Tools, New Moo Cards, No Mojo...oh my!

Yes, I have some new tools, moo cards and Zero Smithing Mojo :(

If anything would normally kick my butt into creative gear it would have to new tools....but no....not this time.

Below are pictures of my new matching Moo cards and stickers.
I spent ages designing these and am very happy with how they turned out. And they are such good quality! So now the hubs has decided he wants me to make some cards for him from Moo. Oh and they also came like 2 weeks earlier than I was expecting them, so Woohoo!!


Below is my first print I have purchased from Etsy. I have been lusting after several artists pictures for a long time now and then decided I would get on with it finally and just buy one! And I love it! So does my hubby. I think he even approves me collecting more of them :)

This print is by janethillstudio


And this is a picture of some new stamping tools I purchased from 2moontools

I received them this morning and hope to use them on some new pieces.....eventually......if my mojo returns :(

lol I know that I will.
This is not the first time I have encountered the creative block, nor will it be my last.
What's strange is that my head is just absolutely choc full of stuff, but I can't seem to put it to actual physical work. Maybe my head is in overload?? I'm hoping to get a break sometime this weekend and maybe I'll be able to remove this block. I can only hope.

Yesterday I took my daughter with me to a big hardware store to look for some new tin snips etc and I came across a work bench for $100....it's not too big and it has peg board and a shelf underneath and an extra area to hang hammers etc. I'm hoping to take hubs to see this bench and talk him into buying it for me haha....it would be a spot I could bolt my Rolling Mill to as well. So it's kind of necessary. I can't wait to get the mill bolted down so I can try it out.

Alrighty I must go. Daughter is talking non stop and I can't type anymore as I can't hear myself think, think that is half the reason I struggle at the bench these days :(

Em

It has sprung!

Spring that is!!
Today is the first day of the new season.
I am going to miss good ole Winter :(

At least this year we have a lovely new airconditioner. Not that we can go crazy with it considering how much power has gone up! But at least it's there for the unbearable days we get in the Summer time.

Anywhoo...below is a picture of my latest tool! Yes A Rolling Mill. Finally!
I have been planning on getting one since I moved into this house over a year ago...but it never happened. Then when I had money, it always went to other tools/supplies etc. I have been watching this rolling mill for a long time and finally the price dropped to a price I couldn't ignore and I jumped in and bought it. I received it yesterday and it is now in my work area ready to go....I just have to chop up copper sheets to fit and play.



I have some other tools on their way to me for stamping. I hope to get those next week :) and then finally I need to get some crucibles and ingots so I can try and smelt my scrap silver and roll it myself....that part is going to be the hard part...but hopefully the best skill for me to learn, considering how unstable silver prices are. If I can smelt and roll my scrap silver out, it will keep me going in the 'can't buy silver sheet just now' times....kinda like now lol. Silver seems to be staying at the $40 mark right now and I am skeptical that it's going to drop under that any time soon. As soon as it does though, I am going to stock up big time!

Below is a ring I made for myself. I wear the same 2 rings all the time and have been eying this stone up for a while and decided to make it into a simple piece, as I feel the stone is gorgeous, it didn't need anything fancy doing to it. I still have some burnishing to do on it, as I am not well practiced at plain bezel wire...even after all this time. I don't tend to use it much. But I want to start using it more now. I like the clean line it gives and how it frames a stone well.

I have been playing a bit more with the metal clay (which I need lots of practice with still!) I have made a piece with it yesterday and have used a fern stem/leaf?? to imprint it with. I just need to smooth it out and sand it down and fire it etc, I have high hopes for how it turns out.....

Paypal.
When it was a new avenue for paying for things, I was excited. Now, the word fills me with frustration. They are putting up the fees on International transactions. For those of us on Etsy or Ebay or the like, this means loosing more money....or charging the customer more money. I don't know how I am going to go about paying the extra, which is 6% I think, but I am going to have to figure it out. With the price of silver up again and fees going up...I often wonder how long left I have on Etsy before I have to let it go. Oh and the exchange rate of Aus dollars to US dollars really digs the knife in too.

I feel as though I might just have to kick myself in the bum and get to the bench and work like an animal and get to those markets I've been dreaming of. At least there, there will only be 1 fee each time and no postage/packaging/conversion fees etc.

Guess I have to work it out and soon.

Oh I have made my first ever order with moocards.com
I had to place my order with the UK site, but they are already out and on their way to me and I can't wait to see how they turned out!! I designed them myself. I didn't use pictures of my jewellery though. I also made some matching round sticker/labels for my packaging. I hope to get them in the next couple of weeks.

Alrighty. That's all for this post.
Take care all :)
Em.

Show Holiday.

It's the annual show this month and today is one of the show days that the city gets as a holiday, the other is on Wednesday. So I thought today would be a nice relaxing day to do a blog post :)

Below is around 50% of my cab collection...



And of course I am still buying more..as you do. Though it's evident to me since putting these cabs in this lovely box, that I really should start using some of these up...they're quite lovely.

Saturday afternoon, the hubby and I took a trip to the local hardware store and I came home with a lovely new hammer - cross peen.

And below is some PMC3 that I have been playing with. I want to add some more into my pieces, it's just fun to work with.
My head is filled with ideas at the moment...but I just can't seem to rustle up the energy to get to the bench. I have a few pieces that are halfway done too and it wouldn't take much to get them finished. I might attempt it this afternoon. In fact I should probably pull myself away from the computer and go in there now whilst Summer has lunch....

:)

To Roll With The Mill.

(for some reason, everything I write is going to be underlined and I have nooo idea how to remove it)

Well it seems like everyone is getting a rolling mill lately! I've been talking about buying one for ages now. My Etsy sale went so much better than I expected it to and now that I have funds again, I am pondering the ever pondered question in my brain...to buy or not to buy. I'm hesitant only because it's a largish sum of money to spend on one tool and not knowing what the future brings financially/hobbywise I am in 2 minds about it (as I am about pretty much everything in my life lol).

So I will think about it this week and hopefully make my mind up quick smart.

In the meantime, below are pictures of what I have made lately:

And below is a picture of a gorgeous tree stump my hubs surprised me with last week. I love it! It needs a bit of work to flatten and smooth down the top to make it completely steady, I am starting to think I might like it for photography lol and not for hammering on. I hope to have a proper blacksmiths anvil one day :) I've found the perfect one....and it would look so pretty on the stump :P

The weather is all over the place lately. It's been quite Spring like in the day time. And the night time hasn't been quite as cold, but it has been a bit more windy than normal. I am not looking forward to the Summer. Really not.

I have a lot of family in the U.K so I'm

sending out 'keep safe' vibes to those in the U.K who are affected by the riots.

Silver Smells....

Well the price of it does at least! I don't regularly check the price of silver, but every now and again I do and I couldn't believe it was at $40 again last night. I don't want to get all flustered again and go and buy a whole heap, for the 'just in case it rises' situation, but I can feel the pressure mounting again...as I am sure every other person who works with this metal feels.

Enough of that depressing chatter ....

So I went with the hubby and child to the Markets I wrote about in my last post. And to be honest and to the point....they STANK. Really. Yes they were very large markets, but they were not what I am looking for. They were great if you like inexpensive jewellery or knick knacks, clothes and so on. But it wasn't a 'craft/handmade' type market. I had to go and see, as you never know and it gave us a reason to get out of the house and go somewhere new. I was terribly disappointed.

Anyway, it has helped me make up my mind what I want to do. There are some actual craft markets about 10 minutes from where I live. They are held on Sundays only and I think I am going to give them a shot. Right now I don't have anywhere near enough inventory, so I am going to have to work on that first and foremost. I contacted the market people last night and they said you basically have to supply everything yourself and you just pay for the space allocated, which was about $33...not too bad. This of course means now I have to buy a tent/marquee, table, display stuff, a sign, table cloth and you get the idea :) Gotta spend money to make it huh.

I can't, unfortunately, get away without a tent as the sun here can get too hot and I don't want my jewellery to get really hot and burn someone and I don't fancy sitting out in it either (even though it's Winter still). So I have a lot to sort out if I want to go to these markets. There are some other markets about 15 minutes away from here too...so they are always another option if this place doesn't work out :)

So I have lots to plan for.

My custom order was received this morning and the lady was very happy, which has made me happy in return. She now wants to commission me for 2 more pieces!! I've also finished a few new things for my shop, will have to wait for the sale to be over before I list them.

That's all folks....

Em