Jewelry Making Lesson 1: Finding Proper Tools

Jewelry making. Fun! Finally, I get to do something I've always wanted to do but never had time: make earrings and fun necklaces. Yay! (Notice how I do not lack intrinsic motivation for this assignment! Wink! Wink!) Plus, let us be honest! How hard can it be? All you need to do is buy a few trinkets, find a quiet place in the house to sit down and enjoy!! Right?

Wrong! Lesson #1: Martinez is right when he says:
         "I knew then, and still know, how wrong I can be even when my ideas seem absolutely certain."

Jewelry making is nothing like I imagined it to be. However, I am not too worried about it. My naive theory pushed me towards creating my own self-efficacy beliefs (I thought to myself: I am absolutely capable of doing this! What is more, I will have so much fun!), signing up for an online class (Bandura helped one more time: I am a visual learner and I thought that if I find a good online workshop, which I could watch, I could learn by simple imitation), and looking forward to it (I want to make some Christmas presents for my friends. That will be a pretty rewarding experience in itself. Hence, I secured the reinforcement element.). Now all I need to do is make it happen. 

The workshop I signed up for, Jewelry Making (Bead, Wrap, Chain & Etch)  with Max Goodman seems very well organized and most importantly, tailored towards beginners. So, I watched the first video: Introduction and Materials. This is where I struggled first. I took a piece of paper and sat down to take notes. This always helps me stay focused. 1. A well-organized tool box. Got it! 2. Chain-nose pliers! Ok! 3. Round pliers. Another pair? This is going to be more expensive than I thought! 4. Wire cutter! 5. Tweezers! 6. Clear acrylic spray! Ugh, I wonder what that is in Serbian! I don't think I've ever seen something like this! Hm... Wait! What was the 7th item again!!! Rewind! So, it took a while until I made my list! Ha-ha! But, by the time I finished the video I felt pretty confident that I can now go and purchase the tools I need for this project! I cut out my coupons for Michaels and went. 

Challenge number two: recall. Yes, I saw Max holding the items in her hands and yes, I made notes, and yes, I downloaded her list, as well. Still, it was not enough. I ended up buying 13 items, three of which had nothing to do with jewelry making (got a bit distracted by the sale there!) and two of which were wrong. So, I managed to hold eight items in my short-term memory! How funny is that! I guess Miller's "magical number seven, plus or minus two" is correct. Who knew? My "external memory" (Martinez, 2010, p.62) helped to a point, but since I could not remember any visual details about the correct product, and the store shelves overwhelmed me with choices, I had to give up on buying the items I did not remember specifically. Luckily, I have everything I need for the next lesson, so stay tuned!