One thing leads to another, and another...it never ends!

Well, happy Friday everyone!

Here are some pics of my latest creations....hope you enjoy!

This is a pendant that I made from Silver clay and silver bezel wire...it was a lot of fun!  But of course it lead to other things and now I think I am officially hooked!

Have you ever noticed that you start out trying one thing which leads to another path?

I started out with polymer clay, which I then set in silver plate which lead me to an interest in silver clay.  This has led me into silver metalsmithing and now I am even playing around with copper and bronze.  Which wouldn't be a problem if you could use the same tool set for everything.  So now I am starting lists of tools that I need to pick up eventually, and this list just keeps getting longer everyday!  One tool comes in, I play with it and then I realize I need another tool...you know the drill!  But slowly I am accumulating a nice set of stuff!  Just hope my kids realize this when I am gone!  LOL!

Even though I keep picking things up here and there my list keeps growing.  So now all my friends and family know that for gifts...all I need are gift certificates to my fave metalsmithing shops!  Hint Hint!

Anyways....I think eventually I will have everything I need......yeah right! :)

But now I am interested in what everyone else has in their toolkit....let me know what your faves are!

Lastly here is a pic of a pair of silver hoop earrings I finished yesterday!

They are silver clay that has been textured, shaped and fired.  Then I patinaed them with LOS and soldered earwires on them.  Enjoy!

The F Word

I'm back!  Sorry about the prolonged absence but the family just got back from our annual family trip.  So, I am back and refreshed and ready to go!  One of the best parts of going away is getting excited to come home.  I had a wonderful time, picked up a few books and magazines on metalsmithing and soldering and when I got home it was time to pull out the tools and get to work.

Being as I live on an island and am not surrounded by people with the same interests as me, I am a totally self taught individual nowadays.  I would also have to say it is thanks to my mom, who taught me to be able to teach myself.  She taught me not just to look at something and see it's beauty, but to look at it and immediately question, how did they do that?

The next key is failure.  Ooops, did I say the F word?  Actually for me failure has become a part of learning.  I have found that if you allow yourself to try new things with the attitude that you will not punish yourself if you fail, it opens up so many new avenues.  The fact that you are prepared for things not to be perfect, it gives you the ability to TRY.  And from those attempts, whether they be perfect or not, you learn so much!  And some even lead to brand new things to try.

So, when I got home I had decided I wanted to try to make some rings and solder them.  They aren't perfect, but I never expected them to be.  They are just what I wanted. 

These are sterling silver rings that I made and soldered.  I made the earwire and attached gorgeous peridot briolettes at the bottom.  In my opinion they are awesome.  Hubby had to deal with the squeals of joy...the constant "Did you see these?  What do you think?  Aren't they awesome?" to which he smartly replied "They rock hon!" (Good man!)

This of course has opened up a whole new can of worms.  But.....that is for another post!