Yeeeee!

I got my Christmas gift early this year. Mike ordered me a rolling mill and it came in the mail yesterday! I was giddy and giggly opening up the three hefty bound cardboard boxes that the monster was packaged in. (It was packed in colorful confetti-which added to the excitement). I had the mill assembled instantly, and today I gave it a test drive. I printed a sheet of silver with my "snake skin" pattern. I've been having a lot of fun with this texture, and made the earrings in the photo below with it. Tomorrow I'll be cutting this hunk up to make a hearty supply of dangles. I can't wait to experiment more with this awesome gift! It came just in time too. Mike knew I was frantically getting ready for my show in a few weeks, and this baby is gonna be a big help for some of my designs.

Thanks Mike!

Funny Story....

So- I had been looking forward to studio Thursday since studio Monday. I was getting my metalsmithing groove on today with a bunch of solder jobs. I ran out of solder, so I cut some fresh pallions to use on the new earrings that I am making for my show.

I was on a roll all morning, but all of a sudden my beautiful solder seems just wouldn't flow. My metal was starting to fry, but the dang bit of solder wouldn't budge. My joints were clean and fitted perfectly. Red hot silver +no flow= blue smoke &%@#!

Then I realized I had cut up my sterling silver wire, instead of my argentium hard solder. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

All was not lost, I was able to salvage most of my pieces. Luckily, my brain kicked back on right before I tried to solder the challenging pendant I've been giddy about all week. With that goof up corrected, I'm now looking forward to studio Sunday. We'll see what I get myself into then.

Bits and Baubles

My saw blades have been sawing, my files have been filing and hammers hammering. It's so exciting to start off making bits and baubles that seem so un-beautiful and assemble them into polished, finished creations that make a pair of aching hands proud.

I've been so busy cutting shapes, soldering components and filing rough edges. These elements of dull silver will turn out to be eye catching pieces. And these are just a portion of the goodies I've been working on. My jewelry bench is covered in many more partly completed pendants, rings, etc.

I feel as if, with the exception of some "sailor-esque" type words, the sounds of Santa's workshop have been following me- tools at work. This is what makes me tick. When I close my eyes, the only thing I see is the next piece of jewelry I want to make. It's a happy obsession. It all starts with an idea, and some dull silver.

My First Craft Fair!

My first craft fair! I'm so excited to finally have the motivation to put my wares up for sale! I'm sharing a booth with jewelry artist Erika Lynden, owner of Moonstruck Design in Fredonia, NY. Stop by and see our goods, and sample the wonderful wines that Western New York has to offer!