Contemplating

This past week has been fairly crazy for me with several big deadlines and two anatomy tests, so I was unable to find time to make any new earrings. However, I did wear several of the pairs I've already made throughout the week. Several people commented on them and they served as nice conversation starters.
I found myself thinking many times that I was glad that I had chosen jewelry making for my project. Not only have I learned a new trade, but I have also been able to connect my life for unique earrings into something that I can do for myself. I like that I can be somewhat self-sufficient when it comes to acquiring earrings to wear. I don't have to rely on large corporation products or discount store earrings. I know it isn't quite on the same level as the Kingsolver's family, but I feel like I have moved closer to the goal of self-sufficiency. I enjoy that feeling and I hope to be able to extend it to other aspects of my life when I leave campus & am once more able to eat meals other than cafeteria dorm food.
For the final week of the project, I'd like to finish up a few pairs of earrings that I have started on. I've really enjoyed the project so far and am kind of sad to see it come to an end, but at the same time I'm excited to move on to new things and try to expand my horizons even more.

A Little Change

This week, I took a little break from earrings and made another type of craft instead. I've been working on my research paper, which is based on the community art project Postsecret, & was inspired to make my own. I had some bound book pages from an old novel laying around my dorm room, & ive been making my own postsecrets on the pages. I have 6 or 7 pages by now. I was in need of some sort of book cover for the pages so that they wouldn't get ripped or ruined. I found some cardboard in my dorm, cut two pieces to the size of the book. Then I tore a bit of the top layer off of the cardboard to expose some of the corrugated layer. After that, I pasted some old postage stamps that I found onto the cover. For the binding, I took some cheese cloth & soaked it in a cup of coffee to color it. Then I glued it around the edges of the cardboard pieces & stitched them together. The outcome was this:










After researching and reading so much about Postsecret and it's therapeutic benefits, it was interesting to start my own postsecret book. It really is very calming and relaxing to make my own. I have never sent in my own Postsecret, but there's something to just writing it out, even if no one else ever sees them. I liked getting to experience a bit more of what I've been reading about.

Next week, I plan on getting back to the earrings and using up the other beads that I have left over.

p.s. sorry for the layout of this blog, for some reason it won't let me position the pictures any other way