All Things Emmys - Part 1

A couple of weeks ago the lovely ladies at The Artisan Group asked if I would like to contribute some of my jewelry to the celebrity swag bags at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards this year.  Duh!  I immediately said yes and I don't think I've slept since. 

I'll be providing 100 pieces for the swag bags, 10 pieces for the press bags, and a couple of pieces for the display.  Besides the jewelry to be made, I have a crazy long list of other things I need to do, buy, create, think about, email, blog, post, photograph, etc...not to mention my website and Etsy sales and general life stuff.  Not that I'm complaining, I'm just a bit overwhelmed. 

Luckily, I have the help and support of  Valerie and Nikki, of The Artisan Group, as well as all the other members.  They are truly an amazing and talented group of artisans that I am proud to be a part of.   A big thank you to Valerie and Nikki for this amazing opportunity!

To find out more about The Artisan Group you can... 

or

Adventures in Etching and Meeting Mr. Bucephalus

When a friend asked me to make him a piece of jewelry that resembled a cave drawing I was a bit stumped.  Then I thought of etching, duh!  Etching metal is typically done with nitric acid or sometimes ferric chloride.  Either way I know I will burn my face off. 

Luckily, one of my MetalSmith teammates was kind enough to offer up instructions on using saltwater and batteries instead.  While there was still a chance of burning my face off, it wasn't quite as risky as the toxic chemical route.  So off to Home Depot, Radio Shack, and the deli I went.  I picked up some kosher salt (no iodine), distilled water, D-batteries, and a small aquarium pump, among other things.  

After some brainstorming my friend decided he wanted an image of Bucephalus on a rustic pendant.  I had to Google this of course.  Bucephalus was Alexander the Great's horse as well as a figurine in the movie The Black Stallion.

Photo courtesy of The Black Stallion

In order to properly etch the metal I had to draw this crazy looking horse on a sheet of copper with a permanent marker.  It turned out like this.



Looks like a 3rd grader did it huh? 

Whatever, I've come this far so I'm determined to follow through.  As I'm rigging up battery lead wires to a container of saltwater and duct taping like crazy, I suddenly feel like a mix between Macgyver and a mad scientist. 

  I set my iPod to "Electric Head" and let the etching begin! 

As you can see the water turns blue and gets cloudy as the electrical current strips electrons away from the atoms and the solution fills with particulates of copper salt (yeah my nerdy side is showing).  The permanent marker protects the parts of the metal you don't want to be etched. 

After about an hour it looks something like this...

A little sawing, oxidizing, and buffing and Mr. Bucephalus is born...and I didn't burn my face off yay!



Front



Back



This Is How I Do It

Typically when I'm banging away at the bench I have my ipod on shuffle.  The usuals are Rage Against The Machine, Alice in Chains, Sublime, and Korn.  My ipod just seems to like these best, but sometimes a random Beastie Boys or Sting song gets thrown into the mix.  Then I'll get tired of this and switch to something jammy like Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Rusted Root,  or Phish.  And then finally bring it down with some John Mayer, Bob Dylan, or Van Morrison. 

These are my jams, what gets me moving, motivates me, inspires me, and sets my mood. 

But then there are the other days.  The days when I don't really feel like listening to music.  The days when I need mind numbing reality television to soothe my soul.  Yep, day-long marathons of Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, Kourtney and Kim or Kourtney and Khloe or some sort of Kardashian, and Bad Girls Club.  I'm  not proud of it, but I can't help it.  Please don't judge...you know you do it too.

Check out what my Aspiring Metalsmiths teammates are listening to while they work...

Kat - http://artistikat-scratchingpost.blogspot.com/

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

Clarity of Scrollwork Designs - http://www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com

Brandy - http://thefrogspond.wordpress.com/

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

Claire - http://brightstar109.blogspot.com/

Silver Pearl Jewelry and Metalworks - http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com

hemlockhollow - http://gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com/

Beatriz Fortes - http://cjbf.blogspot.com/

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

RadianTrace - http://radiantrace.blogspot.com/

nancycreations - http://nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/

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

A Love Affair

My love affair with stones began as a child.  I would collect random rocks with no intention of ever doing anything with them. I just thought it was cool that they were old and that something so interesting could come out of the dirt (plus it was a good excuse to play in the dirt).  Then when I started making jewelry I found out I could actually put them to use. 

I started off with beads because bezel setting stones scared the crap out of me.  One of my first pieces using stones was this pair of earrings.  I used rivets to attach peridot stones to sterling silver Jewish Stars. 

 

Eventually, I began to get jealous of my Aspiring Metalsmith teamies and their stone addiction.  I wanted to buy stones too dammit!!  I just didn't know what I was going to do with them once I got them.  It didn't matter, I wanted stones and I was going to have them! 

These were my first two cabochon stone purchases...

 

After much encouragement from my AM teammates I took the plunge and set these bad boys.  This is what they became.

Since I had relative success with my first two stones I decided it was safe to move forward.  I asked Laura of CabbingRough to cut something dark and horn shaped for me.  She made this amazing Apache Gold cab just for me :)

I'm so excited to get it and pet it and and hang out with it.  Then when it's ready it will tell me what it wants to be. 

For more stone licking goodness check out my teamies posts...

Clarity @ Scrollwork Designs - http://thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com/
Stacy Low - http://www.formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com
Chrissi Lynn Designs - http://www.chrissilynn.blogspot.com
Sylvia Anderson - http://www.sylviaanderson.blogspot.com/
Jessica @ Abella Blue - http://www.abellablue.com/blog
Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes - http://cjbf.blogspot.com/
Esmeralda - http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/
Steph Stargell - http://www.stephstargell.com
Pennee - http://allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Silver Pearl Jewelry and Metalworks - http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/show-us-your-stones/#more-4
ArtistiKat - http://artistikat-scratchingpost.blogspot.com/
Claire - brightstar109.blogspot.com/

How I Popped My Cherry

How I popped my cherry...I'm talking about jewelry here people geez!! My very first piece of jewelry actually wasn't so bad. I've made plenty of hideous things since then, but that's typical for me. I almost always have beginner's luck. My first piece was these earrings.

My photography skills definitely needed some work, but the earrings weren't half bad. I remember sawing them from sterling sheet, hammering them, cutting the chain, and putting it all together with jump rings. I was so incredibly proud that I made something that was actually wearable. Then my friend Jenn saw them and insisted that I make some for her. I couldn't believe someone wanted to pay me money for this! Everything I've done since then I owe to her. She convinced me that I had a talent and I had to pursue it. So, thank you Jennifer Barrett for all your love and support. If not for you I would still be making things and hiding them in my drawer.

Now for the really bad stuff that is still hiding in my drawer and should stay there forever.

And yes, there were headbands displayed on notebook paper.

If this wasn't enough terrible newbie work for you to laugh at check out some of my teamies earlier works too...

Jessica- www.abellablue.com/blog

Clarity- http://www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com/

Claire- http://www.brighstar109.blogspot.com/

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

Pennee- http://www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/

Brandy- http://www.thefrogspond.wordpress.com/

Gloria- http://www.gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com/

Joy- http://www.joypeckjoy.blogspot.com/

Gayle- http://www.thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com/

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

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

Oh to Dream...

One can never learn too much right? So, I've been thinking about what skill I want to learn next. I've decided it's wax carving/casting. I have so many design ideas and most of them would involve using this technique. So, if Santa or anyone out there feels like helping a starving artist I would make you a kick ass piece of jewelry using my newly learned technique :) from this studio

LILOEVE

And if you're feeling extra generous check out what skills my Aspiring Metalsmiths teammates are dying to learn and hook them up with some classes too...

Pennee http://allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/

Gayle http://thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com/

Jessica http://www.abellablue.com/blog

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

Scrollwork Designs http://www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com/

Claire http://brightstar109.blogspot.com/

Carole http://www.caroleaxiumdesigns.com/journal/

Heather http://mistyridgedesigns.blogspot.com/

Brandy http://thefrogspond.wordpress.com/

Esmeralda (Silver Blueberry) http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/

Stacy http://formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/

Steph Stargell Designs http://stephstargell.com/

The Naughty List

Sometimes it's more fun to be naughty than nice. So remember that when you're checking off your list this holiday season and get the naughty people a gift too.





Maybe something from the Trash Metal Collection
















Or something from the Bad Seed Collection












Or maybe just be really naughty, say screw them and get something for yourself!

Happy shopping and may you have a blessed (and naughty) holiday season! xoxo