PENDANT #1 .... ALMOST FINISHED!!

Physical therapy has really helped my arm get stronger, and I've been able to get back to doing some jewelry projects. I signed up for Leslie Kail Villarreal's Boho Pendant class, not knowing if I could complete one of the projects. I CAN DO IT! I CAN DO IT!

Here's a photo of my pendant so far. It actually looks better "in person". I still need to clean up the imperfections. Let me tell you, this one was a really hard project for me. Making the bezels to fit the tiny tiny stones was challenging. Will they fall out? Time will tell .....

My next pendant will be simpler. I have four oval turquoise pieces with the high domed center piece. It should be easier. The one after that has the ovals and teardrop shapes ....

Two more weeks before the cuff class starts. Remember that I was working on my cuff ... went to OSH on January 1st to buy the trailer ball hitch for shaping the cuff when Charlie and I met each other in the driveway. I tripped over him and I fell. Not his fault, as he was so happy to see me! Have you ever met Charlie? He is so sweet, a rescue dog I've had for about three years. He's a Tibetan terrier. Check out his front teeth and smile! HA.

SURGERY UPDATE

It's been a long time since my last post. I had rotator cuff surgery on March 2, wore a sling for six weeks, then started physical therapy. Improvement finally showed during the last couple weeks where I could start working on a few easy jewelry projects.

Leslie Kail Villarreal offered a new on-line pendant class which I am now working on. Very frustrating, but so much fun at the same time! Here is a photo of HER pendant below. We are learning how to make oval and teardrop-shaped bezels, as well as tube settings, and then setting the stones in them. These are TINY TINY stones ... 6x8mm ovals, 6x9mm teardrop shapes and 5mm rounds. Luckily there is a product called "sticky wax" that picks up these stones easier than using your clumsy fingers!

I have my pendant shape etched and filed ... actually I have four of them. I've soldered on a center accent piece, and have spent the last four days working on the four bezel shapes. Holy Moley! They look right, but are they? I'm going to give them a try and solder them to the pendant this afternoon. It's only SILVER ($$$), right! I'll keep you posted.