Weekly update. . .recovery is a process

Thankfully my kitty is recovering 😇 he made it thru the medicine and seems to be eating more voluntarily. The vet check-up was ok, his blood work is still not right, but we will go back on Monday and hope for continued improvement. 🙏My own toothache is still here, I'm almost thru my antibiotics so it is hurting way less than before. 

I feel like I didn't accomplish much this week, but I actually did. 😉 I did finish a 3rd pumpkin.  I did redo the stem on the large one.  I did get them turned into jewelry. 

I did get set-up for a photo shoot and I did get some really good shots, I think. 😊 I even did stylized photos with props, which is a first for me. 

I think I need some practice, but after lots of shifting things around and trying different display stands, I am pretty happy with the photos in the listing. 😎 The best part is I did get it finished, photographed and listed just in time for the #makerchallenge deadline. 🎉  

Next week it is time to dive into the kits I bought, scalemaille flowers, Japanese balls, and star ornaments. Yes, I am starting on Christmas ornaments, I am hoping that by starting so early in the year I can have dozens of them done for the "holiday" shows I applied for. Even if I don't get into the second juried event, I'd like to list them online as sets this year.  😉

Weekly update. . .not so good

Well, it is time for a weekly update but this week the update is not so good.  I have a dental infection and am on drugs for my toothache. Also, my Jaspurrr has been diagnosed with FIV and is having a bout of anemia. 😞 

Ironically my cat and I are both on amoxicillin 😅 although mine are capsules and his liquid is mixed with something else. 

I did get a couple of things done.  I even got them photographed and listed too. 😉  But I have not started on my kits from Metal Designz yet. I really need to get another pumpkin done so I can make them into the earrings and pendant set to submit to the #makerchallenge for the month. There are only 5 days until the deadline for the monthly maker challenge. I did not get to make several practice versions or work on my wire stems, but I am going to finish the set and submit it. 😐

I got a new tool! A cute little tumbler to clean and polish all my bright aluminum rings. I have used it a bit, just testing but I cleaned and started to polish a couple of my old bracelets. A good and bad idea at the same time because not all patterns took it well. 😏 I mean all the bracelets came out clean and shinier, but I had to spend some time getting the one un-bound and straightened out.  So, I plan to pre-tumble the rings from now on that way they can be clean and extra shiny *before* they become complicated weaves that are hard to clean. 😉

I am claiming victory over my google analytics conversion, I got the new stuff to work with my Mosiac, so I can still get visitor/traffic data. Unfortunately, my pinterest html has all been blanked again. 😐 All this tech stuff is supposed to be easy-peasy set and go but it seems like it is in constant need of maintenance and monitoring instead.  😅

Weekly update. . .busy week

In this week's update I admit to being too busy. 😏 I had big plans for learning all the new things and making lots of Christmas ornaments and pumpkins and earrings. However, that didn't quite work out, instead someone bought the rainbow box chain before I even had it finished. 😧 So I had to finish it and get it in the mail quickly and start it all over again. (I took the listing down this time) 

I did get it shipped on time and the latest re-make is going quick so hopefully soon I can get back to doing all the other things, which would be good because I have a lot planned.  I need to make the Celtic star earrings in several colors with matching pendants. I did figure out chainmaille pumpkins and I can do 2 sizes with the rings I have on hand, but I do need to practice with the wire stems. 😏

Even though the pumpkins are cute I have no idea what to do with them. I'm not sure I trust the wire stems for earrings or pendants, maybe my wire is too soft or I'm just crazy, but I am concerned that it will wear badly and not last. 😟 I have always been way paranoid about people being disappointed. 

In a rare move for me I bought "kits" from another mailler. 

I have not purchased an actual kit since I first started over a decade ago. 

Thanks go to Metal Designz

I have never been able to figure out scale flowers, I have tried and they just don't work, I think it's because my standard ring sizes are the wrong sizes for the pattern. I also really wanted to learn those Japanese ball ornaments because they look amazing but again I didn't have the right rings sizes to make them. Now I get to test myself and see if I can follow directions, lol.

😅 I'm not sure the odds are in my favor. 😂😅

 

It's July and I'm late. . .

I have been trying to post weekly lately but after the craft fair and recovery and the July Fourth holiday I've been busy planning for the next big thing. 😅 I have been making things, learning new chain patterns, and I applied for 2 more events. 😉 I'm not sure I'll get into both, one of them is a "juried" thing which I've never done before, the other is a fall version of the craft fair at the fairgrounds like I did last month.  

Both events have a fall/winter/holiday theme, so I am working on more Christmas ornament designs and autumnal wire trees. I'm also going to add some orange and black chainmaille and attempt some pumpkins. 😎 I have several ideas for booth decorations including a small Christmas tree to display the ornaments. 

There are some star designs that I think will make great ornaments if I upsize the rings. My current ring sizes are a bit limited, but they do make nice earrings. 😇

And also pendants, especially if I can find the right sized crystals to capture in the center. 

I have so many ideas for things to make, it's a good thing that the shows aren't until September and November. 😅