Chili with a 100% Chance of Blizzard!

It's been a whirlwind 6 months since my last post (I know, I'm a posting wimp) and things have changed dramatically for me! I've actually been able to create a career for myself out of thin air by making and selling silver coin rings at fairs and festivals all across VA & WV.

This past 2 weekends have been back at my starting point - Hinton, WV and the 46th Annual Railroad Days event. This year, I was fortunate to be able to perform music with my band (The UnEvenSteveN Band) for both Sundays!
I've been doing these RR Days weekends in October since 1993 and it occurred to me (this past spring) that I could go do the same thing at other events in the region... so, I did! I'm learning and getting better at it every weekend.

This coming weekend is going to be one of my last two outdoor events for 2012, it's a Chili Festival at Smith Mountain Lake near Moneta, VA on Saturday Nov 3rd, 2012. Right this minute, I'm in WV facing a blizzard warning for the next 24 hours, or so, but Saturday is supposed to be sunny and 53* with 0% chance of precip in Moneta. I hope it works out just that way!

Look out Farmville!

Can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post here...
I guess time funs when you're having flys.

It's the Fair & Festival time of the year and I'm heading out On the Road to set up my tent and meet & greet lots of new folks this season.
First stop is Farmville, VA for what they call the "Best Small Town Festival in the World" - The 34th Heart of Virginia Festival, May 5th, 2012. Their website is: http://www.heartofvirginia.org/ and you can check 'em out on Facebook at : http://www.facebook.com/heartofvirginiafestival . There's supposed to be a bunch o' folks there and I hope they all come and check out my coin rings while they're passing by!
  

The Best Small -Town Festival in the World!

34th Heart of Virginia Festival, May 5th, 2012 A CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS, CRAFTS, CULTURE, AND MUSIC in the heart of Virginia

 

The Best Small -Town Festival in the World!

34th Heart of Virginia Festival, May 5th, 2012 A CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS, CRAFTS, CULTURE, AND MUSIC in the heart of Virginia

Coercing a silver half dollar into becoming something else it may or may not want to become...

Back to blogging - and on a Saturday night (yes, I should be out somewhere, but that's another blog - another day). This one's about having my way with a silver coin. A silver Kennedy half dollar coin, to be specific. Go here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Coin-Ring-Handmade-Real-US-1964-Kennedy-HALF-BUCK-Size-8-1-4-/300650528990?pt=Gemstone_Rings&hash=item46002b00de , read this, and maybe it'll all make sense to you then.

Lately, I've taken to beating the crap out of old silver coins and convincing them to become some entirely new thing, a coin ring that you can wear (on your finger, I imagine). I enjoy doing this and freely admit it here in public. I feel no regret, as these are not pristine old coins that have never been touched before, they've all been around a bit... been out on the streets and in people's pants pockets and old ladies purses and who knows where. Nudge, nudge - wink, wink, say no more. I've decided to expose them to all this mess on the Internet and I know they'll hold up to it quite nicely. Actually, these rings will still be around long after I'm not.

In case this still makes little to no sense to you - go to my website for further enlightenment.
http://wemakesilvercoinrings.com/

Steve

Just listed a new coin ring on eBay

Been a busy fella lately listing new coin rings to eBay, Etsy and updating my website http://www.wemakesilvercoinrings.com/ to make it a little more informative and (hopefully) more interesting. If you get the time, check it out and let me know what you think about it. Actually, the website is going to have a major make-over in the next few weeks and your input is certainly welcome.

Here's my latest listing onto eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300649493971

Have had above average temps here in the Shenandoah Valley of VA, but there's snow reportedly headed our way soon. Stay warm :)

Steve

How To Make a Coin Ring

I just added two new pages to my silver coin rings website http://www.wemakesilvercoinrings.com/ . One is a page that gives away some of my trade secrets on the topic: How We Make Our Coin Rings.  The other new page has a printable PDF chart that helps you find your ring size. You have to print the gizmo "Actual Size" on your printer's settings, not "Scale to Fit" or anything else like that. Here's the direct link:  http://www.wemakesilvercoinrings.com/What-Size-Do-I-Need-.html

The #1 question I'm asked at coin rings shows is: "How do you make these?" so I've added a PDF on our site that gives graphic details of how to make coin rings. The PDF was written by someone else, but credit is given for their work and if you have hours to try and make your own, the 2 different ways to make coin rings are described in that PDF. We make ours similarly to the second method listed in the article. The direct link is: http://www.wemakesilvercoinrings.com/contact.html  for the "How we do it" page.

Gettin' All Bloggy

I usually have plenty to say, I just haven't been saying it in a blog. In an effort to let more people around the world (and around the block) know about the silver coin rings my Dad and I make, I've started this blog. Updating it and posting new stuff to it will require creating a new habit and you know what's said about "teaching an old dog new tricks". This is the 1st installment of my new trick!

To start at the beginning: I sell coin rings made from .900 silver US Half Dollar and Quarter Dollar coins. In other words, I take a silver coin and transform it into a silver ring, leaving as much of the original details as possible on it. Dad taught me how to do this back in 1993 when I returned from a summer spent playing music in Denmark and (unexpectedly) found myself with lots more leisure time on my hands.

Here's one of my rings, it's made from a 1937 Walking Liberty Half Dollar:

He and I each sell our rings on eBay, my username is 'ZippyStevey' there and my store is named 'WeMakeSilverCoinRings'.
http://stores.ebay.com/We-Make-Silver-Coin-Rings

I also have a shop on Etsy.com, oddly enough, also named 'WeMakeSilverCoinRing'...
apparently, they didn't have enough room to allow me the 's' on the end of 'rings'. http://www.etsy.com/shop/WeMakeSilverCoinRing

I doubt you'd now be terribly surprised to learn that I also have a website named....

wait for it .....

yes, you guessed it......

http://www.wemakesilvercoinrings.com/ 

Being a webmaster is another trick to learn, and it's going fairly well, I feel.

I've also recently created 2 other websites to promote my music projects.
One is my solo: http://www.evenstevenband.com/

and the other is my new duo: http://www.gettheboomerbrothers.com/  

That's all I have for now, if you feel like it, go check out more of my rings at any of the places I included above. I can custom make one or two of them for you, if you'd like. I can make them from a size 5 to about a 15. Just "give me a holler", as they say 'round here in western Virginia.

If you made it this far; thanks for reading my ramblings.