Dreamcatcher Pendant or Suncatcher

I've made similar items before, but only used the designs in my suncatchers. This is a very good tutorial for beginners - and she's got a very good method for closing the gap of the circle of wire you start with. Unless you're willing to solder it shut, her method is excellent. I make mine completely from wire. I make my circle, and I solder it closed and then I wrap the entire circle with wire. She used ribbon, which is a very cost-effective way of making a pretty pendant or suncatcher, depending upon size.

When I make my dreamcatcher suncatchers, I use all kinds of beads, mostly Swarovski, because, after all, they ARE suncatchers. Here's a picture of one that I made recently, and please be aware - when you click on the photo it doesn't open in a new window, you'll have to click the back arrow on your browser to get back here. If you do click the photo, you can then click it again and it will enlarge.

It's not a very good photo, as it was taken as an afterthought and the item is now hanging in the gift shop a block over, for sale. I didn't do a tight weave through the center of the circle at all, I simply did whatever the wire wanted to do. I didn't worry about keeping mine a perfect circle - I rather liked the asymmetrical look, but this is what I mean by taking the basic techniques and applying them in your own way. :)

Have fun and again, please post photos of anything you make.

Here's the vid:

Wire Wrapping A Cabochon - Viking Basket Weave Design

I found this tutorial on You Tube and it's a good one. Given the price of silver these days, I'd say practice first with copper or brass or craft wire, but it's an easy wrap to do, and one that shouldn't take you much time to master at all. It lends a beautiful accent to your cabs without obscuring the beauty of the stone.

It's also a technique upon which you can build with your own creativity as you become more comfortable using it. Thanks to CamilleSharon for posting this tutorial on You Tube. I'm going to share a few more of her tutorials here in the coming days.



Hope you enjoy the tutorial and if you try the technique, upload a photo here so I can see what you've done!

I'm not sure why there's so much space between this post and the one below it but I can't seem to make it go away. Hmmmm.....

Everything's an Embellishment

I started collecting vintage jewelry when I was in my early 20's. By the time I hit my early 40's, I was selling it online. I have tons of it. Don't throw any of it away. Clasps, settings, components - almost all parts of vintage jewelry, particularly if it's ornate, can be used elsewhere. You can do a lot with it to make it new and different. I took a floral component from an old broken vintage necklace, cut the attachment ends off either end - I used a jeweler's saw, because this is soft base metal, but you can use a rotary tool, and sometimes, if it's soft enough, just use your snips.

I filed the edges smooth - I did it by hand, using jeweler's files and sandpaper, but if you have a rotary tool, you could do it in a jiffy by simply grinding the rough edges until they are flush with the piece and then using a finer abrasive to smooth and polish.

Then the fun began! I changed the color of it using Alcohol Ink. The inks I choose to use are Tim Holtz's Adirondack Alcohol Inks and for purposes of simply showing you what it can do, I chose Cranberry, since it would show the complete difference in look.

Below is what the piece originally looked like:

And this is what it looks like after applying Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Cranberry. I just swabbed it on using a felted stamp applicator. It needs another coat and I'll have to use a small wrapped toothpick (or you can wrap the end of a file in felt) to get to the inside edges. This is simply for demonstration purposes, so it's not as neat and tidy as I'd normally do it:

It took about 30 seconds. It's dry, and it's permanent. I'll probably spray it with some Krylon Make it Last! just to give it a nice scratch-proof finish and to seal it, just in case.

Easy peasy. You can do this on any of your metal findings - change the color if you don't like it. If you need something to match beads, or a scrapbook entry, or something pretty for a notecard, recycle! Use found objects, broken jewelry, or anything you might just toss in the trash.

I'll post some more of my color-changes later today.

Distressing Edges of Cards

I was trying to think of a way to create the look of a torn edge on my note cards, and couldn't get the distressed look I wanted from tearing along a straight edge. The cards below are an experiment.

Since I'm a silver smith, I have lots of jeweler's files lying around. I used a diamond grit file for this and just held the card firmly in one hand, with edges together and pushed the file diagonally along the edge of the card in short strokes. I like it so far.

This photo shows two cards, one on top of the other, one with a straight edge (bottom) and the other with a narrow distressed edge. I will probably widen that edge - to do that all you have to do is just keep applying the file, but angle it closer down toward the paper. Experiment on cheap cardstock first until you get the technique down. I think you could probably do it with a nail file or emery board, too - I'm going to try those next.

The photo below is of a card that's been stamped, had a narrow distress applied to the edge and then had the edge inked. I want a wider edge, so I will distress again and then re-ink, as distressing will remove the ink I've put on it.

Give it a try - let me know if you like it!

Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, Tiles, Tables and Beads

A couple months ago I was given some ugly old ceramic tiles. As an artisan, everything has potential for me, so when I was asked if I wanted them, I naturally said "YES!" They sat around for awhile and I tried different things, but I could get nothing to stick to them. Color just rubbed off. Then I thought about alcohol inks. I knew about them, but I'd never used them. So I went to that place where craft supplies are soooo expensive and I bought every color they had of Adirondack alcohol inks. Tim Holtz is the expert and purveyor of these fabulous inks.

So I started playing with them. The first photo is my first effort with the inks. It's one of the tiles:

It's much prettier than the photo - the colors I used were Ginger, Latte, Caramel, Cranberry and Gold. I made liberal use of the Alcohol Blending Solution.

Then I got carried away. I had an old ugly table that my neighbor gave me, and she'd painted it white. My decor is all earth tones. So I used the same colors and did the table top. This is how it turned out. Next one I'll blend better, you can see the lines where I had to re-ink my felt - but in some ways it looks nice - my friend, Karel, says it looks like tree rings. :)

What's really cool about this treatment to the table top is that just as I was getting ready to seal it I happened to spill a cup of tea on it. HORROR! Guess what? I'm not sure what the chemical properties of those inks are, but the liquid just puddled and beaded up and when I went to wipe it off, gingerly, so I wouldn't take color off the table, no color came off. None. Not even when I wiped it vigorously just to see if I COULD make color come off.

I don't treat the things I make gingerly. They have to be usable and if they can't pass a "break" test, then it's best they break before someone buys them. These inks passed the "break" test.

Now I just have to finish the table. LOL.

This is my latest effort with the alcohol inks. I inked a tile and have laid out wire and beads in a floral pattern. They're not permanently attached yet, because I'm not sure this is the design I want, but it's an idea.

I love these inks. Since I'm a working artisan, (read "starving artisan") these inks, while expensive, may be worth every penny. I sell my items at local gift shops that cater to local artisans, so we'll see how the tiles sell.

Artfire - Winner of the 2011 Reader's Choice Award at About.com

Artfire-Winner of the 2011 Reader's Choice Award for Handmade Items

Being part of the ArtFire community, I'm pretty proud of this award. Artfire is a great artisan community. Friendly folks and lots of cool stuff to buy. I have a shop there, which I'm still stocking with beads, jewelry-making supplies, swarovski crystal beads and prisms, and a few items I've made. I don't have a ton of stuff there yet, but will have soon. I also take custom orders and can fill bulk Swarovski crystal beads and prism orders at an excellent discount to my customers.

Congratulations, ArtFire!

How To Make Ear Wires

This is a fabulous video for making ear wires. You'll save a lot of money on ear wires if you make your own. If you don't have a flex-shaft, a dremel will work, or you can hand-file (but that takes more time).

These are great for your own designs or to sell in your store. Make 'em! Experiment with them, hammer, don't hammer, use copper, gold, silver - wrap part of the stem above the loop, add a bead below the wrap - do what you want. Basic, easy, and very pretty.