Mine Hobby

So for the past year-ish (maybe a bit less) one of the things I've been focusing on is trying to develop more of a legit hobby that maybe I can turn to some account some day, or at least enjoy and have another focus besides working. A lot of this focus has been on jewelry making. These are pictures of the significant things I've made so far, I'm looking forward to doing more soon. I've been spending time collecting things (read buying things), but I think I've got enough to shift to actually making more things.

The two silver pieces (the ones with the stones) are the most impressive/complicated. I did them in the silversmithing class I took with my mom. The other two bracelets are aluminum (high enough grade that they are ok on the skin). The rings are buttons, and re-purposed cuff link and earring. The silver stuff required a torch, but as of now I'm trying to do things that don't need a torch. Lots to learn! I'm starting with stamping.
I didn't make these, I bought them at boutiques around Christmas. I'm not planning on anything as ambitious as the birds (aren't they adorable?) but I'd like to maybe do a couple hair things just for me for fun. I'd also like to do some paper-goods stuff, but we'll see how far I get.
The silver bracelet used to look like this...crazy it turned out, huh?
I want to make a necklace soon. I went through the beads/charms that I've collected over the years and pulled out a bunch I want to experiment with...just looking at all those pretty things I love makes me happy.

They hit it on the head...

So I was at a second-hand store trying on jeans and bless them they had plenty of hooks on the wall in the dressing room and they'd labeled them "Love It", "Not Me", "Why Not?' and "What Was I Thinking?". LOL. I think they have done this before...

Mom's Pre-B-Day Dinner at the Dodo

Midway Ice Castles

Beautiful Day!

\

A Fun Evening

...with a pleasantly virtuous sense of organization and accomplishment to it.

Lol.

Gotta love the title of this book and that is is by Mr. Bland.

Mmmm Cookies.

My Aunt had a cookie decorating party...these were my cookies.

Lately I have been....

So the past couple days I've been thinking how badly I need a new blog post, but I haven't really taken pictures of anything too much lately, and I just didn't seem to have anything. Today however, I realized my error.

I got a new schedule at work and I have Wednesdays off. I've dubbed it Sleep-in Wednesday (and I SO relish sleeping past 5am and staying up late on Tuesday night). My mom and I usually do something together after I finally wake up. We had the loveliest day today. We went to run into Sam Weller's bookstore for 10 mins and got lost in the dollar section for 45 mins, shared a yummy sandwich and fries at Tony burger (where we got a delicious table tucked in the corner right by the window with the sun streaming in), then we went to Smith's and bought make-up and bath bubbles and chocolate, hand sanitizer, and other sundry items. It was a lovely mix of spontaneity and productiveness and just the right blend of feeling like you splurged on spending, but didn't have any buyers remorse.

So...that made me realize that what I have been doing a lot of lately is SHOPPING. And I have been enjoying it. It's all been enjoyable shopping (lots for myself, some gift hunting). So I took pictures of the thinks I've bought in the last couple weeks. ...and as there are a lot of pictures I should probably put a rein on the spending soon. :)

My Mom and I took a silversmithing class 6 or so months ago and though it discovered Harbor Freight. It is a tool store and we've been a couple times. It's fun to go wander around and see the totally random things they sell in addition to tools (wheelchairs, noise hair trimmers, knives, some kids toys, polisher complete with ground walnut shell polisher.) You just don't know when you will stumble into something unexpected. And as we are not the most tool savvy people you have ever met we have fun trying to figure out what some of the things are for. Also in general the prices are really good.

This is what I got at Harbor Freight I'm trying to get into making stamped jewelery and have been collecting tools. Find of the day here was the Tweezer set, which was only $6 ish for all of them! I'm stoked!

So a couple weekends ago we got an email about an Estate Sale. I made a firm public declaration that I was not going. Because I have a bad habit of going and buying stuff. ...but Saturday rolled around and I had realized it was in this building that we used to go look at their fountain when I was little, so of course I couldn't miss the opportunity to see inside. :)

I got a bag of random odd and ends. I got it because they had clip-on earring backs you can glue things on (refer to above jewelery comments). It also included such random items as a bunch of those metal bars that attach leather watch straps to watches and some doll house hinges.
Little bud vase ($2)
Cigar box (wood, surprisingly only $1 I bought it to put my drill polishing ends in, but I've decided it's too cute for that and so now am still deciding it's purpose.)
Silver-plated salad tongs...I'll polish them someday. Were supposed to be $3, but he gave them to me for $1, which I thought was funny because he reduced these, but charged me full price for the bag of junk, which were both originally $3.

I didn't have anything to do the other Saturday night, so I decided to look in at Nordstrom Rack...yeah, did some damage. I did need some heels and some shoes to replace my old cute sneakers that are hashed. And though it felt like a lot to spend when I wasn't planning on buying anything that night I am totally tickled with my shoes and will admit to being ridiculously in love with those heels.

We got this new version of Emma from the Library and watched it a ton. It is really well done. I went to Costco to look for RED, but I saw Emma so I grabbed it. Definitely worth owning. I then went to Smith's and bought RED. (Which I keep watching while I clean my room. I just really have fun with a lot of parts of that movie.) Please note no prices here as movies always cost way too much unless you take the trouble to buy them online.

For one of the birthday gifts I was looking for my Mom and I seized the opportunity to go to the farming store (IFA). We also bought this seed corn so we can make some of those heat up things you put in the microwave. It made me want to go to AA Callister's or Smith and Edward's again to see if I can find a cool belt.

And last, but certainly not least....Sam Weller's. I hit the dollar rooms with a gusto. The check out guy's jaw hit the floor when he saw me coming. Almost everything I bought was solely for the cover art. I have a couple different ideas for the uses of these, but I won't expand on them here . Even if they never get used for anything it was just too fun to buy them. I delight in how awful the awful ones are. I don't know why but they just tickle my funny bones to no end. I have previously tried reading a couple of books of the type that I've bought before, but they are pretty painful, so not sure if I'll be reading any of these. But they are OH SO CLASSIC! I heart.

(We went into Sam Weller's for the 1941 Relief Society Magazines, but that's a whole different story).
(I'd like it noted this one is non-fiction.)

So, as you can see, I've been enjoying myself enormously the past couple weeks.