New year, new skills?

This is a fun topic. I get to think about new techniques, new tools, materials and books to buy,  exploring new effects I haven't been able to achieve before in my jewelry.

For the December blogroll of the Aspiring Metalsmiths we are writing about what skill we want to learn next. I said it was a fun topic, but I have a bit of a problem focusing on one skill. I am just starting out as a metalsmith and well, my skills are limited, and I daily see examples of beautiful jewelry and wonderful techniques I someday hope to try. So I feel like a kid in a candy shop (want everything, but in the kid's case it can't get everything because the money comes from mommy or daddy, and in my case I have limited funds and limited time and limited possibilities of learning certain things by myself and with the tools I currently have or can obtain).

Anyway, it's just too hard to focus on one skill, I can't do it! So I have a list.

riveting
I'm embarrassed to say I have never riveted. People say it's not so hard, but I bet it's hard to get it all pretty, like in this beautiful pendant by Anna of AHeronDesign:

hinges

Hinges appear to be tricky. When soldering the parts together, things that should get soldered tend not to, and/or parts that shouldn't get soldered together do get soldered together, leaving you with an unhinging mess. But if you do it well, the result could be something like this beautiful locket by Jaime of BellaBijouJewellery:

enameling
Glass and its vivid colors has always fascinated me. Glass blowing, stained glass, glass mosaic, glass fusing, doesn't it all sound fun -sigh. Enameling is another glass technique and is as big, finicky and difficult as you want to make it. But maybe, for starters, I could try to make a few simple enameled copper discs. I would need to get a book, enamels in all the colors of the rainbow, some essential tools...

And I will be happy if I some day just know more about how a beautiful pendant like this one by Sue Szabo has been made:

I will post any advances on my side in these techniques in future blog posts, which will be a nice way for me to see how long it'll take me to try them all. :)

Finally, read all about my team friends' aspirations in the following blogs:

• Pennee - http://allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
• Gayle - http://thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com
• Jessica @ Abella Blue - www.abellablue.com/blog
• Sylvia Anderson - http://www.sylviaanderson.blogspot.com/
• Autumn Bradley - www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
• Scrollwork Designs - www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com
• Claire - http://brightstar109.blogspot.com/
• Carole - http://www.caroleaxiumdesigns.com/journal/
• Heather - http://mistyridgedesigns.blogspot.com
• Brandy - http://thefrogspond.wordpress.com
• Stacy http://formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/
• Steph Stargell Designs - http://stephstargell.com

Buns in the oven

Well, not yet. No matter how you interpret the title, it's not true. But I have taken the leap. A big step for me and my bank account. I have purchased...

... a kiln.

<- this one!

:)

It's true! Within (hopefully) a few days I will have a brand new kiln that will open up new worlds for me. With it I can fire more types of metal clay, I can make larger objects, hollow objects, I can enamel, fuse glass, and even make small ceramics things! Had it been any cheaper, I would have bought it a long time ago. On the other hand, it's an investment, right? That is always a good thing to say when you really want to buy something. And that is exactly my reasoning when I indulge in the most costly sin I currently have: stone buying. I figure, can't go wrong with stones, right? They don't lose value, they last forever. The only risk there is is that I accumulate so many that I will either forget about half of them or never find them in my badly organized piles and boxes of stones.

So I organized some of my stones:


See, that looks nice! The shameful part is that this is not nearly my entire collection. Ahem.

I put myself on a stone diet that lasted from the middle of June to the beginning of September. During that time I did very well, but afterwards I was right back where I started. Sometimes I feel like an addict!



Here are some of my more recent purchases:

Lovely lavender burro creek jasper from
Etsy seller CabochonDesigner

Pink and green drusy cabochon from
Etsy seller StoneTemple

A wonderful gold calico lace cabochon from
Etsy seller cabbingrough

Aren't they great? Now I'll just have to make something with them and the multiple other beauties I have lying around..