It worked!

Thanks for all the good wishes.

We had a great art fair and the weather was absolutely perfect.

For a minute I thought we must be somewhere other than Houston.

NO humidity what so ever.

Brilliant.

AND I met this really neat little old guy and we chatted forever about jewelry making.

Loved him.

Never had such a good conversation about flux and firescale.

Today I feel shattered.

Everything hurts and I even had to get out of bed early because my legs hurt so much that I thought I needed both hips replaced. Like immediately.

Man!

How do all the other people do it?

Am I the only weenie around?

So today, after I had to take Advil (double weenie) I’m off out to the studio to either try my hand at sand casting again, or to finish up my painting.

I’ve cast two things so far. One with the bad sand which I sent back, and one with the good sand which I’m actually thinking is also bad sand because there’s no way the pathetic lump of silver that emerged from the mold could be my fault.

Bit of a let down really.

Not going to give up though.

I’ve also come up with a better way to cut my jump rings so I’ll be writing about that (Gale) as soon as I get back to jewelry making.

Might be a while with the old hips playing up though.

So, $2,500 is going off to Care.

Thanks for all the good wishes and to the weather god.

I think I love you…

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So the plan was…

That the chunky chain got a home.

Didn’t happen.

Instead I started a new painting.

Yes, I know I said I’d given it up again…

So I got this far and then decided I was bored with it.

So I moved over to the jewelry area and half heartedly played around with some sketches and stones.

And decided on the spider one.

Even though I knew that it really wasn’t ever going to be the same as the drawing.

Just to step it up a bit I used one of my new stamps on it.

And then soldered it onto a back plate that was way too large for it.

That annoyed me as I usually pay a lot of attention to the amount of silver I waste to the point that I often have zero wiggle room to work with which also annoys me because then it’s touch and go that I’ve enough silver around the piece to do what I want with.

Guess the search for a happy medium continues…

Now I will share with you a tip for what to do with all your old pick sticks.

I don’t know about you, but after a while my picks start to loosen from their wooden handle. Even though I try to ignore it for a while they eventually start to swivel in the handle when I’m doing the picking thing with them.

I still try to ignore it, but then it just begins to get ridiculous and I can’t do a thing with them.

That’s when I get excited because I remember that hey! I can just buy a new one.

I’m a bit slow on the uptake sometimes.

So, not one to be wasteful, (apart from the huge amount of silver waste above), I keep the pick ends and use them to prop up pieces when I’m soldering.

See.

Anyway, long story short, it all looks good here, but the soldering flopped due to the funkness and then I had to go in to make dinner…

Not before I added a bit more to the painting though.

So… that’s it.

In other news, while I was bored with it all and in one of my funks, I bought a new table top to add to the jewelry bench area and now it feels more complete.

I’m telling you, that small Swedish store is a blessing when you need a funk distraction.

Now my jewelry area is fantabulous.

And I feel very fortunate.

And just so the painting side of the studio didn’t feel left out I bought it a new table and drawers also.

That side is still a bit of a mess, but I’m working on it…

But look at all my pastels!

They have a happy home…

:)

AND last, but not least, I have to tell you that I’ve hit another milestone.

$40,000!

Next stop $50,000.

See where I’ve sent it – HERE

TTFN

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Update.

I finished the custom order and the lady liked it!

Very fuzzy photo, sorry.

It was a nice surprise to hear from her that she wanted it.

The day I finished it I told P that I didn’t think I was up for any more custom orders as it was just too hard for me to get to grips with what someone really wants and then I end up wanting to under charge them because I’m unsure of myself and feel bad for them that they’ll be getting something that they don’t really want.

Etc…

Then yesterday, when I was upstairs cleaning out my ‘clean’ studio, the one where I make my quilts etc., I got an e-mail from another person wanting a custom order.

I didn’t say no.

And so it starts over…

Actually I’m looking forward to it.

(Remind me of that when I start to moan again)

In the short time it took me to give up taking custom orders and then accept another one I tackled my thirty year stash of craft books .

To be honest I didn’t think I would be up for it and P definitely had doubts.

In fact he laughed at me which was not funny and not very encouraging.

But look.

And I haven’t finished yet.

They haven’t actually made it out of the house yet, but I’m working on it.

Of course the upstairs A/C decided to pack up half way through my sorting, but I soldiered on and now I’m feeling quite pleased with myself.

They’re all going to the ministry up the road although I think that they may have to open a new room to accommodate them.

In other news,

the boy’s cat, Nutmeg,

has diarrhea.

Nope. Don’t talk to me about it.

I’m not really that put out by the sofa covers needing to be washed five hundred and sixty-three times daily.

Nope, not at all.

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Oh the trauma…

Lots of trauma.

First up, I had to have a tooth out.

I know, right!

Now I feel old and gappy, as though I’ve forgotten to put my dentures in.

It was a horrible experience and I’ve felt shattered the WHOLE week. I can only imagine what I’m going to be like when I have to have the implant. It’ll most likely freak me out completely.

I’ve already warned the dentist, but he says it’ll be o.k. as he’ll have his phone on hand and there’s this guy on youtube who does some great dental demonstrations if he needs to check in on the procedure.

Doesn’t help.

Secondly, much to P’s distress, I’ve been going through the whole Inspector Barbaby series on Netflix and all of a sudden, what do you know, it’s over.

No warning.

No nuffin’

It’s left a void, like a black hole imploding in my chest.

It’s going to take me a while to get over it, I mean, how do you recover from something like that…

Fortunately Netflix only went up to season 15 and so somewhere there’s another three waiting for me in the magical world of t.v. limbo land.

P will be delighted..

On a brilliant note, however, I had a great art fair last Saturday.

You know, I didn’t really feel up for it. I’d been a bit blah, as you all know by now from my recent groanings and moanings, but it was really good.

The weather was perfect. I managed to emerge from my introvert coma for the day, and we talked and laughed all day.

And, as you may know, laughing is my favourite thing to do…

I made $4,000!

I can hardly believe it.

Personally I think people were afraid, paid quickly and ran for their lives.

Whatever it was it worked, and I’m fairly sure Nepal is not going to worry about it.

Studio happenings are as follows.

This

Fell apart.

Don’t talk to me about it.

So I threw it around a bit, gave it a good sanding, and re made it.

The serpentine crumbled in the first setting so I had to re make the middle bezel and use his brother.

I can see I’ve still a little sanding to do in between the top two stones.

I’m also in the middle of this

Which I’ll hopefully finish today,

and I might knock up a few of these.

Because I hit the mother lode of Gaspeite…

Exciting times…

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The beast, the triffids, and the goal…

I finished the beast by taking out the Serpentine stone after I gouged a great big 5mm wide trough through it from one side to the other and managed to work with it on the Jool Tool (beginning to like this thing) until it was looking better.

I found that Serpentine, at least the ones I have, are very crumbly and I’m not completely sure I like that.

I worked with it as much as I could, but it isn’t one of my better pieces.

I think I set myself up for the fall because in the back of my mind I didn’t think I’d done the best job I could with forming the stones.

You can see from the above that the bottom bezel is too high, and the top bezel is just annoying because the bottom edge of its collar soldered to the top edge of the middle bezel’s collar and I had to saw it apart.

I say I had to. I could have sweated the three bezel collars off and started over, but, as I said, I don’t think I ever thought it was going to be a good piece in the first place and believe I set myself up for sabotage.

Oh the dark inner workings of our minds…

I like the back though :)

     I’ve been cleaning up my work for the art fair on Saturday and reworking some pieces that I don’t really care for.

I hate cleaning the jewelry, but wouldn’t be seen dead trying to sell it without it being its absolute best. As a consequence I’m probably not taking the beast.

Unless little pixies break into the studio between now and Saturday and work some magic on it.

Could happen.

I finished the second needlework piece.

And started another.

And that’s about it really.

Except I’m fiddling around with a new website as, although I like the Wix one I have, I’ve discovered that Indiemade seems easier to use.

I’m not sure about it yet.

And I’m just about to send off $800 to Care for the Nepal disaster so guess what?

$30,000!

Goal reached!

Going for $40,000 next…

Onwards and upwards people

:)

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So there I was. In the studio.

Minding my own business.

When in the space of one swallow I had a sore throat.

Add that to the constant runny nose and it’ll not be long before I need my face mask for more than just keeping the dust out.

Actually I’m wondering if I shouldn’t put my pickle farther away from me as I work. I think I’m going to try that because I think the fumes might be getting a little too intense and perhaps it’s burnt my throat and soon my lungs will drop out.

Just another studio freak out waiting to happen.

I had a great week last week, in spite of the runny nose and burnt lungs.

I made over $1,000 and I’m still wondering if it hasn’t all been a terrible mistake on the part of the people who purchased my things.

Here’s the run down.

I sold this.

And this.

This one.

And this.

This.

This.

And two charms!

See.

That’s a little too good for anyone to not feel worried about.

I am very grateful for all the people who did buy my jewelry. I hope that they like it when it arrives.

Anyway, yesterday I made this.

But I am beginning to wonder if they aren’t all a little too much.

I love making them though.

And I sketched up a design because I’m thinking maybe the quilts are calling me again.

But again.

Even the quilt designs are getting a bit out there…

It’s all making me feel a bit like Willow did yesterday.

Bless her.

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It is my great honour, and privilege, to present to you today.

The joy and anguish of my life.

In all its grubby self.

To take my mind off it being in the same room as me I bought it some new friends.

The Optivisor…

I got a 2x and it’s brilliant.

I was a bit doubtful at first, but it really is cool. I have to take it off when I’m soldering because it bumps into the fume extractor, and once or twice I pulled it down over my cheapo target magnifying glasses and had a little vertigo moment, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

Warning!

Don’t buy one if you don’t want to see every single mistake and botch up you’ve made on your jewelry.

It will send you into a funk.

I’m too excited to get the funk right now, but I’m telling you, at any other time I might well have given up making jewelry forever – again.

I also got a pair of half round pliers.

A special little wax stick thing for picking up stones.

A different kind of ring clamp.

Only it wasn’t the different kind of ring clamp I wanted.

I wanted a different kind of different kind of ring clamp.

One that holds the ring on the inside.

I’ll be checking out where to get this little gem later.

I also got a few different sizes of bezel wire to play around with, and some chain.

So that was my excitement for the day.

Here’s the better photograph I told you I’d take of my latest piece.

All finished and up on Etsy.

And a little something else I’m interested in doing.

Remember those charms I made using some of my left over silver.

Well, the left over silver just won’t stop coming.

I’ve a whole bowl of it just hanging around waiting for something to do.

I knew I could send it back to Rio for their recycling programme, but I wanted to do something special with it and the charms seemed perfect, but I also thought the charms needed their own role in life.

I’m happy to say that they have finally found their purpose.

A little school in Kenya :)

So while I’ll continue to send the money I make from selling my jewelry to the larger charities, all I make from the charms will go to the Roko 20 Academy.

:)

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The news…

Not a lot going on over here.

We had Thanksgiving of course which, even after twenty-five years of living in the U.S. still doesn’t feel like a holiday for me. But, I do feel more festive now that it’s over so I think it really has become a marker for me to let the games begin.

I almost want to say that I feel more excited about Christmas this year than I did when all the kids were living here, but it sounds kind of wrong.

Don’t ask me what’s going on there.

I think it might be to do with appreciating everything more.

I’ve even got all of the gifts under control which is really weird.

I have to say that I’m just feeling, well – good.

EVEN though I’ve just been told by the nice doctor that I have osteoarthritis which really hurts everything including my elbows and kneecaps, AND I have Achille’s tendonitis, which I’ve had for years and years and years, but over the past year or so has gradually gotten to the point where it’s becoming hard to walk without having to mutter, ouchy, ouchy, ouchy, under my breath while hobbling around like a little old hobbly lady.

I’m really not that old.

I thought 53 was the new 40! Someone obviously forgot to tell the joint god.

So much for running the Boston marathon next year. Good job it was only in. my. dreams…

Talking of which,

I wrote a fantastic poem in my dream this morning.

It was wonderful.

My play of words surprised even me with their depth of meaning and their beautiful cadence.

I just knew that it was going to be the beginning of my brilliant, unexpected yet undeniable, new poet laureate career.

But I forgot it.

Man!

Just when I thought I had it made.

Not a lot going on in the studio right now.

That’s not so bad as I feel I should spend some time in the house. P’s mum is coming next week for Christmas so I think I’m trying to tone myself down for some family time.

I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve made my $25,000 so I’m going to let myself off the hook for a while.

Next year.

$30,000 and onward.

It’s good to have a goal.

:)

Some newbies.

Coral Fossil

Rhodochrosite

And a couple of old ones which I still really like.

Copper and Silver

Copper and Silver

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Two down, ten to go.

I’m not sure if I’m actually going to use all of my ‘mistake’ silver for cuffs,

but here’s number two.

I don’t know if I like this one as much as the first, but I wanted to see if I could do a long fold this time.

Perhaps I’m not liking it because it’s a bit girly for me.

I think it looks like the frill at the end of a piece of fabric.

You know, that embroidery anglaise stuff.

I’m not really a frilly person.

I am kind of liking the challenge and definitely want to explore a few more designs, but I also ordered the correct size of silver yesterday so I’m looking forward to that as the stones are calling.

Right now, however, I feel as if I’m in the twelve cuffs of Christmas movie.

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In other news, I’m about to send $1,000 to Doctors without Borders.

Thanks to everyone who has bought a piece of jewelry from me, I can’t believe I’m up to $24,000!

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:)

I didn’t tell you yet that I was able to send off my $3,000 to charity this week, and that I almost have another $1,000 to add to it!

It’s the best I’ve done yet.

You can see where it went – here.

I’m not sure yet where the next $1,000 will go. Maybe Doctors without Borders, or Heifer International.

I might need to pick the more uplifting of the two this time however and send someone a cow.

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