Earthy Spring Vibes with Summer Wind Art

Earthy Spring Vibes: 

By Ashley Bonney-Summer Wind

I have been playing around a lot lately with mixing different elements in my jewelry. When I was designing this piece, I wanted to have some fun bright elements, but I also wanted to keep it earthy. I found that adding leather cord to the end and some natural stone beads kept it nice and grounded. 

When I am adding leather cord, I like to take a long piece, fold it in half and then use a crimp end to secure it. I then add a lobster clasp and jump ring for the closure.

I really like using Vintaj Brass Findings because they age really well and are very easy to manipulate. You can see in the picture that I just linked the stone beads using eye pins and jump rings. I'll be sure to post the sizes at the end. 

The wood beads on this necklace were tricky, because one hole was very small and the other was larger. I find that wood beads do best when they are secured with twine or hemp. I have tried using eye pins in the past, but I experienced more movement than I like, so I switched to twine. In this case, because the smaller wood bead's hole was much smaller, I had to actually take the twine apart so I had a nice thin piece. I then just made a loop and the top and knotted between the beads and at the bottom. 

I hope you got a little inspiration from my post, I am always so inspired by all the ladies that post to Art Bead Scene. I have soooo much to learn, as far as techniques go, and I am so glad that we have so many talented artists here. Hope everyone has fun creating! 

Ashley Bonney

Summer Wind Art

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SummerWindArt 

Supplies:

Twine-I used Baker's Twine from Lima Beads

Leather Cording from Micheal's Craft Store

Stone Beads, any earthy color or shape

Wood Beads- Summer Wind Art

Findings:

Vintaj Natural Brass

CE20 - 9mm Crimp End

CL0003 - 12mm Classic Lobster Clasp

JR60 - 15mm Smooth 15ga Jump Ring

JR40 - 7.25mm Smooth 16ga Jump Ring

EP1 - 1in Eye Pin

Amuse the Muse - Ocean-Inspired Beads - with Rebecca of Songbead

Hello all! We're continuing on with the Ocean-Inspired beads for this month, and I have a great line up for you today! Why? Well, because it's The Art Bead Scene does Ocean-Inspired for this week! Including all of our fantastic new contributors - just wait til you see the deliciousness below!

Heather Powers - Humblebeads (back from vacation next week!) Oh the texture! The colour! Take me down to the sea immediately. 

Mary Harding - Mary Harding Jewelry 

I love, love LOVE how this looks like it's been dug up on a windswept beach. And just look at those colours! 

Rebecca Anderson - The Curious Bead Shop

Ok, I struggled a bit to get something handmade that would fit in with this theme (although I do have these awesome pressed glass fossil beads here) - but wouldn't these colours fit in pretty awesomely with any ocean-themed project? 

Michelle Ann McCarthy - Firefly Design Studio

These gorgeous charms are from one of our fantastic new contributors. Just delightful - so dainty. Perfect for some sweet earrings!

Michelle Ann McCarthy - Firefly Design Studio

Seriously - how cool is this? I would love to see this made up into a piece of jewellery - I can imagine a wonderful bracelet featuring this wee guy. 

Erin Prais-Hintz - Tesori Trovati

 A classic pendant from Erin. I'll say it again - look at the colours! The texture! Swoon!

Erin Prais-Hintz - Tesori Trovati

 These are pretty amazing - similar to Mary's pendant to me, they look like something that's been discovered on a deserted beach. Perfect!

Julie Wong Sontag - Uglibeads

Another of our amazing new contributors - Julie's work is so beautiful! These are perfectly sea-kissed beads! (And yep - the colours, the textures - you get the idea!)

Julie Wong Sontag - Uglibeads

These really do look like they could have been tumbled by the ocean for years. I love how that gives the beads a sense of timelessness, and hints at the story beneath the surface. 

Heather Millican - Swoondimples

And the third of our wonderful new contributors Heather - certainly no stranger to me and my jewellery! I love how Heather's use of words creates such a direct connection between jewellery and wearer. 

Heather Millican - Swoondimples

Just look at the smooth, dappled texture on Heather's pendants - so tactile. They seem almost to have been aged by the sea itself, not unlike Julie's beads above!

Heather Millican - Swoondimples

These are the perfect little triptych. What would you do with these? I don't think I could bear to break them up, do you?  

Claire Lockwood - Something to do beads

Our beaches here in the Uk are beautiful, but a far cry from some of those where perhaps we imagine the perfect beachy holiday! Wild, rugged and windswept - Claire's charms perfectly capture the cool, sun-bleached skies and the rustic, rocky coastline. 

Claire Lockwood - Something to do beads

 And last but not least, these fun and colourful (you know me and colour!) vintage sundress charms. Well, everyone's got to wear something at the beach, haven't they?!

Tari Sasser - Creative Impression in Clay

And what trip to the beach isn't complete without an ice cream cone......Slurp!

And now for the BeadBlogger Links. Have a great week everyone!

DIY Crochet Bead and Wire Crochet Necklace
Learn how to crochet wire and beads into a fun, whimsical necklace. Here is the link to my video on how to crochet a chain stitch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhM4u...

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
So many beautiful creations were made for the latest challenge, Endless Sky. Check out what all the participants made!

Review of Crafting Memories by Tammy Powley
Crafting Memories is the well-known craft author's first book of fiction and it's a very good read as career struggles mix with family scandal.

Yarn Review & Subscriber Giveaway
The Crafty Princess takes a look at a popular yarn used for knitting/crocheting baby items and has a YouTube subscriber giveaway in the works.

Mum's the Word
This free pattern from Connie Gee's Designs is suitable for cross-stitch, needlepoint, and beadwork. Use the small design to experiment with different flosses or techniques.

Beading Arts
Cyndi's been going to town making Shamballa bracelets! Here she shows you how to make smaller feminine ones using cords and cupchain. 

Art Bead Scene
Check out Rebecca's roundup of ocean-inspired beads for this week!

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in the capital city of Edinburgh. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

I've Got to Run but Let's Talk about Niobium First!

Niobium jewelry by Moon Heart Studios

I have news to share with you today. I'll cut straight to the details ...I have come to the conclusion that the time has come for me to resign from Art Bead Scene. Life has a way of rolling away with me. Between the day job, family life and having fun I'm not finding much free time to settle into a creative schedule. Leaving me feeling that I don't have much to share as of late. I'm also feeling a strong urge to pull back and learn. I have a sense that it's time for me to develop, digging deeper into my own creativity.

Over the course of the past two years I've been presented with many exciting and amazing opportunities, one of those wonderful opportunities was becoming a contributor at Art Bead Scene. I have been honored to join in and share the Art Bead Scene journey with a group of wonderful, kind and talented women and to have had a chance to connect with so many kind hearted and equally talented readers. It's a bit scary moving away from the fantastic opportunities that have been presented but I'm a firm believer in life shifting and changing. I know that doors will open again when the time is right.

It's my plan to take some classes, develop additional skills and hopefully I'll be able to share that journey as I learn more.

This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit the SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) conference which was held in Boston, MA this year (just around the corner from me - well sort of - close enough that I couldn't resist popping in).

I didn't have the chance to take classes but I thoroughly enjoyed the student show and trolling through the vendor room. Some of the big name vendors selling metalsmithing tools and equipment were in attendance; Halstead, Otto Frei and Rio Grande to be exact. I was excited to see so many tools in person. You know that feeling when you get to see and touch all the tools you've been eyeing in the catalog! eeeek! Joy!

I also discovered another vendor and an incredibly fun type of metal. Billy Seeley of RMS, Reactive Metals Studio Inc introduced me to Niobium. OH What fun you can have with niobium and an anodizer! Billy gave me a fantastic demonstration and I'm excited to try my hand at making something with Niobium. The ideas are running rampant in my head.

An example of Niobium metal sheet which can be purchased at RMS

A few facts about Niobium:

• Niobium is a somewhat rare and pure metal, found on the periodic table as a natural element (Nb)
• Niobium is hypoallergenic and nickel free, which means most folks with metal allergies can wear it. 
• It's light weight yet very strong.
• Niobium is sold in various forms (wire, sheets, jewelry, etc.) which looks similar to sterling silver (and costs about the same too).

Anodizer photo - Rio Grande

The really fun bit about creating with Niobium is that by using an anodizer (a safe way of bringing electricity into the creative process) you can easily change the color of Niobium. By adding an electric current it creates an anodized coating on the metal (similar to a plating or patina). The Niobium will change to a specific color based on the voltage used (read repeatable results).

This beautiful niobium jewelry was created by Joan at Moon Heart Studios over at Etsy.

Unfortunately I don't have any pieces of my own niobium to show you. I think the above pieces from Moon Heart Studios are simply gorgeous.

I did purchase a sheet of niobium from Billy at the SNAG conference but haven't had a chance to work with it yet. Well technically I still need an anodizer. I've been looking into building my own. I'm not sure I'd take this path on my own but since my husband is a licensed electrician I'm sure to be safe building it with his help. Now we've gone full circle and we're back to the time issue again (as in he has none and many projects already on the honey-do-list). Maybe I'll just have to buy one. :)

As always, I thank you for stopping in for a visit at ABS today.

I extend a heartfult thank you to Heather Powers, my beautiful co-contributors at ABS (Rebecca, Tari, Erin, Claire and Mary) and to all you fabulous ABS readers. You've all made writing for ABS a delightful experience.

I invite you to follow my FB page Ema K Designs if you'd like to stay in touch and see where this journey takes me.

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

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Ema K Designs on Etsy

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Metalsmithing + Bench Shears + YouTube

Hello Art Beading Friends.

Spring has finally reached us here in the Northeastern part of the US and I'm incredibly grateful for that! In fact it has been more like summer the last few days but as I write the weather is happily becoming much more seasonal. Today I want to talk to you about metalsmithing tools in a general way.

I recently purchased a new tool and man it is a monster of a tool.

Bench Shear dubbed the Monster Shear

I purchased this bench shear from Northern Tools for a mere $100-ish (I found an online coupon for $20 off then shipping was an added expense). That felt like a steal of a price to me. It's not a beautifully polished tool with all the bells and whistles, but you know what? It cuts metal like a knife through butter. Sweeeeet! 

I tried to get my hand in the picture to give you an idea of the size of the shear.

I make all my own blanks from sheets of upcycled metal - sometimes very large metal sheets. Each piece goes through many steps (you can see some of that process in my earlier post) before it's finished. The sheet needs to be cut in stages, minimizing waste, before becoming the appropriate size for a finished, wearable piece of jewelry.

You don't want to know how I've been cutting down my metal sheet. Okay maybe now that I've said that you do. I'll share my dirty little secret with you .... but please keep it to yourself, I'm a little embarassed to let this secret out ... I've gone from using metal cutting shears (not so bad but awkward on large sheets) to using a paper cutter (gasp!). An old fashioned paper cutter actually worked. I don't suggest trying this method at home as it does have its drawbacks which I'm not going to go into now but I'll repeat that I don't recommend trying that method at home.

Metal sheet cut with hand held scissor type shears

You'd think I'd be excited about a new tool (well yeah I get excited about tools!). When I made the decision to purchase this bench shear I ruminated on it after I placed the order. I had a slight taste of disappointment hanging around because I wasn't buying a pretty shear as seen in the popular jewelry making tool & equipment catalogs. Once the tool arrived and I cut that first piece of metal all thoughts of disappointment disappeared. The bottom line: this tool is going to do what I want, speed up the process and get me to best part of making jewelry components which is the decorating and finishing. 

Unannealed metal sheet cut with the new monster shear. Clean cut lines, what a huge difference. :) 

The monster shear will be very useful for cuting long strips of metal for rectangle or square designs.

But to the point of this post and the lesson I'm learning. Don't be afraid to buy what you can afford. There are many tools which can be found with a smaller price tag which aren't quite as polished as the high end tools that will work for a metalsmith of finer jewelry designs . You don't always have to have the high end tool to get the job done. 

That being said I do think if you're talking about hand held tools it's better to buy the best you can afford. I do see a huge difference in quality hand held tools vs. cheaper tools. 

I'd like to leave you with a few YouTube links. These are a few of the people I've followed over the years. As a self taught metalsmith I've learned quite a bit from these wonderful folks.

Melissa Muir creates beautiful art jewelry and shares wonderful, instructional reviews of tools. Melissa is sweet and full of superb information. Find Melissa on YouTube.

Nancy Hamilton creates stunning jewelry designs and shares many instructional videos on tool uses and how to videos. Nancy is a little on the wild side (nothing she doesn't acknowledge) in a fun way so be prepared. You must check Nancy out on YouTube.

George Goehl has some great metalsmithing videos too. George's YouTube videos cover shop tips, how to's and all types of useful metalsmithing information. George's videos are a little dry (sorry George) but there's just something I love about George's shop and approach to working metal. It's a little rough around the edges (I mean that in a comfortable fit, favorite jeans kind of way) always yielding a beautifully finished product. I think his shop reminds me of my own grandfather's shop (who has long since passed).

Shopping. In no particular order. These are some of the places I've purchased tools and equipment from over the years. I have no affiliation with any of the companies I've listed.

Otto Frei

Rio Grande

Northern Tools

Harbor Freight

Please feel free to shop around and leave a comment sharing your favorite places to shop for metalsmithing supplies and tools.

Thanks for visiting with me today. 

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

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Ema K Designs on Etsy

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Inside the Studio with Ema Kilroy and Cherry Blossoms

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations to Liz!

You have won a $20 gift certificate to Erin Prais-Hintz's lovely shop, Tesori Trovati.  Send Erin an email to claim your gift certificate. 

***************************************************

Hello Art Beading Friends,

It's been some time since I've had a chance to visit with you. I'm happy to be here today. The day job, family life and snow (as I write this post on April 9th, it snowed ... again! Mother nature has been overbearing this winter.) have kept me incredibly busy over the past few months.

I wish I was better at carving out time to create. Lately I've been feeling a sense of lack in myself because my schedule hasn't allowed time for me to relax and create. Or maybe I haven't properly scheduled the time. Whatver the reason I've had plenty of sources for inspiration!

New glass inspired me.

This scrumptious pink glass, Opal Raspberry, by Reichenbach is simply amazing. It's an incredibly expensive glass. This rod is sold by the ounce whereas most glass rods are priced by the pound. I'm always on the hunt for delicious pink glass so when I saw this I couldn't resist, I had to buy a few rods and I'm glad I did. This is simply a luscious glass to work with. 

Raspberry Cherry Blossom

Opal Raspberry Blossoms

Cherry Blossom heart

Staying with the cherry blossom theme I was inspired by a scarf worn by my friend. She was kind enough to take it off so I could snap a couple photos to use for my inspiration.

 Cherry blossom scarf ....

... becomes Cherry Blossom beads.

I also found inspiration in a blog; Earrings Everyday March Inspiration photos. Our own Erin Prais-Hintz choose some fantastic macro dragonfly photos for the March inspiration. Here is just one. I just love these photos!

Macro Inspirations

I'd like to explore these macro photos a bit more. The color combinations and the macro nature of the photos light my creative fires!

(Side note: I'll be listing these beads in my shop on Sunday morning. The beads have been added to my shop on Etsy)

As always, thanks for visiting ABS today.

Please share with me how you manage your time.

Answer this question to win a $20 gift certificate to my shop.

 How do you work creative time into your schedule?

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

Facebook at Ema K Designs

Ema K Designs on Etsy

Ema's Blog

Embossing Metal Using the Vintaj Big Kick + Matchsticks Componenants

Today let's take a look at a fun and easy way to emboss metals using the Vintaj Big Kick.

This was the first machine I used to add texture to metals. 

The Big Kick is a table top machine made for the purpose of embossing and etching (impressing) metal. 

Vintaj embossing folders.

Embossing creates a raised image on one side and a recessed image on the opposite side of the metal.

Vintaj etching plates.

Vintaj refers to these plates as etching plates but I prefer to call them impression plates. Many of us in the jewelry making world have a different idea of what is involved in etching metals. Impressing creates an image on one side of the metal. I'm not going to go into detail about using the impressing plates in this post. The process is fairly similar to using the embossing plates.

I've also discovered that plastic folders (made for embossing scrapbooking papers) work to emboss metal. The larger size of these folders is convenient for embossing full sheets of metal. 

It's important to anneal your metal before using the folders. Annealing is the process of using a torch (butane, propane/oxygen, or acetylene for example) to heat the metal to a dull red glow which will soften the metal, allowing for the image to be embossed into the metal with less stress on your body and your tools. Especially if using the plastic folders the metal must be annealed. Given that the folders are plastic they will wear out but they are inexpensive enough (especially if you shop with coupons) that I'm willing to replace them as needed. 

Insert the metal sheet or metal blank into the folder.

Vintaj recommends using 20 - 24 gauge metal. I generally use a 20 gauge metal for jewelry components.

Layer the folder in between the two plastic plates which come with the machine. Easy to follow instructions are provided with the machine.

A view of the layers.

A plastic plate, the folder sandwich, a plastic plate.

Turn the handle to move the plated sandwhich through the machine. I usually place my hand on top of the machine to hold it in place while turning the handle.

The embossed sheet, in it's annealed and unfinished state.

A great benefit of using the plastic folders is the ability to clearly see the image which will be embossed into the metal. You're able to capture the exact image you want on your piece. 

I dug out my Big Kick because I had an idea for a simple, matchstick pair of earrings I wanted for myself. I'm trying to find/create a pair of earrings that can actually be seen under my massive amount of hair. I thought silver might have a better chance of being seen. It's been a long time since I've worked with sterling silver. It was a pleasure to work with it again.

I'm loving these split look designs.

I created matchsticks to share with you. You can visit my Etsy shop to find yours.

Where you can find the Vintaj Big Kick for sale:

I purchased mine directly from Vintaj a few years ago.

Michaels and Hobby Lobby with a coupon will get you a great deal. Although I'm not sure if Michaels is carrying them any more.

I also found the machine online at scrapbooking stores, here is one.

If you can't find a Big Kick I believe the Sizzix embossing machines are the exact same thing.

Are you ready to start embossing metal?

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

Facebook at Ema K Designs

Ema K Designs on Etsy

Ema's Blog