Jewelry Making Daily : enameling

Our Next Exciting Live Webinar: Step-by-Step Cold Enameling with Susan Lenart Kazmer on Friday, April 26!

TammyJones — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:42:00 GMT

Exciting news! One of my favorite jewelry artists and crafters ever, Susan Lenart Kazmer is joining Jewelry Making Daily for a live interactive webinar!

On Friday, April 26 at 1pm ET, Susan will join us LIVE to talk about her new cold enameling technique, in Step-by-Step Cold Enameling with Susan Lenart Kazmer. (Don't worry if you can't join us live--your registration will include a download of Susan's complete presentation after the webinar that you can watch over and over again, anytime!)

Susan is creating exclusive new projects just for us that she'll share in a live interactive presentation. Watch and learn as Susan walks us through her new cold enameling jewelry-making technique and explains each part of the process with step-out photos. Ask questions along the way and by the end of the presentation, you'll be hooked on a hot new cold enameling technique! (No torch required!)

With your registration, you'll have one-on-one access to a super-successful jewelry artist with product lines ranging from her ICE Resin and Art Mechanique bezels to her new ICED Enamels line, plus her Industrial Chic line of jewelry-making products in Michaels craft stores.

I love working with Susan's bezels, and the mixed-media vintage designs she and her creative team create continuously inspire and delight me. I've been a fan of Susan's work for years and written about her great DVDs and books so many times--so now I'm super excited to host this webinar and to share one of my favorite jewelry designers with all of you "in person"!

If you love working with metal, resin, enamel, mixed media, or found objects, don't miss this rare opportunity to watch and learn from a master of mixed-media art jewelry and jewelry-making products!

Step-by-Step Cold Enameling with Susan Lenart Kazmer
a Cold Enameling Mixed-Media Jewelry Webinar

LIVE online, Friday, April 26, 2013, at 1pm ET
(that's noon CT, 11am MT--or anytime, because a download of the recorded webinar is included with your registration!)

Susan teaches popular jewelry-making and mixed-media art classes at Bead Fest, Create, Bead & Button, and Art Unraveled. Join us for the next best thing and register for Susan's fun new online seminar at a fraction of the cost! Susan will share the materials involved in cold enameling and then show how to do it with step-by-step photographs of exclusive projects and live interactive instruction. We'll wrap up with more live Q&A, so you can ask questions about her product lines, her work, what's it's like to create a line of jewelry-making supplies for mass markets, and more.

Susan is so much fun and such a sweet friend--don't miss this unique opportunity to "hang out" with an expert mixed-media jewelry artist!

Learn more about Susan, her work, and her environmentally friendly jewelry-making product lines.

Colorful Metal: Fun with Enamel Shapes and the 24-Cent Necklace

TammyJones — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:54:00 GMT

It's funny how our interests change. Each time I sit down to write to you on a particular topic, I think back about what we've discussed about it before, and I find more and more that I am liking techniques I didn't like in the past!

Take color and metal, for example. I used to be a purist--all silver, all the time--and then I warmed up to the idea of copper and soon really liked it. Naturally brass followed soon after, and I love brass now, possibly even more than copper. I've always loved the pretty verdigris on copper, and that allowed me to enjoy and enjoy creating other patinas, especially flame patinas or torch painting. I came to the realization that adding patinas, inks, enamel, or other color to metal doesn't hide the metal, it just adds a new dimension to it. The metal I love creating with is still there.

Now I'm hooked on all kinds of ways to add color to metal, especially enameling. A technique that I once thought might've covered up my metal actually does just the opposite, helping to bring out some of its unique features and shapes, especially in pierced metal. I find that when I'm enameling, I seek out metal components that have more unique shapes and more dimensional interest than I did before I got hooked on enameling. Enameling helps highlight a metal component's interesting negative space as well as its shape.

When I'm jewelry-supply shopping, I find myself looking for old iron skeleton keys with unique openings and teeth, scalloped pieces I can dome to turn into flowers (it's always about the flowers with me, you know!), and pieces with interesting curves or curls or coils. A simple coil of wire becomes a pretty design element when it's enameled, and a humble hardware-store washer can become a colorful disc to hang on a chain or layer with other pieces. Short lengths of pipe, bits of copper plumbing fixtures, even a copper penny can be enameled into a work of jewelry art.

In Tucson last February, I was lucky enough to sit in on Barbara Lewis's enameling class with some very talented students. I overheard one of them, Patricia Ford Ferguson, talking about her "24-cent necklace," but I thought she must have given it that name for some personal reason. It wasn't until later in the class that I realized she literally had 24 cents hanging around her neck, in the form of brightly colored discs that were actually enameled pennies. (Patricia said to use pennies from 1981 or before. See below for more info about enameling coins.)

I was fascinated. In all my trips to the craft and bead stores to find "things to enamel" when I first got hooked on it, it never occurred to me to use pennies, the cheapest of all "things to enamel." The enamel on Patricia's 24-cent necklace was thick enough to cover up all of the design on the pennies, but it gave me the idea of using transparent enamels with pretty coins so their designs could show through.

Foreign coins with pretty ships, queens, flowers, and crests make fun enameled design elements, and I like to dome some of them before enameling. Before doming and enameling, I pierce a hole in their centers (you see where this is going...) so I can stack different ones of different sizes together. And yes, of course, two or three domed and/or fluted coins can make pretty flowers, since all jewelry roads seem to lead back to flowers for me. Ha!

To learn all kinds of fun and unique ways you can add color to metal and really show off the metal elements in your jewelry designs, check out Coloring on Metal for Jewelry Makers DVD (or instant download), a video workshop hosted by one of my absolute favorite jewelry artists, Gail Crosman Moore. You'll learn to add color to metal in a bunch of fun ways--including inks, enameling, heat patinas, even nail polish! Not many things come in so many colors as nail polish, and certainly not for such a low price. Oh, the possibilities!

P.S. Be sure to check the dates on your coins (make sure they aren't valuable before drilling and/or enameling them!) and do some coin composition research. I've heard that enameling on zinc can be toxic (some pennies contain zinc), but my research on Ganoksin shows that the trouble with enameling on zinc isn't toxicity but poor adhesion and color. Be safe! You should always enamel in a well-ventilated area because it's almost impossible to know every metal in a piece, especially in found objects and alloyed pieces.

Save the Pieces: Recycled, Upcycled Found-Object Jewelry

TammyJones — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 06:11:00 GMT

Whenever something was dropped or broken at my maternal grandmother's house, she'd call out, "Save the pieces!" I never knew what she did with the pieces, but her prudence stuck with me. I love creating recycled, upcycled jewelry with the "pieces," using found objects and ornate little pieces of history crafted decades or even hundreds of years ago to make my own unique jewelry today.

Whether you have a soft spot for gentler times, are dedicated to saving the planet, or just appreciate beautiful things, making jewelry from found objects is fun and rewarding. My most recent passion is for the pierced, intricately engraved brass cocks (or balance cocks) from the interiors of late-1700s pocket watches, a perfect blend of beauty and history. I wear one on a necklace and have several smaller ones linked together as a bracelet. These little conversation starters are so detailed and impossibly pretty, I can hardly stop looking at them when I have one on.

Those wild and crazy Victorians were famous for making everything magnificent; every surface was enameled, bejeweled, gilded, pierced, or engraved. It's gratifying to discover a remarkably beautiful object they worked their magic on and give it new life in personal, one-of-a-kind jewelry. Mixed with the right contemporary supplies, even Victorian beauties can become fashionable modern styles.

My Favorite Pretty Little Things

Crafters are notorious for collecting broken bits and found objects to use in later projects or taking something apart to upcycle it into something else. Steampunk artists have discovered the adventure of dismantling old pocket watches to give their curious contents new life in recycled jewelry. Most everyone has seen antique button bracelets and old silverware upcycled into jewelry. You can take apart just about any kind of jewelry and--if you're handy with jump rings or wire, have super adhesives, or know how to solder--reassemble a variety of the parts into something fresh and truly one of a kind. Beaders have been unstringing and restringing existing jewelry just as long as they've been stringing--or recycling large broken bead halves into cabochons. Single earrings, cufflinks, and shoe clips are given a second chance and a new purpose in upcycled jewelry.

Pierced bonbon scoops can make striking pendants, and miniature salt spoons wrap around a finger just right, becoming adorable little rings. Vintage compacts, chandelier crystals, bits of broken china, keys, and hotel souvenirs are all good fodder for jewelry inspiration. I like to pair a skeleton key with a small escutcheon plate (the decorative plate around a keyhole) for unique toggle clasps or lariat necklace ends, and elaborate pocket watch hands make pretty and uncommon dangle earrings. Foreign coins can be recycled into exotic jewelry with an air of mystery and wanderlust--just think of all the hands those coins have passed through, all the purchases big or small they've been part of! Old computers, keyboards, typewriters, phones, and other electronics conceal potential pieces for found object jewelry with a contemporary edge. The possibilities are truly endless.

Treasure Hunting Tips

Thrift stores, antique stores, architectural salvage shops, flea markets, and estate sales are treasure troves of found objects for jewelry makers. Online, an eBay search for "antique mother-of-pearl" will return hundreds of pretty possibilities, like Chinese gaming counters and thread winders easily upcycled into distinctive pendants or focal beads. I'm giving away my secrets, but other great searches include "vintage engraved metal" or "antique pierced metal" (replace "metal" with brass, silver, or copper and you can get even more results). Whether you hunt online or in stores, remember these tips when you're considering a potential prize for making found-object jewelry:

Look for holes to pass cord or jump rings through, or determine if you can drill your own. If not, is it a good candidate for wire wrapping or being glued onto jewelry findings? How about enameling on it or embedding in resin? If it's drawn to a magnet, it *probably* has enough iron for you to torch enamel it.
Think about the nitty-gritty details--especially the "gritty." If it's tarnished or rusted, can it be cleaned or finished so the jewelry won't rub off on clothes and skin? Is it waterproof?
Is it too fragile to wear as jewelry? If so, can it be reinforced? Consider delicate items for necklaces or earrings rather than rings or bracelets, which are more prone to hard knocks. If you love it but it's too delicate, can it be preserved in resin?
Be respectful of a found object's history. If an item is sacred to or symbolic of a particular religion, race, or tragic event, it might be offensive to remake into casual jewelry.
If you make jewelry for resale, do the math. Using a dozen $10 trinkets on a charm bracelet makes a fairly expensive bracelet, but using one as a pendant can make for a reasonably priced necklace. Don't forget the cost of additional supplies, gemstones, and findings necessary to complete the piece, plus your time!

Some of my favorite jewelry artists have been designing with found objects for decades, turning old metal bits into upcycled jewelry--plus adding a dash of sparkle here and there. One of them, Candie Cooper, shares her tips and techniques for making found-object jewelry in Remixed Media: Transforming Metal Found Objects for Your Jewelry. Join the fun! Download the Remixed Media video workshop for 30% off (through March 17, 2013) and learn to recycle just about anything into found-object jewelry.

P.S. When you start dismantling all your found objects, be careful with your tools. Don't repeat my own heartbreaking mistake!

From Wire to Wow, Part Two: Expanding Wire into Design Elements for Jewelry Making

TammyJones — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:25:00 GMT

Thanks to the prices of metals going up, up, and up (even though silver took a small dip this week, still...), I'm increasingly interested in what I can do with wire instead of metal sheet (ironic, coming from the girl who was adamantly not a wireworker or wire jewelry maker a couple of years ago). I find that there's less waste when I use wire in my jewelry-making efforts than there is with sheet, but also it makes me feel more thrifty and creative, trying to make more with less. Kind of like when I find enough stuff in the kitchen to make a good dinner, even though I haven't been to the grocery store in who-knows-how-long. It forces me to be creative.

But back to the wire. I love finding ways to make jewelry components (not just findings) out of wire, to have the wire serve another purpose. I wrote about wire as a design element a few weeks ago, and I'm still in that frame of mind. I woke up this morning thinking of ways to use wire to make jewelry, as if I had no metal sheet. My first idea was to shape wire into a chandelier earring shape and then enamel it, letting the enamel layers fill the open areas, kind of like how we make a wire leaf frame and then enamel it, to make enameled leaves.

That didn't go over as well as I'd hoped; I think I need a wire jig to make the base shapes more even. But I like the basic plan so I'm shelving that idea for later.

My jumbled efforts got me thinking about wire rosettes. Wire rosettes are probably my favorite thing to make with wire, likely because I love flowers so much but also because I love that you can just coil up something utilitarian like wire and end up with something pretty and delicate looking, like a flower. That led me to experimenting with enameling those wire rosettes on rings and making the ring band look like a flower vine. The whole ring is made with one long continuous piece of wire, with the ends tucked into the rosette and hidden in enamel.

I found that it's best not to enamel too many layers on the band, just enough to get some color on it. Enamel is glass, after all, and overly thick layers are more likely to break, which could cut you. Also make the wire ring band a size or two bigger than what you need, because the enamel will take up some of the size and make the ring smaller.

I'm still working on my enameled wire rosette rings; I like how the vine-y ring bands are turning out, but the colors of the roses aren't where I'd like them to be. Could be the propane's fault; I've heard propane torch enameling makes muddy colors. So I'll switch back to MAPP gas and keep experimenting with different enamel colors (maybe a layer of white enamel underneath will help) and different kinds of wire for the bases/frames.

One rosette mistake (bad wire choice = meltdown) gave me another idea: Ball the ends of three long copper wires, enamel the balls in light blue, and then coil the lengths of the wire around and around similar to the rosettes but this time, make a nest. Adorable and just right for spring. I found that it helped to send one wire through the building nest once in a while to help keep it all together and to help create a more organic look.

My next experiment was paddle-shaped enameled wire dangles, inspired by some made by Barbara Lewis. Just hammer wire ends flat on a bench block and make a perpendicular loop on the other end (or use larger-gauge wire, hammer the whole wire flat, and pierce a hole in it) and then let your imagination go, mixing lengths and colors if you like. Voila! You have fringe--one of the fashionable trends for the year. They're great for hanging on a necklace or on earrings.

If you'd like a steady supply of unique ways to make jewelry with wire, subscribe to Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine. I'm continually inspired by all the ways the mag's designers use wire and re-imagine what wire can do in their jewelry designs.

Update: A little bird just told me that the April-May issue features enameled wire on the cover. Serendipity!

Goodbye February! Everything's Coming Up (Mixed-Media) Roses…and Poppies, and Daisies, and…

TammyJones — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:17:00 GMT

Do you find yourself returning to one motif over and over in your jewelry making? For me, it's flowers and stacking about three flower or flower-like components, which I usually make into rings. Whenever I'm in a bead store or at a trade show, I always find myself picking up one or a few flowery mixed-media jewelry components (made of leather, felt, metal, paper, enamel, glass, or some fun mixed-media combination) info flowers. More often than not, I then lay them on my hand to test-drive them as a ring. My conclusion is always the same: I need more fingers to wear all these pretty rings.

I'm making more flowers than ever now, in these last days of rainy, dreary, cold and wet February. Down here in Louisiana, spring has already sprung a bit, thanks to a milder-than-usual "winter." The camellias are still blooming, but the pear trees and azaleas are, too, and little yellow weedy things are blooming all over my yard. Though spring is still officially nearly a month away, I'm ready for flower time!

One of the reasons I love making mixed-media flower jewelry is surely because it's so easy. You can make a whole basketful of posies in an hour or so! Just stack up three of any flowers or other organic shapes (even simple discs that have been domed can look like poppy petals, rosettes, or minimalist flowers), put a glass- or crystal-topped headpin in the center, and you have a pretty flower.

I especially love to mix flowers made of differing materials and in different shapes. When I saw the Feltys (cute felt and yarn ruffled pieces) in Paula Best's Uncommon Beads at To Bead True Blue in Tucson, and then saw Eleanore Macnish's dotty bright-colored Ellie Mac lampwork glass-topped headpins in the next booth, serendipity struck. I stacked up three on the spot, curved the headpin's stem into a ring band, and voila! I had an instant whimsical "flower" ring. (Bonus: The headpin's wire was just long enough to make a ring with a loop to secure it at the top, and since it is made on such a strong wire, it's plenty strong enough as a single-layer band without extra wire.)

One of my favorite things about mixed-media jewelry is that anything goes: leather, paper, glass, fibers and fabric, found bits and pieces--all of that, along with some metal, or skip the metal--up to you. Mixed-media jewelry making is like the collage or scrapbooking of the jewelry world, and those other genres give us crossover-crafter jewelry makers all kinds of uncommon pieces and mixed-media jewelry supplies to play with. I pulled a bunch of fabric, leather, organza, and paper posies from a box of fabric flowers on my paper craft table and stacked them with decorative scrapbooking brads, decorative headpins, or crystal flatbacks to make layered flowers. They were perfect for decorating this mixed-media Boho-style cuff bracelet. I simply built the flowers as complete stand-alone pieces and then adhered them to the cuff using two-part epoxy adhesive.

You could punch holes in the leather and secure the flowers to it with their brad centers, but then you'd have to deal with covering the backs of the brads on the back of the leather to make it comfy to wear. I know glue is pretty low-tech, especially in the jewelry world, but it seemed like the right thing in this case. You could do the same thing with metal flowers, maybe some that you enameled (you know I love enameling!), but you'd have to use some cold connections like wire, brads, or rivets to secure metal flowers to leather. I wouldn't recommend adhesive in this case.

Earrings are another pretty way to stack flowers into pretty mixed-media jewels. Where others sees bead caps, I see delicate-looking blossoms for dangling earrings, reminding me of bell-shaped, downcast flowers like columbine, lily of the valley, foxglove, and snowbells. They're perfect for spring earrings, with a few pretty gemstone, crystal, or glass beads and some pretty little ribbon snippets hanging from their centers.

Something about flower jewelry and brooches just seems to match. When I "test drive" the stacked flower pieces on my hand as rings, like I mentioned above, the ones that just seem too large or potentially fragile for rings inevitably become brooches. And they couldn't be easier to make--just stack up a bunch, gluing each layer to the next or securing them all together with brads or headpins, and then attach a pin back with glue. If your back layer is fabric, you could change the plan a bit and sew the pin back onto the back of that flower for a base; then stack and glue the rest of the flower layers onto that base. Perfectly pretty, and so quick and easy. Pin one or a few to a cute cardigan, tee, hat, or purse...or go overboard in a fun way and string together a bunch on a pretty ribbon, cord, or chain for a beautiful spring-y necklace.


	Jess Italia Lincoln's Polka Dot Flower ring from Handcrafted Jewelry 2010

I love the mix of "high and low" in these flowers, or soft and hard, a variety of textures, sparkly and not, tough leather and airy organza. That's the beautiful thing about mixed-media jewelry, and because there's so much variety in each piece, they seem to go with everything. If you love mixing leather, paper, fabric, glass, fibers, and other mixed-media jewelry supplies in your jewelry creations, you'll enjoy Handcrafted Jewelry magazine. If you haven't seen it yet, you can get the timeless Handcrafted Jewelry 2010 issue for only $3 during our back-issue sale! That's less than what you could pay for one project. What a deal! Plus I know there are some flowers in it...

Resources:
dotted lampwork glass headpins: Ellie Mac Beads and Sylvie Lansdowne Beads
leather snap-closure cuff bracelet: Fusion Beads
"Felty" felt and yarn ruffled bead: Uncommon Beads by Paula Best
decorative enamel head pins: Jennifer Fahnestock
vintage four-petal copper flowers: Jennifer Osner
vintage pressed-metal flowers: Echo Artworks
etched mother-of-pearl discs: LillyPilly Designs
brass metal flowers (that I enameled): Nunn Design
fabric, leather, and paper flowers, scrapbooking brads: vintage Making Memories

Learn 6 Ways to Add Color to Metal with Gail Crosman Moore

TammyJones — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:12:00 GMT

Have you ever met a jewelry designer or other artist whose work is so appealing to you that you love every single thing they create? For me, one of those jewelry artists is Gail Crosman Moore. Her work features so many of my favorite jewelry-making techniques, including enameling, metal clay, traditional metalwork, felted fibers, lampwork glass, along with a well-placed smattering of seed beads. Most of her pieces are colorful and nature-themed--flowers, seed pods, bugs, berries, seashells, and creatures from her imagination.

Gail's work has a romantic, whimsical feel that I love, and I look forward to visiting her space at To Bead True Blue in Tucson each year. I'm determined to get into one of her classes at Bead Fest someday! Meanwhile, I'm so happy to share that we have the next best thing: Gail has just created a new jewelry-making video workshop, Coloring on Metal for Jewelry Makers with Gail Crosman Moore. In her video tutorial, Gail shares how to do a bunch of fun metal-coloring techniques, including my favorites--enameling and heat patinas (or "flame painting" as I call it)--plus alcohol inks and more, even nail polish! Here are the metal coloring techniques she covers.

		1. Alcohol inks: For a more transparent colored metal look that still shows the metal and any textures or patterns that it might have, alcohol inks are ideal. They couldn't be easier to use--just dab on and wipe off the high areas, leaving ink in the deeper recesses of the metal's design to really make it pop.

		2. Nail polish: I love this one, because I love using whatever I have around the house in artistic ways. I've kept a bottle of black nail polish in my closet for years because it does wonders to touch up a scuffed sole on a black shoe! Gail shows off how to use gorgeous nail polish (can you think of anything that comes in more amazing colors?) to maximum effect decorating your metal jewelry designs, for a cold-enamel look. Pretty much any brand at any price will have good results.

		3. Model paints are another inexpensive, readily available way to color on metal that, like nail polish, is easy to apply, adheres well to metal, and comes in a wide variety of colors. Gail points out that it comes in matte or shiny finish; the shiny will also help you achieve the look of faux or cold enameling, the matte more of a heat patina look.

		4. PrismaColor colored pencils: After the metal is properly primed, you can use PrismaColor colored pencils (for some reason, that brand is very much recommended; I've heard it's the only one that works on metal) as they are to add colorful designs or use them in conjunction with turpentine to blend and create watercolor-like effects.

		5. Heat patina: I call using a flame on metal to coax out colors "flame painting"--most folks call it heat patina. Either way, it's incredibly fun and makes me feel like a bit of an alchemist. While there are certain guidelines you can follow to (hopefully) achieve certain colors and effects, it all feels a little bit like wild experimentation or magic to me, and I'm usually so pleasantly surprised with whatever colors I get. If you want to achieve bright, vivid colors, like purples and blues on copper and gorgeous rainbow effects, Gail will help you do that--and she does it with a micro torch!

		6. Enameling: Here it is, another chance for me to say how much I LOVE enameling! I've been torch enameling for about six months now and I can't stop, I do it all the time. If I had a big enough flame, I probably would have enameled some of my furniture by now. Torch enameling in particular is so much fun, because I feel more involved in the process than I do with kiln enameling. I love mixing colors on a single piece of metal, too, and using transparent enamels on brass for a beautiful effect.

If you want to learn more about adding color to metal, don't miss Gail's great new video workshop. In it she covers all of these ways to add color to your metal jewelry components as well as how to prime and prepare the metal to "give it some tooth" and achieve the best results. Pre-order the fun new Coloring on Metal for Jewelry Makers DVD or, if you can't wait another minute for it, download it instantly!

Getting Ready for Tucson: Jewelry-Making Products I Love and Making Way . . . for More Products I Love

TammyJones — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:21:00 GMT

As I've been preparing for the Tucson gem, jewelry, and bead (and fossils and minerals and tools) shows this week (I'll be arriving just as you see this, yay!), I've been making a shopping list. I never follow it, mind you, but it helps me remember, when I'm out there, what I found lacking in my studio, while I was back there.

So far on my list: pearls, loose pearls, other pearls, pearl strands, a few loose pearls, and maybe a conch pearl. Ha! I know, that's silly.

Like I need a list to remind me to buy pearls. Hehe.

There are a few more jewelry supplies on my list, of course--lots of brass components, stampings, and findings that I can use for enameling, as well as some copper ones. I want to find some unique bezels and "insertables" (more metal stampings) that I can use with resin or enamel, and it'll be a good time to stock up on wire. I want to check out a special garnet or spinel from Rare Source, and I think the last thing on my list is mandrels for enameling, if I can find some, maybe from a glass supplier. We'll see.

Naturally while I was making my list, I was doing a little bit or organizing and inventory of my current studio stash. I'm happy to report that I found the surface of my largest work table! I also found some great supplies, some of which I haven't gotten around to using or sharing with you yet. So before I go stock up on even more jewelry-making supplies in Tucson, take a look at the great stuff I've been hoarding lately.

Rivetable Ring Blanks from Beaducation

Talk about handy--especially for rivet-challenged people like me! Beaducation's sterling silver rivetable rings come with a 9mm pin/post (just trim for the size you need) for riveting already soldered on and will save you lots of work time (possibly days, if you rivet like I do! Ha!). There's a handy video tutorial on Beaducation.com to show you how they work and to give you some ideas for using them. I think you could also use them to post-set a large-holed bead, pearl or other gemstone.

Bezels and Resin Supplies from Susan Lenart Kazmer's ICE Resin

Being a paper fanatic and lover of all kinds of ephemera and found objects, Susan Lenart Kazmer's bezels and ICE Resin products are perfect for my jewelry-making style. I love building little collages and works of art to go inside the bezels, which come in a variety of sizes, shapes, designs, and metal finishes--and they seem to be adding new ones based on Susan's own designs all the time. Susan's ICE Resin comes in a double-barreled "squirtable" syringe for easy mixing.

Metal Stampings, Charms and Medals from Nunn Design

One of my favorite booths to stop at in Tucson each year is the Nunn Design booth. Becky and her team of designers make beautiful jewelry and always inspire me to use their charms and findings in unique ways. I'm most in love with her brass stampings (flowers, bees, birds, and more) because I can enamel on them, but I also love her shield-shaped bezels (perfect for more resin works of art) and religious saint medals.

Colorful Lampwork Glass Beads

If you define hoarding as buying things that you don't use, then I'm a lampwork glass bead hoarder. I love the pretty little works of art so much, but because they are all so unique and fabulous, I find myself collecting them more than using them to make jewelry. Each year I have must-see booths in Tucson and at Bead Fests, to get beads made by Kerry Kester Bogert, Gail Crosman Moore, Sylvie Lansdowne, Eleanore Macnish, Lisa Kan, Bronwen Heilman, and some others. These colorful beauties were made by Kerry Kester Bogert, author of Totally Twisted and Rustic Wrappings.

Carved/Etched Mother-of-Pearl Discs by Lillypilly Designs

The Lillypilly Designs booth is another favorite stop in Tucson each year. I'm a stacker, especially when it comes to ring designs, and my love of pearls and mother-of-pearl is no secret . . . so I was thrilled to discover these carved/etched/engraved mother-of-pearl shell discs. I love stacking them in twos and threes with a unique head pin center to make fun and pretty rings. They're also available in horn as well as in pendant-style bezels, perfect for more resin art!

Metal Charms and Components by Green Girl Studios

I'm giving away all my favorite shopping spots, but here's another one. Green Girl Studios is a great booth in which to get lost digging through trays of gorgeous handcrafted metal beads, charms and other components. In unique metals and finishes (such as shibuichi, pronounced she-boo-ee-chee, as Green Girl Studios designer Andrew Thornton taught me), their metal components are not only things you've never seen, they're things you can't live without for making truly unusual jewelry with uniquely designed elements.

Colored Copper or Aluminum Metal Sheets by Lillypilly Designs from Fusion Beads

I love patinas--I think we all do--and I love finding new ways to create patinas on metal. But sometimes it's nice to just start out with a great piece of colorful metal and not have to create my own or worry that I won't get just the right effect in just the right spot. Especially since, as I just mentioned, I'm a stacker and sometimes it's hard to get patinas to play nice when you're stacking pieces in a jewelry design. The premade metal sheets take what is usually a final step in creating jewelry and make it a pre-made beginning step--and it really gets my creative juices flowing to start with the ending like that, so to speak, and design with literal color instead of a plan to add colorful patinas at the end. These Lillypilly Designs metals come in patinated copper or anodized aluminum, embossed or plain or patterned, in a variety of gauges, and are available from FusionBeads.com.

Quick and Easy Patina Solutions

Speaking of patinas . . . Somewhere between buying pre-patinated metal and creating your own patinas using sometimes laborious processes is a happy medium in the form of quick and easy, (practically) no-fail patina solutions. Two that I've used and loved in the past year are the Swellegant and Metal Me This patinas. Swellegant Metal Coating paints and patinas create a gorgeous realistic metal look and patina on just about any surface (they even make things look like metal that aren't metal--paper, clay, wood, resin, ceramic, glass, rocks...) They look especially awesome on my favorite brass flower stamping from Nunn Design, as shown here.

For something less realistic but more colorful, Metal Me This colorful patinas (colored oxides in a water-based polymer/resin binder) are beautiful and come in a wide variety of custom-blended colors that bring out the best in textured metals. Both Metal Me This and Swellegant patina products are user-friendly.

Boy, I've got a lot of jewelry-making to do! But first I'm going to go see all the new stuff these folks are showing off in Tucson. I bet you've got a great stash of jewelry-making supplies on your workspace, too. Whether you're a fan of enameling, jewelry making with resin, metalsmithing, or any other jewelry-making technique, you'll find loads of inspiring projects on sale now in our eProjects sale in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop!

Lessons Learned in Torch Enameling: You can do it!

TammyJones — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:41:00 GMT

When I wrote about my newfound love of brass a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised at how many people commented, "I didn't know you could enamel on brass!" Well, I didn't know you couldn't enamel on brass, so I did . . . and it worked just fine. For me, enameling on brass was no different than enameling on copper. (I torch-fire my enamel jewelry, though. Maybe that makes a difference? I don't think it would, but not having tried it in a kiln, I can't say for sure.)

I was also surprised and ever-so-happy to see how many of you were prompted to try torch enameling after that. I can't tell you how happy that makes me, because I love love LOVE torch enameling now and I want everyone to hop on that happy train with me.

If you haven't tried torch enameling yet, don't be intimidated. For me, it seems the hardest part is getting comfortable with working so closely with a flame--intimately, even, since it's right in front of your face (and let's be honest, faces are pretty dang important parts). It's a pretty big flame, too, not a small flame like that of a micro torch, though if you solder, you're already comfortable around the flame. I made friends with the flame pretty fast and learned a few other lessons along the way. I hope they'll be helpful to you.

1. Speaking of the torch and flame, I've used both MAPP gas and propane, in the short-and-wide wide "fat boy" canisters that are shaped so that they can stand up on their own. (You'll see that I keep mine on a big metal tray. Much like for soldering, you want to have a fireproof workspace for torch enameling. If molten glass or metal drops out of the flame, or if I drop a piece I'm enameling off my mandrel, it will land on this metal tray and not burn the house down.) You could use brackets and such to attach canisters to your work table. I heard that propane isn't hot enough for enameling and can cause "muddy" or dull enamel colors, but I didn't experience that. I haven't been too picky though--for example, I haven't tried to enamel anything solid white or solid yellow, which are the colors I think would be most susceptible to getting "muddy." Honestly, even during my earliest experiments with enamels, I didn't see anything I thought was muddy or ugly. It's like when a little kid makes you art--it's all gorgeous!

2. Mandrels are important. You'll want them in a variety of sizes, because undoubtedly your beads will have a variety of holes. I ordered some small mandrels from Barbara Lewis's Painting with Fire Studio, and I bought some larger-diameter rods at a hardware store and cut them to manageable lengths. You'll want steel, because it doesn't conduct heat and won't get hot in your hands. My steel rods are both threaded (like a screw) and unthreaded; the threads are helpful in keeping things from sliding off, but of course they can also hold enamel in them and make it harder to remove the beads. Kind of like metalsmiths always on the lookout for more hammers, I'm still trying to find more mandrels, ones that are shaped just right with tapered ends that aren't slick. I have an old awl that's my favorite so far--it's roughed up and tapered on the end, which helps it fit snugly into the holes of whatever I'm enameling. Somewhere I got a really long nail (we're talking about 8 inches long--where on earth did it come from?) that also makes a good mandrel.

3. When you buy enamels, make color test chips on scraps of metal. I glued my tiny test chips right onto the tops of the enamel jars. Make yours in your studio, using your torch, under your lighting and working conditions. That's the only way to know what color each one will truly be to your eyes, and even then there's a little difference depending on the enamel layers, the metal you're enameling on, and the position of the moon when you're enameling. (Of course that last one isn't true, or is it? Sometimes that's the only answer!) Use the kind of metal you'll most often be enameling (copper, silver, brass, iron, etc.) for your test chips. If you put enough layers on an enameled piece, the kind and color of metal underneath ultimately won't make much difference (silver vs. copper, etc.) unless you're using transparent enamels. Then the metal color does show through some, of course--it can also be a wonderful design element, as I mentioned before with the transparent red I enameled onto brass, creating a look of rose gold.

4. If you're using transparent enamels, it's also a good idea to make a test chip on a scrap of whatever metal you're enameling on when you begin a project. You don't always know how the metal will change in the heat during the enameling process (turn dark with firescale, form colorful flame patinas, etc.). It might turn icky, or it might be lovely . . . either way, it will be visible through your transparent glass.

5. Make every effort to find out what metal your beads or other components are made of when you intend to enamel on them. Most of those purchased in bead and craft stores are something-plated pewter or aluminum, both of which will melt faster than snow in Louisiana when you put it in the flame. Then you'll end up with a splat, like the one on the left, which used to be a pretty cool charm. Solid copper, brass, iron, and silver will hold up to the heat and enamel nicely.

6. Wear safety glasses. For real, wear them. I am bad and usually never wear them, but in this case, I wear them. When you're working with an unknown metal, it can spark and pop and shoot out little flaming bits in every direction. You're also working with molten glass. Right in front of your face. Wear the safety glasses. Do it. For real. Please?

7. Gloves aren't a bad idea. Speaking of safety, it's good to remember that you're working with powdered glass that, when torched, becomes real glass that, if it gets pulled during the torching process, can become long glass needles. In my early experimentations (but not now, because I know better now . . . ahem . . . ), if I got too much enamel inside a bead hole, trying to get that bead off the mandrel while it was still molten would pull a long glass needle, much like what lampworkers call stringers. You can burn, break, and/or sand them off; either way, you'll probably end up with tiny shards of glass. So when it comes time to clean up your enameling workstation, gloves aren't a bad idea. I don't think I'd recommend them during enameling, unless you get snug-fitting fireproof ones.

8. Keep a metal bowl of water nearby. Use metal, or even glass, but not plastic. Don't ask me how I know that. (But I bet you can guess!) Note that you do not quench enameled pieces after enameling--definitely don't, because that rapid cooling will shock them and make the just-turned-glass crack and probably fall off. But the water is important for other reasons--to quench heated metal if you see it's going to melt before you enamel it, to quench your fire tools if you're holding a metal component in the flame with them, to quench your fingers if you touch something that's a little too hot. (A fire extinguisher is wise to have on hand, too, but that goes without saying.)

These are some of the trial-and-error lessons I've learned while I've been exploring the fabulous world of torch enameling. Seriously, I can't say enough about how much I enjoy it, and I encourage everyone with even a little bit of interest to try it. Besides making beautiful jewelry, you get to watch the magic happen right before your eyes. (Your safety-glass-covered eyes, right? See #6 above.) Torch-fired enameling is very hands-on, allowing you to feel like you're not just making jewelry but you're creating art.

You probably already have the torch, so you just need enamels and a few small tools, like mandrels or a mesh screen and stand. You'll also want to get Barbara Lewis's torch-fired enameling tutorials--one of her two new video workshops, Torch-Fired Enamel Basics and Creative Torch-Fired Enamel Techniques, or her book Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire--or all three!

Resolve to Save! Continues with Fusing Fun: Make this Circle Pendant With Your Micro Torch

TammyJones — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:54:00 GMT

Hammering and fusing metal, colorful enamel, dapping and doming . . . many of my favorite jewelry-making techniques and supplies have all come together in this cool project from our friends at Fusion Beads! For those of you looking for a project you can do with your micro torch, here you go!

Note that because of the size and thickness of the wire you're fusing in this project, the designer recommends using two micro torches simultaneously in order to get the wire to fuse. Keep them moving evenly (you can pat your head and rub your tummy, right?) in order to keep the heat evenly distributed and to heat it up enough to fuse. (Of course, one larger torch will work too.)

Color Cove Necklace
Designed by Cody Westfall, courtesy of Fusion Beads *

Materials:

13mm olive enameled disc by C-Koop (HM4959)
13mm enameled gray disc by C-Koop Beads (HM2178)
19mm enameled delft turquoise disc by C-Koop Beads (HM2296)
4mm sterling silver rolo chain (CN0231)
13.5x6.5mm sterling silver balloon lobster-claw clasp (SS4109)
4mm sterling silver open jump ring (SS3916)
two 6mm sterling silver open jump rings (SS3924)
5" of 10-gauge fine silver wire (FW0108)
2" of 14-gauge fine silver wire (FW0106)
riveting hammer
chasing hammer
bench block helper w/steel and nylon blocks (TL1902)
Tronex ergonomic long-handle razor flush cutter (TL1643)
1.25mm metal hole punch pliers (TL2242)
1.8mm metal hold punch pliers (TL1932)
butane micro torch (TL0643)
Cool Cup soldering cup w/tweezers (TL2291)
fire brick
dap & die set
vise
Pro Polish pads
Sharpie marker

* Numbers shown in parentheses with materials above are product numbers for FusionBeads.com.

Steps:

		1. Cut 5" of 10-gauge fine silver wire. Using a dapping punch from the set as a mandrel (or anything that is about 1" in diameter), wrap the wire around the mandrel to form a ring.
		2. Using flush cutters, make a flush cut on both sides of the ring. Use pliers to close the ring so that both flush cuts are firmly together.
		3. Using two torches as mentioned above, fuse the ring closed. 4. You now have a perfectly fused ring.
		5. Using the flat, broad side of your chasing hammer, hammer the ring flat.
		6. Using the ball side of the chasing hammer, hit the flattened ring to add some texture.
		7. With a Sharpie and using one of the enameled discs as a template, mark a hole where you want to place the disc on the hammered ring for the rivet.
		8. Using a 1.8mm metal hole punch, punch the hole you marked in Step 7. Repeat for the other two discs. Then, using a 1.25mm metal hole punch, punch a hole at the top of the flattened ring so that you can attach the ring to your chain later.
		9. Put 2" of 14-gauge fine silver into a vise with about 1/4" or so sticking up. Using the chisel-shaped end of your riveting hammer, lightly tap across the top of the wire. You will need to turn your wire several times so that you make a uniformly shaped mushroom head that will not fall through the hole in the enameled discs.
		10. Thread the wire with the mushroom head through one of the enameled discs and the hole in the ring. Leaving about 1/8" to 1/16" of the wire on the back side, make a flush cut.
		11. Place a dapping punch that fits inside of the enameled disk into the vise, and then turn your jewelry piece upside down so the disc rests on the dapping punch with the rivet. (You're using the punch like a rounded mandrel or anvil in this case.) Then, using the chisel-shaped end of your riveting hammer, lightly tap across the top of the wire, turning your piece several times so that you make a uniformly shaped mushroom head rivet.
		12. Once your rivet has mushroomed out nicely, use the flat side of the riveting hammer to make a few final strikes to the rivet. This will flatten out the rivet head and give it a nice smooth surface.
		13. Repeat Steps 9 through 12 for the other two enameled discs.
		14. Using the 6mm jump ring, attach the pendant to the middle of the rolo chain. Attach the lobster clasp to one end of the chain with the 4mm jump ring, and attach the other 6mm jump ring to the other end.

Modifications

Instead of a circle, make a square or triangle. You can use any color (or number of) enameled discs you want for this project--and if you're crazy about enameling like I am, you can even enamel your own. Just remember to punch or drill a hole in each disc and dome the disc(s) before enameling, and be sure to keep the hole open during enameling so you can rivet through it later. If you work your rivets just right, use spacers or washers between the rivet and the metal, or skip the rivets and use brads, you can make the enameled discs spin like pinwheels. Fun!

For more great projects with hammered and fused metal, rivets and other cold connections--even enameling--check out our Resolve to Save Event going on now. You'll save loads of cash on books and eBooks, DVDs and video downloads, even magazines and collection CDs--thousands of them at 20-70% off in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop, now through January 29 at 11.59pm CT.

Get Ready for Bracelet Season: Adorn Your Arms with Bangles and Cuffs and Resolve to Save!

TammyJones — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:37:00 GMT

There's a reason they call it "spring fever." I get the fever this time of year and it distracts me from all my grown-up responsibilities. When the occasional warmer, sunny days (down here in Louisiana, at least) become more frequent than occasional--and the endless cold, rainy days become less frequent--I start thinking about bracelets.


	Bangles from One-Hour Bracelets.

Uh, bracelets? Really? Not flowers blooming or birds chirping or riding around with the top down, but bracelets? Well, yes, all of those things, too . . . but bracelets, because for me, spring is the official start of Bracelet Season. (Note to self: Trademark that term.)

If you aren't familiar with Bracelet Season, let me enlighten you. It's a law of nature, really: warmer days = shorter sleeves = bare arms = the perfect opportunity to bring your bracelets out of hibernation! Metal cuff bracelets, leather wraps and cuffs, woven fabric bracelets, wired bead bracelets, charm bracelets (possibly my favorite), diamond tennis bracelets (I wish!), all kinds of bracelets.

Lately I love seeing what creative types are upcycling into bracelets, like teacups and glasses (cut and polished so the edges are smooth and safe), water bottles, license plates, book covers, shoe buckles, old records, aluminum cans, playing cards, and more. Folks are so clever. Here are some inspiring faves I found on Etsy.



Can you guess what these are? Answer: Bangle bracelets cut from old skateboards, by This Good Earth.		This pretty bracelet is an old watch band plus a vintage shoe clip, courtesy of Wish An Wear.


Kool Platez recycles old license plates into cuff bracelets, like this one from down here on the bayou.		Redwinged Blackbirds turned an old children's book cover into this sweet but bold cuff bracelet.


This modern cuff bracelet is made by phase B out of old plastic water bottles.		Olive Spoon Studio turns old silverware into rings and bracelets, like this spoon cuff bracelet.

To celebrate the coming of Bracelet Season, here are three favorite bracelet how-to projects from Jewelry Making Daily. Just click the pics to get to the instructions.


*Barbara Lewis's enameled disc bracelet*	*My stick-pearl flower cuff*	*Jane Dickerson's faux chain maille bracelet*


	Jeff's disc bracelets from One-Hour Bracelets

For more great bracelet-making ideas, download or order a DVD copy of our One-Hour Bracelets with Jeff Fulkerson video workshop. It's on sale now in our Resolve to Save Event! Through following along with Jeff's five bracelet tutorials in the video, you'll learn to form a variety of bracelet styles in metal; once you've got those down, you can branch out and experiment with your own designs, building upon the bracelet-making and metal-forming basics you learned from the video. Meanwhile you'll also be learning metalsmithing skills like hammer textures, rollerprinting, soldering, setting stones, riveting, using a disc cutter (sooo handy!), creating patinas on metal, and more.

From Wire to Wow: 6 Design Elements You Can Create with Simple Wire

TammyJones — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:58:00 GMT

When I first started seriously making jewelry a few years ago, I had little interest in (or, I'm sad to say, respect for) wire. Most of the wire jewelry that I saw wasn't really my style, and I didn't realize how much of what I was seeing in other designs was actually wire. Fortunately, I soon discovered how versatile--and how everywhere--wire is, in jewelry.

Everyone knows about wire jewelry findings--clasps, ear wires, head and eye pins, bails--but wire doesn't have to be limited to the utilitarian piece that just connects the other design elements together. It can be, and often is, the jewelry element itself, and there are lots of fun ways to make jewelry design elements out of wire. Here are some of my favorites.

		1. Hammered wire: Nothing gives wire an artisan feel like texturing it with a few good hammer whacks. Texture also adds interest to wire and can mean the difference between a modern or contemporary-feeling piece of jewelry and a warmer, more rustic or vintage-feeling piece. Tip: Remember that if you hammer overlapping wires, it can weaken the metal where it overlaps.

		2. Spiraled wire: Rolling wire into a spiral turns a long, straight, skinny, sometimes boring material into a substantial, curvy, more interesting jewelry design element with depth and dimension. Form the wire into a pointed spiral and you have a leaf; roll into a multi-layered spiral and you have a rose like these shown here; or wire together about five spirals and you have flower petals. Spirals turn flat wire into metal shapes and three-dimensional design elements. (Those are Cindy Wimmer's Spiral Roses from Easy Wire 2010.)

		3. Flattened paddles: In my Bead Fest wire and metal master class with Mary Hettmansperger last August, I was introduced to the beauty and genius of paddled wire ends. Such a simple thing, hammering the ends (or even all) of the wire gives it a whole new look and creates new ways to use it in jewelry designs. It also creates "stops" that will hold other materials in place; for example, you can paddle one end of a wire pin, slide on a bead with a hole too small to slip over the paddled end, and then make a loop or paddle the other end too, to create a dangle of it. It's also fun to weave those flattened wires, over-under style, to make a woven metal piece out of just wire.

		4. Vines and tendrils: I love the whimsical look of ball-end head pins coiled into vines, flower stamens, or tendrils, especially when layered with flowers like this enameled floral cascade necklace on the cover of Barbara Lewis's Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry. I imagine making a gazillion of them with a single loop in the center, enameling each tip in different colors, and stringing them onto a bangle bracelet.

		5. Coiled wire: In her new coiled-wire video workshop, Wire Coiling Secrets with Kerry Bogert, Kerry shares that she uses wire coils in almost every jewelry project she makes, because wire coils make the bare core (inner) wire more substantial. They also help add texture, depth, and interest to your wire jewelry designs.

6. Bonus: Create unique chain. Put a bunch of any of the above together and you have unique wire chain! Whether you coil wire onto loops, twist it into wild little vines or tornado beads, connect long paddle pieces with rivets or jump rings, or hammer regular loops, if you put a bunch of them together, you have truly one-of-a-kind and eye-catching chain.

Ready for more great ways to make wire the star of your jewelry designs instead of just the "glue" that holds the rest together? Check out our exciting new wire jewelry-making video workshop, Wire Coiling Secrets with Kerry Bogert. We first fell in love with Kerry's happy-colored glass bead and wire jewelry in Totally Twisted and then her rustic and patinated metal and wire jewelry in Rustic Wrappings; now she has combined the color and the wire in a great new video workshop. Learn to make colorful coiled-wire jewelry components by hand, "from scratch," with Kerry's techniques and your favorite wire. She even shares her secret technique for making two-tone coils, and like some of the ideas I mentioned above, Kerry creates a stylish bangle bracelet with a focal piece made of simple hammered wire loops. If you love wire jewelry making and are ready for some fresh new designs, pre-order or instantly download Wire Coiling Secrets with Kerry Bogert now!

Free bonus: Use this coiling wire chart to help you determine how much wire of each gauge that you'll need to create certain coiled lengths.

Alternative Metals for Jewelry Making: 6 Reasons I've Become a Fan of Brass--and a Giveaway!

TammyJones — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:40:00 GMT

White metals have always been my thing. Back in the 1980s and '90s, I did wear yellow gold jewelry--but mostly because that's what my Dad, who was my primary jewelry-gifter at the time, bought me. Soon after that, possibly during my "hippie" college years, I became a fan of silver jewelry. (I've always been a HUGE fan of silver everything-else.)


	brass jewelry components from Nunn Design

As an official grown-up and many years since then, I stuck with white metals, adding the occasional white gold piece to my mostly silver jewelry wardrobe. When I started making my own jewelry, silver was naturally the way to go, for personal preference as well as affordability.

But then . . . well, I won't remind you what has happened to the price of silver in the last decade or so. I'll skip that part and just say that in the past few years, I've really started to appreciate alternative metals for jewelry making, particularly copper and brass. We've talked about copper many times before, but brass hasn't gotten its share of the fame, so I wanted to give it some attention today. Here are six reasons why I like it.


*brass with heat patina*

1. Flame painting (aka heat patina) on brass is fun and beautiful. Just like copper, brass gives up gorgeous colors and patterns when you pass it through a torch flame.

2. It resembles gold. I haven't worn yellow-gold jewelry in ages and wasn't sure it was right with my skin tone, but recently I've been more drawn to the warm glow of yellow gold, especially textured 18k and 24k gold. Raw brass pieces can provide nearly the same warm yellow glow (and heft) of gold at a fraction of the ever-rising cost.


	I made this stacked flower ring using three of the flowers from Nunn Design, a super-convenient sterling rivetable ring from Beaducation.com, and #2839 red enamel from Barbara Lewis's Painting with Fire Studio.

3. Brass stands up to a flame. While I've been enameling and playing with color on alternative metals like copper and brass, I've spent a small fortune buying metal components, charms and such at bead and craft stores, experimenting with what can take the heat and what can't. My findings? 99.5% of the stuff I've bought can't handle the heat of a torch, even ones that are silver plated, and they become splats on my soldering table (or shoot sparks all over my bench, yikes!). It seems more and more of the commercial metal jewelry components are plated aluminum or pewter, and they melt immediately. Brass, however, like the brass stampings and jewelry components in Nunn Design's newest collection, hold up to the flame. They're beautiful, too.

4. Transparent enamels on brass are gorgeous. I've been using transparent reds and greens in particular on some of those new Nunn Design brass stamped pieces, and I'm in love with the results. The transparent red on brass makes the whole thing look like rose gold or regular gold with just the prettiest hint of pink in it and I even see a touch of shimmer, like really pretty old-fashioned hard candy. Love.


*soldering brass*

5. Soldering on brass is not as hard as you might think, especially if you just have one step to solder. There's only one kind of solder for brass (no hard, soft, etc. to figure out and keep separated, like for silver), so there's no confusion there, and it comes in easy-to-use paste. You can learn more about soldering brass here and here.


	*Kerry's brass patinated with potato chips*

6. You can create beautiful patinas on brass, too. Kerry Bogert's Rustic Wrappings has great "recipes" for creating patinas on alternative metals like copper and brass using household items like vinegar, salt, and ammonia--even salt-and-vinegar potato chips, as shown here. My favorite verdigris looks just as lovely on brass as on copper.

To learn more about using alternative metals like brass and copper in your jewelry creations, subscribe to Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine. You'll find stylish jewelry projects that feature affordable alternative metals (both in sheet and wire) in every issue, all created by top jewelry designers that you know and love.

What about you? Do you love brass? Have I missed any reasons to love it? Please share in the comments below! Our friends at Nunn Design love brass, too, and they've provided a yummy collection of brass and other alternative metal jewelry-making components from their 2012 Fall Collection to give to one of you! Just leave your comment (before midnight on Sunday, January 20, 2013) below and one of you will be chosen at random to win the goodies. Check out Nunn Design's Facebook page, website and blog for jewelry inspiration and more of their great products!

Top 12 of 2012: A Look Back at the Best of the Year on Jewelry Making Daily

TammyJones — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 07:30:00 GMT

What a fun year we've had making jewelry together! I hope you've all enjoyed learning new techniques and mastering ones you already knew, learning about new jewelry-making tools and supplies, and swooning over gemstones with me. I've learned two incredibly fun new techniques this year, electroforming and torch enameling, as my "to learn" list is slowly being whittled away. In 2013, I hope I can finally mark gem cutting off my list (fortunately Tucson is just around the corner--big news about that below), along with chasing and repoussé and casting.

Let's take a look back at your favorite JMD blogs published during 2012. I wonder if you'll remember each one or if you'll have to peek...

12. Speaking of Tucson . . . This blog was definitely foreshadowing for all the new ways I'd learn to use and love copper and wire (and copper wire) during 2012.

11. Though I'm still too impatient to learn it properly, I finally "tackled" a chain maille weave in 2012. It seems taking lessons from childhood learning was the key to my chain-maille success.

10. I learned a good crossover-crafts lesson during 2012, as well, and put that knowledge to good use in a favorite technique for me now: metal stamping.

9. I've always been a fan of recycling and upcycling in particular, especially when it comes to crafts and jewelry making. This guest blog by Kate Wadsworth about making jewelry using old cookie tins was a big hit.

8. Our newest contributing author and recurring guest blogger for 2012 was the lovely and talented Kate Richbourg, who shared her wealth of knowledge all year long about metal stamping, soldering with a micro torch, riveting, jewelry tools and supplies like the Dremel and the micro torch, and more. Her Dremel-friendly textured, riveted flower pendant was among our most popular this year.

7. Thanks to the ever-increasing price of silver (I don't even look at gold anymore), alternative metals like copper and brass continued their 15 minutes of jewelry-making fame in 2012. I think the question I see most often asked on the JMD forums is about soldering copper, brass, or copper to brass, and some of our brilliant members shared their tips and knowledge in this post.

6. Though I find myself making earrings so often, rings are my favorite type of jewelry to make, and based on your response to this blog, I think you must agree with me!

5. The popularity of this blog really surprised me, but it pleased me even more. I love mixing craft techniques like resin and embossing with jewelry making, and this project was a perfect opportunity to do that. It also allowed me to play, experiment, and start my love affair with using resin. I'm so happy that many of you enjoyed it and shared your comments.

4. Another fun new part of JMD in 2012 was the addition of guest bloggers and designers. Our friends at Nunn Design kept us busy with fun new jewelry-making projects featuring epoxy clay, resin, and all kinds of mixed media, like this one.

3. We continued to publish a free jewelry-making eBook each month during 2012, and this blog introducing one of them was a huge hit. It's further evidence to me that we have many crossover crafters and mixed-media jewelry artists in our JMD family and I look forward to exploring that more in 2013!

2. The popularity of this one doesn't surprise me a bit! Her second blog in our top 12, Kate Richbourg's micro (butane) torch 101 series was a wonderful addition to JMD in 2012. It all led up to the publication of her Simple Soldering book in October, which is a perfect gateway for people who want to move beyond wire and other no-heat jewelry-making techniques but who don't want to invest in (or use) a big torch and soldering setup. Kate was definitely a shining star on JMD for 2012 and you'll be seeing more of her in 2013.

And the number one blog on Jewelry Making Daily during 2012 was...

1. When I named this blog "Wire Jewelry Tip of the Year," I had no idea it would turn out to be true! I should've known, though, considering what a super handy tip it is and how popular wire jewelry-making is with the JMD family. Sometimes the simplest things are the sweetest.

Looking forward for 2013, I'm also excited about Tucson--it's just about a month away! Now's the time to get the 2013 Tucson Show Guide and start making plans, deciding which shows to attend, signing up for classes, finding out where favorite vendors will be as well as identifying new ones that look interesting, seeing what trends are already in the buzz. The Tucson gem, jewelry, mineral and fossil shows are incredibly fun, incredibly exciting--but they can be incredibly overwhelming without a good plan. The Tucson Show Guide is a thorough resource for show old timers as well as newbies ready to form their plan of attack. Pre-order or instantly download your 2013 Tucson Show Guide and start planning now!

Which jewelry-making techniques did you learn with us in 2012? What do you want to learn in 2013? I hope you'll share your feedback in the comments below.

Also check out our most popular JMD blogs ever (at the time) and the most commented blogs of 2011--it's like opening a time capsule!

Editor's Picks: Jewelry Supply Holiday Wish List for Jewelry Makers (And it's all on sale!)

TammyJones — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:37:00 GMT

Even though I'm at the age when women start saying it's some anniversary of some other acceptable birthday, my dad still asks me for a Christmas list each year. When I was younger, it usually included a doll, an electronic game or two (remember Merlin? Simon? Atari???), and clothes. As I got older, the dolls fell off and the clothes part grew (and I added pursessss). It was just a matter of time before the sparklies made their way onto the list and I started asking Daddy for jewelry for Christmas.

Eventually I had "enough" jewelry (ha! as if that's ever possible) and got interested in making my own crafts--so I asked him for a Dremel tool. That was the beginning of jewelry craft supply Christmas lists for me! (And also the start of lists I think he liked, because they included stuff from the hardware store and the electronics store, which is dad territory!) I asked for a tiny CrockPot for pickle, a Mr. Coffee warmer to dry my metal clay, a flex-shaft tool, and a torch. This year, I'm asking Santa Daddy for a big dapping set (or this one?), some fancy Fretz hammers, and maybe a disc cutter set.

After all these years of making-the-lists, I like to think I'm kind of an expert. (ha!) So whether you're making the list or buying the gifts, I've got some great suggestions for jewelry supplies for the jewelry makers in your life--even if that means you!

For the Metalsmith

Oh, the things Bill Fretz can do with hammers and stakes! Watching his Hammering and Forming DVDs opened my eyes to all the amazing ways that hammers can move metal. Of all the jewelry tools and supplies in my studio, hammers seem to be the one to give me the most bang (ha!) for my buck. Learn great ways to use them by watching Basic Jewelry Hammering and Forming and Hammering and Forming Jewelry, vol. 2.

Another great way to help metal fulfill its greatest potential is by adding texture and/or patina. You'll find lots of ways to do both while adding depth and interest to your designs in the Metalsmith Essentials: Textures and Patinas DVD, including how to create patina on metal using simple household supplies and how to prep metal pieces so they'll accept patinas well. And, of course, no metalsmith's library is complete without a soldering DVD from Lexi Erickson!

For the Metal Stamper

For Christmas last year, I made one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever made, thanks to metal stamping--and I was inspired to do it by Lisa Niven Kelly's Stamped Metal Jewelry book. Think of all the things you want to say to a loved one (I love you!), all the cute little catch phrases that make you giggle thinking about your best friend (shew girl!), all the ways a friend could use encouragement (dream, wish, hope). You can share all these sentiments through stamped metal jewelry (or other stamped metal gifts, like bookmarks, ornaments, etc.) and this book will make sure you do it in style. This year I'm stamping sweet nothings into the bowls of silver spoons for Mama and some other family members so every morning when they stir their coffee, they'll know I love them. Aww!

For the Mixed-Media Jewelry Maker: Enamel and Resin

I'll probably be adding enamels to my Christmas list this year--if I can wait that long without buying my own, because torch enameling is my current favorite jewelry-making technique. Barbara Lewis's Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry book is a must-have for anyone interested in enameling, expanding their metal jewelry repertoire, or adding color to their metal jewelry designs. I love torch enameling most because it's so hands-on and you can watch the magic happen right before your eyes--no kiln needed.

Speaking of hands-on jewelry techniques, resin is right up there with my favorites. The possibilities for embedding and preserving all kinds of paper ephemera, natural treasures, and found objects in bezels with resin make me giddy! I find ways to use resin every week that I wouldn't have thought of before I started using it. And who better to teach and inspire you to create gorgeous resin jewelry than Susan Lenart Kazmer, the resin queen? Grab her Exploring Resin Jewelry-Making DVD and you (or the lucky recipient of it!) will be making gallery-worthy resin jewelry in no time.

For the Wire Enthusiast

When I first started working on Jewelry Making Daily, I wasn't a fan of wire. Poor me! I was sadly blind to all the amazing ways you can use wire in jewelry making--and how much like metalsmithing, which I love, working with wire can be. Now sometimes I think of wire as pre-cut skinny little strips of metal, ha! Lucky for me, a talented designer (Mary Hettmansperger) came along and made a DVD about unique basketry-inspired ways to use wire in jewelry designs, including weaving, looping, and twining. It's one of my favorite jewelry-making resources ever, partly because it's so unique and partly because the results are just stunning--and not hard to do! The jewelry maker who owns Weaving Wire Jewelry will never be without ideas for making great jewelry.

For Everyone!

If you don't know where to start (for buying the gift or making the jewelry), The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques is the book for you. It's a hugely handy and complete resource that covers every jewelry-making technique you can think of--making it perfect for beginners who want to start making jewelry and for experienced jewelry makers who need refreshers on their skills or want to learn new ones. I heard Santa himself placed a big order for these awhile back, I'm just sayin'...

All of these great jewelry-making supplies and resources are on sale now! Find them and hundreds of other great products for yourself and every jewelry maker or jewelry lover on your list in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop--and use coupon code EXTRA15 to save an additional 15% off through Sunday, Nov. 25!

What jewelry-making books or DVDs are on your list this year? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. One of you just might win what you wish for . . . ho ho ho!

Torch-Fired Enameling: Make an Enameled Disc Bracelet by Barbara Lewis

TammyJones — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:17:00 GMT


	Gorgeous enamel powder colors!

Torch-fired enameling is my current favorite jewelry-making technique. I have always loved enameling and the colorful possibilities it offers, but I was put off by the kiln--I don't have one, which was a major deterrent! But I didn't like the idea of kiln enameling because all of the magic of the enameling process happens behind the closed kiln door. I love watching it happen in the torch flame, watching the metal glow and the enamels melt. I love the hands-on nature of torch-fired enameling, of rolling the components in the enameling powders, of mixing and blending the colors or adding on layer after layer of one color to get thick juicy color. I love it all! And I know that after you try it, you will too.

So try it! Barbara Lewis, author of Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire, created this fun and versatile bracelet featuring a torch-fired enamel disc focal piece just for Jewelry Making Daily readers. Here's her step-by-step torch-fired enamel tutorial so you can make your own.

Materials:

1" 24-gauge copper disc (cut your own or purchase)
jeweler's saw
metal hole punch or drill
8-gauge copper wire or tubing
22-gauge copper wire
large-barrel forming pliers (optional)
abrasive copper cleaner and scrubber
flux
bowl/jar of water
torch *
easy solder
dedicated copper pickle
rawhide mallet
ring mandrel
chasing hammer
bench block
enamel powders
cookie sheet or other heat-proof surface
clamps and hardware to secure the torch, gas tank, and heat resistant surface to your work table
stainless steel mandrel/s
pan of vermiculite
optional enamel add-ins: 2mm millefiori pieces, 6/20 (pea-gravel size) enamels, enamel threads or "cat whiskers" and enamel marking pens
Barbara's patent-pending bead-pulling station

* Barbara recommends either a Fire Works torch or Hot Head torch with MAPP gas. An oxy/propane lampworking torch can also be used. A butane torch does not provide a hot enough or bushy enough flame.

Steps:

		1. Cut/saw or use a purchased 1" copper disc. Mark the opposing sides using a template or ruler.
		2. Drill two 3/32" holes on the disc as shown.
		3. Heat the disc to a dull cherry red to anneal and quench in water.
		4. Dap the disc to give it a gentle dome.
		5. Create a frame to fit around your disc (with a little extra space to spare between the two) using 8-gauge copper wire tubing. Use large-barrel forming pliers to help create the general frame shape.
		6. Using a jeweler's saw to cut the wire will give you a clean-fitting join and make your job of soldering a lot easier. 7. Shape the metal into a circle to fit around the disc. Pay more attention to getting the ends matching perfectly close than to the shape of the frame at this point, though. The ends must meet perfectly in order to solder.
		8. Scrub the copper clean, paint flux on the wire frame, and add a chip of easy solder at the seam. Heat the frame gradually, moving the torch flame around the entire frame at first and then focusing the flame on the join. Remember that solder flows in the direction of the heat, so continue until the solder flows up into the seam. Quench the frame in water and pickle in dedicated copper pickle. Don't worry that it's a wonky shape, you'll shape it next.
		9. Use a rawhide mallet and ring mandrel to shape the copper frame to round. If you want the frame to be larger, hammer it down toward the larger end of the mandrel. If you just want to make it more round, hammer straight at it onto the mandrel.
		10. Check the fit of the frame around the disc and stretch it further if needed.
		11. Next you'll stretch the metal frame a bit more and flatten it at the same time by hammering it with a chasing hammer on a bench block. Drill a hole in each side of the flattened copper frame to correspond with the holes in the copper disc.
12. Set up your torch-fired enameling station as shown in Barbara's setup below, so that you can add color to the copper disc. (Editor's note: Be aware that the water is no longer for quenching but for emergencies. You will not quench enameled pieces but let them cool gradually on their own. Quenching enameled pieces can cause the enamel to shatter and pop off the metal. You can stand the mandrel (which is a skinny stainless steel rod) enameled-end-up in a jar, wooden block with holes drilled in it, or similar apparatus until the enameled pieces have cooled enough for you to remove them safely from the mandrels--or drop the pieces off the mandrel into a pan of vermiculite.)


		(Editor's note: When I torch enamel, I clamp my MAPP gas torch to my work table. Because I'm right handed, I sit to the right and keep my enamel powders and other supplies to the right of the flame, so I never have to reach around it.) 13. Barbara used #1319 Bitter opaque enamel powder in this example.
		14. Place the disc on a mandrel. Turn on the torch and dangle the metal in the flame. When the metal is glowing, dredge it through the green enamel powder. 15. Repeat the heating and dredging process about three more times or until you have covered the metal with enamel.
		16. After firing three coats of Bitter green onto the piece, tilt your wrist while the piece is still on the mandrel, so that the piece is parallel to the table, and direct the flame to the underside of the disc. Place the millefiori pieces as desired.
		17. How about creating a few dots by adding enamel threads? Hold the enamel thread in tweezers and place the tip of the enamel thread in the flame to allow the tip to ball up; then touch the molten ball of enamel to the disc and pull your hand away, depositing the little ball of enamel.
		18. Now let's melt those babies in! Heat the disc in the flame again. Fire the piece until the millefiori and enamel dots are flat and smooth. Remove the disc from the mandrel and allow it to cool.
		19. "Since I'm a big fan of MacKenzie-Childs, Alice in Wonderland and Nanny McPhee, I figure, if a few millefiori flowers and enamel dots are good, more dots made by an enamel marking pen must be better!" Barbara says. So shake up the enamel marking pen and place dots as desired on the piece. The enamel marking pen contains enamel, just in a liquid form. Fire the piece again to fuse the dots to the enamel.
		20. To put your bracelet together: Start by "sewing" or wire-wrapping the enamel disc inside the wire frame using 22-gauge copper wire.
		"I've added some Swarovski crystals, a patinated section of chain, a few links, and an enameled flower," Barbara says. "I have fan-shaped components that don't hold enamel well, but I found that when you burn off the plating, you get a wonderfully rusty-looking surface. I used one of them as part of the clasp."


	Barbara's alternative design

The possibilities for personalizing Barbara's enameled disc bracelet are endless. You can use whatever components you like in your bracelet, any color palette of enamels and beads, any chain or links, any clasp. Make the focal disc a different shape if you like, or make multiple framed enameled focals (all matching or all different) and link them together for a bold enameled bracelet. The color possibilities are so much fun!

See why torch enameling is my new favorite jewelry-making technique? Learn more about it in Barbara's beautiful book, Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire, available now in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop.

About the author/designer:
Barbara Lewis is the author of Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: a Workshop in Painting with Fire, named the Best Craft Book of 2011 at Amazon. She is a popular workshop leader of the Painting with Fire immersion process of enameling, which eliminates many of the tedious and time-consuming steps normally associated with torch- and kiln-firing enamel. As a Thompson Enamel distributor, Barbara maintains a teaching studio and retail store in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg, one of the artistic hubs of the city. She welcomes visitors to her studio, gladly demonstrating her enameling process and offering a hands-on experience to her visitors. You can learn more about Barbara and the tools needed for torch-firing enamel, including her patent-pending bead-pulling station, at her Painting with Fire Studio or by calling 727-498-6409.