32. Take a jewelry making class

I really wanted to go and take an actual workshop to make jewelry but I think this is going to suffice, and I will cross this task off the list!

A few months ago a local artist came to Alcatraz and did a jewelry making workshop. She's published several books about the art of jewelry making and she... well, she makes a living as an artist and this is one of her skills. I will lucky enough to go to high school with her and begged her to come do this, and she did! Because this was one of my ideas and library activities, I got to participate, too!

Above are some of the supplies. The blue handled gadgets are tools to punch holes in metal. In the wooden leaf bowl is foreign money and then the middle container is all beads.

We all had a chance to make "pirate necklaces", since we did this the week before Pirates of the Caribbean 4 came out. The kids all thought I put the workshop instructor up to it since they know of my obsession with Johnny Depp! Too funny!

Anyway, each of us was allowed to select a coin, a few beads and some cord. We also had to have clasps and hasps to put it all together.

Below is a picture of one of the workshop attender's punching a hole in a coin.

Above is a picture of one of the attendees flattening the hasp and taking the shine off it, so it looks more pirate-y!

Here is a picture of all the necklaces we made that day!

And finally, here's the necklace I made. I gave it to ITSam because I thought it looked manly. And because I'd never given him jewelry.

It was a good time and I liked doing it. This artist does workshops all over the country and she does some that are fancy and expensive and other times she does small ones that are affordable. I want to take one where I can do something extensive with beads, maybe a beaded necklace or a bracelet?

But it was fun to make our pirate necklaces and it was clever to use her left over foreign money and the kids had a good time, and do did I!

Love,
Maggie