landscapes, to feel safe and to spend time away. It was the perfect time to remember a lot of men & women have fallen in service so that I could enjoy all of this.  I am super appreciative and I will do my best to live a life worthy of their efforts...a moment of remembrance is so little for what they gave for us.  I hope everyone had a memorial Memorial Day weekend.