A Studio Story.

I had two great studio days in a row! Sunday and Monday were very productive...and enjoyable too. I was hoping to have Saturday evening to make things as well, but my back was kinda spazzy, so I watched the hockey game in bed with the pup and fell fast asleep.

Sunday and Monday, however, I got components galore cut and soldered and ready for the next step. I also finished a necklace that kinda came out of nowhere. I was lining up my bits, and I liked the way they looked on the table, so I decided- instead of a bunch of pendants- I should make a necklace. I'm glad I did.

Then, I thought that the necklace should have a matching bracelet. Why you ask? Because, I said so. And there was much rejoicing. The End.

Finished My Necklace!

After a very busy day of work yesterday I spent the evening in the studio. I almost conked out on the couch after supper, but I convinced myself to get up. I played some tunes on the banjo to get my second wind, and then headed down to finish up my funky necklace.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It's got some nice contrast with the oxidized segments against the burnished silver.

This piece was a lot of fun to make, and I've got some rings and pendants lined up to work on next. Ah! I love the feeling of accomplishment! Now, if someone could make sure I don't fall asleep tonight after work- maybe I'll have more to show tomorrow.

Necklace Layout

I had a great day in the studio today. I got a lot of pieces finished and ready to assemble for a necklace, some pendants and some rings. This necklace is part of my jiggly wart series. I posted a picture of my jiggly wart ring a few months back. I got an order for another ring and a pendant so I started working up some more things based on that design.

I also had my friend Sue over. She was patient enough to let me babble on about how to do the stuff that I do. I made her two rings for her company in the studio. It was fun. I haven't had any inquisitive people besides Mike around my work since college.

Sweet Peas In Mid October?!

Just one more post for the year about my sweet peas. I was so excited watching them sprout this spring, and it seems like they just wont quit! We've had several frosts here in western New York, and these beauties keep blooming. I think it's because they're protected by the house a bit, but it's still very nice to have their fresh smell in the kitchen in October! I plucked them this morning because tomorrow's forecast calls for flurries. I'm not sure if they'll make it through that, so I'll enjoy these very much while they last.

The handsome cat in the photo is Graycliff, one of our devon rex kids.

Weekend Report

I had a very nice weekend as I was hoping for. A perfect mix of some fun, relaxation, and progress in the studio. The Sabres lost in a shootout :( , but the Bills won :).

These little silver pieces look really unattractive right now, but I've got big plans for them. I had a few hours to do some sanding and soldering today, and tomorrow I'll be getting much closer to the final product. Oh- how I long to be in my basement every day. Maybe someday...

Weekend Plans!

My weekends start at 3pm on Saturdays after work, and today after work, I'll be heading down to mike's sister's house for a little get together. It sounds like a good time. I don't get out too much, so it will be a nice break from the norm.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday though. I'll start my day waking up to the sunshine instead of the alarm clock. Have my morning pup snuggle with Milo, and then at my leisure get into the studio groove. I've got some great motivation stored up to get a chunk of inventory made.

Mike has been getting really into the lapidary aspect of jewelry. He comes from a family that has great interest in making jewelry- and I believe with my studio endeavors, he's become quite addicted to cabochons. He and I will be laying out a spot in the basement for him to play around with cabbing. What a man! I really lucked out finding someone so supportive with what I do- and now he's caught the bug!

Oh! and I just signed up for the new Ganoksin blog. I just transferred this blog to their site. It is a site for blogs that focus on jewelry, and a great way to network with other jewelers! My posts from blogger will be duplicated to the Ganoksin blog. (However, the layout on blogger is more visually appealing). We'll see how it goes though. I hope to meet some new jewelers and read about some fantastic jewelry and hopefully techniques!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

The Ants Go Marching Tube By Tube

The ants go marching tube by tube, Hurrah! Hurrah!

The ants go marching tube by tube, Hurrah! Hurrah!

The ants go marching tube by tube, the little one stops to check his groove, and they all go marching down, to get pound, and then shaped

- into a cool piece of jewelry.

The Most Beautiful Time Of The Year!

I look forward to the second weekend in October every year. The colors in Western New York are breathtaking. And this weekend, the weather was perfect for a trip through the hills. I made my annual visit to Pumpkinville, The B & B Buffalo Ranch, and the Griffis Sculpture Park with my boyfriend Mike, and our friends Garrett and Sue.

If I can speak for us all, which I will, we all had a great time. We enjoyed everything fall has to offer. We picked our own gourds, selected pumpkins, got fresh pressed cider and maple flavored cotton candy.

Everyone was happy to see that the buffalo were out at the B & B buffalo ranch after crossing our fingers the whole way. (Sometimes the buffalo hide in the trees).

After arriving at the sculpture park, we played on some of the sculptures (which is allowed) and then got our exercise hiking up the hills to take in the art and view.

After returning home, we promptly passed out on the couch. It was a wonderful weekend.

Crud! with a capital CRUD!

My flask exploded!

Not the flask that I keep my peppermint schnapps in. Thanks be to God. It was the flask that contained the necklace links from my previous post.

Oh well. Poor Harold seemed real bummed when he called to break the news. No use getting upset- which I'm not- because crud happens. I'll have another set fixed up in no time to re-cast.

In the meantime- I will just make sure to appreciate the contents of the flask that didn't explode. I'm just kidding. I'm a cheap date and that would get me into trouble. "Trouble with a capital T- that rhymes with P- that stands for POOL!" There's a little Meredith Willson for ya.

UpsideDownside

Today was a very productive day, however, I don't have anything to show for it-yet.

One the upside, I got filters and a spindle ordered for my new polishing motors and dust collector. I ordered all of the supplies I have been in need of from Rio Grande-including abrasive wheels for the polishing motors, drill bits for the quick change hand piece that doesn't fit my old bits, silver sheet and wire (that I really did need-but ordered more than I should have because silver is only $11 big ones an ounce...also on the upside)

On the downside, I really broke the bank.

On the upside- I'll be able to finally start and finish everything at home now.

On the downside, a show that I had applied to was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. It was a Christmas show at a local historical mansion. It would have been a good one.

On the upside, I applied to do the Christmas show at Fisher-Price. I'll be the fanciest shmanciest crafter in the whole darn place.

On the downside, that's just an opinion. It helps my self esteem.

On the upside, I finally figured out what to do for my big necklace piece that I'm working on. I Finished the waxes and delivered them to my casting co. and they'll be done on Thursday!

On the upside, I played my banjo homework perfectly.

On the downside, when I went to record it, I got fumble fingers- and after 50 times of getting halfway through my song I decided to give my poor boyfriend's ears a break.

On the upside, I got in a lot of extra practice for the day.

So, you see- today was a very productive day. I feel very good about what I got done, I also feel panicky, anxious, excited, sick, giddy, and relieved about my big orders. It took a lot of self convincing to swallow my plate of brussel sprouts and invest in the tools and supplies I've been needing. (Of course, now that I broke the bank, I'll gladly take that plate of brussel sprouts without a single complaint. I promise. At least until I pay off the goods. Then you can take your sprouts and scram!)

On the upside, tonight any anxiety, worry, panic, fears, and doubts that I have will be gone when I bury my face in this guy's gigantic buttery soft ears-and go to sleep.

Money Clips

I just finished these two peek-a-boo money clips, and I think I'll be making quite a few more using different designs and stones. These clips are made from nickel- I could use silver, but the nickel has a better memory and won't bend out of shape as easily as silver. The stones I used for both clips are turquoise and they are set within a silver bezel. I added a satin texture to the surface. Once I got the clip to a perfect polish , although beautiful, it showed every finger print and smudge it encountered. The subtle texture helps to hide that.

These were fun to make, and it's about time I started making something that men can use...although women may start ditching their purses for these babies!