Bead Table Wednesday--Hammering Down to the Holidays

Wow, I can hardly believe that it is almost Christmas!  I still have a couple of presents to find and some plans to finalize.  And a little shopping...and probably some things I've forgotten about...


The last couple of days I've been working on finishing up another batch of fold formed copper cuffs.  I just can't get enough of the fold forming.  


Here's a set of pictures illustrating the various courses of hammering.  You may remember the first picture from a couple of weeks ago. This was after the first course of hammering.




This is after the second course of forging.




Hammering is finished. The curved cuff has four courses of hammering and the other had three.




I've opened the Rutger fold and done some pickling and filing. There was some interesting color on these after the pickling but it all came off when I cleaned it with steel wool.




The cuffs have been cleaned with steel wool, stamped with my initials,  and a final shaping has been done.  They'll go in the tumbler tomorrow, get patinaed, and have a finish coat applied. 




I've decided to start including more focals by other artists in my designs and have been hitting Etsy pretty hard over the last couple of months.  I have these pieces out where they will percolate for a while until I decide what to do.


These are by Martha Eason of Menagerie Studio. 







These are by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  Hmmmm...I seem to have a theme going on.




These are by Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood. Maybe I should be careful and not let these get too close to the ones above. 




And I got some really cool found objects.  These escutcheons are from Nemisis on Etsy.






I'm going to put the long one on the bottom left on a cuff.  It looks like it will bend just fine.  I have some others I want to put on cuffs, but I'm not sure they'll survive the bending.  The three escutcheons in the upper right are nice and thick.  I may etch them. Or not. 


Check here for a giveaway for my followers.  I'll be posting another giveaway open to everyone soon. And don't forget to check out the other bead tables here.


I leave you with this, taken from a letter by Fra Giovanni in 1513.  

I am your friend

and my love for you goes deep.

There is nothing I can give you

which you have not got, 

but there is much, very much 

that while I cannot give it,

you can take.

No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in today.
Take heaven!
No peace lies in the future
which is not hidden
in this present little instant.
Take peace!


The gloom of the world
is but a shadow.
Behind it,
yet within our reach
is joy.
There is radiance and glory
in the darkness
could we but see -
and to see we have only to look.
I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver,
but we, judging its gifts
by the covering,
cast them away as ugly,
or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering
and you will find beneath it
a living splendor,
woven of love,
by wisdom, with power.

Welcome it, grasp it,
touch the angel's hand
that brings it to you.
Everything we call a trial,
a sorrow, or a duty, believe me,
that angel's hand
is there,
the gift is there, and the wonder
of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys, too, be not
content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

Life is so full
of meaning and purpose,
so full of beauty
- beneath its covering -
that you will find earth
but cloaks your heaven.

Courage, then, to claim it,
that is all.
But courage you have,
and the knowledge that
we are all pilgrims together,
wending through
unknown country, home.

And so, at this time,
I greet you.
Not quite as the world
sends greetings,
but with profound esteem
and with the prayer
that for you
now and forever,
the day breaks,
and the shadows flee away. 

Fra Giovanni

Bead Table Wednesday-More Cuffs and Delicas

The holidays are upon us and it's cut heavily into my blogging.  Oh well.

I have just a few things on my my bead table.  I have some lots of Delica beads that I'm destashing in my Etsy store, Essential Adornment. I have a lot more lots still to list.

And I have the beginnings of four copper fold formed cuffs.  They've had the first hammering and are now ready to be annealed again.  The black is from the torch and will come off later when I pickle them.  I like to anneal outside but it's so cold now I guess I'm going to have to do it inside.

Ralph and I went to a salvage yard for school stuff yesterday where they had some wooden lab tables that would have been perfect for the studio for the metal work table if they hadn't been outside and just been rained on for the last few days.  I'm going to keep checking back with them, unless Ralph builds me one first.  

I had some disappointing news lately.  Adorn Me 2012 was cancelled because not enough people signed up before the 90 day mark.  It's a great set of workshops and I was really sad to see it canceled.  

Richard Salley, who was scheduled to teach at Adorn Me, put together a three day-two class workshop during the same time period at Spring Beads near Houston so I've signed up for that.  His first session in early March booked in two days and when I talked to Spring Beads a few days ago they were booking a second session for the end of February. There's a description on their website. Richard's a great teacher and I love his classes.

What's on your bead table?  Be sure to check out the other bead tables at: 

Bead Table Wednesday and a Giveaway

I had hoped to give my anvil a good workout today and do some foldforming.  Unfortunately I couldn't get to it.  Instead, I got this necklace ready to go to the buyer.  I had to shorten it slightly and I took this picture for my records.  








I call this one "Home is Where the Heart Is."  The focal is the creation of Martha Eason, of Menagerie Studio.  I love her charms and pendants.  I really like how she finishes the back of her pieces, too.





Yesterday I posted a review of the new book Craft Activism.  This is a book that needs to be read and I'm hosting a giveaway for it.  Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.  Comments will close at noon central time on Wednesday, November 9th. Good luck! 

Bead Table Wednesday--It's Here!

My new anvil arrived today. 





Here it is fresh out of the box.  It's a 35 pound anvil from Cliff Carroll's Horseshoers Supplies.  I think I'm going to be very pleased with it.  


I went to BeadFest in Arlington, TX recently and acquired some more hammers and other things, including this  very small Fretz hammer.  I'm going to use it to do things like the cuffs, only in minature.  I have earring sized fold forming projects in mind. 




That cuff in between the hammers is the reason why I got the anvil.  I had to anneal it about six times and it took forever because my little 4 inch bench block was bouncing around when I hit it. It was fun to make, though, and I'm going to do some more. 


I showed at Red River Revel in Shreveport earlier this month.  I've done it for several years and it's always a great show.  The weather was fantastic this year.





My son, Stefan,  came with me this year to help out. It was nice not being by myself. As soon as he saw the camera he started looking everywhere but at me.






Here's a better shot of the cuff from earlier in the post.  I believe this is called a Rutger fold.  The red is reflected color from the tent we were in.






Here's another cuff I had at the show.  I really liked how it turned out.  The red on this cuff is from fire scale.  It was so pretty I left it on.  It was one of the first cuffs to sell at the show. 





And here's a pendant in progress that is a mystery.  I did finish this pendant and it sold at the show.  I didn't put the liver of sulphur patina on it until I got to the hotel in Shreveport though.  (Nothing like working until the very last minute.)  This is where the mystery comes in.  The liver of sulphur made a very brilliant iridescent patina on the brass, and a more muted patina on the copper. 





The patina was a lot more colorful in person than this photo shows. I put more LOS on the copper portion to darken it, and removed the brilliant fuchsia and blues from the brass with steel wool.  The brilliant colors just didn't go with the stone.  I really want to recreate this on some more brass.  I have no idea how it happened.  If you've used LOS before you know it doesn't do much for brass.  I have a few ideas and I'm going to experiment. 


I have a book review on a great new book, Craft Activism, coming up shortly with a giveaway.  And I'm going to have another giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers on the blog.  Stay tuned. 


As always, check out the other bead tables on Flickr:

Bead Table Wednesday-Various Stages

I have a lot of pieces in progress on the bead table, some nearing completion and some not so near.



I haven't decided what to rivet onto the etched cuffs at the top yet. Most of the time when I etch the cuffs the background comes out rather matte, like the middle cuff.  I don't know how the other two cuffs got shiny.  It must be a different metal content since I etched them just like I always do. 


The twisty things are brass and copper bails.  The "queen" pendant lacks a couple of body parts but has the patina and the finish coat, as do the two spiral pendants beside her. I finished up the last batch of pearls and have some more in progress. 


Pawlie Newman is snuggled up in my lap impeding my typing. In a minute he'll tire of the typing and then he'll be on the bead table. 

Check out the other bead tables at:

Bead Table Wednesday--More Show Prep

I'm still busy with preparation for my show.  Here are my cuffs I've been working on tonight. They're awaiting a final polish and protective coating for the patina. 






 And here are some of my pearl necklace sets.  These are my bread and butter pieces.  They are fairly inexpensive and priced right for Christmas presents. 










Check out the other bead tables on Flickr: 

Bead Table Wednesday-Show Prep

As usual I'm going Bead Table Wednesday at the very last minute.  I'm busy getting ready for a show in October.








The "magic" necklace is about ready to be put together, although once I actually get started with the wire wrapping the design could change.  I'm not sure how I will handle the big hole on the coin straps. The wings over on the left are some earrings awaiting their ear wires. In person the crystals actually show up. 





I've finally finished the pendant portion.  Here is the front and back. The escutcheon is not symmetrical.  It's not so obvious from the front, but it shows on the back. I may even up the corner a little.   






And here are some cuffs in progress.  I've done the etching and the bottom two have an initial tumbling.  I'm going to put some decorative rivets on the brass ones, and rivet a charm with some dangles to the copper one.  Then there will be more tumbling, patina, hand polishing and sealing.  


And these aren't exactly on the bead table, but I'm sure pleased with them.  The zucchini have been frustrating me this year.  I've had big beautiful plants that I have babied through all the hot dry weather, and not a single zucchini until I harvested these today.  The little one was underneath the biggest one, but the flower was falling off so I went ahead and picked it. I guess we'll be having some stir fry veggies this week. 





Check out the other bead tables here:

Bead Table Wednesday--Torch Enameling and a Giveaway

Yesterday and today I've been playing a little with torch enameling.  I haven't gotten much done but I'm having fun.  


Here's what I've been working on: 




Sorry it's such a poor picture.  The steel keys had rust on them and I used the buffer to get that off.  The key on the left has been cleaned but not enameled.  I used two methods to enamel.  I heated the second and third key from the left until red hot and dipped them in the enamel a couple of times, following directions in Barbara Lewis's excellent new book. I did the Robin's egg blue one first.  I was pleased with the enameling, although I didn't get it as high up on the key as I would have like.  I had some problems with the red one.   It threw off sparks or little burning embers when I was heating it.  This caused the enamel to pit.  I have no idea what caused this but hubby theorized it was bits of carbon flaming up.  I haven't cleaned the oxidation from the flame from any of the keys.  I rather like the oxidation on the three right hand keys so I may not remove it on those. 


The three keys on the right were done by sifting enamel onto one side and torching from below on a tripod.  I'm pleased with the way they turned out. 


Next I textured some copper washers.  I've just begun to enamel them.  The half enameled one was done by the dip method and the small one was done by sifting.  The small one is textured on the back side and the larger one that I dipped is textured on both sides of the top.  The bottom hole filled up with enamel so I'm going to have to rethink that. 


I'm so pleased with how the keys came out that I'm going to have a little giveaway.  I'm giving away your choice of one of the keys on the right:  cobalt, mauve, or bitter green.  (The mauve looks lavender to me and the bitter green is a yellow green but those are the enamel names.) I'll also be including enameled copper washers and some other items which will be determined after I go through my stash and find coordinating goodies. 


To enter leave a comment on this post.  Post on Facebook or follow the blog for extra chances.  Just leave me a comment letting me know (if you already follow leave a comment) and be sure I can contact you through your comment or include your email address. I'll cut the comments off at noon on Monday and select a winner sometime later in the day.  Good luck!

Bead Table Wednesday--Tools and Beads

First up, I've got these awesome beads that just arrived today from Heather Powers:





I love these little birds and eggs! Heather also has a new book out--that's it on the front of the card.  I was hoping to get a look at it but the bookstore didn't have it yet. 


While organizing in the studio I found a set of number stamps that had rusted right in the storage box.  Yikes!  After a lot of elbow grease with a brass brush on one of them  I decided it was time to break out the new buffer/grinders.  




Not too long ago I paid my teenager to put this nifty bench from Sears together.  I found this plywood at Home Depot and had them cut it into two tops with a piece left over.  I used the one on the left with the fiber brush (also on the left) to clean the rust off the stamps.  I bought this little grinder just for that brush.  I used one like this in Richard Salley's toolmaking class at Adorn Me, and I loved it. One of the stamps got away from me and was spun across the room by the grinder, hit a plastic container and bounced almost all the way back.  Of course, I had eye protection on, but I started putting a cardboard box behind the grinder to catch things, and I paid better attention after that. 

Then I put some Boeshield T-9 on the stamps and also on the hammer head of my new Fretz Michael Good hammer.  Boeshield T-9 is a waterproof lubricant and rust and  corrosion protector.  You wipe it on then wipe it off.  It is petroleum based, but dries to a hard waxy finish.   I love it for tools. Here they are drying. 






A couple of days after setting up the grinder I set the second one up.  It has a cotton type buffing wheel and I used it to buff a pendant I'm working on.  The wheel's too small for a lot of things, but it is still handy and I may move this one into the studio later.  Right now they're in the garage.  I do have a full sized buffer from Sears, but I've got to sit down and read the instructions and get the parts put together before I can use it.  It's not as "plug and play" as these little ones are.  Both these grinders have flex shafts that attach to one side.  I don't plan on ever using them.  


And here's what I hope never gets in the garage or on the bead table:






The two on the left are full grown and the three smaller ones on the right belong to one of them.  I haven't seen the other one's babies, but she appears to be nursing.  The raccoons have been devoring the cat food at an alarming rate.  Feeding the cats only in the day doesn't help because the raccoons just come out in daylight.  Those mamas are really hungry.  After they quit feeding the young I won't see much of them until next breeding season.  I found some out-of-date peanut butter last night in the pantry and have been doling it out.  They like it so well they have been leaving the cat food alone. According to wikipedia it's probably better for them than cat food. 





This is either the bravest, or the least intelligent of the babies. He's was about five feet from me when I took this. He's not super frightened of me like the other two babies are. They see me and go up a tree.


We have a lot of ponds in our area but they must all be dried up because the raccoons empty all three of the water bowls every night.  One is quite large and sometimes they lay down in it. I guess raccoons need to bath sometimes. 


Check out the other bead tables on flickr.

Bead Table Wednesday--Don't Look, Billye!

I've been working on a birthday present for my friend Billye the last couple of days.  I got this cool dimple tool from Richard Salley and it makes little bumps that look just like braille.  So I decided to make a pendant for Billye that says bff (best friend forever) on it in braille.


The first one I did I realized was too thin so I backed with brass.  It ended up being too big and not what I had in mind.  So I started over last night. 


Here's what I have so far:



The photo is larger than life.  It's about half an inch wide and 1 3/4 inches long.  I'm going to put a dangle on the bottom and a pearl or something on the top and hang it on a silver chain. I did the tiniest textured edge with my hammer.  I still have to buff out some tiny scratches that were on the metal when I got it and put a patina on it. 


The other thing on the bead table is this awesome pendant by my friend Martha Eason of Menagerie Studio.  






Martha has a pendant in this month's Stringing magazine. It's shown on page 23 in a necklace by Suzette Bentley. 


And I have yet more brass etching that needs to go in a bath to remove the pink. Plus I have lots of earrings and other items that are waiting for their photos so I can list them. 




I'm really slow getting things listed.  


Check out what's on every one's bead table at:

Bead Table Wednesday--Found Objects and UFO's.

What's on the bead table today is a former UnFinished Object: a necklace from my muffin tray that I finally got around to finishing.  




I have a lot of found objects on the bead table too. Last weekend I went to Buchanan's Vintage/Antique Market in Lewisville.  Lewisville is smack up against Dallas, so much so that I can't tell when I leave Dallas and get into Lewisville.  I went with my friend Vanessa on Friday  and tried to help her set up her booth.  She kept shooing me away and telling me to go shop.  


These awesome big buttons came from Vanessa's booth.




I can't resist buttons.  I'm thinking of using these on bracelets or brooches. Vanessa is on Etsy at Salvage Nation.  Check out the cool letters she has. Some of them were originally made for interstate highway signs.  I also got some cool brass dog tags and other tags from her.







I spent a lot of time in a booth that had things I'd never seen for sale before. It's Mylissa's Garden from Arkansas City, Kansas. Alas, they are not online. 





First I found this...a crown?  No, a container.  




Inside I put something else I found:




Okay, maybe I'm weird but I think the doll eyeballs are the coolest thing, especially the big ones without lashes.  They don't open and close like the others but they do wiggle from side to side. 




More finds, vintage cards and scrabble letters.




The small letters are from license plates. The gears and machine parts were in a box labeled typewriter parts.  And I got a few odd pieces of jewelry and a couple of keys. 


I asked the owner how they cut up the plates and I found that they use a shear and Texas plates damaged their shear. Texas plates are made of steel unlike many other states that use aluminum.   I also decided after asking her how she cut the tags up that I'd rather she cut them up than me.  I did save my old Texas plate with the space shuttle on it and plan on using my jewelry saw to cut out the shuttle and put it in a piece of personal jewelry. I'm a space fanatic.  I blame Andre Norton, Gene Roddenberry,  Robert Heinlein and mostly my Dad, who is  a NASA fanatic.  


In another booth, the Red Barn, I found this beautiful blue suitcase (shown as the background in many of the photos), plus a couple of items for the studio.  The block will hold my stamps, and a chicken feeder (not shown) will hold my pliers.  I also got this wonderful 50 foot tape from a tape measure.  It came wrapped around the book.




Now that I'm amassing a collection of found objects I need to start creating with them. 


Take a look at what's on more bead tables: