New Necklace

I've finally listed a new necklace for my Etsy shop. This new line is called Knotty Girl Necklaces, based on a wood grain design using Precious Metal Clay. I'm hoping to get some Knotty Boy necklaces made and listed soon as well, but I think they may wait until I'm done with my other commissions and back from FaerieWorlds.


I have some more necklaces that I will be listing tomorrow....again hopefully, these are one's that I've already made and I just need to take the time to photograph them and write up a description.

I've had all of these ideas as of late that I haven't taken the time to sketch out either and I really need to do that before I lose them....my memory isn't what it used to be! Well all I'm off to work on my commissions, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Working with Art Clay

So I set out to make some pendants today using Art Clay 650 low fire, slow dry. Let me just tell you, I have a new appreciation for those who work with this medium on a daily basis. It was no easy task for me, and apparently will need a lot more work on my part to perfect it in any way. I have also discovered that working with pmc will have to be my weekend project as I don't have a lot of time during the week.

So here is a picture of them after being fired. I meant to take a picture of them prior to firing but my batteries for my camera were dead and needed charging. The impatient person that I am couldn't wait for the batteries to be done charging before I fired the pieces.


I found that colored CZ's also tend to change color during firing. The daisy with the single stone was fired face up. The other pendant was fired face down...but the stones were still affected by the heat. Also as you may or may not be able to tell, I could've done a better job at sanding the pieces prior to firing them. The bezel settings definitely could've used more attention, but yet again the impatient part of me didn't want to wait....I really need to start listening to the more patient side of me :)

Right now as I type this, these pieces are being oxidized. I'll try to touch them up a bit more after their done, and I'm really hoping the flaws or imperfections are less noticeable when I'm finished. If not, then I guess I have a couple of new pendants for myself, or I guess I could list them in my shop as "Oops" pieces...we'll see!

I'll post more pictures of them after they're done oxidizing...see you soon!

The Dear Little Shamrock

by Andrew Cherry

There's a dear little plant that grows in Ireland.
'Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it.
And the sun on his labor with pleasure did smile.
And a tear from his eyes oft-times wet it.
It grows thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
And it's called the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in:
For they shine thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we together should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

With this little poem in mind, I set out last night to make some shamrocks/clovers out of fine silver. At first I made one out of sterling silver with a wire wrapped stem, but it wasn't exactly what I was aiming for....so I'll be keeping that one for myself :) That's just another perk of making jewelry! Below is what the final product looks like, and I've paired it with a faceted green Opal heart briolette.

Well I just received my PMC books in the mail...so I'm off to lose myself in the creativity found in those many pages :)

Earrings....Gotta Love 'Em

I love jewelry, especially earrings. There's something so very feminine about them, whether they're short or long, simple or adorned with gemstones....they really are the perfect addition to finish off your look. While making a pair of earrings or any type of jewelry for that matter, I normally make myself a pair too. Mostly to test the style...see how they wear, but also because I can't help myself :)

Below are a couple of pieces that I made today to list and no need to ask...I made myself a pair of each of these..hehe

I made a Peridot set to sell and a Garnet set for myself...it's my birthstone and it had to be done!

For these earrings I made myself a very small pair and a 2" pair as I tend to like big earrings. The pair pictured are comparable in size to my Large Rustic Hoops also sold in my store.

I'll be ordering some PMC (Precious Metal Clay) soon, and can't wait to start working with this medium. I have so many ideas and sketches that I'm looking forward to making. I was going to order some this weekend, but I've decided to wait just a bit to allow myself to gain more knowledge about working with it. Oh, I so love the creative outlet that jewelry has given me!

It's Been A Few Days....

Since my last post. Jeez, I almost sound like I'm in a confessional LOL!

Things have been crazy with the Valentine's rush, I've even received sales on Artfire and ShopHandmade. Very cool if you ask me! The Love Me Knot ring is my biggest seller right now.

I've encountered a few major snafu's though. This last weekend I had 9 rings to make, get packaged and ready to be shipped out on Monday. Well my torch had been acting a bit funny, leaking as if the trigger was stuck in the "on" position. Then the flame was all wacky, it'd be bushy one second, huge, small and everything in between other than the flame that I needed it to be. I ended up destroying a lot of rings because it'd get a major flame on as the silver started to flow and just melt the crap out of everything....uuuugggghhhh! Then I kept having hot flashes, which for those of you who have experienced them know that you go from calm to raging in nothing flat! Ruining perfectly good rings during a hot flash did not make for a pretty site. All in all what should've taken me 5 minutes took nearly 6 hours, but I got it done!

Now I've got a new torch, it's Benzomatic propane torch...I believe it's a plumbers torch, I had a friend of mine who's an electrician pick it up for me. It was a bit scary to work with at first especially compared to my Ronson mini torch, but it works pretty darned good! I used it for the first time today, made a couple of fine silver bangle bracelets and filled some more ring orders.

I've now made myself both a round and an oval bangle bracelet and I have to say that I really like the ovals much better. I'm not sure if it's because of the fit or what...but I think I'll be making myself some more of these :) I'll take pics of them tomorrow or the day after to share!

Rings and Ritual

Here's another fine silver ring! I really struggled with a name to call them. I've made one for my friend, so a Friendship Knot. I've made 2 for my son to give to his girlfriend as both Forget Me Knot and Love Me Knot rings. So as of right now in light of Valentine's Day they are called Love Me Knot rings, but the title may change as I don't want them to be perceived as just a holiday gift.




Imbolc is upon us, and I haven't decided how I will celebrate this Sabbat. I had planned on making some candles (in honor of Brighid) but I'm finding that my time is very limited to do so between my day job, and my personal business. I think I'll make some bread with seeds to symbolize growth, it'll have to be in my breadmaker as my time is restricted but the intent is the same and I have plenty of cheese to enjoy with the bread :) I may plant some little seedlings to represent my hopes and dreams for the coming summer months. Hmm...I think I've just decided on how I will celebrate Imbolc....Yay!

Ohh and another celebration........Mercury is direct......FINALLY!! *Happy Dance*

Trinity Collection

I just want to share with you some new necklaces that I've made. The Trinity Collection are necklaces that feature a union of three gems, brought together not only for their beauty but also for their complimenting colors.


This necklace features an A grade bi-colored Lemon Smoky Quartz, a smooth round Smoky Quartz and a faceted round clear Rock Quartz.



This necklace features an A Grade Ametrine briolette, Citrine teardrop, and an Amethyst marquis.


I've been having some fun fusing fine silver.....so much easier than soldering...I just love it! I drew up some designs this week that I'm going to try to create using the fusing method. I've got my fingers crossed that they will turn out :)

My birthday was fabulous, my best friend took me for a pedicure and a manicure. Oooo...the lemon sea salt was marvelous...the massaging even better...and the hot towels on a cold crisp day....need I say more?? When I arrived back home, it was so dark and quiet...SURPRISE...yelled my kids! A waterfall of confetti covered me, balloons and birthday banners everywhere. My kids gave me a mini surprise party of their own and it brought tears to my eyes, they are so thoughtful. Then off to dinner we went to meet the rest of my family and friends. It was a lovely day!!

New Fine Silver Creations

This one is going to be a quickie because I'm off to have coffee with the girls! I just wanted to show you the latest pieces that I've made and listed on Etsy.


"Unity" necklace - Fine and Sterling Silver

"Coiled" ring - 12g Fine Silver

"Coiled" ring - 16g Fine Silver

As you can tell I've been having a bit of fun creating using this method! ~Enjoy

Fusing - Take Two

Okay so today was much more successful than yesterday. I'm still having troubles with fusing larger sized rings not gauge but actual size. I've posted some pictures here to show you the results.

I've got my rings laid out on my ceramic tile ready to be fused.

The results after fusing 4 different sized rings, the larger ring on the far left did not fuse.

After hammering them for texture, I put them in my tumbler and here's the result:

I just made a few more so when I'm done here I will actually hammer them flat to be used in necklaces and earrings. I really am pleased at how they turned out and I can't wait to see what fun things I can create using this technique!

Fusing

Nope..no pictures yet, but I did try my hand at fusing tonight with 16g fine silver. I wanted to make a couple of stackable rings for myself before I went for drinks with the girls. So one ring turned out ok and the other ring didn't fuse at all :(

I know, I can't expect perfection on my first try! BUT, if you know me...you'll know that I most definitely do! I don't believe that it sets me up for failure, I see it as more of a challenge to achieve my expectations!

So I'm going to read the book again tonight to see if I missed something...I thought I had followed the steps. I made sure the cut was clean, though I don't own Tronex cutters (I think that's the brand the author uses), I did file to achieve the flush ends. I also wonder if it's my ceramic tile that I'm using. I don't have a fire brick as it calls for in the book, and I can't seem to find one anywhere. I bought the ceramic tile from Craft Warehouse for soldering and thought that it would work for this as well, but I wonder if it's drawing the heat away from the silver as I'm trying to fuse??? Food for thought anyways. Debora, what are you firing your silver on? If you'd rather email me you can reach me at shi_girl30@hotmail.com or convo me on Etsy :)

So wish me luck tomorrow as I'm going to dedicate the majority of my day to fusing. I will take pictures for you this time, they'll either be of finished rings, or some horribly gone wrong projects!! I've got my fingers crossed that it's not the latter.

Working with different metals

My favorite metal to work with is Sterling, but I have a lot of 14kt gold filled wire that I bought to make wire wrapped rings that I no longer carry in my store, and I've been wondering what I'm going to do with it. So for the heck of it I wanted to make a pair of hoops. The metal is a lot more pliable and softer than sterling but after some hammering to give it texture and strength, I have to say that I'm was pretty pleased with the way they turned out.


I listed this pair in my shop today and sent a pair to a return customer as a thank you gift. I'm hoping that I'll have time this week to make more in varying sizes like I carry in my Rustic Hoops line. I'm really excited at the prospect of incorporating this metal into some of my jewelry designs.

On a side note, I should be receiving my very large order of fine silver so I can try my hand at fusing. I'll be sure to post my creations...I can't wait!!

Fusing vs. Soldering

So I saw this really great book on fusing silver. I was in a hurry, didn't have a chance to purchase it, but flipped through it really quick. I was pretty excited at the thought not having to solder, plus it showed you can hammer the piece after fusing. I have not had successful attempts at hammering after soldering, the piece just splits apart.

Today I decided to try it without having the book on hand. Well let's just say it kind of failed. First I tried fusing a ring that was made of low dome sterling silver. Nada! Then I tried a ring using 20g dead soft sterling silver...again nothing. Then with some scrap silver I tried a very thin piece, which I believe was 24 or 26 gauge. Well it kind of worked, part of the silver fused together, but not like it showed in the book.

Then I went online to see what I could find on the subject of fusing. It looks like the recommended silver to use is fine silver and not sterling. With fine silver the melting point is higher than sterling so that kind of confused me, but maybe it's the extra alloys that are in sterling that doesn't quite allow a fusing to happen.

Needless to say I'm going to purchase the book and see what I'm doing wrong or missing. So if any of you out there have ever tried fusing or have any tips or hints, can you send them my way? I would be greatly appreciative of it!

I was really hoping to have some fun pieces to list tomorrow...but that's not the case. As you can tell I'm one of those people that thinks I should be successful at least within the first few attempts....grrr....but I'm not going to give up. I'll post more information after a few more attempts. Back to the torch.

Fabulous Finds in the World of Etsy

I've been pretty fortunate with my experiences on Etsy, and the contacts and friends that I have made. Recently I had been searching for silver pieces to use as focals in some bracelets. I found some, saved them in my favorites, but just couldn't commit to buying them, not because they weren't beautiful, but they just weren't exactly what I had envisioned in my mind. Then one night while reading the forums I came across a fairly new seller Beadin By The Sea, so I took a quick look at Debora's shop. She makes wonderful jewelry, but also made the links that I had been looking for in fine silver no less! She pays particular attention to detail in her work and everything is done by hand...amazing! Her customer service is the best around, hands down. You should check her out if you get a chance.

The pictures you see here are the bracelets that I made using her fabulous links. The one I kept for myself is the one with swirls and a wire wrapped Labradorite briolette. The other is an organic leaf design that I've added a wire wrapped carved leaf Watermelon Tourmaline to. On the back of the link it says "Grow". I had just listed it this evening, and it's sold already!!

I normally don't shop on Etsy for my jewelry findings, because I have a tax id and can purchase items wholesale. That's all fine and dandy for commercial supplies, but when your wanting something that has that little extra touch...or something that was created from the heart...shopping at Etsy is where you'll find it. Like I said earlier, I've been very fortunate with the contacts and friends that I've made on Etsy. It's filled with so many talented artist's of all mediums, and Debora of beadinbythesea is definitely one of them.

Abi Anklets

I've just listed them! The bells arrived today, so I was able to list them before my meeting tonight. My niece Abi has been wearing hers since she was a just a few months old. They are so cute, and are absolutely adorable on her little ankles, especially when she has booties on. I've been thinking that I need to buy some plain bells for baby boys. That's next on my list. I'm just excited to bring a new product to my Etsy shop!