it is time.

Every once and awhile I decide it's time to learn a new technique. I'm always learning new things, I'm always improving on what I do know, but to take on a completely new technique? That takes a certain amount of sass that only comes around once in a great while.

I have a long list of techniques I want to learn...someday. A lot of things prevent me from learning them now: time, money, lack of equipment, etc. But every once and awhile, seemingly out of no where, I decide to take one of them on. "I'm doing this now." I buy what I think I'll need and I do it.

"I'm doing this now" hit me 2 weeks ago. With a supply order I generally add things into my cart over the course of a few days, checking all of my silver stock, tools, stones, etc, to be sure I don't need anything else. I'd been messing with my cart for a few days and realized I could really just go ahead and make the purchase.

However, for reasons unknown, I decided to take a quick look at the faceted stones. I had no plans for faceted stones. But as I looked through them I said "Ok, let's learn tube setting." and I started putting stones in my cart.

I looked up a quick article to make sure I got the right bits and size of tubing and a half hour later I had rearranged my cart again to accomodate the new items.

Now: I know the very basics of what is essentially bezel-setting faceted stones. By "I know" I mean someone told me sometime/I maybe saw a video/I read it in a book. "I know" you have to carve out a little seat in the tubing (or, if actually making a bezel - which I suppose you could do if you were really masochistic and have the hands of a tiny child - make a seat out of wire inside the bezel). "I know" that it's a very precise and delicate process but once you get the hang of it shouldn't be that difficult. I may have made that last part up. I just don't think it should be, given the basic steps.

But for some reason, I thought 3mm would be an excellent size to learn with. Just in case you're not familiar with the metric system, that's really tiny. Also, for reference, my warm stacking rings are 3mm stones.

Hello, my name is Jessi and I'm not feeling very optimistic about turning that foot of sterling tubing into tiny tiny settings for tiny tiny stones.



I'm fully expecting a lot of profanity, yelling, possibly crying, and eventually saying "f it" the first time around and setting the damn thing upside down in a normal bezel and making a tiny ring in which to stab people with.

And hopefully by the time I go through all of the garnets ( there are 6) I can decently set the citrine and iolite. And still have tubing left.


Hopefully!