so, you feelin' Steamy, Punk?

Dragonflies hangin' on a cog.....

Is this Goth, or Steampunk? eitherway it's kewl... and who wants to be "chained" to strict definitions anyway??

And this one is just fun! ( I got to use hammers, woot!!)

If you are in the Omaha NE area this weekend, please stop by Countryside Art Show Sat 10-6pm, Sunday 10-5pm and say hi!

I'm Baaaack........

This one sold at Farmer's Market 5/19/12

Did you miss me??

Don't answer that.

A couple of folks wondered why I needed to skip the blog for so long ( it's nice to feel wanted!) and the simple answer is just too much stuff going on.  My Daughter's play.  Our first every Garage Sale ( and while it went fantastic, it's probably our last ... it's soooo much work!! ) Shows every weekend.  Family and friend's graduations.  Minor health issues.  All the normal assorted zaniness that is my life. 

I'm hoping to get back on Schedule for the next 2 months, and then I'll be taking another break for the family vacation to end all family vacations!! ( more on that in the future)

That means I should be blogging every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.  Granted I might be off a day here and there ( for example this weekend is Countryside Art Show in Omaha, so my blog for Saturday will probably be late.... )

So with that in mind, here are pics of my weatherstripping cuff design.  I've made 4 now so far, and one is listed up on Etsy .  When we were getting ready for the garage sale Jerry dug out all kinds of interesting items from the basement to sell.  One of them was an old package of  weatherstripping made in bronze sheet.  Needless to say that didn't make it to the sale pile....

I've textured and added heat patina to the strip, backed it in scrap/ recycled leather and reinforced with 14GA copper wire.

I love the colors on this one! I've backed it in fuchsia suede

My 4th cuff in progress.  I decided to put the copper swirls more in the middle on this one

This one is up at Etsy!

The resulting cuffs are fun, comfy, and light-weight. 

Taking a break

I am taking a week or 2 off of the blog,  I'll be back with more pictures, show stories and random thoughts !  I'll still be making jewelry in this period, but real life will be very very busy for me, and something has to give besides sleep this time around.   Everyone have a great week ( or 2) and hey, if you are in the Des Moines Area, I'm having a garage sale on Saturday weather permitting.  If we have room I'll probably put out some of my jewelry as well...  Cheers!

Studio Night... earring play

lots of earrings!

My new favorite pair of earrings, I made one for myself!

 I've been trying to dedicate Tuesday night each week as my "play date" with myself and my studio.  With real life getting in the way most weeks, it's not gone as smooth as I could wish.. but yesterday I did get a couple of solid hours upstairs.  OK I admit I've been on a such a chainmail kick!  I figure I might as well go with it!  But I've mostly been working on bracelets and necklaces, so I really wanted to play around with earring designs. 

Many of these are rainbow inspired, cause as we all know, I adore color, especially rainbows. 

I love Nightmare Before Christmas.. this coffee mug lives on my table holding pens and hey makes a great caddy to take earring pics!  It looks like Jack is holding up the earrings

How things change

I work at the phone company.  So when We recently ran around buying up old electronics and tins to make jewelry from, Jerry insisted we buy a old phone too. 

I'm glad he did... the brass base on this piece comes from that dismantled phone.

I added a nice vintage crystal that fit perfectly in a brass cup attached to the back plate, and some cogs/gears and crystals.  i love how it looks... and it's such a strange shaped piece of metal, I adore that.

I occurs to me looking at it that while I find the innards of the phone to be strange, in another 10 years ( assuming if not now) how the phone looked on the outside will look just as strange to the kids.

People are growing up right now with cell phones and smart phones and will never even see what a regular "old" phone looks like.

It just boggles the mind.

more show announcements

I'm very pleased to announce I've been excepted in to The Wayzata Art Experience  art show June 23 & 24th.  Whee! I'm also going to be at Riverssance  again in September.  Woot! Those are the newest additions to my show schedule,  

chainmaile necklace in red, black and silver

a "computer bug" necklace made with recycled circuit board and a painted brass butterfly.  Click here to buy it!

I wonder what this will end up being?? hehehehehe

And of course I'll be at Riverbank this weekend.  I've been working hard in the studio trying to get a last few things done.  In fact, I need to go there now and work!

COLOR

before painting.. top row is mostly embossed metal, bottom row are 3 pairs of earrings cut out of copper and then textured with hammers and stamps.

 I love adding color to metals.  The absolute best way to add color, traditionally is enameling.  Enameling where you add dust like particles of glass and bond it to the metal with heat is on my to do list.

I have most of the tools and equipment required to actually enamel, except for a particle respirator.   Now I know there are folks out there that happily enamel without using any mouth covering, and get along fine, but it's unsafe over the long term.  I have Asthma and other breathing issues, so the last thing I want to do is compromise my breathing further with carelessness.  (and I'm clumsy, I admit it freely.  What some folks can get away with I'll trip and fall and eat the stuff by accident...)  Besides if I buy one more product before I use all the stuff I have now to play with the hubby will kill me!! Heck, I will kill me!  So Enameling is on the wish list and there it will stay at least for now.  (though I just bought a great new book on it.... heheheh)

So I've been looking and playing with other methods of colorization.  I'm very fond of heat patina, and I think it's my favorite with it comes to copper. 

Vintaj just came out with a new series of patina paints made to bond specifically with metals.  I bought them all and I've been experimenting.  So far I really like them.  It's fun to combine them the alcohol inks and I love the effects I'm getting using them really sparingly on my heat patina on copper.

I'm still playing, and probably will be for years.  Life is good!

I love the mix of aqua blue and a touch of purple!

This one is etched then I used onyx patina paint and then sanded down.  Makes the cat face that my Niece Ame drew and I etched just jump out!

Patina paint, in the traditional  "Verdigris" goes well with turquoise.

More Recycled Tin jewelry

I was thinking school teachers when I made these

Copper is hand cut, textured and stamped, heat patina and patina paint. 

From the limited edition Diet Coke "heart" cans.  I love these and as soon as I find the heart cans again I"m making me a pair!  The white circles in back are from a old cookie tin

working, working, working....

No pictures today, just a quick list of projects I'm working on ( and hoping to finish before my first show of the year, RiverBank in Iowa City.

finish at least 3 more computer bugs

finish the wire and pearl pendant I've been working on

lots of chainmaile --- several bracelets and at least 1 more necklace. oh, yeah, earrings too!

restock my anklets, and get a couple of new designs bouncing around my head actually produced.

finish my big brass etched piece... I need to cut, file, and sand the rest of it and then start putting it together.

redo a couple of pieces from last year that just don't work for me anymore

finish the copper necklace I've been working on

finish the wire cuff I've barely started

etc etc etc etc etc

In an effort to not go crazy ( or at least any crazier) I've been breaking down things into mini-steps. Actually I have to break things down in steps more than I used to... because so much of what I make now takes more time. For example, my computer bug series... Monday I painted a bunch of bugs. Then I have to let them dry. Yesterday I sealed them, which has to dry and set.

Tonight I'll cut more circuit boards and file and sand the edges and if I have time I will actually start putting them all together.

Anyway, busy busy busy......

Stuff in progress....

Only 1 weekend lies between me and show season... ACK! ( full throat-ed Bill the Cat sound effect here)

I'm working on right now pure copper chainmaile.. I"m planning on coloring it with a torch, cause it just sounds like fun!!

I'm working on some new anklet designs, more tin salvaged stuff, etc etc etc!