Hope on my Heart

I find Basha Beads very inspiring.

Kitchen Finishing

Just in case you wonder why I am not on the computer much. :)

There's an autumn sunset coming up....

and it's calling my name.

This summer was so welcome, I relished the hundred degree weather and adjusted my schedule accordingly so I could be working in the garage early morning and late evening.

But I will admit it was starting to get to me. Concentrating so hard on tiny little objects, while heat waves rose from the concrete, sweat running down my backside and a dizzy feeling whenever I looked up.

Now I am ready for fall.

Kayaking in Meremac. 

We are diggin a fire pit so we can burn things (past transgressions) on crisp evenings.

Planning a neighborhood BBQ so Pinky can meet our neighbors.

The wineries.

Rides through the back country roads under multi-colored trees.

The apple orchard.

Hiking Elephant Rocks State Park. 

We're gonna paint recycled glass jars and hang em from the porch, fill them with solar lights we got from home depot.

Last night I opened the garage door and smelled burning leaves, it was so sweet....

Maire's whisper petal arrived and I was enthralled by the silken sheen of the torched and waxed metal.

I kept it close by for days as I pondered her enclosed poem by Aldous Huxley; 

Lightly, child, lightly.

You've got to learn to do

everything lightly.

Think lightly, act lightly, feel lightly.

Yes, feel lightly, even though you're feeling deeply.

I punched a hole at the bottom, snipped vintage crocheted lace apart, created a loop through one of them and the petal, then wire-wrapped an 8mm verdigris bead onto antiqued copper chain.

It sits here;

Tell me your plans.

Do you have fall family traditions you hold dear?

How are you expressing yourself this fall season?

New Blue Jewelry

I couldn't even choose another color if I tried to right now. 

Blue is satisfying me in every way,

emotionally and creatively.

Abalone Drop Necklace

Crescent Jasper Necklace

Lift Off Earrings

Blue African Glass Necklace

Rendezvous Keys

For months they spoke through writing over long distances.

Drawing closer and closer, bonding through mutual heartbreak, they broke through walls they had built up and recognized in each other broken souls.

She slowly began to feel again and he carefully began to need again. 

A rendezvous was planned and he sent her a special key....

But when the time came to go to him, she froze. Too scared to move forward, out of her heart break and into his arms.

And he waited....

Never knowing she kept his key chained to her wrist, always remembering and always hopeful for the day when loves promise would give her courage.

RENDEZVOUS KEYS

available here;

missficklemedia.com

Metal Alloys

I have so many people come to me with questions about what metal works under patinas and what doesn't, I thought it might be helpful to compile information and post sources I can refer them to for their own learning.

With authentic patinas (ie; not a paint but a reaction forced by heat and moisture) you need to know what metal you are trying to alter.

Metal alloys are numerous, complex and a lot of them do not suit my purposes for jewelry design and patina application.

Here is a list from Wikipedia;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alloys

But let me break down the most relevant info;

ferrous and non-ferrous.

Ferrous metal refers to iron; this rusts. Which is cool and artsy but I feel is unsafe to wear, although others have pointed out that there is no harm, unless under very specific circumstances.

(Steel is also ferrous metal and will rust under traditional acid based patinas.)

Non-ferrous is not iron.

Simple enough, right?

These are the 3 main, easily accessible, treatable and wearable metals to apply traditional patinas to; 

Copper = Pure

Brass = Copper and Zinc

Bronze =  Copper and Tin

But why do the traditional patina solutions work so well on some brass pieces and not so great on others?

Because many manufactures are trying to save money and include more zinc in their brass alloy than copper,which doesn't develop natural pigmentation like the sublime copper does and is a ferrous metal.

The dye oxides will work over any metal that can be heated to 200 degrees;

Dye oxide is a different solution altogether. Think of it like liver of sulfur with a dye colorant added.

It changes your metals appearance through heat and moisture but can be removed through heavy sanding.

Pewter works under the dye oxides but it can melt easily so you must have good concentration as you apply your heat in the form of fire (craft embossing guns are good alternatives to butane and propane heat sources).

I personally prefer to not use the Universal patinas on metals other than copper, bronze or brass because they are very thick and coat the metal rather than bond to it like heating the 3 metal types named above. 

But the manufacture states that the Universal patinas CAN be used over ANY metal.

Nickel.

 There is a big to-do about nickel and I do not work with it so I can say I do not work with it.

Here is a short paragraph on nickel metal and toxicity;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel#Toxicity

To the customers asking if I sell Toxic and Lead Based items;

NO!

Absolutely not! 

Perhaps you are thinking about snippets of things you have heard about mass produced re-fined metal components.

Please reference the article listed above to better inform yourself of what you should be on the look out for.

(Each of my listings state what type of metal is used, once you have a better understanding of metal and toxicity, you will see I work with metals that do not have any concern.)

Thank you for letting me go on about some of the more boring things to do with patina work.

If this has confused or overwhelmed you, there is always a cheaper, faster, easier way to add color to metal than to use authentic patinas. We can be sure there is always a big name company looking to profit off the latest artisan based trends that makes the result we want all that much easier to attain.

Much Love & Respect,

Shannon

Copper Clay Impression Rings

So what do you do if you have spent hours upon hours on a new product that just simply won't cooperate with you?

The only successful torch firings out of 50 pieces.

You send it to one of your awesome more experienced friends who'll figure it out for you.

Being in a network of supportive friends is vital to your success in forward momentum for your work.

I had been working with Hadar Jacobson's copper clay for a several months and had very little luck torch firing the base metal clays.

Instead of risking any more of the copper clay cabs I had created and dried, I sent them to Claire of

 Still Point Works .

Who kindly fired them and scrubbed them for me and then shipped them back to me in a pouch that made them sound like a pirates treasure of coins.

(Thank you, My Wonderful Friend) 

It was exciting to open them and I wished I'd been of sound mind to photograph and share their arrival with you.

 

Finally, I had my metal cabochons of pure alloys that allowed me to tumble (to work harden them and burnish the surface for patina application), solder them to bases of contrasting sterling, heat them and apply layers of patina, mica powder and lacquer in way that gave a jewel like sparkle to the rustic, warm glow of the metal.

I am more than pleased with the results and I am so glad I am learning how to ask for help.

Hammered Neck Cuff

Sometime last summer (2009), I began going tribal. I was very inspired by the National Geographic show and recorded all the past episodes of Going Tribal to watch several times. One of the details that caught and held my attention were the neck cuffs that were fashioned in rudimentary ways. The cuffs on the different tribes featured on the show had a common denominator in that they held a special charm or talisman that meant something to the wearer. One woman showed her charms to include the finger of her dead husband! Some of the neck cuffs had collections of several "charms", others were simple with one or two hanging in the center.

 
 A light bulb idea! What if a neck cuff could be hammered out to feature a special Art Bead? I'd never made a neck cuff before but I had already hammered out a heavy gauge bangle, how much harder could it be?

 I was surprised by a couple of things; 1 - You do not need a steel neck mandrel to curve the wire. Sweet! This saves you at least $60 bucks! And 2 - they are surprisingly comfortable to wear. In fact, they bring to the surface a wild feeling inside that has been smothered by years of proper society upbringing.

What You Need;
Bench block - or other hard surface to hammer the wire against, even wood could work.
Hammer - my favorite hammer to use was found in my grandpa's old tool chest.
Flexible measuring tape - something that measures over 18 inches would be most helpful.
Heavy Gauge Wire - Copper, brass or sterling silver, dead soft, 14 gauge keeps its shape very well after hammering. You will need to make sure the Art Bead will slide over the wire before curving the wire.
Flush cutters - Heavy duty wire cutters to cut through your 14 gauge wire
Chain nose pliers - you will need a good pair of wide, chain nose pliers to firmly grip the wire as you shape it.
Round nose pliers - optional, you do not need a perfect loop formed for your latch 
Medium jewelers file - I use a dremel with a sanding drum bit to save time and work but a medium rasp jewelers file is an inexpensive way to smooth the edges of your cut wire.
Sharpie pen - to mark measurements on the wire

Step 1. Begin by measuring  your neck where you would like the neck cuff to lie. To create a neck cuff that latches, you will need to cut that measurement plus 3" from your heavy gauge wire. File the cut edges smooth with your jewelers file. Hold the file at an angle as you run its length down the cut edge of the ends.

Step 2.  To curve the wire into a rounded, oval neck cuff shape, hold the middle of the wire in your left hand and tap the hammer on the end of the wire over the bench block with a straight up and down motion. Gradually move the hammer up towards the middle of the wire as you gently move the left hand up. The wire will begin to curve in as you hammer.

Step 3.  Once you reach the middle of your wire, slide on the Art Bead and switch sides so you are holding the curved side in your left hand now and hammering the straight side against the block. Repeat the same motion as previously so this side of the wire curves in also. You can create a sharper bend in the middle of the neck cuff by pushing in on both sides of the ends.

Step 4. Once the curve is to your liking, measure 1"  from one end of the curved wire, mark this measurement with a sharpie pen. Grip this mark with your round nose pliers and bend the end of the wire towards the middle of the neck cuff to form a curve. Press in with the chain nose pliers to complete the loop. This will be the side the latch hooks into.

Step 5. The other side of the neck cuff can be curved in at 1" to form a simple latch. If you grip the latch in your chain nose pliers and turn it slightly to the side, it will easily slide into the curved loop, creating a secure clasp that will stay closed while the piece is being worn. The amazing thing is; you do not even feel the latch at the back of your neck!

My special clay Art Bead was a gift from the talented and most gracious Barbara Wukich, whom I would link you to but she does not sell online. It's special meaning is accented by the rattles inside the fired clay. This unique bead required a necklace that is as rustic and primitive but did not over power it. I choose to hold it in place on the neck cuff with strips of recycled sari silk and bound wire. A simple tassel of more silk, patina-ted chain and organic shaped bits of metal are hung next to the bead to add to it's wild, tribal charm.

The green patina on the brass is created by brushing on Verdigris, a traditional patina solution available here.

Now I just need a place to wear my tribal neck cuff! I hope you are encouraged to hammer out your own neck cuff from these instructions, I think you will be surprised at just how easy it is.
Much Love & Respect,
Shannon

This project was originally posted on Art Bead Scene Blog in April 2010

Clear Guard vs Permalac

Black hearted.

No, not really.

:)

I'm still as sappy as ever with my heart on my sleeve.

I just like the distressed black over copper. 

Like a scraped up frying pan.

An aside, I didn't like valentine's day this year.

But the family made it fun with roses and chocolates and silly heart socks from Matsuka.

Sooooooooo,

I went and saw a movie.

Kinda pissed off I didn't have a date but then it was cool because it was a..........................

GHOST STORY!

With an adorable Daniel Radcliff looking right mournfully delicious in those tailored 1800 blouses and high waist-ed trousers.

http://www.womaninblack.com/#/gallery

So then I chatted with my mama and fell asleep with images of ivy covered stone walls and foggy evenings with pretty boys floating in my head.

Perfect for my mood.

Art Heart Bangle

A recent collaboration with Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio allowed me the opportunity to play with some of her copper patina heart beads. I was delighted to find that large hole bead slides easily onto heavy gauge wire that I could then design a hammered bangle around! 

Tools & Materials
12" Ruler
Wood or steel bracelet mandrel
Flush cutter for 14 gauge wire
Jewelers file in medium rasp
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers
Steel bench block
Ball peen hammer
1 - 11" piece of pure copper wire in 14 gauge
1 - Copper Patina Heart Bead by Starry Road Studio
1 - 10" piece of 20 gauge copper wire

Optional for patina;
Ocean Blue Patina
Indigo Patina
Paint brush
Sealer


 Step 1. Cut the 11" piece of 14 gauge pure copper wire and round the cut ends of wire with your jewelers file.

 Step 2. Push the 11" piece of wire around the bracelet mandrel, at the 2.5" diameter section. Hammer the wire into bangle shape with the ball peen hammer, turning the bangle as you hammer to create a neat and tidy circle. Expect to have an over lap of about 2" each side at the ends of the wire. Remove the 14 gauge copper from the bracelet mandrel and hammer it on the sides of the wire against your bench block. This will help flatten the bangle and create a clean line on the wearers wrist.

 Step 3. Start the bottom swirl of the bangle with the round nose pliers tip, forming the smallest loop you can at the right hand side, outwards, at end of the 14 gauge bangle. Switch to the flat nose pliers to add more swirl, clamping down on the tiny loop with the flat nose securely in your right hand while you push the wire down with your left hand, towards the side of the blades of the flat nose pliers.  Stop when your bottom swirl is approximately 1/2" across and hammer the front of your swirl with your ball peen hammer against the bracelet mandrel for texture and strength.

 Step 4. Slide the heart bead onto what is now the top wire of the bangle and push it back approximately 1.5" to give yourself room to form the top swirl embellishment. Once again, use the round nose pliers to form a tiny loop at the end of the wire, then switch to the flat nose pliers to continue the decorative swirl as described above.
Be careful with your flat nose pliers and ball peen hammer around the ceramic bead, keep it away from your metal working tools as you form your swirls and bangle. Once the swirl is to your liking, push the bead to other side of the bangle and hammer the front of it against the bracelet mandrel as you did the bottom swirl. 

 Step 5. Wire wrap the ceramic heart into its place with the 10" piece of 20 gauge copper wire. Push the heart bead up against the swirl embellishment.  Mark 3" into the 10" piece of copper wire and wrap this 3" around the 14 gauge bangle, 3 to 4 times, tightening the wire against the 14 gauge base to hold the heart bead, facing forward, tight against the swirl. Push the remaining length of the wire behind the heart bead and cross over to the opposite side to begin wrapping this side of the heart. Wrap 2 to 3 times and stop.

Step 6. Pull your wire through the bangles bottom swirl, right where the base of the swirl begins, pull tight with your flat nose pliers and press the wire down across the top of the bottom swirl. Continue wrapping, going behind the swirls, up into the top swirl and around to the back 2 to  3 more times, pressing into place with the flat nose pliers at each wrap. Keep this wrapping tight as it holds the 2 hammered swirls together.

Step 7. Wrap the 20 gauge wire around the base of the 14 gauge bangle base on the outside of the double swirl embellishment and trim away any excess wire. Press the cut end into the bangle with your flat nose pliers and file the end smooth. Reshape your bangle against the thinner area of the mandrel with light blows, careful not to break the heart bead.

Step 8. I added a patina treatment of traditional ocean blue with a paint brush and then washed over it with dye oxide indigo to add a better contrast between the blue green of the ceramic heart bead. But this step is optional and the pure copper wire looks fantastic antiqued or polished and left bright.

I hope this project gives you a good idea for a more rustic theme on valentines heart jewelry!

Much Love & Respect,

Shannon

This free project was posted on Art Bead Scene Blog in Sept.2011

Black Shard Link Earrings

So I am all into earrings lately, but they have to be dramatic, no doubt a desperate attempt at attention, but at least I do not have neck folds in the way of the longer styles now.

Cheap and swingy. 

;)

The faceted glass has one side coated in hematite and the other side reflects it as a foiled back stone. The weird side to side hole bothered me at first until I contrasted with a bright sterling wrap in the middle of heavily patina-ted black brass links with a crescent hammer texture laid on.

Yes, this is just what I feel like wearing!

All urban and sharp. 

(Next I will take the subway all by myself.)

Too late for Summer,

too inappropriate for Fall and Winter, too early for Spring?

 What do you do if you are sitting on a huge box of grungy, faintly-shabby-chic, patina-ted brass flowers?

This story goes back, but it's interesting and there are many facets.

It is hard to think in terms of 6 months in advance but that is as close as I can get to a retail calender.

The saffron daisy and blue rose were vintage stock flowers I sent Lorelei back in 2010(?) to play with and here's what she came up with.

 Soaring.

Fantastic mix of color and emotion!

Well, of course, this piece makes the cover of Stringings' Summer 2011 issue;

But at that point I had no more flowers.

:(

But I do now!

So as a thank you, I send a few more flowers to this talented lass and oh. my. gosh. Look what she came up with next;

 

 Brilliant designer.
I used Lorelei's instructions in the summer issue for constructing the necklace focal piece and created this with my set.

I used the 6 Petal  Mauve Flower and the 8 Petal Verdigris Flower along side a mix of softer colors and metals like brass filigree, ceramic beads by Gaea, ceramic beads by Starry Road Studios, recycled African glass from The Bead Chest .

Oh and an etched copper patina lampwork bead from Indian Creek Art Glass!
(oh my pretties, my lovely little pretties.)

The next set, and the last I set aside for myself, will be done up all wood, shell and tropical glam style.
Yep, it is never too late for flowers.
Thank you for the inspiration, Lorelei! I am sure I speak for several people whom you have inspired.
Lorelei's Blog.

Pissed off at silver but happy with brass.

I don't care how well off you are, we are all feeling it.

Who the hell do I write a scathing letter to, anyway?

Who decides what the price is? Is it the same people who decide the fuel?

Can we just agree to send a secret assassination team to do away with them and replace them with clones of Tim McCreight and who ever started Rio Grande? 

(I'm convinced these 2 people are looking out for my best interests)

Has anyone tried silver filled wires for soldering yet?

I miss working with the bright sparkle and the matte dark grey.

Now on to other more depressing news. 

Something has been wrong with the email account that the slevart.etsy.com jewelry store was connected to. I missed 2 sales and numerous convos because of this and still haven't figured it out. I do not receive notices and I am logged into missficklemedia all the time so I have no idea what is happening in the other store front unless I remember to check it but I can never remember to. 

 I think as soon as I can pay off my bill, I will just list a few jewelry pieces here on my blog. Just the most special that shouldn't be put away in bags or sold across a counter without an explanation. 

Pieces I need to talk about.  

When I saw copper in a stone for the first time, I was amazed at how natural it looked, almost like the stone itself. The layering effects of patinas on these simple hammered strips of brass give the same organic metal look as the copper embedded stone. The natural aging effect metal has in the ground changes the hues of the rock around it.

I love that.

Color Wrapped Keys

Hashing out antique key design ideas with my friend, Sharon Misuraco, yielded these little treasures!

And perfect light in the work bench area yielded a new pdf tutorial!

When I hold a handful of these embellished keys, I feel excited; happy with the mix of old and new, mystery and intrigue. The technique is challenging enough to keep me making more but simple enough that they can be finished in 30 minutes (not including curing time for the sealant.).

I really hope you enjoy making them as much as I do!

Color Wrapped Keys Tutorial

available here

Toggle Clasp; Bar Plus Link

Once I followed my interest in manipulating metal, I begin mentally breaking down shapes of commonly used components like toggle clasps. Working with Mary Harding and her ceramics gave me the push I needed to start hammering out pieces that can be used in all sorts of toggle clasps.

 

If you antique and tumble your copper bar you get a burnished finish that goes well with Zoa Art Shibuichi doughnut.

If you mix brown and red patina you match what Starry Road calls Pomegranate;

Mouth watering!

Way back when I used to make these;

16 gauge hammered links, I wanted a link that had a little more umph so we switched to 14 gauge links. This is where Mike stepped in and said "I'll handle this". Then proceeded to create a set up that allowed him to shape, cleanly cut and put together hundreds of heavy gauge copper links within an hour.

Sweet! This slightly wider link can also be used as a ........

Toggle Clasp!

Turning any of the 16mm hammered, patinated links into a workable clasp with the addition of a 1 inch Antiqued Copper Toggle Bar!

Yay for serendipity!

I didn't stop there, what if I went all big and kinda country?

Enter Stringing magazine and their Toggle clasp feature for the Summer 2011 issue.

I submitted these back in November. I knew they had received them from the email notice but had no idea they wanted to use them and just figured they would be coming back to me as a pass. Well, we moved. We had email problems. We got busy. The next thing I know, I have a magazine with the toggle feature and Missficklemedia was in it!

I was a little taken aback, my goal was to stock up on the metal and hammer out a few limited editions of these babies to meet demand. But I didn't know to do that and now the metal is back ordered! I actually had people call my husbands phone asking for the toggles. So I whipped up some in a lighter gauge of metal, hammered and tumbled to work harden the copper, made em look all wrecked and started listing.

  The new batch is now available and they match with a lot of the chains.

This led to the Pendant Toggle, which may be going a bit large but hey, it's good to let go sometimes and just make stuff cause you can.

You can support my component making habit here;

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missficklemedia

Or you can figure out how to make your own. Because when it comes down to it, it is simply

Bar Plus Link = Toggle Clasp.  

Thank you to Mary Harding for being my muse and to Stringing magazine for supporting handmade!