Recap & an Announcement

Last night class went really well. I had my 30 g copper sheeting & cut bezel wire. I was able to get 2 cups made. Next week I will be able to solder the cups to copper sheeting. I haven't decided exactly what they will be, but I have a few ideas I'm milling about in my head. I also used my new skull paper punch & some adhesive backed vinyl to make a copper skull that I acid etched. It also turned out well. I was really pleased w/ it. Some leakage occurred, but it only added to the feel of the skull. We also learned how to rivet w/ a soldered post. I have some pieces of coral I may try that technique on, I'm still going over my options.
On the Sweet Bead Studio giveaway.... I WON!!!!! I am SO excited, I can hardly express! Many thanks to Cindy @ Sweet Bead Studio.

Odds & Ends

I found an online source for metal~ www.whimsie.com~ They offer sample packs & 30 gauge copper sheet(bezels, remember?) so I ordered the collage metal assortment & a 1x1 sheet of copper. The collage pack was a really good one! Lots of copper tubing, a spool of 20 g gold wire,( I don't use gold, but a spool of it will be nice to have)some sheets of coloured aluminum to play w/ & so much more!! The packs are 3 lbs(shipping hurts, but hey I didn't have to drive all over finding this stuff, right?) & are well worth the price. I even got a good size sheet of copper I can use in class.
In my search for copper foiling tape(as used in stained glass & Sally Jean type charms) I went to a craft store last week. I found a fabulous skull paper punch, & it was right @ 1/2 price 'ish', so I had to have it. I even saved 4 MORE $$ when I could use my 40% off coupon. So I got an $ 18.00 punch for $5.99, (thnx Martha!).The teeth details are great. I have decided to use a punch made from adhesive backed vinyl for my next skull. I will attach the punch to copper that has a very dark patina,trace the shape w/ a saw & then put it in the acid. This should etch the eyes,teeth & nose, leaving the rest of the skull dark.In theory... I am working on getting my camera downloading to the computer so hopefully pictures can be forthcoming.

Giveaway!

I wanted to mention a giveaway that falls right in line w/ my metalsmithing exploits. www.sweetbeadstudio.com is giving away 2 sets of tools to get started on working w/ metal. The contest is open until October 27 if you would like to go & enter. Good Luck!

Last night's class went much better than the previous week's. Nothing I worked on last week went well. This week I was able to put that behind me, drop some preconceived notions & get started on my bezel. I am using silver for the first one, after that I will be making my own bezel wire from copper.(it seems that copper bezel wire is almost impossible to find, so most make it themselves) I am thinking that I won't be making pieces of jewelry to wear as much as fabrications for altered books or collage boxes. This way of thinking has freed me up from 'making something' & opened me up to 'learning something'. Last week after class I went through some items that I was given years ago in search of a cabachon stone & found almost a dozen different stones!I had honestly forgotten I had so many, I only remembered the one I was looking for. This discovery also helped to open up my self imposed boundries I had found myself in. With so many to choose from, I had ideas galore. This week as we continued on our bezels we also talked about acid etching.I'm thinking about cutting another skull from copper & etching that.Sort of a companion piece to the silver skull.
On other fronts, the garage sale is over. I didn't sell my bigger pieces of furniture, but I did clean out lots of smaller things. Now it's time to finish up the house & 'get to stringing'( or twisting wire & gluing paper!). Since I am home right now, I need to be taking advantage of the time & get some product together. I want to have a booth in the spring @ a local festival & I need to get with it!