lost

Don't you just hate getting lost? It's so frustrating. I went to Charlotte, NC last weekend for a beadshow. I've been to Charlotte only once in my life. I knew pretty much how to get to the show but I needed to find an ATM. So I kept going when I saw the building where the beadshow was being held. I headed towards downtown Charlotte. Isn't it the banking capital of NC or is it the US? Maybe it's NC. So I get into downtown and the police have the street blocked because of a Veteran's Day Parade. God Bless the Veterans. So you know how all downtown streets are one way? I must have gone round and round for about 30 minutes before I called for backup!

I called my sister-in-law's brother who used to live in Charlotte. Of course, his 5-year old answers the phone. He didn't have much to say and wasn't all that concerned that I was lost. Finally his Dad called me back. I guess he figured that if I was calling, either my brother had caught a BIG fish or I really needed help. So he helped me go back downtown and get lost again ;o) Well, thank goodness I have a pretty good sense of direction minus one way streets and detours. I finally made it back to the beadshow without cash and shaking from the stress of getting lost! LOL

I finally calmed down and picked up a few strands of beautiful beads while I was there. I got these beautiful Rainbow Moonstones. They are AAA grand and they are beauties. Let's just say they were in the triple digits. I also picked up some lovely coin pearls in a peachy cream, green and a wine color. Those will make great coin rings. Get your coin ring in every color ;o) I also got some wonderful peacock blue apatite rondelles and a number of other strands.

Thank goodness I had no problems backtracking to the interstate! I was so exhausted by the time I got home. By the way, Charlotte is about a 3 hour drive for me but it turned out to be more like a 7-8 hour drive. And after all that I was too afraid to venture on my own to a bead store Ginger (http://www.msbelle.etsy.com) recommended...Beadlush. :( I will definitely make time next time. Next time I won't leave home without Ginger's phone number.

coin pearl ring

Sterling silver coin pearl ring
Originally uploaded by luvmypups

Wow, what a challenge this was to make for the first time. But I guess it's like riding a bike or anything new you learn, the more you practice the easier it gets.

I had this scalloped bezel wire that I had been practicing making bezels with, so I decided to attempt a ring. I measured the pearl, made the bezel then soldered the bezel to the base piece of sterling silver. I also just ordered this half beaded wire from Rio. As you've probably noticed from a previous post, I really like granulation. So this was the next best thing. It was difficult to attach but after so practice I finally got it attached. The easy part was soldering the whole thing to the ring base.

I was so excited to set the pearl in the bezel but I made myself wait until I got it all polished and shiny. I learned about that the hard way in class when I attempted to see how my stone fit in the bezel and then couldn't get my stone out! The instructor had to drill a hole through the back of my piece and we finally forced the stone out.

Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome. And the second one I made was a lot easier and quicker! And it's for me. I'm wearing it now and I just love it.

I plan to make lots more of these and in different colors so make sure you check my Etsy shop often!

gingko leaves

ginkgo also gingko - A widely planted Chinese shade tree, with fan-shaped leaves and yellowish fruit. WARNING: Fire ants often reside nearby.

I added that last warning sentence to the definition of gingko. Let me tell you about my little adventure.

This weekend I was obsessing about ginkgo leaves. They are so pretty and intriguing. Their shape is just a wonderful example of mother nature's talent. I decided I wanted to make some ginkgo leaf earrings. I already knew what a ginkgo leaf looked like, but I still wanted to hold one in my hand. There's a gas station locally that has a number of ginkgo trees surrounding it. Last night as I was coming back home from my parents house, I decided I was going to stop at this gas station and grab a couple of leaves of one of the ginkgo trees. As I was finishing my assault on the ginkgo tree and about to get back in the car, that's when I felt the fire! My right foot had about 8-10 fire ants on it. I guess I should be happy there weren't more! I swatted at them as furiously as I could. That's when the fire started. Now I know why they call them fire ants! Not long after the fire started to cool off a little, that's when the mad itch started. I'm not sure which was worse. After a couple of hours I was pretty much back to normal. Thanks goodness.

So the earrings were a lot of fun to make. The shape is wonderful and not that difficult to cut with the jeweler's saw. After looking at the texture of the leaves, I decided a straight line texture would be the best. So I hammered away with my secret tool from Lowes. My next purchase is going to be a chasing tool set. After texturizing, I soldered the sterling silver wire for the earwires to the backs of the ginkgos, oxidized them and then buffed them up to a shiny, smooth finish. I think they turned out rather well. The next pair I make will be for myself. I think I deserve a pair after the fire ant encounter.

granulation

Granulation - The act or process of granulating.

I LOVE these new earrings. They were actually an experiment that turned out successful. I read an article in the most recent copy of Art Jewelry magazine about granulation. They made a simple combination of three silver granules. I wanted to take it a step further. I used Argentium silver. I melted it with my torch until it rolled into a ball. This was so much fun. I think I'm hooked on granulation.

After the granules cooled, I formed them together in the shape of a flower, fluxed them and torched them again until they fused together. There you have it...little daisies. I stamped leaves on my sterling silver disks and soldered each little daisy to the disks.

The last step was polishing. I have a Foredom table top buffer. It is so awesome. Rough on the fingers, but awesome on metal! Smooths it out like a babies behind. :)

So be sure to watch for more granulation from me. I think I'm hooked!

my first post

Hi all. So I'm trying something new today. I have the feeling at the moment that I'm writing to myself, which is difficult to do...is that the same as talking to yourself? I hope not ;o) I'm supposed to be working my real job, web developer, but it's so hard to concentrate on Mondays, so I'm taking a short little break to regroup. I would love to be at home right now hammering or sawing on a piece of sterling silver or creating something with my metal clay (PMC). For anyone who doesn't know what metal clay is, it consists of tiny particles of silver that are inside a clay binder. You shape it just like you would regular clay. Let it dry, file it smooth and then fire it with a torch or a kiln. I invested in a kiln. After the clay binder burns off, all that is left is 99.9% pure silver. The photo shown is a necklace made from metal clay.

I made quite a few pieces of jewelry this weekend...gearing up for the holidays! Andrew (my Sweetie) watched football while I played with metal and beads. Perfect day! I hope your weekend was as nice as mine. That's all for my first post. Thanks for reading what little I put together. I plan to write more about my upcoming pieces. I will also be taking some new classes soon which I would love to share with you all.