Ding Dong, The Cast Is Gone!

Yay, Hooray, and Hallelujah!  The cast is finally gone, and I am back to work!  I am still wearing a splint for a week or two as my wrist is very weak, but it gets a bit better every day, and at least I have the use of my hand again. =0)

I've been making up for lost time by chainmailling like a madwoman.  Here are three new pieces I've made since the cast was removed on the 15th:

By the way, how do you like that slick new background?  Can you guess what it is?  It's the glass patio table on our deck!  After all of the money and time and effort I put into arranging backgrounds for my product shots, it turns out I had the perfect thing in my back yard the whole time!  Go figure...

Now that I am getting back to normal, I am busy, busy, busy cleaning up my studio, and getting ready to teach classes there.  Speaking of classes, here's some exciting news: I have just arranged to teach Chain making at Massasoit in the fall!  There will be three consecutive evening classes on the Brockton campus beginning in October.  Please look for it in the Massasoit catalog that will be coming out soon.  I'd love to see you there!

Cast Signing, Anyone?

A hearty welcome to Spring, and good riddance to Old Man Winter!  On this, the first official day of Spring, I am celebrating (?) the one month anniversary of breaking my wrist after a nasty spill on the ice in our backyard.  It's been a rough winter, but it's over now, and I win because the ice is gone, and I'm still here.  Take that, stupid, stupid ice!

The end result of all this is that I am unable to create any chain maille, and am trying to do everything else one handed.  My hat is off to all of the redoubtable souls out there who routinely make do with less than two hands, two legs, eyes, ears, and/or whatever else.  I don't know how you do it, but you have my undying admiration. I, for one, am tired of this, and would like very much to have my two hands back, please.  Well, anyway, my cast is available for signing, if anyone is interested.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some photos of the last thing I made before my big owee boo-boo took over my life:

This is an Argentium Silver and Niobium European Four In One bracelet with a Sterling Silver box clasp.  I wish I had more to show you, but I'm afraid I won't be doing any chainmailling for a while.  The cast is coming off some time in May, and I don't know how much physical therapy I will need, so I can't say when exactly I'll be able to get back to work.  The sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned.  The good news is that I've been gaining strength and mobility daily, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed (left hand only!) for a speedy recovery.  I may try my hand (no pun intended) at making some precious metal clay charms... I'm thinking that I might be able to handle (there's that word again!) that because there are fewer tools involved.  I guess we'll see about that.
Anyway, Happy Spring to all...
 ✿ ✿ ✿

Sigh... Dreaming Of Blue Hawaii ☼

Wouldn't it be grand to get away from all of this nasty winter weather?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67243879/blue-hawaii-chainmaille-charm-bracelet

Zen and the fine art of coffeemaking...

Well, it seems everything old is new again... again.  If you're reading this in the New England area, you know that we've had a LOT of snow lately.  So much snow that we're starting to wonder where we're going to put it all, and as I write this, more is coming down...

 
 But I digress.  A couple of weeks ago, we had such a heavy, wet snowfall, that many of us in the South Shore area (that's me) lost their electricity for a while. That meant no tv news, no lights, no computer, and worst of all, NO COFFEE!  Aaaaaargh!  Then, out of desperation, I had a crafty idea: down to the basement where we have all of our old camping equipment stored, searching, searching... Eureka!  I found our old percolator!  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had to look in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook to figure out how to work this mysterious contraption, but intrepid New Englander that I am, I followed the instructions, lit the gas stove with a match (electronic ignition doesn't work in a power failure), and voila!  Yummy, hot, nectar of the gods... coffee!  Yay!

Much to my surprise, I learned that coffee that has been percolated on the stove the old fashioned way is far superior to the thin, watery stuff that was coming from my drip coffeemaker.  Robust, flavorful, and it even smells good while it's perking on the stove.  So, I've dispensed with my Mr. Coffee, and have decided to keep doing things the old fashioned way - coffee-wise, anyway.  Believe me, I won't be rushing down to the creek to do my laundry any time soon, and I won't be chain mailling by candlelight.  But in this, at least, I'm returning to a more simple way of doing things, and am feeling pretty good about it.

Speaking of feeling good about things, please stay tuned for some new chain maille and metal clay additions coming soon.  I'm feeling an urge to get busy creating, and am intending to put this chilly winter weather to good use.  If I must be indoors, (and when the temperature is in the single digits, I'm afraid I must) I'll be spending my time coming up with some new designs and lots of new pieces that will go in my Etsy store and can be viewed in person at the Gemorama store in Hanover, Ma, and also at the sportsman's shows that Ed and I are participating in.  The next one, by the way, is this weekend in Marlboro.  Please come by and say hello!

Anyway, here's a sneak peek preview of some of my new designs:

Sterling and Niobium Byzantine Bracelet with Blue Topaz Clasp

Stainless Steel Rosettes Bracelet

Precious Metal Clay Heart Pendant ~ Personalized With Your Photo

One Of A Kind Sterling Persian Necklace With Zircon Gemstone Pendant

Stay warm everyone!

New Year, New Look For Savoir Faire!

I've been thinking (a lot) lately about Savoir Faire Creations, and what it is that makes my humble little business unique.  What is there to set it apart from all of the other online purveyors of  jewelry and such?  The answer: history!

There's no way to get around it; Savoir Faire Creations, of course, is a reflection of me.  It should be no surprise therefore, that in its offerings is reflected my love of history learned at my Daddy's knee.  This year I'd like to make it a celebration of women throughout history, be they naughty or nice.  Beginning at the beginning with Lilith, that independent first woman of the bible, all the way forward to screen sirens like Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren.   Ooh la la!

You may have noticed that I've changed Savoir Faire's logo and logo color.  Gone is the Art Deco look, and gone too (at least for now!) is the pink.  I've opted instead for a more calligraphic feel with illuminated initials, and have included one of my favorite quotes. Girls just wanna have fun, you know, and behaving badly is much more fun than behaving well!

In any case, having downloaded about twenty five different fonts, and created quite a few prototype logos, I finally settled on this one.  I'm pretty happy with it... I'd love to know what you think.

Welcome to 2011

What is it about the beginning of a new year?  It inspires us to make resolutions, change old habits, and clear up loose ends.  But, many of us find that while the spirit is willing, the flesh is oh so weak, and those well intentioned resolutions fall by the wayside after just a few weeks.  I think that maybe failed resolutions are a result of trying to take on too much all at once.  We want to lose weight, quit smoking, get all of our bills paid on time, exercise more... on and on and on.  Some years ago, I firmly resolved to make no more resolutions.  THAT one at least, I've managed to keep.

But this year I've been thinking: instead of trying to change my world, make myself perfect, do everything all at once, phew, I'm already tired... what about taking some small, baby steps to start reaching toward those goals?  I believe I'll start here with this brief post, and make a resolution to post here at least once a week, even if it's only a line or two, so stand by for more from this little corner of the world...