Dia De Los Muertos inspiration..and latest fall porcelain creations

Carol Dekle-Foss

The colorful shades of autumn and the crisp air have finally arrived here in Northern California. This is my absolute favorite time of year for so many reasons. My creative juices are alight with fire and I find myself losing time playing in the studio.

This creative stirring has been very productive!

For one, I have accepted Karen's Dia De Los Muertos, a celebration of life challenge. Are you participating? We would love for you to join us! For me, this holiday was somewhat of a mystery. I knew the basics, but to help me with what I wanted to make for the challenge, I set out to learn more about this special occasion.

Some very cool facts I found interesting:

The Ofrendas or altars, are built inside and are decorated with many obejects, including the loved one's favorite items, photos, Cempasuchil or Marigold flowers, pan de muertos and sugar skulls. The children's altars are decorated in a special way to include miniature toys, tiny food etc. The Marigolds are also used in many other ways including decorating the graves. 

They widely display beautiful Papel Picado, or cut paper banners. I love the fact that there are still artisans in Mexico that hand cut these banners. Here's a short video in English on the history the Papel Picado if you're interested.

I think what amazes me most about this beautiful tradition, is they portray the dead as humorous, happy, and fun, and not macabre in any way.  Also that the children are included in the celebration honoring their deceased loved ones. I have a new appreciation for this holiday, and plan to attend a local celebration to learn more. Here is a list of events in the United States as well as a few abroad if you are interested in attending one. How amazing would it be to go to one of these celebrations in Mexico!

  I was so inspired by Sherri's shrinky dinks and hand-drawn shoes that I thought I would try and draw my own sugar skull. I used common motifs and then embellished with a bit of my style. 

These pendants will be included in a shop update tomorrow. 

 

I think they are adorable! I've saved a few for the challenge, and will probably end up keeping the finished pieces to wear during Dia De Los Muertos.

Here are some new designs coming out of the kiln as well.

 I love the intricate stained glass look of these leaves.

And more leaves.

Another skull design.

Ronnies beads. He nailed the fall colors!

All beads and pendants shown will be included in the shop update that will be happening tomorrow.

We hope you join us for the Dia De Los Muertos challenge! You can find out more details here.

Stacking ring love..and necessary tools.

Carol Dekle-Foss

I'm obsessed with making stacking rings! I think it's because there are so many design possibilities. I like that any small charm can be converted into a solderable, then be combined with different gemstones and metal textures to make a unique, one-of-a-kind ring. I have so many designs in my head right now!  Here are some newer ones I've made and also some I've made in the past. 

My lotus charm with textured bands and a white topaz faceted gemstone.

I'm in love with this little owl! I just sawed off the jump ring that was attached to the top of his head. The cabochon is mother of pearl.

 One of my cherry blossoms combined with berry wire.

I use a ton of different tools when making rings, but here are my favorites and the ones I can't live without.

This file rocks! It files so smooth, like a babies bottom:)

Very accurate ring sizing chart.  

Pepe ring mandrel. I recently purchased one of these and love it! My other ring mandrel completely destroyed the insides of my rings.

Flat and half-round pliers. I use these to round together the ring band wire to be soldered.

Maun flat-nose urethane parallel pliers:  I have no idea how I lived without them. The urethane even stands up to my abuse!

Digital calipers from Harbor freight. 

Mounted sandpaper roll, 400 grit. For sanding the insides of ring shanks.

AdvantEdge pumice wheel. I use the knife edge to remove metal under the charms so the ring bands fit snugly.

Locking head tweezers. They keep everything held in place and at a 90 degree angle.

Rotating soldering table. With the locking head tweezers, and this table, I can easily look at all angles of the ring to make sure its lined up and ready for soldering. Sorry, I should have taken a photo of a ring about to be soldered!

Photo courtesy of Rio Grande

My newest favorite tool! A stone-setting system.

Tube setting a faceted gemstone like the one above can be challenging. I've chipped way to many using a regular bezel pusher, so I decided to give this stone-setting system a try. It works like a charm and very easy to use. It pushes in the sides of the bezel wall evenly so the gemstone sets perfectly. I love it! Melissa Muir has an extremely helpful video on how to tube set if your interested in learning. Thank you Melissa!!! 

Sending positive thoughts and safe wishes to those in the path of this monster of a hurricane!

New jewelry packaging..just in time for fall!

Carol Dekle-Foss

I've grown tired of my boring old jewelry packaging you see below and have been working on revamping it for the fall season. I wanted something more simple and professional looking, yet unique, without breaking the bank.

 

I fell in love with the simplicity of belly bands, so for this post I'm sharing what I came up with using Minc Reactive foil and this cheap laminator I purchased at Walmart. 

Later down the road, I might try Rio Grande's personalized hot foiling, but for now I like the belly band look. I enjoy the creative process of making my own packaging, plus it's fun using different foil and paper combos.

Here's how I made the band..

I used cardstock from The Luxury Stack and printed my logo using a laser printer. I then ran it through the laminator using Minc Rose Gold foil. It can be tricky getting the foil to stick. I had a hard time at first, but with a few adjustments to the density of the image, and running it through the laminator a few times, I got it to work. It's not perfect, but that's okay, it's handmade right?? There is a Minc machine that is supposed to work better, but the laminator works fine when you have your image really dark and run it through more than once.

I also made an earring card insert to match.

These earrings are made with beautiful handmade porcelain beads by MaryAnn Carroll of Artisan Beads Plus. They are on their way to their forever home!

Also, my husband and I have agreed we are having a 20% off fall sale through the end of September! Just use coupon code save20. You can find all our porcelain goodies on our website here.

Thank you for reading!

Stone pendant sandblasting: Step-by-step process

Carol Dekle-Foss

Recently, someone wanted to know how I sandblast my stone pendants. I did a tutorial on my personal blog but not on Love My Art Jewelry, so for this post I thought I would share my process. 

First, it took about a year to even start sandblasting. I did tons of research, and then we went to work building or modifying all the equipment. It was very frustrating for me because I had a hard time understanding the mechanics. Thanks to my husband explaining to me hundreds of times, we finally figured it out! I still get confused with how my OWN equipment works! Then, I had to learn how the special film worked. What a pain! I went through tons because it wouldn't expose or develop right. Luckily, the companies I work with give you samples to experiment with. Even today, after five years, I still have issues with the film.

I really do enjoy this creative process though, and over the years have found many ways to use my sandblaster, including creating stamps for porcelain. (My current new obsession)      

Here is the simplified version: You apply a stencil to a product and then sandblast the stencil image with a special abrasive applied at high pressure. The abrasive then erodes the surface in the open areas of the stencil and leaves a permanent carved impression.

Simple right? Umm, ya right. Here are the visual steps.

Step One




I either draw the image I want or I use a royalty-free graphic.  I then upload the image to Photoshop where I darken it and scale it down to the size I like. Now it is ready to be printed on a special type of vellum paper shown below.

 My father is an electrician, so together with my husband, we built this lightbox to expose the film. These are fluorescent black light bulbs.

Step Two
The next step is to expose. I place the special film (I'm currently using Rayzist as my film supplier) on top of the vellum and turn the light on for 30 seconds.

Step Three

After exposing, the next step is to pressure wash with warm water to develop the film. I use Ikonics Triggerjet and it works like a charm. You can buy washout boxes or just use a sink or shower.

Step Four

I then place the stencil in my handy dandy Nesco food dehydrator. The alternative is using a photoresist film dryer or you can also use a blow dryer.

Step Five

After the film is dry, I remove the carrier sheet and apply to the pendant.

I then position the film and remove the protective carrier sheet. I wrap the film around the stone and tape the back so the stone doesn't get damaged in the sandblasting process.

Step Six
The next step is to sandblast the piece. I bought this equipment from a very nice gentleman who hand makes these out of Texas. We modified it to use a foot pedal so there is better control and installed a smaller more fine tuned tip for blasting.

When I sandblast, I use a half mask respirator, eye protection, and cover my hair. I also open the garage door for ample ventilation. 

I use silicon carbide grit which is an extremely fine sand and sandblast at approximately 35 psi. I went through different grit, and different film until I got the exact formula that I use for my process.

Step Seven

The final step is to airbrush, or hand paint the sandblasted piece with the film still on. I use non toxic acrylic paint with metallic colors. I then spray a coating of acrylic top coat to seal in the paint and to give it a shine.

I let the piece sit over night so it's nice and dry and then I remove the film and clean the stone.

There you have it! You can buy sandblasting equipment, but at the time I started it was very costly. Maybe the prices are better today? That's why we decided to build our own setup. I'm glad we did because if a part breaks, we can fix it ourselves. Well, my husband. He fixes it. Ha!

Thank you for reading! 

Latest porcelain creations..

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hi Everyone! I hope you have had a chance to enjoy some wonderful summer activities! I have stayed home most of the time, which isn't like me. This time of year, I'm usually camping, visiting the beach, or hiking in our amazing Sierra Foothills. After the accident though, I felt like I had lost three months so I have been really focused on catching up and working on new designs. 

 Lately, I've been influenced by affirmations and positive quotes, so I've been incorporating some of my favorites into a new line. Below are a few I've made so far. 

My first batch of "it is well with my soul." I just love this quote. I made them into pendants so they can be worn close to the heart. They need a different glaze for sure, one that highlights the font better.  I changed the design to include a cute border.

These pendants are in their greenware state, I'm so excited to see them glazed! I plan on making more designs like this. If there is an affirmation or quote that you think would be a great addition, please let me know!

Latest designs fresh out of the kiln...

A new petal shape.

More yummy cherry blossoms.

Mandala, lotus and swirl charms and pendants.

First try at the "just breathe" quote. 

A large flourish pendant.

These beads are supposed to be carved with lotus petals. Ugh...not quite as I had envisioned!

Also, I've been working on some porcelain cone ring holders. I like the swirl leaf base and the shape is good, but I wasn't going for little brown turds. Lol! I think spaced in my booth they won't look like turds in a toilet. Hahaha! I'm working on the glaze color. Any suggestions? 

Alright ya'll, give it up for the husband!

Ronnie's beads...

and his very first pendant!!! Isn't it adorable?? It's so much fun watching him play with clay.

All of the above will be listed by the end of this week to our Etsy store here. Minus the turds. Haha! 

Thank you for reading. I hope your were inspired to create!