Pricing Worries

So a couple of people today let me know that I should probably lower the prices on some of my pieces. It was a little unnerving because because I don't want to be pushing sales away by charging too much but I also don't want to be charging too little...arg! it's so hard to figure out!  But at the same time I was also told by the same person that I knit wrong, I should yell at my husband for having so many cars and that my dogs are going to bite me (just because they are a breed with a bad reputation)  Soooo...maybe not the best source to be taking advice from but still, a little hard to hear.  I just tried to be confident and proud of my work even though part of me was saying "oh my they must be right!". 
On the other hand I got some good reviews on a new style I'm trying out, I should have pics up soon, the camera cord is downstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it right now. 

Spring Has Sprung

Besides making jewelry my other great passion in life is horses.  I own a wonderful quarter-horse gelding named Mac and consider him, and my dogs, to be family.  Oh and my husband, he's family too :D.  Well with winter in retreat riding season is upon us once more and I am totally stoked.  Spring is always an exciting time for this reason but this year is even better. 

See, Mac has had a rough life, he isn't telling but somewhere along the line he was roughed up pretty bad.  Along with physical scars he has some emotional issues that come out when he's being ridden.  So I've been pretty shocked when, after getting on him for the first couple time since the long winter break, and expecting our usual rodeo he has been wonderfully behaved. So this year I think we can actually learn and perfect skills that were beyond us when each ride was just a new incarnation of his old anxieties.  I'm thrilled.

Mac

This has had some repercussions on my jewelry making though.  As you can probably tell my blogging has been far less than my goal of three times a week and I haven't been making quite as many pieces as I set out to either.  My balance is off.

I am a huge believer in balance, but not the best practitioner of it. Work, Play, Passions, Chores, I believe I will always be searching for the best way to bring balance into my life.  Personally I tend to heavily indulge in Play and Passions, leaving Work and Chores by the wayside.  There are many reasons for this, and I haven't always been like this but it is who I am at the moment.  Rather than fight my inclinations I have learned to combine my passions with my work, and my play with my chores. This approach to life won't gain me fame or fortune, but it will bring me happiness, which for me is the most important life goal.

However there are times when things need a little adjustment and, while it will bring long-term happiness, in the short term there's going to be some grumbling.  Right now this means getting my jewelry done in spite of my desire to be riding every moment of every day (you may think I exaggerate...not by much).  So I'll be figuring out a plan to get myself into the studio more often as well as attending to the increasing needs of the business aspect.  I'll be back to tell you how it goes!

Soldering Non-Tarnish Silver

    There's no denying it, I've been outright slacking on the blog. Oops.  There are exciting things going on though.  With my husbands help I got shelves up in my studio which freed up enough space that I could set up my soldering stuff without having to worry about setting things on fire (don't worry Mom, I have a fire extinguisher very hand, just in case). So now I can solder in my very own home!

    My first project were some large jump-rings for a necklace out of non-tarnish silver.  I have learned that non-tarnish silver requires some very careful handling when soldering since it's actually silver wire with a copper core and a non-tarnish coating.  For starters the non-tarnish coating burns off, so ventilation is a good thing (not having a hood, this means me piling on sweaters and opening a window) Secondly the wire does some funky stuff as it heats.  As the temperature goes up the silver disappears, but wait, don't panic yet, because right before the medium solder melts it comes back!  At this point you have to be careful because if you keep the heat on too intensely the silver will burn off and this time it won't come back. I'm not sure what exactly what is going on in the wire but it is (obviously) much more complicated than straight silver.  I've ruined quite a few jump-rings getting the hang of it but I'm slowly catching on. 
   
   I've also got some more designs up in my Etsy store. One pair of earrings sold on there so far. Yey!