2010 June: Blog Carnival

Welcome to the Etsy Metal Blog Carnival!

So you ask, "what is a blog carnival?"

It is group of EtsyMetal members who will collectively write a article on the monthly subject for their blog!

Our Topic for June 2010 is:

What / Who is your Studio Mascot(s)? 
Does he/she/it inspire you? Watch you? Encourage you? Impede your work? 

Enjoy!

Ann Hartley

2 Roses

Nina Gibson
Victoria Takahashi/Experimetal

Etsy Metal Finds

One of the things I love about spring is the Peonies that bloom all around. There are so many different varieties--some you may not even realize are peonies until you look at the actual plant itself! Here are a few lovelies from over on Etsy. Enjoy!

Clockwise from Top Left:

Pretty in Pink 5 Peonies Set by A Dash of Color

Pink Peony Flower Prints by Jennifer Aitchison

1 Full Pink Peony Embellished with Large Crystal by Spamaluca

Oil Painting Peonies in a Jar by Art by Sonja

Carving a wedding ring from wax, part 1 - the lathe

A few weeks ago my friends, Susan and Jason, contacted me about wedding bands. Congratulations guys!! They chose the ring "Stitches" and because I love carving waxes, I thought it would be interesting to show how I will make their bands. Ordinarily, I don't use a lathe to rough out the ring blanks but my husband convinced me the lathe would make my blanks perfectly round and ready for carving the detail.

The first step in carving a wax ring is making the tube the correct ring size. In this first set of pictures, we are boring the correct inside diameter to make the ring Susan's size. If we are even off by a fraction of a millimeter, the ring will be too big. We take small passes and remove tiny ribbons of wax, checking after each run with a dial caliper.

The second step in making this ring blank is making the tube the correct outside diameter. Honestly, since this was my first time using the lathe, I chickened out and made the walls of the ring 3.5 mm when I really should have made them 2.5. It would have saved me a step later. We used a cutting tool to remove the wax, a little at a time, from the outside of the tube. Eventually we ended up with a tube that had the correct outside and inside diameter.

This last step involves "facing" the ring and cutting the finished ring blank off the rest of the tube. In the first photo, we use a "facing" tool to cut across the end of the ring blank. In the second picture you can see that the ring is so perfectly symmetrical that, when it spins, you can't see any movement. In the third picture we are cutting the ring off at 6 mm. The last step shows a finished ring blank. There is some flashing where the ring broke away from the tube. This is removed later with a file.

So, now we have two ring blanks. Next week I will post again on the progress of these two wedding bands. I will be rounding the inside and outside of the ring using gravers and marking out where the pattern should be using a divider. See you next week!!

June Challenge - "Spring is here"

The EtsyMetal Team June challenge was

"Spring is here"

We were highly inspired by spring, as you can see from our June creations !

 Inbar Bareket

L. Sue Szabo

Mark Kaplan

 

 Maria Whetman / Fluxplay

  Heather Goodwin / Twigs and Heather

Andrea / ArtigianoJewelBox

Erga

Kerry Alice / Twigs and Heather

 Amanda Conley / Bijougirl Designs

  Kira Ferrer

The July team challenge, due to June 30, is
" The SUN "
 Can't wait to see what we will have !!!

Etsy Metal Finds

Today's Etsy Metal Finds are inspired by summer. Here in Portland, we have been having record rainfall and low temperatures for the past 2-3 months...it's now the end of May and we're all hoping for the sun to come our way! May your days be filled with joy and sunshine...

From Left to Right:

Summer Ferris Wheel 8 x 8 Fine Art Photo by Enamor Photography

Summer Print Cotton Halter Dress OOAK by Pyxus Passion Project

Turquoise Porcelain Sea Urchin Bud Vase by Blue Room Pottery

Etsy Metal Finds

My dearest apologies for my absence of late! With spring and summer comes a flurry of activity--it seems the people of the Northwest are coming out of hibernation :) Sometimes in these dreary spring days, we all just need a splash of color!

From Left to Right:

Branch Vase by jfish designs

Bossa Nova a Cool to the Touch Scarf by LaTouchables

L'Aventura by Brown Bunny by Iris

Charm Swap 6 - Week 3

Not much had happened this week.
I will tell you what I am planning for the charms swap and for my friends!
I will make Hamsa charm. I want it with turquoise gemstone or other light blue gemstone, and with red string ... Lucky me I have the idea ! I don't know the design yet - but that's a start....

A little background of the meaning of "Hamsa" and "Red String"

Hamsa

The Hamsa is used to ward of the evil eye and can be found on the entrances of homes, in cars, on charm bracelets and chains and much more. It is also common to place other symbols in the middle of the Hamsa that are believed to help against the evil eye such as fish, eyes and the Star of David. The color blue, or more specifically light blue, is also considered protective against the evil eye and we could see many Hamsas in that color or with embedded gemstones in different shades of blue.


Red Silk String

The Red String provides protection from the envious eyes of strangers (also called the Evil Eye) and according to the Kabbalah is an important tool for removing the intrusive negative influences around us.

A person possessed of an evil eye carries with him the eye of the destroying negative force; hence it is called "destroyer of the world," and people should be on their guard against them and not come near them so that they should not be injured by them! [Zohar I, p.68b]

Last week I showed you the Charm Swap 5 photos - I have one more collection to show you...

Ann / tuizui

I will be here again next Thursday...