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New blog, here. Different style, more focus, simpler. See you there. :]

December

This month has been pretty eventful! Enough to have me start the New Year peacefully at home this year. We just got back from Utah with LAC--and although it was pretty awesome to make memories with good friends, I couldn't wait to get back to my shop and start working on a few ideas.

To make a long story short, I lost my board at the resort overnight, and a helpful doorman and some praying with Junie helped get it back. :]

Some beautiful pictures of Utah:

So much space. Breathtaking.

Kenneth being Kenneth :]

 Snow<3

Beautiful Bryce Canyon

Cuties! Blessed to stay at the Moon's house in Beaver, Utah. 

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Then LAC got stranded about an hour north of Vegas, in the middle of nowhere. Lots of standing, lots of waiting, but still and always good times with LAC.

Stranded^ ^

I love, love Native American jewelry.

lobby ceiling@the Bellagio by Chihuly

Snail!

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For some shop updates, my parents got me a couple awesome gifts for Christmas this year! Our family was never really into Christmas, but this time it was different because we all made an effort to get something for each other. 

My mom sticks her head in the garage door while I'm working, and takes note of what I need. So for Christmas, she got a heat lamp--awesome. Definitely something I will appreciate in the wintertime.

Also ! This LED lamp has a magnifying lens thing so I don't have to hold pieces an inch away from my face while I'm working :] So practical. My older brother also got me a Kindle, and my younger brother got me a Lakers shirt. And my dad took me on a short trip to Target. I love Target. They know me so well. I seriously feel like this has been the best Christmas of my entire life. 

I think I did pretty well this month, because a good number of orders came in for Christmas. So I was able to purchase some new raw materials, and these varied sizes of sterling silver wire were waiting for me as soon as I got home from Utah :] Love, love getting new equipment and material to work with. 

Final packaging to be shipped!

& just to throw in some of my favorite tools: the bare necessities for making a ring. I use these tools everday :]

I finally, finally, finished the Mother of Pearl ring that took several tries: 

I was also able to meet up with my good friend Cassie Young--who is an incredibly talented photographer--and have a small photoshoot in her backyard. (There were horses in the yard next door!) It was so fun, and she got exactly the aesthetic I was looking for. As soon as Christmas passed with a small null, views went way up--and the photos have been featured in at least 4-5 Etsy treasuries within the past week. She also basically gave me a crash course on Photoshop editing, and it was definitely a lot of information to grasp. Thankful for her help. :]

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Our family also took a walk down Thoroughbred St. filled with Christmas lights--which is literally not even 5 minutes from our house in Rancho Cucamonga. Beautiful lights, my mom and I were so excited, delighted like little girls :]

So to end,

some New Years resolutions:

30 minutes in the morning to start the day with God.

30 minutes in the evening to end the day with God.

Clean shop every Friday.

Don't accept too many responsibilities--keep it simple.

&Thanks for reading :] Have a lovely New Years!

-Lani

A Purpose

When it is all said and done, the more I believe that all things do happen for a purpose.

I am more of a sceptic that an optimist at heart. It is hard for me to accept unfairness, and it proves extremely difficult accept the viewpoint that everything will be just fine.

But in retrospect, things do turn out alright. Even when one loses or reaches rock bottom, there is still the gift of time. There is still life that will go on. And with that, another chance to pick oneself up off the floor, and move. To heal, and become someone who can help and support another because now you can genuinely understand, at least enough.

Libraries

"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason." -Hugo Cabret


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Some thoughts right after watching Hugo:


I cannot express how much I love libraries. Especially the large ones, with countless shelves stretching on and on, and up and up, where readers can climb ladders to reach. It's a small dream of mine to be able to spend hours in a library like that. I love the smell of old books, of new books, the way that pages crinkle and hold centuries and centuries of ideas, vulnerability, love, hate, and literally everything inbetween. 


It is almost like everyone carries a completely different set of eyes. Actually, everyone does quite literally own completely different set of eyes. But one would think that since these eyes were viewing the same world, there would be more similarities in what each person takes from what they see. One can find themselves in a certain scenario, and see what happened in a completely different way than another. I find it to be absolutely beautiful, and absolutely confusing at the same time. 


For those who can be thrown into the category of "youth"; from what I gather, we still have a hell of a ride to go. And for those who have reached any grand old age--and perhaps with luck or experience, have attained mountainous amounts of wisdom along the way--well done. And for all, I hope that there were countless moments where your heart was full, where you smiled until your cheeks hurt, where you laughed and laughed until tears squeezed out of your eyes, that you got to eat delicious meals, that life was kind to you---and if it wasn't, that you can somehow help make it kind for someone else. And that from this moment, and continuing on, that kindness will come your way. 


Everyone has their own story to tell, each heart has their own moment to soar, to fill, to be crushed, to be broken, to hand it gently to another, or keep to themselves. The stories of this world are endless, countless, and beautiful. I'd love to know them and to share them. Maybe some day I can figure out how to connect this to metalsmithing, but for now, reading and libraries are definitely things that fill my life with joy. 

November!

So here is the end of the month of November!

Time is flying. 

This post is going to be quite all-over-the-place as I literally dumped the pictures from this month into one folder. Soh-ree^ ^

So.........I have... an incredibly ridiculous amount of whales. We were assigned to choose an object to re-do multiple textures on--and I chose the whale. Simply because I had already finished fabricating a couple:

I finally finished the order for an orca,

pretty pleased with the outcome :]

All packaged and ready to go!

Remember that old first orca that I had totally messed up on? No problem, just added a pinback and turned it in as an assignment for fusing. Hehehehehe. Don't tell my professor.

The three textured whales I turned in for jewelry class:

And that concludes my onslought of whales.

 Some doodles/artsy fartsy stuff:

Yea... I'm still drawing the same stuff that I drew back in high school. During class. Old habits die hard, they really do. 

Random tangent: Oppa found an awesome place for sushi thats much, much closer to home than Asahi: Drool....Drool. Got to indulge with some good, good friends :] Good times. Much to be thankful for.

Post-rain sky:

My lahvs :]

 I also had some equipment finally come in! I was so scared to purchase these two quite important pieces...[A tumbler to polish, and a pickle/crock pot to clean oxidation off the metal.] I don't know why I was so intimidated. They were necessary, and made this whole process monumentally easier. 

First! My tumbler:

Isn't it adorable??!?!?! It goes whir-whir-whir on the side of one of my tables, busy polishing and finishing for me as I hammer away at something else. The tumbler we have at school is gigantic and red and opaque and heavy, with wingnuts and screws and other large bulky things. So when mine came in the mail, I literally coo-ed out at how cute & tiny mine was. 

Tumbled brass:

Not even ordered chaos, just simply chaos! This is my jeweler's bench on a more organized day. Yep. It is the cleaner section of where I'm working; there is another table to the right with an even greater mess. I have made it a goal to clean everything weekly on Fridays from now on. From top to bottom. Yes, I talk the talk, but still it is harder to walk the walk.

 This, ladies and gentlemen, is the result of holding the torch to silver&brass for so long that it bends into weird shapes. I have a mini-bucket full of mistakes such as these. Sigh. Ah, to be a novice. 

 And then here's my second piece of important equipment that I procrastinated on procuring: the Pickle Pot!

I also audibly coo-ed when this came in, because it was just so small! The one at school is twice as large, and they have like 2-3 of them. My crock pot is actually used in real-life situations where it warms up sauces and other edible things. But I use it to warm up chemically altered distilled water that cleans off oxidation and black stuff.

And... here are some finished pieces:

 Pre-polished:

Post-polished:

I've had a couple almost-purchases, but they were international & it's hard to figure out international stuff when I'm so new to it--so I am not quite sure yet if things will work out :/ Hopefully as time passes, I will be able to accomodate better & begin garnering consistent sales. It can get a little discouraging on slow days, but it's not impossible! I'm ready & willing to stick it out. In any case, these couple rings are pretty popular. Not sold yet, but recieved a lot of attention. Crossing my fingers. This week will be the week. I just know it. :] Hee.

Violin influence:

Some sketches of ideas. Trying to record much of what goes on, so I can have good notes refer back to later. I have folders and folders and the charts are beginning to add up. I never considered myself to be that fastidious, but I do enjoy organization--so this has been strangely enjoyable for me.

 Research on other people who succeeded in this endeavor I have jumped head-first into; it gives me motivation. People are usually kind, & there are many good tips on shipping, customer service, etc., etc. I have so...much...to learn.... al;sdkfjal;sdkfjaslf.

I feel like there is still so much more to write, because I haven't even mentioned Thanksgiving, or the many excursions with good friends into the city, or combating university applications, or peaceful times in the ocean, etc. I could write for days hahaa.... Maybe nother time, when time permits :]

Neways... if you made it this far, thanks for reading! Hope you had a beautiful month of November, & that your holidays continue to be warm and happy. :]