Tela Formosa Jewelry Designs

Day 3: The Contest Continues

2012-03-03T09:21:00.013-05:00

Wow! What a great response to the contest. I've enjoyed all the comments, too!

I know some of you were confused. I was, too. I haven't done this before, so it's new to me, too. Part of the confusion is my fault. I should have been more explicit about what to do.

1. Log in to the contest with your email or Facebook account.
2. Follow the directions in the giveaway box to earn points.

Each day, sign in for new points. The contest ends March 15, 2012. That's pretty much it. The comment question has been changed :) Good luck!!

An update on Cat (because he's my sweetie and I didn't get any jewelry done)

2012-03-02T07:00:00.014-05:00

First, thanks for the response to the contest!! I had no idea how it would be received. I think it didn't have too many glitches. Now, I have to figure out if I have to post it everyday or does Punchtab do it....

I haven't posted about Cat in awhile. I wanted to do a blog about him a few weeks ago, but he got into another horrible fight. This time, it was pretty bad and I didn't think anyone would want to see those pictures. (I know you are all thinking that I should keep him in the house. I would LOVE to keep him in the house! But, he refuses to use a box, so what can I do?) During his last fight, he was bitten badly in the hind quarter. The puncture wound took forever to heal, but it healed well. The hair is growing back now. The thing is, he's a lover, not a fighter, but there are other cats running around and they challenge him in the yard, which he rarely leaves.

He's been very jumpy lately. Then we noticed that his chin was always dirty looking. Then the area started to look like a sore. It really seemed to bother him and we started talking about a vet visit. Before that though, we did some googling and found this. It seems our guy has acne!! It also seems that having a local bully hanging around can bring on stress which brings on the acne. Poor thing!

I just cleaned it up and he wasn't at all happy with me. It took some coaxing but he let me suck up and he even let me take his picture. He wouldn't look at me, though. :)

You can just barely make out the boo boos on his chin under his right whiskers. He's such a sweetie. This makes me want to go and beat up the bullies for him.

The Contest Begins!

2012-03-01T00:02:00.006-05:00

Today is the day the Free Jewelry Giveaway begins!

For more information visit PUNCHTAB.

I hope this works out. I've never done this before, so it's all new to me, too. :)

In the little box above, just follow the directions for ways to earn points. Every day, you get get fresh points. So, the more you visit, the more chances you get. (At least that's how I understood it.)

Let me know what you think of this. If you like it, I can do it again. :)

I'm So Excited!! (and nervous...)

2012-02-29T07:00:00.003-05:00

...And the winner is.... Joyce! She had to email me because she is having problems posting comments, but she had the right answers and techno problems are beyond her control. Here is what she said:
The stone in your pic is a Variscite from Utah, made with your Unisex Border Frame Pendant
Congratulations! Yay!

No matter how many pictures I take of this stone, none ever look quite as lovely and serene as it is in person.

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UPDATE: We have 3 almost winners, so far. Susan, you are half right, you forgot the stone and Christine, you got the wrap right and the stone wrong :( I don't know what in the world happened to your comment. It disappeared!) Donna, post it here and you may be the winner. LOL!

I'll throw in a free copy of my next tute, whenever and whatever that will be. I'll do my best to remember, but you may feel absolutely fine reminding me when it comes out. I won't mind, at all. (My memory is fuzzier every year. LOL!)
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Hello, my dear friends and readers. :) I have some news that I am pretty excited about. I'm really not sure the best way to go about saying it, because I have never done this before.

I have been wanting to do something fun and different on my blog, something that will be fun for the readers. I found an interesting site that offers to run contests on your blog. The idea is to award points for interacting on the blog. Every time you comment or click links or fill anything out, you get points. At the end of a set period, the reader with the most points, gets a prize. I can go with a prize of my own or one of theirs. I have decided to offer a very special piece of jewelry.

Let me tell you something about this piece and give you a pictorial hint:

Back in 2008, I bought a book on wire jewelry for eye candy- something to keep my creative juices in gear since I wasn't making any new jewelry. Not to get too personal, but I took care of my Dad in his last few years and had to give up my jewelry. His death knocked me for a loop and I couldn't create for several years. Finally, I started to come out of my shell and found JL (JewelryLessons.com) again where I had registered and forgotten about it, back in 2008, after finding Eni's work in that book I mentioned.

In August 2010, I started contributing at JL and found to my amazement that people were interested in my work. It encouraged me more than you will know, because I was still reeling from my loss. I began to actually have fun and I was "meeting" other jewelry people! My desire to work wire came back.

I came out of my funk and began living and creating again. Meeting like minded people, has meant the world to me. We all share the same jewelry joys and woes. No matter what else is going on in our lives, we have that one special corner where nothing is allowed in unless we let it. What ever issues are making us nuts, we can still dish about cabs and beads. It helps keep us healthy, happy people.

There is one piece, in particular, that represents for me the joy in creating. It is a calm, beautiful stone in what turned out to be a very popular setting. I had thought that I was going to keep it for myself, but I really want it to go to someone else. But, it is so special to me that I don't want to sell it. I want for one of my readers to have it and to know what it represents in hopes that they, too, will find some meaning in it for themselves. When I see it, I am reminded of what making jewelery means to me. But, more importantly, what it has done for me. It reminds me of healing and of friendship. It reminds me of how unsure I was of myself and how I was encouraged by others to continue honing my skills and refining my style. It is one of the first pieces I did after my "comeback" that I felt really comfortable with sharing and so, now, I want to share it again with one lucky person.

Was that too much? It feels like it was. I didn't mean to get too personal, but I want everyone to know that this is not simply a beautiful piece of jewelry.

On the March 1st, (Thurs.), when you come to my blog, you will see the contest installed and I'll tell you more about it. It will run for 2 weeks. I will be responsible for mailing the winner the prize.

I have a few more things in store coming up, too. :) More on that in the coming weeks.

Ok, ready for the hint? Here's a small bit of the piece that will be the prize.

If you are a member of JL you can find it there. If you aren't, it's free to register. I'll email a tutorial of your choice to the first person who names the stone and wrap in the comment section. :)

Peruvian Chrysocolla and Malachite

2012-02-27T07:00:00.002-05:00

After having some well deserved (and needed) time off with the girls, I came home and thought about this stone. I had lots of ideas. This one has been around awhile and was mentioned in my blog series about stones.

My work area is my kitchen table, so my things are portable. I have a tool bin, a paper size, low cardboard box for paper and misc stuff and I have plastic dish that holds stones that I have been interested in working on. I go through the big bin every once in a while, pull out candidates to let them sit in my dish while my mind ruminates on designs for them. This one has been waiting awhile. I really had some grand ideas for this sweet stone. However, in the end, I decided that the very best thing I could do for this, was to keep it as clean and simple as possible. Some stones just need to shine. So, here is the finished product, as simple as I could make it with a simple fused bail.

(You see I have no nail polish on? That's because we never got around to doing our nails, we just sat around and talked and had the greatest time doing it.) :)

Crayola Jasper Experiment

2012-02-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

It's easy to tell why this is called Crayola Jasper. The colors are fabulous! I tried finding some interesting facts about this material to share with you, but all I know is that it is mined by one man in northern Nevada and is very rare. I haven't seen many cabs of this and this may be the best one I've seen. For true pastel colors, you just can't beat this stuff! It's really hard as jaspers are and takes a beautiful, glassy polish.

I first posted about this stone here and, of course, it was about the color. I could have posted about the shape, too because it is one of my favorite cuts... which brings me to the point of this post.

The picture you see is just an experiment. There are a few issues with it, but I wanted to share, anyway. My goal is to redo this in silver when I get up the courage. I'm going to change a few little things but it'll remain the same for the most part.

Last weekend I was too sick to go with the family to the Smithsonian in DC, so this weekend I am having some girl time with nail polish, my one daughter and my SIL. It should be fun. I guess, it is the equivalent to taking off fishing. I won't have my tools- no jewelry, at all. When I get back, I should be nice and jewelry fresh. :)

Do You Like Books?

2012-02-23T07:00:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, I do have interests other than jewelry, not many, but I do. :) Today, a link was shared with me for this really incredible artist. A book artist. He uses surgical tools to carve elaborate sculptures from books. You have to see them, they are insane!

Jewelry? Well, I did open a new store today. I have visited Ruby Lane for years and years and just found out about a new store they have called Ruby Plaza. You have to be approved to join, but I worked all day and last night and got approved. YAY! They have pretty high standards, so I feel quite honored to be selling there. I only have a few items up so far, but you can check it out, if you want to.

Speaking of selling online, here's a picture- the only one I have- of the first piece of jewelry that I ever sold online back in 2001, I think. I had an old HP digital that took the absolute worst pictures, but somehow someone saw the beauty that lay beyond the photo and bought it. This is a Peruvian blue opal, topaz and sterling silver. We all start somewhere. :)

(Edited to fix title typo- DOH!)

Dragon Blood Jasper, Dragon's Blood Jasper Another New Stone?

2012-02-22T07:00:00.004-05:00

I want to use a Dragon's Blood Jasper, or, as some might say, a Dragon Blood Jasper, as an example of one of the new stones coming from China, or, other Asian parts. I say "other Asian parts" because I have done a lot of Googling to find out more about this stone and all I can find are lists of Asian manufacturers and distributors. I have found one supplier that states that it is mined in Australia, but I have not found anymore instances of that fact. I can't find info on the treatment, if any.

I call this a new stone, but we know it isn't real new. It has been around in cabochon form as well as bead and pendant bead form for awhile now, but in lapidary terms, it is fairly new. For me, though, it is very new.

I just finished my first cab. I thought I would give you my impression of it. First of all, I'm a sucker for color and pattern, so I really liked this from the start. I also really like the cut, but that has nothing to do with the stone except that I suspect that it is easy to cut. The color is a very intense blue/green. It has a dyed look to it. Against this nicely saturated background are splashes of bright, brick red- the dragon's blood. It seems very hard and takes a nice polish. It isn't pitted. It felt very hard when I was working it. It didn't make me feel like I needed to treat it carefully- it felt like a rock. :) Versus some stones, like calcite, that feel fragile.

I didn't get this stone from a high end dealer. I'm sure it was native cut. Have you heard that term before? It literally means, cut in the country where it is found. I am going to assume that is somewhere in China, judging by all the Asian distributors. If I find that it is indeed mined in Australia, I'll correct myself.

I'm no expert on rocks, by any means, and I'm not a lapidary. But, I'm pretty experienced. Sometimes, when I have a stone I haven't worked with before, I get the idea that putting it in the tumbler all night will tell me a lot. That's just what I did. I had suspected that this was dyed, but when I pulled it out after about 12 hours, it looked the way it did going in. The polish was still there and so was the color. So, if it is dyed, it is a stable dye. But, I think it isn't. That is my unscientific way of telling dyed from not dyed- or, rather, stable dye from temporary dye. Have you ever thrown dyed beads in a tumbler and have them come out pastel and frosted looking? That's what I call a temporary dye. Don't take my word as the gospel truth. Do your own tests, use your own intuition and tumble wisely. This stone was inexpensive enough that I was willing to risk disaster. You may not be willing to risk yours.

I'm quite pleased with Dragon Blood Jasper. If it is a jasper, I can't say. Marketing has a way of misnaming stones to get them to sell. But, that's another blog post. I can't tell you if 20 years ago this went by a different name, but it is a very real possibility. Dragon blood seems plentiful and inexpensive, so it may have been around for awhile under a different name.

So, enough of my meandering... here's a couple pictures. I ran out of LOS. The first picture is bare copper, the second is with the boiled egg patina technique.

Of Calcite, Rhyolite and LOS

2012-02-20T10:11:00.002-05:00

I rarely buy pendant beads. When I do, I wrap them like a cab. Yesterday, I challenged myself to do a pendant bead stone without wrapping it. I used Argentium silver on this beautiful, pastel calcite bead. I didn't want any metal competing with the delicate color. I made the biggest silver beads that I've made yet. (I can't believe how much silver actually went into them!! No wonder head pins are so expensive.) I'm very happy with how this came out.

To reward myself for actually NOT wrapping a bead stone, I did a quick wrap. LOL! I've been wanting to finish this Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite ever since I got it. This is a relatively new stone. I got this when I first saw them hitting the market. They are from Mexico and very highly figured. This big stone has a fine network of maroon and pink dendrites. It's really cool looking. This was always meant to be paired with copper and a woven bail. The woven bail really goes well with the feathery dendrites.

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Here's something you might find interesting: I bought a 4 oz. jar of XL LOS gel in Oct or Nov 2010. If you have used it before, then you know you have to stir it real well. Well, I did, or I thought I did. But, toward the bottom of the jar, a nasty sludge was left that didn't really patina the metal anymore. I don't think it was, technically, liver of sulfur anymore. That Sonoran Dendrite was in a very hot, very heavy solution for 1/2 an hour and it barely got red. I'm glad it lasted as long as it did, both in terms of product life and in terms of my heavy use, but the new jar I ordered will be stirred even better.

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Blog News: If you look around you'll notice a few changes and additions. I guess you could say this is under construction. I've tried a few new things and quickly took them down, but a few I'll keep. It's all in preparation of some things to come. ... but they are a surprise :)

Mystery Jasper

2012-02-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

First, blog business: You may notice that I have a new sign up on the right for a newsletter. You may want to sign up to be notified, first, about upcoming specials, sales, promotions, contests, tutorials, ebooks and the like. Your email is safe with me, so don't worry about that. I won't be sending out many of these and I won't be using emails from the store or the blog. This is purely opt-in. The only glitch I've found is that you will probably have to check your spam folder and mark mail from me and TinyLetter as NOT spam.

I have a few surprises in the works since I missed my 100th post anniversary :)

...now on to the mystery jasper...
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When I won the lot of fake Sonoran Sunrise, I also won a lot of eight stones for a dollar. Yes, you read that right, eight stones for a dollar. All big, most nice. The cuts and finishes aren't that great, but most are salvageable. Here's the picture from the ad. Wouldn't you risk a dollar on that? I did and for a buck, I'm more than happy.

I've already used four of them.Two are in my last blog entry. One is pictured below....

Mushroom Jasper

and the latest is pictured here.

There are a few issues with this one, too, but I worked around it. It's a big, thick stone and I knew I wanted to use a lot of metal in the sides. Which was good because it helped to camouflage the off cut.

The stone is too beautiful not to use, but what the heck is it??? I know it is some kind of jasper, but beyond that- I don't know. I'm stumped. Any of you know what it is?? It's pretty, but beyond that, I just don't know.

Hodge Podge Blog

2012-02-09T14:07:00.001-05:00

Today, I just feel like writing. I have no real goal, but to purge myself of some recent wire-capades.

After my last tute on fusing hearts, I had a ton of perfectly good hearts to use. The thing is, I don't really care for hearts, all that much. I posted on JL about it and decided that I just needed to give it a go and see if I could realize an idea that I had. No problem, right? Wrong. I liken the experience to chewing glass. No, I've never chewed glass, but I haven't done that heart project, either, and know that I wouldn't like either very much.

What I envisioned was a necklace with a row of hearts hanging at an angle and graduating in size around to the side of the neck. In the front, the 2 largest hearts would be joined at the tips by a centered heart, hung from the two lobes to each of the other 2 hearts. Simple. Really, it is a simple idea and probably done a hundred times over. But, it just wasn't happenin'.

After trying to force myself for 2 1/2 days to make the multi hearted piece. I gave up. I just can't force myself. I envy people who can, because- I. just. can't. do. it. I beat myself up for another half day because of it. I should be able to. Damn it.

It took a while longer to get over the frustration. I mean, it's just something that bothers me. I want to be able to do things that don't appeal to me. But, my muse just puts on the brakes and I am left holding my pliers going- "What the hell?"

Alright- enough about the hearts. I just had to get it off my chest. It was part of my muse cleansing. I'm appeasing her.

In a final attempt to purge the "project that will not be named" from my mind, I decided to do a new wrap. Ok, well, that wasn't happening, either. I was in a near panic feeling the "block" coming on. Ok, I admit it. I was in a panic. My muse absolutely refused to cooperate. Oh, sorrow.

I got a new parcel of stones in the mail and was really intrigued by a few. I said to hell with a new wrap. I was perfectly happy to do a nice, simple, respectable wrap and call it a day. The jasper is a soothing color combination gray and pink. I felt the frustration slip away.

Before I was even finished with the pink jasper, I had a new idea to try on another jasper from the parcel. I was and AM so very, very happy and relieved! My block seemed to be temporary. Now, I just feel like a big baby for being so worried about it. But, by golly, when you feel all your creativity drain from you- it is scary. It is for me, anyway.

Seeing how I've been fusing so much lately, I figured I would combine my first love of wrapping with fusing. I just finished this Stone Canyon Jasper. I wish the picture showed how well the heated copper goes with the stone. The colors were perfect! But, I know it doesn't last so, I cleaned it up and it is in the tumbler right now. I'm posting the "dirty" picture to be followed by the finished piece later. Having never done this before, I am concerned about the softness of it, but I think after tumbling and polishing the metal with a Dremel and Zam polish it should be fine.

I'll post the finished piece later...

If you have made it this far, thanks for following along with my neurotic whining. I feel much better, now. :)
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Update
The metal came out great! I smoothed the bead at the bottom and gave it a polish. Problem is between everything I did to this poor stone it lost some kind of treatment it had and is now more gray. The good part is I paid less than a dollar for it, so I can't complain. I have no clue what ruined it and I have no clue what treatment it was. I'm thinking it was a very simple home treatment and obviously not stable. I think it was just water that made it lose its whiteness, if one can believe that. This is a new one on me. You learn something new everyday. Including the value of a dollar.

* 100th POST * Playing Detective

2012-02-04T10:49:00.002-05:00

I went to start this entry and realized it was my hundredth post! I certainly never envisioned sticking to it this long. But, here we are ... Thank you everyone for following along. I didn't plan anything special because, well, because I didn't realize this was number 100, but I do have an interesting post that I think you might find useful.

I was perusing eBay lately and ran across an auction that I thought was a sweet deal. It was a straight out auction, no buy it now or make offer. It was at 20.00 when I saw it, with lots of bids. The picture left a bit to be desired, but sometimes that can play to your advantage. I have worked with plenty of Sonoran Sunrise, so I knew the colors were right. However, the pattern was cream of the crop. For Sonoran Sunrise, a natural stone comprised primarily of chrysocolla and cuprite, this seemed like really outstanding stuff. I took the risk and won 6 big, choice cabs for 30.00. I was pretty stoked.

My parcel arrived quickly. The cabs were gorgeous!! Breathtakingly awesome! Could I have been THAT lucky?? I would expect to pay at least 30-50 a piece for each big cab.

I immediately set my sights on one of them to wrap . I looked it over, while considering the job ahead of me, and noticed that the cutter left some of the dopping wax (used to hold the stone while working it) on the back of the cab. Ok, sloppy. I can live with that. No biggie. I took a blade and scraped it off. I wondered, though, why someone would be so sloppy with material so choice.

Brown dopping wax left on one of the stones.

Looking more closely, I noticed that between the blade passes, a nib about 2mm high was left. Hmmmm. Not good. How to get rid of that nib? I got an ordinary emory board out, thinking there was a remote possibility of being able to sand it off. I began to sand the high spot and it came off like butter. Really, my nails are harder to file!!! Ok, this definitely sent up alarms.

This is where the nib was. See the blade marks?

I sent an email to a legitimate lapidary artist, who asked not to be identified, and asked him what he thought. I know Sonoran is soft, but not THAT soft! He agreed. I also told him that the seller called it "stabilized". Sonoran is not known to be stabilized. He checked out another auction by the Sonoran seller, who had listed some more, and noted that the cabs are of a quality he had never even seen after examining 100s of pounds of rough. He said he was going to ask someone else their opinion and get back to me.

In the meantime, I ran a few experiments that I had up my sleeve. I got a Q-Tip with finger nail polish remover (acetone) and ran it over the back of the stone to see if any of the color would come off. No color came off. But, a gray sludge did and so did the shine.

The shine came right off the right one.

Can you see the fine scratches/brushstrokes in the stabilizing material? I've seen this in cheap turquoise, too.

Alright, I could understand that whatever was used to stabilize the stone could have come off with the acetone. So, I tried the hot pin test. If it is plastic, or a composite WITH plastic, the hot pin will sink in and smell of plastic. Well, it passed, but only barely. No plastic smell with the pin or with the sanding. But, the pin did leave a mark. It didn't sink in, but it did penetrate. It wouldn't do this with stone.


See the pin marks?

I'm pretty convinced that it isn't plastic. I examined the stones some more and noticed a few things that I had overlooked, but taken together really add up to someone not being very concerned about the quality of their work with potentially very expensive material.

Polishing rouge/sludge left on the stone.

More black polishing sludge.

I emailed the seller and asked him if the beautiful "stones" were actually some kind of composite. I mentioned my hesitation to sell them to my customers as the real deal. I got an email from him and the lapidary friend at the same time. Both the lapidary friend and myself had pretty much concluded that my stones were not Sonoran Sunrise, but some man made material. To me, they seem like some kind of pressed, chalky, material. The color is through and through and seems to be stable, but if I left a stone in acetone overnight, I really believe it would just dissolve.

The seller claimed that upon further examination, he believed the stones to be manmade and offered me a refund. He has 100% feedback. I don't know that he was deliberately defrauding myself and others. He took the rest of the suspect auctions down. I won't name him, giving him the benefit of the doubt (reluctantly) but now that you have seen these stones-- do yourself a favor and avoid them. The raw material is probably coming from China, en masse, as we speak. (Just as their cheap, inferior version of Mojave Turquoise is.)

I rarely need to do this kind of detective work. I'm pretty good about buying stones. I find no shame in being ripped off. The shame would be in passing these off again as the real thing. The steps I went through will almost always prove a stone to be something other than stone. If you get that uneasy feeling about a stone, follow your instincts and do some detective work. And, for Pete's sake, if you get a fake stone, eat the cost and chalk it up to learning. Don't pass it off as real again. People who are selling these stones are counting on YOU to do just that. If we want to put these guys out of business, we need to stop reselling their stones. There are lots of honest lapidary dealers that need and appreciate your business.

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Update- the seller has already refunded my full purchase :) Glad I emailed him. He stood behind his guarantee.

I Finished My Tute! Fused Copper Hearts

2012-02-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

I like challenging myself. First, I challenged myself to fuse copper. Then I challenged myself to try to write a tutorial about it. This has easily been my most difficult to write. And, talk about photographing it...!!! BUT, I persevered and now have a great tute to offer everyone that I know will prove to be very useful. I haven't even exploited all the uses of fusing. I'm still playing with it. I began with hearts and hummingbirds and quickly went to 2 and 3 wire fuses for bails. One pair of fused rabbit ears became a form for making a woven bail, which is separate from the piece. This isn't taught in the tute, but the basics are there for people to explore. I am really excited to see what other artists do with this new technique.

What I am teaching is three different ways to fuse copper. Yes, it can be done and without flux. Once you learn the rules you can do new and different things.

Here are the simple hearts that I used in the tute.

All the variations in the heart forms are taught. I also include what to look for, what to look OUT for and how to deal with a bad fuse. I go into some basics of the torch and of the fire. I have wonderful pictures that worked me to death AND- for the first time- I include video. 3 videos. They are the perfect accompaniment to the pdf. They are NOT stand alone instructional videos, but real time demonstrations of the procedure from 3 angles. There is no audio, but there is great video. (I used my glassblowing lens on the video camera so there is no flare blocking your view!) You get 4 downloads with your purchase. I want everyone who is interested in fusing and who understands its potential to be successful learning it.

I'm as excited about this tute as I was about learning to fuse. I don't think that anyone risking the money to buy it will be disappointed. Check out the tute in the store for more details.

What Have I Been Up To?

2012-01-27T17:33:00.000-05:00

It seems like I haven't been around much lately. I have, I guess, but I have been so consumed with my new project that I haven't been doing much else.

I got my propane torch and quickly learned what it is NOT good for. Then I ordered my Blazer micro butane torch and fell in love. Stubborn me, though, I just had a to find a way to use the propane. I'm well accustomed to using a torch and not intimidated by it, so I began to play around with different things. My first efforts were the hummingbirds and hearts. Not content to leave it at that, I tried getting the forms smaller. Then I began to perfect the hearts. One of the things that bugs me about hearts is that if you hang it from the cleft, it no longer looks like a heart. So, I needed a way to hang them without simply running a chain through them. After probably 100 hearts, I have figured out a foolproof way of doing it.

With that revelation, I wondered what else I could do. But, at that point, I could think of nothing but hearts, so I asked Renate for some ideas and she was full of them. One of them is pictured below. Champagne bottle and glass earrings. I'm probably going to add some nice ab delicas in white to these-- Later, though, I am having too much fun melting metal right now.

Another thing that I wanted to try was to see if I could fuse the loops at the beginning and end of a wigjig earring pattern. I like the jig, but I find those double rings bulky, unattractive and never tight. Here again, my torch did me proud.

I call this fusing, but it isn't like silver fusing, at all. I am working on doing a tute for it. I think that learning this technique will become a really invaluable thing to know. I know I will be using my jig more and be making more hearts. And, well, the sky is the limit for what to do with the forms. I have even used them to frame up cabs in two recent pendants. But, it isn't limited to forms or frames, either, as in the wigjig earrings. It's a good way to join copper for whatever reason.

Because it is really hard to describe what goes on in the flame, I am trying to get good video of what is going on. I plan to offer a pdf with a video. I don't know if I will be able to, but that is what I am working on. It has taken me a lot of wire, time and propane to perfect this to the point of being able to teach it.

At one point, I almost gave up the whole idea of fusing. I put everything away and went to bed, very deflated. I was laying there, ready to fall off into sleep, when I had a eureka moment. I jumped up out of bed, unpacked everything again and began working. My idea worked!!! Glad I carried my butt back out of bed! :) Sometimes, you just have to go with it.

* $5.00 Tutorial Sale *

2012-01-22T21:37:00.000-05:00

At last, I have moved my tutorials to my store. I have reformatted them to be easier to print, too. If you have bought any on JL, I will be updating those files, too, if you are interested, but they won't go on sale there.

My tutes are regularly 12, 10, 9 and 7 dollars but for this week, ending the morning of Jan 29th, all tutes are $5.00 each (except for the one that's a dollar). This is a great chance to pick up a bargain. Most are half off and my most involved is more than half off. If you have been waiting for a better price, this is it.

More store news: I have upgraded my store and will be adding the rest of my pieces. If there was something you liked and it's not in the store, odds are good that I'll be adding it soon. It takes a lot of work to get things listed. I'm working hard on it.

Jewelry news: Dh and I collaborated on a piece today. I needed his expertise in measuring to figure something out. It didn't work though. My fault, not his. I'm not giving up, yet, though. If I can get it done right and it works, it will be really cool. Sometimes, the R&D takes longer than actually getting the piece done. :)

I Confess: I'm Ascared of Silver

2012-01-19T15:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, it is a word. At least according to The Free Dictionary. I'll take their definition a step further. Being a Southerner, I can say that the word is generally used to denote a silly fear. A child is ascared of the boogieman. I am ascared of silver. Sterling silver, in general; Argentium silver in particular. I know it won't hurt me and that it is an irrational fear, but I'm ascared nonetheless.

Yesterday, I spent the day trying to save a piece full of the expensive, shiny stuff. I was playing around with the torch and some Argentium and managed the difficult (for my newbie self) task of fusing big silver balls to a 20g wire. I managed. That gave me lots of confidence. Confidence that was soon crushed.

In my excitement and zeal, I put the stone in my setting backasswards. I didn't notice till I got most of the way finished- in other words, too late. My precious beads of carefully fused metal were now completely opposite of where they should be on the stone. Then, nearly completed, I realized that I didn't leave enough wire for a respectably large enough bail for the big stone. By then, I was pretty disgusted and frustrated. I cut the wires off. Yes, I did. I was frustrated and cut them off. What in the world was I thinking??

What I ended up with was a very respectable, upside down stone with lovely little gobs of silver holding it in along with some pretty, coveted pattern wire. Crap. Maybe, I could make a pin? Maybe, I could use the wire for another stone. Maybe.... whatever. I took it apart. I annealed the metal. I put the stone in right way round. I got it all zipped up again and even had a loop of wide pattern wire left to affix a bail to. Then... I broke the damn loop. Guess, I shoulda annealed it again.

That was a lot of silver to mess up. :(

I didn't even bother to get a picture of the final attempt.

Today, I decided to do a straight up wrap to take my mind off the torch. I picked up a big, beautiful Andean Pink Opal that had been beckoning me. I fully intended to do this in silver. Then I got cold feet. I got a cold sweat. I got ascared. I wimped out and reached for copper. The whole time I was making it, I was thinking- I'll just redo this in silver. No problem. No problem, at all.

If you look real close, you can see that I ran out of wire on the back of the bail. I really wasn't concerned because, after all, I'm redoing this in silver.

I have publicly stated on a number of occasions that I am redoing this, so I know that I will. It is my little way of getting past my fear.

But, honestly, don't you sometimes feel like when you are working with silver that everything goes wrong? It does for me. When I use copper, I'm a freestyle wrapper. I like to pull wire off the spool and GO. When I use silver, I second guess myself and end up screwing up. In the wrap above, I didn't even measure or mark. Everything just came together. Not so with silver. I have no problem with the actual workability of silver. I just get overly cautious and ascared.

Did I mention that I'm redoing this in silver?
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Update 10:30 PM EST

I did it!! I'm not thrilled with the bail, but I did it. At first, I was going to leave the sterling silver raw, then I gave it a patina instead.

New Tute Available: Beaded Frame Pendant

2012-01-14T01:14:00.001-05:00

I've been working hard putting this together and it's finally finished! I'm very happy with this tutorial. I have to say, I think this is the best tute I've done. Both in terms of the design and the technical aspects of writing and photographing a tutorial. You can read more about it if you click on the NEW tab above and click on the tute. Or, just click here. It is also available at JewelryLessons.com, however, direct purchases from my store mean all the proceeds go to me, the artist. I have tried to keep this affordable for everyone.

I am in the process of putting my tutes for sale in my store. I will be writing more tutes and offering them both in my store and at JL.

Thanks for all the interest shown in this setting. :)

Tools Are Not Toys (?)

2012-01-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

I've told all of my kids and grandkids that tools are not toys. I pounded it into their heads until they had a healthy respect for them. After all, they are what separates us from (most) animals, right?

I can only imagine what goes though their heads when grandma gets all excited and giddy over a package in the mail. "Oooooo, gimme gimmee!!" I shriek with glee, as my granddaughter brings in the mail, forgetting my manners and age. I must seem like a little kid getting a new toy at Christmas to them. But, wait a minute.... I AM a big kid getting a new toy for Christmas! LOL! Yes, yes! Tools are my toys. I respect them, yes, of course I do, but what FUN! I love tools and have more than my husband does. But, we share and share nicely. We sit at the table and play nice with our toys, er, tools.

I got an allowance for tools for Christmas. DH wanted me to get what I needed. Bad move. Naw, he knows I know how to control myself, so he didn't have to worry.

Now that I have burned through my purse, I thought I'd share what I got. Only women of similar minds could fully appreciate my delight with my new... tools.

Here's the list. See if you can guess what my next big purchase will be when I get some more money:

Soldering Made Simple DVD, Joe Silvera
Soldering Made Simple: Easy techniques for the kitchen-table jeweler, Joe Silvera
Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire Barbara
Making Metal Jewelry: Projects, Techniques, Inspiration, Joanna Gollberg

Propane torch, fine tip
Blazer Self-Igniting Butane Micro-Torch
Vector Quintuple Refined Butane Fuel - 3 Pack
Annealing and Soldering Pan with Pumice Stone
Kiln Brick

Sparex Pickling Compound
Copper Tongs

4-Ounce Cross Peen Hammer
Stainless Steel Block with Wood Base
Rubber Block

Copper 22 gauge Sheet Metal, 3" x 3" piece
Copper 20 gauge Sheet Metal, 3" x 3" piece
Copper 24 gauge Sheet Metal, 3" x 3" piece
Screw Down Hole Punch

Pro Polish Pad
Zam polishing compound

I took my time getting these things and did some research. Amazon was my friend and so was Beaducation, which is a great place to learn and has good prices on some of the things that I wanted to get. I did some scrounging around the house and commandeered a few things- some graphite (as a heatproof surface), a jeweler's saw (DH never used it), some leather tools and some glass working tools, to name a few. I have a kiln, but I haven't busted that out, yet. Not sure I'll need it.

So, other than a rolling mill, which is down the line- can you guess at what is sorely missing? If you can guess, then you know what my next big adventure is. After I exploit some more fire, that is. :)

Ammolite doublet Biding my time waiting for new tools in the mail.

Ugly Firescale vs Speed Brite

2012-01-05T12:08:00.002-05:00

* **This has been updated to add some pictures of an experiment at the end..***
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I prepared some wires today to try out Mary Tucker's, "Flat Twining Guide" tute. While I was doing it, I took a few pictures for the blog because I want to share with you something I came to recently by accident.

As a newbie to the torch, I was shocked to see how much firescale and discoloration was left on the copper wire, even after a simple balled end. I wondered if it was worth all the trouble of cleaning to use the torch.

I have a tool that always sits near my work area. It is a Mini Speed Brite and it, again, came to my rescue. Here is what I had to say about my nifty tool at jMf. (It's not a paid endorsement, I swear!):

"SB is an ionic cleaner. It works by placing a tiny charge on a piece of metal resting in a liquid bath of cleaner. The mild current lifts dirt and other things off the metal. This may not be an exact analogy, but I like to think of it as the opposite of electroplating. Instead of using current to put something ON the metal, you are using it to take stuff OFF the metal.

SB is very, very safe to use, both for yourself and for your jewelry.

What I love to do with it, just for fun because it is so pretty and amazing to see, is to clean diamond jewelry. No matter how clean you think yours is, SB will show you what the word sparkle really means!!! All diamond jewelry should be cleaned daily with a SB. It is just that fabulous.

I used to avoid sterling silver jewelry like the plague because I so despise how it tarnishes, but now, my SB keeps it looking like fine silver. It does a really beautiful job on silver. It has saved more than one great chain that was almost trash because of stubborn tarnish in hard to reach pieces.

I use it to clean all my jewelry, with one exception: be careful with purposely oxidized pieces, especially copper!!! It will remove your oxidation. But, it can be used carefully. I've done it. You can see your pieces being cleaned, so you can pull it out before it gets *too* clean.

I use it to do a final cleaning before sale, I use it to clean metal before torching, I use it to clean after tumbling, I use it to help remove firescale. I use it to clean before LOS. I use it ALL the time! It is tied with my tumbler in terms of usefulness. Like the tumbler, once you get one- you will wonder how you ever did without one.

They are relatively expensive, especially for how simple and lo tech they are. But, FDJ has a large one on sale right now. You can find them at a lot of supply places, but shop around because prices vary. My DH got me mine for cheap on eBay when we didn't have the extra money for one. I had wanted one for years and he got me one for my birthday a long time ago. Still works like new. I bought more of the liquid and a plug because, on my small unit, the battery wore out too quick. But, only the small one has batteries. The battery unit is good for taking it to shows, if you do them.

So, was I a good commercial? LOL! Seriously, I swear by mine and if it's in your budget, I strongly recommend one."

When I first used the torch, out of curiosity and not really believing that it would work, I dropped a piece of copper with firescale in my SB-- By golly, IT WORKED! It took off most, if not all, of the firescale! I used several cycles and have found that the amount of time varies with the amount of firescale. What I was left with was dull copper, that very easily shined up with a Sunshine cloth. Check out these pictures.

See how nice the center wire is after a light polish?? Amazing, no??

Seeing is believing. I have had some firescale that was tougher. With that, most came off but needed a little Scotchbrite to finish it up before a polish. For the most part, the SB has worked a charm and will be what I continue to use for copper firescale. I have yet to try this with silver, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I will. :)
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I ran some experiments after reading Kate's question. I thought it would be better just to do a pictorial answer. I use the SB almost unreservedly, but I understand others' reservations. I thought the best way to tell you was to show you. Hope the pictures are of enough.

I chose to use a copper spectrolite piece that I was aging naturally, a copper piece with a patina and a piece of rainbow hematite in silver- I believe it is fine silver, I can't remember, but it IS tarnished, it's an old piece. The first piece is red, as you can see; the second could use a good cleaning with a polishing cloth and the third needs a good cleaning and polish to shine it up.

Here is the used and dirty SB solution that was in the SB. I am going to use this solution. It has had all kinds of dirty jewelry in it including the firescaled copper.

Here at my table, I had to use a flash, so it is a little more blue, but you can see the tiny bubbles streaming off the piece and you can clearly see the piece to judge what's going on. I used this patinaed piece first to show you that I am going to use the same solution for the rest. If you are nervous, particular or doubting-- just change the solution. (The large bubbles are from pouring the solution back into the tub. It never bubbles that big with jewelry.)

Here's the piece fresh from the SB and gently wiped with a towel and polishing cloth. The recesses are still patinaed. The nice golden color is still on the high spots, but shinier. I left this in for abt 1.5 cycles (abt 45 seconds). If I had left it in, the darker areas would start to lift.

This spectrolite had a completely red, natural patina. One cycle in the SB and it was pink again. (Guess I'll have to wait awhile for that patina to come back :) )

It isn't real obvious to the camera, but this looks like raw copper again.

This piece was more stubborn. I left it in one cycle. I could have left it in more, but didn't. That's ok, one was enough. The unit and the solution are safe for rainbow hematite-- absolutely, hands down the most delicate of anything that I have worked with. I have no reservations about putting anything in my SB.

I needed to polish this a little more than I did the copper, but it still came out great. Again, I could have and probably should have left it in longer. The directions say don't leave silver in for too long, I usually do though. You can see, on the top of the picture, that there is quite a shine that wasn't there before.

Here is the solution after cleaning. It's not much different. It takes a long time to get to the point where it needs changing. In the Summer, I usually have to change it when funk starts to grow in it. (moldy stuff, yuck!)

Here are the cleaned pieces together again. Notice that the red copper is pink, the patined piece is just cleaner and shinier and the silver is cleaner and shinier.

*** For my own curiosity, I just put the patinaed piece back in for 10 cycles. The high spots aren't quite as dark, they aren't quite raw looking, either. The low spots are still dark. Actually, I really like the look and will do that again. :) So, Kate, thanks for the question. I wouldn't have tried this, had you not asked. This was my personal piece and I thought- what the heck- I can always redo it, if it all comes off, right? :)

Bottom line, change the solution if you want to or keep separate solutions for different metals, but you don't have to.

Raw copper cleans quite easily, but if you leave clean, raw copper in too long, it gets dull. No picture of that, this is just from experience. It can be shined up again, so don't worry.

It is suggested to use it for shorter times on silver. I haven't found that to be true.

Patinas are pretty hard to take off by accident.

(Sorry about the formatting with gaps between pictures and texts. It seems to be a real Blogger bug and I'm sick of trying to fix it. Argh!)
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Update on the twining.... I kept breaking my 26g copper and switched to 24 which was working better. I had to take a break because, and don't laugh, my fingers are sore from filing the copper forms. I inadvertently filed my skin more than I thought I had and I'm a little raw. There's a lesson there, I'm sure. :)
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Another update: It doesn't work as well on silver, but helps.

More Melting

2012-01-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

Melting metal is so much fun! I have decided to invest in a few more things to help me along the path.

My brother in law and sister in law have 2 hummingbird feeders right outside their glassdoors. I love to sit and watch them when I am visiting. They are amazing and seem to defy all the laws of nature. They are improbable. There are many ruby throated beauties coming to the brightly colored feeders. When I am real lucky, I get a chance to see a few males vying for position. They are quite territorial and aggressive. They remind me of angry tinkerbells.

Anyway, while playing with the hummingbird forms, I had an idea to make a large form and to net it with crystals to hang in front of the window in the hopes of attracting more of the tiny birds. So, I made one which is actually larger than a real one. It has bright, sparkly green and red crystals and one black onyx eye. The form was fused closed at the belly. The beak and tail were fused and filed to shape. It is 5.5in wide - 14cm and 3.25in - 8.5cm long. The pictures I took do it no justice, at all. This is really beautiful with the crystals and hangs as if the bird is feeding in flight. I kept the best picture to post here, but you will have to imagine it hanging in a sunny window to get a full idea of what it looks like.

Everything that could go wrong with this did. This is the forth form I tried. I melted through the others in one way or another. I got a lot of practice with fusing!

Next, the new package of 24g copper wire I opened seemed to be a little less than the soft it was supposed to be and broke three times. I've never had such a problem with netting! By the forth aggravating time, I decided to nip the problem in the bud and anneal problem spots with a cigarette lighter. It worked a charm. It's the first time I tried it. It didn't take much heat on a 24g wire and it didn't discolor much, either. I literally watched for the wire to relax and then removed the heat. You can't tell where I have done it. Learned something new.

I hope my bil/sil don't read this before they get it in the mail. If you do read this- the package is in the mail :)

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T16:28:00.003-05:00

I was planning to start blogging again tomorrow, on a Monday, but I am anxious to get back to the blog. I have been on home vacation with my husband. The kids have all been home, too. It's been great, but I'm ready to get back to a schedule.

So, any New Year's Resolutions? My resolutions? Get healthier, number one. Manage time more wisely, secondly. And last, keep trying new jewelry techniques. I looked at my last years resolution on JL and found that I was a pretty good girl, with a few exceptions. This year, I am not so ambitious as I was last year.

I have already begun learning a new technique, though. I got a new, bigger, torch and started melting metal. Not too much, though, as it makes the kids nervous. I am waiting for them to go back to school to do some more. However, here's a few things I have done.


Fused copper: The hummingbird(?) was fused at the beak, tail and wing tip.


Another fused copper hummingbird finished with beads.

And, here's a reason why you should not be in a rush and be careless. I used a heavy ceramic pizza stone under some silver to be fused with a microtorch. The heat transferred straight to my kitchen table. Come to think of it.... maybe that's why the kids are nervous.

I am preparing myself to start another technique. I am VERY excited about it, but that will be a future blog post.

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My brother and sister in law vacationed at the beach for Christmas. They took time from their vacation to scour the souvenir bins to find me these wonderful treats for Christmas. I think my brother in law is developing a great eye for jewelry. ;) Can't wait to play with them. I doubt I can use the starfish as they are rather soft, but the others set my mind racing with ideas. Pretty cool! Awesome gift, guys, thanks! :)

Believe it or not, I have never wrapped a shark's tooth!

Love these!!

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I hope you all had a great holiday! I wish you all a healthy, happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year!

Gifts: Wired Lotus Free Rolling Mill Tutorial & Flowers From Mom

2011-12-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

Fellow jewelry artist and friend, Susan Barzacchini, of Wired Lotus, has begun a wonderful new blog. She launched her new blog with a free gift for everyone interested in the rolling mill. She has created and generously offers a very concise and thorough tutorial on using the economy rolling mill. You can find the free "Flat to Fab: Patterning Metals with the Economy Compact Rolling Mill" here on her blog. What impresses me the most about this tute is the quality of information. I happen to know that she went so far as to have the tutorial reviewed by the experts on the mill before she even released it to you, the public. She walks you through every aspect of using the mill from how to set it up right out of the box to defining terms to using patterns. She provides clear relevant pictures with each step. The tute leaves no question unanswered- however, if you do find that you still have any, then she has generously offered to answer your queries on her blog. This is Susan's first tute and I think only the first of what will be many more outstanding tutorials. Great job, Susan! I know that you generously gave me some credit, but the credit is all yours- I just helped with some of the techno babble. :) Not to say that I don't appreciate it because I certainly do. Thank you :) and thank you for offering us your expertise.
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I have a story of early Christmas to tell. I have to share this because it made me so happy and maybe will touch a few of you also.

Those of us of a certain age have the same sad, shared experience of losing a parent. I have lost both of my parents. This is the tenth anniversary of my mom's passing. My mother was my best friend and if anyone had asked me I would have told them that I could never live without her, but here I am, carrying on. I think of her often, but have not felt her presence as strongly, in a very long time, as I did recently.

Shortly before she passed away, she gave me 2 Christmas cacti. We had a habit of giving plants versus flowers because plants live on. They bloomed magnificently that year. For many years they sat in 2 pots. I did all the things you are supposed to do to get them to bloom. They never did. I planted them together in the same pot and prayed that it wouldn't kill them and it didn't, but still no blooms. The planter has hung in my living room for years. I have never been able to bring myself to get rid of the stubborn plants and have long since given up on getting them to bloom. They are a green reminder, hanging unobtrusively on a hook, for those moments when I glance over and think of Mom.

A few evenings ago, while playing our regular game of darts, I happened to glance over and see something caught in the branches of my cactus. I thought one of the kids had thrown something up in it and made a mental note to chastise them. I went to relieve the branches of the offence when I discovered that it had, in fact, bloomed!! For no good reason that I could tell, it was actually blooming. Immediately, what sprung from my mouth was, "Thank you, Mom!" (Actually, I said "Mommy"- not Mom, but that sounds strange even to me.) I had a very pronounced feeling that Mom was in the room. I was utterly delighted. What I found most amazing was that I didn't fall into a bundle of melancholy over the "sign", rather; I had a great sense of happiness and warmth. I have had some big changes in my life and have stepped into her matriarchal shoes. I measure myself against her and for the first time, I felt as if she personally approved of the job I've been doing. I can't think of a better Christmas gift. Thank you, Mom. :)

I hope all of you experience some sort of miracle for the Season, as well.

Ahhh, Lovely Lapis

2011-12-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

I finished this piece up this morning and thought you might like to see the before and after pictures. Some of you may remember seeing this cab before. It used to be in a necklace made of copper.

Well, I was getting it ready to list for sale in my boutique and I decided that I wanted to see it in silver instead. I had always been on the fence with it. So, I redid it this morning and tweaked the setting a bit.

I think the bottom was a little heavier before. This time, the bottom has less wire, but the concept is the same. However, the top has more silver now and the shape created by the bail and weaving echoes back to the bottom. At least, I think it does. I like the contrast between the silver and blue. I liked the copper a lot, but I like the silver better. What do you think?

Peruvian Gel Rhodochrosite

2011-12-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

I finished this today. I'm so happy with how it turned out, I wanted to post it right away.

I tried to put this on my Facebook Fanpage. After about an hour, I gave up trying. It seems Friday evening is a bad time to try to upload pictures. I'm still learning the FB ropes. One thing I was told is that if I get 25 likes, I'll get a shorter URL. Will you visit and like me? (I'm smiling while typing this because, really, I sound like I am in kindergarten- I doubt I'll ever get used to FB. :) ) I promise, I'll try to visit everyone and like you, too. I might be slow, but I'll do it. I think I have that much of FB figured out now. Sorry, do I sound frustrated?? LOL! OK, yes, FB frustrates me, but I am learning.

Back to the Rhodo.....

This is a reddish, pink- darker gel rhodochrosite from Peru. Looks way different than the Argentinian variety, doesn't it?? This is much darker and very translucent. I tried my best to get a good picture of the translucency.

I originally tried to do this wrap in stainless steel. I had so much trouble with it that it went in the trash. The bundle is 6 wires thick. That was way too much for my hands with the steel. Too bad, it would have looked nice. Copper saved the day- it's plenty strong enough and gentler on the hands and looks great especially with this color.

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Lois featured the Jelly Bean Jasper piece from my last post on her site, Copper Wire Jewelers. :) Thank you, Lois!

Time To Play Catch Up!

2011-12-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

Aside from working on the last installment of my stones series (which will be done soon), I have been playing catch up on a bunch of things. Since making the exclusive time to open my boutique, I have gotten behind on everything. Of course, housework would be number one. Yes, there are plenty of people in the house now to share the load, but some things are best done by a woman. Sexist? Well, yes. I learned years ago not to let an adult male touch the washer! Then there is the stack of jewelry that I have had to go through. A lot of things are not going to make it into the store. I have piles- one each for daughters, one for my darling granddaughter, one for repair/refine and one for scrapping altogether. Then there is a stack to go over and get ready for listing. I have learned the hard way to go over each piece with a fine tooth comb before listing it for sale.

In between the catch up chores, I've been able to make a few pieces of jewelry and even had some practice with stainless steel wire, like with this Dumorturite. Stainless steel is tough to work, but I really like the look.

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on a new piece with one of the biggest stones I've ever wrapped. What I find interesting, is that my dear husband really likes this piece a lot. He often likes my work and is very encouraging, but this Mexican Jellybean Jasper really caught his eye. He says it seems Italian to him and that the colors remind him of worn alfresco paintings. I love when he is inspired by a rock! :)

After these pictures were taken, I added a nicer clasp of hammered 14g wire with a great patina and made it a little longer. It is 22 inches. The beads are each 16mm worked with 18g to give you an idea of the size of this. The stone is about 60mm long or about 2 1/2 inches. The setting did a good job in minimizing the size a little, I think.

In my recent order from Rio Grande, I got a brass brush that Mary Tucker recommended here on her blog. It made the job of rubbing down the patina on the Jellybean piece a lot easier to do. I was not looking forward to doing all those beads, but the brush made quick work of it and I love the job that it did. I used it on sterling silver, too. I used sterling to finish a stunning pink and purple Tiffany Stone. Because the stone is so incredible, I wanted nothing on the face of it. Instead, I added some detail to the sides with twisted wire and gave it a patina. The brush worked like a charm on the sterling, too.

To round this post out and bring it to a meandering close, I share with you- Cat- who has been a constant (sometimes irritating) companion. He has had a belly ache for the last few days. When he doesn't feel good, he is a big baby and has to be right next to me so I can hear him moaning and groaning like an old man. Poor guy.... I don't have the heart to move him.

Drum Roll Please........ Store Now Open!

2011-12-01T08:28:00.000-05:00

I am quite pleased to announce that my store is now open! Yippeee!

To celebrate, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING for a limited time to the US and Canada and $4.00 International. Have a look at the STORE FAQ for more about shipping.

This was so much work and planning and I had high hopes that this announcement would come sooner, but it is, at last, finally done. For those of you that have been waiting to see it, THANK YOU so very much for your patience.

I am using the free Ecwid store, as a result, I can only list 100 items. If there was something you wanted to see, it will be placed in the store as other things leave. Odds are good that your favorite piece is not sold, just not yet listed. If the store does well, I will upgrade and list more items including exclusive tutorials.

This store will be homebased on the blog, but will also be in several other places. As things sell in one store, they disappear in the others. Store announcements, sales and changes will be made here.

Thanks for your patience everyone :) Now that this is finally done, I can get back to doing what I love to do. Make jewelry and blog about it.

Thanksgoodness for Experiments

2011-11-25T11:49:00.000-05:00

After the big dinner, laughter and hugs, I had a quiet night to sit and work out a technique I have been playing with. I like how it worked out. The piece is nothing special, but it was just an experiment to see if I could do it. And, it worked better than I thought it would. This is pretty long because of the bail I chose. It's 3 1/4 inches long, but the rhodochrosite was pretty long to start with.
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At long last, I have some more silver on the way. I love copper, but some of my stones call for silver. I'm really excited to be able to do a nice silver piece and not worry about running out. Now, I just have to decide which I want to do first. :)
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For the challenge at jMf I am going to be sampling some musical favorites today and waiting for something to start wrapping wire for me. :) If I am lucky, that's just what will happen. I love being inspired, it makes the work so much more fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T14:22:00.001-05:00

For those that celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday. For everyone else, I hope you all have a great weekend, too!

I've been working tirelessly to open my store. I never would have guessed that this would take so long and be so much work! I'm close enough to take a break and work on the late last part of my stone series this holiday weekend. I'll be too full tomorrow and I'll be giving thanks for the many blessings I've had through the year.

Here's a piece I found when getting my things ready for the store. I made it awhile ago and had to change it up a bit. I like the improvement a lot better. This is petrified wood.

Ecwid

2011-11-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, I can take a breather now and give you all a heads up on what I am doing.

I was reading a thread posted at jMf where Laura mentioned this cool way to put a store on your blog. We began to discuss it on another thread. Basically, a company called Ecwid has a store platform that is FREE. (For up to 100 items.) You can even sell downloadables, like tutes. The beauty of it is you can set it up anywhere you want to (just about); on blogs, Facebook, websites, etc. It is nothing but code that you put on a page. The code directs all the inner workings of the store to the Ecwid website.

I am using this blog to grow my store and see it work. I have about 54 items done, the categories and shipping done. Next, I need to set up the payment platform. It should be as easy as the rest. It has a whole slew of payment options that the seller can choose from.

Other than an emergency home repair, that is what I've been doing. At first, it was slow going, but now that I know the ropes, it is moving along nicely.

Why am I boring you with this??? Because it's so easy to do, you can do it, too. Why not? Even if this is just a hobby for you, if you have a blog, put your things on it. The store is indexed by search engines, so you have nothing to lose and potential sales to win. :)

(And, no, I haven't forgotten that I am late on the last installment of the stone series.)

SORRY! If you had weird some emails from the blog, just ignore them

2011-11-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed, I have been working on my store. Right now, it is hosted on the blog, where I am learning how it works. But, it is completely portable and I'll be moving it around to other sites when I am done.

I intend to share more about this when I am done. But, for the time being, I am working diligently to get the store up. The stores platform has been pretty easy to use. It was my error in posting new categories to a post rather than a page, which is why you may have been notified of a new post. Sorry, to be so annoying. :(

More later.....

Some Updates

2011-11-07T12:37:00.000-05:00

First, let me thank everyone who has come over to visit and register with the new forum- Jewelry Makers Forum or as we like to call it, JMF. I see lots of familiar "faces" and some new ones, too. It's a great beginning!!

I have been sharing some Gimp and Photoshop instructions and Susan is working on a tute for the rolling mill. As some of you may have noticed, there isn't much to be found about mill work online. I am really looking forward to her instructions. A mill isn't a purchase in my near future, but I am anxious to see how it works. I admire so much mill work! :) Speaking of which, pop over to see Susan's new piece, it's ssssssssensational! It really goes to show what you can do with a mill and wire.
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As much as I hate to do it, I am going to start selling my jewelry. With a full house now, I spend my hobby money on necessities- at least for the time being- so, if I want to keep splurging on my passions, I'll have to support my habit in other ways, like by selling my jewelry. It'll be real hard to part with some of them :( I'm looking to selling online. Doing shows and home parties is not practicable for me. For days now, I have been trying to get all my pieces organized, photographed and edited with my new font. I haven't made a single piece of jewelry and I'm jonesing to do some. I'll probably need the break soon because after about 105 pieces of jewelry and 50 or so left, not counting rings and earrings, I'm loosing my mind.
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When I began the series "What I look for in a stone" I envisioned 6 installments. Five are now completed, there is one left- Cost. I'll be working on that this week.

What I Look for in a Stone: Part 5, Durability

2011-11-04T07:30:00.002-04:00

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

This post will be a little different. Instead of a bunch of pictures, I'm going to discuss durability and include a few (test) videos that I made with my camera. Sadly, my actual video camera is terrible for close up.

How a stone will hold up to a certain wrap is a big consideration. Not only do I not want to damage a stone, I also don't want all that time and work gone to waste. A good example would be of a stone I recently set. It is a Candy Stripe opal or Bacon opal (yeah, I know, dumb name). Here is the stone before I wrapped it.

Here is the stone after a simple wrap.

OUCH! I had never worked with this kind of stone before and had never had problems with any kinds of opal before, so I wasn't as careful as I could have been. However, the way the corner just crumbled, I think it is more a matter of the stone being very soft, than my being too rough.

Deciding which kind of wrap to use, is also a consideration. With the opal, if I had done a loose type of sculpture versus a tight border wrap, it may have held up. One has to also consider whether or not it is going to be a wrap which has lots of sharp ends. If so, one had better file those ends, because some stones can't go in the tumbler- namely malachite. The polish on a malachite usually suffers from being in the tumbler. I have been told by a few reputable sources that ZAM polish works to bring back the shine, though I haven't tried it, yet, myself.

In a previous post, I mentioned rainbow hematite. It has been, hands down, the most delicate stone I have used to date. There are only a few ways it could be wrapped. It is a type of druzy, though one like you rarely see. Most aren't even suitable for jewelry. Another great, natural druzy is the green garnet, uvarovite. Druzy or drusy stones take a lot of care in setting and wearing. I approach every one on a case by case basis. The video below is of the stone in the picture that I linked to. It is so bright that it is hard to see the color in the video. Just imagine that all the sparkles encompass the color of a rainbow, hence the name.

Then there are the stones like mystic topaz that have an easily scratched surface coating. Likewise, the titanium coated druzies scratch real easy. Honestly, I don't even use these stones, because, although beautiful when new, they can look pretty bad, real quick, if not taken very good care of. But, that's just my opinion.

Some stones do not take a good polish. Some lapidaries put an epoxy coating, like Opticon, on them to produce a shine. These stones are often soft, too, and the surface may have minute pits that needs to be sealed with the epoxy. I have seen this treatment on serraphinite and on my newest stone purchase of rare, Russian fuschite. It is also on my astrophyllite (see videos) With this treatment, the stone is coated, to produce shine and to seal. These stones, I won't usually tumble, though some of them I will, like ammolite. Natural ammolite are often given a coating of Opticon to protect it.

(This is the first video I have done for the web and it was one helluva challenge! I deliberately made this dark and light because I couldn't decide which looked better for the sparkles. :) I should have done this for the last part of the series!!)

There are stones like turquoise and variscite that are soft, too, but because most are treated to produce a more durable cutting material and cab, I don't have a problem with them. However, many of the stones have a soft matrix that can be tumbled out of them. This creates an undercutting of the matrix, resulting in an uneven surface. (or worse)

Some stones are backed. A backing, often of quartz or basalt, can be added to a thin or delicate stone to produce a more durable cab. These stones are like doublets- only backwards. With a doublet, a top is added instead of a bottom. Usually clear quartz or created spinel is used. The clear top also magnifies the colors in the stone. This is one reason why you often see them on opals and ammolite. I've never had a problem with a doublet or backed stone, so long as they were made correctly. If you purchase a doublet, check with a loupe or magnifying glass for tiny bubbles. There should be none, or, at least, very few. Bubbles can eventually destroy the stone because as the top gradually loosens, it often takes a layer of the stone with it. I have only seen this happen twice, though. (Both on ammolites!)

The question that I have most often been asked is, "Do you tumble opals?" My answer? A resounding, "Yes!" If you take a look at what an opal is made of and the vast variety of them, you can get an idea that it is pretty hard. (keyword being silicate) I can't make any blanket statements about opals in general, but for the precious opal that we most often think of- the colorful, white ones and the crystal ones- they take a great polish and are hard enough to tumble. Koroit, boulder or matrix opals are hard, too, but I take a good look at the overall stone before I tumble, making sure that the matrix can take it. There is no science to it, I just eyeball it and rely on experience. As for wrapping, I would use any wrap on any opal- except candy stripe opal. So far, that has been MY experience and I offer no guarantee or warranty on it. :) I think people are worried about opals because they appear so delicate. Now, as a caveat, I have to say- don't bother wrapping a cracked or crazed opal. If you have seen one, then you know what I mean. The words are perfect descriptions. Don't use them. They will not hold up to either time or a wrap.

In closing, I reiterate that there are few stones that I won't wrap. However, there are some that take special care like druzy, soft stones and coated stones. If you ever have a question about a stone's hardness, go to Mindat.org for all the info you ever wanted and more. The hardness of stones is listed right at the top of each stone's page. If I have left something out that you wanted to know, specifically, leave it in the comment section :)

A New Place to Meet

2011-11-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy! And, I am really excited about it! A few jewelry artist friends, Renate and myself have set up a new forum dedicated not just to jewelry, but to creativity and inspiration, too.

We hope to build a place that you can visit for new ideas- inspiration. A place to visit when your muse has left you and for when you can't keep up with her. Share you jubilation or find a shoulder for your sorrow- we all know what it is like to have a fickle muse.

We will have challenges to get your creative minds going and we invite you to submit your own. These are not contests, there are no prizes, but everyone is a winner.

It will be a place of mutual respect and sharing. Come for friendly critiques or show off your latest accomplishment.

Come and share your experiments, ask your questions or just wax poetic about the different aspects of creativity and what it means to you.

Come to learn from fellow artists. (There is already one free tute in the making.) Come and post your own tips and tricks. Maybe you'd like to share your own mini tute?

Our forum will be moderated, so you needn't worry about trolls and after an initial "grand opening" we will close certain areas to members only so as to protect some of your sensitive content.

We are using a free host- Proboards. We aren't making any money on this, we just wanted a place of our own to go to that had an emphasis on creativity and inspiration.

Come and check us out!

Register and join in, we'd love to see you there :)

For Whichever Direction Your Muse Takes You

A Saturday Post- couldn't wait

2011-10-29T15:26:00.000-04:00

I have created a document that I think contains some pieces that I would consider Dieselpunk or Neo Deco. Please let me know what you think. Some of these you haven't seen before. :)

deco

To add to those pieces is a new piece that I finished today.

This is a Finnish Spectrolite in a modified sail shape. I allowed the shape to dictate the wrap. This stone has vexed me for years, because it did not hang straight, but I fixed it. When I wrapped the bail, I brought the wrapping around to the side it needed to be on to make it hang right. Subtle, yet effective :) The bottom wire that follows the sail line also helps balance the stone. This stone is more directional than most, but, boy, when it lights up, it is stunning!

Defined

2011-10-28T13:44:00.000-04:00

Like any artist, I want to stand apart and create an image for myself. Some people would say that I have already done that. Maybe, but you know artists- they are never satisfied. So, I have been working on making a cohesive look for myself that I call Neo-Deco, which can also be called Dieselpunk (a subset of Steampunk, which I am sure most of you are familiar with). I think of it as Art Deco inspired, with clean lines and an emphasis on geometrical and streamlined shapes, but with a modern sensibility and new materials being used. Whenever I design, that's where my muse leads me and I have been happy to follow since I am rather fond of Art Deco. :) This change has meant that I needed to lose the font that I so adore and have been using for about a year. It also means more direction in my work. Whatever that turns out to mean. So, wish me luck with my new branding and tell me what you think. :)
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Just in case you missed this new wrap at JL, here it is again with a variation and my new font. This is one I would like to do a tute for.

What I Look for in a Stone: Part 4, Unique or Rare

2011-10-24T23:09:00.000-04:00

(Part 1, part 2, part 3)

After discussing other qualities of stones, it's time to look at the fun category of "Unique or Rare". Sometimes, you just want something different or special to work with. Once in awhile you run across a really cool stone that you have never seen before and you just have to have it. Rare is usually hard to get; unique need not be. You just have to have a good eye to catch the really unusual ones. Here's an example of what I mean. The regular old agate in the example just happens to be a very unusual picture agate. But, unique can also describe the properties of a stone, like an opals flash of color or a druzys sparkle.

Before I begin showing the pictures, let me tell you that it is NOT easy to get good pictures of some of these juicy gems. Try as I may, I can not capture the flash of opal, the sparkle of druzy or the brightness of ammolite with a camera. You will have to use your imagination with some of these. And, add to this category some of the stones I have already mentioned in previous posts. I don't want to duplicate any rocks. Where would be the fun in that? But, I do want to point out that I have already shown you some rare and/or unique stones in past posts in this series. Lastly- please excuse my hand in the photos. These gems look best at certain angles to the light and not lying flat in my light tent, so pretend I have beautiful, young model's hands. :)

This is an ammolite, natural freeform. Ammolite has been called the world's rarest gemstone. The best examples have more colors, this one has them all. I wish you could hold this in your hand to see how lively and bright it is. I have wrapped slews of them and though they seem delicate, I haven't had any problems with them.

This beauty is a royal purple, ammolite freeform. It is the rarest of the rare. What you can't see in the picture is the way the sheet of color seems to hover over the surface of the stone. It is very unusual, something I have never seen before. I don't know what causes it, but it is stunning to behold! This isn't the very best example, but it is one I could get my hands on and I'm more than happy to have it. (The light spot near the middle is just lighter, not a chip.)

Here's another little piece of dragonskin ammolite. This one has different colors according to the direction of the light. Pretty cool, huh? Ammolite, like most light loving stones, needs care in deciding how best to mount it. This one, though, is bright all around and the challenge would be how to mount it to show the color changing properties.

This is a big opal with lots of multicolored flash. Too bad it doesn't photograph well. If I had to guess, I'd say this is from Coober Pedy or Mintabe, Australia- it is definitely Australian. But, I love opals of all kinds!

Here is a crystal based, semi black and gray opal from Lightning Ridge. Blue and green fire roll through the stone. If I were to place this on a black background the color would blind you. As it is in the hand, you can see how clear and colorful it is. This one has always been a challenge for me because it is so clear and really needs a backing to do it right. It will have to wait for me to develop new skills with metal. (A new challenge?)

This is a natural, black druzy. I think druzy looks best on a dark stone. This is sooo sparkly!

This is an astrophyllite. You don't see them very often. I like the ones that are darker. The darker background helps to show off the ribbons of shiny, copper color. It looks like shredded tinfoil in the stone. This is actually a bead. I haven't decided whether or not to treat it as a bead or cab. This stone is soft. I'll have to be careful with it and not tumble it.

Here is a stone that just refused to be photographed. You will have to trust me that this spectrolite's beautiful and rare pattern is bright. It is so glassy that the reflection prevented me from getting a good picture. I love spectrolites. The tricky thing with these is knowing how to orient them to show their colors best.

This stunning stone is a very rare and drop dead gorgeous, rainbow hematite. This is a natural druzy type stone. The colors are like sparkles of crystal oil in water. This stuff is mega delicate. I have only had a few stones that would hold up to a wirewrap. This one will. I ran across a story years ago, that I only half recall, that says that the ancient people of Brazil used to pave their roads with this. I don't know how true it is, but it would be beyond beautiful.

Not rare, but certainly unique, this is the blue goldstone. It is glass. The real stuff is getting hard to get as it is made by monks in one place in Italy. The word is they are the only ones who know the true recipe. However, there are some cheap knock offs coming from some unscrupulous dealers in parts unnamed. This is one of a few "stones" I use that aren't real rocks.

This is a stone that, while it is actually stone, it is not natural stone. This is a Victoria Stone or Imori Stone. It is rare as hen's teeth and very lively. The fern shaped, chatoyant patterns move in the stone with the light. There is a very interesting story about this material you can read here and while your there check out the beauties this guy has. Wow!

This is an unnatural union between a rutilated quartz and a bright blue spectrolite. I doubt if you have ever seen one before and you may never again. The man who made this, made only a few. I'm sure you have seen the lapis/rutilated quartz. Well, this has spectrolite instead of lapis. It is crazy, moving around in the light with the blue flashing and creating a great backdrop for the golden rutile needles. Pictures will never ever do it justice. :)

These two "stones" are cabs that I made when I was doing glassblowing/lampworking. Pretty cool, huh? They definitely fall into the unique category. The top cab has since become one of my favorite pendants. The bottom was sold a long time ago. Every time I wear it, I lament that I can no longer do the work. :(

Last but not least, is this beautiful, antique, carved, malachite cameo. How's that for adjectives? LOL! Seriously, if you ever come across one- grab it!! They are very, very rare and collectible. I only managed to get this because the woman selling it didn't know what it was and posted a real bad, blurry picture. I knew what it was though and paid 20.00 for it. (The moral is- keep your eye out for the good stuff. There are bargains to be had.) There are so few of these because, like lava cameos, malachite cameos are soft and didn't survive the centuries very well. I had to show this because it is a rock, after all, and rare.

This post wasn't so much as how a color or shape inspired; rather, how a property or uniqueness of the stone inspired. Some of these are examples of the showy stones, the ones that make you want to do something special. They are the ones you save your gold wire for or your best wrap. They are for the discriminating client or for your own best bling. Certainly, wearing one of these special stones or ones similar gives you bragging rights.

FYI- Rio Grande is giving better metal discounts

2011-10-24T11:25:00.001-04:00

Check it out- You need to open the pdf on the page to get the details.

I'm seriously looking at selling some scrap, too. They are now paying 85% of spot for silver scrap. Hmmm... There may be some new silver in my future. YAY!

They now have no minimum, too!!

What I Look for in a Stone: Part 3, Shape

2011-10-21T11:09:00.003-04:00

part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5
In the last two posts in this series, I explored pattern and color with examples here and here. This post will explore shape and how it influences design.

My last project was influenced by shape. It was influenced by other factors, too, but I couldn't have done what I did without the shape, first. The top of the stone begged to be topped off. It was perfect for a halo or crown. It could easily have been inspiring turned upside down, too.

I love cuts and shapes that are versatile, that have some character. Two of my least favorite cuts are round/oval and square. I think this is because they are somewhat limiting to me and uninspiring. My favorite cuts are the most unusual, custom cuts. They offer endless possibilities and push my skills as both designer and crafter, forcing me to develop new ways to use wires. My best work has been done with very unconventional cuts. However, using exotic cuts demands an exacting eye. Study those unique stones carefully before buying because, although inspiring, they may not be practicable.

Updated: This is how I ended up finishing this stone.

Gracefully curving shapes seem sexy to me and call for a more feminine look. This is what I would call a modified flame cut. The challenge with this would be to make the stone lie straight and vertical. If you notice, the "weight" of the stone is unbalanced, if you drew a line from point to point. I have passed up many awesome stones simple because there was no way to wrap it and have it hang straight looking. This charoite is likely salvageable, though. The stone was too nice to pass up, so I'll give it a best shot.

Another purple beauty, this rare old, Manganoan Sugilite is an awesome stone with color changing qualities and collectability. The shape is unique. I can't resist a triangle especially one with such gently curving sides, but what you can't see in the picture is that it is only 2.7mm thick. That presents a challenge. I have wrapped such thin stones before, but they aren't easy. I have to consider as few wires as possible. One thought I had was to wrap it with another stone, say bustamite or cobalto. Pink, druzy cobalto would be cool because of the texture contrast. I am really looking forward to working this one when the time is right.

This, another sweet, purple triangle, is a quite large tiffanystone (opalite, beryllium, bertrandite opal). I love it for its color and pattern and, well, you know me and triangles ... :) This is big, though and that's what makes it different. It is 50mm by 43mm! I want to go real simple with this to minimize the size a little, but it is too special to do a straight up borderwrap. It, also, is a thin stone.

I immediately fell in love with this cut! It presents endless possibilities. The color is intense parrot green with chrysocolla, which is also inspiring. This, too, is a very large stone. My favorite wrap for this cut is still in the design stages. I intend to explore it more fully. In fact, this might be the next one that I work on. Hmm ... sounds like a good weekend project.

I've had this pink chalcedony, limb cast for years. I pull it out from time and time and quickly get discouraged. This one may be better left to the silversmith. The shape itself is what sold me, but at that point in time, I didn't also consider size and thickness. It is small and very disproportionately thick. What I have always wanted to do was transform this shape to a fleur de lis. I'll keep it for awhile, yet. Ya never know ...

Spectrolite (Finnish labradorite) is one of my all time favs. Spectrolite, like labradorite, tends to look best in only one or two directions, but this is bright in all directions. This wonderful, big, geometric shape gets my creative gears going. I have done a few and was happy with the results. Readers at JL may remember a piece called, Geometry, that I had in the gallery. I tend not to repeat my designs very often, but I may do something very similar with this.

Druzy, bull's eye pattern and ocean jasper, what could be better except for adding a unique shape to the mix? This tongue shape was left with the druzy quartz at the top. The sides are rounded, like most tongue shapes are. This poses lots of very interesting problems AND possibilities. I envision some prongs on this, but time will tell.

Would this scare you off? I certainly hope not! It has loads of character! This was cut from a geode. It has a long side of druzy and a jagged side of "rind". Let your mind go.With what you know about wirewrapping, what would you do with this?

In the proceeding posts in this series, I listed many other stones with interesting shapes. For example, the orange quartz, has a beautiful beveled edge. Bevels are so well suited to round wires. They tend to want to roll in and hug the stone and the bevel is only too happy to accept.

Have you seen any other unique shapes to inspire you? Do you have a stone that has sat waiting for you to come up with the perfect solution? One that captivated and challenged you at the same time? I hope so, nothing is better to expand your talents with than a gorgeous stone with a unique cut. If you don't already look beyond the calibrated cuts, I hope this will encourage you to give those edgy stones a second thought. Make your work stand out and give your skills a new challenge. Your muse will love you for it. :)

Lady Liberty

2011-10-19T23:19:00.001-04:00

Here's a new piece that I just finished. There are two stories behind it. One, I am saving for another post because I want to work it out right. The second story, the one I'm going to tell is the birth of the piece and the title.

You may notice this technique from another recent piece. Funny, because this was also inspired by a comment. My original idea was inspired by Nicola Tesla because he fascinates me. This shape really lends itself to the arching of electricity above it. I sent the idea to Renate, fellow jeweler and friend, who commented that it reminded her of the Statue of Liberty. I liked that even more and went with it. Here's the original idea. (Actually, it got a little more involved than that with lightning bolts up the side, too. But I nixed all of it and went with Lady Liberty. The balls at the bottom had to be dropped, too, because I can't get my little torch to get melty with my copper.)

What I ended up with is similar enough but inspired more by the rays in Liberty's hat and the flame of her torch. My piece has 2 flames on either side on the stone. I'll have to do Tesla another time. :)

The Statue of Liberty is formed with copper and so is this. I was REAL tempted to do an ammonia fume on this to bring out the green in the copper, but wasn't sure how it would affect the stone, since it is shot with bronze.

This is a Mojave Turquoise. I haven't worked one before. I found it to be real easy to work with and it took the tumbler well. The color is insane, though! Is it blue or is it purple? You think you know until you put those colors up next to it. I had a heck of a time figuring out the beads to use. I ended up using some baby blue to pick that color up in the stone and then some really cool textured glass, bronzy copper colored "pearls" and various small purple glass and stone beads with copper spacers. This is 18-20". I rarely use man made stones but this one is just too good NOT to use. And, it is only half man made. It is actually real bits of turquoise- dyed and pressed with some bronze (or bronze color, not sure) into a cuttable slab. The bronze provides a real nice metal spiderweb.

Hope you like this as much as I do. I was really excited to get it finished. :)

What I Look for in a Stone: Part 2, Colors

2011-10-17T12:08:00.001-04:00

part 3, part 4, part 5

Most people are aware that color will affect their moods and thus perception. There have been countless studies done on it. Color psychology is not an exact science, but as artists we use it all the time. A good example would be from my last post which demonstrated how color effected design.

There are some stones in which the color is the lone inspirational quality. I tend to like solid colors. I like them because they stand up to whichever design I choose. Solid colors are a good backdrop for wires. They create a nice contrast and interesting negative space. A combination of colors in a stone create a medley of emotion the way an orchestra might.

Emotionally, for me, purple says regal, confident and timeless. It is centuries of successive monarchs ruling through time. It is the color of a romanticized past. I would be more apt to wrap a purple stone in a visually commanding way, taking risks and adding flourish. It might be classic in the oldest sense, more Egyptian or Grecian than say, Deco or Victorian.

Red, to me, is control. It has deep seated power ready to burst, turmoil. It is more mysterious and potentially dangerous. Red has secrets that want to be held. It is the epitome of geological forces. My favorite would be a fine, red jasper. It is a common, inexpensive stone, but so inspiring. I'd be apt to wrap it tightly to contain and concentrate it's energy.

Blue is the playful side of the palette, at least it is for me. I am more apt to to wrap it in a visually unselfconscious way, open to all and unashamed. It may seem bold, but not risky. It is fun. Blue reminds me of childhood, it has a certain naivety. Different shades have varying degrees of these qualities. Sky blue would be most naive, where azure or lapis blue would be more defiantly playful- they would color outside the lines- on purpose.

Shades of green always make me think of nature. From grass, to jungle trees; from backyard lawns to the Amazon, green is Mother Nature. Green is moist, it is pure, it is life giving. It is unassuming, it is frank. It has always been. I am more apt to wrap green in a straight forward, no pretense way. Green speaks for itself. It can be a simple border wrap or anything else that it wants to be because it can stand up to anything.

I do enjoy earthtones, too. I have been on a color kick, lately and I don't have many earthtones in my collection, at the moment. They will be under represented in this post, but certainly not to be forgotten. I love browns, for instance, because they seem very sturdy, earthy and warm. They seem condensed. Browns seem to actually have a tactile quality. They are rough like bark, they invite you to touch. I would be more apt to use coiling with brown or textured, forged wires and definitely copper. I would try to incorporate a visual texture.

Now that I have shared some of my color emotions/perceptions, I invite you to explore your own. Look back through your work and see if you can pick out any trends in how you wrap certain colors or how you feel looking at them. Writing this has been really interesting to me especially when I think back to older pieces. I realize that I wasn't even aware, at that point, that color was actually influencing me. Of course, all the other qualities of the stone come together to influence, also, but you get the idea. :)


Orangy, red Cuprite from Sonora, Mexico with flecks of pea green chrysocolla


Another orange stone, more tangerine than in the picture. This is a natural, quartz gem.

Gemmy, Caribbean Larimar with "turtle back" pattern. Beautiful color!

Sonora Sunrise (cuprite and chrysocolla). Large, nice example.

Olmec, Guatemalan blue jade. This is a very subtle, creamy mint blue color in person.


Tiffany stone, a good example of a medley of colors. They all seem to work together.


The new, Crayola Jasper. Is this not awesome? Only one I have so far, but I'm in love.

A small, gemmy, lepidolite in mauvy, lavendar pink or raspberry with sparkles.

Fabulous Afghan lapis, the undisputed King of Blue. This is even more fabulous in person. The camera just couldn't pick up its intensity.

Some Color in Silver: Embrace

2011-10-16T09:09:00.002-04:00

As a prelude to the color edition of my stones series, I bring you bustamite. I'm a sucker for pink. I like dusty, bashful pink, not Barbie pink. This Bustamite is just about perfect for me. This is the color of the rare, angelskin coral, beautifully tender and feminine. It is shy. It is fresh and seemingly wet with dew. The stone is hard, yet, the color texture is like velvet with a glassy smooth finish. It is gel which means it glows when backlit. This is one of my favorite rarities.

I got an email from a lovely woman asking me to do something in silver. I work mostly in copper because A) I love it and B) it is more affordable for my hobby. However, I have some stones, like this bustamite, that call for silver over copper. I have been wanting to wrap one for a long time. I broke out the Argentium and ran out of HH HR so I had to finish with HH square, but it worked out, ok. I was so terrified about working with what little silver I had left, that I did this wrap 3 times in copper first. :)

The color of the stone definitely directed my design. I wanted something feminine. Something coyly sexy with a vulnerable innocence. I wanted it to be for a special evening out- the kind of jewelry that you keep in a velvet, fitted box. Something timeless. If I could sum up this piece in one phrase, for me, it would be Channel Number 5. I wanted to conjure a fairy tale, first kiss or allude to the bondage of passionate, pure love. It draws us in and captures us in a beautiful, loving embrace. For however fleeting a moment it is, it is rare and holds us transfixed, unable and unwilling to break free from the magic.

I kept the wrap simple, allowing the festoons of fine chain to add flourish and softly frame the stone. It also left most of the 40mm stone showing. I added two large, superb quality, natural colored pearls with Bali silver. The pearl color is actually a better match than in the photos. It is a lighter, dusky mauve. In hue, it is very close to the bustamite. I like that they kinda fade into the background unless you focus on them. They add just enough to the necklace without distracting. This is an adjustable 18" long. I used 22g HH R and SQ You notice that I made another triangle? I think I need to talk to a psychiatrist about this fascination with triangles. LOL!

Anyway, I guess I'm rambling, I'll shut up and let you look at some pictures. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Sorry for the bad picture quality but I had to get a quick shot of it on my daughter's neck. It really should be with a gown and not plaid, though. :)

Inspired by a Comment

2011-10-13T09:15:00.002-04:00

After I posted part one of the stone series, Susan Roper commented that she would like to see a square shaped wrap. I took this as a compliment, of course, but also a challenge since I don't wrap many square shapes. Square shapes have never inspired me much and I was grateful for the comment because it made me reach outside the box for a new wrap.

I took the rectangular picasso stone and traced it out on a piece of paper. Then I started doodling. What do I love about the stone? The lines and contrast. I played with those qualities for ideas. I wanted to do something different. I hit upon a technique that I used once before, in a different way, and worked with that. So, sticking with the quality of the stone and the shape, which is so geometrical (my term for simple shapes), I came upon this wrap.

This wrap looks deceiving. There are no moving or bending parts other than the bail. The fringe bottom is perfectly solid with 20g copper, hard wires. The total length, including bail, is 3". The copper patina was left dark except for the bail.

My opinion on this is still out. I like it, but I don't know how much. In retrospect, I would have done a few things differently. It didn't photograph very well, either. But, my reservations may simply be due to the fact that I don't care for square shapes much. Please, do let me know what YOU think.

This is a very inspired piece. I never would have picked it up and tried something new with a square shape if Susan hadn't mentioned it. Thank you, Susan! I truly enjoyed reaching outside the box and working this out. :) I hope this inspired you to be creative with this simple shape.
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Monday: Part Two of the series: What I Look for in a Stone

EDIT: My daughter wore a gray striped shirt over for a visit and I thought the pendant would look great with it. I like it a lot more being worn. :) She's wearing it out to lunch.

Series: What I Look for in a Stone

2011-10-11T13:19:00.001-04:00

part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

Quite a boring sounding title to what should be a fun series.

My recent piece reminded me that I am nothing without great stones. I have said it before and I will likely say it 1000 times more: I love cabbed stones. It is all about the rocks for me. I began, like most people, oo'ing and awe'ing over all the pretty faceted gemstones, but it is the cabbed stones that really make my heart skip a beat. It is amazing to me that seemingly ordinary rocks are pulled from the ground by dedicated rockhounds and then slabbed and cabbed by an artist to become the gems that they are. It takes a really good lapidary to pick up a rock and find the heart of the stone. I'm drawn to those beauties; like bees to honey. I think the first to capture my heart was a tiger iron stone that I made my first piece with. It is still one of my favs.

So, what is the series about? My plan is for a series of blog posts with each about a different quality that attracts me to a good stone. Sometimes, when I am lucky (and drooling) all the qualities can be found in one stone. That's rare, though. More often, there are several qualities together making it an exceptional stone.

Besides giving me an excuse to rummage through my cabs, I am hoping these posts will A) inspire B) educate C) be good eye candy, because we all love eye candy and D) give some insight as to what makes me tick as an artist.

I will be using pictures of stones that I currently have, ones that will one day show up as a finished piece. I will try to stick with stones I haven't shown before although some previously posted ones would be great examples. I won't discuss the actual stone types, you can google that, but I will discuss why I think each one is special.

Without more gabbing, here are the qualities that I intend to explore:

pattern
color
shape
uniqueness/scarcity
durability
price

It has been real hard for me to sit and really classify qualities in order of importance. They are all sooo important. What one may lack in pattern, it may very well make up for with another quality, such as color.

In this first installment, I concentrate on pattern and the kinds of pattern that attract me.

Large 48x30mm Hickoryite Jasper from Mexico

I have had this Hickoryite almost from the first day that I began to make wire jewelry. I love it so much that I have been unable to decide on how to do it justice. (Sad, but true.) It really does deserve to be worn, though. :) What attracts me to this is the overall picture in the stone. The colors are to die for, too. But, really it is all about the pattern. I see a sunrise in the swamp seen through low branches.

Chrysocolla and Malachite from Peru

This large stone is a good example of a pattern that lends itself well to a custom wire wrap. The pattern will be real fun to work with and hopefully it will add to the, what I call, graphic quality of the pattern. My temptation has always been to bring the wire up the middle divide, but I have refrained from doing that. The large, 45mm height size will allow me to do something more pronounced with the wire. My mind is still working on it.

This is also a good example of a stone where color is a quality. For Peruvian chrysocolla this is tops. The color is so much more intense in person. The cab shape is good, too.

53x23mm Lucin, Utah Spiderweb Variscite

I love variscite and I am always looking for great examples of it. This one has a fine network of well defined spiderwebs. The stone is large enough that the web will be noticed. It is the webs that drew me to it, then the color, then the shape. I just got this one just the other day. I have already decided, based on the shape, what I plan to do with it. I love the long flowing "sail" line on the side. I'm going to do all I can to prevent covering up much of this yummy stone.

25mm Argentine Rhodochrosite stalactite slice

Do I really need to say more about this? Bull's Eye patterns are always great! I chose this piece of bull's eye over the Malachite one that I have because I love the color so much. As nice as this is, it is the flip side that is better. This one will be a challenge to wrap because it is only 2mm thick. I have some good ideas, though. I'd like to allow the light in from behind because it glows such a wonderfully intense crystalline color.

Picasso Jasper/Marble Suite

Not expensive, not rare, not colorful but one of my favorites for pattern. I love the random geometry and contrast of Picasso Jasper! I probably dislike wrapping squares and rectangles more than any other shape. But, I just can't resist the challenge and the pattern. :) The pendant stone is 27mm tall. Because of the contrast, the pattern shows well in spite of the smaller size.

30x40 Succor Creek Jasper

Another stone that is affordable and easy to get. This stone has 2 things going for it; the pattern and the shape. I love the simple, clean, balanced lines. I don't know about you, but this totally makes me want to wrap it. I had an idea for the wrap the minute I saw this! This is a real good example, from my perspective, about how pattern immediately speaks to me.

39x14mm Ocean Jasper 2 Sided Tongue

For pattern, orbicular Ocean Jasper is fabulous!! It's getting harder to get which is a pity because it is so awesome. Who can resist those bubbles in stone? This particular stone has the added quality of shape as it is double sided. There is no edge bevel to it, at all. I thought it would be a fun challenge. I have done a few before but not in a long time. So, first it was the pattern that attracted me, the other side is just as nice, and then the shape/cut intrigued me. I'm so glad that the cutter decided not to put a hole in it for a bead. :)

It was hard for me to limit myself to just a few stones. I think this was a good representation of patterns that attract me, though. I currently don't have a nice snowflake obsidian, Deschutes Jasper, Bruneau Jasper or a few others I could name that have great patterns. I think everyone has come across a stone or two that seems to have come out of the ground just for them. Those are the ones that wrap themselves and only needed you to discover them.

NEXT: Color- and do I have some eye popping natural colors!

NOTE- Formatting in Blogger leaves much to be desired. What is fine when I'm writing is all messed up in preview. It takes forever to correct with the fickle software, so you will have to bear with inconsistent breaks between pictures. I assure you, I didn't write it like that. :) (sooooo annoying)

Posting Comments

2011-10-09T11:38:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy hearing from my jewelry friends! :) I also get a good feel for what I am doing right and wrong and for what interests people, so really, commenting helps to drive the content that YOU would like to see. I've been real blessed with lots of good conversation from many of my friends out there on the world wide web. But, it has come to my attention that some of our fellow artists have been unable to post due to a problem with Blogger or the settings I have on it.

Some blog settings have been changed and hopefully anyone who wants to comment should be able to do so, now. You will still have to "type the letters you see" into the little box because, well, I hate spam. :)

A world map has been added to the blog indicating all the countries from which my visitors come from. I have to say, I love the internet! Take a look at the map. Where else but the internet can so many people from so many countries and cultures get together and share a common interest?? It's really quite fabulous when you think of it!

(And, since this a visual medium- here's a new piece that has already been posted online, but in case you missed it, here's "Imperial", a superb Imperial Jasper in copper wire.)

Redo and Redone

2011-10-07T13:13:00.001-04:00

I spent a lot of time hiking this week. I needed the exercise and the weather is supreme after about 3 weeks of rain. I got a lot of pictures of cool mushrooms, but my video camera was messing up. I have arthritis pretty bad and an assortment of other things that make hiking difficult, but the doc says that the pain is a good thing and I have to walk through it, which I did. :) I admit that I do feel better after about 5 miles of hilly terrain with a heavy backpack. It's the first 4 that are murder!

My jewelry time consisted of reworking the cameo piece from my last blog entry. I love the wrap, but was sad about the break. Since the damage wasn't too bad, I decided to keep it and play with it some more. I can not find any copper wire hard enough for a pin, so I made the piece into a simple pendant.

I wasn't really satisfied with that design because it was too simple and not really fitting for the age of the cameo, so I made a necklace out of it. I used raw patinaed copper and non tarnish copper chain. The small beads are delicate coral colored shell beads. The larger beads are glass and are a color that my camera seems to think is florescent. They are really the darker shade in the carnelian shell cameo only a little brighter. I made this 17 inches and it sits beautifully. I tried to get my daughter to sit for a picture of her neck (and the necklace) but she was having none of it because she didn't have her make up on LOL!.

I Broke It!

2011-10-04T19:07:00.000-04:00

Last night, I worked on a pin/broach.
I had a slight accident with it.
I went hiking today to free my mind.

When I got back from my hike, I looked over my broken piece and decided to save it after all. It is a new design and one I am happy enough with to try again. Since this gorgeous, antique cameo is broken now, I'll leave it in copper.

This isn't actually a pin, yet. I didn't add the pin last night for two reasons. 1) I don't have any spring hard copper wire. Anyone know where I can get some???? 2) I was so broken hearted over this nice, Deco cameo that I had to just walk away. (Hence the hike.)

A tiny sliver is taken off the top left of the shell. : (

I found that an emory board helped smooth the broken edge of the cameo. I don't think it is too distracting. Broken, it is, but still pretty. (Now I just need some pin wire.)

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Speaking of saves, I think I managed to save a malachite piece that wasn't quite right. I removed the offending beads, replaced them with black Toho beads and added a bail. I think the LOS was an improvement, too. : )

Free Mini Tute: Saving Money On Leather and Rubber Cord

2011-10-01T23:36:00.000-04:00

I think I have alluded once or twice to the cord I use instead of leather or rubber, both of which I like a lot. Both can get expensive and they both have their drawbacks. Rubber can leave marks on your clothes and so can leather. Rubber can get sticky or tacky. Leather dries, fades and stretches.

I use decoy cord which is made from extruded pvc. According to Greenhead, a leading seller of decoy cord, it "does not tangle, freeze, crack or rot while offering superior stretch as well as abrasion resistant durability". Sounds great, right? Well, it is and I love it. There isn't much variety but I love the true, non fade black. I also like the diameter that it comes in for necklaces. It'll hold the heaviest necklaces. Small things won't be quite heavy enough for it, but why would you want to hang a tiny pendant on a heavy cord anyway?

I like to make earrings with decoy cord, too. If I made bracelets, I'd use it for that, too. :) It melts easily with a pin to make holes for wires.

Some people use decoy cord in place of Buna cord. Buna is nitrile. I have never used it, but must assume that being nitrile, it stretches a lot. The decoy cord has very little stretch. It will stretch if you try to stretch it, but it has a lot of memory and will not stretch out. It just snaps back to length.

You can buy decoy cord in most larger sports departments or stores. I got some at Dick's and at Bass Pro Shops. I think the Greenhead brand is best. I got 200 feet for under 10.00. It's best to get it in the Fall during hunting season.

When you cut it off the roll, it will have some memory of being spooled, as in the picture above. I cut this piece off to demonstrate that although at first it would seem useless to use for jewelry, all you need to do is drop it in some boiling water and watch it relax and uncoil like a snake. Turn off the stove before you drop it in, though. :) Lift it out of the water with a fork and it will cool immediately to a soft and relaxed length.

When your finished piece is lying about in cold weather, it can get a little stiff, but your body temperature will warm it up again to its former suppleness. The same holds true for pieces stored in a bag or squished into a small space. Your body heat is all it needs to relax again.

To make a necklace with decoy cord, treat it as you would cord, leather or rubber. I never use glue, though. I just follow the steps below.

First measure the cord. As far as I know there is only one thickness- 2.5mm.

Find a mandrel about 1mm thicker or slightly less. I used a piece of brass tube that my husband picks up at his craft store (the man shop- funny, it's called the hobby shop, not the craft store LOL!).

Make a loop with your round nose pliers as close to the size of the mandrel as you can. If it it too small, just push the loop down your round nose to make it larger.

Make about 10 tight wraps around the mandrel with 18g soft copper or silver. Remember to flush cut the ends in the correct direction. (I noticed after my pictures were taken that I cut one side wrong!) You want the flush cut on the working side. If your first loop was good and tight then your coils shouldn't lean in one direction.

Cut the top and bottom, preferably on the same side- it looks neater. Make a mark on the opposite side of your cut, as in the picture.

Use a thin bladed knife or similar tool to lift one end. Just slide the blade under and pry up to a little past the mark.

Take your flatnose and grab the lifted loop straight across, slightly outside of the mark (see the following pictures). Turn this half loop section up while pushing it down. You should have something like the picture when you are done. You want it to be straight across the middle. Check out the following pictures.

After you have a neat coil with an end turned up, you will need to attach it to the cord. Slide it on. Make sure the cord comes to the top of the coil, but not in the empty space where your jumpring will be. Take a thin flatnose or the tips of your chainnose and gently squeeze the third ring up from the bottom. Do the same for the next coil down and then the next. You are progressively making the last section of coil smaller to squeeze it down onto the cord. Keep working the coils down a little at a time and in that order until you get a nice fit at the bottom. If you do it evenly, the cord will stay centered in your coils.

The decoy cord takes a nice bite of the wire end without tearing or ripping. You should get a very secure fit very easily. I can tug this quite hard and it won't budge.

Finish off the opposite end. Don't forget to slide on your pendant first, if it won't fit over your clasp ends. Attach any form of clasp you'd like. If you like, you can use liver of sulfur with the clasp on. I've done it with no troubles.

Example with a man's pendant.

Example using three cords.

This is how I finished the three cord bundle with 16g 1/2 round. The ends of the wire have a slight inward bend that bites the cord. I used a razor to thin and taper the end of the loop to fit it neatly into the bundle. A clasp can be attached directly to the loop ends before binding or you can use a ball end to go through the eye or even a toggle.

And, here's a piece I made with the decoy cord used as and with wire for a frame for this unakite.

I'm sure most of you have made coiled end caps before, but I hope you found this useful in some way and that will think about trying decoy cord. You can find it in smaller amounts, too, if you just want to try it without a 200 foot investment.

Buggin'

2011-09-28T22:34:00.004-04:00

UPDATE
This blog entry was featured for the day (Friday, Sep. 30, 2011) in the stories category on The Beading Divas Daily. I'm so glad Lois, of Copper Wire Jewelers and A Beaded Affair (her shop), wrote to tell me about it! I've never been to the site before, but I like it. Lots of variety and things to see. Check it out!
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I had some play time. I grabbed some spare household wiring (14gauge) and started stripping it, thinking of what I might do with it. It occurred to me that I have NEVER wrapped a focal bead with the bead wired in. I have used beads as cabs, but never as beads. So, I grabbed some of the freshly skinned wire and started aimlessly playing with this big bead I bought a few years ago (some kind of jasper). I had no real ideas in my head, I just played around with it and before I knew it, I had a bug. Stylized, yes, but a bug. I had to put some antennas on him when I was finished. Hee heee! I showed it to everyone in the house and they all saw the bug. This isn't my usual thing, but I really like it, probably because I like praying mantises and this reminds me of them for some reason. It's big, though- almost 4 inches long, the necklace is 20" and the bead alone is 2 1/4". I couldn't get the whole piece in the camera frame. The necklace is nice and works real well with the piece. The "head" bead photographs more blue than it is, it is green. I added some faceted goldstone to the wings. The focal is real secure on the frame with 2 sections of 22gauge. For my first wired focal and with no design in mind, I think it came out pretty good. :)
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For anyone wondering about Cat with our new family additions- he's loving life! I worried that he might just run off and find another home with all the commotion going on here now, but he has found a new friend in my grandson. They are best buddies. My grandson has a classic case of ADHD. He was real quiet one day for like a half hour. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was just chillin' on the couch petting Cat. They are very good with each other. :)

Cat still refuses to use a box and goes out at night. He got in a horrific fight the other night and came in with a pretty bad bite/puncture wound. I don't know which cat got the losing end of that fight, but it was a pretty bad one. My daughter is training to be a vet assistant and put her skills to good use. He's healing fine. He surprises me all the time. I really didn't think he would sit for her to clean and medicate his wound, but he did. What a good kitty he is. I'm glad he chose to stay with us. :)

Let There Be Light!

2011-09-26T08:00:00.006-04:00

I finally had some quality wire time. I sat down ready to go and even had an idea I wanted to try. The table was well lit- or so I thought. I put together a piece with a marvelous 30x40mm malachite. I based the piece on an older cameo piece that I had made for my granddaughter- her first cameo. As I was putting the last beads on, someone hit the dimmer switch and lo and behold there was MORE light. And, by God, my beads no longer worked on the piece. ARRGGGHHHH! Lesson learned. (I have a hard enough time with some shades of blue and green!)

I've been trying to replicate a ring I rescued from the Land of Misfits. I didn't succeed but I did come up with a nice turquoise ring. :) I'll remember how to do the other one eventually.

I also got a piece done in silver with the wrap I have been working with gemstones. This one is a NATURAL green quartz- rare as hen's teeth and gorgeous. This gem is not at all like the heat treated prasiolite. I love the clear green color, almost khaki or light olive but much more crisp and clean looking. The photo does it no justice.


I didn't bother with a bail. It's going to be taken apart.


Pink conch, antique cameo and swarovski crystals with pearls. Doesn't photo as nice as it is. It's really sweet.

11mm, hi dome, round turquoise cab and copper

Natural green quartz in sterling silver.

A Quick Beaded Project

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

First, I want to explain how the feedburner works, in case you don't know. If I don't post by 8am my time, the burn will not be sent till the next morning around 8. I thought I would explain that because of the lagtime on some of the blog entries. I've had a hard time meeting that deadline lately :) Also, if you have signed up for the feedburn via email you need to answer the verification email to fully subscribe.

Now that the business stuff is out of the way... I'd like to share a small project I managed to get done with a house full of people yesterday. (All the kids, grandkids and brother!)

Never in my life had I thought that I would work with seedbeads. The idea never appealed to me. But, this year, I made a commitment to myself to learn and try doing some. I was greatly encouraged by Renate and Dawn at JL, who shared tips and patterns with me. Although beading is in no way my first love, I have grown to like many aspects of it. Even though I am not very accomplished, I have learned a few stitches and those can be done while watching something or hanging out talking. I thought it would take forever to learn the peyote stitch especially the start of it, but as my block and reservations about beading wore off, the stitches got easier.

I have posted at JL a few of the chains that I have made, here, here, here, here and here. They are terribly time consuming but oh so gorgeous. I made one necklace that I gave to my daughter, the daughter who just moved back into town, and then made matching earrings. I didn't get any pictures of the earrings before I gave them to her. But, since I had to make my other daughter a pair, I got pictures of those.

A little while back Jackie, at JL, posted some earrings that I adored. I thought they were a great idea and had to make some. I had some glass tube beads that I got super cheap, but didn't like much, so I made a peyote fabric to zip up around the tube. That provided a way for the bead fabric to stay inflated. When I was done, I just added some brick stitch borders and big, glass rondelles to the ends, then added wire. The beads are #11 delicas and they are FABULOUS! I love the iridescence of them. For me, earrings always have to play with light in some way and these are gorgeous with the hitting them at different angles. The tubes are about 3/4 inch long.

MY SIMPLE PROJECT

Time

2011-09-21T09:11:00.000-04:00

I got in from the trip to get the kids on Sunday afternoon. Monday and Tuesday we were unpacking and settling in. Every spare moment, I thought I could grab my pliers and and work something out real quick. NOT!!

Now that time is at a premium, I realize just how long the birth of design takes. I always knew that the design stage was the longest, but this crunch on my time brings in a whole new perspective. I need a good block of quiet, quality time with music wafting in to do my best design work. With kids around again, I realize those times will be few and far between. Of course, those of you with kids already know what I mean.

When I started making jewelry, the 2 kids left in the nest were in highschool and certainly didn't want to hang around. They were never a bother for time. The two grandkids are pretty self sufficient as far as grabbing their own cereal etc, but they are still underfoot or watching something loud on Netflix. So, I will have to work out a schedule and teach them that I value my time, as well. This is going to be fun, I can tell already :) LOL!

Last night after the kids' bedtime, about 10 loads of laundry and a sink full of dirty dishes, I ventured to pull out my tools. I tried to work out a design idea I had and gave up, maybe a little too soon, but slightly frustrated grows to a block- so I quit that.

What had really been bugging was the gem wrap that I did with the citrine. I had mentioned that I thought the sides looked like beads. I have been dieing to try doing just that. So with this new piece, I added some super, #11 silky luster, DB Delicas to the sides. It doesn't photograph as nice as it looks in person. The beads really add something to this. The color and rolling flash compliment the large smoky quartz and meld nicely with the copper. They don't stand out, they just add frosting to the cake.

Did I mention that I lost my photography room? Well, I found a new place that seems to be working out well. BUT, I broke my tripod!!!! Damn. I found that I have a pretty steady hand after one cup of coffee, but not two. LOL!

Why the Block?

2011-09-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

There are times when I feel like the worst wire artist on the planet. I look at the work of other artists and I get an inferiority complex. I really would like to do the beautiful coiling that some do or the intricate spiraling work. I would love to do perfect, incredibly intricate, mirror image earrings. I'd like to weave more. I'd like to do everything that I see others doing. But, then I'd like natural brunette hair and green eyes. I'd like longer legs and perfect teeth, too.

I started this entry weeks ago when I was in a creative crisis. I have tried and tried to put what I felt into words. I have erased far more than you will read here. Even now, I feel like I'm rambling- even though I have a good idea what I want to say, just not how to say it. I guess that's why they call it a creative crisis.

The Block

The block manifests itself in many confidence crushing ways. Artists pull their hair in turmoil when the block comes screaming in. Just as we have endearing names for our muse, we have not so nice names for "the block". We all recognize the block and talk about how miserable it is but, how did we get it and why?

Having gone through a recent crisis, I gained a little insight through much frustration and soul searching. I think I have identified the main culprits, for me at least, that summon the block.

Voices

Sometimes, I want to capture in my own work what I love so much in the work of others. It is the language of a piece that draws me in. It has to "speak" to me at some level. I want to speak back in the same language. When I try, I fail miserably. The more I try, the more I feel the block coming on. I get tongue tied. I don't want to mimic others, I want to communicate.

We all bring our own history with us to present to the world our own story. It is easiest to understand this concept when viewing paintings and painterly voices. However, we, as wire or bead artists, are just as unique and singular. We all tell our stories piece by piece. I bring to life, with my artistic voice, my view of the world. I am an open book. All one needs to do to understand me in my world is to study my work.

I have been making wire jewelry for a long time now. I try new ways of doing things. I learn new styles and new techniques. I'm even pretty good at most that I try. But, they aren't me any more than brunette hair and green eyes are. I walk my own walk. I talk my own talk. As my hands and mind speak with my wire, the conversation is smooth, friendly, relaxing, satisfying, rewarding and often times even challenging. It is productive. When I try to speak a language that I don't have the words for I get into trouble with the Block.

What I have come to realize and have to remind myself of is that I need always to speak in my own artistic language. Every artist has one. Every one is unique.

Boredom

I am guaranteed a visit by the Block when I am sick to death of my own voice. After all, you can only hear your favorite CD so many times in a row. Sometimes... I just bore me. I'm desperate to hear something different- to SAY something different; to change the channel. The more I reach for something new, the more solid the block becomes. I try to reinvent the wheel. I rage that there HAS to be something new to SAY; to DO. These are the times that try my artistic soul! These are also the times when I search for new and interesting stories; new visions in jewelry and techniques. The block then comes when I can't find a way to translate what I find into my own language.

If I am making any sense at all and if you can relate in any way, then you may understand that these two dilemmas go hand in hand, and are, in fact, circular. So which comes first? Do I get bored and then lost in a chorus of voices? Or, does the world of possibilities make me feel boring? I don't really know. But, I rarely have one without the other.

For many years, I tried to avoid looking at what other people were doing. I didn't want to be influenced by others. I think that that was good for me. It allowed me time to develop my own voice. Now that I am more secure as an artist, I feel more confident about incorporating new things into my work. What I need to do is to remember is to have faith that my hands will guide me in creating a new vocabulary for myself. My voice will be strengthened rather than being lost, refreshing rather than boring.

Rereading this again and again, I wonder should I even post such a ramble. On some level, though, I'm sure that many artists can relate even if I have great difficulty putting a finer point on it. It seems, I could sum it all up quite nicely and just say, as someone more eloquent and succinct than myself has said, "To thine own self be true." While that seems evident, it doesn't quite explain the angst in arriving at it or the turmoil when forgetting it.

(No, I'm not having a block. I'm just reflecting on the last horrible one that I had :) )

Life's Changes, Forgotten Pieces and Glenda's Free Tute

2011-09-11T16:36:00.000-04:00

I have a hella busy week coming up. My single father son and grandkids are coming back to the roost. :) I wouldn't mention it, but it seems a lot of us lately are experiencing kids moving back home or leaving home. This new chapter in my life will bring huge changes. I took my grandkids in once before, years ago. When I did, I put away all my jewelry things. This time, I'm not going to. I think I will need the outlet. The kids are older, too and need me less. I'm also hoping one or both will show some interest in some facet of my hobby.

I'm planning to keep up the blog. There will be a time of adjustment for my family. If I miss a block or two of time, don't worry, I'll be back. :)

I was rearranging, getting ready for a full house when I found a container with some forgotten pieces. They are all pieces that I didn't like for one reason or another or ones that I planned to revisit and redo. After a fresh, critical look, I decided two of them are actually pretty ok- better than I thought they were when I put them away, anyway. :) Sometimes, a little distance makes for a miraculous improvement.

Fellow wire artist and friend, Glenda, of the UK has posted a wonderful, free tutorial on her blog. Check it out! As useful and beautiful as her project is, it is also very informative. ;)

Very small, gemmy lapis cab in copper weave

Small, beautiful green flash, white opal ring in copper (test piece)

A Cool Technique to Share

2011-09-08T22:14:00.001-04:00

I'm always cruising the web looking at different things. Not too long ago, I found a free tute posted in a forum by Cynthia Newcomer Daniel aka cynmarbil for a faceted stone setting. I played around with it and came up with a different take on it for a larger stone with no jump ring and a "basket back" to lift the stone.

Go ahead and try the tute out. It's a great idea and a good springboard for other techniques. Thank you Cynthia for your generosity! It's a wonderful design and a great tute! :)

The pendant is wrapped with a 6.5 ct citrine. I like how the sides have that little bit of interest- almost like beads. I also include yet another picture of the other stone setting I've been working on. It's a huge and deep 22 ct rutililated quartz. I like that the straight lines in the settings kind of relate to the lines of rutile.

Bad Cat

2011-09-07T10:39:00.000-04:00

I didn't get much in the way of jewelry done yesterday. But, I do have a jewelry related story to tell. If you are easily grossed out or squeamish, just skip this.

Cat, my cat, was homeless for most of his years. But, at some point someone had him neutered, so we feel ok that he goes outside to relieve himself. He never strays far. He also refuses to use his new expensive catbox, so we don't have much choice but to make him go out. Well, when we were gone on our recent 3 day trip, my brother was here to let him out to do his business. Sometime between visits, though, Cat had to go. Apparently, my new larger wire tool bin makes a much nicer cat box than his own, because when we got home, I found my tools, papers and Sunshine cloths laying in a smelly, wet puddle!!!! That was fun to clean. (NOT!)

On the up side, he was really happy to see us, so I know he isn't around just for the food. :)

It has been pointed out to me by two people that his naughty, little act was because he was angry that I left. I don't know, either he was angry or he really just HAD to go.


His Favorite Spot in the Sun

Thank You!

2011-09-06T08:38:00.000-04:00

I installed a counter to my blog and was pleasantly surprised to see that the blog has now surpassed 5000 views. There are almost 50 followers and counting email subscribers, even more. I have to say, I never expected this little endeavor to take off. The amount of people interested in this has made me want to do a better job with it.

This blog began as a way to share my jewelry experiences, in my own way and in my own time. I had been doing it at JewelryLessons.com and Copper Wire Jewelers but I wanted something more personal. I thank you all for following along and for those who found your way here in other ways, thank YOU, as well.

I have been trying to update the look of the blog and made a few changes, including links to some of the blogs I like to look at. If you have a blog to share, leave the addy in the comments section. I'd love to have a look. :) I can't find a few of my favorite artists. Maybe they read this.

To the person who posted a link to my blog from Gothise: I would LOVE to know who you are! I tried to find you, but couldn't.

To celebrate these milestones, I am trying to come up with something special. I would like to do another tutorial. I know some people do giveaways, but I don't really know how to go about that, so a free tute would be a fair giveaway, I think.

I just got in from a very long and quick roadtrip. (Yet another Real Life jewelry intervention!) I should be settled back into the jewelry swing tonight. I'm going to put a lot of thought into a tute and begin it as soon as I can.

Again, THANK YOU ALL!

Simple Basket Setting

2011-08-31T21:09:00.000-04:00

This Oro Verde Citrine is 10.5 cts and pretty big. I love big gemstone pendants. I don't love it when the culet sits on the skin or clothes, though. When the back point is not not lifted up, the light and color is really diminished.

I am always trying to find ways to make a basket type setting with wire. After I made the opal setting, I realized that with a few changes it could work for gemstones. So, I tried it- over and over again. Finally, I was happy with this nice simple setting that lifts the stone.

Some Luscious Projects To Be

2011-08-31T11:43:00.000-04:00

While I am still working on getting the bugs out of two designs, I thought I'd share a couple of stones with you. As much as I love jewelry and making it, my first love is for the stones and I can't go too long without picking up a new one. :)


A new acquisition of kyanite with a wonderful adularescence. This will make a nice ring.


Another new one I picked up. This is a large cab of natural Sugilite from Africa.


I finally picked up some Mojave Turquoise! This stuff is even prettier in person. Wow! Love the bronze veins. As much as I love copper and think it will go well with the bronze, this might be a candidate for silver.


I just got this and paid more than I usually do for a stone, but I really wanted a class act African Pietersite. I could photograph this all day and never do it justice!


I picked up some beads a while back that I thought would go great with this Apatite and London Blue Topaz piece. I'm having second thoughts about the tiny, polished pebbles, but the colors of these Apatite and Aquamarine beads are perfect. You can read more about this project here.

Here's a big Seraphinite that I plan to wrap the same way as the Apatite. Just waiting for the perfect 8mm gem to go with it. This will go in silver, too. Silver is so right for the silver feathers in the green.

I Love Electricity

2011-08-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

Well, we made it through another storm. We had a lot of wind and pelting rain, but nothing like what was forecasted. Luckily.

We spent the night Fri. and Sat. at my daughter's house who doesn't have trees in her yard. Sat. afternoon she lost power. That really wasn't a problem except that it was so hot and muggy. Thank goodness for battery operated fans or I wouldn't have slept at all on Sat. night. After one hurricane, we lost power for almost 2 weeks. I learned then the importance of a fan.

Sat. evening the storm was thought to be winding down, but the winds started picking up worse than before. We heard on the radio around 2 in the morning that the storm had strengthened again after it was over warm water. So, we got clobbered again by the back side of the storm.

As soon as we were up on Sun. morning, we headed back to our place. We had to beat the traffic and rubber neckers (aka sightseers). A lot of big branches were in the road along with powerlines. Many traffic lights were out. Several people were already killed in accidents. As we wove down the road avoiding as much standing water and debris as possible, we prepared ourselves for the worst.

Our neighborhood sometimes floods. Not the like river or tidal flooding, but slow drainage problems. We have a 60 year old oak in the front yard that is probably 80-100 feet tall. It's a beautiful tree and I am absolutely in love with it. It's very healthy but my neighbors tree isn't and is the same size and close proximity. That's the tree that worries me the most.

Each big storm that comes through, the neighbor's tree loses a bough. Not just a branch, but a whole section of tree. It has been trimmed and such, but it is just not all that symmetrical or healthy. A few days before Irene, a thunderstorm rolled through and, sure enough, a big branch came through the neighbor's porch. So, I was quite nervous about this tree, which if it came down would hit my place, as well.

We pulled into the neighborhood and saw the many branches and debris in the road. There was so much that you couldn't see the road. But, people were already out talking and cleaning up. Good sign. We went by my brother's place first. He has pine trees near him which snap in a good storm. He had some utility lines on his place, but his trees were ok, thank goodness. We approached our place from the back way, surveying the damage in the neighborhood, which seemed to be minimal. It looked terrible with all the stuff on the road, but everyone seemed to be ok. That was heartening. Then we pulled up to our place. The neighbor's tree was ok!!! There were a couple big branches down on the ground, but they seemed to miss any structure. Our front porch was covered in small branches and leaves making it look terrible, but once we moved those and had a good look, we realized that nothing big hit us.

The best part we learned before we even got out of the car. A neighbor yelled to us that we never lost power. He was one of the diehards that stayed. It was sooooooo nice to come in and crank the a/c and start a pot of coffee before unpacking. I say "best part" in jest. Really, I'm just happy to still have a home.

Hurricanes and Earthquakes

2011-08-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

Every year we go through the ritual of watching, with baited breath, the track of the many East Coast hurricanes. This year is no different. I was working on the opal wrap and trying different things with it when I kept getting distracted. First by a rather freaky earthquake and then by the track of hurricane Irene. So far, we are still on track to get hit by something, just don't know how bad, yet.

I had a tear in my eye after viewing a sad dog video when the table started swooning beneath my elbows. I say swooning because that's what it felt like. I wasn't convinced that it wasn't me. I thought I was having some weird emotional reaction to the video. But, the swooning became outright swaying. I stood up and realized we were having an earthquake, of all things. I was about to go outside when it stopped. How weird is that??? I have lived in Virginia for a long time and have never experienced THAT before. Well, actually a Navy F-14 jet went down near my home about 30 years ago and that really shook the place, but never an earthquake. So, I cracked open a couple of beers and waited for another. So far, no more rockers.

I'm tracking hurricane Irene, now. She seems to be on course to play havoc with my coastal city just north of the NC/VA border. That means battery runs, grocery and water runs. I've dragged out the hurricane preparedness tote, too.

If we have to pack up and leave, which we'll determine today or tonight, then I won't be doing any jewelry or blogging until the storm passes and if I still have a place to live in. I'm not horribly worried, just prudent. We live with this threat like Californians live with earthquakes. We'll just play wait and see.

If any of you reading this are in the danger cone, don't play around. This one probably isn't a candidate for a righteous hurricane party. Y'all in hurricane alley know what I mean. I love a good hurricane party, but this time, I think I'll pass.

Busted Out the Silver

2011-08-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

I've been collecting gems of all kinds for longer than I care to admit (to my husband). I love opals of all kinds. Many years back, I bought an opal lot that contained numerous beauties. Some of them were tiny, but so incredibly bright that I couldn't part with them even though I had not idea how to set them. I mean, I have done tiny border wraps. That gets old.

I pulled some of those tiny ones out this morning and started planning different ways to wrap them. I did one in copper that looked so nice that I decided to bust out the silver and do another. I picked a stunning, Australian, crystal opal from Lightning Ridge with blinding color in any light, at any angle and proceeded to wrap. Although the wrap looks hard to do, it works up pretty quick with the help of some improvised tools.

When you view the pictures, keep in mind that these are extreme close ups in light that is typically less favorable to opals. The glass opalite rondelle bead in one of the pictures is 8mm. In person, you really can't even see the individual wires or wrapping just a little sparkle coming from all the highlights of the wire. You just get a sense of textured silver. I wish you could see this in person. The bright opal and glimmering silver are perfect together. The wrap holds securely, while protecting the stone.

Now, I finally have a way of setting some of those tiny opals. I'll be playing with this wrap some more tomorrow because I think it is going to work well for faceted gems, too. Oh, and I have some bigger opals to wrap, too. :) Did I mention, I love opals?

Thunderstorms and Bails

2011-08-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

I couldn't stay away from cabs for too long! I just picked up a few nice ones and was eager to wrap one up.

I was working on doing some weaving and wondered if I could do this or not. After a test piece, I figured it was a go. :) I combined a few things together with this. I haven't seen this wrap before, but if you have- let me know.

I used a nice piece of sugilite and copper wire. When I was done, I wished I had used silver. I don't know, I just think silver with a nice patina would look better with the sugilite.

This took quite a while to do. I was finished up to the point of the bail when a hellacious thunderstorm blew through and we lost power. It was ok though because I needed to take a break before deciding what to do for a bail. By the time we got power back, I knew what I wanted to do. I had a lot of wires to work with!

Am I the only one that stresses over bails? It's the last thing to do and usually the hardest- mostly because I'm always afraid that that's where I'll end up messing up. This bail could have been neater, but I'm happy enough with it. I don't typically do woven bails because I opt for a more simple approach- one that is less conspicuous, but this really called for a woven bail, I think.

Blueberries

2011-08-19T07:00:00.002-04:00

I won an item on eBay a few months ago and got more than I bid for. The seller was kind enough to send along these unusual little azurite blueberries.

These stone berries sat on my table and tried to become earrings so many times. Each time they came close, I cut them up. I was trying desperately to reinvent the wheel, when all these beauties really called for was a very simple wrap.

I have never seen any of these before. I went online and tried to find some good info and believe it or not, the best info came from a photographer at Deviantart.

My blueberries are a good match and are about 13mm round, though they come larger and smaller. The texture is what really sells me about these. They are like little blue, stucco balls. Anyway, I just thought I would share these because they are so unusual. If you can find some, they usually don't cost much.

Macle

2011-08-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

The random word for inspiration was so much fun, I thought I would do it again. This time, I picked the word macle. Never heard of it? Me either. I learned something new today. Funny that this word is actually jewelry related- sort of.

My word: macle (ma·cle noun \ˈma-kəl\). After reading the definition, I wasn't sure how to visualize it, so I did a Google image search. So, I know that it relates to natural crystals, or more specifically- twinned crystals. But, the word has roots in French and German, too- meaning a kind of net or mesh.

I have never been fond of crystals. (I'm addicted to cabs.) But, in the spirit of the game and in my new quest for trying new things, I decided to wrap a crystal, something I have never done. The only problem was, I wanted to work fast and didn't have a crystal unless I stole the one and only one I had, back away from my grandson. Um, no. He'd freak out!

I was almost ready to think up something else when I remembered a box of rough that I had stashed and hadn't looked at for years. I dug it out from under the bed and blew off the dust. Somewhere in there I HAD to have a crystal! Under the carefully wrapped chunk of ammolite and between 2 sliced geodes was a large, quartz crystal. Not the best example, but a crystal nonetheless. I don't even remember where I got it or when, but by golly- it was wrapping time!

So, I got my crystal, but what to do next? Duh! I had do net it! And, that's just what I did. Now, it really relates to the word. Because of the old roots of the word, I wanted something that had an old feel to it. The crystal itself was rough and had that unpolished look, so I just had to be careful not to gussy it up too much. The only embellishment are some opalescent delicas of creamy off white. They don't show well in the pictures, but add just a little sparkle and interest. The back and front are the same.

My first wrapped crystal:

Beautiful Words

2011-08-15T09:28:00.003-04:00

There is a thread started by sbarzacchini aka Susan over at JL about creator's block where the suggestion was made by Glenda to pick a word from a book and design around that. You can follow the thread here, if you are a member of JL. I thought it was a great idea and decided to play along. :)

I picked up my dictionary, let it fall open, closed my eyes and pointed at a word. The word does not conjure up images of jewelery. My husband suggested I pick another, but, no- to be fair, I stuck with it.

My word: moderate (adj \ˈmä-d(ə-)rət\) Not moderate (verb \ˈmä-də-ˌrāt\)

The very first visual that popped into my head was that of a bell curve. According to Merriam-Webster, I wasn't too far off track. To me, the bell curve beautifully represents moderate, with moderate being in the upper part of the bell. So, I started working on ideas for a bell curve.

I had an idea to do a pendant that looked like and was similar to a toggle clasp. I got some wire and stuff and started laying them out. I was arranging a ring with a bell curve of wire when I noticed an interesting arrangement with the bell curve on the bottom. I decided to stick with that and flesh it out.

What you see pictured, happened really fast. Between the time I picked the word to finishing the piece, only about an hour passed. I was deliberately working fast because I wanted to go with that flow. I have been working hard at trying to be more freestyle and just going with things rather working things out. Most of my designs take a long time just to work out in my head. This was an exercise in letting the subconscious reign.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this and I am going to use the word picking idea again. It was a great exercise and lots of fun! Thanks Susan and Glenda :)

After I was finished with the pendant, I decided this needed some earrings.

The rings are a full hard, heavy gauge of some unknown coppertone metal from the craft store. I love these rings, they sparkle and have lots of texture. The wire I used was 20 and 24g copper. The beads are faceted goldstone. These kinda look Egyptian to me.

EDIT:
Check it out- Renate has posted one at her blog, too. Great job, Renate!

More edit:
All the pieces have now been posted at JL. Have a look, they are all fantastic, beautiful and VERY interesting!
Here is Susan's piece. Her word was sooooo perfect and her piece is beautiful!
Here is Glenda's piece She had a tough word, but came up with a perfect, pretty piece for it!
Here is Christine's piece Her word drove her to break rules and come up with a beauty!
Here is Renate's piece on JL I think she had the toughest word, but pulled off a real winner with an interesting twist!

A Tale of Two Pendants

2011-08-10T10:15:00.001-04:00

Continuing with my experiments in chaos, I tried another larger nest with more wire. I had a grand idea that bismuth would look real cool in a nest with all its the sharp, metallic angles. My reasoning was that the bright angular bismuth would stand in sharp contrast to the darkened, curled nest of copper. I was wrong. Very wrong.

See for yourself. :) Sometimes, grand ideas just don't work out the way you thought they would.

However, all was not lost because I was able to cut the bismuth out without destroying anything. I was then lucky enough to find a cab of turquoise (reconstituted) that fit perfectly. Now, THAT'S what I call contrast! Much better, now!

A couple more pictures of the bismuth since apparently its not as ugly as I had originally thought. :)

Just Playin'

2011-08-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

I picked up some wire and determined to do something different- something I haven't tried, yet.

I have always liked the chaotic look of the bird nest pieces, but never liked the whole egg thing. So, I tried something different. This is my first one and I learned a lot while making it. Mostly- just when you think you have enough wire- use some more! (I could have used a lot more wire.)

This is made with a piece of larimar and copper wire. :)

After I took the pictures, I had one last tweak to make as shown in the last picture.

After a tweak

Talisman Two

2011-08-04T07:00:00.007-04:00

I spent two days on this, so indulge me while I talk about it. I am still elated and fresh from the experience.

First off, there is a big boo boo on this. Can you see it? I'll post what it is at the end of this.

After the first piece, I had a good idea how I wanted to construct this. However, at the end of day one, I realized that I didn't have enough wire to finish it. I really thought I would have to trash it. But, by morning, I had an idea about what to do and it worked. Saved! Hallelujah!

This has more parts to it than I originally planned. As I worked, I found room to add the peridot and amethyst, but I left off the lime green mother of pearl. Putting all the elements together is the funnest part of doing these things.

About the elements:
The main piece is a really nice piece of glowing, Globe Mine, gem silica with a little druzy. I wanted to compliment this color and not use too much more of it so as not to detract from it. What the camera doesn't pick up is the glow. This turned out to be pretty fragile to work with and I chipped it a little on the back. :(

Next is a real sparkly piece of natural, rainbow hematite druzy. This stuff is incredibly delicate, but oh so beautiful. I couldn't capture the very bright and colorful flashiness of it. I have worked with it before as it is one of my favorite stones. It is thee most difficult stone to work with. It's pretty rare and expensive which makes me even more paranoid while working it. Because this little stone is in here, I had to work real slow and careful and couldn't tumble the piece.

The big rectangle on the left is a super neon, golden lime green Spectrolite. This is another of my favorite stones. Most people love the blues, but I have always favored the bright greens. It is not as directional as most and really flashes.

On the top is a nice patterned piece of tumbled pau shell. It is gorgeous and another flashy piece. At one angle, it shows a lot of the same colors as the hematite. At other angles it shows the colors of the spectrolite and gem silica.

I added a large peridot and a faceted African amethyst bead to pull it all together. You also might see the tiny delicas that fill a small gap. They are AB and flash between the color of the hematite and the color of the gem silica. It doesn't seem like it, but they really added something to this after I got them on.

I'm really happy with the "livliness" of the elements together. With every move, something is going on to catch attention. This is really quite stunning in person, if I don't say so myself. :)

This was a real challenge. I was terrified the whole time that I would mess up the gem silica and hematite. They are perfectly fine to wear, they just needed to be handled with care in the setting. This is quite flat and sturdy. I wondered about that as I worked it, but it really is strong with all the pieces secure.

Enough talk- here it is:

It isn't too big or too small. Pay no attention to my nails, I didn't wash my hands after finishing this. I was too excited to get pictures done. :)

The colors in this are waaaay nicer in person. The gem silica is especially nicer.

So, did you find the mistake? My greatest fear is always in messing up at the end. That's what I did. The very last turn of the wire was wrong. I made the bail and turned the wire under at the back, but it was supposed to be to the front. Therefore, you can see the wire turned under on the front bottom of the bail. I couldn't fix it after I saw it. ARRRRGGGHHHHHH!

HUGE SALE BY WONDERFUL ARTIST!!!!!

2011-08-03T12:11:00.001-04:00

If you aren't already aware of it, Perri Jackson aka Shaktipaj Designs is having a STUPENDOUS sale.

You can bet that I am taking advantage of it.

You can get ALL 30 of her tutorials at once. BUT, HURRY, it is limited!

If you haven't seen her work before, you are in for a visual treat. :)

OOPS! Meant to say 30 projects and 21 tutorials. (Sorry about that)

Trying

2011-08-03T08:25:00.003-04:00

I put some nice stones together to see what I can come with, as far as another Tela talisman. I've got a lime green spectrolite, gorgeous gem silica, sparkly rainbow hematite and a fabulous patterned tumble of pau. Throw into the mix the possibility of a lime piece of mother of pearl. Sounds intriguing doesn't it? No photos. I am half way finished and positively stuck. Took me the day yesterday to get as far as I did and will probably be another day of figuring out where to go from here. Here's hoping I won't have to scrap it! LOL!

Just for a visual- here's my cat, Cat. Whenever we play darts, he has to be underfoot- literally. He's an attention hog. (His eyes are the color of the spectrolite. See, it's jewelry related. LOL!)

Talisman

2011-08-02T01:50:00.001-04:00

I saw a couple nice freestyle talismans on JL and thought I would try one.

You can definitely tell it's my work. I had in my mind the work of Nicholas Kreager of Aether Circuits and Remy Heath of Studio Heath to name a few. This, my first attempt is totally lacking in talismaness. To me, my piece is a perfect fusion of straight forward Tela and the feeling behind the really great talismans.

You can tell I don't much care to coil and weave. I sat down with every intention of doing it. I AM CAPABLE of doing it! LOL! I just don't have the patience for it. I love how this came together, though. Picking the stones and figuring out how to piece them together was fun. All told, I really enjoyed this. I just wish I had the patience to do it right.

After I did this, I went to Studio Heath and saw there were tutes available, so I got one. WOW! Was I waaaay off. My construction is completely different than that of Heath. After reviewing the tute, I have decided that the style doesn't suit me. Far too much weaving. :) I think I prefer my simpler version. It is a good tute, though, if you are interested.

This is a pretty small piece, as these go. It is made with Kingman turquoise, aura quartz, stichtite, blue topaz and pearls. It's really late, but I wanted to get this posted before errands tomorrow. I'll post pictures of the piece after oxidizing, which I intend to do.


Here it is after LOS.

Through a Donut Hole and Back!

2011-07-31T14:10:00.000-04:00

Well, what can I say? I have been in a slump and even my own advice hasn't helped. I just simply haven't felt like making anything. Plus, there was more camping to do. :) The family Summer schedule has been a bit intense, but that isn't my real excuse. I've just been bummed by the whole jewelry making thing. Judging by what I have been reading elsewhere, I'm not the only one that's been feeling this way.

My friend, Renate, sent me a message today about donuts. She asked if I could come up with a new bail idea. Gosh, I really don't like donuts, but for whatever reason, maybe just the need to create SOMETHING, I took on her request. Mind you, I own ONE unused donut and it is not even a normal one. I dug it out of my bin and got my happy, eager hands going.

My little project is far from being my best, but I did it! I'm so flippin' happy, you just don't know!

Now, here is my caveat, I can't remember ever doing a wrapped donut piece before. I don't even pay a whole lot of attention to other donut designs- However, I do know who the donut master is- Donna Spadafore aka Gailavira. If you have seen this design before, please let me know. I am trying to be original.

If any of you out there have been in a slump, too, try to come up with a new way to make a donut bail. Post your pictures somewhere, wherever. (Maybe you could link to it in the comments section.) Just try it, it's not as easy as it seems. :)

A Little Experiment

2011-07-12T07:56:00.000-04:00

Before I left for camping, I started this piece. It looked a bit different before I left. I was really stuck on this one because I wasn't happy with how it was turning out. Happily, I knew what to do when I got back. I really didn't want to scrap it. I had been scrapping an awful lot of pieces.

I think the bail is pretty cool. It is quite strong, being hammered.

This is the first one I've done using this approach. With future pieces, there are a few tweaks I will try. Hope you like it. :)

Cleansing

2011-07-11T11:16:00.001-04:00

A fine wine cleanses the palette. Getting back to nature cleanses my creative palette.

I had a week in the mountains in the George Washington-Jefferson National Forest in Southwest Virginia. Being in the quiet green replenishes my soul and clears my mind. The gurgling stream provides the background music for my creative contemplation. The rhododendrons blooming all around me, remind me of the beauty in nature. The owls at night and songbirds in the morning speak to the essential human that I am. I am reminded that we are all connected and part of one big plan. I am reminded of how small I am and that I am blessed by nature for what small talents I have. I am reminded that that is why I do what I do. I make jewelry because it is my part to play in this life. I have no grand plans, I have no agenda or schemes. I just love to create. I love the rocks that I work with and try always to show them to their best advantage. I try always to take a back seat to what nature has wrought. Perfection is not mine. Perfection is what I found in the mountains. Perfection is bigger than my "self". I just try to enhance what nature has given.

When I left sea level, I left an unfinished piece on the table. I was stuck for its ending. It needed "something". When I returned, I immediately saw what I needed to do. It is in the tumbler now and I am satisfied. Tomorrow I will post it.

Looking around me at my tools, I have a renewed interest in creating. I understand that is all I need to do. I do it for myself. It is therapy and it satisfies my need to create. I won't allow myself to get bogged down in wondering what to do next or what to do with all that I have accumulated because I know now that that is not what is important for me. Others may be driven by other things. But me, I am satisfied just to be the creative person that nature intended.

Home away from home

Our "backyard"

A view in the park

wild Rhododendron

Because someone asked, I am posting a few more pix of just how big my tent is. I can fit my 32" table, 2 comfy chairs and my queen bed in it comfortably. It is abt 15x7 ft. I don't have any pictures with it all set up, though. You can make out the table and chairs in the last picture next to the picnic table. The table is blue. The white box in the second picture is almost 3 ft long. It's the box for the table. The bed takes up a little less than a third of the tent. This was one of the biggest tents I could find. Don't let the pix fool you, it's huge. Sometimes we have a problem with sites not being big enough for it.

Summertime!

2011-06-29T07:39:00.000-04:00

In the Winter, I never really get cabin fever. I can sit for hours to think about and make jewelry.

When Summer hits, I find it very hard to stay focused on jewelry. I have been having a very, very hard time making myself sit and make something. First, I hurt my hands, then I began to get fishing fever. But, even worse, I have camping fever. I have sat down to make something so many times and wasn't able. Until, that is, I made reservations for our favorite spot in the mountains. After I made the reservations, I felt wonderful and ready to jewel!!!

It wasn't like loosing the muse. I just didn't feel like making anything. It is very strange for me because I usually make something -anything- at least once a day. I almost felt like packing my things away. I just lost all interest. But, now with the promise of almost a week in the mountains, I already feel rejuvenated. It can rain all week and I won't care!!

Camping is a family tradition for me. I've camped all my life and in more states than I can remember. Something about it really works to refresh me. I love to get out in nature and enjoy all the sights and sounds. I'll be camping next to a cold mountain stream and I can't wait to be lulled asleep by it. I'll do a little hiking. I'll do a lot of relaxing with my husband. We'll bring scrabble and a hammock. I'll bring a notebook and sketch ideas. I've already started packing. :)

We leave next week. After that, we will do some more camping closer to where we live. I love Summer!

Here's a few pieces I made just after making the reservations.

Leopardskin Jasper from Peru

Sonoran Sunrise with chrysocolla and cuprite. I was going for a tribal look and envision a warrior with shield and spear. This is a big, beautiful stone with an outstanding polish and cut.

From the Vault: Mohawkite

2011-06-20T07:59:00.001-04:00

I am always on the look out for something new and different. When I saw this stone, I knew it had to be in my collection. This stone will be finished with silver, no doubt!

There is a mine in Mohawk, Michigan, USA that is appropriately called the Mohawk Mine. That is where this rare stone comes from. This is Mohawkite. These stones are only found in Mohawk, MI. For the specific "ingredients" of this stone, see this link to Mindat, a great place for stone info.

The look is like a silver metallic web on top of a white quartz base. When the light is direct, it is very reflective. When the light is not direct, the web looks slate gray.

I am waiting for the special design to speak to me to finish this and I am in no hurry. I don't mind waiting, but I do like looking at it. :)

Listen to Your Body

2011-06-16T07:20:00.000-04:00

I've been out of commission. On Saturday, I was working some 14g wire and I ignored the little twinges of pain. By Sunday morning, I was regretting that oversight.

About 5 years ago, I had a nerve induction study done (I forget what it's called) and found that I have moderate carpel tunnel syndrome in both wrists. It was part of a larger group of tests I was having done that didn't relate to CTS, but I wasn't a bit surprised.

The first time it bothered me was when I was pregnant, many moons ago. It dissipated after my daughter was born and I didn't think of it again for years.

I took a part time, seasonable job about 20 years ago. Within days of using a pallet jack, I had full blown, painful symptoms. I saw a doc for it, who knew right away what it was. After talking about it to some people at work, I learned it was common to many people, mostly with the women I spoke with, though. It seemed it was really popular to get the surgery for it. Well, I'm not fond of surgery, especially the thought of having a mistake made on my hands, so I looked into other things.

The doc recommended exercises which really helped. But, what helped the most was a wrist brace that he gave me to wear at night. Whenever the CTS bothers me, I sleep with the brace for several nights and the symptoms begin to dissipate. I was told that the body is real good at healing itself given the chance and that the brace allowed that to happen while I was sleeping. It really works for me and I still have and use that same brace when needed.

I've have never had to use the brace while working. I try to be careful and listen to my body. I am usually pretty good about it- except for when I work with large gauge wire. For some reason, maybe because I get creative tunnel vision, I seldom pay attention to the rare times when wire work bothers me.

When I am working, I take breaks to flex my hands and I usually stop if my hands get sore. But, on rare occasions when I'm in the zone and ignoring it, I pay the price, as I did Saturday. I didn't touch any wire till Wednesday and I wear the brace at night. I'm on the mend now.

I know for some people, CTS is much worse and can be devastating. I count myself lucky that I only have moderate nerve damage, which is still considerable, yet, manageable.

I had intended for this blog post to be very informative, but I'm not a doctor and if you have CTS then there isn't much I can tell you that you can't find online already. So, maybe this is just an excuse for my being absent. :)

On the plus side, I went hiking on Monday and didn't think about wire. On Tuesday, I also evaded wire and the temptation and spent the day with my grandson and his school graduation ceremony. By yesterday, I managed a few easy pieces. Wonder what I'll get done today? Whatever it is, it won't be involving 14g wire!

The following examples are what I was able to accomplish yesterday. They were pretty easy on the hands.

Copper Wire Jewelers Issue 5

2011-06-15T07:04:00.000-04:00

Here's a treat full of tips and eye candy. Lois, the wonderful artist and supporter of copper jewelry publishes the beautiful, quarterly magazine, "Copper Wire Jewelers". It is named after the website she runs. I am proud to say I am a member of her community of wire artists. With her generous permission, I post this here for you to enjoy. :) Check out her site, too, if you haven't already. :)

Open publication - Free publishing - More artisan

FREE Whimsical Wire People PDF now available

2011-06-11T12:45:00.000-04:00

For those who would like to get a free downloadable pdf version of the Whimsical Wire People , you can now get it at JewelryLessons . You need to be a registered member, but registering is free.

Boots, Socks or Oreo

2011-06-10T09:02:00.000-04:00

I just call him Cat.

A few years ago, while I was taking my grandson to the school bus stop, I remember there was this little cat that all the kids called Oreo. He was the friendliest little thing. He diplomatically took turns greeting each new arrival to the corner. He would prance over, throw himself on the ground for a tummy scratch and then pop up to rub on the new arrival's legs. You could hear him purr a mile away. Cat was thin, but healthy and quick as a shot. I have seen him catch more than one squirrel.

I asked around about Cat. According to the neighbors he was a stray. My grandson nagged me every day to take him home. Soon his mother nagged me, too. But, after being entertained by him at the bus stop and nagged for half a school year, I no longer saw him and he went from my mind.

I had an old girl at home, you see. Her name was Jasmine, Jazz for short. She had adopted us from the SPCA 20 years earlier at the ripe age of 5. Yes, she was my 25 year old kitty. She deserved her peace and quiet. She had shared her home with a few other cats in her time and I sensed she just wanted the solitary, quiet life. There was no telling what a rambunctious, preteen kitty would do to upset her throne.

Jazz and I had a very close relationship. She was a calico with regal personality. She was an ambassador for cats. I had met more than one person that just hated cats, except for her, of course.

Last year, my beloved kitty passed away. I was devastated. "That's it," I thought, "no more pets."

Months later, in the dead of a cold winter, we started to notice this cat hanging around our block. It didn't take long for us to figure out that it was Cat, all grown up. How he evaded Animal Control, I'll never figure out.

Well, he began to work his charms on my husband, who had never met him before. Soon, he, too, was begging me to take him in.

It was cold out, real cold. I wondered how he managed. Turned out, he was semi living with the elderly neighbor man. There was my out. We couldn't take him in. He belonged to someone. Or, did he; could he?

As days and weeks passed, I found out that my husband had been secretly feeding him. He began to follow my husband into the house. At first, I yelled. But, by then, Cat had started working his charms on me, too.

To make this long story shorter. I talked to the neighbor, who denied owning him. And, Cat must like our food better because he chooses to stay here now. In fact, I can't really get him to go out. We checked him over and found that at some point someone had neutered him. (YAY!!!) We also found he was in need of flea medicine. He has a few nibbles to his ears, too. Other than that he is none the worse for wear. He is now ours and he is still called Cat. Though everyone else in the family has a different name for him.

You may be asking yourself what this has to do with wire. I ask you, "Have you ever tried to bead or work long wires with a cat around?" Need I say more? :)

Cat

The new tute is now LIVE at JewelryLessons!

2011-06-09T08:21:00.002-04:00

After so much work, I am pleased to report that the tute that took 2 1/2 days to finish, is now available. Shhhheeewww! (wiping forehead)

The tutorial, named Arched Pendant, can be found here at JL.

This is the piece that the tute is actually written about.

The following pictures are pieces done in the same design.

The next few pieces are pieces that are done using a technique taught in this tutorial. I can't show these pieces at JL with the tutorial because it is thought that it might be misleading, which I agree with, but this is my blog and I am telling you that the tute DOES NOT teach these designs, but uses the same main technique taught in the tute. (How was that for a run on sentence, LOL??!!)

Old stock Parrot Wing Chrysocolla

Gem Silica, Malachite, Sagenite

Now, I am off to take a shopping break with my daughter for birthday presents. :)