Eye of the Tiger

I haven’t been cooking too much lately. It’s just been too darn HOT. We’ve been eating a lot of salads to help keep us cool. And they are all salads you’ve seen before too, so nothing new; nothing to see here.

What I have been doing though, is working on more jewelry. I am working on gift pieces right now; nothing new for me at the moment. I have four September birthdays, one October birthday, and Christmas that I am currently working on. Needless to say, I am creatively busy right now. 🙂

My latest set was a set of tiger’s eye earrings and a matching pendant. I just finished them yesterday. They were definitely a challenge though. Just when I thought I was almost finished with them, something would happen and I would have to start over again. I wasn’t too happy about that, but it is what it is. As you can see, I persevered and now the set is complete.

There were design changes along the way too.

Once I settled on the design, I started making my bezels.

The biggest setback happened when I was drilling the holes at the top. For whatever reason, the drill didn’t go completely through, so a couple of my instructors tried different ideas. Sadly, not only did those not work, but they actually made me have to remake my bezel again. If you look closely, you can see how the silver broke right at the top of the hole. I was almost done too.

Because I mixed my metals, using both silver and bronze, I wanted to bring in more bronze accents to highlight the bronze, but I was talked out of it. I still think it would have been very pretty and unique, but one of my instructors said ” it would look like crap and something you could find as thrift store throw-away”. I disagree, but I went along with her advice; this time. Usually she does not steer me wrong, so I listened. She is VERY knowledgeable, and definitely knows her stuff. Another time though, when I have more confidence. I was just frustrated because of all the setbacks.

This set was definitely full of trials and tribulations. But the end result was worth all the headaches and frustrations. Are they perfect? ABSOLUTELY NOT, but they were made with love, and quite a bit of blood sweat and tears too.

I have two lessons here: 1) Always have a plan B, because things will always change and 2) Perseverance is key. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Life doesn’t always go always go as planned. Be prepared to shift gears and go with the flow rather than forcing something that doesn’t work. Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.