It's finally Friday!

I had a couple of hours to spend in my studio this week.  I spent of an hour or so fiddling with my still-new-to-me rolling mill and it is getting easier to create an impression on the metal!  One of these days, I am going to find some bravery and slip some sterling through this thing...that day has not yet arrived!  However, the copper is working!

I made a couple of nice long sheets of patterned metal.  So, I cut some small tabs, added a hand cut and set tube rivet, and then added a slight curve to the tab.  They look wonderful with these gorgeous Lapis Lazuli rounds, don't they?

I can actually "feel" the texture on the copper - which makes this girl very happy!

After these were complete, I was itching to go back "to my basics" of wire wrapping.  So, I pulled out this incredible strand of lampwork beads by Judith Billig.

Judith named these beads Batik Sherbert - isn't that name perfect?  My mother, the quilter, uses lots of batik fabric, and this title reminds me of that beautiful textile.  I did not want a complicated design, as I want the eye to follow the beads.  After vacillating between using copper or sterling, I chose copper - to complement the pale orange of the beads.  Instead of just plain-old wire wrapping, I took a bunch of copper wire and twisted it first, prior to wrapping.

Note - twisted wire becomes quite fidgety when wrapping!  Definitely not a quick project, but I am so glad I went this route!  The texture created from the twisted wire is what I was after. The focal is wrapped with square wire - twisted - while the beads are wrapped with double strands of round wire. I found a perfectly shaped ornate copper bead and paired it with one of the larger lentils to create a small pendant.

I also used two strands of wire - twisted - for the clasp - and fused the ends for a smooth finish (don't want that to unravel)!

I just love how this necklace turned out!  If you are reading this Judith, thank you for your art!!! (This necklace has sold - thank you!)

I am headed out the door shortly - taking my mom to get her first contact lens!  I used to be a contact lens wearer, until I was around 35 years old and my eyes decided to never create tears again.  I sure hope she can get that sucker in and out of her eye without my help, as I may prove useless!

A scorcher weather-wise - cannot wait to get back home to my basement where it is so cold I need to wear a sweatshirt to keep warm!!  Thank you so much for stopping by - have a fabulous day!

xo

Patti

Slowly getting back into the swing of things...

It has been a busy two months around here!  My niece and her family have settled into our house and will be moved into their home at the end of June.  I am not a Mom (well, dog mom counts, right?), but it has been such a pleasure to have this little guy hanging around the house.

Gavin

Yesterday Gavin and his folks were out and about and I headed to the studio.  I was attempting to make a Spinner Bangle.  I say attempt, because the first two copper bangles split at the solder seam ON THE VERY LAST BANG OF THE HAMMER.  Frustration!  Well, when I was forming the bangle the third and last time, I remembered why it split!  I had used copper solder on the first two bangles.  Now, copper solder is great - it's a good color match to the copper and holds just as well as silver solder...unless I have to further shape the bangle and apply pressure with a hammer!  I learned this the hard way a few months ago, but I had not made a bangle in a few months and simply forgot.  Well, once I switch to tried-and-true hard silver solder, it worked!

Of course, other metalsmith's may not encounter this problem...but I do each and every time.  Same for spinner rings - I always use hard silver solder.

While the first spinner bangle was in the tumbler, I wanted to see if I could make anticlastic cuff. This is 18 gauge copper - it's thick. The edges looked fine "folded", but I wanted a cleaner look. So, I melted a bunch of scrap sterling silver into balls, and soldered them onto the ends of the cuff.

The hardest part was creating a perfect flat spot on the ends, where the balls are soldered.

I really like this cuff, as it is adjustable and can fit just about any wrist size.  It goes on similar to a bangle - over the hand - and then lightly squeeze it to conform to the wrist.

I recently acquired a beautiful strand of turquoise. I love this gemstone, and the blues and greens in these barrels are exquisite. I paired the turquoise with some tiny hand cut copper tabs. I textured the copper with my rolling mill, and added tube rivets.

It was a good day!

It is gorgeous outside today - I am going to attempt to get out there to enjoy a bit of the sunshine! My allergies, which I apparently now have at the ripe young age of 54 (go Allegra!), may say otherwise and force me back inside!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

xo

Patti

New Post at LMAJ and I am hosting a giveaway!

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen for Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

Today, I share my experience with a new tool over at Love My Art Jewelry blog.  I am very excited about this new toy!  In fact, I want to share, so I made these new toggles and I am giving away one set of two to one winner:

Please follow this link right here to enter to win!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

xo
Patti

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen for Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

Busy...but not in a Jewelry-Making kind of way...

Not much going on here of late.  Yes...my kiln was delivered, and it sits in the same spot as the day it arrived!  My niece, her husband, their adorable 9-month old baby boy, and their equally-adorable white golden retriever Griffin moved in with us this past weekend.  They sold their townhouse, and bought a new home, that will not be complete until the end of June.  The past few weekends have been spent packing/moving etc.  I feel I need a good long stretch of time to dedicate myself to all the idiosyncrasies involved with the kiln.  Until then, I dabbled just a bit in "the familiar".

I recently went nuts at an on-line trunk show where I purchased a BOAT LOAD of beads by artist Judith Billig.  I just could not help myself!  Every time she would post a new picture, I gasped!  This is what I bought...

One of the bead sets included earrings pairs made with a most unique spiral shape:

These are lampwork rounds.  First, I wanted to mimic that spiral somehow, so I grabbed a piece of wire and wrapped up the orange rounds.

I must have snapped 50 photos of these earrings - so hard to photograph, and these little buggers would not sit still ('cause their round)!  

Though I love the earrings, I realized the spiral effect is kinda lost.  So, I wrapped up the black ones with the spiral "on the side".

Again - impossible to photograph!  I would set them up on my gray board "just so"...turn on my camera, and those puppies just kept rolling!  And, the spiral is lost in the picture.  Sigh...

So, I grabbed a pendant and make a necklace.  Much easier to photograph!

That's about all I have done in the past couple of weeks.... I will hopefully speed up my production in the coming weeks!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Enjoy your weekend!

xo

Patti

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Written by Patti Vanderbloemen of My Addictions Handcrafted Jewelry

Last time I wrote a blog post, it was to vent my frustration in attempting to receive a kiln that I purchased in late March. Well, lots have changed since last week's post!

Last Tuesday, I received a telephone call from the President of Paragon Industries.  Apparently, the representative of the webstore where I purchased the kiln read my blog post (big shout out thank you to her)!!  She, in turn, reported my frustration to Paragon Industries.  Paragon took full blame for the mix-up/lack of communication, etc, and my kiln was shipped last Wednesday ... and here it is, fresh out of the box!

Paragon SC2 Pro Silver and Glass Kiln

After tons of research related to what would be the best kiln to purchase, I decided to add on the digital controller to easily set and hold firing programs for future use. The kiln also  only weighs 40 pounds - a plus to me.  

I am very blessed to have my studio in a large room in my basement - planned when we designed this house. Not only is it nice and cool down here (it is close to 90 degrees outside today and I won't even discuss the humidity), but the studio has a painted concrete floor which translates to easy cleanup.  Now, the kiln is perfectly safe to run on a regular household current, but I do have a dedicated circuit in my studio.  I did not want to rearrange my furniture - yet again - so I purchased  a heavy duty machine table on casters, so I can roll the kiln to the outlet when I need to turn it on - and tuck it out of the way when not in use.  This dedicated circuit is also located directly under an exhaust fan I had installed when the house was constructed.   

That's my little toaster oven beneath the kiln.  I like that the shelves are metal - just a little safety feature to ease my mind, as things can get hot down here in the dungeons of the basement with torches and such.

While not a chef by title, I feel I am an accomplished cook in the kitchen.  But that kitchen oven does not even get close to 2000 degrees, so I have some reading to do before I actually turn on the kiln!

I harbor absolutely no hard feelings towards the manufacturer or the webstore where I purchased the kiln.  In the end, good customer service did prevail, and it is a happy ending in my little Kiln Story.  

I hope to be blogging about my continued trials and errors with precious metal clay in the very near future - wish me luck (I need it!!!)

Thank you for stopping by today!!!

xo

Patti

http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com/2015/05/it-has-arrived.html