That month Marched right into history without me!
I guess that's why it's called March, huh? I couldn't believe it when I looked at my last post and saw that it was dated February 23rd. I feel like a grumpy old bear that hibernated a bit longer than planned.
Really, I've been busy. Well....okay....not that busy. Let's see....yes, I played Keno and had fun with the Bunko Babes and even read my book for the March book club meeting....then missed the meeting because it was on the same night as the first home playoff game for the Brahmas.
I made two (count 'em, two) pieces of jewelry....a bracelet for my mom's birthday....
and a necklace for my friend Melanie's birthday. I forgot to take a picture of the necklace, but I liked it so much that I plan to make another one to list in my Etsy shop. I had to buy more chain the other day, which of course snowballed into other purchases, including an order for argentium silver wire and a couple of other items from Rio Grande today. I have some beads that a friend wants me to make into a necklace for her, an order for custom earrings to match the Delicata bridesmaid necklaces that I sold in December and a request to make some earrings for another friend. That request involves a lunch date, too, so I'm looking forward to that.
I also had a customer ask me to alter a sterling necklace that she'd purchased. That request prompted me to finally take a stab at soldering with my micro torch, which resulted in a lot of trial and error. I ended up with a lot of these....
which look like a disaster, right? But if I throw them into some pickle (not of the Vlasic variety, but a mild acid solution which removes firescale, the oxidation that occurs when a torch is used on silver) and then polish them, I can reuse them and even resolder them. I also ended up with a clump of jump rings soldered together in a row reminiscent of the Olympic rings. Purely accidental, but you may see them soon as an element in a necklace or ring.
So after messing up all those jump rings up there, I ended up actually doing what I set out to do. I added two inches of soldered links plus a bigger clasp to the necklace to make it the right length for my customer....
I feel so accomplished now! I want to solder everything! My Rio Grande order today included a proper soldering pad, so maybe my next attempts will go a little smoother. One can only hope so! Maybe one day I'll even have the wherewithal to take a metalsmithing class, but in the meantime, I've found so many great instructional resources online. Thanks so much to the wonderful people who are willing to share their knowledge!
Well, I guess that I'll head back to finishing up the taxes (I've almost got a handle on this bookkeeping stuff!) and watching the Brahmas in round two of the playoffs (beat those Jackalopes, guys!!) and hopefully not wait so long to post here again. I hope the Easter Bunny treats you right!
Really, I've been busy. Well....okay....not that busy. Let's see....yes, I played Keno and had fun with the Bunko Babes and even read my book for the March book club meeting....then missed the meeting because it was on the same night as the first home playoff game for the Brahmas.
I made two (count 'em, two) pieces of jewelry....a bracelet for my mom's birthday....
and a necklace for my friend Melanie's birthday. I forgot to take a picture of the necklace, but I liked it so much that I plan to make another one to list in my Etsy shop. I had to buy more chain the other day, which of course snowballed into other purchases, including an order for argentium silver wire and a couple of other items from Rio Grande today. I have some beads that a friend wants me to make into a necklace for her, an order for custom earrings to match the Delicata bridesmaid necklaces that I sold in December and a request to make some earrings for another friend. That request involves a lunch date, too, so I'm looking forward to that.
I also had a customer ask me to alter a sterling necklace that she'd purchased. That request prompted me to finally take a stab at soldering with my micro torch, which resulted in a lot of trial and error. I ended up with a lot of these....
which look like a disaster, right? But if I throw them into some pickle (not of the Vlasic variety, but a mild acid solution which removes firescale, the oxidation that occurs when a torch is used on silver) and then polish them, I can reuse them and even resolder them. I also ended up with a clump of jump rings soldered together in a row reminiscent of the Olympic rings. Purely accidental, but you may see them soon as an element in a necklace or ring.
So after messing up all those jump rings up there, I ended up actually doing what I set out to do. I added two inches of soldered links plus a bigger clasp to the necklace to make it the right length for my customer....
I feel so accomplished now! I want to solder everything! My Rio Grande order today included a proper soldering pad, so maybe my next attempts will go a little smoother. One can only hope so! Maybe one day I'll even have the wherewithal to take a metalsmithing class, but in the meantime, I've found so many great instructional resources online. Thanks so much to the wonderful people who are willing to share their knowledge!
Well, I guess that I'll head back to finishing up the taxes (I've almost got a handle on this bookkeeping stuff!) and watching the Brahmas in round two of the playoffs (beat those Jackalopes, guys!!) and hopefully not wait so long to post here again. I hope the Easter Bunny treats you right!
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