Well it’s the new year and the first month is already half over!  Looks as though time is going to go as fast as it always has

I don’t have anything much to blog about.  I have started a new blog at blogspot.com for my silver smithing.  I am getting better slowly but surely.  It has been sooo humid here and it turns me into a sloth.  I have no desire to do anything at all.  I just manage to scrape by taking care of Summer and the small things around the house.

Anyway if you want to check out what is happening in my new hobby,  here is the link http://littlecherryhill.blogspot.com/ Hope to see you over there sometime!

On my absolute fave subject – Summer is doing really well.  She is learning more and more new things every day.  She can read numbers up to 10 now and likes to read them from all sorts of places.  Her vocabulary of words is huuuuge…but she hasn’t attempted sentences yet.  But there is no hurry of course.  She still absolutely loves going to the park.  And she loves to jump on her trampoline and play in the yard with our dog Biggles.  They get on really well.  Probably helps that he is so small.

Bye for now

I can’t wait to sit back and get stuck into the new books I got from Amazon.com this morning!  They came sooner than I expected and I know they are going to be full of juicy things!!

I don’t get much of a chance to make stuff at the moment.  Summer is becoming more demanding for attention each day and by the end of the day I am just too tired to start making things…even tho I so desperately want to.   But she comes first so I have to put my creativity to the side.

Anyway,  having said that,  here is a piece I am currently working on.  I am making this bezel for a black Onyx cabochon.  But I have jumped way ahead of myself..as I am not 100% clear on how to clean it up….so off to the forum to ask for advice.  I absolutely love the internet!!

I am trying to teach myself to set cabochons and it’s not easy when you have no books to refer too…but I am getting there.  I did however come across a little tutorial on YT so that has been quite helpful as far as setting the bezel….I just wish I knew how to finish off the setting properly.  Here are a couple I have done so far

Of course,  I have already gone and scratched the stone on the pendant…..and I need to rewire the right pearl as it doesn’t match the left side….Never mind, it’s all good for practice.  I have quite a few cabochons on their way to me….I love big stones.  Besides the fact that they are easier to set…I personally like jewellry that stands out and is very individual.  The above pieces are only small as the stones are small.

I do have 8 books on their way to me from Amazon right now and I can’t wait to get my hands on them!!  I have saved a tonne of money buying them from there,  as many of the books are worth about 40-50$ each here in stores.  Whereas I got them from Amazon at about 17$ on average.  What a saving!!

I am off to the Endodontist this afternoon…this will be my second appointment.  The first set me back 1200$ and this one probably will cost the same….and then I have to fork out for a cap for the tooth.  NOT happy!!  It is costing a small fortune…money I could put into much more worthwhile endeavors, but as the tooth is quite near the front and on the bottom and I am only 30 years old….I can’t really avoid this.  If it was at the top, I probably would have let them pull the darned thing. (the tooth is getting a root canal).

Anyway,  I am going to try and enjoy the rest of my day until the appointment.  Maybe I should become an Endodontist?  Earning $1000 for a half hour would be absolutely FABULOUS!  I better stop thinking about it…it’s getting me quite angry the money I have to spend on a stupid tooth….what a rip OFF!

Just a few of the latest pics of Summer.

This picture is of the first cuff I forged from 2mm sterling sheet, it’s about 140 grams in weight and it’s hammer finished.

This was the ring we all made in the silversmithing workshop. It was 2 rings sweatsoldered together. It’s not a ring I will wear….looks a bit like a gear or some kind of mans tool.

This is the first ring I have made at home all by myself.  It was a bit too big, but I resized it and it fits perfectly.  All good for practice?!

I have been trying to make glass tile pendants (like everyone else) but I wanted to make them so that they were a bit more special and will last longer.  So I have made a pendant cup kinda thing…..

which I then soldered a jump ring to the top…and then glued in a glass tile. Voila! – This little jewelry project is what started me in the silversmithing side of things as I really needed to learn to solder!

This was my first attempt at sweat soldering at home…I have used copper and sterling sheet and stamped them.  It’s cute, but I still don’t have all the appropriate polishing gear….so it could look better.

The above few pictures are just stamped pendants that I made for myself.

I have made a few other pieces, but nothing of consequence….so I won’t post about them.  I am in the middle of working on another ring for myself and I am waiting on my next order of silver….I hate waiting for parcels…I am sooo impatient.