Blog
Enamel Decal Testing
Not all decals are created equal. Thus, I decided to do one of my favorite things... an experiment.
I prepped six copper blanks with counter-enamel and a base coat of 1010 undercoat white.
Then I took five different decal types (brand A for ceramics, brand A for glass, brand B for ceramics, brand B for glass, and homemade), cut swatches from each representational decal type, and applied them to the blanks. (Photo shows placement before soaking and adhering decals).
I left everything to dry overnight.
Monumental and Scary
I did something monumental earlier this week. So if you know me, you know I have been trying to do a big organization and cleaning effort. A paring down, really. I like to refer to it as the "Swedish Death Cleanse" (look it up... it's NOT morbid), but not everyone gets that.
Your Competition
Who is your competition in this world of jewelry making? Is it the other jewelry artist in the local art gallery? Is it people who post their creations on Instagram and have infinity number of followers? Is it the person who has a "shop update" once a month and everything sells out in five minutes? Is it the people who use cheap labor to make cheap jewelry that always undercuts you?
I'm here to tell you you shouldn't be worrying about any of them.
It's the Little Things (aka Not Being Too Hard On Yourself)
I was feeling guilty that I didn't have a chance to blog in the last two days. Seriously?! How messed up is that?! I've got enough angst on my plate without adding mythical worries to feel badly about.
So much easier to think about what I *didn't* get done rather than appreciate what I *did* get done. Silly woman.
A Year's Worth of Babble in One Post... also we discuss Positive Distractions
My last blog post was April 2020... yes, a whole year. I have excuses, but I won't bore you with them. Instead let me try to catch you up a wee bit and we'll go from there.
Last January, I started my journey into the technique of cloisonné. I actually have an album on Facebook that shows the entire journey and if I have a spare hour someday soon, I thought it'd be fun to re-create those images here on my website.
My New Studio Assistant, A Robot Vacuum
You may think this blog post is not metalsmith related, but you’d be wrong… in my world anyway.
Last June I was in some hot springs and got to talking with another traveler there. Somehow we ended up talking about the fact that she got and loves her Roomba (robotic vacuum… you’ve seen the videos of cats riding around on them).
A Few Cloisonné Pieces and A Mermaid
Okay, let's catch you up. What have I made since the last time I showed you my jewelry?
I wanted to try setting some enamel cabochon (cloisonné, to be specific) into traditional bezel settings. By "traditional", I mean flat wire, not gallery wire or scalloped or serrated. Those other wires are very easy to "push over" which is a good thing when it comes to pushing metal up against glass... but I like the look of a traditional bezel setting at times (most times) so wanted to see if I could do it.
My Open Front Cuff Ring Tutorial
As promised, this blog post is just to show you my latest tutorial (click here to see the listing with all the detailed info).
