Doobeedoo

Ha! I couldn't come up with a title for my post today - this was the first word that came to mind.......

Just about finished my housework for the morning and baby is napping.
Was thinking of going to my bench for a short while...

You know, lately I have noticed, even though my eldest is at school during the day and my baby still naps regularly, I don't tend to go to my bench until after I have picked my eldest up from school. No idea why that is. But it's like my 'bench' clock kicks in around the 4pm mark and tells me 'yes! lets go make something now'. It's perhaps one of the most inconvenient times of the day - seeing as it's nearly time to make Dinner and it's bath time and so on - I just seem to get this feeling of time to go to the bench every afternoon.

Silly really. Seeing as the best time of day is when it's quiet and I have no one to attend too. I don't know. Maybe I'm just a gumby? Don't answer that.   :)

Below is what I've recently completed and listed in my shop:

One of my 5 goals for the year is to make more detailed pieces and to add more dimension. I feel I have been reaching that goal so far. And I feel like my work has had more cohesion of late too. Which I'm happy about.

With my last order from Rio I got a few packs of PMC3 to play with again. I'm waiting on some molds from an Etsy seller (they are taking too long to get here and I'm growing ever more impatient!) so I can make my own little findings to add to my work. Going to try and make a nice little twig mold sometime soon, so I can make some twigs with the PMC for earrings. Ooooh I hear the postman..................

YAY both my Etsy parcels came!!!!

Okies well I will leave it here so I can open my parcels. How I love parcels :)

Em ♥

Blah

Blah is how I feel right now :(

The heat is still here and it just won't go away (to put it politely). It's kept me from my bench all week so far.... it is supposed to cool down by next week - one can only hope.

Just writing here to share my latest works, below is the biggest silver piece I have made to date, she challenged me, but I won. In the end. I think I am going to have to make myself something just like it - as my favourite kind of jewellery to wear is big chunky stuff.

Above is a ring with a nice chunky piece of turquoise. Recently I got myself a nice Snowflake Obsidian and a piece of Parrot Wing - sadly (as always seems to happen to me when buying on the internet - mostly on etsy!) the Parrot wing isn't half as nice in real life as it looked on the listing. It's not nearly as bright and colourful and I am getting really fed up with that happening. I bought a big piece of Sonoran Sunrise (on etsy) and it was $40+ and when I received it - well lets just say now I won't buy from that particular lapidary artist ever again.  They should know better.

This is why I wish we had good gem shows here, man I would even fly to one if there were any, just to be able to hand pick my own stones. That's just something I don't see ever happening :(

Well that was my whinge for the day - be happy you who have those nice gem shows to go to!

Em ♥

Muse

For once my creative muse is visiting.

I'm hoping this isn't a fleeting visit, that she will actually find a comfy seat and settle in for a while.

I think though I am filled with a new batch of ideas, I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm working on one of the largest pieces I have made (it really isn't that large, but for me it is) and of course, even though instinct told me to anchor things down, I didn't. And so now the bezel has soldered on slightly askew.

The perfectionist within says 'sorry, but you are just going to have to make it right, it's not good enough. Fix. It.' Though I worry if I do go in again and try to realign it, I might just ruin it altogether. I hate that part about soldering. I have some Yellow Ochre powder which I might have to slather all over the parts I can't have reflowing. Hoping with all hope that I can fix it, or it is going to be a very expensive scrap piece :(

Below are the latest things I have finished:

My favourite things to make would be the pendants you see above. I've always loved pieces with some weight to them and these all have just that. And the piece I am working on right now is even heavier, so I must make it work!!

Well that pendant isn't going to be fixed with me sitting here now is it?! Must get on with it :)

Have a wonderful day
Em ♥

And it Starts all over.

The school year that is!
Summer started Year 1 today and I was sceptical as to how well it would go, given that she had been at home and having fun for the past 6 weeks. But I saw her to her new class room and met her teacher and she settled right in as though she'd always been there.

No tears.
No worries.
Relief.

And now I can focus a teeny bit more time on my bench work, well at least once we are into a solid routine again. I have enjoyed the lazy days of doing what ever, when ever.


Playtime all day.
Lunchtime when ever.
No school run.
It was nice.

Now we're back to a schedule and I have to retrain my brain and my childrens.

Poppy is getting more and more aware of what she wants and who she wants. Which is me.
Or rather my lap.
All the time.
And I love it.

This is a picture of both of my girls around the same age in the same dress I had made for Summer, so around 7 months(ish):

Summer on the left and Poppy on the right.
They look so similar. But their personalities are Polar opposites. Summer was a full on, balls of energy, plenty to say baby. Poppy is a more solemn, serious kind of child. It has been a fun and interesting 8 months so far!

So when Summer is home and can play with Poppy, I will be able to get to my bench. Below are some of the things I have made since my last post:

The enameled elephant was a custom order. It was a bit of a challenge as it was hard to know how to colour it so that had the traditional colourings of an elephant. But I (and the customer) were happy with how it turned out!

The silhouette lady is my 3rd so far. Think I might have to make myself one, someday soon. And a couple of heart pieces for Valentines day.

It has just started raining right now and I have mopping to do and then some parcels to pack up. I hope you are all having a great start to the year - though January is already almost over!!!!

Em ♥

2014

Well it's now the 3rd of Jan 2014 already.
I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year ♥

My eldest is away at her Nans for a few hours and my baby just fell asleep on the tiles lol, so I've just put her to bed. Now I can finish off my housework. So whilst I mop and wait for the floors to dry, I figured this would be a good time as any to do my first post for the year.

I don't do resolutions.
I do goals.
Usually I give myself 5(ish) goals to achieve within the year.
Mostly techniques to teach myself and one goal to reach for my etsy shop.
Just before the new year, I managed to teach myself one last technique:

Prong/Claw setting.
I haven't attempted anything like this before and it was playing on my mind for the last few weeks, so I jumped in head first last week and am super pleased with the results for a first try. I'm even wearing the ring right now.

It's a big ring and it's quite a 'bling' piece. I am very proud of it and absolutely intend to try to make another soon. I've had a few rather large stones like this for a few years now, never knowing if I would ever learn to set them. Now I now what I am doing, the confidence is there to do it again. (not a pink fan really though, but it is a pretty stone)

My shop was closed for a little while over Christmas and I reopened it on the 1st of January. I have 40 pieces listed for the first time ever! One of my goals for my shop is to get to 50 pieces listed and to keep it there....if not more. I have a couple of new rings yet to list, so I'm getting there :)

Again I have revamped my shop with new pictures of my pieces. I am never happy and never sure how to 'stage' my photographs. So I just went with what I personally like and I'm happy with how my shop looks. For now.

Below are a few new pieces I have made. The fox I am yet to list. 

I am working on a few heart pieces for Valentines day, got to get in early. And another enameled fox is in the works. Generally I'm not one to make things that are 'trending' but sometimes I feel it's necessary. My other goal for my shop is to sell 50 pieces this year. And that is going to mean I will need to make current trend items to help bring traffic to my shop. I intend to invest more into my shop this year, as last year I fell way behind.

Well the floors are drying very slowly as today it is expected to reach 37C and that dear friends is getting damned hot. Tomorrow it is forecast to be 40C, the plan for the day ...?... lock ourselves indoors and put on the airconditioning!

I hope the new year so far is treating you well!
Em ♥