New Soldering Experiments, Etching Supplies, and a Deer

After a few requests, I put together a partial supplies kit to go with my photo etching tutorial as well as my simple etching tutorial.

The kit contains small, sample sizes of items you may want to try out in your exploration of jewelry making, but have no desire to buy in the quantities required when ordering from large companies.

Have you ever wanted to try Renaissance Wax, polishing papers in grades from 600 to 4000, Penny Brite copper cleaner, or a pro-polishing pad? There are all here, along with a few other items used in my etching tutorials.

Speaking of etching, here’s another quote bracelet. This one is for the Tolkien fans as the quote is from The Lord of the Rings: “Not all those who wander are lost”.

And yes, I realize my period is outside my quote marks, but I’m on a crusade to have that punctuation rule removed from the books. I feel that just as in parenthetical math equations, items that belong together should not be separated.

You wouldn’t say: (8+6)-(5+3.)
You would say: (8+6)-(5+3).

And so I like my quote marks to stay with the quote… and the punctuation to go after.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the latest etched bracelet…



Recently continued with soldering experimentation. Here are some the results (btw, don’t forget you can click on any photo in my blog to get more info on an item):




Brought back one of the limited edition Pyrite pieces. This is from the artifact line and is a design inspired by an ancient Transylvanian necklace.



Hope everyone (who this pertains to) had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. I went to SF and Gabe and Sereen prepared the dinner for me. It was awesome. Monica went to El Segundo with her boys’ team and they swept the tournament there.

The buck has returned…. Or “a” buck. Although the does and the babies come up daily, I haven’t seen a buck since last year.



Turns out our deer are Columbian Blacktail.

And now I’m going to get back to work. Have a great week!

Etched Bracelets, Misc Beading Supplies for Sale, GIMP Photo-Editing Software, SRAJD Winter Jewelry Design Contest

Since the tutorials came out (see previous blog post), I’ve been on an etching spree.

Click a photo for more info…




That second one is a Marianne Williamson quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

The tutorials are so popular, in fact, that I just sold out of the supplies kit, but hope to have it back for sale within a day or two.

I continue to add beads and whatnot from my supply drawer to the Etsy store.

Oh, and very exciting news… turns out you can use my Photo Etching Tutorial with GIMP. GIMP is a photo-editing software that you can download for free. How awesome is that?

The entries are rolling in fast and furious for our WINTER Jewelry Design Contest in the SRAJD group. The contest is open to entries until the end of November, but no need to wait until the last minute.

Photo Etched Copper

I’ve finally finished my photo-etching tutorial. I’d like to thank those who asked for it, pushing me to get it out in time for you all to create personalized, unique gifts for the holidays.

Here are some samples from the tutorial. You can find it on my website
as well as in my Etsy shop.



Then…. I decided to make the Simple Etching Tutorial for those who want to etch but maybe don’t want to get as involved with the photo-etching steps.

So again, available in both my website
as well as in my Etsy shop.

Some New Earrings... continuing the experiments in enamel and solder

I enameled some gear-shaped copper disks then had no clue what to do with them for two days. Finally put together this pair of earrings and was fairly pleased with them.



I really like how this pair of earrings turned out. I dapped the dome out of copper, sawed it in half, then soldered it to square frames. The patina was a two-day ammonia and vinegar fumes set-up and there you have it.



Decided the book will have to wait. I’m working on too many projects at the moment. Spent several weeks doing nothing but writing tutorials that were being requested.

I’m also at the tail end of a large custom order. And I did another tweak on my Jewelry Pricing Calculator (that took all day).

Today, I plan to clean the studio and try to get some metalwork done. Not exactly sure yet what I’m making, but have a hankering for some solder work. Will probably save enamel day for when Dawn and I can get together this week.