Thursday, January 31, 2013

Reversible!


I've had this stone sitting on my bench since Sept of 2012. I got it from Kimberly Allfeck and fell in love. It's got a ton of sparkle and the back is as beautifully finished as the front. I really wanted to do something reversible. I've been working on it for two weeks now and it's done! I'm very happy with how it turned out.

The back!


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013

Hammer texturing a ring

This is the first of what I hope to be monthly mini tutorials. They will be small simplified tutorials offering info on tools or a technique. I hope you enjoy!

Today I'll be talking about hammer texturing a ring and the steps I go through to complete it.


Start with a plain piece of ring stock cut to length.


Roughly round it with pliers and solder seam.


Clean up edges and solder seam with files and/or sandpaper.


Place ring mandrel into holder. Note here I do not hold my ring mandrel while hammering. I find it very hard on my hands to hold something I am hammering on. My ring mandrel is in a clamped steel block I've had made to fit my anvil.


You can also use this idea, I used it for years before I had the steel block made. Bore out a hold in a sturdy bench leg that your ring mandrel will fit into snuggly. 


Note I've added a bracing block underneath the hole to give the mandrel more support when you are hammering on it.


Place soldered ring onto ring mandrel and hammer with texture hammer until desired texture is achieved. I used the above hammer at a slight angle to achieve the texture on this ring.


Buff, patina and finish ring!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Treasury



I've been included in the above treasury, it's a cat theme'd treasury and a lot of fun!! The creator Claire has a blog "Dreams are Necessary" that's pretty cool!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

More Aspire to Wire



I'm having so much fun with Kerry Bogart's Aspire to Wire Ecourse. What a lot of info in this course. The bangles above are my favourite project so far. I have a hard time getting bangles on and these I can wear. The top bangles has a bead by Torch By Night, I bought a large lot of beads from her and boy is it fun to play with someone else's beads! The bottom bangle is one of my disk beads.


This bail style is my second favourite project. I rivited the ends on these for a slightly cleaner look, the original project had a different end on it. I like that it's simple yet still shows off the bead in a stylish look.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Aspire to Wire Ecourse


I am taking Kerry Bogert's Aspire to Wire Ecourse and I have to say it's amazing! You get a project a day for 30 days, we are 6 projects in and wow what a wonderful amount of learning and ideas! The daily projects are well illustrated with step by step how to directions. 

I am waiting on seeing a hand specialist, I've had some problems beadmaking and hammering. I've been dropping things and had a aching pain in my right hand for a while now. So it's really put a damper on my studio time, I decided to take this class to see if I could keep my creativity up and my mojo inspired. Inspire it is! I can use my pliers with my brace on so I haven't seen a project I don't think I can do yet, and I can always try them left handed can't I?

I plan to sit down early this coming week and try the projects, two of them I am chomping at the bit to make!

You can still register for the Ecourse until monday. I highly recommend it, it's very reasonably priced and a TON of information. Click on the link I provided above and scroll down a hair you'll see the Aspire to Wire icon, click on it and REGISTER you will not regret it!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Valentine's Day Trunk Show



I have a Valentine's Day Trunk show happening on Facebook, there is lots of great jewelry and bead goodies with plenty of time for Valentine's Day shipping.



This trunk show is one I booked through the Artisans Open Market group, a great group of people who've come together to host trunk shows. Check them out, some wonderful artists hold shows here.



Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Footsteps home



Home in Victoria from a trip over New Years to Alberta. Or am I home? I think this trip I finally got what the saying "Home is where the heart is" means. When we come down the road to the bottom corner of our property in Stettler I can see clear as if it exists a small cabin on the crest of the hill, a water hole / pond below it with a tiny dock and small studio building. That image in my head is where my heart is, this trip solidified that for me.



Especially when there is snow on the ground, it just makes me want to move there all that much more. Most of our close friends have moved away from Victoria and I can do my business anywhere. I get tired of the increasing amounts of rain in the PNW and coming home to 24 hours of pelting rain didn't help.

Hopefully the image of the small cabin in my head will come to be real, someday.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year




Happy New Year to everyone, wishing a wonderful 2013 to all! I'm enjoying some time off with my family in the snow! Adora my adorable niece says Happy New Year!