Edinburgh jeweller

I am very excited in anticipation of the arrival of my kiln! I bought a Paragon SC2 with window and bead door. I thought about getting one when I was on the Art Clay level 1 course as you need to prove that you have one (or access to one) to do the level 2 certificate. I asked for advice while on the course on the best type to buy. Having looked into it, this does seem to be the best one for what I want. I decided to get the visible window and bead door in case I get into enamelling. You can buy doors separately so can get the original kiln and change the door later if you want to. When I looked, it wasn't that much more to get it with the door anyway so I thought I would go for it all in one go. I hope it will arrive before the weekend!

It's coming to the end of the year and I am very happy to have been on a number of courses this year to find crafts I enjoy. These course were Five week evening beaded jewellery course Five week evening beginners silversmithing Beginners silver clay Art Clay certificate level 1 Button jewellery evening class Resin and silver jewellery Mosaic taster weekend Learn to sew: tote bag Beyond scarves: how to read a knitting pattern I am glad I live in London and have access (probably) to lessons in every craft. I am a big fan of attending a class. I think it really is a time and cost effective way of getting started with a craft; to see if it's for me. Much cheaper than buying the equipment I need and struggling on my own or with a book. Even if I have decided not to pursue one of the crafts above I always feel the learning is valuable. I found every course interesting but I will be concentrating on silver clay in 2011. I have already enrolled on the first part of the Metal Clay diplo...

I attended a course on reading knitting patterns called 'Beyond scarves, how to read a knitting pattern' a few weeks ago. My Mum had taught me about patterns but I wasn't very confident with it so I decided I would go. I did find the course very useful. On the same day I bought ' Chicks with sticks guide to knitting ' by Queen and O'Connell. It's a great book that actually has a lot of patterns for garments I would actually wear! But, of course, the first thing I made was a scarf!

I am proud to say that I have just passed my Art Clay level 1 certificate. It is an industry standard course which allows me to teach Art Clay beginners sessions. This was a three day course which I took at the London Jewellery School . I was very fortunate to be taught by Julia Rai , a world class name in Silver Clay and an excellent teacher. She was the first person in the world to achieve level 3 Metal Clay Masters Registry (at the time of writing only two people have achieved that level and the second is also from the UK). The Art Clay level 1 course is very intense, you make seven items that have to conform to the standards required. Having done a beginners course and made a few items at home I found some of the things OK to make and some things challenging. I'm very pleased with a couple of items My favourites are lacy ball earrings daily casual ring I'm not a big fan of rings and they can be difficult to size because Art Clay and PMC shrink when fired. However, I am chuf...