etsy metal

Renee Ford - Panicmama Jewlery

Project Accessory Challenge
The designers were asked to design beachwear accessories. They each chose a bathing suit & then were sent to Coney Island Beach to collect found objects for creating a pair of sandals, headwear & an accessory of their choice. Given $100 to also shop a the tourist shops along the boardwalk.

EtsyMetal Challenge
Since we all don't live near a body of water, I chose to keep it simple. Create a piece of jewelry that would be worn stylishly to the beach. It can be a ring, bracelet, earrings, necklace, belt, anklet...you choose! You may incorporate objects from the beach, but not a requirement.

Here are this weeks creations:

Kira Ferrer

Kira often incorporates beach glass into her work. This was the perfect challenge for her!

Panicmama Jewelry

I choose to do something that emphasizes textures you might find on the beach. This abstract pendant incorporates a labradorite rose cut stone, bead, and a Tahitian Cultured Pearl (what is more beachy than a pearl!)

The Next Challenge:

Season 1~Episode 6

Aired 12/08/11, 10pm/9pm cst

View full episodes here:
http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-accessory/video/full-episodes

Project Accessory Challenge
The designers were asked to design accessories for the Kenneth Cole Holiday Collection. They each were assigned an outfit from the collection that they needed to accessorize with a clutch and an accessory of their choice. The challenge asked them to incorporate their style but to also create something that fits with the aesthetic of the Kenneth Cole brand. The winner was awarded having their items produced by Kenneth Cole and sold in the Holiday Collection.

EtsyMetal Challenge
For this weeks challenge, create an accessory of your choice that goes with one of the outfits given to the designers from the Kenneth Cole Collection. It must still fit your own personal style but accessible enough to be part of the Kenneth Cole brand.

Now go be creative!

Submissions due: 12 midnight pst Next Thursday, 12/15/11.

**guidelines for guest submissions**
Please read this every week as there may be small updates and changes. The pieces you submit must be pieces that are made specifically for that weeks challenge. Then post a link to your challenge creation in this weeks comment area before the deadline.
*We only are accepting guest submissions from our blog comment area at this time, insert your links there. Then please cross-post this to your Blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And tag them with "EMPA 1.6". We will post your name with a link and a picture of your piece on our blog. The deadline for guest submissions will be Thursday at 12 am (midnight), Pacific Standard Time. The new blog posts and the new challenge will go up the Friday after the new episode airs.

Inbar Bareket

Welcome !
We had very fruitful week and we show you a bit of what we have to offer.
This is the time to the "last moment" buy !
Enjoy !

Rebecca Bogan aroluna

e5jewelry lsueszabo

Nodeform Fluxplay

Danielle Miller Art By Winona

Michele Grady Designs Hartleystudio

SCJJewelryDesign Quercus Silver

Sarah Hood Jewelry Lichen and Lychee

Nodeform Weddings Panicmama Jewelry

Inbar Bareket Gotham Atelier

Silentgoddess simplymega

Discomedusa

We will be here again next Saturday with new amazing jewelry !

Laney

Our charm swap participants are still keeping pretty quiet these days. I think we all have the holidays first and foremost on our minds (I know I do)! We did get a quick hint from Tess Norberg with novaofsweden this week and I can't wait to see what she comes up with for her charms.

Tess says:
"I haven't decided what to do yet but I want to do something in this direction. I love the way the resin looks with the filigree."

I am betting once we have the holidays behind us and the new year underway we will be seeing more hints about what charms are in the works.

Until next time...

L Sue Szabo

Ring by ArtbyWinona

The members of Etsy Metal have been busy making and bringing you the best in handmade jewelry this season. Here are some of the holiday shows our members are participating in this month----

Michele Grady Designs will be at Main Line Art Center Holiday Fine Craft Sale, 746 Panmure Rd, Haverford, PA December 2 thru 11

Shannon Conrad of rubygirl will be at Crafty Wonderland December 10th and 11th.

Jenny Baughman (Gecko J.) will be at the Spruill Gallery Trunk Show on Dec 17 (11-2)

Theresa Kwong of tkmetalarts is now the Co-Chair of Programs at the Metal Arts Guild San Francisco, founded in 1951. She will be working with her partner to schedule workshops, lectures, demos, and special exhibit tours at local museums.

ArtbyWinona has been featured in the Editor pics blogs!!! Check it out!! It's the Painted Masterpiece ring

L Sue Szabo

Have you heard about the new weekly blog post called "Ask Auntie EM"? Ann Hartley of Hartleystudio and, Sue Szabo of lsueszabo , will be answering YOUR questions in a weekly post we are calling "Ask Auntie EM". EtsyMetal has over 100 members with vast amounts of knowledge and far reaching interests and capabilities. We figured if we couldn't answer your questions...someone on the team could! "What can we ask?" Great question! Ask anything! Metalsmithing, enameling, raising, stone setting, cooking, childcare, travel...you got a question, we probably have an answer! Email your questions to askauntie@etsymetal.com and YOUR question might get answered next week!!!

This week's question comes from Lina, who asked "How do you transfer patterns to metal?"

Well Lina, there are many different ways to do this depending on what you are trying to achieve.

For a general pattern that I plan to saw out or pierce with a saw, I will make a copy of the pattern to size and use rubber cement to glue it to the metal. I "burnish" the paper down to get rid of any bubbles or extra glue and let it dry (this takes about 20-30 mins.) This will hold your paper pattern to the metal and allow you to saw right through it easily. When done, the pattern will just pull off. You can also use super glue in the same way and burn it off with the torch when you are done- make sure you use a vent when doing this as the fumes of burning super glue are toxic.

Another way to transfer a pattern is to paint the metal with a material called China White. This comes in a little block of pigment from jewelry, enamel, and art suppliers. You dampen a brush with water and rub it on the China White pigment and paint it on the metal. It will barely be visible and will not really look white. That's OK, that's what it's supposed to look like. Let it dry. This will put a thin coat of matte pigment on your metal and you can directly draw on it with a graphite pencil. If you have an exact or complex drawing, you can put a piece of graphite paper between the metal and the drawing and just trace over the pattern lines with a pencil, transferring the graphite to the China White surface. This is quite a stable surface and does not rub off easily. The pigment can then be removed with soap and water or burned off with a torch under a vent.

My favorite scribes and China White, complete with the Rio Grande number

If you need a truly exact transfer, you really need to use a fine sharp steel scribe to put a fine line in the metal. Remember that whenever you use a pencil or a Sharpie marker, the thickness of the marking line will effect the exactness of your design. A scribe will give you the thinnest line and thus, the most exacting transfer. It may also be necessary to scribe the line of a drawing so that you will have a permanent line on the metal. This is helpful if you need to heat the metal (for soldering or annealing) before all of the pattern has been sawn, for example. The heat from those processes will remove Sharpie, glue, paper, or China White so scribing your lines will give you a guide to follow later. Plan accordingly.

If I want to transfer a simple pattern, for example, a pattern for a cone or a spiculum I want to make, I will generally start with a paper template pattern. I make these out of used manila folders- they are stiff enough to hold shape but still flexible. I will cut a pattern out of the folder and play with it until I can get it to work and form the shape I want. I then use either glue or double-sided tape and place the paper pattern on the metal. I then use a fine Sharpie and draw around it or I scribe the line around the paper template onto the metal.

Of course there are other ways to transfer patterns, including etching, but we'll save that for another day. These are the basic ways I use to transfer patterns to metal- please feel free to share yours.
Til next week, happy metalsmithing!

Sue