Jewelry Making Daily : riveting

What Is Steampunk Design? Plus 3 Free Steampunk Jewelry-Making Projects

TammyJones — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:23:00 GMT

Search for Steampunk on Etsy and you'll find over 215,000 results . . . and 35 million on Google. About two years ago, it was only 70,000 on Etsy and 6.5 million on Google. Wow. Needless to say, Steampunk is not going away anytime soon. But what is Steampunk, anyway?

Steampunk gets its name from an era during which steam power was used, during the Victorian 1800s. It was a romantic time full of arts and beauty but also full of discovery and new technology, like the invention of steam power. This incongruous pairing--romantic beauty plus technological discovery, with a little bit of fantasy thrown in--is at the heart of the Steampunk movement and our free eBook, What Is Steampunk Design: 3 FREE Steampunk Projects Demonstrating How to Make Steampunk Jewelry.

Jean Campbell, author and Steampunk jewelry artist, defines the Steampunk world as "filled with brass fittings, steel gizmos, coiled thingamabobs, and glowing orbs" with "a rich taste of everything Victorian: jet and other rich stones, cameos, silk and taffeta, and charms." Those two worlds come together perfectly in Steampunk jewelry making. You'll need some of these elements for making Steampunk jewelry designs:

metal findings and chain
charms and cameos
glass (plus mirrors, optical lenses...)
gemstones (amethyst, turquoise, pearls, agate, onyx, coral, jade, garnet, ruby, jet, peridot)
sentimental items (photos, ticket stubs, bits of letters, ephemera)
found objects (watch parts, skeleton keys, hinges, nuts and bolts)

In What Is Steampunk Design: 3 FREE Steampunk Projects Demonstrating How to Make Steampunk Jewelry, you'll find inspiring ways to blend these Steampunk elements using many different jewelry-making techniques, including wire wrapping, cold connections, resin, and soldering. And before you begin making the Steampunk jewelry projects in the eBook, you can also get a closer look at what Steampunk jewelry means to several jewelry designers. Here's a closer look at what you'll get when you download your free eBook:

		The Steampunk Trend: Vintage industrial elegance by Annie Osburn There are about as many opinions on how to make Steampunk jewelry as there are watch parts to make it with on Etsy. Annie Osburn defines Steampunk style by sharing the designs and comments of jewelry artists Jill Stevens, Leslie Rogalski (who made this bracelet), Ricky Wolbrom, and Sarah Martin.

		Wired Steampunk Earrings: Sophisticated style from eclectic elements by Leslie Rogalski Leslie combines mechanical bits and pieces in mixed metals into an artistic earring design in these dangling Steampunk earrings. For this design, Leslie says she chose "watch parts that evoke the shape of wings" (there's the fantasy element) with red crystal beads for a pop of color and excitement. The dangling chain adds swaying movement reminiscent of a clock's swinging pendulum or the rocking of a train, adding even more Steampunk style to her design.

		Steampunk Resin Station Necklace: A mixed-media piece from craft store components and easy metalwork by Helen I. Driggs Helen's necklace provides endless opportunities for cleverly using Steampunk jewelry-making components in one design, including watch gears as chain links and clock hands as part of a toggle clasp. She also incorporates crystals like (faux) pearls and faceted stones that resemble the Victorian favorite, jet, to provide the pretty and romantic side of making Steampunk jewelry. The use of resin makes it easy to preserve and include sentimental paper or fabric elements in the design, too.

		Citron Chimera Cuff: A fusion of motifs and materials by Roger Halas Roger's winged cuff is a perfect example of a slightly different kind of Steampunk style. No watch parts, chain, or paper stubs in this imaginative design--but you will find gemstones in mechanical-looking tube settings and spiny wings that imply both beauty and fantasy.

"With the energy of a rock concert and mechanical parts that recall the giant and elaborate steam-powered machines of the Victorian Era, Steampunk is a heady mixture that is at once edgy, industrial, and romantic," says Merle White, our Editorial Director over jewelry and the editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. Don't miss out on this fun and creative trend in jewelry making. Download What Is Steampunk Design: 3 FREE Steampunk Projects Demonstrating How to Make Steampunk Jewelry and get started making Steampunk-style jewelry now!

Beyond Rivets: The Other Cold Connections

TammyJones — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:22:00 GMT

I'll be honest: I'd never heard the term "cold connections" until I became the lucky girl editor of Jewelry Making Daily. I'd always just called them connections, cold joins or by their "given" names, like rivets, screws, jump rings etc. Those terms are all still accurate, but it seems they're more often referred to in the industry as cold connections, a whole category of connections that are grouped together because they don't require heat.

The lack of heat (and flame) provides a variety of options for making joins in jewelry when a torch either won't work (because the materials involved might burn or melt, for example) or for those who prefer not to solder.

For better jewelry, if I'm using all precious metals or a mixture of precious and "base" metals with or without gemstones, I usually connect pieces by soldering. But sometimes my jewelry making projects meander more toward the artsy/craftsy side, incorporating mixed-media elements, resin, enamel, stamped metal components, vintage whoknowswhats, etc., and it can be nearly impossible to solder a variety of mixed materials like that without melting something or worse. In those cases, I rely on a cold-connection method, such as brads or even epoxy resin as an adhesive. If you've ever messed up a resin project and tried to remove the resin from the bezel to salvage any possible parts, you know what a great adhesive resin can be!

Here's a quick rundown of different kinds of cold connections.


*rivets, by Kim St. Jean*

Rivets: Rivets are basically wire pins or tubes (tube rivets) that are flared/flattened on one end, inserted in the holes of the pieces you're connecting, and then flared/flattened on the opposite end to close the rivet and secure the pieces together. Tube rivets are easier for me than regular or pin rivets; though I know the process, I haven't mastered it and still seem to have trouble getting the heads of the rivets to flatten out (terminate) properly sometimes. Rivets are handy for connecting layered metal pieces that can still move or spin. Their heads also create interesting design elements when they're in place, similar to that of brads, below.


	tabs, by Helen Driggs

Tabs: Simply put, tabs act like big and/or wide prongs to hold pieces together. Tabs can be a bit labor-intensive, especially if you're making them yourself. Whether your piece calls for several or just a few tabs, you have to cut them and then finish all those cut edges. For this reason, whenever I consider tabs, I try to make sure that the design or the mechanics of the piece won't suffer if I only use three tabs. An odd but balanced number, three is a good number design-wise because it appeals to the eye and mechanics-wise because it's generally enough to secure the item, such as a stone or another metal component.


*tube rivets, by Helen Driggs*

Screws and Nuts/Bolts: These are the cold connections I use least often. It's probably user error, but I never feel that the nuts I put on the backs of the bolts are secure enough, especially if I'm selling the piece I'm making. As for screws, their pointed ends turn me off them right away. I know I can always saw or sand off the point, but that gets into more trouble and effort than I want to expend on a casual cold connection. If any of you like using screws as cold connections, I'd love to hear why and how you like to use them.


	stitching, by Helen Driggs

Wire Weaving/Stitching or Jump Rings: This is probably the broadest cold-connection option. If you use wire to tie/knot, weave, sew/stitch, loop, coil, wrap, or otherwise attach two pieces together, you've made a wired cold connection. But the stitches and rings don't have to be made of wire; you can use silk or other cord, fabric, leather, ribbon, rubber, plastic, etc.


some of my moveable brads

Brads: I saved the easiest one for last. Brads have become my recent favorite cold connection, because they give a finished, well-made look without hardly any effort at all. Plus, thanks to their one-time popularity in scrapbooking, I have tons and tons of them in every size, shape, and color. If you don't have a stash from other crafts, don't worry--they're inexpensive and easy to find. To use them, just punch holes in your pieces (if no holes exist already), insert the brads, spread the back "wings" and you're done. Brads are ideal if you're mixing paper or fabric with metal and when the back will be hidden by a base piece. Then no one will even know it's a brad!

I learned a great tip for making brads "fit in" and look better with other metal pieces last summer: Once your brad is in place, tap the head of it with the tip of a riveting hammer. It improves the brad's appearance and sets it more securely.

If you'd like to try your hand at any of these cold-connection techniques, eProjects are a great way to dip your toe in gradually--and all our jewelry-making eProjects are on sale now through March 8, 2013. Plus how about a bonus? Buy some, get one free! Enjoy this free riveting project by Karen Dougherty, author of Metal Style: 20 Jewelry Designs with Cold Join Techniques.

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

Hammer Time: Get Familiar with Basic and Specialty Hammers for Metalsmithing Tasks

TammyJones — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:11:00 GMT

Fold forming metal is a unique metalsmithing art. I've learned that successful fold-forming relies on two points: the right metal and the right hammers.

Travis Ogden, expert host of the metalsmithing video tutorial Basic Jewelry Fold Forming, recommends 24-gauge metal sheet for fold forming. Even when annealed (and your sheet should be annealed before you begin), heavier gauges can be difficult to fold form. Remember that metal sheet gets harder as you work with it, as a result of all that hammering. Frequent annealing might be necessary. Fine silver is easier to use for fold forming than sterling silver for the same reason--it's softer and easier to unfold after it has been hammered.

Fold forming is achieved through hammering, and like any task, the right tool is key. There are many kinds of hammers, and some of them have broad and varied uses while some are intended for basically just one special task. Let's get familiar with various kinds of hammers.

(from our jewelry-making tool eBook by Sharon Elaine Thompson)


*nylon raising hammer*	*narrow raising hammer*	*spiculum forming hammer*

*rawhide mallet*	*goldsmith's hammer*	*forming (L) & planishing (R) hammers*

Raising hammer: two rectangular, blunt, or wedge-shaped cross-peen faces, used to "raise" the metal from flat sheet to dimensional form by striking the outside of the form.

Mallet: identical faces and can be made of plastic, rawhide, or metal.

Goldsmith's hammer: one flat and one cross-peen head for riveting and other work.

Forming hammer: a heavy hammer with flat or domed faces, used to move metal.

Planishing hammer: flat or convex faces, to smooth metal that has been worked by other hammers or to harden metal.


*ball-peen hammer*	*flat-faced chasing hammer*	*nylon mallet*

*bordering hammer*	*large embossing hammer*	*riveting hammer*

*curved-face chasing hammer*	*jeweler's embossing hammer*	*texturing hammer*
		Photos by Jim Lawson.

Ball-peen hammer: an all-purpose hammer with one round and one half-domed face, for flattening and shaping metal, removing dents; can be used to drive chisels, punches, stamps.

Chasing hammer: one flat face for striking other tools (such as stamps) or planishing metal; one round face for forming and riveting; handle has a bulbous end and a narrow neck for more bounce back and less strain on the wrist.

Riveting hammer: one round and one chisel-shaped face, for riveting, tacking, and lightweight forming.

Embossing hammer: two rounded, differently sized faces, for a variety of metalwork.

Texturing hammer: machined or patterned faces, for striking texture directly onto metalwork.

Ready to see how you can combine metal sheet with some of these hammers to create unique dimensional shapes? Order Travis's Basic Jewelry Fold Forming DVD or instantly download the video in high definition. You'll learn the metalsmithing and fold-forming skills required to create three-dimensional, organic shapes in 11 lessons, including the T-fold, quarter folds and their variations; synclastic and anticlastic folds; and more.

Bonus: Learn more about manipulating metal and try your hand at a quick fold-formed leaf tutorial.

About Travis Ogden: As an independent jewelry artist with over 40 years of experience, Travis holds both a BFA and an MFA. His award-winning, superbly crafted jewelry is currently represented in three Colorado galleries. He taught metalsmithing at the university level for more than 15 years and currently teaches at the Denver School of Metal Arts, which he owns along with the Naja Tool and Supply in Denver.

Metalsmithing Ideas for Artisan Bails: You Never Know From Whence Your Inspiration Will Spring

Lexi Erickson — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:36:00 GMT

By Lexi Erickson (Foreign Correspondent)


	*I found bail design inspiration everywhere in Europe, even between the cutouts of the balconies of the Swiss chalets.*

My most recent trip to Europe was not a pleasure trip (yeah, right) but a "working holiday." My first college degree was a BFA in Art History, so I knew I would focus on lots of historic homes, the inevitable massive cathedrals and churches (which are the only thing more prolific than Starbucks), and my favorite, the 7th-century hill forts.

Now one can only take so many days filled with magnificent Gothic cathedrals and the sapphire-colored stained-glass windows before one is overwhelmed with sensory overload and everything runs together. That happened by the third cathedral to my beloved spouse, so he found a seat where he could sip the favored National Beverage of Whatever-Germanic-Country-We-Were-In or the ubiquitous Italian beverage while I tramped through all the cathedrals.

Soon I tired of going up and down tower steps and the heat---107 degrees in Florence! This Mountain Mama is not used to heat or humidity. So, knowing I had an upcoming metalsmithing video workshop on making artisan bails, I concentrated on looking for things that would make pretty bails, like the fabulous and ingenious metalwork that is part of the architecture of Europe's Dark and Middle Ages. Their designs can be modified into unique and interesting bails, so I'm inspired to "kick it up a notch" and make my bails more interesting. You can too, with a bit of imagination.

One of the things that makes a bail truly unique is the addition of the back plate, or what I call a "bail plate," which is soldered onto the back of the piece. The actual bail sits on the top of the bail plate. The bail plate design should fit well within the shape of the piece's actual back plate. That gives you a flat area that you should fill with something beautiful. (Have I lost you yet?)

On my pendants, I love to use a small question-mark-shaped bail, but when it sits on top of a pretty bail plate, then the back of the piece may become as interesting and beautiful as the front of the piece. And when that happens, the bail and bail plate are a little secret for the wearer of the piece. That extra little surprise always delights my customers and helps set my jewelry apart from others. And don't forget, the back of the piece should be constructed as carefully as the front, the craftsmanship should be as good, and there should be no firescale, solder blobs, or unintentional scratches. I usually finish the back of my pieces with a 60-micron 3M finishing film, because if my customer scratches the back that I've highly polished, they get very upset. With their purchase I include a small piece of the finishing film or a piece of green kitchen scrubby so they may keep the brushed finish looking good.

Europe: A Feast for the Eyes in Old-World Craftsmanship

Everywhere I looked in Salzburg, there were decorative metal signs, which could inspire a new artisan bail design or a shape to make the back of your piece as beautiful as the front.

The decorations on the doors as keyholes or as hinges really inspired me.

There, on the door to the birthplace of Salzburg's favorite son, Mozart, was a perfect bail design. Creating the leaf cutouts and folding the bail forward and soldering or riveting a small ball on the front would be so elegant.

The simple S-shaped handle from a gate on the "Sound of Music Tour" (yes, I'm a dork) would be a beautiful back plate on an oval or circular pendant. This hinge is from the cathedral where Maria (Julie Andrews) married Capt von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) in the movie. In reality, they were married at Nonnburg Abbey in Salzburg.

The hinge from the St. Michael's Church in Mondsee, Austria, which was the movie setting for the wedding of Maria and Captain von Trapp, was a simple yet elegant design. Just extend the left side of the bail in a straight line, fold it upward, and solder it on a pendant.

In Rüdesheim on the romantic Rhine (where I could so easily live forever), we visited the Abbey of St Hildegard von Bingen, the 11th-century mystic and my favorite nun. (Doesn't everyone have a favorite nun?) There were several striking pieces of metalwork at the abbey that could be adapted into an artisan bail. By curling some square wire for the sides, and making a jump ring out of the center vertical square wire, you would have a beautiful and unique bail.

Now if you are a glutton for punishment, you could try to copy this entire hinge as a bail backplate or just use the center section, extending the left side then fold it over for a bail (or the door handle, inset).

The hinges from several cathedrals in Frankfurt are magnificent and could form an incredible artisan bail for a piece, either riveted or soldered on. This would make the most elegant bail back plate--I can just see it on a piece!

More inspiring metalwork in Frankfurt.

When you watch my new video workshop, Artisan Bails, think of what your bail plate inspirations could be. Maybe it's the strap hinge of a Stickley-designed sideboard, maybe it's the carved post on your front porch. Look for inspirations when you travel, and take close ups of hinges or keyholes. Whatever inspires you will give you a chance to make some beautiful changes in your current designs.

A bail is not just a bail. It is not something that is a last-minute thought. The design of the entire piece should be considered, from start to finish, before you commit to cutting that first piece of metal. A jump ring is the least effective bail for a piece of art jewelry. It works fine for a small pearl or diamond drop, but your piece of metalwork or fine art jewelry deserves more consideration. So "kick it up a notch" and do something different. You've probably never really considered bail design as something exciting and challenging, but it is. Go for it, and make something outstanding. You won't be disappointed. And I hope you like my new Artisan Bails video workshop and have as much fun coming up with new designs as I had designing new bails to share with you.

May your bezels never melt,
Lexi

You can pre-order Lexi's Artisan Bails video workshop DVD or instant downloadly the video from from the Jewelry Making Daily Shop!

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!

Intro to the Flex Shaft: What Can It Do For You?

TammyJones — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:51:00 GMT

If you're one of those people who would look at a jeweler's bench and say, "What does this do? What does that do?" then you're going to love our new video workshop Intro to the Flex Shaft with Travis Ogden. You'll feel like you're sitting with Travis at his bench, pointing out one bur or attachment after another, asking what it does--and Travis will patiently tell you what it's used for and show you how it works.

In the world of jewelry making and metalsmithing in particular, the flex shaft is one tool that spans the line between hand and machine. Yes, it's an electricity-powered machine, but there's a lot of hand work and skill involved in using a flex shaft. For some people, a flex shaft is the best of both worlds for metalsmithing. Flex shafts provide the speed and power that we enjoy from machines while also allowing for the precise, focused, detail work and craftsmanship that we achieve by hand.

Work such as what? Grinding, sanding, polishing, and other finishing tasks, plus carving, cutting, drilling, and even more techniques.

What exactly can a flex shaft do?

"The flex shaft is essential. It's almost impossible to think about making jewelry without a flex shaft," says Travis. This "workhorse of a machine" can take the place of sandpaper, files, buffing materials, and other metalsmithing and metal finishing supplies--even polishing and lapidary machines. In his video workshop, Travis shares the various burs, bits, mandrels, wheels, compounds, and other specialty attachments you can use with your flex shaft and demonstrates what they do. Here are some of the metalsmithing and other jewelry-making tasks you can achieve with a flex shaft and the proper attachments.

Grinding (metal, stone, and wax): trim and remove metal from metal jewelry pieces; remove more metal faster than through subtler methods like sanding; remove burs or nubs leftover from casting metal jewelry pieces and components; remove excess solder; remove metal from interior spaces like inside rings, inside carved or pierced pieces, or inside castings; remove excess stone; grind away large amounts from carving wax blocks (or remove excess wax from wax form interiors to prevent excess metal weight during casting) to create wax models used for making rubber molds for casting metal jewelry components; generally remove more material (metal, stone, or wax) faster than sanding or carving; freehand stone carving

Sanding (metal and stone): refine and smooth away file or grinding marks and metal edges in smaller increments, without removing as much metal as grinding; round off prong points and wire ends for comfortable finished jewelry (ear wires!); file, smooth, and refine dry "greenware" metal clay pieces before firing; sand cast or fabricated metal pieces from raw to a pre-polish state; further refine cut, carved, and ground stones to prepare them for polishing and finishing; freehand stone faceting

Carving (stone and wax): carve custom-shaped stones and cabochons to use in one-of-a-kind jewelry creations; carve your own agate burnishing tools to suit your custom needs; carve wax models for creating molds; carve details into wax models after the general shapes have been created; create a wax form for use as a metal clay mold or stamp

Cutting (metal, stone, and wax): cut wire coils into jump rings; cut grooves in bezel walls or notches/seats in prongs that will hold a stone's girdle; freehand stone cutting; cut chunks or slices of stone off to work in smaller segments

Drilling and piercing (metal, stone, and wax): drill holes in metal, stone, and wax; pierce interior designs in both metal and stone (as well as wax molds) to create unique negative space, holes for bails, rivets and other cold connections, starter holes for sawing, open spaces in which to tube-set gems, etc.

Texturing (metal, stone, and wax): create textures on metal and stone (as well as wax molds for casting)

Finishing, polishing, buffing (metal, stone, and wax): create a matte, satin, polished, or high-shine mirror finish on textured or smooth metal (including metal clay) and stone; burnish fired metal clay pieces from the chalky white post-kiln stage to a stain finish or high shine; remove firescale without damaging textured or smooth surfaces; finish and refine carved wax models to remove grinding and carving marks before the models are used to make rubber molds or in castings

If you're one of the many people I've seen asking what good a flex shaft is, this video is for you. If you're one of those people who use a tumbler or a Dremel for polishing and other metalsmithing tasks, this video is for you, too. Even if you're one of those people who has used a flex shaft before, this video is also for you, because it can show you new and better ways to use the flex shaft to achieve even better results--such as with a drill press and other specialty accessories and holders that allow you to work with both hands free.

Order the Intro to the Flex Shaft with Travis Ogden DVD (or instantly download the video) to learn about all the parts of the flex shaft and maintaining them--as well as how to master the flex shaft's uses for metalsmithing and lapidary tasks.

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.

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!

Day 5 of 12 Days of Deals: Master Three Metalsmithing Techniques with Three Metalsmithing Masters (and Save 20%!)

TammyJones — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:32:00 GMT

Metalsmithing--more specifically, forming metal into curved or angular components and then fabricating those components into jewelry either by soldering or cold connections like riveting--is at once the most fun and intimidating "hobby" I've ever encountered. I think many of you agree with me; Jewelry Making Daily readers tell me all the time that they're afraid of the torch; they can't get the hang of soldering; they aren't masterful with hammers and other tools that help them move metal; they can't make good rivets.

OK, that last one is me--I still can't consistently create good rivets. I can do it ten times in one day, but on another day, I can't do one in ten. Sigh.

So, forming metal, soldering, and riveting. If you can master these techniques, there's little in the world of metalsmithing that you can't do--and you can master them with the help of the metalsmithing resources that I turn to time and again to show me or remind me how to do some technique or other: Lexi Erickson's How to Solder Jewelry (vols. 1 and 2) DVDs, Bill Fretz's Hammering and Forming Jewelry DVD, and Helen Driggs' Riveting and Cold Connections DVD. That's three top metalsmithing masters sharing their years of experience and expertise in convenient video workshops. In addition to that, here's how they'll help you master the metalsmithing techniques you want to learn.

Soldering with Lexi Erickson

As much as I wish you all could, not everyone can have one-on-one lessons with Lexi in her super-equipped, super-fun studio. But, everyone can have the next best thing: complete soldering lessons in her How to Solder Jewelry Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 DVDs, in which she shares all the same tips and time-tested techniques that she taught me a few years ago--and then some! What's better, you can pause, rewind, and watch as many times as you want or need to, when and wherever you want to.

Riveting and More with Helen Driggs

Cold connections allow you to attach two or more pieces of metalwork together into jewelry. There are many kinds of cold connections; riveting seems to be the most popular and most involved. There's an art to creating perfect rivets--and when it's near-permanently attaching pieces of metal that you've just spent hours or maybe even days perfecting, you want to be sure you have that art mastered before the first hammer swing. Helen Drigg's Riveting and Cold Connections DVD will provide you with all the instruction you need to master both tube and wire rivets, moveable rivets, and other cold connections. Needless to say, I've been watching this one lately!

Forming Metal with Bill Fretz

I felt like I was witnessing magic when I first watched Bill Fretz's Basic Hammering and Forming Jewelry and then Hammering and Forming Jewelry, Vol 2 DVDs. He makes it look so effortless, hammering flutes and curves and arcs and domes into metal, just by turning the hammer this way and that on a stake--but he also shows and explains exactly how to do it, how hard to strike, when to use which kind of hammer and which kind of stake. The lessons you'll learn about how metal moves, how to achieve various kinds of dimension, and how to raise or curve the metal can be applied to the rest of your metalwork, allowing you to create just about any shape you wish.

Book Bonus

If books are more your style, or if you like the convenience of flipping to a bookmarked page in a book to refresh your memory on some metalsmithing or other jewelry-making technique, The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques is incredibly handy and thorough, including everything from jewelry history to how to photograph and sell your jewelry, with everything in between: a tool directory, a gem reference guide, a gallery of design inspiration, conversion and measurement tables, a jeweler's glossary, and lots and lots of technique tutorials. Like a cookbook splattered with good olive oil and red wine, my copy is smudged with patina and firescale soot--sure signs of a much-loved, much-used resource.

So if metalsmithing is on your to-do list (or your to-learn list), I know you'll be successful with the help of one or all of these resources. And lucky you, you can use coupon code TAKE20 to save 20% off any one of them, today only in the Jewelry Making Daily Shop 12 Days of Deals. But hurry, the coupon expires tonight, Dec. 5, 2012, at 11:59 pm CT.

Day 2 of 12 Days of Deals: Everything You Want Is On Sale!

TammyJones — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 11:09:00 GMT

Do you want a soldering DVD? How about a riveting eBook?
Maybe a polymer clay or chain maille print book?

Yes, yes, and yes!

Everything you want from the Jewelry Making Daily Shop is on sale today (December 2, 2012)!
Just use the codes below when you check out.

The more you spend, the more you save!

Hurry, these discount codes are valid Dec 2, 2012, until 11:59 pm CT only.

Steampunk-Style Jewelry: What It Is and How You Can Make It

TammyJones — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:28:00 GMT

Search for Steampunk on Etsy and you'll find over 180,000 results . . . and 40 million on Google. A year and a half ago, it was only 70,000 on Etsy and 6.5 million on Google. Wow. Needless to say, Steampunk is not going away anytime soon, and to put this cool trend in perspective, searches for "silver jewelry" netted a little over 22,000 results on Etsy (about a tenth as much as Steampunk) and 28 million on Google (about 75% as much as Steampunk).

What is Steampunk, Anyway?

Steampunk gets its name from a time or "world" in which steam power was used, typically the Victorian era and the 1800s. It was a romantic time full of arts and beauty but also full of discovery and new technology, like the invention of steam power. The Steampunk movement aims to combine those two feelings. Though it seems like a hot new idea, the term was actually coined in the 1980s and the work that led to the creation of the term (books, movies, even art) is even older—from the 1960s and '70s. A large part of the trend's popularity comes from science-fiction writing that was set in the steam age of Victorian England.


	Inspired by Jean's list, I dug through my stash of found objects and found these Steampunk-esque pieces--watch parts, skeleton keys, optical lenses, crystals, hinges, and so on.

Simply put, Steampunk is industrial and mechanical "stuff" with an elaborate and romantic—albeit incongruous—Victorian twist. Good examples seen on Wikipedia include "coal-powered flying boats, ornate submarines, and Victorian dialogue." Like I said, incongruous! But interesting.

So Steampunk Jewelry Is . . .

What could be more Victorian than beautiful, elaborate jewelry? And what seems (at least at first thought) more incongruous with jewelry than nuts and bolts, watch parts, gears and tiny machinery bits, wire springs, metal stampings, and the like? Wait . . . Wire springs and metal stamping? That's starting to sound a lot like jewelry, isn't it? You bet.

How many times do you see something at an antiques store, a yard sale, or an estate sale and think, "Oh, that's pretty, I can make jewelry out of that!"? Then you'd probably enjoy making Steampunk jewelry. It's an ideal jewelry style for those of us who love collecting all those little pieces, being a very close cousin to mixed-media jewelry. Steampunk jewelry features more (mostly) metal—soldered, riveted, stacked, bolted, wired, or otherwise connected. It's also a blend of opposites and contrasts: rusty and sparkly, heavy mechanical-looking metal gears and bolts with delicate filigree and flowers. Jewelry made with watch parts, old skeleton keys, and other bits of metal ephemera never intended (but beautifully suited) for jewelry making is definitely Steampunk.

Jean Campbell has Steampunk style all figured out and describes it as "Jane Austen meets Mad Max." Such elegance and romance, paired with such . . . nonelegant nonromance! No wonder, then, that there are probably as many ideas about what Steampunk jewelry is as there are watch parts to make it with on Etsy. In the excerpt below from a recent post on our sister site, Beading Daily, Jean shares more about the definition of Steampunk style and the components that come together to make Steampunk jewelry.

Elements of Steampunk-Style Jewelry
by Jean Campbell

Maybe your closet is filled with bustles, top hats, and mourning wear. Or perhaps your style is more about dark eye-liner, black dred extensions, and a leather holster for your ray gun. Or maybe, just maybe, you're like me: Not very fashion conscious, but a big lover of jewelry that tells a story or carries a sentiment. In any of these cases, Steampunk-style jewelry might just be your next big thing.

Steampunk jewelry brings to life the fictional characters of this science-fiction genre based in Victorian England. Rather than nuclear-generated power, the Industrial Revoltion-era mad scientists and time-travelers that populate these novels run on steam power. This world is filled with brass fittings, steel gizmos, coiled thingamabobs, and glowing orbs. Humming in the background is a rich taste of everything Victorian: Jet and other rich stones, cameos, silk and taffeta, and charms.

With this wildly imaginative genre as your playground, it's easy to make your own Steampunk-inspired jewelry. Here are a few appropriate Steampunk-style materials for you to choose from:

Metal findings and chain: Most jewelry-makers I know have these in abundance in their studios. These materials make a nod to the Industrial Revolution, where common Victorians were all of a sudden able to buy metal that was stamped, pressed, and rolled into chains or cut into delicate filigrees. Choose brass and copper for your Steampunk-style jewelry.
Charms and cameos: Queen Victoria was crazy for charms and a mad collector of cameos, so they show up a lot in Steampunk-style jewelry. Incorporate motifs like flowers, leaves, birds, insects, dragons, snakes, scarabs, sphinx, and religious symbols to be truly Steampunk.
Glass: Using any type of glass in your Steampunk-style jewelry evokes the Machine Age, which was rich with etched, faceted, and molded glass. It was the first time in history that common folk could afford such luxuries. To get the look, use glass beads, glass domes, and mirrors.
Stones: When you think about it, England during the Victorian era was a super power and had trade routes worldwide. This boosted their trading with Asia, and so materials like amethyst, opal, turquoise, freshwater pearls, agate, onyx, coral, carnelian, amber, jade, garnet, ruby, jet, sapphire, peridot, jasper, and diamonds were more plentiful in England than ever before.
Bits of sentiment: Lockets carrying hair from a loved one or a small painted portrait were popular during the Victorian era. It's easy to incorporate these bits of sentiment by using photographs or other remembrances.
Found objects: The most fun part of making Steampunk-style jewelry is working with found objects! This brings in the time-traveling, mad-scientist vibe I mentioned earlier. Choose small metallic watch parts, skeleton keys, machine parts, war medals, metal game pieces, and the like.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learn more about Steampunk-style jewelry and get in-depth Steampunk jewelry-making tutorials using all these materials in Jean's video, Making Steampunk-Style Jewelry with Jean Campbell. In it, Jean shares techniques (like cold connections, resin, wirework, and drilling basics) that you can use to combine metal components to make Steampunk jewelry. She also shares valuable tips, like the importance of using the right tools when working with all of those found metal objects so you don't ruin your jewelry-making tools, most of which were designed for softer metals and/or more delicate work. Bonus: You can save 30% when you download Jean's Making Steampunk-Style Jewelry now during our video download sale!

Want more Steampunk? Try these Steampunk jewelry tutorials on Jewelry Making Daily:

What's Good for the Metal is Good for the Metal Clay, Plus How to Reconstitute Dried Metal Clay

TammyJones — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:02:00 GMT

I feel like a traitor. My love for metal clay is no secret, and when I first started learning traditional metalsmithing, I participated in more than one debate about which was "better" or, more specifically, found myself defending metal clay to more traditional metalsmiths as a "worthy" medium .

And then, from out of nowhere, just last week I said to a friend, "The real beauty of metal clay is in texture. Other than texture, there's not much you can do with metal clay that you can't do faster, cheaper, and easier with traditional metal sheet." Gasp! As soon as I said it, I had a vision of a little metal clay guy looking sad and forlorn. "You too?" he seemed to say. "What about all the other stuff? The FUN stuff?"

Yes, I'd forgotten the fun stuff, the other wonderful qualities of metal clay, like its variety of form (it also comes in paper, veneer, paste, and syringe), its ease of use, its ability to be joined without soldering, and its ability to be carved, among others--plus the one that drew me to it in the first place, its magic.

The Magic of Metal Clay

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying metal sheet isn't fun, but there's just something about the combination of playing with metal clay in your hands (like playing with clay or PlayDoh as a child)--and it later resulting in metal jewelry--that is amazing. Rolling and coiling and carving and stamping it, all fun--and don't forget that metal clay has the playing-with-fire factor, just like metalwork. Sure, metal fabrication has hammering, and hammering's my favorite, but you can texture and hammer on fired metal clay pieces, too, because they're real metal after proper firing.

Just about anything that metal sheet can do, metal clay can do, too, and I love to see artists who recognize that and work the combination to their advantage. It's truly the best of both worlds, allowing for the maximum variety in techniques and skills related to metal.

Reclaiming and Reconstituting Metal Clay

One thing that metal clay does that metal sheet doesn't do is dry up, and I found a whole dried-up package on my bench recently. Fortunately it can be reconstituted, and not just as slip--you can turn dried metal clay back into workable metal clay in just a few simple steps. Here's how.

		1. Crush dried metal clay in a mortar with a pestle. Pound the clay hard to break down all the lumps and then grind in a circular motion until you have a fine powder.

		2. Optional: Use a tea strainer to sift out the most stubborn bits of dried clay and grind them again. If they don't cooperate, discard them. (Editor's note: Thanks to a comment from a smart reader, there's a better option than discarding here. Fire those stubborn hard bits like you would regular metal clay designs. Then you can recycle it like other scrap silver. You can also hammer it out, texture it, maybe patina it, and work it into a jewelry design, because it is, after all, regular metal at that point.) Store the powder to be reconstituted later or continue with the next steps to do it now.

		3. Put most of the powder on a large ceramic tile, saving some to add later if the mixture gets too wet. Use an eyedropper or spray bottle to add a very small amount of water at a time, starting with just a few drops or sprays. Mix with a palette knife or spatula, scraping from the outside in as you go. Just add enough water to moisten the clay and work it together until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add a little more powder if it gets too wet.

		4. Keep mixing until the clay begins to clump together. You can also add glycerin to help the clay retain water, but use it very sparingly (about a drop per ten grams of clay).

		5. Lightly oil your hands with vegetable oil or a lubricant like Badger Balm (whatever you use on your hands when you're creating with metal clay) and begin working the clay with your fingers. If it won't hold together, add another drop or two of water.

		6. Knead the clay well in your fingers. If it feels grainy, put it under plastic wrap and roll it out very thinly. Fold in half and roll again, repeating until the lumpiness disappears. Voila! Wrap the reconstituted clay in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least an hour before using it as you would fresh clay.

Whether you're new to metal clay entirely, a metalsmith wondering about this strange metal form, or an old pro at metal clay looking for a great all-in-one resource, Sue Heaser's new book Metal Clay for Jewelry Makers: A Complete Technique Guide is for you. From the basics of working with and maintaining metal clay and complete firing instructions (torch, kiln and gas stove, for all kinds of clay), to an overview of additional techniques to use with metal clay (resin, enamel, riveting, soldering, polymer clay, glass, and more) and mixing different clays--and so much more--Metal Clay for Jewelry Makers is a thorough guide that belongs in the studio of every metal clay jewelry artist. The handy step-by-step for reconstituting metal clay above came from this book, too.

Today is the perfect time to get it, too, because through tonight, 30% of the proceeds from any jewelry-making book, DVD, project, eBook, or anything else you purchase from the Jewelry Making Daily Shop will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Treat yourself to a great resource and help treat millions of women to a cure!

So tell me, what can metal do that metal clay can't do? What can metal clay do that metal can't do? And which do you prefer? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

6 Hot Tips for Cold Connections: Master Riveting, Metal Tools, and More

TammyJones — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:54:00 GMT

Sometimes the journey from knowing to mastering a skill takes just as long as the journey to knowing did. In addition to practice, practice, practice, you can often expedite that journey with a few good tips--especially when they're the result of someone else's years of practice, practice, practice!

For me, one of the hardest metalsmithing skills to master has been riveting. You might be thinking, "You can solder, why would you ever use cold connections like rivets?" Sometimes it's a matter of personal preference, but other times, soldering simply isn't an option for some materials. Cold connections are ideal for working with materials that can't be near a torch flame. They also provide an opportunity and method for adding movement to your jewelry designs. So even for jewelry designers who can solder, cold connections are an important skill to master.

I stopped shortcutting and got the perfect riveting hammer and a vise to help hold my pieces in place during hammering, but my rivets were still wonky--uneven and off center. That wonkiness meant they also terminated before I was ready for them to, so they were never quite as snug as I'd like them to be. Finally I learned that I wasn't hammering properly; I was hammering too hard and too fast, not tapping more gently as I should have been, and that speed was preventing me from hammering as accurately as I needed to, as well.

All it took was the right tools and a good tip reminder to get my rivets in line, literally and figuratively. Here are some good tips and tool pointers from Helen Driggs' new eBook, Jewelry Rivets and Other Cold Connections, to help quicken your path to riveting and cold-connection mastery.

1. When hammering rivets and other cold connections or just hammering metal in general: Try to keep one side of your bench block smooth and let the other side ding as it may. Or keep a smooth block and a rough block so you have two options. The marks on any steel tool will transfer to the metal you are hammering, so dings and dents will show up on your piece unless the surface you are hammering on is mirror smooth.

2. It might seem like a no brainer to say this, but anneal your wire before you make rivets! Soft wire is easier to make a head on.

3. Start practicing with scrapbooking eyelets. Many of them are aluminum, brass, or copper, perfect for use with jewelry--just make sure to get long ones because the regular ones, made for paper, are pretty short. Some eyelets may or may not have colored or anodized coatings that will scrape off with rough treatment, so read the packaging and make sure you've got the right diameter, length, and metal. The process for using eyelets is the same as for regular tube rivets, except you're halfway there because you already have a rolled end. Position the rolled end on the top of your piece and flip it over; a few taps on a ball dap will roll the back of the eyelet cleanly.

4. When measuring wire to make a wire rivet, the thickness of a fine-line Sharpie mark is usually a good amount of metal to leave for a decent sized rivet head. If the wire is very thick, leave a bit more metal by cutting to the outside of your marked line. A good rule of thumb is to allow about half the thickness of whatever rivet stock you are using to form a rivet head.

5. When creating a rivet, saw the wire, don't use nippers or cutters. You won't get a clean rivet head unless the wire end is a circle, so saw it. If you must use nippers, allow a little extra wire and file off the beveled end until the end of the wire is a clean circle.

6. Make a Wire Gauge: This is a handy device to throw in your pocket before you go to a supplier or show. How many times have you wavered on buying a strand of beads because you weren't sure the wire you wanted to use would fit through the drilled hole? It's also handy when purchasing drill bits, tubing, or manufactured rivets. Just label the tags (purchased or handmade) with wire gauges and attach them as shown.

Shorten your journey from cold connection and riveting knowing to mastery with Helen's new eBook, Jewelry Rivets and Other Cold Connections. In addition to these and many more tips and technique tutorials, you'll get in-depth knowledge about the tools needed to create cold connections, what exactly rivets are (which will help you better understand the steps required to make and set them properly), jump ring and chain making, lots of great wire info, and more. And you don't have to wait one more minute--download Jewelry Rivets and Other Cold Connections now!