With the summer rush in full swing at the gallery, I’m in ‘keep up’ mode, and not making anything new. I’m taking a wee bit of a break from creating while I am in factory mode, replacing sold things in the gallery. I will be back to making new things in a few weeks :)
Teresa Hulley – you won “Beach Memories”!!!
You were randomly chosen from the bowl of entries – please contact me with your mailing address :)
Thanks to everyone that left a comment and liked my facebook page – your kindness propels me forward!
xo
These little sweeties are like old friends for me. I have been making them forever. I remember the good times when I did a search for them on Etsy and I was the only one who made them. Now etsy is inandated with them, so I kinda didn’t feel like making them anymore.
I’ve been getting emails and custom orders lately though, from people who have bought them in the past, and need more for gifts. I got more wire last night and whipped these little babies up. I like the darker nests too, so I pop them in liver of sulfur, but they are all made from sterling silver and freshwater pearls.
Even though they are as common as “keep calm and carry on” posters, I can’t help love each little one. And I get a sweet little bit of guilty satisfaction by the nod of approval from a designer at fusionbeads.com, when she saw them in the gallery and said they were the best she’d ever seen.
I’m having a give away!
There are 2 easy ways to enter…
Leave a comment here with your favorite “capture” necklace that you want to win
and/or
Like my Facebook page. I’ll draw for a winner on Aug 1st!
From the left:
“Beach Memories”, “Pearls of Wisdom”, and “Plenty of Wishes”.
The most popular one by far is “Plenty of Wishes”… because who doesn’t need good supply of those close by :) “Pearls of Wisdom” is filled with freshwater pearls and “Beach Memories” is filled with tiny ocean treasures like sea glass, shells, pebbles and our super soft Florence OR sand. All of them are captured in a glass capsule that has been corked and soldered. I’ve blackened the solder to give it the relic feel, but of course the rhinestones romance it up.
I can’t work on soldering my bezels when I have a headache, so to keep busy I decided to to experiment with alternative etching methods. I usualy use Ferric Chloride
I’ve been doing all kinds of research online, and trying various ways with all kinds of fun outcomes… so far I’ve melted wires of various sizes and the side of my etching bucket, but thankfully I haven’t had to pull out the fire extinguisher yet :P
Here is a video of what it looks like while it’s in the Etching Bath.
But in all seriousness, I’ve got a good set up now, and my test piece came out great. I have it set up to etch copper, but I threw a brass piece in there for latest test. I forgot it would end up copper plated. I didn’t leave it in long enough to be totally covered, so it’s here and there – and I couldn’t be happier with it. It gave enough copper for me to color it with the torch. Since I’m working with mixed metals, I’m thrilled with the outcome.
I was cleaning around my paint table, and found this sweet little guy. Somehow he got lost from the other resin pieces I did the other day. I love this one, with it’s little rhinestone in the attic, shining brightly like a little star.
I’m working on some new ones that I hope to solder up this week, and pour resin by the weekend.
I’m having fun making my own bezels. I’ve been using stuff on hand, because I don’t have bezel wire, but it’s working out fine. Here are a few that I filled with resin. The shape is not perfect, but I like the ‘organic’ look.
One of the butterfly wings lifted while the resin was hardening, but that’s ok – it’s just more 3D right? Ok, maybe not, but I’ll keep that one for me because I don’t mind it :)
I learned how to etch metal, many years ago, but I didn’t do anything with it except etch a few tags for my artwork. I tried it, it was fine, and I moved on.
With my recent affection for metal, I have re-visted etching and am incorporating into jewelry now. I’m etching brass, copper, and nickel silver to use as bases and accents in my jewelry. I’m putting my soldering skills to work and marrying the two of them to make these the cuffs, thanks to Terri Brush for sparking my memories and helping me to get better with my soldered bumps, lol.
I’m so glad that you are here :) If you are here, you probably know me from my mixed-media art, and I thank you for taking the time to travel with me on my journey with jewelry.
I’ve discovered that I am not a beader (blushing grin). I love beads, and I love buying beads, but I can not put them together like my bff Amanda of Sea Shore Glass does. She’s amazing, and you probably know her already because she is in Bead Trends magazine all the time. My style is more simple, and although I incorporate beads some of my work, it’s a bit here and there, and I can’t say I’m a beader.
I have found that I love metal. I love to form it, torch it, hammer it, and mix it with things like leather, fabric, pearls, glass, etc. Jewelry gives me a different way of expressing myself than my artwork. I love how “strong” it is compared to the more delicate work when I’m painting. It’s just the perfect ying to the yang of my other art creations.
I hope you come back to see my growth as I learn and experiment – I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.
x0 Tracy
