Grinding

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Today I’m working on my Etsy Metal challenge piece for the week, plus a few rainbow obsidian necklaces for my shop. This snowstorm is the result of two hours of grinding. By the end of it, my workbench was completely covered in blue sparkly dust, and so was I! Come to think of it, so were my tools, my chair, the floor…

True Blue

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This week’s Etsy Metal Project Runway challenge was… blue. That’s it, just blue! So I sorted through my stone collection and found these gorgeous little blue topaz cabochons. I put together a few ideas I’ve been tinkering with and came up with this pendant.



The extended challenge was to design two pieces, and who am I to turn down an extended challenge? So I whipped up this matching pair of earrings. I still need to get a shot of these being worn. The long stem threads through your piercing and hangs down behind your earlobe.



I learned this faux embossing technique from one of my metalsmithing instructors. Until I can afford a hydraulic press (ha ha), I’m definitely going to keep playing with this one.

Mod Daisy

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I created this necklace in sterling silver with a lab-grown ruby cabochon for the Etsy Metal Project Runway Challenge. This week’s challenge was to create a movie character, build a story, and make a piece of jewelry for that character. I chose Film Noir for my genre, which I’m sure will be a terrible shock to those of you who know me well. ;)

On to my tragic character. Our heroine, who has been sent by her country to spy on a suspected traitor, has fallen deeply in love with the man she has been sent to spy on. He is desperately in love with her as well, but she never tells him that she loves him, because she is living a double life as a spy, and she knows she cannot stay.



In the Victorian language of flowers, the daisy represents either loyal love or farewell, depending on the type of daisy. During the final scene, our noble spy wears the daisy necklace to symbolize her eternal love for this man and the tragic fact that she will never see him again.

Film Noir had its heyday in the 1940s and 50s, which happily falls smack in the middle of the Modernist period of design. I’ve recently fallen in love with Modernist jewelry design, which goes very well with my design aesthetic, and I designed this piece in a modernist style. Our heroine will look very dashing indeed!

Organic Silver Polish

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I thought I’d share one of my favorite new discoveries with y’all. It’s an organic method of polishing silver. I found it in with a bunch of kids’ science experiments, believe it or not. It’s really cool to watch, so if you have kids, bring them on in for this one!

Organic Silver Polish

1 tsp baking soda (called bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
1 tsp salt
boiling water
glass or ceramic container
aluminum foil

Line a glass or ceramic container with aluminum foil, and put in a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt (you don’t need to be hugely accurate with the amounts here). Fill it up with boiling water. Now drop in your silver pieces, making sure they are touching both the foil and each other. Voila! Before you know it they will be bright and shiny again - you can pretty much watch the tarnish dissolve!

Once they’re clean, fish them out carefully (remember that was boiling water), rinse them, and leave them out to dry.

Of course, you definitely do not want to do this to any jewelry with stones or beads in it, since they really don’t mix well with water. I’d also skip any jewelry that has been intentionally blackened (unless you want to get rid of the black bits). You’ll be better to polish up these pieces with a polishing cloth, which you should be able to pick up at your local jewelry store.

If you’re a silversmith, you may also want to check out my organic jewelry pickle and my organic method for blackening silver.

Retro Modern

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First thing tomorrow morning I’ll be heading out to Florida to visit my sister. But before I jump on a plane, I thought I’d show you all the piece I’ve been working on for the last few weeks. I went through quite a few versions of this design before I committed it to metal. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out!



Now I’m off to take a short break before the crazy Christmas rush starts. I have ambitious plans to take a ton of photos while I’m there - I’ve even packed a teeny tripod. On the other hand, I may just laze around on the sofa for a week…

Of Road Trips and Madonna

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Last night I dreamed that Madonna was driving around in a rusty brown pickup truck wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. She was tired of always having to have bodyguards, so she bought herself this old junker and went incognito. Mind you, I also dreamed about a pot with three kitchen knives sitting in it. That one was less interesting, I suppose.

Andy, on the other hand, dreamed that we were going on a road trip with Stephen Colbert, who insisted on driving. You know what? Given the choice of the two, I think I’ll take the road trip with Stephen Colbert.

And I’m more than happy to let him drive.

Utterly Glam

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I know you’re thinking it, so I’m just going to say it for you - it’s a glam, glam world and I’m a glam, glam girl. Mmm hmmm, I can feel your envy from here.

Yes, I wear this gorgeous outfit on a regular basis. For the curious, this fantastic dust mask and eye shield ensemble is considered haute couture for those silversmiths who prefer not to have metal dust in their eyes and lungs. But hey, we can’t all look this cool every day.

Conehead

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Poor Ditto has had to wear a cone on her head for the last couple of weeks and she is Not Pleased. Hopefully she can find a new hobby, as her current one - puncturing her feet with sharp objects - is proving to be a bit expensive. Perhaps her underappreciated party hat will cure her of the habit?

International Glee

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Today I sent packages off to

New York
New Mexico
Maryland
Washington
Rhode Island
Alaska
Toronto
and
London

I love this little gig.