Silversmithing Project Finished

Here is my first finished project that I made in my Silversmithing class.

 Hard to believe even for me that this was created out of flat pieces of sterling silver. It was a fun project to learn the basics of silversmithing... even though the classes were a little slower than I would have liked.

There was only one thing that was difficult to do and that was sitting down at the table with  "dun-dun-dun" the torch. *gasp* I am sure at some point I won't be intimated by the possibility of blowing up... that is my hope anyway. Everything else, I enjoyed thoroughly. The one thing I enjoyed the most was making the bezel that holds the stone that sits on the ring. I liked the idea of using the softer sterling silver for surrounding the cabochon.... and being vewy-vewy careful with it. Then sanding and polishing away the seam between the bezel sides and the bottom piece. Magic. Here you can see my sawing skills... look at how close I cut that baby. Mad skills people-- mad skills~
The Silversmithing class is taking a little break until the beginning of November, so I have some time to come up with some items I would like to make for my next project.
We were told to come up with at least three projects, I already have two ideas in mind, and I'll probably make multiples of each one-- because if you know me, that's how I roll~ 
big hugs,

Treasures

Its been kinda slow finding treasures lately... Here are a few weekends worth of treasure hunting combined~ The only time I pass up seashells is if they are priced to high. I paid $3 for all of this loot below. The little wooden bucket doesn't have its lid... but that's alright. The weathered patina this little bucket has is so lovely--- I just might keep it inside my house.

 

 I find a lot of wooden things relatively cheap. I guess there isn't a huge demand for wooden decor anymore. *wink* (was there ever?)

These were $1.00 each. The original price tag on the two large diamond shaped wooden carvings were $39.99 each...  

More seashells, rocks and pirate stuff.... ok, its all pirate stuff....

I've been adding a lot of Japanese items to my pirate yard too... This little tea pot is charming with its little glass inserts. There is a little damage to it, but it just adds character right? The little fella behind the tea pot looks stunning now that I've painted him gold.

Brass, trays and other odds and ends....

Lastly, a bunch of jewelry that I picked up for $7.00. I've already pulled apart several of the beaded strands to play around with. The white stone beads I'm planning on wire wrapping--- once I feel like doing that again... *yawn*

big hugs,

First Day of Fall

Today being the first day of fall has me excited for colder temperatures.. which is probably very surprising to read for those who know me well. Because I hate to be cold!  For this first day of fall the temperature was 91 degrees....

I finished up two crocheted hats for my granddaughter... but not before making another embossed metal head form. I gave my granddaughter the other one I had made. This one I haven't added any black paint to- to bring out the depth of the embossing. You've got to be in the mood for smearing black paint on things... and well, it just hasn't hit me yet.

We just got back from a week at Disneyland, and we are going back in November... so I thought a Minnie Mouse hat was in order. In pink of course~

I also made her an owl hat in her favorite colors....

She is very sweet when I give her things I've made for her... who knows what she really thinks *wink*

I've pulled out a lot of yarn and patterns and I'm pretty sure by the end of winter my granddaughter will still be pretty sweet when I give her things I've made... while secretly wishing I'd make some for her brother instead. lol
big hugs,
 

Finishing up some Projects

I've been slowly getting back into doing some crocheting. With the morning temperatures getting colder it seemed fitting. Before you know it, it will be full on winter. I finished up a unicorn hat for my grand daughter. I used Repeat crafter me's hat pattern. I have two other hats in different stages of completion....  I like to have several projects going at once, I get bored easily.

I also have been finishing up some things in... you guessed it, my back yard. While watering in the backyard, I was taken by how fabulous this view was... so after I finished watering the plants I snapped a picture. Sometimes I get so focused on doing things that I forget to stop and actually see what I've done.
Pretty cool huh? I also finished up this counter to the right of the shooting gallery. I am also creating a counter to the left of the shooting gallery too-- but that still needs some finishing up.
 
Here is the bottom of the counter. It is a little bit more work and materials to create an opening in each counter, but in the long run it is worth it because it creates another area for displaying things.

I am trying to create new games for the kids to play when they come over. I painted a skull on a magnet dart board.... My grand daughter is a pro at having her dart hit and stick to everything but the magnetic dart board. It is pretty darn funny.... I also created this game called "Put Polly on her Perch" I had bought a bunch of small stuffed-animal birds that will be perfect for this game. I am still wanting to add some greenery around the perch-- but for now the basic game is finished. I have it wired to a vintage bird cage stand. I think this is my favorite game so far...
A few years ago I bought a spinning wheel game for the whopping sum of .50¢ Who is the best shopper, that'd be me... When I bought the spinning wheel-- the entire thing was painted gray... that is as far as they got with it. For .50¢ I was happy to get it! All I had to do was paint it up to my liking. I started by painting the entire thing brown and black to give it more of an old grungy look. I then added some red and white to the wheel and then simply stenciled a skull and a treasure chest to finish it off. I am planning on using this for the kids to spin the wheel to either get jewelry from a treasure chest or a bag of candy with a skull and crossbones on it. That is the general idea anyway...

Besides all of these projects I am steadily working on completing my first project in my Silver smithing class. It is slow going since I have to be patient and wait for one on one teaching time.... I often stop what I'm working on and watch and listen to the teacher teaching someone else... so I get the same "lesson" over and over again. I want to be confident to handle that darn torch- which right now is my nemesis.... Here is a picture of my project, I'm pretty darn proud of the progress on my ring so far. Hard to believe this ring was a straight piece of silver once upon a time. Don't even get me bragging on the silver bezel I've made... The next step is to sand the bottom of the bezel so that the joint isn't visible. After that is finished, I will solder the bezel to the ring and then set the stone in the bezel and polish the heck out of it to finish it up. There is another six weeks of lessons in this session-- I am confident I'll get it finished by then-- plus start on another project to boot. I really-really wanted to take the lost wax class but not enough people signed up to start that up just yet.
big hugs,