Stick a ball on it!

I have a mixed media friend who has a simple go-to whenever she can't figure out what comes next in one of her designs: she says, "Stick a bird on it!" The first time I heard her say it, I realized I have a similar go-to in my arsenal: "Stick a ball on it!"

Balls in a nest

Balls on rings

Balls everywhere! (I cheated - everything except the big one was pre-formed)

Hidden balls (in 18k gold)

I realized, as part of the design intensive retreat we did with Connie Fox earlier this year, that I really - REALLY - like using balls in my designs. The "why's" of it are complicated, but the "how's" aren't, so I thought today I'd share how to make sterling silver balls so you can use them your own work. It's a super simple way to use up scrap and add some dimension without a lot of effort.

You'll need:

• Sterling silver scrap
• Charcoal block or solderite board
• Butane torch (any size works)
• Small gram scale (completely optional)

Start by laying out a small pile of sterling silver scrap on your charcoal block. If you want all the balls to be the same size, weigh your scrap on the gram scale. (Usually, I just eyeball it.) Light your butane torch and start warming up the first pile of scrap. Do this by circling around and over it, making sure to keep the block warm immediately around the scrap. The block will glow and the silver will start to melt, pulling together into a ball. Watch the silver closely - there's a "skin" of impurities that will form around the ball, when it's still a dull orange, and then burn off as the silver turns glossy and shiny. As soon as you see the ball turn shiny, start pulling the torch away.... slowly! The goal is to let the ball cool down very gradually so that the surface of the ball doesn't wrinkle up.

Wait. Let me just show you.

(As an aside, I had fun making that video. Sorry about the sound quality and editing - we'll get better at it!)

A charcoal block works best for this, though you can use a solderite board if that's what you have. The charcoal helps to retain the heat, which helps with slower cooling. And you can see that I've used this block a lot, so the center of the top has been slightly burned out. This is actually a good thing, because as the silver balls up it has a tendency to roll off the edge of the block if you aren't careful. (Ask me how I know!) That little dip helps keep it from happening.

Once you've made the ball, you need to make the bottom flat enough to solder onto your piece. Here's how I do it (thanks Melissa Muir for showing me this technique!):

(Yeah, yeah... I'm a goofball.)

One of the things I like about this technique is that once you've sanded the bottom of the ball, you can solder it in place without having to pickle or clean it further, since sanding the bottom takes off any impurities that might keep it from soldering. This means you can pickle it later with the whole piece, making cleanup much easier and reducing the number of steps in your fabrication process.

 That's a win for me. The other win - and this is a big one - is that I am using and repurposing every single bit of sterling silver scrap and "waste" on my bench.

So that's how I make the balls I use in my designs - and I do it a lot! I hope this inspires you to hang onto all those little bits and pieces left over from your larger projects. And I hope you like the videos - they're kind of an experiment, so I'd love to know what you think!

Until next time -

Tutorial: Simple Twist Chain

I love making handmade chain - it can be time consuming but it is oh-so-rewarding when plain wire turns into something wearable. It's like magic. And nothing sets off a beautiful focal or art beads (or both!) like custom chain that is funky, rustic, or unusual.

So today, I thought I'd share the simple steps for turning some copper wire into a twist chain. (Disclaimer: you'll want to ignore the dirty hands with ragged nails in desperate need of a manicure. I work with metal, people!) 

Here's what you'll need:

• 14 gauge copper wire
• 16 gauge copper wire
• A bench block
• A chasing hammer
• A nylon hammer
• A metal punch
• An awl
• Heavy duty flush cutters
• A jump ring mandrel
• Sandpaper, various grits

Cut 1-1/4 inch lengths of 14 gauge copper wire. The number of pieces you'll need depends on how long a chain you're making, but I usually start with 16 or so. (One or more of them will wind up going into the reject pile, so more is better.)

Make sure each length is completely straight and the ends flush cut and sanded smooth. TIP: in order to straighten short lengths of large gauge wire, start by gently hammering one end with a nylon hammer to get a flat section started. Then use the forefinger of one hand to gently roll the wire back and forth as you hammer it. Flip the wire over and repeat to straighten the other end.

Do this for all your wire pieces.

Using your chasing hammer, forge a flat paddle on one end of a piece of wire. TIP: to get an even paddle shape, make sure your hammer face is striking the wire at slightly less than a 45 degree angle. Turn your wire over every few strokes to help keep the wire from curving to one side.

It will also help to make a very slight stroking motion outward with the hammer face at the end of each strike. I tried to take a photo of this, but it's nearly impossible so try imagining you are beating an egg... but backwards, away from you.

The paddle should extend not quite halfway up the length of the wire. When you've hammered the paddle on one side, flip your wire around and hold it with the paddle vertically. Hammer another paddle on the other side of the wire - notice that because of how you're holding the first paddle, the second paddle is at right angles to it. This gives the wire a twisting appearance.

Sand and smooth the paddles on each end of your links. Don't be discouraged if they look a little ragged when you first finish hammering them - any irregularity in the end of the wire at the start is going to translate into the forged shape and it takes a lot of practice to get your hammer strikes in the right place, but they're easy to reshape with the sandpaper.

When all your wire lengths are cleaned up, punch a hole in the center of each end. Depending on what kind of punch you use, you may end up with a burr around the edge of the hole. The easiest way to fix this is to use the ball end of your chasing hammer and gently tap the center of the hole a couple of times.

Then make a series of jump rings from the 16 gauge copper wire - the jump rings can be as large or as small as you'd like, but remember that their size will change up the overall "feel" of your chain. (Smaller jump rings will feel more traditional, and larger will feel more modern.)

Use the awl to enlarge any hole that doesn't allow the jump ring to move freely - you want to make sure the chain won't get hung up or twisted because the ring can't slide smoothly through the links.

OPTIONAL: If you have a tumbler, string all the paddle links on one piece of scrap wire and all the jump rings on another. Twist the ends closed and tumble for an hour - this step isn't essential, but it will clean and burnish your components before connect them.

Then, join the components together and add a clasp of your choosing. Voila! You just made a custom chain - wear it as is or add a focal.

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!

Until next time -

Dahlia Pendant and Ribbon Tutorial

Back in March, Monique of A Half Baked Notion designed a necklace using some fossilized coral that she had purchased from one of my destash sales.  I was intrigued by the hand dyed, tubular viscose ribbon she used in her necklace.  It came from a shop called Colour Complements on Etsy.  So I made an inquiry about the ribbon, with the shop owner, Lorraine.  Lorraine was kind enough to send me a sample of her hand-dyed ribbon to try out.

Isn't it beautiful?  I loved the luscious colors and I envisioned threading wire through the center of the tubular ribbon and then wire wrapping it.   Upon receiving the ribbon, I realized that I had the perfect match for it, in a ceramic flower pendant that I had received from Marla James of Marla's Mud.

Marla's pendant reminds me of the dahlias that are blooming in our front yard now.  So I've called today's tutorial the Dahlia Ribbon Pendant.

Here's what you will need:

• Approximately 6 inches of 20 gauge wire (length will vary depending on the size of the pendant you are using)
• 7 inches of  hand-dyed tubular viscose ribbon, plus 9 inches more, if you want to add a bow above your pendant
• A pendant of your choice that has a hole large enough to accommodate the ribbon.

Tools:

• Cutters
• Flat nose or chain nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Scissors

1.  Make sure that both ends of your wire are flush cut.  Sand them so they are as smooth as possible. The smoother the ends are, the less they will snag on the ribbon and the easier it will be for you to thread the wire into the ribbon tube. 

2.  Find the opening in the tubular ribbon.

3.  Carefully and gently thread the wire into the ribbon tube.  This is a little tedious, so go slowly and be patient.  Its only a short length of ribbon, so it won't take long, unless you try to force it.

3.  Scrunch the ribbon together, so it all fits on your wire, with bare wire on either end.

4.  Decide which end of the wired ribbon you want to face forward and then carefully thread your pendant onto the wired ribbon. 

5.  Gently curve the wire up around your pendant.  Make sure you leave enough room above the pendant so the pendant can move a bit.

6.  Make a wrapped loop above the pendant.

7.  If you would like to have a bow on your pendant, tie it over the wire  wraps.  You may want to add an small, inconspicuous touch of glue to the bow, so it does not come untied.

8.  Make another wrapped loop above this, to form the bail.  

9.  Create a necklace, or simply string your pendant on leather or chain.

After taking these pictures, I decided that I liked my pendant better without the bow and I removed it.  I don't have a photos of it without the bow, but I liked the simpler version better.

The tubular viscose ribbon adds a soft touch to the necklace.  It also adds an interesting texture and a pop of color.  I hope you will give it a try and post links to your creations here or on the AJE Facebook page.  You know how much we'd love to see what what you create!

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

Etching with transparencies

My love affair with etching copper continues as does my search for new ways to transfer the image on to the metal.

You may have seen on my blog, my idea of using stickers cut on a Silhouette Cameo to mask areas of metal to protect them from the etching chemicals. While this is a great way to create simple bold designs, it doesn't work so well on something with smaller fiddly details.

The most common way to transfer more complicated designs is by using Press and Peel Paper which is printed using a laser printer, the image peeled off and then ironed on to the metal. This produces a great result, the only down side is the cost. At around £20 GBP for 5 sheets, it's expensive.

I don't know about you, but using expensive materials to test ideas (which I do a lot) makes me a little nervous, and usually ends up with me only creating a mess. So having my regular scout around on the internet, I came across using laser transparencies. They're clear sheets of acetate, the same as used on the old school overhead projectors, but they're suitable for use at the temperatures needed to print on a laser.

So a quick call to the local stationary shop and 10 minutes later, I had 5 sheets for £1.25... bargain! I had to try it out and see how it worked for me, so here's my results...

To start, I drew up some designs and printed them on to the transparency.

So far so good! You can see the images here on the transparent sheet laid over white paper. My laser printer is a bit temperamental, but it shot through with no problems.

Next, I got out the iron. I tried at full temperature on my first attempt, which was too hot and started to melt the plastic. So after a couple of tries, I found a medium setting was best. You don't need anything to cover the transparency, just place the iron on it and check every 10 seconds how it's going. Be careful, the metal gets very hot!

If you look at the print on an angle, you can see that it changes to a more solid colour once it's stuck to the metal. You might need a few tries and some close looking to get the hang of what to look out for. 

Once it's stuck down, you need to leave it to cool. If you're as impatient as I am, you can run it under a tap for a second to speed it up.

Peel off the transparency and if it's worked, virtually all of the toner will be stuck to the metal and the transparency will be pretty much clean.

As you can see here, part of the design missed, but the great thing with this technique is, if it hasn't completely transferred, you can re-align the design and try again. You do sometimes get a bit of trouble near the edges if they're slightly higher than the flat part of the sheet through cutting, so just pop it back on and press again with the iron until the whole image is transferred.

And here's the image after etching with ferric chloride, you can now cut it from the sheet and use in your designs.

I hope you enjoyed reading and that you'll have a go!

To get you in the mood, here's a bit of inspiration... some of my favourite designs and components in etched copper.

Moongazing Hare ring by Anna McDade

Earrings by A Twist of Whimsy

Etched William Morris pendant by Thea Elements

Etched bangle by The Bronze Flower

Thanks for reading!

Caroline 

blueberribeads

Tutorial - Primrose Hill earrings

The most recent earrings I made for the Earrings Challenge were a break from the norm for me - they used yellow! Yellow is a colour that I usually shy away from in my home, in my wardrobe and in my jewellery making, but a friend's lovely outfit the other week made me think again and inspired this combination of soft grey Picasso jasper and primrose yellow faceted glass with a new design for my Etsy shop - heart head pins. These earrings are lovely and quick and easy to make, so my post today shows you how to use a pair of fancy head pins to make your own summery pair!

You will need:

• One pair of decorative head pins with at least 5.5cm stems. Stems of 0.8mm wire are best as this thickness holds its shape well but still makes comfortable ear wires.
• Beads to decorate the stem.
• A crimp bead or squashable metal seed bead 
• Round pen barrel 
• Wire cutters 
• Crimping pliers or flat nosed pliers 
• Needle file or nail file 
• Hammer and bench block

 How to make them:

1. Thread the beads onto the head pins, finishing with the crimp bead or squashable seed bead.
2. Squash the crimp/seed bead it hold the larger beads in place.
3. Hold the head pins up against each other to check that they are the same length and trim if necessary.
4. File the ends of the wire smooth.
5. Bend the wires around the pen barrel to form an ear wire shape.
6. Hammer the front of the ear wires (being careful of the beads!) to strengthen them.
7. Enjoy wearing your new earrings!

To give you some more inspiration I've put together an Etsy treasury of lovely fancy head pins, including a few from the AJE team.

'Fabulous Fancy Head Pins' by daisychainjewellery

A collection of beautiful handcrafted head pins, perfect for earrings and charms!

Green Quan Yin Handmade Head... JeraLunaDesign... $10	Peacock Feather Headpins - ... humblebeads $16	Handmade Blue Glass Bead Lam... NValentineStud... $12	5 Teardrop Head Pins set. Bl... NadinArtGlass $8
Lampwork glass bead headpins... LoriLochner $38	Handmade bronze headpins, Ar... THEAElements $6	Sterling Silver Heart Head P... daisychainextr... $5.5	Red lampwork glass headpins,... ChristineHanse... $18
Handmade Copper Snakeskin Le... KristiBowmanDe... $15	Sterling Silver headpins, Ha... NadinArtGlass $9.2	TWO Bronze Blossom Headpins ... ktotten $12	Green Leaf Glass Headpins, H... LoriBergmann $18

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

This is actually my last post as a member of the AJE blog team. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the team, and working with such a lovely, encouraging and talented group of women who are just as addicted to jewellery making as I am. However, my life, both personal and business, are moving at a crazy pace at the moment and a couple of things have had to give to allow me to keep up with everything. I will still be around lurking and commenting, and of course on my own blog, but thank you to everyone who has read and commented on one of my AJE posts!

Jo Tinley
Daisychain Designs