I took a book making class...

from the lovely and talented Dana Primavera.  The books are tiny 3 inches by 3 inches. 

The cover is hammered and torched copper.

(I used my new planishing hammer!)

The pages are aged heavy art paper with ripped edges.

(Next book I will stain the pages with tea.)

The closure is a silk ribbon with beads.

If you want one of your own Dana is teaching another class at Garden of Beaden in August and she is selling them at the Glitterfest October 2nd 2010.

Changes to my blog

I am exploring Blogger and found that I can have pages on my blog.  Wow!  I immediately added several pages...Artist's Statement, About Me, Tutorials, Metal Quotes and more.  The pages are listed as tabs below my banner. 

I am most excited about the "Tutorial" page.  I will be posting general information about wire, wire wrapping technics, metalsmithing and tools on this page, soon.

Wrapped Washer Class II

Nancy C., Michele and Diedre

Paige and Topsey

Nancy R.'s bracelet, lovely patina and texture

Also in class were Lisa and Peggy

This is the largest class I have ever taught with 8 ladies.  A fun, determined group.  We had a strange reaction with our washers that slowed the class down.  Our washers were from China via Harbor Freight and when we tried to heat patinate them we got a wierd black coating that came off when we quenched them.  However when we hit them again with the heat they did not always give the lovely colors and some turned black again.  We concluded that they had some kind of coating and we found if we removed it prior to heating we got more consistant results.  I think I will look for US made washers in the future.

Fall Colors

The fall colors from Pantone are out.  I always enjoy looking at them and sometimes even take them into consideration when I am designing.  I like this fall's colors very similar to the spring colors.

My favorites are lagoon (of course, I love any color that allows me to use turquoise in my designs), purple orchid and lipstick red.  Truly theses are gorgeous colors and great names. 

What's your favorite?

New Tools

The big brown truck delivered new tools today, what a delight to unwrap them, touch them and give them a test drive.  When making my purchase I had two criteria.

1. Function
2. Cost

Function

Is this tool designed for small scale work?  Is the tool well made?  Will the tool last?  Where is the tool made?  Is the tool made in a country known for quality craftsmanship?  Has the tool manufacturer been recommended to me?

Cost

This one is obvious.  Can I afford it?

I had the opportunity to talk with Jackie of Sylas Studios about tools.  Her recommendation for hammers was repurpose old  tools (old means 50 years or more) as the steel used in the past was better than modern steel or hammers from Peddinghaus.  And to look for tools from Germany, Sweden, England, and even the USA.

I'm not quite up to repurposing old tools...yet, so I decided to buy them pre-made.  What I bought was a 6 oz. planishing hammer from Peddinghaus.  The Peddinghaus hammers are mid-range...some manufacturers are more expensive and lots are cheaper.  And medium and long round nosed pliers from Rio Grande that are made in Germany.  I had a pair of the long nosed pliers before (but lost them), I was very satisfied with the quality.  The Rio pliers are also mid-range.

What is your favorite tool and who is the manufacturer?

Listed numerous charms and beads on Watergirl Studio today, most were Christmas themed.

And the Winner Is...

#3 Bush Babe (you can email your address to me at dgunn43@aol.com).  Congratulations. 

Are you wondering what my answer to the question is?  I'd say I'm a 5.  I have lots of earrings (most of them made by me) but I tend to have a favorite pair that I wear constantly until I find a new favorite pair.

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway.  I will do this again in the future so please check back for new chances to win a piece of my jewelry.

Summer is for Earrings!!! Earring Giveaway.

Summer is definitely here and I think everyone needs some new summery earrings.  To help you with that goal I am giving away these earrings ...

to one lucky person.

A little background on the earrings.  The beads are lampwork from a very talented artist (I wish I could remember her name...Dana ?) and the metal is sterling silver forged by me.  I love the Caribbean blue of the beads and the lime green accents.

HOW TO ENTER

To enter the Summer Earring Giveaway answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

Are you an earring addict?  Rate your addiction 0 = I never wear them, 1 = I always wear the same pair, 10 = I have multiple pairs of earrings for each outfit.

THE RULES

One entry per person.

Entries will be taken until Noon Pacific Time on Friday July 16, 2010.

One winner will be randomly selected from the entries.

Winner will be announced on Saturday July 17, 2010 before Noon Pacific Time. 

Good luck.

I now have the capability to post blogs from my phone. I love technology.

Images From My 4th

+

Old Glory flying over Upland Christian Church...

Lunch with my church family....

Dinner with friends...

Waiting for the show...

The show...

A truly spectacular show this year.  We had three fireworks displays going on at the same time!

The Sacrifices

An excellent discussion of the sacrifices made by the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Again I ask "Could you be a signer of the Declaration of Independence?"

Independence Day 2010

Today we celebrate the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Do you think you have had the "stuff" necessary to sign the Declaration of Independence?  Having the luxury of hindsight I say "Yes, I would have signed the Declaration of Independence" but without that luxury would I have been willing to brand myself as a traitor, to put my life and fortune on the line?  As you celebrate your freedom today give thanks to the brave men who did sign the Declaration and who did make the sacrifices. 

Take some time today to learn more about the history of the Declaration Of Independence and to join the signers! 

And enjoy your friends and family, the fireworks and your freedom!  Happy Independence Day!

Special Request Class

Yesterday I held a special class for Peggy, Melissa and Kay.  Thank you for requesting the class I am always willing to do special request classes at Garden of Beaden as it gives me an excuse to be there and hang out with the wonderful people who frequent Irene's shop (including the GOB staff).

We used copper washers as the basis for the bracelet and embellished them with fire patina, wire and beads.  The bracelet was inspired by the copper washer bracelet in Contemporary Copper Jewelry by Sharilyn Miller.

Aren't their bracelets lovely?!

The class is also scheduled for July 22 at 6 p.