Happy New Year 2013!

Been away with the fam for ski vacation to Snowmass, CO and away from the studio for 2 weeks.  After the mad fury of the holiday season, it actually felt good to take a break.

I started off 2013 posting about Goal Setting on Artisan Whimsy for the Enameling Team.  I wrote down my goals for 2013 on my iPhone and will be tracking my progress throughout the year.

While on vacation I was catching up on my favorite blogs and came across Art Jewelry Elements Earring Challenge.  The first sentence immediately caught my attention-"Do you need a kick start for your creativity in 2013?"  Yes I do!  I was lucky enough to be one of the first 50 to sign up where we will be pinning new earrings on a weekly basis for 13 weeks.  You can see all the wonderful work by so many talented people on AJE Pinterest Board.  Mahalo AJE Team to get me off to a great start!

January 8th was a nerve wrecking day as it was the first day of Bead & Button Show sign up for classes/workshops.  I put in for one of the Master's Class by Linda Darty but unfortunately I wasn't chosen by the lottery.  I had a solid back up plan and successfully signed up for 12 classes!  Yes, I'm crazy taking 12 classes in 7 days!  Super excited to be taking classes from Richard Salley, Robyn Cornelius, Thomas Mann, Joe Silvera, Sherry Serafini, Chris Mode, Eva Sherman, Kaska Firor, and Susan Wade.   This year my dear friend Julie won't be joining me but Heidi is going to be my partner in crime.  I'm so excited to show her what I've been talking about the past couple of years!  The biggest surprise came when I was stuck at San Francisco airport for a 4 hour layover.  I decided to check out how the classes were filling out and if they've added more seats on two of the classes I didn't get in.  I noticed they added another session for Linda Darty's Master Class.  I was already on the wait list so I was accepted in!  This was the icing on the cake!  So much to look forward to and June can't come quick enough!  We are so going to enjoy the Wisconsin Butter Burger together Heidi!!



Today was my first day back into my studio.  My best friend's hubby made me the most incredible gift-Jeweler's Bench!  I cried when I got it.  It will be cherished for the rest of my life.  With the help of my hubby we got it nicely tucked into my studio!

The biggest change was the height of the bench.  It allowed me to work for hours without hunching over allowing me to pound, saw, dap, etc. without neck and shoulder pains.  The bench will be one of my prized possession!

With the proper work bench it was such a breeze to make some of the things that's been in my head.  Being deprived of pounding on metals for couple of weeks I decided to start the Art Jewelry Elements Earring Challenge with this Fold Formed Leaves Earrings :)  Boy did it feel good to make some noise again in the studio!

Here I come 2013!  Let the fun begin!  Mahalo for stopping by!

Kumi