I don’t profess to be a gardener of any renown, in fact I am just the opposite. If a seedling makes it through to adult hood it is cause for great celebration. Last year I actually did well with my little herb garden and was excited for some warm weather to get it started again. Last Saturday I toiled away mixing the soil, filling the pots, planting the seeds and making sure to mark what type of herb each pod contained. Once I was done I placed the two trays of future herbs on the patio table to sit in the indirect sun and begin the growing process.

This process was sadly disturbed when later that day my Labrador Mix decided that these trays of future herbs would be the most wonderful play toys. Each was carefully dragged off the table, dumped out and promptly chewed up and strewn about the yard.

Anyone with a Lab knows what I am talking about. Their destructive powers know no bounds. I can just imagine Moxie laying in the shade watching this all go down saying… oooohh you are going to be in soo much trouble!

So next weekend, a trip to the local green house is in order. I don’t think I have the patience for seedlings anyway. Now to figure out a way to keep the dog who escapes from windows away from them.

It is important to invest into yourself and your education. So this weekend, that is exactly what I am going to do.

I am excited to be a part of the Revere Academy‘s very first webinar. I would really like to take some metalsmithing classes from them at some point as well. This class is called Prepare for Success with Harriete Estel Berman . It is a two day class and covers a lot of different aspects of running an art business. When I first started selling my work I was pretty naive and believed that I would just make some really cool stuff and sell it, but I have come to find out there is A LOT more to it than that, especially if you want your business to grow. Sometimes it is scary to spend money on things like this because you aren’t getting a physical product you can make money from, like supplies. But, I have found the more knowledge I have about how to run a business, the more efficient I become and that equals more time in the studio, which makes me happy and helps me grow my business.

So, how are you investing into yourself this weekend?

Beer @ RedRock Brewery SLC - Taken with instagram

Cheers! And happy Friday. I hope you have a fantastic weekend planned.

~Jessica

Does anyone remember that song from Bambi? Well, it is still a bit soggy around these parts. But I have heard a rumor that we should be getting some fantastic weather this weekend. I am excited because my poor yard needs some TLC in a major way. Also we are re-finishing some dressers and while I could paint the end tables in the kitchen, the dresser needs more room. But I have heard that painting in the rain does not generate the best results. So we have put it off for sunnier days.
I have lots of projects going on. What spring time projects do you have coming up?

Stay dry!

~Jessica

These are some tiny running shoe stud earrings. You can see them in my running jewelry section of the shop. I am excited to expand the running line. I have been thinking about this line a lot lately and big changes and additions are in the works.

These little studs are the beginning of a new line. They are little cupped sterling silver discs with a garnet gemstone bezel set in the middle. These have been great by themselves or in a second set. You can find them in the post earrings section of the shop.

Last but not least I have added this lovely textured piece to my One of a kind jewelry section.

I have been busy and loving every minute of it. I just ordered a new tool that I am really excited about and will hopefully share the results with you soon!

Each month (or as often as we can manage) a group of metalsmiths on Etsy get together to blog about the same topic. This month we were asked to talk about how the changing seasons and the coming of spring effects our work.

I feel like I am overly effected by the change. I love spending time outdoors and I find that time I had been using to come up with new products is now being spent planning my garden and playing outside. It is just so hard to go down into my basement studio when the weather is so nice and the sun is shining. I try to bring my sketchbook out with me so I can at least work on some new ideas. I have even been known to drag out a few tools and work outside on days that are just too irresistible.

I also see my designs and color pallet change. I am very inspired by what I see around me and cannot help but be influenced by the beauty of nature around me. Utah is like that. You cannot help but be awed by the mountains, and forests. They are my favorite part about living here and I spend a lot of my time there, especially in the summer.

Take a look at other artists blogs and how they respond to the spring season:

Steph Stargell stephstargell.com
Lilian girllovesglitter.blogspot.com
Pennee – All Wired Up Jewelry Designs allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
nancycreations nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
SerpentsDanceDesigns dancetothedoor.blogspot.com
Autumn Bradley autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes cjbf.blogspot.com
Sylvia Anderson sylviaanderson.blogspot.com
Gloria gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com
Amy Estelle amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-has-sprung.html
Esmeralda jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.se/2012/04/signs-of-spring.html

I don’t know why, but for some reason my basement causes my tools to rust. I didn’t have a problem with rust when I was working upstairs, but about three days after I had moved it all in the basement into my very own room dedicated just to my studio, the red stuff crept in and launched a sneak attack. I had to put smaller tools and more expensive tools in plastic bins with lids with those little packets that come with shoes that tell you not to eat them.

Can I tell you how much of a pain that stuff is to get off once it has taken hold of a tool? Then I saw someone posted a tutorial for removing rust and I decided to try it.  I went to my local Ace hardware immediately and picked some up. It is called “Nevr-dull” and comes in a tin full of smelly cotton ball stuff. I used rubber gloves and did it outside because… well… it smells. But it worked beautifully. After a bit of scrubbing you can see the difference, especially on the saw and hammer.

Have you tried anything similar? How do you keep rust away?

Where have I been? Well, I have happily been busy down in the studio cutting out these little guys for the running shoe necklace. This is a snapshot taken by phone of the pieces in progress. I have drawn the shoe in a computer program and aligned them so that I would have minimal scraps of silver. Then I printed the sheet out and used rubber cement to glue it to the silver. Next I will use a jewelers saw to cut out each running shoe, and heart.

So if you need me I will be in the studio polishing and packaging these babies up and sending them to their new homes!
Have a great day!

~Jessica

You may remember this cute little shoe design incorporated in my Runners Necklace that I had initially made for my Mom and her Half Marathon. Here are a few more variations on the design that I have added to my shop in the Jewelry for Runners section.

I love the little pink tourmaline. I also got a chance to use the new letter stamps I just bought.

Which one is your favorite?