What's Happening

It's that time again...my Aspiring Metalsmiths Team blogroll.  This month we're talking about what we're working on right now. 

If you've been listening to me blabber on for the past few months you know that I am working on about a bazillionish horseshoe pendants for the Primetime Emmy Awards celebrity gift bags.  I also have customers YAY!!  So in between horseshoes I work on their orders.  

My organized chaos

As you can see, I'm in various stages of completion of horseshoe pendants, 1 Star of David dog tag, and 3 personalized double disc name necklaces.  

It may look like a hot mess but I know exactly where everything is.  If so much as one horseshoe gets moved out of place I WILL KNOW.  And heads will roll.  I'm serious man.

Oh and I actually finished something last night!  There are those rare occasions when I get an idea, sketch it out, and finish it all in one day. 

So, besides providing jewelry for the gift bags, a few of my pieces will be displayed at the celebrity gift lounge by The Artisan Group.  This lounge is hosted by Gavin B. Keilly of GBK Productions.  Mr. Keilly gets his very own gift bag and he doesn't exactly seem like the skull/dog tag/guitar pick type. 

This was hard for me!  I thought and I pondered and I consulted and I finally gave up.  And wouldn't you know, as soon as I stopped thinking about it I had an idea!  Isn't that always how it works?

A sterling silver Trash Metal Collection® personalized key chain.

I had to throw a little of my "trashed" vibe in there, I couldn't help it.  I hope he likes it!

Check out what my super talented friends are working on...

Esmeralda http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/

Happy Tortoise Designs http://www.happytortoisedesigns.blogspot.com/

Crow Steals Fire http://crowstealsfire.blogspot.com/

Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes http://cjbf.blogspot.com/

steph http://stephstargell.com

Jessica @ Abella Blue http://www.abellablue.com/blog

Pennee- All Wired Up Jewelry Designs http://www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/

Sylvia Anderson http://www.sylviaanderson.blogspot.com/

Stacy http://www.formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/

Mary Anne Karren http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/

Brightstar109 www.brightstar109.blogspot.com

Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry Http://Rubymtnbeads.blogspot.com

Resurrection Silver http://www.resurrectionsilver.blogspot.com

Kwant Essentials http://kwantessentials.blogspot.com/2011/07/show-and-tell-from-start-to-finish.html

Kit and Caboodle Shop http://thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com

Julie http://jamauerer.blogspot.com

Lilian http://www.girllovesglitter.blogspot.com/

 

   

All Things Emmys - Part 2

At the risk of developing rough scaly man-hands, I chose to make 100 Trash Metal Collection® horseshoe pendants for the Emmy Awards celebrity gift bags.  Way back in April I made 1.  No problem.  As I set out to make 100 I slowly realized what I had gotten myself into.  And being the procrastinator that I am the clock is ticking...louder and louder.

I've recently set aside all household duties (not that they were ever high on my list anyway), friends, family, and beautiful sunny days in order to make some progress.  So here's what I've been up to...

The process begins with sawing

I saw all the horseshoes and rectangular backplates by hand from sterling silver sheet.  I also threw in a couple of copper horseshoes to mix it up a little.

Then I file them all to get out the rough spots.

Next step is to drill 5 tiny holes in each horseshoe.  The holes serve no purpose, they are just part of the design because I thought they looked cool.   After drilling 500 freaking tiny ass holes I began to rethink their coolness. 

Now the rectangles need to be treated to my signature "trashing" technique and the backs stamped with my logo.

Ok so now horseshoes and rectangles are ready to be soldered together.  But since I saw them all by hand none of them are exactly the same size.  So I sort through them all pairing up the ones that look best together.

Let the soldering begin!

My favorite part, playing with fire heeheehee...

After the torching all the pieces go in the pickle pot for clean up

Take them out, rinse them off, and now I have a big pile of pendants

They still need to be sanded, oxidized, buffed, tumbled, polished, attached to chains, etc...and finally packaged. "I'll get to it, I swear.  I do my best work under pressure", said the procrastinator.