New Enameled Earrings and a Leaf Bowl

Mom and I were at the metals studio for about five hours on Sunday. The first hour to hour and a half was spent prepping copper sheets with images of bowls and pendants that we need to cut out. I think we have about 16 bowls that we need to cut out and I don't even want to start counting how many pendants we need to work on. Got to get that inventory made for the shows this year!

I finally started working on enameling the leaf bowl and four sets of circle earrings. I also enameled a piece that is part of a gift that eventually I will post pictures of, but not yet.

Leaf Bowl
Cobalt Blue/Atlantic Blue; Black/Gold; Misc. Greys; Turquoise w/ a Red dot

Enameled pieces I was going to use in the Feb. Art Bead Challenge, but my design changed, so now they will be earrings

Feb Art Bead Challenge Completed

I finally completed the necklace for the Feb. Art Bead Challenge. It is based off the painting "Luna Park" by Vestie Davis.

The first set of beads I made had a little mishap in the kiln, so I came up with a different idea for the beads I wanted to use. I am really happy with the results that came out. Though I need to start working on my dots and stringer work again. I can tell I haven't done dots in awhile and they need some work.

The rest of the necklace is made with seed beads and Czech beads as accents to the lampwork beads I made.

Quick Note

Just a quick note before I head home, since I don't have internet. Mom and I had a really productive day today. We went to the metals studio and prepared, at least, six sheets of copper for bowls and pendants. I then enameled one leaf bowl, enameled a bowl for part of a gift and enameled four sets of earrings. While I was doing that mom was cutting out bowls for next weeks production line.
We then stopped to eat lunch and we both had forgotten it was Valentine's Day. Appleebee's was pretty packed but we only had about a five minute wait, which was nice.
Then came home to mom's so I could put together February's bead challenge. I did some of the necklace in seed beads and that was a bitch. I finally got the necklace done and then took pictures of everything.
I will work on posting photographs tomorrow. No critiques on the photos because the sun was gone and I still have not put together a light box. Time, time, time; never enough time.
Now going home to crash though I really should work some on my history study guide for my test on Thursday. Procrastination is my middle name, and what they are going to put on mom's tombstone according to the Urgent Care doctor, so I think I will blow off working on my study guide.
Oh, mom also gave me one of my birthday gifts early. She gave me a Tiagnallo bag that is large enough to care all my junk! I love it!
I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day.
Peace out.

Excitement and Creation

On Tuesday I order a Scrabble Tile Ephemera Charm Pendant from Skye Jewels etsy shop. I was so excited to order that tile. I have been eying the "Song" tile since she posted it on her blog. I have the beads I want to make going through my head and I can't wait to see what the finished piece will look like.

I also ordered three heart pendants from The Rabbit Muse etsy shop. I really can't wait until those pendants come also. I have some ideas on beads I want to make but nothing definite. I am hoping to have inspiration when the pendants arrive.

That same night I nagged mom into finish making up Robin's necklace since there was a PAJAMA meeting on Thursday night. Robin is my metals professor and she is the best. Robin has been very encouraging in what I have been doing and pushing me to get outside my comfortable box.


I also put together a necklace I made for myself. I usually don't wear jewelry, even the jewelry we make, but this necklace means something to me. I made a copper circle pendant and I textured the copper and then stamped the words, "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" on the copper. I then used a length of Viking Knit to make the chain. I put both the chain and pendant in liver of sulfur to make it a bit darker. I used a clasp, that was made by someone else, and I need to sand it to get the lacquer off so I can also patina the clasp, but that is for another day. I have my necklace and I have been wearing it and I really like how it looks.

Kiln Mishap on Sunday

On Sunday I worked on making beads for this months bead challenge. I was about two hours into the process when I happened to look at the kiln temperature and about had a cow. I forgot mom did a Boro firing a few weeks ago, for a commissioned piece, and that the temp was not set for morretti. I had mom come out and reset the kiln and then crossed my fingers that the beads were alright.
Monday I found out the extent of the disaster. Most of the spacer beads had flat bottoms, a big focal was cracked down the middle and the second focal the colors came out all wrong. Though the spacer beads I made with my new frit turned out just fine and the rings I made actually came off the mandrels pretty easily and all of them were in one piece.
The upside of this is that I thought of a different design for the focal bead and I will try making that up on Saturday and hopefully I can have the necklace put together on Sunday and get photos taken and posted.
Lesson learned: Always check the temp of the kiln setting!

In the Light of the Moon Giveaway

In the Light of the Moon is giving away one of her wonderful resin pendant necklace.

Hurry over to her blog to enter.

Two Bowls and Four Pendants Done

On Saturday mom and I went to the metals studio to work. I think that is the cleanest I have ever seen the studio except for finals week when the studio is cleaned for the end of the semester.

This day mom worked on enameling two bowls: a dragon, "Puff", bowl and a flower bowl, which we are still thinking of a name for. The dragon bowl has red, black outlines the body of the dragon and yellow/orange enamel is the flames coming out of the dragons mouth. The flower bowl has a base color of crackle white with a blue on top.

Puff Bowl

Flower bowl

I worked on making up four circle enameled pendants for the Feb. bead challenge. I made the base color red with the smaller circles out of orange enamel.

Mom and I also worked on cutting out more bowls and circles, for earrings.