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

Enameling Tip: Glass Etching Cream

Glass etching cream is a great thing to have around if you are working with enamel. You can use it to get a nice matte finish over the surface of your enamel, or you can use it just like you would on any glass object to make an etched design by painting it on or applying it through a stencil. But where it really comes in handy is if you get a little stray enamel on the metal where you don't want it. As you may have discovered, getting even one grain of enamel where you don't want it can make a nasty black spot on your nice shiny silver. To get rid of it, just apply a layer of etching cream over the spot and let it sit for a while, then rinse off the cream and scrub, and reapply as needed. It will usually take a few applications to get rid of the spot. Keep in mind the glass etching cream is nasty stuff. Wearing gloves is strongly advised and avoid breathing the fumes. I would recommend using cotton swabs to apply the cream so you don't have to worry about cleaning a brush. Make sure you scrub your piece really well with soap when you're done with the etching cream.

An Electrolytic Etching Tip

Anybody who has done any kind of etching always eventually encounters the problem of what to do with all the spent solution. In electrolytic etching this is somewhat less of a problem because the solution isn't toxic or corrosive, but you still can't just pour it down the drain. I've recently discovered a simple trick that allows me to indefinitely re-use my saltwater solution. When I'm done with my etching, I simply filter the solution through a coffee filter. The filter catches most of the sludgy copper compound from the water and I'm left with nearly clear salt water, ready to use again and again. I've found that I just need to add more salt to the water now and then to freshen it up, because some of the salt bonds with the copper and comes out in the filtering process. Happy etching everyone!
***EDIT*** Since writing this post I have discovered that while you can re-use your solution for a long long time, it will eventually wear out. Once you start noticing your etching isn't as crisp as before, it's taking a lot longer or you're getting funky textures, replace the solution. Adding more salt will help extend the life but it will eventually be saturated with copper and won't take any more salt. What can I say, I'm learning as I go!

Etching Resist Pen

After a lot of searching and some trial and error, I finally found a good resist pen for electrolytic copper etching. I had been using a sharpie paint pen for etching when I was using ferric chloride, but for some reason it doesn't stand up to the electrolytic etching process long enough to get a good etch. So today I was in the craft store and I saw they had fine point DecoColor paint markers. I picked one up to give it a try and it worked great! It draws easily, dries fast and stands up well to the etching process. When you are done etching you can just scrub it off with a scrub pad, so you don't even have to use a solvent. One caveat is that it is the "stinky" kind of paint marker. The label says it contains xylene, so don't sniff it and keep it away from the kids. Some good ventilation couldn't hurt either. I should add that good old fashioned stop-out varnish applied with a nib pen is still the best etching resist I've found, but for some things you just need a marker. Happy etching!

Metal Clay & Enamel

I'm finding that one of the really great things about working in metal clay is that it's perfect for making enameled pieces. Since it's fine silver, it doesn't get any firescale when firing and doesn't require any cleaning between firings. I also like that I can fabricate the entire piece and then add the enamel, rather than making an enamel piece separately and then making a setting for it.
Here's a couple tips I picked up about enameling on metal clay:

• Metal clay is porous after firing, so it needs to be burnished before applying enamel to smooth out the surface. Otherwise the metal clay will kind of suck up the enamel. You can burnish it by hand, but it takes quite a bit of elbow grease. I find that tumbling with steel shot for an hour does the trick.
• You need to be super careful not to get any stray grains of enamel on the un-enameled parts of your piece. Any stray grains will make a nasty brown or black mark on your piece. I find that wet packing the enamel works best to keep it where it needs to be.
  
• Keep the metal under the enamel nice and thick- I've had good results with rolling the clay 1 mm thick, as long as I keep the layer of enamel nice and thin. If the metal is too thin or the enamel too thick, the enamel will crack off.
  

That's it for now. I'll be posting a tutorial on wet packing withing the next few weeks.

A Sense of Scale

If you sell jewelry, you have probably considered the issue of whether to photograph your jewelry with an object (or a person) to give it a sense of scale. I have never been able to think of a good object to use. Rulers and coins are tacky (plus coins aren't helpful for international buyers) organic objects vary too much in size, and some buyers are put off by models. All in all photographing the jewelry in my hands seemed like a decent option. It shows the scale of the jewelry without the jewelry actually being worn, and though hands vary somewhat in size, I think it gives the buyer a good general idea. The problem is my hands aren't really the prettiest after a night of making jewelry. So today I had the idea to make a print of my hand and photograph the jewelry on top of the print. I think it looks pretty good, and when combined with the measurements should give the buyer a good idea of the size of the jewelry. I also tried making a print of my ear but that didn't work out so well!

Liver of Sulfur Gel

Like many jewelers, I have had an old, rusty can of liver of sulfur (or "the stink" as we call it at my house) sitting around for years. After taking a little hiatus from jewelry making, I was disappointed to find that my mostly full can of liver of sulfur had gone bad on me. (Interestingly enough, when liver of sulfur goes bad it stops stinking) So I replaced my old can of dry liver of sulfur with a jar of the new gel variety, and I am very happy with it! It is much easier to use, and gives very consistent results. With the dry stuff, you had to dig around to find a chunk that was the right size, then wait for it to dissolve, and you could never be quite sure how strong the solution was going to turn out. With the gel variety, I just dip the end of a little scoop into the jar and stir it into a small container of hot water. It's easy to make just as much as you need. Plus, the gel liver of sulfur is supposed to be more stable than the dry stuff and has an extended shelf life. Of course, it's still really stinky, and you still have to be careful not to breathe in the fumes, etc, but It's a big improvement!

Fluxalicious

I just tried this new flux- It's called firescoff and it claims to act as a flux, firescale inhibitor, and heat shield. You just warm you piece up gently, spray on the flux, and solder. I got this because I have trouble with firescale on pieces that involve soldering things to flat surfaces (soldering pin findings onto the backs of brooches, etc) While I don't think this will replace my good old trustworthy handy flux, it does do a bang-up job of preventing firescale from forming. It's not as cost-effective as regular paste flux, so I'll probably save it for places where I need extra firescale protection.

Magically Concentric

I just got some new tools that make it super easy to cut perfectly concentric washers. I've had a disc cutter for a while, and use it all the time, but I have always found it difficult to center the metal to cut washers. After reading this great tutorial from The Mechanical Philosopher, I got myself a set of transfer punches to fit my disc cutter. Basically, a transfer punch is a cylindrical punch with a little spike centered on the end. You can order them in sets or order individual punches in the sizes you need. To use them with your disc cutter, you basically put the metal you want to cut in place in the cutter, then slide the appropriately sized transfer punch into the hole. Tap the transfer punch gently to make a divot in the sheet. Then, being very careful not to shift the metal, cut your disc. You will have a disc with a perfectly centered divot. Then, when you cut the inside diameter of the washer, you can use the smaller transfer punch to align the disc in the cutter. This is just a super quick overview- check out The Mechanical Philosopher's tutorial to see some useful pictures and more detailed instructions. The tutorial shows the use of a press to cut the discs, but I use a hammer and it works just fine.

More Etching Tidbits

I've been doing a little more experimenting with my copper etching techniques. I got a really nice new sharpie paint pen that works pretty well as an etching resist. You can get them with an ultra-fine tip, and they dry very quickly and stand up well to ferric chloride etching solution (I haven't tried it with ferric nitrate yet) I used the sharpie paint pen to make some new etched copper beads. Since the paint pen dries quickly, it makes it easier to draw on all sides of a three dimensional object. The one problem I've noticed with the sharpie paint pens is that the paint scrapes off metal easily, but as long as you are careful not to scratch the paint, they work well. I also discovered that erasers work really well for highlighting oxidized metal. The eraser gives higher contrast than steel or bronze wool, because it only hits the higher surfaces of the metal. The bead at the top of the post was oxidized and highlighted with bronze wool, while the bead below was highlighted with an eraser. Both were tumbled after oxidizing and highlighting.

Google Base Made Easy

Hey etsy sellers-
I just found out about this awesome website that makes it so easy to submit your items to google product search. It's called Let's Ets. You just enter you etsy username and the site generates a feed file that you can save to your computer. Then you just go to google base, set up your account, and upload the feed from your computer. In a day or so you will be able to find your items in the google product search. I have yet to see if It brings me more sales, but It couldn't hurt!

Custom gift boxes DIY style

Here's an idea for jewelry makers who want to make their packaging a little special. You can get a custom stamp with your shop name (and practically anything else you want) from one of the fine stamp sellers on etsy. I got this stamp from Terbearco (who I would highly recommend, by the way). The trick is to put a little block of Styrofoam or some similar material to support the top of the box while stamping, otherwise the center of the box will push in and the stamp will only show on the edges.

Earth Day Efforts

I've been working on making my little jewelry business more eco-friendly, just in time for Earth Day. I've always felt conflicted about being a metalsmith when precious metal mining is so environmentally damaging and often socially irresponsible as well. I remembered back in college, one of my professors said she bought her gold from Hoover and Strong, because they sell recycled gold. After a few fellow etsy sellers recommended them too, I went and set up an account. So now I am buying 100% recycled silver sheet and wire! Hoover and Strong also has a strong commitment to protecting the environment, and they use clean refining techniques. If you're interested, you can read up on it here. I am working on trying to find reliably recycled silver chain as well. It seems that most jewelry supply companies get their chain from outside vendors, so they don't know the content of the silver.
In addition to buying recycled silver, I am working on making my packaging more eco-friendly as well. I have always used recycled gift boxes to package my jewelry, and now I have mailers made with recycled paper as well. I am working on switching all my packaging materials to recycled products.
Just trying to do my part!
Happy Earth Day!

Fun things you can do with an enameling kiln

One thing I've been wanting to try for a long time is making enameled beads. I couldn't torch fire them, because torch firing blackens the enamel where the flame hits it- not a problem on a one sided piece but it doesn't work so well for a round object. Now that I have my new enameling kiln I decided to give it a try. I got some hollow copper beads from Rio Grande, and made myself a little stand to hold the beads during firing. It's just a piece of metal bent up at the sides, with a little notch cut into each side. I put the bead on a piece of steel wire and rest the ends of the wire in the notches. To apply the enamel, I put the bead on a piece of wire, and holding it by the wire to avoid getting finger smudges on the copper, I spray it with a binder, then sift enamel over the entire surface of the bead. I put it on my little bead holder and fire it in my kiln. It takes a couple of layers to get a nice smooth coat on the bead, and then I apply my surface decoration with my special painting enamels.

The beads i have right now are pretty huge, but hopefully I'll be able to make smaller ones too with a little practice!

Spring Snow

One of the joys of living in Wisconsin is that it can snow well into spring. We're having a lovely snow shower today, and I am stuck at home once again when I want to be in my studio making jewelry.

On a more pleasant note, I got a new little toy that I really love- it's a little punch that makes rounded corners on paper. Neat! One of my professors had one with her in class, and I was so excited about it I stopped at Hobby Lobby on my way home and picked one up. It makes really nice rounded corners on artist trading cards.

OK so I'm kind of a nerd. If you've read my blog before you probably already knew that.

Here's a good idea for you indie crafter types

Add your shop to the handmade product directory. Just send them an email with your shop name and website, a short description of what you sell, and the category you would like to be placed in. I emailed them a few days ago and they put me in right away. People can browse categories and see listings for lots of awesome online shops!

Ferric Chloride Etches Brass Too!

I always knew this but somehow never got around to trying it, probably because I like copper so much I always have a lot of it around. Then I found a good sized sheet of brass in my metal stockpile, so I decided to give it a try. It works exactly the same as etching copper- I just apply my resist and hang it design side down in the etching bath. I got a nice deep etch. Now I'll have to experiment with different patinas for brass, since liver of sulfur doesn't work on brass. I think it looks nice without a patina, but it might be fun to try a few different effects to bring out the pattern more.

Working out the etching bugs

I'm finally starting to work out the bugs in my silver etching process, which is good, because I can't afford to waste any more silver! The trick is apparently to let the resist dry for a good long time before putting the piece into the nitric acid. When etching copper in ferric chloride, it wasn't a problem, but the nitric acid is a lot harder on the resist. These earrings are my lastest silver etching- I got a nice deep etch on them and the pattern shows up very well.

Hooray!

My Tumbler is My New Best Friend

I finally got my tumbler in the mail and got it set up in my studio this week. I've heard a lot of good things about tumblers, but it turned out to be even better than I had thought! I made a few charms and some earwires, and put them in the tumbler for a little burnishing. I only had time to put them in for fifteen minutes or so, but they came out all nice and shiny, very smooth and the earwires came out nice and hard. I'm looking forward to making all my own earwires, which I have been waiting to do until I could use my tumbler.