Etching, Etching, Etching

Before one can create, the materials must be prepared

A fun, funky ring

 Free hand drawings on metal

The fruits of our labor

My good friend, Madeline, and I have been working like crazy all week on our metal etching. We have been invited to do a trunk show the weekend before Thanksgiving in Tucson, AZ. We are very flattered indeed, however, it takes a large inventory to put on a good show and we are off and running - or etching as the case may be. My pictures don't do our work justice but for the moment it's the best we have. It has been both gratifying and frustrating to work with metal etching. It is a very labor intensive process. We are working with chemicals that require special attention to dispose of, to say nothing of the mess involved!! We've been through several pairs of rubber gloves and rolls of paper towels since this little venture began and we aren't through yet. Aside from all of the cons, there are lots of pros which make it all worth the extra effort. I hope you enjoy the pictures and there will be more soon.

Thanks for stopping by for a peek. I truly love sharing my thoughts and words with you and hope you will leave me a little comment or two once in awhile. Have a great week and take tomorrow off - it's Labor Day!!

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Running amuck

This has been a totally disjointed day. I couldn't focus on anything. I started to go to the lapidary shop and on the way over there, changed my mind and went to the hardware store. I was looking for denatured alcohol and Boric Acid. When I took my last metal smithing class the instructor insisted we use this on sterling to lessen the chances of severe fire scale. Do you know how hard it is to find these items? I went to three stores and finally at the CVS Drugstore I found out that it is kept behind the counter at the pharmacy. I had to sign my life away to purchase it. The denatured alcohol was there because evidently alchoholics purchase it to drink - yowzee!!! At any rate, an hour later I was on my way home. I've been playing with a pendant and getting the bezel all soldered and ready to mount onto the base. In between, of course, I had to stop and fix supper. That is on the stove as I type so I'll be going now to check on it and will return to my studio later to work on the pendant. I really want to do a ring so maybe I will start that tomorrow. Sure wish I lived next door to Lisa of Lisa's Lovelies so I could play like a fly on her wall and see how she turns out so many beautiful things each day. I guess after more practice I will be faster too. Until then, cheers and tell someone near and dear that you love them. Life is too short not to. Hugs, Sally

A Flaming Good Time

I had a blast (so to speak) today. I used my torch and soldered a great piece together. It still needs to be polished and cleaned but here is the process in short:



The first few pictures are of my messy working space in my studio. After these pictures were taken, I cleaned it up and re-arranged a bit. It's hard to tell from the pictures but the pendant is made of sterling silver and copper. It is really pretty and I hope to have it posted on my Etsy site this coming week. I am also ordering my kiln this week so should be able to pick it up and get some dichroic glass items made. I will also be working with PMC so should have some real fun here in the near future. If I could only figure out how to eliminate eating and sleeping I'd have it made:>} Cheers, Sally

I am soooo excited

Today is a great day for me. The turquoise I had ordered a few days ago from my new supplier arrived and it is BEAUTIFUL - what do you think?? It is from a mine in Nevada and I can't wait to make rings and pendants out of them. Also, I finished the quilt I've been working on for my friend Jan and I think it is really pretty too. I plan to give it to her this weekend if she is up to a visit. I hope everyone is having a beautiful day.