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I first used this product for soldering, but then discovered how absolutely wonderful it is when I work with cloisonne enamel.  Check out the video and see how simple it is to rotate the piece I'm working on to get to all the angles I need with the flick of a finger rather than picking up a wire screen and having to manually rotate it then set it back down every 2 seconds.  I love love love this mini lazy susan.

I buy them here: …

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…

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.

Anyway, I have no problem getting rid of things I don't…

One realization I needed to embrace was: "I am not a general store."

While I love being the person who can provide anything anyone needs, it's not my job.  I need to give up that feeling of prestige when someone in the house says, "My sheets keep slipping; I should get some of those little clips that hold the corners down."  Then I get to say, "Wait!  I have some I'm not using... just a second."  There is no reason AT ALL that I need to be prepared for that kind of situation. …

Insightful words/sentiment/advice.  Not mine.  I'm neither thoughtful nor eloquent, but have no qualms about riding the coattails of the brilliant people before.  And this was WAY before me.  Some people say it comes from a French proverb: “Qui chasse deux lièvres n'en prend pas un", or... He who chases two hares, catches none. It's found in the 1710 edition of “Dictionnaire des…

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.

First of all,…