TFT - WsIP

Thats WorkS in Progress today. :)

I had a GREAT time at the bench last night - even though it was one of those exploratory kind of nights. I can NEVER seem to just leave well enough alone and do what I know, or repeat what is 'safe'. So lat night I got into a struggle with a 12 ga piece of sterling wire. I haven't really worked with any large gauge wire for a while, I tend to forget what a bear it can be.

But, out of my struggle - came this WIP

This is 12 gauge sterling with an 8mm lab sapphire....and a smaller gauge wire for the top part.

I plan on adding chain to each side to complete the piece (after I clean it up some more, polish it, and set the stone!)

I made 3 ring shanks - like this one - got them all soldered and now need to make just the right settings for them!

That's the fun part - looking at all my yummy stones!

I like the shank - its simple, lightweight, but different...makes a statement (almost) without really trying. Ya know?

I re-took some photos last night - am going to be adding a new photo with each online listing for a ring - it will show the ring on a mandrel - for sizing purposes. This one has a split view because the shank is a stirrup shape and I wanted to show how it sits up a bit making sizing difficult.

The next one is just a repolished ring - love the polisher!

This ring looks SO much better with a higher polish.

What else - ohhhhhhhhh, I have two little sterling pendants - warty little things - I totally forgot about them. I had made something similar in copper to enamel on and then thought - why not silver? They are different, quirky, organic...fun. I need to oxidize them and polish or tumble - but I'll snap photos tonight, even if I don't work on them.

I guess that's all.

My LG fell today and wacked his elbow but good. Got a call from camp - he wanted to stay even though it was a good knock. Got another call from camp - increased swelling, numbness....they put him in a sling. My Dad was good enough to go get him - took him to the doc for me - they just called on their way home - no x-ray, just rest and ibuprofen and see how it is tomorrow. Poor LG.

I guess he wont' be going to swim practice tonight. hmmmmmmmmm, that means I might have a bit of extra time tonight.....

oh.

Is that my bench calling? ;-)

Janice

Friday Favorites!

I am borrowing today's FF from a friend - Melissa of Melissa Meman Designs, but in a more general way.

My fave for today is 'blogs'

Blogging and blogpals and blognews and blog memes and blog themes and blog schemes.....oh, wait, sorry - got carried away.


But seriously. I love blogs.

I enjoy blogging to some degree, but moreover I just enjoy blogs in general. Love reading them, following them, linking to them, commenting on them. My only problem is there aren't enough hours in the day! I can't get to them all.


I think blogs are a great way to stay connected, a great way to meet people, to speak out, to share, to see, and be seen.

I have probably have about 40 blogs in my 'reader'. I don't actually visit them each day, but I skim every post in my reader, every day. I often click through though and comment - on a handful, and not the same ones each day. Just when I am particularly inspired or moved or feel I have something to add......... or when something surprises me or in some way catches my fancy, or just 'when'. A blog the other day asked about people's favorite colors - I'm a people, so I commented! :-) (seems a lot of people like red and purple)


As with sappy commercials, I can be moved to tears by a blog. Someone, you know who you are, has been intermittently writing about her experience with adoption. Been moved to tears more than once there.

I laugh out loud at blogs - Lisa of "It's a lovely life" often causes me to LOL. (thank you!)

There are blogs that make me hungry, (yum, and ohh yum)
blogs that inspire me,
or make me think,
or just entertain me
or some that do a lot of the above

and some that blow me out of the water - in more ways than one - check his employee award in the sidebar - Hans is one of a kind, truly. :)

there are blogs that I read faithfully that I've never commented on. Sometimes because they are written in another language (OK, it has subtitles, but I'm not sure it always did) and sometimes just "because".

So now you know.

I'm a blog-aholic.

And I don't want help. I am hopelessly addicted and really happy for my enablers - ya know, feeds, readers, "following". Its made it relatively easy to hide my addiction and carry on without anyone performing an intervention. And many of you are co-dependents. You visit here, you comment, you link to blogs in your blogs and on your websites. Its all a sick sick web we're weaving........but I'm planning on living in denial. How 'bout you?


:0

OK, enough about that. I mentioned rings the other day and someone asked for pics......

Recent rings...

"Crater" - sterling and swiss topaz.














"Sprouts" Sterling














and then this friggin' thing which I can't seem to get polished right and if I keep going over it with wheels and buffs and steel wool I'll have no gold left on it...















The part inbetween the gold balls looks bad - its got like umm, drag marks kind of, ya know? I LOS'd it to cover but then can't get the LOS off 'right'....what to do? Suggestions? My last resort may be to LOS it dark and then scratch finish it so it looks like graphite...the gold would still pop and I'd not have to worry about scratches or too much LOS or LOS in the wrong spots, etc.

Thoughts?

~Janice
Keep comin' back, it works if you work it! ;-)

Giveaway Entries closed! (and a ring...)

ENTRIES (COMMENTS) ARE NOW CLOSED!! (TH 11:44PM)

I WILL RANDOMLY PICK A WINNER TOMORROW MORNING!

And here is a ring I finished tonight:

Charoite and sterling and lots of texture!

Night!!

~Janice

Schizo Ring - the rest of the story

After I took the pictures (see previous blog entry) I put the ring in the tumbler with another that I had started.

Went off about my business - came back later, pulled the rings out, quietly praying and hoping that the flush set stone would still be 'set'.

Dump everything in a strainer, turn on the water, fish around - AHHHH! There's the ring!! and YAY!!! Stone is still set!

uuuuuuh - - - oops.

Nope.

Wrong.

No stone.

@!#$@

What I initially thought was the stone was just an iridescent bubble. So I found the stone and went back to the bench (its midnight by now) and put the stone back in and set it yet again. (and YAY! it worked! so at least now I've done it twice and think I can probably do it again!)

But...uhhhh...oops.

BIG scratch in the setting. Hmmm, lets just go with the flow. So now the top of the ring has flowing lines coming out from the stone - reminiscent of a wave sun or flower or something. I dunno.

It IS the schizo ring after all. It just can't decide what it wants to be.

Pictures pending as per usual. :)

~Janice

TFT - Part II - new pics

After a busy evening running two towns over to check on my daughter's 'wrecked' car and having a bite to eat out, and shopping for a birthday gift and teacher present and some odds and ends, dropping off friend, driving home....put little guy to bed, let dogs out...yadda yadda yadda....

........*deep breath*...........

snapped a few pics of the schizo ring......

On one side - light and airy - 'filligree-ish'.(from bottom - shank)

On the other side - solid, contemporary, heavy - scratch finish and a bit of bling. (from the top)

Schizo Ring.

~Janice