I’ve had requests to teach how I make my woven wire chains, so I made this short video. If you are interested in making one of these chains, this should help get you started.
Category: Jewelry & Lapidary
Amarillo to Hot Springs
Before we left Amarillo, we got to meet Kim Hart who is the proud new owner of my Montana Agate pendant and earring set. She fell in love with it and here she is wearing it.
Kim is delightful and is the spirit of Amarillo Ranch RV Park. Always smiling and happy to greet new guests. She and her hubby Mike are fixing to leave Amarillo soon to go on to their next work assignment, and plans to see her many sisters soon.
She knew she was gonna be owing some birthday presents to those sisters, and was trying to think of something unique and different to get them. Well, there I was grinding my rocks on the picnic table with just the right answer to her quandary. Here is Kim with her special gifts for her special siblings.
Here are a few of the pieces that now have new homes…
I really do get attached to my creations and each one seems to have its own personality and take on a life of their own. So happy that these pieces will be going to such good homes.
So, we left Amarillo on Thursday and headed east on the I-40. As we entered Oklahoma, we noticed the western portion looked similar to Texas… dry and flat. We did begin to see some greening up of the landscape as we entered Oklahoma City. Spent the night and it was off to Arkansas and here we are now in Hot Springs. Here we plan to spend a week and see Hot Springs National Park and Arkansas’s famed Crater of Diamonds. For now, we’re gonna cool off and recover from the past few days’ travels.
Rio Grande Supply in Albuquerque
I wasn’t happy with my last shipment of silver wire from Rio Grande that I received a couple weeks ago. Since we were in Albuquerque, I had the opportunity to visit the plant and talk to them directly about it.
First of all, it’s a huge plant. Lots of young workers at the clean, clean, beautiful campus. Plenty of customer parking and yes, they have a physical storefront where you can walk in and order products.
In fact, they have work stations all over where you can try out products, and test them on your projects.
Several showcases where you can buy finished jewelry and get ideas and see the newest techniques. There were displays with Bronze Metal Clay, Cold Connection Jewelry making, Dichroic Glass Bead creation, and Resin Cabochon molding.
And… the clearance items. Discontinued findings, orphan pieces of sets, single cabochons, beads, sterling blanks, chains, and more, heavily discounted.
That’s Renee at her desk helping a customer and she is a sweetheart. She took great care of me and returned my wire no problem, and sold me some new. What apparently happened is that there was a slight difference in the tempering of that lot as compared to others that made it springy and difficult for me to work with.
As I was leaving, I spotted the back corner which had shelves of tools and equipment being sold at discount prices. Most were probably returns and the price goes down every month. There were kilns, wax injector, electroformer, vulcanizer, torch, dop wax melters and more. I spotted this 12 quart rotary tumbler that looked brand new for 1/3 off the retail price. Needless to say, I felt it needed a home and here it is. It’s already full and running!
I’m sure if you give them a call, you can ask what is on the shelves at the moment.
Alot of us jewelry artists know Rio Grand for great online supplies, but if you have a chance and are in the area, drop by and see the place. It’ll be worth the trip!
Royalty of Picture Jaspers: Royal Sahara
While many vendors have flown the coup, some snowbirds yet remain. Angie and I went to Desert Gardens yesterday to see if any vendors remained, and there were about a dozen. We visited the Royal Sahara Jasper tent and had a pleasant conversation regarding the weather and his upcoming trip home to Washington State. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he still had some slabs for sale and I chose three.
Royal Sahara Jasper comes from the North African Sahara desert. It was found fairly recently with sharp landscape designs, brown ribbons with light brown undertones and dendrites resembling foliage or birds in the sky. Some have blue or green coloring.
Where is the third slab, do you ask… This is the result of about five hours of work today on it. Expect to see pendant and earring sets soon from these…
Look closely and you will see a picturesque little scene. Some of the other better known types of Picture Jasper are: Biggs and Deschutes from Oregon, Owyhee and Bruneau from Idaho and Wild Horse Canyon right on the border between the two states.
I absolutely love these new wondrous cabochons and, yet again, marvel and the absolute perfection of what the Earth has created.
Amazonite Wrapped in Copper with Copper Weave Necklace and Earrings
My newest creation. I took my copper wrapped Amazonite and reinvented it. I had found the stone back in Pennsylvania immersed in a babbling fern-lined stream that flowed down a woodland hill.
I added an antiqued copper butterfly with green accent seed bead. Nice, huh?
But what pulled it all together was the woven copper necklace that I’ve been learning to make while here in Quartzsite. It is 23 inches long and has interspersed green seed beads that match the one on the pendant with the butterfly. (pic taken with my scanner. Not optimal, but my only option with my camera out for repairs)
A matching pair of beaded copper earrings complete this set. They are about 2.5 inches long to the top of the earring hook.
This set will be in my ETSY shop very soon for $39. You can visit my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/NatureNut
I’m pretty pleased with this whimsical ensemble, and very proud when I think of how it all began, a few years ago, when Angie and I went rock hounding.
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| My Rockhounding Buddy |
Back to School for the Gnomes
While in Quartzsite, we’ve been taking classes at the Gem and Mineral Society. I’ve shown, in my recent blog posts, its many facets and opportunities there to learn from some incredibly knowledgeable and skillful people at a minimal cost. I’ve been concentrating on faceting and silversmithing. Hoping to perfect my skills and be able to produce some new and wonderful art jewelry in the future.
Playing catchup here, just want to share what we’ve been working on. I think I posted a couple of these in previous blog posts, but here’s a compilation of our work here.
This is the faceting lab. There are about 15 faceting stations. The classes cost $3.
In about a day and a half, I created this faceted glass stone from a marble. This was my first.
This is Bill’s first. Both of these and the next one are a cut called a Brilliant cut. The instructors help you every step of the way, and insure that you leave with a faceted stone. Bill’s came from some glass that used to be an ashtray.
This is my second. I did this one in about a day. I chose to do the same cut as my first in order to go over the basics again to have them firmly under my belt (or in my fingers and my head, LOL). This one also is a former ashtray.
I felt ready to move on to the Intermediate Class and produced this, my third. It is a Double French Cut from a marble. During my lunch break, it somehow got bumped and a corner chipped off 🙁 . My instructor suggested that I just cut all four corners to make them all the same (instead of starting all over). I think it turned out nice, kind of a pillow shape, and I’m calling it my Double French Fry Cut. 😉
One of the really wonderful things about taking classes here in Quartzsite, a town of rocks, is that there are numerous opportunities for inspiration, and several stores to go and buy tools and raw material to make whatever your heart can conceive. A friend showed me how she had her faceted marble wrapped, and so I became inspired and produced this tiny wrap. This is the smallest I had ever done, smaller than my thumb.
This is the silversmithing lab. This is where I attempted to melt some silver and create something of beauty.
For my first project, I needed a cabochon that was a specific size. Well, I didn’t have one and was short on time to make one so I purchased this one made from optical glass. The club provides you with a kit with all necessary materials to complete a ring ($13) and after paying $3 for the class, and burning up numerous brain cells, but hopefully not anything else, I produced this sterling silver ring.
My second project was this pendant. The kit was $23 plus $3 for shop time. This was a little more complex because of the size, but turned out nicely. The stone is a cabochon that I cut myself a few months back from a stone called Cherry Creek Jasper. It’s about 3.5 inches high.
I’m working on a third silver project, still in process… and will take my fourth and last class this week in faceting. I plan to try faceting a real stone, a Sunstone that I purchased at a yard sale here in Quartzsite. Wish me luck!!!
Quartzsite is Still Rockin’
Went to the Chili Cookoff. Painted rock art that has been all around town this season was being auctioned off.
The artwork was very good.
Then we went to taste some chili.
Some were meaty, some were sweet and hot, some were just right.
We voted for our favorites and had a great time.
Angie got to roll in some much longed for grass.
And met some other dogs and had a blast.
She got a gift from our neighbor Barb… an Easter bonnet!
We had a cook out with our neighbors and friends. Here at the closest table are RTH friends (left to right), Drocknut, Aunuts and Rocknovice.
Bill and I took a faceting class together at the Gem and Mineral Club here in Quartzsite. My second, Bill’s first. Here is my second faceted stone, from green glass that used to be an ashtray.
Here is Bill’s first faceted stone, again from colored glass. It took us about eight hours to complete each of these.
Tomorrow… we take a ride into the desert with some good friends. 😉
Open for Business on ETSY !
Two new pendants are now up in my ETSY shop.
This wrap is from a beautiful Amethyst stone that I found at a roadside stand that sold Amethyst Cathedrals (big geodes) in the bottom of a crate in Northern California. I found these stones in the bottom of a crate. I worked this stone into a cabochon and wrapped it in Sterling Silver while in Dillon, SC.
(This wrap is now sold, but more are available)
This beautiful tumbled Red Goldstone was given to me by a dear friend in Montana. I wrapped it in 12k Gold-Filled wire last November while in Myrtle Beach, SC . Do you see the upside down heart? I call this pendant “Heart of Goldstone“. It is sold also.
Many Facets of Quartzsite
Valentine’s was a special day for me. I had the opportunity to take the 12 hr. Beginning Faceting course at the Quartzsite Gem and Mineral Club
… and came away with this.
We started with a marble and followed a pattern, while learning to use a faceting machine. You wouldn’t have guessed that a marble could look like this, wouldja?
Why the fire? We had the opportunity to witness a real firewalker. Yep, he dumped his shoes and socks and walked the coals and lived to tell about it.
What would you do if you saw this while driving down the road?????
I heard Bill making a fuss over something and I asked him what it was and he said that I wouldn’t believe it if he told me… I looked and he was right…
Other than being amazed and astounded daily, we are packing and preparing for our upcoming move into our new home. It’s just like moving again… maybe because it is moving again. LOL.
Here’s some video of the Quartzsite Firewalker taken by my neighbor, Barbara Bennett.
Oh yeah, can’t forget the parade of ATVs and desert buggies the other day.
Here they are, all lined up… the parade is about to start.
And they’re off~!
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