MY NEW EARRINGS!

I finally had the time to shape and finish the ear wires on my new earrings. Remember, these were made from my sterling silver "scraps". I love them and the good feeling that I created something out of "nothing"!!

MORE EARRINGS

I have quite a selection of laser cut textures from Rolling Mill Resource on Etsy. This Etsy shop designs low relief laser cut patterns to be used in the rolling mill. The sheets are very inexpensive and are for one-time use. Actually I got a good impression the second time too! They have a wonderful selection of earring shapes ... and I have also ordered textures for ring bands. Can't wait to try them.

Here are two pairs of earrings I recently made.

MAKING EARRINGS OUT OF SCRAP SILVER!

I recently subscribed to a site called Skillshare to see if I would like it. So far so good. One of the jewelry artists had a couple videos showing how she used her scrap sterling silver to make earrings. I have a lot of scrap, some roll printed, some etched, but really never thought any of the pieces were big enough for earrings. Little did I know! Some people don't like big dangly earrings. The ones I am now making are really cute, so unlike any I've made before. And I love the way the ear wires look.

Here are a couple photos of ones I soldered this morning, just out of the tumbler. The wires still have to be formed and finished.

Here is a photo of one pair with the ear wires bent and finished. I love them!

I'm having a hard time photographing these shiny earrings. Have tried so many settings, changed the white balance. I'd like a whiter background. Anyone have any suggestions?

SMASHED BUTTON EARRINGS

I got out my button box and found a combination of matching buttons to make a pair of earrings ... to replace a pair that just sold in my Etsy shop. What fun! Copper disks. Sterling silver wire wrapping and handmade ear wires. They measure 2-1/4" long.

Here are photos of the front and back. Or the back and front. They are reversible!

But it always takes such a long time to find the matching buttons as there are SO MANY sizes and colors to weed through. I need to get them separated into groups. Another project to add to my TO-DO LIST!

TWO NEW CONCHO RINGS!

In one of my last posts, I mentioned loving the concho that was on the back of my Boheme ring from Leslie Kail Villarreal's class ... and why didn't I make rings using that concho on the front side? Well, I finally made two rings, and I love them! They both are so comfortable to wear ... 15mm wide, size 8 (in case you are interested!). Maybe I'll part with one and put it in my Etsy shop soon.

And best of all, I textured them with my new Pepetools rolling mill. I didn't really need a new rolling mill, but you have to give yourself a present once in a while for being a good girl, right? Actually, I have given myself too many presents lately and it has to stop! But considering I had a bad start to the year ... tripping over Charlie, spending a month in rehab, shoulder surgery, still in physical therapy ....

The reason for this present is: I have an economy mill that has really been a workhorse for many years. Recently I tried to roll a texture that had a straight edge, not an overall design. The texture curved. It got so frustrating that I decided to start looking at my options for a new mill. Both Melissa Muir and Nancy L.T. Hamilton reviewed the NEW Pepetools rolling mills, and they had very good things to say about them. I decided on the 130mm Ultra Series Combo and found the best price at A&A Jewelry Supply in downtown Los Angeles. When I first started making jewelry, it was my place to go. But this time because I'm older and wiser, instead of driving the 30 minutes and paying for parking, I had them ship it. It arrived at 10:00 a.m. the next day!

Have you ever wanted to try something new ... but kept putting it off? I've had patterns and designs that are laser cut for the rolling mill from Rolling Mill Resources on Etsy and have never tried them. Yesterday was the day. Cooler weather, cooler in the garage. Yay! I was really excited as I tried a couple of the earring designs on sterling silver and got wonderful impressions. I'll show you my new earrings soon!

COPPER AND STERLING SILVER SPINNER RING

My friend Ellinor finished her copper spinner ring yesterday. It's beautiful!

1ST BOHEME RING IS FINISHED!

Finishing my spinner ring yesterday inspired me to work into the night and set the stone in the Boheme ring. This ring was a challenge. Leslie said you could make one in a day or two .... and so many of her students have. How about a week or two? To start with, I think my bezel was too small for the stone. Why didn't I just cut out a new bezel strip and start over? No, I guess I would rather just fiddle and fiddle with it, lose sleep, swear a lot ....

Anyway, I have set the stone. This ring is finished. On to my next project.

The front.

The back.

I love the back! How about a new ring with that concho?!!! WINNER!

MY FIRST SPINNER RING

Leslie Kail Villarreal has a new BOHEME Ring class. Unfortunately I have not been able to complete one yet ... I'm having trouble with pushing the bezel over the top of the stone. Ouch! It's my hands ... and remember my right shoulder and recent rotator cuff surgery. Yesterday I received the Foredom H.15 Hammer Handpiece and a set of tips, which hopefully will do the job. But will have to practice first. I'm guessing it's like a mini jack hammer!

In the meantime ... I made a spinner ring which also uses the anticlastic shape of the Boheme Ring. I started by rolling out a pattern on sterling silver using the rolling mill. Then formed and soldered three rings to loosely fit the ring.

Then after annealing again, used a doming punch and hammer to carefully shape both edges of the ring. That's pretty scary, because if your seam is not properly soldered it will split.

Everything worked out well and I made my first spinner ring! It's so comfortable and so cute.

My friend was over and used copper to make her ring. She also used three sterling silver spinners. This is as far as she got, as the seam split after three taps with the hammer. Things happen ... but we had so much fun! Another attempt today or tomorrow to fix the seam.

POWDER PRINTING CLASS

I just finished a 2-1/2 day Powder Printing class with the awesome Stacy Lynn Smith at the new Bullseye Resource Center in South Pasadena. So much information, such a great teacher. It was intense. We learned how to turn a colored photograph into a black and white image using Photoshop (a 14-page handout!!!). We learned how to apply emulsion to a screen, print our photos onto positive film, expose the films to the prepared screen, and how to use powders with the screen. Doesn't that sound exciting? I'd like to jump right into the process, but first I need an exposure unit! The instructor promised to email notes on making one, as well as a link for buying one.

The first day we did four pieces with the same patterns and powders. They were fired at different temperatures so we could understand how heatwork affects the texture and colors. Those pieces look basically the same, but since you cannot FEEL the textures, I won't post the photos.

Then we printed an image onto glass (two feathers). That was fired to a full fuse. The next day we printed an image over the piece (mission), and this time it was fired at a lower temperature so the top image still had texture.

The next project .... The glass was covered with powder through a clean screen. Then we used our image and added powder to the top. In my case I used two different blues to make a gradient. I love this effect!

Then we made a wafer. First we had to make a template out of black paper, which was printed on the positive film just like any photo. This would be the bottom layer of the wafer. It was exposed to the screen we made earlier, along with the image I wanted for my wafer. We made this project directly onto a primed kiln shelf. My bottom layer of powder was applied to a thickness of around 1/4". Then the top layer. Off it went into the kiln and low fired. The last day of class, Stacy showed us how to glue the wafer (it was sooo delicate) onto a piece of steel that was provided for each of us. It makes a beautiful presentation!

An image I have on my screen is an old photo I scanned of myself (on the left), my sister and father with our accordions. I completely forgot about it and did the project with the four feathers and the gradient technique instead. Since it has been exposed to my screen, I can make tons of pieces with it. This will be so much fun!

One of the last things Stacy showed us was how to clean your screen using emulsion remover. In my case, I wanted to keep my images so I could reuse them. If I ever get an exposure unit, then I could clean my screens and keep reusing them since the images are safely on positive film.

BOHO CUFF FINISHED!!!

I DID IT! This is the cuff I started in December and yesterday finished!! It's beautiful. I had come home from OSH on New Year's Day after buying a trailer ball hitch to form the cuff ... opened the gate, out charged the dogs, and that's when I tripped over dear Charlie. But all is well ... physical therapy is twice a week, and there is continuous improvement. I have a second cuff to work on, plus a couple of pendants. And just signed up for the new RINGS BOHEME class with Leslie Kail Villarreal.