Buried in the studio

I've not given up blogging, I'm just buried in the studio. Busy time trying to get my wholesale orders out as well as make stock for my two biggest shows. So this would probably not be the best time to start experimenting with totally new ideas but as always, it's when I'm feeling the most creative.

Today 2 rings were "born". I made the tops and Elizabeth made the bands. Since it's been probably 15 years since I made a ring, this is a big deal. Back then I was known for my rings and they were high end gold with asymmetrical faceted stones, all one-of-a-kind and pretty darn wonderful. Very labor intensive and I finally just burned out on them.

My new rings are totally different. Not meant to be worn every day, they are fun. Sterling and 22k gold, one with a stone and one with a pearl. Layered with dimension. Simple, unfussy designs. There will be pictures coming soon. These are fun to make so now I have to see if anyone else likes them! It may be one of those naked moments but then again, I love them enough that I'm not as concerned about what others think... yeah, right.

Ruby arrives!

Oh glorious day, Ruby has arrived! A little peanut at 5 pounds, 15 ounces with tons of hair and absolutely beautiful. I've never seen a man grin and glow as much as her father did this morning. And Mom looks as beautiful as she does happy, marveling at her little girl. All is right with the world today! Now I just have to get used to whatever her real name will be. She'll always be Ruby to me... Later the same day... her name is Anna. It fits her beautifully!

One more show and things move on

I'm now well into my "eight weeks of hell" as I lovingly call it and am finding that it needs renaming. I absolutely love this time of year and the pressure it brings. My work gets a little freer and I have more ideas than I have time to make things. Plus there is an end to it. I love this time of year!

So I had one more show this past weekend. Another new one which I hadn't tried before and as delightful as it was to do, I don't think I would do it again. Buy/sell items and filled with low end jewelry means there will be sticker shock in my booth. Sunday only one person wanted to actually see something in my booth and he was more interested in the back and if that was really my signature! It's so hard to know before actually doing the show if it's going to be a good fit or not. This was not. Live and learn.

One more idea junked

It sounded like a great idea. Take a picture of your bench every Thursday and it will tell a story. Only this week it didn't look like my life had moved forward at all. There was more white space but all it did was remind me of all the things I have started but not finished. My eight weeks of hell is not a good time to try something like that. Maybe after. Right now I have to make cool new jewelry...

Story of a microwave

I tend to feel things passionately, I'll admit. I love lots of people and things deeply. There aren't many things I hate but it's with the same passion although it's usually short-lived. I hate my new microwave...

My microwave was a few years old but just did things really well and we were very comfortable together. And then the display lost a couple of lines. Which meant you really didn't know the correct time of day or how much time was left when microwaving. I decided it was time for a new one so started the search.

The first thing I discovered was that microwaves seem to have grown considerably in size. And decreased in power. Most had too many bells and whistles. Finally I found one that worked and wasn't too bad. Brought it home, set it up and started hating it. Shiny stainless inside - big mistake. Can't see in the window when it's on, probably because it's too shiny inside! It's just clunky. Plus it doesn't cook evenly. I don't like anything about it. I hate it. But I'm stuck with it.

Wandering through Home Depot yesterday (can't just get in and out there) I walked by a huge display of microwaves. Something called to me and I had to just look. And there she was. This cute little silver microwave. Since my current microwave is only 3 months old, I'm not in the market but decide to read the book on this one - just for fun. Hum, same wattage as the hated one. Looks smaller. It's much cuter. AND it's only 79.99!!! Which is a whole lot less than what I paid for hated one. She's meant to be mine. I can find someone to take the hated one I'm sure...

Turns out they don't have any more of the cute microwave. Only the display one which they won't sell me. Of course they did sell it in the end. She was meant to go home with me. She looks so cute in the hated ones space! Okay, so she has a funny rattle when she's on but she cooks better and doesn't spend that much time on so I can live with that part.

My original microwave that started this whole process ended up in the studio where it does a beautiful job reheating cold coffee and frozen lunches. But that's not quite the end. Today the display on the that microwave decided to work perfectly again...