Featuring . . . AliciaMae!

The EtsyBlogger for June is AliciaMae (also of AliciaMaePrints and RandomSupplies). She stays busy running three varied shops, maintaining her blog, and being a huge help for the EtsyBloggers team. She's in the middle of moving until mid-July, so her shops are currently empty. She's an eclectic artist, creating magnets, decorating jewelry boxes, taking photographs, and more. Mark her as a favorite, and check AliciaMae out when she's back on the Etsy scene.

Thank you for all you do for the team, lady!

Metal!

I LOVE my metalsmithing class. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. I wish I could go to it three times a week instead of just one. (That's not just because my instructor is a hottie either. Oops! Did I just write that?)

Yesterday, we completed our first project, a sterling-silver ring. I showed you the shaped and soldered version, but feast your eyes on the finished version:

Ooo, it's so sexy. You can see the soldered part towards the left, but I think I did a pretty good job of covering it, considering this is the first piece I've ever made. To achieve the final look, I filed down the pointiness from my novice soldering, rubbed it up with sandpaper, added texture with a chasing hammer (yet another reason to love those things), and then put it in a jewelry tumbler. I love it! Action shots:

Oooooooooooooo!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I feel so accomplished. We're working on another ring and a silhouette pendant next time. Sooo fun!

Floral design

No, I'm not becoming a florist, though that sounds like tons of fun. I've been adding new floral-inspired pieces to my shop lately. Here they are:

In Bloom Earrings No.1

Princess in Purple Necklace

Metallic Flower Child Earrings

Go to my store to see them for yourself!

Crafty little critter

The truth is that I'm no great crafter or artist. I aspire to be, though, so I like to try my hand at everything. Jewelry was the first artsy/crafty thing I discovered a talent for, so I've stuck with it. I really do love it. I enjoy the entire process -- selecting beads, invisioning a design, sometimes sketching the design, assembling, bending, crimping, wrapping, and finally finishing. I feel so accomplished when I take a handful of beads and turn it into something totally unique. I also love wrapping wire and making my own findings, embellishments, and finished pieces. Wearing my own jewelry is one of my absolute favorites, too. It feels great to receive a compliment on something you created with your own two hands.

My second favorite craft is probably crocheting. I'm not near good enough to sell my crocheted pieces, but I love to create them. I learned to knit three years before I ever picked up a crochet hook, but I was never good at it. I have one scarf that looks nice enough to wear -- the rest look like total crap. I have great respect for skilled knitters, though. I find crocheting relaxing and rewarding. So far, I've really only made scarves, hats, snowflakes, two pairs of baby booties and one amigurumi.

I almost forget about bookbinding. I don't know if I love it more or less than crocheting, but it's so much fun. I like making little bitty ones as gifts. I made my friend a little travel guide to Italy and my boyfriend a book of reasons why I love him. I also do a bit of amateur photography (as evinced by my Memorial Day post), though I don't think that really counts as crafty.

My goal is to learn to do as much as I can. I'm two years out of college now but haven't taken a real art class since 7th grade. I've started signing up for everything I can afford and squeeze into my schedule. I'm working through lampwork bead making and metalworking now. I hope to take painting, wheel throwing (pottery), and maybe even a knitting class if I feel brave. I also need someone to show me how to use my sewing machine so I can start making bags, skirts, and eventually quilts.

One of my favorite ways to try new things is by doing swaps on Swap-Bot. There are a lot of "XYZ for beginners" swaps, and I've tried my hand at several things that way. That's how I learned about ATCs. After about a dozen of them, I've come to realize that I suck at them. Completely. I just don't have an eye for it. I have to make my first sock monkey for a swap soon -- I hope I don't crash and burn at that, too!

What about you? What's your favorite craft for just you? And is there anything you've totally failed at?

Workin' the metalwork

Sorry for the brief hiatus. Illness, work and other ickies were interfering with my leisure time.

I had my first metalworking class last night. It was so much fun. Basic soldering is much easier than I expected. We all measured, cut, formed and soldered silver rings in the first class. Next week, he's going to show us how to add texture, polish and generally finish the piece. My ends didn't match up perfectly, but damn, I'm still impressed with my first attempt. What do you think? And a close up of the soldering itself. See?It's a bit rough, but I'm proud. Yay! This torch was way less scary than the one we use for lampwork. :/ I'm taking the class with Emily, an Etsy friend. Her shop is here.

Tonight, I'll be learning to make mosaics with the Tulsa Craft Mafia gals. This means I need to remember to hit up the craft store for supplies after work. Let's see if I can make that stick in my poor, headache-riddled brain.

I plan to update my shop today as long as I have a few minutes to edit pictures. Here's hoping. :)