Red River Revel

My biggest show  this year was the Red River Revel.  I did the second half so I was there October 7-10.  My sales were slightly down from previous years, which I attribute to the weather.  I always enjoy this show and the volunteers who take care of us are terrific. 



Here's some views to either side of my booth.



Wednesday wasn't so bad, but there weren't many shoppers.  Thursday was really, really hot.  Friday it rained, at times severely, and it was cold. 




Almost no shoppers, although as you can see above, there were some. Did I mention the hours were 10 to 10?  Saturday it was cold and misted all day but the shoppers were plentiful.  Saturday made my show.  For several hours I was so busy that I didn't even have time to eat lunch, even though the volunteers brought me one.  I told Ralph that next year he has to come help me on Saturday.  My booth was packed.

Here's some booth views taken when the booth wasn't packed.



My new banner is visible on the back wall.



The earring display going up the wall is new.  More on the cards later.

I had some great neighbors this year.  Randal Sprangler from Kansas City, Mo. was right beside me (he's seated in the chair above).  He has wonderful whimsical paintings.

Behind me were Frankie Buckley and her husband Tom. I especially liked her cats.  Next to Frankie on the fourth corner was Gloria Shanahan.

The stilt walkers were a treat this year.  I tried, but couldn't get good pictures.  Maybe I should say stilt puppeteers, since they  were basically wearing a puppet.







You can click on any of the photos and see them in more detail on Flickr.

The venue is right next to the train tracks. 






Shreveport is a colorful place to visit, for several reasons.  Here are a couple:





These are some new earrings designs I had at the show:



Some new Art Clay earrings:



I dropped Stefan off with my parents for a visit while I was at the Revel.  I spent Sunday night with them and visited for a while and we came home Monday. 

Monday night Stefan came down with the swine flu, then I got it.  Ralph didn't catch it for about three days which was good, because for a couple of days before he got sick I sure didn't feel like taking care of anyone else. At least there was always someone well enough to take care of everyone else.  By the time they get the flu vaccine ready no one around here is going to need it because they'll already have had the swine flu.

Luckily my parents didn't get sick. 

Getting Ready for October Shows

My trunk show at the Calico Cat was a success.  I ended up adding a day to the show to take advantage of the downtown crowds gathering for the Ralley Round Greenville event. 

Now I'm running around madly tring to finish getting ready for October 1st Monday Trade Days at Canton.  I'll be driving back and forth to Canton, but the show hours are 8 to 8, so there won't be time for anything else.  I'll be finished with Canton Sunday evening and have to leave again Tuesday morning for Red River Revel in Shreveport, LA.  I'll go via my parent's farm in the Troup area of Texas where I'll drop my son, Stefan, off for a visit with his grandparents.  My part of the show runs Wednesday through Saturday.  It'll be after midnight before I finish packing up so I'll stay over until Sunday. It's likely I'll stay until Monday at my parents so we get a chance to visit.

I'm just hoping I can fit Stefan and his stuff into the car.  Usually the show stuff takes up every available space.

I've spent two days just getting things printed and working on the earring cards.  Plus I made some new rings. I hope to get a picture of some of them up in a post. 

(Okay, this was supposed to be posted about three weeks ago, but better late than never.)

Learning New Techniques-- Hammered Copper Bangles

I purchased several gauges of copper electrical wire at hardware stores and I just made my first cuffs and bangles using the wire. I used an article by Kim St. Jean in summer preview 2009 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry for instructions (Bodacious Copper Bangles).

I used 8, 6, and 4 gauge wires.

I cut the wires into various lengths for cuffs and bangles. The bangles are all extra large size. This is so I'll be able to wear them. I very rarely find a commercial bangle big enough to go over my hand.

The next step was annealing the copper. I had never done this before. I was worried about dropping the hot wire on my foot when I quenched it so I dug my Doc Martens out of the closet. Probably I should have worn pants too, but it was about a 100 degrees outside. I did have eye protection and gloves.



I enlisted my teen-aged son, Stefan, to take pictures. The sun was so bright that Ralph had to hold a piece of cardboard up to shade the work so I could see the orange glow. I used a fire brick that Ralph made a while back, after he figured out how much the shipping was on the bricks. Ralph kept saying things like, "I hope my brick doesn't explode." The brick was dry as a bone so I can't see why he thought it might explode.



I torched the first wire until it had a nice orange glow, let it cool until the orange faded, then used pliers to pick it up and drop it into a pot of water. Ralph scared me by immediately reaching in to the water with a bare hand and pulling out the wire. I didn't realize that the copper cooled so quickly.



The wire went into the water completely black, but as it cooled bits of the oxidation flaked off revealing pinkish red areas. The top wires have been quenched. The bottom ones are before annealing.



Stefan and I both picked up one of the annealed wires and accidentally bent it. That's how soft it got. I had no idea the change was that great.

After annealing I hammered the wires flat on top and bottom with a planishing hammer and then used various texturing hammers to add interest to the bracelets. The ends of the wires were pounded flat into paddle shapes. The 8 gauge wire was formed into a serpentine shape before hammering. The serpentine shape was something I wanted to try. It isn't in the article. I had to anneal one of the thicker wires a second time to finish texturing it.





The bracelets were then annealed again. After this I shaped them using an oval mandrel for the cuffs and a round mandrel for the bangles. I also used a file to clean up the ends a little and round off the paddle shapes. I was going for rustic rather than "fine".

After shaping I put them in a pickle made of vinegar and salt, rinsed, and brushed them with a brass brush.


I used some silver wire for a rivet on the bangles. This was the first time I had done rivets. I did not ball the end of the wire as the article instructed, mostly because I was tired of cleaning the scale off. I don't have a draw plate either, so I used pliers and a regular anvil. I just hammered around the end until I mushroomed it. I lashed one of the cuffs with silver wire. This was a real pain. I had trouble tucking the ends under. I then antiqued three of the bracelets using liver of sulfur. I really liked the way they looked after that. I put several coats of Renaissance Wax on the antiqued ones.



I still have one more rivet to set. I'm going to put Art Clay on two of the remaining bracelets.

New Texturing Hammers!

I got my hands on some patterned hammers recently and have started playing with them. Each hammer has two faces with different patterns. I bought one from Beaducation and the other at a show.





I textured some copper washers that I bought from Harbor Freight. The washers don't have a huge surface area and so don't show large area of pattern, but they are inexpensive to practice on.



Right away I whacked my finger. OUCH! I was bleeding. Maybe tomorrow I will have a patterned bruise. Just kidding--sort of.



These were my favorite two patterns. The one on the left is made with the square faced pattern and the one on the right is made with the hammer face with the narrowest lines.



I couldn't get a good picture of the other patterns. After my initial experiments I worked with the wide-striped hammer some more and got a much better looking pattern with it. The circle pattern hammer makes marks kind of like water and is pretty cool.

I could tell that if I hammered for extended periods of time this would aggravate my carpal tunnel. I get much less vibration in one hand if I use a tool to hold the washer in place. (Plus my fingers are out of range of the hammer.)

Most of these pieces will end up in earrings or bracelets. I textured both sides of the washers, although one side gets flattened a little when you textured the reverse.

Next on my list of metal work is stamping words on metal and etching copper.

Step by Step Wire Jewelry

One of my goals for this year was to get some jewelry published. Now that the magazine is out I can show you this picture which appears in the summer issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry.



The photo appears in the reader gallery, WireWorks.

Wirework Pendant-Bird Nest

Here's a bird nest pendant I made recently. I have read a couple of tutorials on these, but I was going for a more organic look so I just did my own thing. The major part of the nest is one long wire, coiled, and twisted on itself at intervals.




The nest is about an inch in diameter. I used a tarnish resistant 20 gauge copper wire that I got from Bally Beads, and some 26 gauge Artistic Wire to hold the eggs in place. The eggs are pale pink pearls. Now I need to make some out of sterling silver, bare copper, and maybe brass wire. I have some antiqued brass wire that would look good. I think I could use some 24 gauge wire and do earrings.

Canton Marketplace

I have a store on Etsy, Essential Adornment. I don't spend a lot of time on it, so I haven't had a lot of sales. Recently we started an Etsy team made up of people in the northeast region of Texas. This is morphing into Netsy art/craft guild. I'm really excited because we've opened a booth at the Canton Marketplace in Canton Texas.


Martha, of Menagerie Studio, and I will be anchoring the booth and every month during First Monday we will share the booth with two other members. Last weekend (April First Monday) was our first weekend.


Here's the booth just after we put a fresh coat of paint, with some displays that will be living at the booth.




Here's a couple of shots of the booth in action. The right side of the photos was cut off in blogger so click on them to see the full shot. We still have some decorating to do and things to tweak. We need to get a sign. The layout may well change from month to month as our stock changes with different members coming in.






We also are taking items on consignment, three or four or so from various members. April had items from Billye of Silvermoon Studio and Katie of KatherineKouture. Here's some detail shots showing how things were displayed.



Front of the booth. l to r: wire mannequin with pink resin necklace by Billye, rose necklace by Menagerie Studio; large mannequin: yellow necklace by KatherineKouture, cross necklace by Menagerie Studio; tall wire mannequin: necklace by me; front: large cross by Menagerie Studio.



l to r: necklace by me (No Stone Unstrung), Treasure Box earrings by me, necklace by Silvermoon Studio, charms (in tray) by Martha of Menagerie Studio.



Charms by Menagerie Studio and earrings and necklace by KatherineKouture.



l to r: pink necklace by Silvermoon Studio with pendant by Menagerie Studio, bracelets by KatherineKouture, earrings and large coral necklace by me, necklace by KatherineKouture.

We didn't have a lot of sales in April, but we made money. Things should pick up, especially since the Canton Marketplace is improving their signage and a winery is moving into the building in June.

For those who don't know, Canton Texas is like one big market every first Monday weekend of the month. It started with antiques, and now you can get pretty much anything you want. The Canton Market Place is just one of the many, many buildings in operation, and there are also people who set up in outdoor tents and canopies. Unlike the rest of Canton, our building is air conditioned and open until 8 pm. This should be a real advantage come summer and in rainy weather.

Working with Steel Wire

I've wanted to weave with wire for a long time. I finally found some black annealed steel in several gauges. Here is my first creation with the steel wire:




I made it my size. My hand doesn't fold at all so I can almost never find a bangle big enough for my hand.

The steel is surprisingly forgiving. I made some mistakes, took them out, and redid portions all without breaking the wire. Sterling would have broken. All in all I'm pleased with it.

I haven't sealed the wire with anything to protect the finish from rust. Since I'm keeping this one I probably won't seal it. The ones I make to sell will be sealed. Right now I'm leaning toward a matte finish spray sealer. I'm going to do some tests.

I'm having surgery this morning on my right wrist for carpal tunnel. If something doesn't delay the surgery it will be finished by the time this posts. Hopefully all will go well, and I'll make a swift recovery and be back to making jewelry soon.

Trying New Things-A New Year's Resolution

Before Christmas I had a commission to make a necklace with this pendant and peridot. I think I strung it about three different ways and it never did look right. Finally I decided it needed a pendant dependant so I made one. Actually, I made four, until I got one like I wanted. (The pendant dependant is the little U shaped wire that the pendant is hanging from.) The nice thing about this one is that it is secure, but you can still remove the pendant and wear it on a neck wire. It looks really simple but it was the first time I've made one.

I've been thinking about New Year's resolutions. Here are some of the things I want to do:

• Try new jewelry techniques, especially more wire work and Art Clay.
• Post at least once a week on Etsy.
• Submit some of my written works for publication. I already have several short stories.
• Write some more, particularly fiction.
  
• Make at least one component for jewelry everyday. Usually I just buy my findings, but I want to start making them.
• Submit jewelry works for publication.

Posting at Etsy

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on this blog.

Lately I've been experimenting with the jewelry showcases on Etsy. In November I bought a showcase spot and did notice more traffic to my store, Essential Adornment. I also made a sale. I did another showcase for December. No sales, but again increased traffic and some more people favorited the store. For the second showcase I managed to get more items posted. I'll try again after the new year.

Here are a few items I've posted recently, plus the dragonfly bracelet above:



blackstone cross




pearl and hilltribe silver earrings

Swarovski crystal earrings

Designing Dilemma

I haven't posted much because I'm getting ready to go to my biggest show of the year, Red River Revel in Shreveport. It started Saturday, but I'm doing the second half so I will arrive on Tuesday and be in the booth selling (hopefully) Wednesday through Saturday, then drive home Sunday. It is a great show, lots of fun, great volunteers helping in the booths, but very exhausting because of the long hours. A few days ago rain was predicted for the entire time I'm going to be there, but now it's just looking like it will be raining during setup and take down. Take down is Saturday, which is usually my best selling day. DRAT. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be better than that. Please, please, please.

Also, I seem to be in the process of completely changing my jewelry style. The consequences of this is that right now almost nothing I do satisfies me. I feel rather like my brain is exploding with ideas. I have several pieces which I need to finish for this show that aren't finished yet. I keep harrying off on experimental projects which really need more work before I'm ready to sell them. I don't have nearly the amount of jewelry done that I usually have before a show.















Speaking of experimental projects here is a bangle bracelet that I've been working on. I bought soft copper 1/4 inch tubing at Lowe's. I was going to make copper beads. I went to Home Depot for a tube cutter and found a cool thingie to bend the copper tubing with. I'll post more on it the tool thingie later. The beads went right out of my head and I started playing with the tube bender. The bending worked pretty well, although I did learn a thing or two that will help me next time. This bracelet is the result. It's not finished yet. I am going to wrap wire around the ends of the copper tube, and rotate the copper wire leaf a quarter turn. Then I'll antique the silver and brush the copper to shine it up. Or maybe I'll just antique all of it with liver of sulfur.














One of the things I like about it is it fits on my forearm and stays there comfortably.



















For way too long now I have been in the process of moving all my jewelry stuff from everywhere in the house to one room. Of course, I'm also still trying to get rid of the stuff in that one room so progress is slow. In the mean time, I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING. I'm stuck in that stage of organization where everything is completely disorganized.

Enough complaining! I'm going to go work on some jewelry.

In the Zone

The Crafty Princess, Tammy Powley posts in Beading and Brain Surgery about how intense people look when they're in the "creative zone." She wanted to see others "furrowed brows." So here's mine:

Okay, maybe I'm stringing that turquoise a little intensely. In the next one though, I look like I'm torching that art clay with my eyeballs. It's not my most flattering picture. And yes, there is a flame on the torch, but no matter how I set up the shot the camera I had then wouldn't pick it up.

.

Be sure to check out Tammy's free projects at her blog. She also has some good articles about craft writing. I have a link to her latest book, Picture Youself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry, on the Amazon sidebar.