Upcoming Class: Metal Jewelry Design Basics

There's still time to sign up for this great beginning metalsmithing class starting Monday:

Wisconsin Union Mini-Courses: Metal Jewelry Design BasicsLearn the basics of sawing, piercing, riveting and soldering. A great class for metalsmithing beginners.
Three Class Meetings:
Mondays 3/19, 3/26, 4/9, 6:30pm-9:30pm
UW-Madison Memorial Union Craftshop
Madison, WI
Register Online
These classes are open to UW-Madison staff and students and Wisconsin Union members. If you're not a member, consider joining!

New BIG etched copper pendants

I just listed some new larger etched copper pendants in my etsy shop- these are a nice big (but not too big) 1 3/4 inches in diameter.  I like this larger size so I may have some more coming soon. 

New Items in Shop

I Just listed a couple of my new "macro-filigree" earrings in my etsy shop.  More earrings and pendants too coming soon!

New Filigree Work

Handmade enamel and filigree pendant, a photo by copperheart on Flickr.

Very happy with the way this one turned out. I'm really enjoying the filigree work and having fun making irregular bezel shapes.

Upcoming Class: Charming Bracelets

Are you interested in learning the wrapped loop technique for making jewelry with beads and wire? I will be teaching a class through the Wisconsin Union Mini-Courses program that will cover this fundamental jewelry making technique as well as techniques for making findings from silver wire. We'll be making bracelets in the class but the skills you learn can be applied to any kind of wire and bead jewelry. Wisconsin Union Mini-Courses are open to union members, students, faculty and staff of the university, and their guests. If you live in the Madison area and you're not a union member, consider joining!

Here's all the info:
Two Class Meetings:
Wednesdays 3/7 & 3/14, 6:30pm-9:30pm
UW-Madison Memorial Union Craftshop
Madison, WI
Register Online

Victoria Lansford's Russian Filigree Powdered Solder

If you have ever tried making filigree work and experienced the frustration of all your little pieces of wire moving around while you try to place your solder, I have a product recommendation for you. I recently purchased Russian Filigree Powdered Solder from Victoria Lansford's website, and it is absolutely wonderful! The solder is finely ground and mixed with a dry powdered flux. To use it, I like to mix a little bit of powder with water to make a thin paste, and then drop it with a small brush into the joints of my filigree design. If you make the paste thin enough it will draw down into the joint and make a very tidy connection. I use this with my little butane microtorch and it works great. You can also wet your metal, pick up little bits of dry powder with a wet brush and apply it to the wet metal. You can find more specific directions and tips on Victoria Lansford's site, along with other tools and instructional materials. While you're there check out her amazing metalwork.

Homemade Wooden Jewelry Displays

Those of you who do craft fairs know that jewelry displays can be expensive, and the ones that aren't don't look that great. Personally I don't like the look of the typical black velvet or white leatherette ones, and the alternatives seem to be very pricey. After doing a lot of searching on the internet, I came across this article explaining how to make a silhouette jewelry display bust. I wanted to try it for myself but since I don't have access to a jigsaw, I had to look into how to do it by hand. Turns out you can cut wood with your jewelers' saw if you get scrollsaw blades without pins. I had to go to a specialty woodworking store to get them, but they weren't too expensive. I drew out the shapes I wanted and stuck them down to a sheet of 1/4" plywood with spray adhesive, then cut them out with my extra deep sawframe. I glued a little piece of wood onto the back of each to make a stand, and painted them with spraypaint. I'm also going to glue a little piece of cork onto the back of each so I can secure the excess chain with a pin.

Cutting out the pieces

Ready to Paint