Playing with Toys

Ok, let’s start with a cat picture…. After all, they are my “helpers” with all things fabric related:

• Any piece of fabric/quilt block laid on the floor must be sat upon
• When Mom pins a piece of fabric to the rug (how I lay out the backing when making the quilt “sandwich”), she really wants us to pull the pins out and throw them around
• Same as above – but when Mom has pins in the binding of a quilt and is hand sewing it.  Bonus points if we crouch on the arm of the couch and do it while she is sewing
• Oh, and when the quilts are finished, they are ours
• And, we are not just helpers with quilts; when Mom is wire wrapping, she wants us to play with the wire as she’s twisting it.

My Hubby’s Job is to Save Me from Myself

As I often say, I am an intelligent, capable, strong woman, but I require a caretaker as I lack a certain amount of common sense and the ability to care for myself in some ways.

So, I have to call my hubby out once again for his thinking ahead and about me….

A few weeks back, he bought me a portable, rechargeable, power pack for charging my phones and my ipad.

It has gotten a lot of use, as I often forget to plug my phone in when I get home… or when I get to work…  Having the ability to charge my phone anywhere is such a boon!

Quilt coming

There is a quilt picture and commentary coming shortly… I promise… quilting is still my first love!  I just have to finish the binding and I will post it.

(The above quip posted in defense of myself towards the person (you know who you are!) who chided me about abandoning quilting for glass-work!)

Gems, Metal, and Wire

Square metal wire wrapping

When I took the first wire wrapping class a few weeks back, the instructions stated to bring a couple stones you wanted to wrap.  I brought some of the gemstones that I've been collecting for a few (many) years.  The instructor told me, however, that faceted gems required square wire and that that was a longer class.

Here’s a reminder of the sort of gemstones that I've been collecting:

Long story short, a couple of us in the class requested her square wire class, we looked at schedules, and the class was held last Sunday.

Needless to say, I loved the class, addressed the concepts with my usual hyper level, and have been prolific at wrapping my gems ever since!

The instructor gave us each a cabochon (oval) and some cheap wire (copper in my case) and it took four hours to guide us through the different concepts of square wire (versus round that we’d used in the other wire wrapping class). 

Here is my finished product:

After learning the basic concepts, I bought some silver wire (expensive compared to what I’d been using) from the Studio and started on wrapping the largest of my personal gemstones.  Making the first cut into that silver wire was pretty scary.

I got the wires organized, and attached to each other before class ended and then brought the project home to finish.  My take on how you do the form of square wire wrapping we were taught is:

1. Cut the wires and bind them to each other to make the framework
2. Put the gem into the framework, secure in front and back
3. Make the bail
4. Finish with decorative bits, etc

I got step one done at the studio.  When I got home, I started on step two.  At the point where I finished that, and actually saw this huge amethyst that I’d been caressing for years encased in a setting, I was overjoyed.  I danced into the kitchen and did a “see! See!” to Chris.  I’m sure he was greatly amused.

Here’s what it looks like:

I then moved on to the other gemstones and some other particularly special pieces that I’ve been collecting, as well as some glass pieces to give as gifts.

One of the 20~ caret Ametrines.  This one is purple to white/clear.  The setting is silver, with brass accents.

The other 20~ caret Ametrines.  This one is purple to yellow.  I used brass with copper accents for the setting.

A small, dark amethyst.  I’m not happy with using 22-gauge wire for smaller things.  I ordered some silver in 24 gauge rather than 22.  I think it will be a little more unforgiving to accidental twists, etc., but I think I’ll like the results better.

These are the last of the gemstones that I've set so far.  I used brass for the settings and tried very hard to match them.  I told Chris that I would either have two nice pendants that looked similar, or a pair of earrings.

I've decided that they will be earrings.

This is a large stone do-nut bead that I bought somewhere along the line.  I love the color and wanted to do something with it.  This pattern of wire is nothing I was taught – I just sort of made it up. 

This is crackled glass (see last week’s post and all the other crackle bits). 

This one is quite large.  I made it for a friend who likes blue!

Last one – this is a small glass do-dad that I made.  The snowflake is copper foil cut out using a paper punch.  Amazingly enough, my $8.00 approximately 1 inch sized and not very detailed Fiskar’s punch made a mess of the copper, while the $0.99, 3/8^th inch, very detailed punch made perfect cuts!  I have several other do-dads just like these (with different designs) – I think that a smaller gauge of silver will do much better for them.

Setting Gemstones

Next up – moving on to putting gemstones into actual settings with prongs!

I have more gemstones, smaller ones.  They are beautiful, but too small for even tiny wire.  I've been watching YouTube videos on setting stones with pronged settings, and Karen (Studio at Rush Creek) has setting pliers (needle nose type of pliers that opens evenly, rather than in a Vee shape).

First up, a ring for my right hand. 

I had an engagement ring (bought a couple years into our marriage… long story).  I looked at it a couple weeks ago and discovered that the stone was gone.  The ring (setting) wasn't much to speak of, and the gem was pretty cheap), so I’m not horribly distressed or concerned.  However, since we just hit 15 years (woot woot!), and since I have this great desire to play with gemstones, I looked through my collection for something suitable.

I found a 10mm, round cut (brilliant cut?) blue topaz.  Blue was the color my hubby picked for the main stone on my wedding ring (I’m not into diamonds), so that gem struck me as the one to use.  Its 3.5 carats according to a chart I found – quite the rock!  I found a solitaire setting in sterling silver on a website and sent away for it.  I’m not ready to spend a great deal of money on gold yet. 

The rest of my collection of “un wire wrap able” gemstones include citrine, amethyst, and a clear stone – probably faceted glass, but still pretty.  Anyway, I found a seller on eBay who has some brass and/or bronze settings at a reasonable price.  I’m totally satisfied with setting them into those settings and making some every day jeweler rather than even making the lower investment in sterling.  These stones are mine because I liked them and because they were cheap enough to satisfy my cheapskate nature!  I want to wear them, and have fun with them.  They've sat long enough in a box!

Playing with Metal

I've taken a couple classes at the Studio where I worked with copper, and now I've used silver wire.  I have toyed with the idea of doing a little more with copper – even considered buying some from the website recommended by one instructor , or buying a piece of hers from her – but after today I decided that I don’t like copper as a sheet metal as much as I like it for wire wrapping. 

Today’s metal foray started with buying a metal stamp (I’ll get back to that), and ironically, the metal that I liked stamping on best was brass – the very metal that I hate with wire wrapping!  Total opposites between the two jewelry art forms!

Side story:  Many years ago, Chris and I bought a LARGE paper cutter at an estate sale.  It’s one of those that every school had, until more safety standards came into play.  We call it a guillotine.  That’s the closest I can come to explaining how that huge blade appears to function!

The children used that paper cutter for school and art projects for many years (and avoided cutting off any digits) but it has sat for at least the last five with a minimum of use.  One day, Karen was talking about cutting things in the Studio, including thinner metals.  End of that discussion was me bringing her that HEAVY and awkward paper cutter.  I did hear quickly that it was pressed into service successfully.

Then, tonight when I wanted just a small piece of the silver from Karen’s sheet of silver, I asked her how I was to cut it…..

Yes, you see where this is going….

Karen:  “use that paper cutter you gave me”

DUH…..

(yes, it worked fine)

Kid in a Candy Store

Me:  Karen, can I buy some copper?  Where is it?

Karen:  (walks over by the sink, and points to a large box on top of a tool chest – tall tool chest,  much like my hubby’s in the garage) Just dig through here, find what you want and prices are marked (paraphrased)

Me:  (after about 20 minutes, and three trips to Karen at her desk to ask some things) You have so MANY treasures in here…..

I started with digging through that box, then moved down the treasure chest drawers as I saw signs that said “Dichrotic,” “silver wire,” and more.  I only wanted to work with the copper, but decided that I loved the brass and even went with silver.

Then, I moved on to the drawer set that contained the metal tools.  In looking for a hammer, I opened a drawer that contained both a ring-sizing dowel (name?) and a keychain (for lack of better word) of those bits to size your fingers for rings!

TOYS!!!

I sized my wedding ring – 5.5, as I thought I remembered – and most of my fingers. 

That took ten minutes or so.  There I was, paying for studio time (ok, I’m a regular and Karen gives me a break!), but playing with things and doing nothing productive.  It was so fun!  I’m such a geek…..

Anyway, I bought a setting for my new “engagement” ring, as said above, and I bought it in a size 6.0.  I think… the online form isn’t showing me.  I might have bought it in a 5.5.  Either way, I sized that finger to a 5.75.  I hope that that is close enough.  If not, I may hit up the son of my wire-wrapping teacher for some adjustments.  I gave her several of my cabochons made from my special glass (both my fuser’s reserve – pre made, and my own crackled designs), so maybe that buys me some good will, and/or maybe her son will accept a small quilt or embroidery on something (Deanna…. Are you reading this? J ) for some tweaking of some of my jewelry.

The stamp

To those of my readers who do not know all my predilections – I like mice.  Not real mice, although I have had pet mice and they are cute, but all sorts of mice figurines.  Tiny metal ones are my favorite – especially with crystals incorporated, the fur covered little ones are second, and glass and ceramic come in after that.  I prefer one inch or smaller in size.  I do, however, have quite the collection in all sizes and shapes. 

Cute story interlude:  when I had a minor surgery recently, my husband wandered the skyways waiting for me (it was a Doctor’s office procedure).  His goal was to find flowers or something for a gift when the procedure was complete.  However, he stumbled upon a gift store that had TY (think Beanie Baby) stuffed animals.  Instead of the expected man to woman gift of flowers, candy, and/or jewelry – I received a 4-inch white mouse.  I loved it!  (Still do, but I have to protect it from Bronx).  I think the nurses were a little confused, and most likely went and consulted the chart to remind themselves of my age and that I was in fact a grown woman!

Anyway, whilst perusing eBay the other day, I found this.  I had used metal punch stamps in one of the copper classes that I took at the Studio so I felt comfortable purchasing it.  I then purchased bits and pieces of copper, brass, and silver from the studio.  That’s one of the things I love about that place – Karen has EVERYTHING, and you can buy a square inch of metal, a single marble, a jump ring, etc., for your project.  The second part of that is that she’s got complete tool sets for so many art forms.  Instead of having to invest hundreds to do one project or after investing, find out you don’t like it, you can go to her studio, pay her more than reasonable price for “studio time” and use whatever you want. 

I pounded that stamp to my heart’s delight for over an hour!  I cut out circles of several sizes in my little collection of metal, and I textured them, and shaped them with tools that I have no idea what their names are!

Here are the pictures:

First – the stamp.  It’s about 2 ½ inches long and the design is about 3/8^th of an inch.

 And the metals – Copper, bronze, silver – in that order

My collection of bits and pieces:

I’ll list a little bit about them:

• Lower left, the cupped pieces.  Those are bronze, and there are going to be combined with some of the smaller bronze circles that are NOT cupped, with a jump ring through the holes on each, so that the smaller bit “sits” in the cup, and will be earrings.
• Upper left, one group in.  Large, plain, silver circles.  Same concept, there are smaller silver circles in there that are punched with the mousie.  They will be combined for earrings.
• The large cupped and rimmed circle of bronze in the lower center will probably be a pendant.
• I liked the bronze a lot more, so I cut out seven or eight (I have to count) midsized circle and stamped each one with a single mouse.  I’m going to put a jump ring, and maybe a bead or two on each, and give them to my co-workers daughters/god daughters.  If I counted right, there are six girls, all under 10/11.  I hope they will like them!
• Way lower left – that’s a piece of thin copper (there’s thin and thick copper in there).  It’s had things punched out, and you can see my practice with some letter stamps (more on that in a second)
• Middle right – that’s the piece of silver I bought.  It’s is about 1¼ x 2 inches.  Let me put this pricing of metal in perspective.  Brass and copper (heavier weight) were 50 cents a square inch.  That piece of silver was $14.00.  And – remember my discussion of the paper cutter?  One of the long sides was cut with it….

Ana’s pendant

Ana doesn’t like gold tone, and she’s not a fancy person – doesn’t wear huge jewelry like me.  I’m personally thrilled that she’s a geek girl and gets into t-shirts from TeeFury and Ript apparel – it gives me something “decorative” to buy for her, but I digress….

Anyway, as I was punching circles from that silver so adeptly cut with my former paper cutter…. I got it in my head to make a little something for Ana.

I dug through the other metal stamps that Karen has and determined which size and shape of letters I wanted to use to spell out A – N – A…. not A – N – N – A as most pre made, personalized merchandize is.  I was a bit nervous about stamping on a several dollar, but tiny, piece of silver and screwing it up.  I had hoped to line up Capital A, small n, small a, next to each other (the stamps are squared off) and punch all at one time (thus being lined up properly), but, alas, the stamps in a row were about 1.5 times the width of the circle.  Also, the letters would have been really separated; there’s quite a border on each stamp.

Anticipation

It’s way late (or way early if you look at it that way).  I have many pictures and a few good stories about my glass projects from today, and also some resin jewelry plans.

But my bed is calling…..

I will post again tomorrow…..

I will not promise, but that is my goal!