Terra Rustica Studio GIVEAWAY!

Carol Dekle-Foss

A short and sweet post from me. A giveaway, from my hands to yours.  

How to win? Simply leave a comment here or on our facebook page. I want to know how you handle stressful times. What do you do that is positive to calm your nerves? I personally venture out into wilderness and vanish among the mountaintops. When I was a young girl and things were stressful or scary, I would climb the tallest tree I could find and sit there for hours.  I would return home with the sweet smell of sap stuck to my fingers and a renewed sense of courage and hope.🌲

Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay

I found such solace and peace in those moments, so it's no wonder I escape to the wilderness during uncertain times still to this day. As much as I would love to climb trees, I settle now for just taking their photos.

Winner will be selected on Wednesday, November 23rd, and announced on the Love My Art Jewelry facebook page.

One winner will receive all beads and pendants pictured.

We are having a sale in our Etsy ceramic bead shop! Enjoy 25% off your entire order with coupon code, AUTUMN25.

Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine GIVEAWAY!

Carol Dekle-Foss

WINNER UPDATE:

First, I wanted to say thank you so much to those of you who commented. I asked this question for selfish reasons really. I am struggling and it helped so much to hear what you all are grateful for. My son is 'over there' in harm's way, and not coming home for the holidays. This has left me in a grumpy grinch mood. I know, like the grinch, I will snap out of it at the very last minute and begin to enjoy the season. Probably when we light a huge bonfire for the tree. Ha! 

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday season!

Andd the winner is...

LINDA PRAIS. 

CONGRATULATION Linda! I will be contacting you on Facebook for shipping information.

~

I've always been amazed at how Stampington & Company can create magazines that are drool worthy and dripping with creative, inspiring articles. Every magazine has thick, matte paper, minimal advertising, and well thought out photography. It makes reading a delight, and being published even more special.

I love their technique based format, and have learned so much by exploring every detail of past magazines.

This latest issue that just hit the stands on December 1st, is chock full of unique techniques and many great tips. Along with the magazine giveaway, I get to share with you just a couple of my favorite artists and their creations. It was hard to choose! There are so many talented artists in this issue.

First up, Laura Guenther shares where she gets her inspiration for her gorgeous Time Passages components and how she makes them. I love the soft color palettes and elegant shapes and textures!

I was mesmerized by Carol Ognibene Kornievsky's creations using prismacolor pencils. How crafty is this? I can see many design possibilities using this technique. She also gives a great tip on using double-sided tape to tape together two pieces of metal when sawing out a pattern for earrings. I will be trying that out for sure!

I couldn't help but falling in love with this article by Barb Solem. Rock beads!? A water spigot used for a pendant?? You have to check out the rest of her article just to see how she uses more of these yummy beads.

Just look at these acorns made by Brooke Bock! I love how she was inspired to create them. I learned a lot from her article on different finishing techniques for various materials, including how she got the acorn caps to look so rusty!

Lastly, yours truly. I'm at it again with my sandblast cabinet. But instead of sandblasting stone, I experiment with bisque-fired porcelain, and these pendants are the result. I did a post on my blog explaining the process here. 

It's such a great feeling when you first see your work published and among such talented artists. If you have ever considered sending your work in, go for it! What's the worst that can happen? They say no? It happens, but you just keep trying! They are always looking for fresh designs to publish and embrace unique work. I was nudged by MaryAnn Carroll to submit and I so appreciated her support. Without her encouragement, I would have never submitted. Now I'm encouraging YOU. It's easy, you just send them your work, and if accepted you write up your article. Here is a link for the calls and challenges.

Okay, let's keep this giveaway simple. Just tell us what you are grateful for or what makes you the most happy in your life. That's it! If you are more comfortable leaving a facebook comment, feel free to leave that here on the Love My Art Jewelry page. I'll announce the winner on December 23rd on facebook and an update to this this post as well.

Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

My latest booth project & theft prevention tips

 Carol Dekle-Foss

With the luxurious days of summer coming to an end and the cool breezes of fall fast approaching, everyone seems to be in a hurried rush. Last minute road trips are being taken, school clothes and supplies are being bought, and for some, preparation is being done for upcoming fairs and festivals. Here on LMAJ, our very own Marsha Neal and Staci Louise Smith have been prepping for Bead Fest Philadelphia. It starts today and ends on August 24th, 2014. This is a huge event with over 200 workshops and more than 350 vendors.

Staci will be teaching tomorrow on how to make these Painted Polymer Fossil Talismans. We are so proud of you Staci! Good luck to you both!



I also have been prepping. The largest event for me right now is the American River Music Festival. I'm busy checking inventory, making new jewelry, and getting my booth ready.

This year, I have created pieces that are more expensive using gems and sterling silver. This has presented a challenge. I want to be able to have these items on display but I worry about theft. Some of them took me over two days to make. I poured my heart and soul into these creations. If one of them were to get stolen, well I would be crushed. Last year at the American River Music Festival, my booth neighbor left all his items in his tent overnight. They have security but the event is right next to a busy road. Someone got into his booth and stole an untold amount of jewelry, rock gems and fossils he collected from all over the world. It was awful, and he was in tears all the next day. There are those that target craft fairs for an easy buck, but if we are diligent, we can do things to protect our wares. The reality is though, there is nothing you can do to stop all theft.

Having a locked display case is the number one effective way to stop thieves, so here is my latest project to prevent some of my pieces from falling into the wrong hands.

The wine barrel, locking Plexiglas box and base were individual items that my husband brought home from work. His company throws away used advertising displays. The box was silver, the wine barrel unfinished, and the base was blue. All had company logos that I had to sand off.  I then painted, distressed and finished everything and put it together as a locking jewelry display case.

I think it's important to have jewelry out on display for everyone to touch and try on, but having at least one case is a good idea for those expensive creations.

Here's a little tutorial on how I made the logo. 

First, I created the image on Photoshop, then transferred it to the Silhouette cutter which did all the work cutting out the card stock. You could also cut your logo out with an exact o knife. 

I then taped the logo to the barrel and just eyeballed the placement.

I traced the edges of the logo with a permanent sharpie.

I then used this wood burning tool to burn in the logo. Wood burning is definitely NOT my cup of tea. I burned myself once. Only the whole tip of my finger, to which the skin is now peeling off. Just painting the logo is a painless alternative!

Here is the finished detail. 

Another way to protect your profits is to hide and secure down your cash box. This table is always in the back of my booth. It's tall enough for me to stand at when working and it has a hidden area. I keep a  director's chair in front of it as well so it's not easily accessible. 

This crazy contraption is under the cloth. I couldn't find a tall table with a storage area, so I made one! The cash box is screwed down and secure. The only way it's coming off is with a crow bar. I do wear an apron for small bills but when the traffic dies down, I add the larger ones to the box. 

Here are a few more tips for preventing theft.

• Greet every customer that comes in your booth, this will make customers feel welcome and also deter thieves. 
• Have a helper. This will allow you to take much needed breaks and also your helper will be able to greet and keep an eye on things.
• Booth setup. Creating height is great for display. The only problem is if you are behind your high display, it will be hard to see people's hands and what they are touching. When designing your booth setup, just make sure there are no blind spots, and that you can see all that is going on.
• Secure your items. Clips and pins are a great way to deter thieves because they have to undo them first, and run the risk of being caught.

I would like to hear about any special tricks you use to protect your jewelry or beads at fairs & festivals. Please feel free to share!

So what have you been doing to take advantage of the last days of summer? Do you have any rituals that you do to celebrate the changing of the seasons? I like to visit the coast before it gets too cold, it's very therapeutic and rejuvenating, plus its a great way to get out of the heat!

Finishing Techniques tutorial!

Alrighty! This is my second post finishing up the below earrings. You can find the first post here.

 My teacher asked me once, "Carol, why do you make so much work for yourself?" Well, that made me think. How am I making more work for myself and more importantly how the heck not to??  There are so many different ways to buff, polish, finish, texture, etc..that my little brain became confused and overwhelmed with all the different options. I sat down, did some research, listened to my teacher and watched Nancy Hamiltons videos. She has a great one here on finishing techniques. So for this post I am going to break down the process that works for me. Keep in mind you may choose to do something totally different. There are so many options out there, that you get to choose your own workflow, one that you are comfortable with and what works for you.

Ok, finishing up the earrings. With these next steps it is very important to wear goggles and a dust mask. Also, if you are headed out to run errands after, make sure you wash your face! Oh yes, I have forgotton.

Step ten

For the next step, which is my first step in finishing, I use a cratex wheel and flex shaft to remove the solder and any firescale. Firescale is the icky purplish stuff that comes up to the surface of the metal. Some designers use a process called depletion gilding for sterling silver to remove firescale. I haven't figured this out yet, so for now I just use Cratex. You can find individual ones to try here. The one pictured is the red Cratex which is a fine grit. Cratex comes in other grits and also different shapes for the types of pieces you are working on.

Another popular option is to use a slotted mandrel and wrap a strip of sandpaper around it. I tried this technique twice. The first time sandpaper flew all over my studio, and the second time...well, I FORGOT to put my hair up. OMG...it got stuck in the mandrel and instantly created a dreadlock on the whole right side of my head. I was so freaked out I kept pushing the flex shaft pedal and screamed like a dork. Yep! It took me about an hour to untangle my hair! Needless to say, I am currently turned off to the slotted mandrel, sandpaper technique.

If I  haven't soldered or used Cratex, I will just throw a bunch of pieces into the tumbler to polish.

Step eleven

After the Cratex, I will use Tripoli and a buffing wheel. Tripoli is a compound that is slightly abrasive and leaves a dull finish on the piece. Why yes, I did purchase this buffing wheel from Harbor Freight. It would be nice to have another in the studio like this, with the tapered spindles for easy removal of buffing wheels. Maybe some day.

This is what the pieces look like after tripoli. I don't use the finger cots or tape because I am a glutton for punishment. The metal gets super hot though, so sometimes I use a ring clamp to hold my work. 

To clean the metal you can use a crockpot with a basket. You use a mixture of water, ammonia and dish soap. Then take a soft bristle brush to scrub the metal clean. OR you can use an ultrasonic cleaner. 

Here is mine. THIS machine is AMAZING. Look at how fast it cleans the metal! Again, a MAJOR time saver. I use a mix of water, ammonia and the sonic cleaner powder for maximum cleaning! 

Step twelve

I then used the above hammers to texture the metal. If I wanted the metal to have a mirror finish, I would use the Rouge wheel after hammering. For these earrings though, I wanted a more rough texture and used the fiber wheel below.

Step thirteen

Here is the metal after a nice hot bath of liver of sulfur. I love how each metal changes a different color.

I then used an extra-fine mini fiber wheel to remove the oxidation in the areas where I wanted to highlight the metal and to give a light brushed look. To finish these earrings I sprayed with Clear Guard Lacquer, used a hole punch, and attached my handmade earwires. I usually don't spray sterling silver, but when used with other metals I do. 

So there you have my basic finishing workflow! Here are some additional tools for you to try.

My finishing kit arsenal

I made this kit with graphs of grits taped to the lid for reference. Sometimes pieces require special finishing such as ring bands or pieces with tight spots. (You can use a slotted ring mandrel with sandpaper also if you are brave). 

Here are the items in my kit.

3m Radial Bristle Discs in various sizes and grits

AdvantageEdge Silicone Polishing wheels

Also, here are some sanding wheels I learned how to use from Nancy Hamiltion. You use all items listed below together.

Magnum Brass-Center Snap-on Plastic-Backed

Snap-on mandrel

PSA Quick-Change sanding discs in various grits.

Basically you put the sanding discs on top of the Magnum and score the center. You then snap it on the mandrel. What's nice about using these, is the Magnum is plastic-backed so you can bend it when sanding, therefore you have better control. Nancy talks about how to use them in her video. I really like using these!

I hope you picked up a few tricks on finishing and therefore don't spin your wheels in the studio like I used to do! So how do you finish your work? Do you have any tips or tricks you would like to share?  Please feel free to leave a comment!

In closing, I wanted to share something that isn't really thought about too much during the Fourth of July holiday. Animals. Wild or domesticated, they get super scared and freak out during our celebration. If you can, place animals in a quiet place and also consider livestock or wild creatures that may be around. I wanted to mention this because of the wonderful conservation efforts of Karen McGovern. I know she will be taking care of her animals and making sure they are ok during all the fireworks. Thank you so much for all your hard work Karen!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

"Marriage of Metals" technique & tutorial

Carol Dekle-Foss

I learned this cool technique a couple months ago in my intermediate metalsmith class. I just LOVE it! I have always been attracted to geometric patterns and also mixing different metals. This technique was perfect for me to explore in my jewelry designs. These earrings are my latest creation, and for my first Boot Camp post, I'm going to show the readers of LMAJ how I made them. Tools & Materials on the bottom of the page.

Step one

Create the shapes you want on a computer software program such as Photoshop and print on regular paper.

Step two

Select your sheet metals, making sure they are all the same gauge. For the earrings I used sterling silver, copper and brass.

Step three

With a triangle, sharpie and a ruler, mark your shapes on the metal using the printout as a guide. Make sure your lines are a bit larger due to loss when cutting out and sanding. You will only need the basic geometric shapes for now.

Step four

 Cut out the sheet metal. I prefer a metal shear for the most accurate cuts. Here is my throatless shear from harbor freight. It's great for cutting accurate lines, and saves me tons of time in the studio.

Step five

Place sandpaper on a flat surface and run metal edges over it lightly to remove burs and even out the metals edges. 

Step six

Place metal pieces on flat surface and line up making sure every piece touches with no gaps for best results. Also for earrings, position pieces to form a mirror image.

Next, flux and then with the flux brush pick up solder pieces and place where joins meet. In the pic below you can see the solder pieces positioned. I cut them in thin rectangle shapes to try and prevent solder from flowing all over the metal, and hopefully to only go in the cracks of the joins. Keep in mind, solder flows wherever the heck it wants too anyway.

Step seven

Solder the pieces with a fairly large flame. Copper and brass have a higher melting temperature so you want to focus your flame on those pieces and avoid the sterling silver so you don't melt it. I use the Smith torch purchased from Cyberweld. This is where my teacher referred me to purchase mine in case you are in the market for one. NOTE: Soldering is a technique you have to practice to master. It takes time and patience, so don't be too hard on yourself if you are having difficulty. I know I struggled for a long time. If you want to learn I recommend taking a metalsmith class, or find a mentor to teach you the basics. If you have specific questions feel free to contact me and I will try to help! Also if you haven't discovered Nancy Hamilton you are in for a treat! She is so much fun to learn from. Here is a youtube video from her on soldering basics.

Here is the front of the pieces after pickling. You can see the solder flowed through in some areas. The back is a hot mess, as you can see in the below pics.

Step eight

Place paper shape onto metal and mark with sharpie. Then cut out with jewelers saw.

Step nine

 Sand edges with a belt sander or a bastard file.
Here is my sander from Harbor Freight. Again, a major time saver, and you can't beat the price. I hate filing and will avoid it at all costs.

Next, place the piece on top of the other and line up. Mark with sharpie and then saw out with jewelers saw.

Final finishing techniques

Ok, here are the two pieces. One is the front, and one the back. Yucky solder flow right? The next steps are all finishing techniques. So for my next post, which is scheduled for this Wednesday, I will show how I got the pieces to look like the above earrings! Plus some awesome techniques to speed up your finishing.

Here are some other designs utilizing the above technique.

My first pair of earrings finished in class.

For this necklace I used a lentil bead from Heather Powers of Humblebeads. I fell in love when I first saw it! 

 She was inspired by the Vincent Van Gogh Sunflower painting below. 

I used the "marriage of metals" technique and combined brass and bronze to form the vase. I then soldered it to a solid copper backing.

I love this technique and feel the design options are endless. So what do you think? Is it something that you might want to try? I would love to hear your thoughts!

TOOLS & MATERIALS
Torch                                                            
pickle pot
solder, medium
flux
different sheet metals
geometric shapes on paper
sandpaper, various grits
permanent sharpie, fine tip
jewelers saw
Photoshop or similiar program
paper
Sheet metals
triangle
metal ruler
sander or bastard file
metal shear
flat soldering surface
safety goggles
dust mask