Book Review: Metal Jewelry in Bloom

 

Kalmbach Publishing sent me Metal Jewelry in Bloom by Melissa Cable to review. I was very intrigued to see how the subject was handled and not very certain this book was something I would use. If you've ever looked at my work, I don't really use a flower motif very often. And when I do, it's more an abstract version of a flower....not literal.

I will just give away the verdict first. I LOVE this book. I think I've read through it at least twice and thumbed it many more times than that in the two weeks I've had it. I will explain why in detail so you can decide if this is a book you want to add to your collection.

The intro explains how the quest to create flowers from sheet metal began. It's a very sweet story and I won't give the entire thing away, but Cable's quest to come up with a method to make any flower out of metal with a minimum of tools, without a saw, and easy enough for just about anyone was the result.

Chapter 1 covers flower fundamentals: tools and supplies (Cable separates these into two categories of necessary and nice to have, but not necessary.) Choosing petal count,

Determining petal shape, applying petal texture, adding petal edge dimension,

 

Embellishing the petal surface, forming the petal center, riveting, and adding color. Just listing what's contained in chapter 1 probably does not fully convey the treasure of information contained in these pages. Trust me, you will be amazed.

Chapter 2 covers how to create 15 different flowers with a variety of petal numbers and shapes.

Chapter 3 includes advanced techniques for flowers and foliage including crushed flowers like wisteria, tube flowers like fuchsia, various leaf, branch and vine techniques.

Chapter 4 contains projects for all those flowers you will be making. And BONUS, it includes working with leather and lots of info on working with faux bone...shaping, cutting, coloring, etc.

Chapter 4 also provides a two page spread of templates for flowers of 3-7 petals in six sizes ranging 3/4" to 2 1/4"

Whether you use flowers in your work or not, this book contains so much good info that you could apply to other sculptural shapes with a minimum of tools.

Until next time,

Jen Cameron

-Glass Addictions

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Experimentation - Warm Pickle and LOS

I'm sure you all do it, experiment and things either come out good or bad, right? Here's what I did with warm pickle and LOS!  I had these balled copper headpins I made a while ago and just dug out when cleaning out something or other (a quote from my friend Jill - "there's beads all over the place in your house....").  I liked the color I got when I quenched them in water after balling them up in the torch - you get that pretty rose color, and sometimes blue.  But they had firescale, so I thought, I know, use a warm pickle!

I used the recipe of 1 tablespoon salt to 1 cup vinegar - heat in the microwave - and dump  your stuff in!  Use a glass container, and if you use one that has a lid, you can use this over and over.

Not only did the pickle take off the firescale, it took off the pretty rose color AND made these things super super shiny.  Like shinier than any copper I have ever seen!  Not what I wanted - insert sad face.

BUT, I thought, I can use liver of sulpher (LOS) to darken them a bit.  So I mixed up a little bit of LOS gel I received as a prize from ArtBLISS and Jeanette Blix.  I like the gel, it's very easy to use.  Just mix a little bit in some warm water, again in a glass container, and if you have a lid, you can store it for several uses.  Just make sure that before you dispose of it (down the toilet is a great place) that you neutralize it with baking soda first, since LOS is an acid and may hurt your pipes (although I have read that if you run water for a minute or so, it will be fine).

ACK.  I only put them in for 2 seconds, max, and they turned out SOOOOOO dark!  Too much LOS, I am guessing, although I think the super shininess also may have made the copper a little porous.  In any event, guess where they went next?

Into the tumbler.  You can get a reasonably priced tumbler at Harbor Freight and they usually have 20% off coupons, as well, in the Sunday newspaper or you can sign up for coupons on-line.  Use stainless steel shot as the tumbling agent.  Put your items you want to tumble polish into the container, then add a drop of Dawn dishwashing liquid and enough water to cover all items in the tumbler.  Make sure there's enough room, though, for everything to tumble - don't fill it too full!  Also, make sure you have the lid on correctly, so it doesn't leak (personal experience)! 

And here's what I got after a few hours of tumbling. 

They are now all work hardened and some of the patina has worn off.  They actually look almost bronze or brass in color, I think I like them!   It's kind of an amazing difference to me, though, from how they started out!

A Wickedly Good Time

On Saturday, I attended Wicked Faire and The Time Traveler's Resort about 45 minutes from my house.  The best way I can describe this event is sort of an indoor Renaissance Faire and Steampunk event gone wild.  It's the perfect escape from the cold winter weather!

These conventions always have lots of vendors selling a wide range of things; clothing, gadgets, food, artwork and jewelry.  Two of my jewelry friends happened to be vending this event so I spent a good deal of my day hanging out with them.

First up is my friend Dianne Miller of W Jewelry Designs.  Dianne creates a wide range of jewelry from bead embroidery to wirework to mixed-media.

 Some of Dianne's gorgeous bead-stitched bracelets.

 An amazing bead-embroidered collar necklace.

I love her beaded beads and wire-work pieces!

Also selling her wares at Wicked is my friend Lithia Knopp of Lithia's Creations.

 Lithia specializes in jewelry with a goth and fantasy flair.

I love Lithia's bullet pendants.  She etches bullet casings and then turns them into beaded pendants.

Like a darker theme to your jewelry?  Lithia's work is perfect for you!

Lithia's husband John, is quite talented with leatherwork.  He makes backpacks, pouches, flasks and an assortment of holsters (including fun ones that hold beer bottles).

This is one of the best parts about these events....so many wonderful goods to choose from.

I got in on the action and made a mixed-media necklace to wear with my Steampunk outfit.  It features a porcelain kraken tentacle, porcelain beads and an assortment of vintage bits, bobs and chain.

And if you are curious as to what I wore this weekend, you'll just have to check my blog in a day or so for a Wicked Faire run-down!

Diana P.
Suburban Girl Studio LLC

Earring Challenge Reveal 3 (weeks 5-6/52)

Welcome to the third reveal of our AJE earring challenge which focuses on weeks 5 and 6 of our 52 week marathon. I hope you're enjoying creating for this event - It's become something of a ritual for me to go and check out our challenge Pinterest board with my first coffee of the day and it's great to see what a huge variety of designs there are. Hopefully these will also help to inspire everyone to try new ideas throughout the year and develop their repertoires.

Here are just a few of my favourites from the past two weeks..

I love these gorgeous rustic earrings from Claire Lockwood - the combination of textures and shapes and the mix of earthy tones with a bright pop of turquoise just work so well. It's a great photo too, clean and sharp with the props providing depth and interest but not overwhelming the earrings.

 

I was also very taken with this striking set by Kimmy Sayers with a very cool (icy even!) urban sort of look. These must have been a devil to photograph - I know I struggle with clear glass, but I think  Kimmy has done a lovely job.

My next choice comes from my AJE team mate Melissa Mehman and what grabbed my attention here is the fabulous rich mahogany colour and texture of the copper and the way it catches the light. Green is always a perfect pairing with copper and the choice and variety of beads add layers of interest and all finished perfectly with the contrast of silver ear wires.

And finally we have this  pretty Boho design by Cynthia Machata which I can just envisage on a hot summers day at the beach. I'm fond of using fiber in my own earring designs and I think it adds a real sense of playfulness to these.

So...now I can't wait to see what's in store for the weeks ahead - the next reveal will be on Sunday 3rd March and will cover weeks 7 & 8. Don't forget to mark your pins with the week and reveal number so that you have a chance of being featured here.

If you are blogging about you designs from weeks 5 and 6 you can add your links below and hop off on a challenge tour. Have fun.


Lesley
The Gossiping Goddess