It happens to me all the time. In the morning, I put on one of my rings; lo and behold.... it is too tight. Seriously? it fit me last week? and I am pretty sure that weight gain or loss has marginal effect on the fingers. This ring is a good example. I wore it yesterday as shown and today it was too tight. Don't have a clue what all the reasons are for swelling of the … [Read more...]
Do you love COPPER Jewelry?.
Well those of you who follow me KNOW that I adore copper. When I first started taking metals classes, the instructors always had us making the designs and templates with copper. Copper was considered a low cost alternative to silver and gold (Duh!) So we could make lots of mistakes on our journey to become designers... without the financial burden. That made lots of … [Read more...]
Sacred Spiral; Your Spiritual Connection
Are you as fascinated by Spirals as I am? A Spiral starts as a smaller tight circle and expands quickly to infinity. The spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth, spirituality and evolution. furthermore it has been found in cave carvings, burial sites, shells, weapons and the Milky Way. Skipping a stone on the water creates a spiral too. Many believe that the … [Read more...]
The Nitty Gritty on Jewelry Patinas
Patina is a term widely used by jewelers who work with metals. After reading the real definition, I see that I was loosely defining this word to include colors other than the natural color that comes from oxidation. So perhaps I need to re-title this blog as 'The Nitty Gritty of coloring metals' I LOVE seeing the different ways I can make the metal colors shine and … [Read more...]
Tools of the Jewelry Trade; Pipe Cutter
The other day I decided to play around with a new process... using copper piping to create a jewelry design. I had seen some designs recently that started out as tubing/pipe and then were chased with a hammer to create some awesome results. I had some 1/2" pipe and 1/4" flexible piping that I had purchased at a local Home Depot. As I brought out my Jewelers Saw to make the … [Read more...]