Silversmith Shop

Because I need one more thing to do, right?


Well, right. But this is different...this is more for me than anything else. I love being crafty and artsy but sadly, I am not very blessed when it comes to figuring out how to make things on my own.


Just ask my husband....as he moved in box after box of scrapbooking schtuff and asked me "where are the scrapbooks?"


Umm....1 book and it only has 5 pages done. Yes, she is almost 8. You see the problem....I love to purchase all the stuff to create more beautiful stuff however never really follow through with my plans.


Sidebar: Photo books are my new bestest friend!


My new adventure is starting in the silversmith shop that my in-laws have had for years! I am very excited because 1) as I stated before, I love to make stuff and 2) what girl doesnt love to make jewelry!


Its more then just jewelry that is made in the shop though. Actually, from what I can tell, the jewelry is a small portion of it. Majority of what is made are custom belt buckles.


Yes, the big blingy ones you see given as prizes for winning rodeos.


I'm very excited!! I started last summer learning the looooong process it takes to hand make a buckle. I mean from the basic.....as in cutting out the buckle shape from a piece of sterling silver or nickel. So far, I can frost buckles and I have spent the last 2 days hand cutting letters out of brass for a high school rodeo coming up in May. I learned how to engrave but I am not very good at that yet. Or any good at all really. All I did manage to accomplish was to get the idea while slicing the tips of my fingers open. Alot.


Mental Note: Do NOT run you fingers across the silver to remove the shards. Not good.


The process is fascinating to me being the buckles are always something I have admired. The craftmanship behind them is very cool, and alot more work then I think anyone thinks it is. We dont use computers to cut out anything, and machines dont dont punch holes or engrave anything desgins. Its all hand cut, hand sodered, hand engraved. So much work but such beautiful results!!

Cutting out brass letters is apparently very theraputic. This is a great thing since my perferred form of therapy has four legs, mane and tail and is a little tougher to call upon during pregnancy. Working in the shop gets me doing something that involves using my brain for more then finding a missing shoe or lost pacifer. It certainly doesnt hurt that I can leave the kids with hubby or if I take the little man, he can sit in his swing or in his pack n' play and play. Or grandma and grand-dad wander on over and steal him. Either way, I can sit in peace and quiet and work.

Add in flexible working hours, a short commute and great bosses who double as baby sitters, its all good for me.

I am learning more and more everyday and the more I learn, I cant wait to learn MORE!! More importantly, this is giving me something for me. Something that I can do, create, and see the results. I'm sure most of my mommy friends will agree, you dont always see the results from your hard work at home. The laundry pile never seems to go down. There are always dirty dishes, food to be made, lunch to pack, practice to drive to, bikes to fix, dogs to find, horses to feed, the list goes on and on. Accomplishment is sometimes hard to visibly see.

I can see what I accomplish when I leave the shop.

I love being a mommy and a wife but its important for me to have something and sometime for just myself. Everyone needs it and I happen to have found my hiding place in the silversmith shop. Its my second favorite place to hide, right behind being on the back of a horse.

Reposted blogs

Someone recently suggested to me that I combine the blogs I have into one....which was a fantastic idea!! So as you may notice, I now have severeal MORE blogs from a year or so ago that appeared today. These are some of the more amusing (to me) blogs I wrote on my MySpace page.

Enjoy!!!

Me + Snakes + Shotgun = ???? (repost)

Originally posted on MySpace August 27, 2008


Many of you know that of my many quailities, being rational isnt always one of my strongest. I know this and I have accepted this. When it comes to my irrational behavior, nothing makes me behave more out of control then snakes.

I fear them.

I loathe them.

I think they are good for nothing but a pair of boots or a belt, neither of which I would wear but still.

I have spent my life with my eternal boy scout of a father who strongly believes in the "reptile relocation" program while I support the "run the over with the lawn mower" group. Now, however, I face a bigger battle.

My future husband.

I adore him. He (and Piper) are my world. A world where in NE, we happen to have large snakes that live in the area.

Now, I know that they wont hurt me (bull snakes) and apparentely they are more afraid of me then I am of them (that one is debatable) and thankfully, he isnt a fan of them either.

Now...the reason for my blog.....this weekend we went on a great ride in the hills. While we were coming across the meadow in front of the house, heading back home, we (my horse and I) stepped over a big bull snake.

I trotted up a little, Buck didnt care...squealed like a 5 year old a little bit and Shawn told me I handled that well. We contiuned on and he wisely changed the subject but never did I stop thinking about the snake as I was sure if/when I looked behind it...it was watching me.

The rest of the day comes and goes....and I end up coming home. After another nightmare round of flights (thank you Northwest AGAIN) I make it home. I tell my dad how proud he should be of me, that Shawn was proud of me and how I handled the snake issue.

Last night, as I was obsessing again about the snake, we (Shawn and I) started talking about it again and the now infestation I have (brewing in my head of course) of how many of those HUGE snakes in the front yard.

First he tells me it wasnt that big....they get like 6 feet ( WRONG answer 1)

Then he tells me about the time one found its way into his friends parents house (again, not a good answer)

THEN he tells me I CANNOT spend $1000 on de-snakifying my front yard (seriously...my sanity isnt worth anything to him).

I asked if I could spend $50, and he said maybe...for the entire year (seriously now.....) but a "shell" would cost less.

A shell? I question...???

Yes, a shot gun shell.

Lets get a mental picture shall we.....

ME...completely irrational, out of control, possibly hyperventelating trying to corral the dogs (and kids) in the garage, grabbing the shot gun, LOADING it without shooting myself, a dog OR my husband (whose brilliant idea it was to give me the loaded weapon in the presence of a snake), taking aim at the snake in the middle of the front yard...pulling the trigger from 20 yards away (thats how close I would have to get.....which is about 80 yards closer then I would like) and HOPING I get the snake.

I would probably kill all the trees, take out a few windows, probably a hole or 10 in the walls...maybe some other small, innocent animals.....terrify my horses and dogs, entertaining the children.....lets not talk about where the husband would be because if he is around and I am taking care of the snake, we have a completely seperate set of issues to deal with, and all in all...the damn snake would live to terrorize me again.

I ask you....should I have access to a shot gun in the presence of a snake or no??