Sunny Days - an Etsy Treasury

It has been a while since I was the curator of a treasury list on Etsy. I think it's time I rejoin the artist community and spotlight some of my favorite pieces.

These pieces make me think of spring when the sun is so crisp. They remind me of those beautiful days when I go outside, smell the flowers and walk under the canopy of branches. The sun shining through. It looks like I could walk up those rays of light and into the clouds. It makes me teary thinking of days like that. Those are some of my favorite days. On those days, nothing in the world matters except the experience of nature.

Studio Tour

Back when I first started my blog, I had wanted to show the process of building my space. Well, my husband actually did most of the work and he did it while I was at my day job. You can imagine that I really didn't get any pictures of the process. I figured I could at least show my jewelry making space how it's laid out now.

Behind me I have my computer. My husband is a wonderful computer guy and he built me this fantastic computer. I like to have various videos and music playing while I work. I picked up those cork boards at Target and have a few inspirational things pinned on them. 

In the center of my room is my work table, the heart of the room. I do all my work on this table. As you can see, I really need to get a "real" table since this one is just a 4 foot plastic folding table from Wal-Mart. I put a board on it to protect it from heat and all the hammering. I can't think of what it is right now but it's fairly heat resistant if a piece of metal rolls off my soldering block. I have a few burn spots but nothing overly damaging. There was enough of the one sheet that we had Home Depot cut it into fours then two of those were cut in half. I use one of the small halves for my traveling bench and lay it on one of the TV tables.

To the left of my table are all my tools. I have a shelf that holds my circle cutter, doming block, polishes, solder, wire, dowels, and pretty much all my tools that I couldn't hang. The metal is all "filed" so I can find what I need quickly. I keep the metal in baggies to reduce tarnishing.

Above the shelf I hung a peg board. My hammer collection is small compared to most jewelers but I plan to add to it. My saw, shears, some spools of wire, protective gear and my files all hang on this peg board.

The shelf behind me holds a bunch of other items like bracelet forming mandrels, PMC supplies, and etching solutions. There is a bunch of hodge podge tools and such. These are items I don't use as often but are still very important. I wanted to make sure they were easily accessible without being in the way of my more commonly used tools.

To my right I keep another drawer chest. It holds all my sorting baggies, tagging and labeling supplies, glues, polymer clays, pencils, extra polishing supplies, and wire supplies. On top of the shelf is my polishing wheel. It has this big blue thing that goes with it to help reduce particles in the air so I haven't used this machine yet. Once I get it set up correctly I'll be able to use it. I also have a kiln stored here but my house doesn't supply enough power for me to use it. Makes me so sad! Another tool I am sad I can't use is the rolling mill. I have so many ideas that I want to try on it but I need to buy a new crank. My grandma gave me many of my supplies and this one was missing the crank that makes it roll.

Above these items my husband hung some floating shelves. I have a bunch of books and they are all stored here. Recreational, school related and art related all fit on these shelves. The shelves go all the way to the ceiling.

In front of my main desk is another desk that holds my tumbler. My roller for polymer clay is also clamped onto the desk and I store an extra soldering set here. Next to the table is all my shipping items, bubble wrap, velvet bags, and USPS boxes. 

Close up of that table.

I love my studio. I don't get to spend as much time in this room as I'd like since I'm at my day job 40+ hours a week but I spend most of my weekends in this room. I like to keep it clean so I can find everything I need when I need it.

Thanks for stopping by for the tour.

Brittney

Aquamarine filigree Locket Adventure

Not long after my first, and so far only, silversmith class, I wanted to make a locket for my sister's birthday. This was probably a bit too ambitious for a beginner such as myself, but I never let that stop me. The fun is in learning the new techniques and just going for it.

In the design I combined my first love of wirework with my new love of metalwork. It's far from perfect and has many flaws but I think the flaws make it better, more unique.

Things I Learned While Making This Locket

• It was on this piece that I learned I could get the heat I needed to make solder flow while not melting my wire. By pulling my torch our from t he piece,  I can keep the heat at the correct level and not over heat it to melting point. 

• I also learned that if you want a ball on the end of the wire you're working  on,  you have to do it before you put it in your design. I melted a few spots as I learned that little bit.  I should hit myself in the forehead and say "duh."

• For some reason, this lesson just doesn't stick with me and I have to relearn it each time I have done a larger piece...so far. Although the backplate may be thinner, say 22 gauge, the entire backplate has to be heated when attaching an element to the top. Without heating the whole thing, the solder will not flow. Don't know why I can't get that through my thick head. I had the same problem on a piece I just finished.

• Drilling a hole for piercing. Seems easy. Now that I've done it a few times, it is easy. But this first time I drilled a hole was not easy. First, I grabbed too large of a drill bit for the hole. The bit should start out smaller then get larger as needed. I kept trying to push it through and it seemed to take forever. Second mistake...not using any lubrication! My bit heat up and I thought it would break. Thankfully it didn't but some burlife would have saved me some worry. Third, I should have made a dent of some sort with a punch tool. That way, my bit would have stayed in the same place as I gradually pushed it through the metal. Without the dent, my drill bit wiggled some and marred my metal a bit. I sanded and polished it off, but I could have saved myself the clean-up.

• It too me forever to figure out how to make a clasp. I tried doing the two balls on the outside but just couldn't get it to work.  They would just rub up next to each other and not hold the box closed. Since lockets were new, and still are new, to me I did some research and found this ball clasp style.  My first try didn't go as o well. The ball was too large and didn't sit right. Once I made a smaller ball and got it attached,  it sat funny.  I realized it would sit better if I put a duvet in the inside wall. The locket now has a nice snug clasp and doesn't come apart when worn. 

Surprisingly, I didn't have too many issues when setting the stone once I got the hole cut out and sanded. It was just a matter of making sure the girdle (back of the stone) fit snugly in the space I created. Then I had to push the loops I had made out of the wire down over the stone. The stone does not move at all and is nice and snug. It can be accessed from the inside of the locket for cleaning and to help reflect light. The setting ended up being very unique and I just love how it turned out.

Even with all the mistakes I made while making this locket, I think it turned out pretty well. Some of the melty bits irritate me but I definitely learned how to keep those errors to a minimum on future pieces. 

Thanks for reading. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and not have to make them for yourselves.

Brittney

Domed Textured Circle Earrings w Indigo SVC

One of the first orders I received in the new year was for these little domed and textured circle earrings. I have a set in sterling with a little peridot swarovski crystal. The order for was a custom set with a dark blue stone.

Supplies

• 22 gauge or 24 gauge Sterling Silver sheet metal
• 20 gauge round Sterling Silver wire
• Heavy wall Sterling Silver tubing - 18 OD / .02 thickness - this tube will fit a 4mm stone
• Two 4mm stones
• Ruler
• Pepe Circle Cutting Tool
• Doming Block
• Burlife - a cutting lubrication
• Bench Anvil
• Ball Peen Hammer
• Nylon Mallet
• 1.5 millimeter hole punch pliers 
• Calipers (measures size of a stone)
• Dividers (these help get exact measurements in millimeters)
• Sharpie
• Jewelers saw and blade
• Tube cutting jig
• Bezel setting tool
• Burnisher
• Tripoli polish
• Zam polish
• Fabuluster polish
• Tumbler with shot

Making the Circles

These little earrings are simple little circles. I use the Pepe Circle Cutting tool and a 1 lb brass hammer to cut the circles out of either 22 gauge or 24 gauge sheet metal. I took a metallic sharpie to write numbers on the cutting circles so I can keep track of which circles I used. For these earrings, I used the second to the largest, circle 10. 

I watched a video by Nancy Hamilton the other day, her Making Washers with Nancy Hamilton video, and she suggested writing the millimeter size on the tool. I really like that idea.

When using the circle cutting tool, it works best to keep the tool balanced. The piece being cut should go in position and on the other side should be a scrap piece of the same gauge. When you place the cutting portion into the slots, the tool needs to have Burlife. Rio Grande has different kinds available. I have the bench cartridges and the stick Burlife. I also try to use as few swings with the hammer as possible. If it takes more than 2 or 3 swings, the metal will have a "shadow."

After I used my tool, I had two very nice circles. The first time I needed circles, I didn't have a Pepe tool so I had to pierce them (use a jeweler's saw). There's a lot more cleanup when you cut out circles that way. With the circle cutting tool, there's hardly any cleanup at all. 

Once I had my circles, I started texturing the metal. For this piece, I decided to use the small balled end of my ball peen hammer. I love the tight texture it gives. 

After the piece is textured, it's usually no longer flat. In order to re-flatten the piece, I turn the metal upside down (texture side down) and use a nylon hammer. The nylon hammer is fantastic as it won't mar the metal and will still flatten the piece. 

Once I have both circles textured and flat, I use a heavy grit large file. It's best to take the file in one direction. I'm right-handed so I like to hold the metal in my left hand and use the tool in my right hand and I push the tool away from me while holding the metal steady. 

Now it's time to punch the holes for the ear wires. This was a small enough gauge that I could use the hole punch tool. I just make a mark on the metal where I want the hole to go and use the punch. I usually have to use a small drill bit in my rotary tool. Although they're my only set, I labeled the pliers so I would know what size hole they make. It should come in handy for when I do get another set with a different size. 

Last but not least, at least until we add the stone and the ear wire, it's time to shape the circles into shallow domes. I used my dapping set to do this part. Since I wanted the stone on the inside, I put the metal in the dapping block with the pattern facing up. To be sure I didn't lose too much texture, I hit the dap about 2 times with my 1 pound brass hammer.

Making the Tube Setting

Once the back shape is made, I had to put a tube on the plates to hold the stones. I really like these thick walled tubes. They're easy to cut the seat for the stone. 

For this portion of my project, I used a jewelers saw, tube cutting jig, calipers, dividers, a sharpie, my handy rotary tool, stone cutting burs, and burlife.

Before I could cut the tube, I first had to find out if the tube would be the correct size. To determine that, I had to measure my stone. I used the calipers to hold the stone. It then gives the stone's size in millimeters. Although I bought these stones to be a certain size, I still like to measure them. To measure their girth (width), I held the stone on my finger face down and closed the calipers jaws around the stone. These measured out to be 4 mm diameter. Before I could cut the tubes, I also had to get the depth of the stone. When I closed the jaws of the calipers from point to the face of the stone, it measured out 3 millimeters. Once I got the size, I knew I should cut a 5 millimeter long piece of tubing that has an inner diameter just larger than 4 millimeters. 

Once I had my stone size, I was ready to use my jewelers dividers to make a line on the tube for the correct length. Jewelers dividers are a lot like an artists compass except that both the sides move and have sharp points to mark metal. I set the dividers to 5 millimeters.

I had seen another artist do this technique and really liked the idea. It gets a much smaller line to follow so the length cut is more accurate. It also helps to tell me which end I cut from last so I'm always cutting the same end. With my sharpie, I marked the end of my tube. Made it nice and dirty. I then rested the dividers with one leg rested against the end of the tube and the other leg down the body of the tube. Then I slowly rotated the tube. This caused the dividers to draw a thin line in the black ink for me to follow when I cut the tube.

Cutting time! This tube cutting jig makes a huge difference when trying to cut tubes. When I first bought tubes, I was laying the tube down on my bench pin (the wood thingy with a V cut out). Let me tell you, that is not fun! It actually hurts. The tube makes it easier to hold the tube steady and get a strait cut.

I put my tube in the jig and set it so the line I drew with the dividers to be at the skinny opening in the jig. The skinny opening is for the saw. I used the burlife to lube my saw then held the pin down and started cutting. I've noticed that when using the jig, I have to rotate my tube a few times before the saw cuts all the way through it. 

I followed this process twice as I was making a pair of earrings. Once I had both tubes cut I needed to be sure they were level on both ends. I used a heavy grit file followed by a finer grit file. When I was happy with the flat sides, I took the finer grit file and gently ran it along the outer edges of the tubes to remove any burs.

Almost done! It's time to solder my components together. Before I fluxed the back plate, I took a sharpie and marked it where I wanted to place the tube. I really like how the stone is slightly off center and I wanted the stones to be symmetrical. I marked one domed side on the left and the other on the right. That way the stones will hang either away from the neck or toward the neck.

Before soldering, the piece has to be fluxed. Flux helps keep the metal clean when heated and allows the solder to flow. This piece is not overly large so I used a medium flame to heat the dome. When the back piece has been heated for a few seconds, I sprayed the flux. I could tell I heated it enough when the flux turned white. Happy with the amount of flux on the piece, I placed my tube. To make sure I had a good strong connection, I used hard solder. Just a small little square was enough. I like to place the solder inside the tube so it flows out. It keeps the connection nice and clean so I barely had any clean-up. 

After applying heat to a piece, it always has to be pickled. I have seen some jewelers quench before pickling when they have a tiny crock pot. Pickle works best if warmed. I learned to pickle then rinse so I dunked my dome and tube into the pickle to remove any firescale from the piece. Pickle is acid so it must be rinsed before the piece can be touched.

I like to be sure all my edges are nice and smooth. I also like them slightly rounded so I used my extra fine sanding disc on the front, back, and side edges of each earring. I'd already taken my fine file to the edges so I went in directly with my finest grit disc.

Time to make the seat for the stone. I use this tube burlife for my burs. It works really well. I used my 4 millimeter bur to cut the seat out of the tube. Since this is a thick walled tube, I should have enough material left to fold over the stone. These burs have a point that comes to a flat edge. The point creates a small angle for the stones girdle and the flat edge creates a little shelf for the stone to sit on. It's important to keep the bur strait when making the cut or the stone will sit crooked.

I use two different setting tools to complete the setting. The hammer head shape tool is a bezel setting tool. I used that one to push the bezel over the stone. I go around the stone on opposite sides to be sure the stone is centered then finish by pushing down anything that hasn't already been set. The pointy tool is a burnisher which I used to flatten the bezel and smooth it out. The burnisher makes the bezel nice and shiny against the stone.

Second to last step is polishing. I start with the Tripoli polish. Tripoli is used to prepare the metal for the polish. It's like when using sand paper, you start with the larger grit. I then switched out the polishing head for the Zam polish. The Zam is a really nice polish. It gets the metal shiny but I just love the finish of the final polish. I was researching polishes that would give a nice bright finish and found this Fabuluster. It is just like the name indicates, fabulous! It really puts a bright, shiny finish on the metal.

After polishing, I put on the ear wire. I've found that if I put the ear wire on before polishing, the ear wire gets bent and I have to reshape it. I prefer not to do double work so I polish then put the ear wire in place. 

The piece would be done, however, the polish can cause irritation if not cleaned. I toss the piece into a tumbler with a drop of Dawn dish soap which cleans off any extra polish. The tumbler also work hardens the ear wires. 

All done!

Thank you for reading.

Brittney

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2014!

Wow how time fly's. I can't believe it's already 2014. I feel like we just began 2013 and I didn't get all the things I wanted to do completed. Now it's time to start getting ready for the new year. One of my goals is to get back to this blog. I want to show you more about my process and how I make my items. Not really tutorials so much as my own process.

I'm going to keep this one short. Happy New Year and I'll be back soon.

Diamond Earrings: Blue & Grey Diamonds on 24k Gold - A Custom Set for Janesko

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. It's amazing how time flies. I'm sorry and I promise to do better!

Although I haven't posted, I have been busy this year. Carrie, Michelle, and I have done a few shows and working on expanding the Brie'Denee Etsy shop. One of my biggest accomplishments this year was the set of earrings I made for a local designer, Janesko.

These beauties took about 8 hours total to make. Here are a few photos of the process.

First, I had to test how many times my tiny 30 gauge wire would go through the stones. When I tested it, I found that these stones and the holes were so tiny, I could only make 1 pass with the wire. That really reduces the types of techniques that can be done to lay these out how my client wanted. It took a bit to figure out how to do. I decided using a weaving technique would be the best option.  

Next, I had to layout the order for the stones. Janesko wanted the stones to look like they were floating with the blue and grey mixed together. I laid them out so they look random, but they're really not. I put a pattern in since I had to duplicate each side of the "V" as well as make the mate to the earring pair.

And the work begins! The beads are strung on 1 long wire, about 8 inches or so. Then I folded 4 more 8 inch lengths of wire. To make sure the earrings were sturdy enough, I had to make a boarder so each set of end wires were twisted together. Then it was a matter of running 3 diamonds at a time on the main strand and weaving the other 4 wires around it to keep the stones in place. Whew! Lots to do still!

To make sure I kept the order and was able to finish with the point, I had to do both sides at once. I just love how these turned out and so did Janesko!

New Item: Blue Lapis, Labradorite, and White Topaz Pendant in Silver OOAK

I actually made this piece a little while ago. Just never got around to posting about it. This piece begins with a Labradorite Cabochon followed by a 6mm White Topaz then a Lapis Lazuli Cabochon. I wrapped it in the more traditional wire-wrapping style.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Would you like to purchase this piece? Visit my shop.