A New Shop

I am so excited. I spent hours working on a new Etsy shop that will hold only my metalwork. I will keep my current shop fara.daisy.jean open for all the other things I love to make. New shop is not officially open yet, but will be soon.

This somehow feels a bit freeing. I am someone who loves to make just about everything. I love learning and I love having a variety of crafts I can go to if I feel worn out on one particular one. It felt kind of wrong though to add far more expensive items among the stuff I am currently selling in my shop. Strange to have a completely handmade piece of jewelry right next to a cheap pair of earrings that were not made from scratch. It felt like two words colliding. I think this will work out well and I also think it will allow me to actually make some less expensive stuff and not feel like it doesn't work with the other things in my shop.

Here is my new Etsy banner that I made today. It could possibly change by the time I actually open the shop, but for now I like it.

PS. A sweet internet friend asked if I have given up leather work. I haven't at all. Actually I just made a tiny pouch the other day and have made a few custom things for people that never made it into my shop. I have to admit though-I really love working with metal and that will most likely be my main focus going forward. Also, the leather store is now about an hour away which makes it harder for me to get out there and buy supplies like I use to. Before we moved I lived about 10-15mins away and went there at least once a week.

PPS. Sometimes I cringe when I think about my blog. It's all about me which gets annoying. But, I guess most blogs are about the person behind it. If I was cool I would have a "Fashion Friday" or something like it, but somehow I doubt you would want to see me in my usual outfit of jeans, purple converse tennis shoes, and a random top. But, maybe I will try to work on making it less about me and more interesting. Hmmm...

Copper Charm Necklaces and Nija Warrior.....say what!?!

Sitting here watching American Ninja Warrior with my husband. Have you seen it? Looks SO HARD!

I finished up two copper charm necklaces today. My hands are really cut up and sore from all the sawing, filing, hammering, and polishing going on the past few days.

I made this necklace for a friend who is just the sweetest. She has 6 kids and my husband teaches one of her oldest piano lessons every week. I know that stamped mommy necklaces are really popular and I have never seen her wearing one so thought it would be fun to make one to give her on her B-day.

I like how it turned out and was inspired to make one I will eventually put into my Etsy store.

I have really enjoyed making these and they are fun to wear. They sort of swish and make a tinkling sound as you move. I gave them both long leather cords so that the wearer can adjust the length. I am really into super long necklaces right now for some reason...

Off to make some hot chocolate! Good night!

New Necklace

I made this the other day. I had originally turned the thick silver wire into a bangle and realized that I never really wear much jewelry and it's beauty was going to waste in the back of my drawer. So, I snipped the bangle and reformed it to make a smaller oval and added the cab.

I also have gotten back into my copper stash since my sterling is getting low and have made two really fun charm necklaces. One of them is for a friend for her Bday and she hasn't seen it yet or else I would post it. The other is one I will post in my shop when it's totally complete.

On a side note-

If you like super yummy easy desserts you HAVE to try this recipe! I made it while my mother in law was in town and everyone loved it.

Ramblings

I have been very neglectful of my Etsy shop lately. I haven't added hardly anything into it for awhile. I am playing around with the idea of totally changing it or keeping it ,but adding another shop for just my metal jewelry. Just not sure...

All I know is that I really love working with metal, but I also love leather, crochet, painting, embroidery, etc. It seems like it wouldn't be good to put that all in the same shop, but I have no clue. Also, I chose the name fara.daisy.jean for my shop because I had a dream one night that I should call it that(random right?). It's my 3 grandmother's names. It sounded sort of strange as a shop name, but I couldn't think of anything else and I felt too shy about having my own name in the title of the store.

Lots of time has passed and I believe I have finally found the creative medium that I want to stick with and grow in for the rest of my life (metal work) and am playing around with the idea of having a shop titled something like- Lindsey Griffith Artisan Jewelry. It feels a little scary to not hide behind a shop name or brand where people have no clue who really makes the stuff. Sometimes I wonder if my friends even know that the FB fan page for my etsy shop is actually connected to me. It feels scary, but really exciting too.

So, I hope to really sit down and work some of this stuff out next week.

side note:
My in laws are in town and I am feeling a bit ill and stayed home while they all went out. BUMMER! Shouldn't have had the $1.99 Chocolate Chip Frappe from McDonald's. Was a bit too much for this gut. Ewww....

Necklace for "K"

I ordered a Pepe disc cutter many months back and I just got it about 2 months ago. It took about 5 months on back order to arrive! Sheeeshhhh

It was worth the wait though and I can't believe I ever actually tried to saw out circles with a jewelers saw. Those circles never made it into jewelry because they never looked round enough.

I got a custom order from my brother in law for a necklace for my niece. He wanted something simple for her because she is only 10 and he gave me a verse to stamp that would be meaningful for her along with her initials. I enjoy making these kinds of necklaces and especially for people that I love. I hope she likes it!

Good Day

Today has been such a nice day full of friendship, iced coffee, and a wave of creativity.
I met a friend for lunch who is having a hard season in life. We chatted and had a real good honest talk about our friendship and the struggles she is having at the moment. I can relate to her in that I feel like I am stepping out of a hard season and entering into a nicer one. Thank you Lord! Would we appreciate life if it weren''t for the hard, dry, bare times that add contrast to the happy, easy, fun times? Also, the hard seasons seem to mold us and shape us into better people if we allow it. Allowing us growth if we choose it. Just thinking...

After, I grabbed an iced coffee to-go from my favorite local coffee shop. I just adore this place-The Red Lark cafe and the owners (also my neighbors). It's a small little shop that resides in a 100 year old house. So cozy and they always play music from the 1940's. They also allow me to sell some of my stuff there which I really appreciate. I sipped on it while driving home and once I got home I had sort of an -I have no idea what to do with myself moment. I sat at my little silver-smithing work station and decided to work on an idea that rolled over an over in my head while laying in bed last night.-side note- Why is it that I ALWAYS have lots of ideas while I am trying to go to sleep, but don't want to wake my husband by turning on the light to write the ideas down. So, I try with all my might to remember a few and this was one of them.

I am still very new at silver-smithing and am not always sure if I can make an idea actually work. I know it's not a complicated ring at all, but I knew I wanted a 3-d sort of flower and it took some finagling to make it work how I pictured in my mind. I am really happy with how it turned out and I think it's my favorite thing that I have made so far. I think I might play around with some more 3-d type flowers in future stuff. Another side note- I want to turn every stone into a ring. Not a necklace or bracelet-just rings. I don't know why, but I love making rings.

New Jewelry

Here are a few new pieces that I have made in the past two weeks.
I decided to keep this ring for myself along with the necklace that follows. I am finding it hard to part with the silver items I make, but I suppose to keep feeding my habit it would be a good thing to let a few things go....

I am not quite sure what I am doing with these next pieces. I might do a give-a-way for the ring below.

This necklace will probably show up in my Etsy store eventually.

And then there is this little ring. I secretly call it the Jelly Bean ring. The two stones remind me of little jelly beans and the polk-a-dots are just fun.

Just a Few Things

It's been such a long while since I last made a post and I have so many random things that I would like to share. Can I fit them all into one post??? I may try.

* We spent about a week in Branson Missouri visiting family. It was a really fun time. Uncle Chris and aunt Lindsey(that's me) took our nieces and nephew roller skating one day. None of them had ever been to a skating rink before! I hadn't been on skates since maybe 8th grade so I was a little nervous, but it all came back to me and it was a blast.
side note-One of my nieces said to my other niece," I know uncle Chris is the cool uncle, but who is your favorite uncle?"   hahahaha......I love it!

* I have made a few new jewelry pieces from silver. 3 rings and 2 necklaces. I will probably show you those in the next post. I also recently went to a Bead and Jewelry show in Nashville which was supposed to have ALL KINDS of things. I knew it was at the fair grounds and I thought it would be huge. I coaxed my husband into going with me and when we got there it was only one rooms worth of beads. There were only 2 people selling cabochons(which is what I came for) and even they hardly had any to choose from. It was only a dollar to get in and I did buy 3 cabochons so I guess it wasn't a total loss.

* I have been thinking about starting another blog totally unrelated to crafts or jewelry making or any of that type of thing. Here is the thing-and I think this is why I haven't posted lately. I am a Christian and there is a whole other side of me that doesn't really get seen on this blog. Actually, I really don't share many personal things on here at all because for some reason I don't feel free to. It's like I have already established this blog, this place, as a place where I show new work and throw in a recipe every once in awhile. Where I keep things light. That is all fine and dandy, but lately there has been a lot going on in me spiritually. A huge stirring of the heart-maybe you know what I mean. I just sort of feel compelled to write out some of those thoughts and this just isn't that place. So, if you might be interested in joining me on another blog I will give you the web address as soon as I start it. I will keep posting on this one though because frankly I am OBSESSED with making things and love to share with you. Did I mention to you that I want to try and learn quilting...oh boy.

* I have been reading a lot lately. I never really grew up reading for fun. It felt like a chore. My husband has always been a reader and it has finally rubbed off on me. I love to read! The funny thing is that lately I have somehow found myself really interested in novels about Amish people. I didn't know they even existed because I really didn't think an Amish love story would make for a good read, but I am wrong. It's been interesting too to learn more about their beliefs and culture through these books. I just finished Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long. I think years ago if someone recommended something like this to me I would have made a point to NOT read it. This book really has a great love story and a great message about what it means to really love someone.

Alright-I think this is long enough, wouldn't you say? Have a wonderful Tuesday!

PS. I bought new sandals yesterday. I feel like a post needs a picture so here is this ones. Ha ha....don't mind my crooked toes. Feet are so weird aren't they?!?