........

I had no idea what to title this post with.....so I just used dots.
Anywhoo, this is one of my fave rings so far. It's really really big and soooo pretty. I made it for myself (as you do) and then toyed with the idea of keeping it aside to list when I eventually open my shop. My mum has put dibs on it if I decide to sell it. I just can't make my mind up!! I suck at making decisions. It's a gorgeous pink/red colour coral fossil.

This one is a small Natural Kyanite ring. I am putting this one in my etsy shop too. I find making small rings a pain in the ass! But it is something I have to get used too as many women over here do like the smaller jewelry, unlike myself of course! The bigger the better I say!!!!!

New Work.

Coral Fossil Cocktail Ring. Love this one, needs a little bit of tweaking before I put it up for sale, but I am always too impatient to wait before posting my stuff.



This one is Red Picture Jasper with sterling and 9ct Gold Ball.

Goody Goody Gum Drops

Woohoo! I got my first package of Cabochons this morning. I love them! Unfortunately they sent me 22 of 23 of them. The missing one is a small square Labradorite. I think they are going to send it out to me.

I am struggling not to put cabochons aside for myself. I have some very large ones coming for my own personal use soon....so I have to keep reminding myself that I need to get creating for Etsy, so I can't keep these ones for myself!

Yes I am a bit anal when it comes to crafting......I like organisation and I like to keep things documented - as you can see from all my cabs packaged up with measurements and prices etc. Oftentimes I go to start a setting for a stone and then decide to work on something else...this way I can keep all the bits n bobs I have precut for the stone, in the bag with the stone. I am not overly familiar with what certain stones are called yet.....so names on the bags help too, though most I can remember.

I have a good feeling that I will have my Etsy shop opened in a couple of weeks. I don't want to get my hopes up. But to sell something once a week would be awesome! Anyway, guess I will have to wait and see.

Damn I hate it when that happens...

I just had a nice big post written and then accidentally wiped the whole damned thing!

To cut my blog repost short...It's still hot....tho not as hot as it has been! Hooray for that! I got one rather large ring finished this weekend and am in the middle of a small one. Will post pics when I am able.

MIL was very happy with her pendant, which is great! And I won a really nice Red Jasper Cabochon from Ebay yesterday...hope to have that in a day or two. Still waiting on all my other parcels of cabs......I can't wait to get them all! I am dying to get my hands on some new bright pieces.

Wanted to say a big Thank You to Narelle from At The Bench With Narelle
for her offer to help me get some silver supplies since the guys I tend to buy from never have anything I need and I don't mean now and again...I mean like almost every order that happens.

Well my little girl has gone to bed and so I am going to make a cuppa soon and just read all the blogs I follow. I love reading everyone's blogs!

Little Booboo

The ring I sold my mum is broken. :(
The reason I wrote 'little' booboo is because I am glad that I sold it to my mother and not a random customer. THAT would have been very embarrassing. Anyway, she said that the ring shank isn't soldered down anymore on one side.

Is there a way I can fix this without pulling the whole ring apart? Is Green Sediment Jasper okay to heat? That brings me to another question....how do you resize a ring that already has a stone firmly set? Is there something you can use to protect the stone whilst you torch it?

(sigh)

I got my silver sheet this afternoon and there is plenty to work with for a while. And I got to work on some pieces this evening, but my heart isn't really in it. I am very easily discouraged (I tend to make mountains out of molehills). It's because of the ring my mum was going to buy. It has kinda dampened my confidence. So I'm not gonna push myself or else I may make more 'booboos'.

Oh one very fun thing for me.....I found out there is a Gem Show on in 2 weeks time. It's not too far a drive from here and it's on a weekend. So I can leave my daughter at home with the hubby, whilst I go and see what's on offer and hopefully I will come home with some goodies. I can't wait!

Another Lovely Day...

weather wise that is. I for once didn't wake up and get smacked in the face with a heat wave. This meant I could get down to business and get all my housework done without suffering!

I ordered some silver sheet today. But (oh what a surprise...not) they didn't have any .5mm sheet and won't for another week and a half, so I got .4mm but they didn't have much of that either. But I took what I could get. This particular company hardly EVER have everything I want and I am tired of it now. I don't feel like I can rely on their service.

Can anyone recommend Monsterslayer?? I am thinking of giving them a try as they seem to have a very good range and decent prices and I can get express postage for a not too rip off price.

Commission Piece.

Here is the piece my MIL wanted me to make. I am hoping over the weekend to make several more similar pieces for my Etsy shop. I hope she likes it.

(oh and I sold my Green Sea Sediment Jasper Ring too.....to my mum lol)

Feelin' Good......

This afternoon the weather finally came good. It has been raining on and off all day long and the house has finally cooled right down. I am sitting at the computer enjoying the breeze coming through the window and wishing it could be like this every day....but it wouldn't help the finances, seeing as hubby works in Roof Restoration.

But I did get a chance to get out to the bench this evening and I finally finished a little custom pendant for my MIL. Being night time I couldn't get a picture. So I will take some tomorrow. Apparently it's going to rain all day long again tomorrow.......here's hoping! :)

Misery.

I don't really have the right to complain. Life is good. But this humidity makes me Miserable. When you wake up from the comfort of your bed (air con'd) and you walk out your bedroom door and you are met with stinky, sticky hot air, like you've just walked into a oven, it instantly brings the mood down :(

I don't function well in this humidity. My floors need doing, it's too hot to send the little one outside to play. I dare not venture off to play at the bench, I would probably die of dehydration within minutes in there. The air gets soo thick with humidity that I feel I can't breathe.

Tonight though...it rained. Not huge amounts. But a little. It's coming and going. But I still don't fancy going to the bench to make stuff. I wish it would pour and pour and pour. I absolutely love cold, wet weather. I can't wait until Winter. I can see myself now...all snuggly out in the garage making lots of lovely things, having a blast!.....pleeeeeeease be a cold Winter 2010!

Get Ya Cab on....

To the right is one of my latest pieces. Crazy Lace with 9ct gold Ring. Going to put this one up on Etsy soon.

Anyway....staying with the theme of my title for this post...I have finally paid for about 20 cabs and am in the middle of buying more. The ones I am still buying at the mo are on the larger side. I love jewelry on the large/chunkier side of things, I like 'look at me' 'where'd u get that from?' kind of jewelry. Always have, probably always will. So I cannot wait to get my hands on the bigger cabs that I've chosen, it won't be for a while yet, but that is a good thing as I have run out of silver :(

I've been working on a piece for my MIL but it didn't work out...so I have to try it again...I have just enough silver for that. I do have a heap of scrap to send in and have refined though...so that will give me back some silver, I'm just too lazy to do it.

A New Addiction.

Oh Boy. I am trying to think of things I can sell, that I don't use or never did use.....so I can buy......cabochons. I LOVE looking at cabochons and I like touching them and admiring them and thinking of all the lovely things I can make with them.

Right now I am trying to find a really really huge one, so that I can make myself a massive ring. I love really large jewelry, so I am on a mission to find a fantastic stone that will stand out. But whilst doing this...I see many, many, MANY gorgeous cabochons that I just MUST have......

I already have about 20 coming soon....but I want more.....I am sure most of you have been or are going through the very same thing?

Going to do it!

Sell on Etsy that is!
Well try it out anyways. Think I am going to give myself 6 months...that should be long enough to see if I am going to have any kind of chance with selling my jewelry there.

Hubby has put the pressure on...I need to start selling what I have made before I make much more. I understand what he's saying. And I really don't want this fab new hobby to diminish into nothing and let all my new found skills become redundant and the only way to get more skilled and learn more is to create more. And the only way I can create more or rather can afford to create more, is to sell and use those profits to fund new materials...blah blah blah...you all know the drill.

To the right is a picture of a Blue Web Jasper Heart pendant(if I recall correctly). I originally made it for myself last week (I always make it for myself to begin with lol) but my hubs has talked me into trying to sell it on. So I will. It's a nice weighty piece (the kind I love). Just gotta give it the final touch up (clean) and it's good to go. Though I have no idea what price I should ask for it. That I think is going to be one of my obstacles. Trying to get the price just right for buyers. Go too low and they'll think it's crap...go to high and that'll just scare em right off!

Anywho...I have already got an account there and a banner and business cards and so on and so forth. All I have to do is make some more pieces and then slowly list away..........

Taking It Slowly.

in the jewelry making department anyway. Since putting my things up for sale in my mum's antique store, I feel like I can relax a bit. I want to take my time with the next few pieces I make and try a few new things out. I have a couple of ideas whirring around and I have sketched one of them out.

I am thinking of giving Etsy a go (when I have a bit of a collection made), tho there is so much competition on there it isn't going to be easy. I am buying up a heap of new cabochons on Ebay this week. I am getting some from Hong Kong again. There really isn't anywhere to buy any from in Australia. I have searched many different avenues and not really had much luck. At least with our dollar being so good at the moment, I can afford to get them from other countries.

I haven't had a very good day today. So I am sitting at the computer watching a dvd on my laptop and playing on the internet, with a nice hot cup of tea to sip. Wish I had some biscuits.....but I'm s'posed to be dieting now :(

I'm In The Shop.

To the right is a picture of my jewelry in my cabinet at my mum's antique shop! Finally! We all went up to her shop on Saturday and my husband and my dad put the cabinet together, whilst I tagged and priced all my stuff. It's so hard trying to price everything. I basically let my mum price them, but I am starting to think I might bring the prices down a bit when I go up there next.

So now I am not in a rush to get things made. I can take my time to make some new pieces. I am trying to get my hands on some new cabochons, preferably all bright coloured ones. I have many earthy toned ones and I don't really feel inspired to use them.

Several of the pieces I have put in the shop were originally intended for me...but my hubby convinced me to try and sell them...I guess I can take them back if they didn't sell.

Here are some more pendants I made last week to go into the shop.