Finishing Up

Today was the last day of the workshop. We learned to solder a bezel, solder a back plate to the bezel, and solder the bezel onto one of the locket doors, use micro bolts, and many other things.


I got my cuff finished enough for photos, but there's still some file work and some work on the bezel that I need to do. 






I used one of my favorite photos of my son in the locket. Stefan put Pawlie Newman under his shirt and Pawlie stuck his head out the neck opening.  They did this frequently and if Stefan had his head tilted one way, Pawlie had his head tilted the same way.  





The band has some texture on the edges and I randomly stamped some designs and some larger dimples on it.


I enjoyed  this workshop very much. Learning how to do the hinges opens up a lot of new design possibilities. 


Richard Salley and Martina Stein are tentatively planning more classes at Spring Beads.   Contact Spring Beads and get on their notification list for more information. 


Tomorrow I'll head back home.  I plan on taking a pit stop in downtown Huntsville.  There are some  great antique stores there. 

Behind Closed Doors--the Locket Cuff

Today was day two of the workshop with  Richard Salley (assisted by Martina Stein.) Click on the names for info about the workshop, including photos of the projects. 


Today we started day one of the Behind Closed Doors--the Locket-Cuff.  This was a little harder because I had to saw and solder--two things I don't do much of. I was glad to get the opportunity to learn how to do a hinge.  


I etched my metal for the locket and then cut out the frame and locket sections.  While the door section was etching I worked on a practice piece.  I had a lot of trouble and part of the tube didn't solder well.  The practice helped though because the soldering went better on the actual piece. 


Here are some photos of where I was at the end of the day.

Locket in progress

I think I did more filing than I've ever done.  When I finally got my hinges together the two doors overlapped.  I filed and filed and finally got them to meet.  There is still more filing for tomorrow.






My photo is a little small for the inside of the frame so I altered the frame so the opening is smaller than the template.  You can see my soldering was messy.  The center panel will be covered up in the finished piece, fortunately.




  



Part of this class was making some small hammers and bezel pushers.  I don't have any pictures of mine because I barely got started with them.  We also learned a couple of different ways to transfer the images for etching. 


During lunch a couple of us took a little walk and visited a couple of antique stores.  






This house--a bridal shop--had a lot of gingerbread and romantic touches.




Tomorrow we set a stone in a bezel on the locket and make and attach a cuff.

Jewelry Workshop with Richard Salley

I'm currently taking a three-day jewelry workshop with Richard Salley in Spring, TX. I'm really having a good time and enjoying learning some new things, as well as having fun just working on jewelry all day.


Today was the first day and the class is entitled "Lasting Impressions." Here's what I did today:






The two etched copper squares at the top are etchings I did in class to make the stamps.  I still have to rivet the handle onto the back of the head.  


The things I had the most trouble with was setting the stones in the bezel.  I'm having some difficulty getting the bezel cup to bend over the way it is supposed to.  On the plus side, I did solder those bezel cups on well because I've been using a lot of force on them and they are stuck on well. I'll go back to the bezels later. The earrings are the same length.  I don't know why one looks shorter in the photo.


The nautilus shell will probably be riveted to the swirly etched brass and will have a larger cabochon on it.  


We used PNP to transfer the designs for etching and I like it a lot.  


Here's Richard demonstrating soldering the bezel. 






Day Two and Three will be "Behind Closed Doors--the Locket-Cuff.  We will also make some tools. 


The workshop is at Spring Beads in the Old Town part of Spring, Texas.  The neighborhood is full of quaint shops, studios, and galleries.  Plus Spring Beads is full of beads, and supplies for metalworking, enameling, etc. It's the perfect place for a jewelry workshop. 


 Here are some pictures I took while I walked down the street.






The sidewalks are brick or stone.






The shopping possibilities are intriguing.









This building caught my attention:








Here's a close-up.  Apparently you drink wine while doing art. 





Sounds like fun!

Bead Table Wednesday-Work in Progress

This week I've been working on some new pendants.  These have either foldformed or etched copper components combined with a back plate of brass.  The two foldformed ones are for an order I have.  I need to put holes in the tops and add the neck cords.  One will have beads connecting to the neck cord and the other will have dangles off the bottom.  







I'm thinking about stacking some paddles atop this triangle pendant.  I haven't done that kind of bail before but the shield shape looks good with with the horizontal lines of the paddles.


 

I'm working on getting some work photographed so I can apply for some shows.


These pendants all feature  a method of capturing the cabochon that I learned in a class by Richard Salley.


Check out the other bead tables here:

Bead Table Wednesday-Where is My Table?

I been a bad jewelry maker and haven't gotten much done so far this year.  My son and I started a new business at the first of the year and then we both got that illness that was going around with the never ending cough. At least the business is going well.  


A couple of days ago I realized that I hadn't heard from Red River Revel and that it was time to apply.  Sure enough, the applications are being accepted now and I have not one  photo of anything new.  Getting my pictures done and the application made is a priority. 


Meanwhile my bead table is completely buried under STUFF from my reorganization.  I'm not about to take a picture of it but I will photograph a couple of things on my trusty work stool. I'm taking a break from excavating the table so I can get some things finished.  The photo table is in better shape so at least I'll be able to take pictures soon. 


John, who works with my husband, sent me some found objects.





Sorry for the bad photo but these are so very shiny it's hard to photograph them.  These are all computer hard drive spacers and other parts.  I've used rings like those on the top to make earrings before, but I've never had these other parts.  The triangle blade shaped pieces scratch very easily so I'll have to texture or etch them.  These are all aluminum parts and weigh next to nothing--perfect for earrings.






These found objects came from Alchemy Shop on Etsy.  They are originally from Latvia.  The buckle part on the bottom is from a vintage Russian military uniform, I believe. I can't wait to use it.  It does present some challenges since it is steel and  isn't completely flat.  I'm a little afraid of snapping some of the detailed parts if I try to flatten it. 

Next up are some ridged copper rounds from Magpie Gemstones.  I will try enameling some of them. Also shown here are two pony beads by Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio on Etsy. The top one is the rising sun pony and the bottom is the Appaloosa pony. 



This focal and accent  beads are by Martha Eason of Menagerie Studio on Etsy. Martha just started making the accent beads and I really like these. 






Check out the other bead tables here.

My First Tickle Me Tuesday

I've been reading some "Tickle Me Tuesday" posts, especially at My Life Under the Bus and  Yes Teacher! I decided today I would join in. 


First up are these 17 inch highway letters from SalvageNation. I can just see these on the wall or shelf.

And I wouldn't mind a couple of hearts from Menagerie Studio. Valentine jewelry, mmmmmmm.

This one, or maybe this one.

And then there's this gorgeous milagro heart pendant from Lorena Angulo of Pueblofolkart.

I've been lusting after Lorena's beautiful jewelry for some time now and one of these days I'm treating myself.

We had a couple of warm days and I got out and did some walking.  I always turn left from the drive and walk to the end of the road.  I thought I got away without being spotted but when I turned around there was my entourage.

the entourage-Jazz, Scrappy, and Nikko

Apparently I'm not allowed to walk by myself. Jazz was trotting along pretty well.  This is good since she is a hefty kitty and can use the exercise. The boys are more easily distracted.

I turned around and went back.  Jazz and Nikko stayed at the house and Scrappy accompanied me to the bridge. 

Scrappy heeling

He likes to lean on my leg when he walks with me.  Sometimes he even does it without tripping me.


Check out the other Tickle Me Tuesday posts here:

Stamping Fun

Saturday I went to the Heirloom Productions Stamp Show in Grapevine, Texas. I got off to a late start and ran into a traffic jam and got there just under two hours before they closed.  


Less than 15 minutes after arriving I was lucky enough to win one of the door prizes!  It was a ten dollar gift certificate to Stamping Up.  I used it toward the price of this complete alphabet stamp set. Here's a sampling of the letters.





I use stamps mostly for etching.  When I get in etching mode I etch everything that doesn't run away from me.  The cats even start looking suspiciously at me. 


Someday I'd like to use stamps for other types of art, but I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. 


One of the coolest stamps sets I got was one from SAR (Some Assembly Required).  It's a little kit of stamps that makes a three dimensional heart put together with slots cut in paper. I plan to use metal.   I'll have to experiment a little to see what size slots need to be cut and what gauges of metal work best.  Click the link above to see some samples. 


I also stopped by Lost Coast Designs booth.  They are my favorite stamp makers.  I purchased several stamps from them.  Some of them I hope to use in some art projects, possibly at Art Unraveled.  My favorite is the small Bird Head Woman shown here. I got several of the stamps shown on this page. 


I found these cool eyelets at The Stamp Doctor. Flowers and hearts, oh my! Now I really have to start using eyelets in my jewelry.  These are a large size but I think I can make them work.







The new job is going well and I'm really proud of the good job our son is doing! I'm slowly getting used to getting up before dawn.  And I do seem to be getting a little more done.


Now to get some more etching done....

New Beginnings and Being On the Job

  Last year about this time I did the word resolution thing.  My word was discipline and I think I forgot about it about a week after the post.  This year I'm going to go back to having an actual list of goals.  I never get them all done, but I do get some of them done.  I think this will work better for me because when you are smack in the middle of the forest, as I always seem to be, you can only see the trees, not the forest.  I need the details (trees) of a list, versus the forest of a word. Plus, I like reviewing the list at the end of the year and realizing that I did get some goals done. I'm working on a list now.  


Are you doing a word, goals, or resolutions?  


The big thing going on right now is that my son and I are starting a business.  It's On the Job Janitorial and we just got our first job, a building in downtown Greenville.  We are both really stoked about this.  We start on Tuesday the 2nd. It's only a few hours a week.  We are responsible for the public areas, not the individual shops. After we get the routine down we hope to add a couple more office cleaning accounts.


Some of you who have read my blog for a long time will know that our son has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  He is high functioning--what many people call Aspergers. He's 19 now and has not been able to find employment. He's not interested in college, and with his dyslexia he'd have to be really motivated to succeed at a college or university.  I've been racking my brain for a job that would be a good fit for him.  I finally decided that working at a janitorial service would be good.  He doesn't do well around a lot of people, or if he's pressured to work fast.  I'm pleased that he likes this idea too, and is very motivated to do this work. 


I will have to get up earlier than I like, since most of the work will be done before the shops open in the building.  I'm not a morning person.  I'm thinking that the upside will be that since I'm up, I will just go work on jewelry after I finish with the janitorial duties. I'm hoping I'll get more done. And of course, the big upside which is employment for us both. 


It's odd that it took me this long to think of a janitorial service.  That's because I kind of did this before.  Years ago I helped a friend find employment cleaning houses and apartments.  I booked the jobs and she did the cleaning.  After a period of time she learned enough English to get a good job at a hospital in addition to the apartment cleaning.  


Now is the perfect time to have thought of it though, because a year ago our son wouldn't have been ready for it, and now he is. It's a blessing.


I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. We had a great Christmas visiting with family. We spent Christmas eve at my parents and had Christmas dinner at my brother's place.  


Happy New Year!  May 2012 be a great year for us all.