For the last month or so, I've had to put my creative work on hold because of the rising costs of precious metals. When I first picked this up as a hobby back in 2006, I paid about $11 an ounce. As of last week, prices were nearly double that at just over $20 an ounce! This week, it looks like prices are slowly declining and that means I'll soon be able to place a materials order and begin working again. Good news since I have a ton of ideas that are sitting patiently in my notebook ready to be brought to life. The chart below demonstrates the climb in prices of silver over the last several years.