Echoes of Ela

Artistry in metal, stone and glass

You are here: Home / Archives for Create jewelry

Create jewelry

By

Work in progress…

Were have I been?

Hiding in my little studio, if you must know.

Funny thing is that I have figured out that the best way to have any creative idea sucked right out of my head.

All I need to do is sit down at my work table and poof – everything goes blank!!! Lamented about this the other day didn’t I? Oh, there are plenty of awesome designs I want to turn into reality, when I’m in the shower, while cooking dinner, when I sit in my cushy chair in the living room, but walk down five steps to my work shop and they fly right out the window!

I may need to make sure there is a sketch pad next to me at all times…

The other thing is that I somehow seem to drift towards the same colors over and over again, and I am getting bored looking at them. Want more RED! and yellow and, you know, life, variety etc.

So I came across this combo randomly strewn on my work table the other day:

teal-yellow -bead

Hey, I said I am a work in progress! Don’t judge me by my messy table!

I knew I was going to make something with them, but wasn’t quite sure exactly what. Then I saw these hanging and BINGO!

And since I don’t usually sit down to make just one pair of earrings, I added another pair to make it worth my while:)

Here they are after taking a dip in the patina and before getting their polish. I have to add that these earrings are my favorite to make and wear. Yep, I had to actually make myself a few pairs – ’cause I can!

teal-yellow-bead-earrings

After a little buff with the pro polishing pad, they were ready for lights, camera, action…

red-silver-copper-earrings

teal-yellow-copper-earring

But…

Well, by the time I was all done and ready to shoot, my beautiful filtered daylight was a goner. And I just didn’t have the nerve/patience to photoshop them into beautiful images. I will get to my light earlier tomorrow! I am in the process of setting up a dedicated area down by my workshop to shoot my jewelry images and to make the entire process less dependent on the outside light. But before I can do that I need to move oldest son out into his new apartment next week so I can actually have some room down there to do that, alrighty?

And then I can talk photography.

So, that’s my little snippet of the universe for today!

Hope my little blog post finds you having a fantastic day!

Karin

I’d love you to pieces for a Facebook *Like*!!!

 

By

A walk down memory lane

Every now and then I get stuck. Just sit there looking at my work table, tools, beads, stones, wire and despite my best attempts to will myself into re-inventing the creative wheel – it just doesn’t happen.

So I have learned to step away and clean my shop instead.

Then, the other day, I came across two necklaces that I made a while back, like three or four years ago. Looking at them instantly returned me to the how and why I created them, a walk down memory lane…

old-necklaces1

Interesting how not only my style, but my entire mindset has changed in such a relatively short time.

old-necklaces2

The first thing I noticed was that I had put store bought clasps on both pieces… something I no longer do. And I remember exactly why. Making my own seemed too amateurish and I struggled with a clasp design that I could really hang my hat on. Using store bought, I reasoned with myself, would make my pieces look more professional.

old-necklaces3

The next big change was the use of ready-made chain. Sure, it’s pretty and I do still like the look, but once I decided on following the handcrafted path, well, I just cannot go back.

Hmm, the wire wrapping on the beads… if I let myself, I will cringe just looking at it, but you know, I won’t. I was learning how to do it, and the only way to get good at something is to practice – a lot- and allow yourself to fail.

Why am I rambling on about how things used to be?

It is just so easy to feel stuck and beat yourself up for not possessing the skills others seem to have mastered ions ago.

But that is the revelation I had pondering these two necklaces. I am not stuck at all. I have learned a lot and making something that winds up looking like the designs in my head is becoming easier, more doable all the time. And judging by these two pieces I have learned quite a bit since then!

Look!

turquoise-carnelian1

agate-copper-bracelet3

gold-carnelian-bracelet3

And when I sit down to create something new and it doesn’t flow easily I will not despair and throw my arms up in the air, but take a deep breath and remember how far I have come.

One thing hasn’t changed. I still like the beads I used in those old necklaces and cannot wait to re -use them in something I will be really proud of:)

Karin

By

Stamp your little heart out!

Have you seen the cool stamped jewelry that is all the rage lately? I love the look and figured it would be fun to add writing to some of my jewelry. So I figured it would be worth to give it a shot – I am always eager to learn a new technique.

Getting stamping straight and even and equally deep is not for the impatient. Argh. Practice, practice, practice… folks that is the only way – you have to stamp your little heart out!

I had previously bought some inexpensive aluminum and brass stamping blanks at my local craft store to get used to stamping on metal. But I have to admit it was a bit frustrating. And I wasn’t exactly in love with the font on the stamps, pretty plain.

It seemed no matter how meticulously I lined up my stamps, even with the help of tape, the letters still looked wonky. Looking for something to practice on, I spied some copper washers and decided to practice various letters on them. I wrote about my love for copper washers here and here.

Diligently hammering away, stamping the letters in circles, I realized that this would be the perfect way to give the copper washers all kinds of different textures! So I began to experiment with various letters, first the W, then an O, S, V etc.

Here are the very basic tools needed:

  • stamping hammer
  • letter stamp set
  • copper washers
  • not shown here: a bench block or anvil

Optimized-DSC_0252

Here are some of the designs I created from various letters in this simple upper case stamp set:

Optimized-DSC_0245

Pretty cool, huh? You can fill in as much space as you like, I decided I liked the entire washer textured the best.

Here are the washers lined up with their respective letters:

Optimized-DSC_0246

Optimized-DSC_0248

Now, I love my plain hammered textures as much as the next gal, but being able to introduce new textures into my designs just gets the creative gears going!

I decided to use my trusty hole punch tool and turned them into an interesting bracelet.

Optimized-DSC_0256 (1)

Optimized-DSC_0255 (1)

The patina really adds a whole new dimension to the textures and gives them a pleasing aged look as well as added depth. And because I want the various textures to “do the talking”, I opted to keep this a pure metal bracelet.

Not that beads don’t add that little something extra!

Optimized-DSC_0241 (1)

The textured surface of the copper washer, the patina and sparkling crystal beads are such a pleasing contrast. Here is a slightly different view of the same bracelet…

Optimized-DSC_0257 (1)

So what do you think? I am a big fan of using tools for more than one specific purpose. I can’t wait do some more experimenting and creating with this technique!

While this technique would be much too tedious to be used on a larger piece, it is absolutely perfect for smaller pieces like these!

Is there a technique or a little trick you have discovered that has opened new possibilities? Or have you bought a piece of jewelry and wondered about the various techniques used to create it?

Share your thoughts! I love hearing your comments and stories!

Karin

Disclaimer: I have not received any form of compensation for statements made in this post and all opinions stated are my own!

By

Whiskers on kittens…

Whiskers on kittens are one of my favorite things. If they are not one of yours, I’m not sure I want you to read my blog;)

But as much as I love talking about cute little fuzzy creatures, this post isn’t really so much about kittens and puppies. It is about – you guessed it – because you are so smart, my favorite things. And to be more specific, my favorite jewelry making tools. You may have read this post of me gushing about a handy little doohickey that enabled me to expand my designs. And, since I had a hard time trying to figure out what I really, really needed in the very beginning, I thought it might be a good idea to feature my favorite, go-to tools that I use all the time.

I began making little jewelry creations from a cheap kit that I bought at a craft store on a whim. But as much as I liked stringing beads, I quickly became bored and wanted to up my game a little. After I took a wire wrapping class at the local Art Center, I knew I had found my medium. So I began exploring all things wire and metal jewelry, read pretty much every book our library had to offer and then set out to create my own high quality jewelry.

Ever the cheap skate I didn’t really want to spend a fortune on tools and equipment that I didn’t really need. So after much research, trial and error, an expensive miss, that is beginning to redeem itself a little bit (a story for another time), here are the tools I use daily and could not live create without anymore.

As a dedicated wire worker/chain mailler the sun rises and sets on pliers and cutters for me. A good set of chain nose pliers are an absolute must. I have two pair and a spare, because I simply cannot go without. The ones I use the most (the red ones you see here) are relatively inexpensive – Made in Germany- precise and comfortable, the second pair hails from a craft store. Michael’s has a fairly decent selection of beginner jewelry making tools. And if you use one of their 40-50% off coupons from the ad, they wind up being a steal. That is how I aquired many of my tools. Even though I own a number of different cutters, the black ones pictured here are the ones I love to use the most.

pliersoptimized

Next up is my jewelers saw. I foolishly (hindsight is perfect) resisted getting one of these and actually cut jump rings by hand(!). The saddest part is that by doing that I wasted a tremendous amount of time and energy while still not ending up with nice, flush-cut rings. A jewelers saw is a handy, low tech tool that makes it simple to cut your desired number of rings whenever you need them. As an added bonus it is cheap, as are the saw blades. Both are a major plus because I have chosen to make my own jump rings and I need so many of them and in so many different sizes, that I could not possibly keep up on ordering them. Together with my jump ring maker here I can cut as many rings as I need from a variety of different  metals and wire gauges.

sawoptimized

Up next are my ball peen hammer and stainless steel bench block. I have other hammers and a small anvil, but find myself using these two the most, especially since I can just keep them right beside me on the work table for the many quick little taps.

 Optimized-DSCN3451 (1)

The final set of must-have-tools-for-the-beginner I want to talk about today is files. Not the hanging paperwork kind, although they come in mighty handy with the business end. You set out to create something beautiful to wear only to find out it scratches and snags your favorite cashmere sweater! Not when you use these before you turn your designs loose! Yes, a simple set of metal files will insure comfortable wear. And the bead reamers pictured here allow you to increase the hole size of a apparently too small bead – there appears to be one on every strand – another little simple gadget to make your life as a jewelry creator simpler.

filesoptimized

If you made it through this entire post and still have a hankering for whiskers on kittens you can swing by my friend Julia’s blog who writes a weekly Living Pretty with Pets feature. And check out her gorgeous designs while you’re there! Just tell her Karin sent you!

Karin

The opinions in this post are my own. I was not compensated for any of the statements I made in this post!

By

Easy tool does it!

Just the other day I came upon this little gadget that seemed too good to be true for all its simplicity. I had been looking for an easy tool to punch holes into different materials that I had on hand and this promised to do the job. Could it be true? With my 50% off coupon from Michael’s craft store burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to give it a try. And if it didn’t deliver as promised I would just take it back along with my hard earned cash. So, here is the doohickey:

hole-punch2

[Read more…] about Easy tool does it!

By

Good to have you here!

A place for me to bring you along on my jewelry making journey!

034

Writing my very own jewelry making blog has been on my mind for quite a while. But it has taken me some time to work up the courage to get really serious and get started on this newest venture of mine. I am far from computer savvy and anything tech related pretty much sends shivers down my spine. But I love to create and I love to write – so it is time to overcome my inner “nay-sayer” and just go for it.

I hope you’ll stop by frequently to check out what’s happening at my little work bench! I want to get one thing out of the way first: I am no expert by any means. But I do love creating jewelry and I am always trolling for ideas on how to improve my skills, come up with new designs, finding new materials.

Whenever possible I want to incorporate as many locally sourced components as possible. Join me as I explore! I am just putting my feelers out to connect with other local artists and I am already amazed at how many equally passionate jewelry buffs are all around me! The possibilities are endless.

When you are stuck in the zone and spend hour after hour working on your creations, it’s easy to forget how many kindred spirits are right there with you! And I am happy to report that I have encountered nothing but sharing, generous artists. It is a lovely community!

Enjoy your day and check back often to see what’s new and happening in my work shop!

002

%d bloggers like this: