Day in the Life of a Metalsmith

So, I thought I would start a new bloggy series today. Figured it was as good a day as any, and I actually thought about it before it was too late.

This new series is called A Day in the Life of a Metalsmith. This first edition will feature the making of a cuff. Gasp. Can you believe I actually called myself a metalsmith?! I mean it's what I do, but, and I'm not fishing for compliments, I always think 'metalsmiths' are far more talented than myself. Anyway. This edition will show what goes into the making of a cuff from start to finish. This is not a tutorial but more a glimpse into the fabrication process.

First, I start out with a sketch. This design was actually inspired by the stone. As soon as I saw this handmade stone, I knew what it wanted to be and would look like. Then I cut out and dry fit all the pieces to see if anything needs to be changed.



Then I start soldering all the accent pieces in this particular design and again dryfit to make sure nothing needs to be changed or resized.



Now since that fits and I've got all the accent pieces figured out, I solder the whole thing together essentially making the cuff. Here's a pic of the cuff after the first sanding...



I could be done now with just sanding left to, but I felt it needed something else. So I added some resin in those circles, and since I'm a bit messy with my cloisonne technique..



And here's the finished project after all the sanding steps, added matte frosted finish, and stone all set. A really unique one of a kind cuff.



I hope you've enjoyed a peek into my process. Perhaps I'll show you the steps into making one of my Mad Hatter rings on the next edition of A Day in the Life of a Metalsmith. My psychedelic cuff is available in my etsy shop because you know you want it.

Giveaway!

In case you haven't been checking out my sidebar like it is your duty to do, I am having a giveaway. I know it's not your first thing to check my sidebar, but you really should because you never know what kind of bloggy goodness could be hiding there. Anyway....

About the giveaway. I will giving away two, not one but two, Sterling Silver Patchwork Rings. They will be custom made for the winners in their sizes or whatever sizes they'd like in case they want to give them as gifts.

Now here's all the boring details. To ENTER, just subscribe to my newsletter which is on the top of the right sidebar. I only send one newsletter per month so don't worry about being bombarded by emails. Plus, you might find more giveaways and coupons in there. It is a double opt in newsletter(for your sake and mine) so just check for a confirmation email. For EXTRA entries, leave a comment here. I will be doing these once a month so if you are all ready subscribed to the newsletter you will automatically be entered in the months to come.

Giveaway will end on November 2nd, and winners will be announced on November 3rd.

Have fun, and I hope you enjoy!

Vintage Camera Inspired Earrings

My earring design I was discussing yesterday was a success! At least I think so. They are based on something I own and love. Vintage cameras.

I actually own a couple of vintage cameras like a Brownie hawkeye, a Spartaflex, and a not quite so vintage 3d camera. I have always loved old cameras. It's not even about the remarkable pictures they take but about their shape as well. There is just something about them.

So, without further adieu, I'd like to introduce my vintage camera inspired earrings!

I think they are just adorable and am contemplating making myself a pair I love them that much. The camera is made from copper sheet, the lense and viewfinder from sterling silver tubing, and the flash from copper sheet formed into a disc. They are stud/post earrings, and the post is sterling silver.

They will be available in my shop later today as I still have a little work to do on them(which you can see in the pic). Let me have some feedback on them as this is a very new design and concept for me.

Until next time, my duckies!

Sterling Jewelry Cleaning Tips

Today I thought I would share some tips for cleaning sterling silver jewelry. Sterling(and copper) are easy to clean as long as you keep up with it. This first tip is something really simple to do and can be done every so often to keep your sterling nice and shiny.

#1. Fill a small bowl or cup with lukewarm water, a little mild detergent, and a dash of baking soda. Mix it up and allow your sterling pieces to soak in it for a couple of hours. It will come out as shiny and new as the day you purchased it. This can also be done with copper and is safe for most gemstones. So simple and easy and no chemicals.

#2. When you are finished wearing a sterling piece for the day, wipe it down with a soft cloth before putting it in a jewelry box.

A great anti- tarnish jewelry box is made byLori Greiner. I have one and it is sensational. Works like a charm. She has many sizes and shapes. They really are fantastic.

So, I hope you take these really simple cleaning tips to heart. A lot of people use products that are not safe for all types of jewelry like pieces with gemstones. My tips are really easy and contain no chemicals.

If you're in the mood for some new sterling pieces, I have several listed in my shop. Like these pictured- Dragonfly Sonata ring and the All Seeing Eye ring. The last one pictured, Art Deco Love Cuff, will be available later today.
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Thoughts on the Weekend and Another Copper Cuff

Ah, it's Friday! The weekend has arrived. Yes, the weekend. When you can forget the workweek and the troubles at hand and just relax. Or so they say. I see it as the time when everyone is home and driving me nuts. I hardly ever get anything done, and the only good thing is I get to sleep late. The house will be a wreck by Monday morning, but that's secretly the reason I put K in her after school program. You'd be surprised at how much I can get accomplished with no one in the house. Now if only I knew how to do all the remodel jobs that need to be done, I'd be set. I'm typing all this while hiccuping and holding my breath to get rid of the hiccups so I really have no idea what I'm saying.

Did you all notice my new little gadget over there on the side? I have finally got a newsletter together. It's a once a month thing. Don't want anyone getting tired of me. It's filled with my latest happenings, secret sales, and lots of other special things. You know- the usual newsletter kind of stuff. I would be very appreciative and excited if you signed up for the newsletter, but only if you really want to. Although, I might get some kind of complex if no one wants to.

Latest item in my shop this week is an oldie but a goodie that some might have forgotten about. My Asian inspired, art deco Blossom cuff. How's that for getting multi-cultures and styles?! It is a copper cuff with the loveliest copper flower on top. Just the thing you need to keep gloomies away in the winter. It can be found in my shop.

Have a great and relaxing weekend, my duckies!

Tranquility

The latest addition to my Etsy shop and ring collection is my Tranquility ring. It's a copper band ring that has been accented with copper tube set sapphires. 5 of them to be exact! I've had these little sapphires laying around for quite some time but never had anything to do with them. I think they look magnificent against the copper.

The ring itself has been formed from copper sheet. The copper sheet was rolled over a copper tube to create a one piece effect. Originally, I had only planned for there to be two smaller tube settings on the other side of this roll, but I changed my mind. I decided there wasn't enough depth. I'm glad I did. Looks better with the three, don't you think? I then set the sapphires in all the tubes including either end of the roll. The name tranquility came about from the blue of the sapphires.

In other news, it's a very dreary day here. So much so, I am missing summer even though it hasn't completely gone yet. I will mourn it until it returns next year which seems oh so far away from now. I do believe I would be quite happy to live somewhere where it's summer all year. So, for those of you who are mourning the loss of summer like me, I will leave you with an original photograph by me to remind you of the joys of summer.

Finally

Well, the time has finally arrived where I actually have made something new. The best part is that it was unplanned.

It was created in response to this week's Creative Challenge. The challenge was to create something just to create. Kind of a get back to basics thing. I just sat down at my table knowing I was going to make a ring. Seems I have a fascination with making rings. I happened to see some leftover pieces from a custom order and started playing around with them. Then I happened upon a prehnite I had laying around. The result was the ring you see pictured. I call it Mint Julep. I LOVE this ring and will have no problem keeping it if it doesn't sell before it expires on Etsy.

This getting back to basics was just the thing I needed to help pull me from my slump. I stumbled on the idea when I read Craftymoose's blog, and she happened to be discussing the idea and the Artist's Way. The whole thing was rather invigorating. There were no expectations, no time limits, no customers to satisfy. Just me, my supplies, and my torch. I might have to start doing this every so often. It was like being a beginner again except with new knowledge and new techniques.

I suggest everyone try this every now and then. It's a good exercise. And, the Mint Julep ring is listed in my shop. Thanks, too, for all the congrats yesterday. I would've shown the cover page, but someone(ahem, Steve) forgot to scan it in the computer. I will have to get him to do that.

Short and Sweet

I might get this blog back on track at some point in time. It seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Got K's report card. It was all A's and B's, and she brought the grades up that I wanted her too. Yay! Now if I could just get her to care about schoolwork. She used to love to do workbooks and educational software and schoolwork wasn't too bad. This year it's been a struggle to get her to do anything. She's only in the 3rd grade. It shouldn't be a struggle with these teenager issues. Grrrrr.

There's something in my chimney again. I'm a little scared as to what it is. I say something because the bird cage is on the chimney. I even checked it myself. I don't know what it is about my chimney these things love so much. I'm afraid I'm going to get eaten one day by something that crawls out of my chimney. Good thing I have all those remodel materials piled up in front of it.

News at JSD. I was on the front page the other day thanks to Elements by Dawn. Yay! Thank you to the Diva for telling me and taking this fabulous screenshot. There I am on the bottom row in the middle. I also relisted that cuff you see pictured. It seems I have a few things that need to be relisted. I'm just falling more and more behind. I might have to put myself through jewelry bootcamp. All things can be found in my shop.

New Bangle and Auction Finds

What to blog about? The eternal blogging question. Hmmmm.

So, this weekend not so fantastic, but in some ways it was. Steve was sick this weekend. Now, if any men are reading, answer me this. Why do men have to be such babies about getting sick? Seriously. He wasn't even sick sick just a cold, and yet, you would think he had the bubonic plague. He forced me into going out of the house because of his melodramatics. So, in a way, my spending money at the auction I went to was his fault. lol. I went, I saw, and I bought. I didn't spend that much money. $40. I did get an incredible mahogany dresser with both a modern and retro feel, a black retro chair, a bunch of drawer pulls from the 40's and 50's, and a couple of terracotta planters. Of course, K was with me so she got a few things as well as always, and I did bring an old world radio home for him to tinker with. All in all, I don't think I did bad. Photos of the dresser will be forthcoming. I should've taken pics of it before I got it into my nasty house under construction :)


In other blog news, I finished this great bangle. I created it for my challenge in the forum. This week's challenge was bubbles. As usual, I am all late and wrong, but at least I finished it this week. It took much longer than expected or should have. It's created solely from sterling silver tubes and copper tubes in different sizes. I still have to polish it, but I will be listing it in my shop this morning after I do that final step.

Hope all my lovelies had a beautiful and terrific weekend! Pssst. It's March and that means it's almost spring for us Northern Hemisphere people. Yay!

Birds, Birds, Birds

Well, the topic has been decided- the birds win- although I thought I would throw a few of the other suggestions in as well. Thanks to Craftymoose for giving me a suggestion for my next project! It's actually got me thinking quite a bit.

So, the majority of this post will be about my little bird friends. I have no idea what kind of birds they are, but there's a few of them. I have tried and tried to get a pic. So, I looked around and the closest I could find was a pic of a house sparrow. I have a whole flock of these birds because the original flock all had babies last year. Can't imagine how many I will have this year. They had been roosting in my being remodeled addition, but we thought we had gotten all the places where they would nest. Not to get rid of them completely, but so they wouldn't use my new studio space as a home. Can you imagine?!

Somehow, though, they still find their way in. They are tiny enough to fit through the door without a doorknob. I did mention this room is not completely done, right? They thoroughly believe that this room was built just for them. It's like their own personal atrium. Every morning two or three come in and fly around checking things out, pulling insulation out of the rafters, and playing tag. It's quite comical. I enjoy them immensely because my now workspace looks right onto this room so I can see everything they do. Most mornings they will come right up to my window and chirp at me. I like to think they are just my wild friends. You should see them in the summertime taking baths in my pond. I just know one day I'm going to have to go out there and rescue one of them from drowning.

I will save a Home Improvement Roundup for next week because I have a really big project going on, and I might even have a tutorial for you in that department. Not too exciting, but something that may come in handy one day.

Well, that just leaves me with my latest piece. "In the Shadow of the Toucan" ring was inspired by my creative challenge thread in the Etsy forums. Shadows was the theme for this week. Truthfully, this ring started out as one thing and morphed into this toucan creature complete with pierced eyes. He's completely created from sterling silver and can be found in my shop.

Not a terribly exciting post lengthy as it is, but it is what you asked for. I'm rather glad I wrote because I just realized it's all about birds. I didn't even think of that when I started typing. Well, until we meet again....

Blog Envy

I know you know what I'm talking about. When you go read someone else's blog, and you're just like "God, why don't I write like that?" or "why is my life so boring that I don't have anything to write about?"

Okay. Well, maybe that last one was mine, but you still get the picture. We all have those blogs we want to be like- the ones that can write, the ones that always have fascinating things to post about, the ones that get all the visitors. I basically start thinking about what I'm going to post from the time I write my last blog. I never have anything interesting to say, and if I do, it never comes out in such a way as to be interesting. So, generally, I sit here with the sun glaring in my eyes from the sunrise contemplating what to write every morning. As you can imagine, that never goes well.

Why do I do it then? You know, because I just plain like it. I like writing my blog even if it's boring and no one wants to read it except my online buddies who feel the need to read it because I comment on theirs. It's good exercise especially since I'm almost a recluse and don't get much outside contact. This at least keeps my mind fresh and from me becoming completely shut off to the rest of the world. Maybe someday I will have something interesting to write, and for once, it will actually come off as interesting. But for now, I only write about blog envy and my newest piece in my shop.

My eternal flower ring that you see in the picture. (Like how I pulled that one off, huh?) Just listed it last night. I really like it, although, I might try another one with an extra row of petals. It's a sterling silver band ring with a sterling silver flower accent. I added a really clear and beautiful carnelian cabochon for accent. I like the carnelian in there, and it's just enough color. It can be found in my shop.

Blue Monday

I'm not really blue except for the fact that it's Monday. Even as a stay at home mom, I dread Monday's for some reason.

How was your weekend, my duckies?

Mine was less event filled than past weekends. I did end up going to the auction that I love. I truly meant to bring my camera so I could take pics of the place, but it wasn't a good week for that as it wasn't filled to capacity with gobs of stuff. Plus, I forgot my camera. I did walk away with a couple of deals though. K and I both got two still with tags Kenneth Cole jackets for $3 a piece. I also got a great bentwood rocker with no broken cane free. Actually, I paid a dollar for it, but some guy wanted a desk out of the lot I bought so he gave me a dollar. I also found this amazing never been used faucet that I picked up for $27. That's a lot you say? Nope. It's a big one with a pullout sprayer built in to the faucet and everything. I looked them up online and one like the one I got is about $200. Steve got some stuff too but nothing worth talking about.

Sunday I spent looking for things to improve my pictures. Always improving. Actually, some of you know my trials and tribulations with my pics. It's a never ending circle of love and hate. I think my magazine article exasperated the situation. Plus, I'm trying to redo myself for the new year so why not my pics? Onward and upward. Always improving. So I like to think.

I got to thinking this weekend that we have not done a blog slumber party in oh, so long. We should do another one of those.

Well, duckies, on that note I bid you a fond farewell until tomorrow. I hope your Monday is not blue but bright and sunny. Oh, forgot to mention those earrings in the pic are my latest pair, Rasberry Smoothie Earrings, and not with my new and improved pics.

Snow Day

Snow day!

Yes, with a whole inch(well, maybe a little more) on the ground we have a snow day. Our first of the year. I really don't know why we have a snow day other than they couldn't shovel their sidewalks off. We are one of the few school districts around with a snow day.

Now, as a kid, I loved snow days. Things have changed. As a stay at home mom, I hate snow days because they wait until I have to get up before dawn to let me know that school is closed. Then while my child gets to sleep in, I'm up for the day. Seriously, now it was done snowing yesterday by 6 in the evening. Did they really think it was going to melt when the temp was going to drop to 18 degrees?!

Well, that brings me to my newest item in my shop. The piece pictured is my Asian Blossom Cuff from my 2008 Spring Collection- Moonlight in the Garden. I'm hoping to bring spring faster. You can find it and a few others from my new collection in my shop.

I'm back! Again.

So many things to blog about and so little time!

Let's see if I can catch you up with my life since the last time I blogged. Hmmm. It's a good thing nothing happens in my life or we might be there all day. Last week was the big week. We had a friend die in an accident which was really hard. He was so bubbly and full of life and only 23. He was like an uncle to my daughter. Not two days after finding that out, I fell going to check my mail(darn Etsy packages!) and sprained my ankle.

The sprained ankle is an interesting story. We live on a major highway which is only two lanes. Who thought of that I have no idea! My mailbox is across the street so pretty much everyday I play frogger(if you remember that game) to check my mail. Did I mention this highway is also one of the deadliest highways for people falling asleep? Because of this, they have grooves cut into the center of said highway. Well, I stepped in one just right. Went rolling across the highway and couldn't get back across. I had to wait for ever and a day for no cars to come so I could hop across the highway to get to my truck. I drove the truck up my driveway then crawled about 200 ft to my house. What a day!

I'm getting better now. I only use crutches if I'm going out of the house because I can't handle uneven surfaces yet. I can walk though with a bit of a limp and pain. Grrr. I hate being broken.

Did I mention I'm in the Valentine showcase today? Leave it to me to pick the worst day possible. Only every spot is filled with jewelry people. They should just call it the jewelry showcase. lol. If you want to know the worst day to get a showcase, ask me.

You might have noticed the ring in the picture. That's my latest called "I love me" ring. It's completely sterling silver. The heart centerpiece has been created from individually cut pieces of sterling silver tubing. Everyone needs something that just says or reminds you to say I love me. You are your biggest fan. It can be found in my shop.

A Little Bit of Everything

Well, my duckies, how did your weekend go?

I was back to painting my mom's hall and second floor yesterday. With the cost of gas and the gas guzzler car I have, I can only afford to go to her house once a week as she lives over 30 miles away. Why did I ever agree to paint her house? Seriously. I'll be glad when this is done. I at least got some color on the second floor this time. Thank goodness. Don't get me wrong I love to paint, but this is just ridiculous. I think it's the color. I just don't like the colors she's picked out together. It's just too much. It was literally giving me vertigo.

Oh, I was on the front page of Etsy this weekend. Thanks, stephaniegibson, for letting me know! It was like all of 10 minutes so it's a good thing she told me. I do believe this is the first time I have been on the front page when it involved a treasury list. Last time was because of the Crest trunk show at the Labs, and the other was Christmas Day last year. Here's a screenshot just because.

See my ring in the top corner?

Btw, Project Runway starts this week! In two days as a matter of fact! Yay! I'm so excited.

Last but not least is my little oyster ring. It was inspired by the Creative Challenge in the Etsy forums. This week's challenge was to create something inspired by something under the sea. My little ring is all copper. The copper oyster has been soldered to the band ring, and then it was accented with white opal bead attached with copper wire. I just love it even though it's a substantial ring. I'm planning on doing a necklace just like it in sterling if the Post Office would quit taking holidays so I could get my solder. lol.

I'm Back!

Apologies for my being away so long!


Let's play catch up for a little while. Really truly not much has happened. Still haven't finished painting my mother's house. I'm on the upstairs landing so not much further to go. Hopefully, just two more trips. Cross your fingers for me. Still remodeling my studio and house. I cannot wait to show you photos of what we have done so far. Remember the roses growing inside the house? Well, they're gone, and that particular room is almost finished except for drywall and all that jazz. Moved on to the next room and have replaced the windows and started to vault the ceiling. I've learned how to put siding up. It's just going to be beautiful when done.




My biggest news of all is that I will be in the summer preview issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. How exciting is that?! They want me to write a tutorial of my copper bubbles cuff. I'm so excited. I'm almost finished writing the tutorial. Now I have to take step by step pics then my headshot. I'm not so keen on the headshot. You don't suppose I could pass my Elephant spokesmodel off as me, do you? Oh, and you may have noticed the new Squidoo logo on the side. Yep I do have a lens so go check it out, leave me a comment, blog about it. They are actually quite fun to make, but I'm not quite good at getting people to it. lol.


The piece in the pic is one of my latest. It's from my men's collection that I'm working really hard to fill. It seems to be received very well by customers on Etsy and off. This particular piece is a simple sterling silver band ring. I wonder if men know how hard it is to design for them. Anyway, it can be found in my shop. If you would like to see the rest of my men's collection, check out my for men's category in my Etsy shop. There's only a couple of things so it won't kill you, and I'd love to have some feedback.

WooHoo!

Boy, it's been a long week, and I am so thankful that the weekend is finally here.

I hinted at a surprise a couple of days ago(I got sidetracked). Well, now to unveil my big news. We closed on our house on Tuesday so now it not only is officially ours, but now it officially has a mortgage. Only a ten year mortgage because we bought the place so cheaply, but it is still ours. Now if I want to take out a wall, I will have no problem with it. So, in light of my big news, I'm going to have a sale in my shop through the weekend. Get everything 25% off when you, my lovely blog readers, mention "House07".

You may have noticed that bright and shiny new cuff in the picture. That is my challenge item for this week. This week's challenge was to create something inspired by your first job. My first job happened to be a cashier at a local mom and pop grocery store, and every spring we would sell flowers. So, I created this copper cuff with three handcrafted copper flowers. There is a very light patina on the flowers to give them a more antique feel. I really love how it turned out. It reminds me of a corsage. It can be found in my shop and is called In Bloom.

Have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe! Now I'm going to go take a nap.

A rescue and new piece

One day closer to school being out! That is what I keep telling myself when I am tired of getting up in the morning. That's what I keep telling K too.

Well, yesterday I went to paint my mother's house and discovered my brother had rescued a turtle from the backyard. Of course, being my brother, he just put it on the porch. I offered to take him to the woods since I live in the middle of nowhere. So, K and I walked him into the woods near the river. It was so cute. I wish I had had my camera. You could almost see him jumping up and down. When I last saw him, he was heading deeper in the woods. Farewell, dear turtle!

That story actually goes well with my newest piece. A brand new hammered copper cuff with leaf cutouts is currently available in my store. I am pleasantly surprised the leaves turned out looking like leaves. lol. I am always amazed when things look like how I wanted them to look. The light hammering gave this cuff the little extra specialness I was looking for. Stop by and check it, as well as my other pieces, because they could all use a little love.
Until tomorrow...

The Long Weekend

Hope everyone had a marvelous Memorial Day weekend! I spent the weekend working and watching the Jaws marathon and the Miss Universe pageant. Very exciting stuff. lol.

The Miss Universe pageant. I love the costumes. It's like everywhere is Las Vegas. Some of the girls need to work on their costumes next year like Miss USA who dressed up like Elvis. Don't get me wrong I love Elvis, but I just don't know if he has a place at the Miss Universe pageant. And, what's up with the judges?! There were like 3 judges out of 10 who actually knew anything about fashion or otherwise. Other than that and Miss Brazil flaunting her busom, it was a marvelous pageant. I about fell out of my chair when Miss USA fell, but she did a great job shrugging it off. The evening gowns left something to be desired. Personally, I think Miss India's was the best. I really loved it. Now to wait for the Miss America pageant. We should think of a pageant to have between the Miss Universe and Miss America pageant because the wait is just too long.

As I said, I was hard at work this weekend. The necklace you see pictured is one of those pieces I worked on. It is one of my collar necklaces but with a little twist. Brushed copper leaves dangle from hammered copper wire that is wirewrapped to the collar base. It is designed to be a stiff necklace, which I think most people don't like, but I think is needed sometimes in the jewelry world. The hook clasp is attached with a couple of large copper links. It can be found in my shop.

My Ramblings

I have no idea what to write about today so forgive me if this gets a little rambly.

Home Improvement Roundup will continue next week as I have kind of gotten of my schedule. Plus, I have these lovely new earrings to show you. I made the match to my ring I showed you yesterday. I'm afraid that they will be a little hefty for most people, but the first ones should always be how I saw them to be. I will, of course, be offering to make a smaller pair if need be. I think they are just perfect. I held them up to my ears, and other than elbows sticking out of my head, they looked great. Just how I imagined them to be. They will be available in my shop later today.

I have decided to do a jewelry grant contest. Because of this, I have to create a business plan and a new line. I figure even if I don't actually do/win the grant contest I will at least have the business plan. It should be interesting. I have not written a paper like that since high school. I don't even know if I remember how. Plus, having to come up with at least 5 coherent new pieces will be a challenge or maybe that will be the least of the challenge. Either way, wish me luck!
Oh, and don't forget to stop by and wish Stilettoheights good luck as she is going to a show at the "zombie mall" this weekend.