Digging through the bench

I don't know why I feel like I haven't accomplished much this weekend. I finished this little piece:

This is a sterling silver ring with a small copper accent. It's my first attempt into more 'delicate' jewellery. I can't really afford the silver for ring blanks, so I've had to get a little creative with the materials that I had. This ring is made from 14GA wire that I put through my rolling mill. I flattened it to a thickness of 1mm, and a width of about 1.5mm. The copper came from some wire I bought at the hardware store (They're starting to get used to some random red head coming in and buying random electrical and plumbing supplies). The leaf was purchased at work, Stones and Findings.

I also managed to finish off a project my Dad and I started last week:

It started out like this

Turned into these

Will be sold looking like these

 So I'm quite happy that was finished. I also made a copper bracelet, but that's really just a quick bangle, nothing special to post here.

Thoughts from the weekend:

• Don't be afraid to melt things. Yes, it didn't work. Yes, it might sit around in your drawer for a few years. Yes, you'll find something to use it for.
• Don't be afraid to use what you have. You don't HAVE to go shell money out on silver plate, you can improvise with the more affordable materials that you have.
• Using tweezers to hold things together for soldering ISN'T cheating. If it works, who cares how you got there.
• If you've been wishing for a particular tool/play thing/animal for years, just go out and buy the damn thing.
• Even though I see other people's jewellery online and think 'wow, thier stuff is so much nicer then mine', I have to remember that I still have a skill that 90% of the rest of the world doesn't.

Perspective. It makes life a lot easier.