If your looking for beautiful high quality affordable gemstones, check out my bead shop! These gorgeous 7mm Square Garnet loose gemstones are sure to complement any piece of jewelry. They are even more beautiful in real life.
Swiss blue topaz is a beautiful staple in every designer's closet. These are really blue and crisp and really have the "ice" about them that everyone so loves about Swiss blue topaz.
Okay. So as many of you know that I am gathering all of my tools and equipment to start my new adventures in beginning metal smithing. It has been a little bit of effort trying to shop for affordable tools and equipment. I really love these purple amethyst gemstones and hoping someday soon I can learn to set one of these in a pretty ring for a friend of mine. What do you think?
All orders over $50.00 will have FREE shipping! Just contact me letting me know you saw this special coupon. Visit 101 Best Beads on Etsy!
Adding some Loose Gemstones in my shop!
Giveaway by Kalicat Jewelry - Gorgeous Blum Sterling Silver Ring
Kalicat all the way from London, United Kingdom is offering a great giveaway today! Above, you see one of her beautiful set of gorgeous 18k beaten gold band rings, she calls these "Rhianna". I absolutely love the earthy and rustic look of these rings..simply beautiful.
Kalicat has learned her art of jewelry design and metal smithing at Central St Martins and Hatton Gardens, in London. Not only is she a jewelry designer, artist and illustrator, she is also a mother of 2 children.
She enjoys jewelry-making, fashion, painting and illustrating, eating chocolate and dreaming about all the things she will create in the near future. She loves to do custom work and is open to your design ideas as well!
All forged and made by Kalicats hand, a lovely pink oval faceted Tourmaline gemstone 6x4mm is bezel setted with recycled 18K yellow gold. You can find this ring in her shop made to order here.
I would like to invite you to visit Kalicat's etsy store. Check it out! She is offering one lucky winner to this contest one beautiful handmade stackable sterling silver ring called "Blum". They come in either shiny silver or a darkened version, made to size. See the image below. These are simply adorable!
Here is what you have to do to enter this contest:You do not have to be a blogger to enter.
It is open to World Wide Entries!
PLEASE NOTE: Each entry must be posted separately to count.
1. For one entry please go to Kalicats Etsy shop and check it out. Come back here to my blog and post a comment on your favorite thing from the shop. Also, please be sure to leave your email address so I can notify you if you are a winner.
2. For a 2nd entry if you would like..follow my blog, or link back to my blog, or blog about this great giveaway! ( You can post this entry if you already follow my blog or link to it. Please post the url link if you blog about this giveaway.)
3. For a 3rd entry ..follow me on Facebook. I am HelenesDreams.Etsy.com on Facebook. Okay it needs some help..but getting some more followers there will allow me to have my blog on there too, and inspire me to keep that going.
This Giveaway ends on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 12:00 Midnight PST. A winner will be chosen randomly using Random.org. We will disclose the winner on, Thursday July 30, 2009 here on this blog post. Good Luck, have fun and ...Thank you for participating!
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The lucky winner chosen by Random.Org is entry # 51 which goes to Lilly in Brazil!
Congratulations Lilly!
I want to thank all of you wonderful blog readers who took a moment to enter! Please stay tune for more giveaways to come and stay tuned to my own adventures in metal smithing as well!
My New Workbench - Beginning Metal Smithing
Okay, so I am not sure this is all so important to be sharing, but, I thought what the heck! I found my so called "new" work bench for applying my newbie metal smithing skills to. I still am waiting for much of my equipment and the desk sits a little lonely. But, at least you can really see it right now and check it out!
I found this great steal on Craigslist for $50 bucks. It's called a "bankers desk". It has 6 drawers and two pullout shelves on each side. I pulled one out for visual purposes. This desk is solid wood and really really heavy. It is 5 feet wide and 39 inches deep for a table top..lots of space! It is a bit beat looking, but I think it might do the trick while I get started with this endeavor.
My sweet husband Chuck, cleared out a space in his shop/garage for me so that I can pursue my endeavors with a bit of space. Now if I had it my way, I would rather him build me a cute work studio outside of my house instead. But, maybe later...hopefully!
You can always check out your own community craigslist. It seems to me that there are a whole lot of great deals going on. You might be lucky enough to catch something for free even. Really.
OR, if you can afford it,maybe, you would like to purchase a jewelers workbench shown above. This one is on sale at OttoFrei.com for $369 not including another $70 to $90 for shipping. At some point I hope to attain one of these, I think. If you are shopping for one, make sure it is solid wood built. For now I will make do and save this money for a nice rotary Foredom Flexshaft tool instead.
So, I have to admit, I am drooling to set this beautiful oval kyanite cabochon gemstone in some creation of mine. My mind is going coo coo about learning how to do this. I also have to add a picture of something pretty on my blog..these old pictures just don't do it justice! But of course if your looking for a cab or two you can always check out 101 Best Beads!
I will be going on vacation for a few days so when I return I will continue my journal in metal smithing adventures here on my blog. By then I will have my space set up with some equipment and tools. STay tuned..and thanks for your comments always!
Beginning Metal Smithing
Okay so I finally broke down and did it! I am beginning my adventures in metal smithing. I am going to learn to solder and create new jewelry with metals like silver, gold and copper. I have done a lot of research and I will share my work and research with you here on my blog.
Those of you who are interested in learning this craft, please contact me or leave a comment. We can help each other out. First I would like to tell you the list of equipment that I just purchased and where you can go to get started with some of these great items.
Beginners List of Tools for Metal Smithing:
The Complete Metal Smith book by Michael Creighton.
DVD - LEARN TO SOLDER with ME, Soldering and Setting Level I
Micro torch
solder fire pad
charcoal block
flux
pickle and crock pot
copper tongs for the pickle
tweezers (get the kind that will lock and has padding for handling heat)
cutters both kinds- for cutting the silver and copper sheets. fine and heavier
.925 stamp
ring sizer guide (rings and strip)
bezel pusher
files- fine files
saw blades
dapping tools
mandrel
anvil
saw
clamps
third hand
ring holding pliers
silver burnishing compound
solder
rotary tool (like a dremel)
steel bench block
jewelers hammers
loupes or magnifier for vision
burnishing tool
nylon hammer
rubber block
rouge
rotary tumbler with steel shots
I also am still shopping around for a jewelers table or a work bench. One other thing you will also need is space to set up your shop. You don't need a ton of space but a place where you can work freely and not be bothered by small children is the best.
I also went ahead and purchased this much metal material:
1 ft serrated bezel
3' plain bezel wire 26 ga
3 or 4 ft copper 16 ga round
3 or 4 ft copper 18 ga
couple of feet of copper bezel wire heavy
5 each 8mm round plain bezel cups
5 each 10mm round plain bezel cups
13 assorted cups and pads
littl bit of brass pattern wire and a cup
2' NS 12 or 14 ga HR
1 7/8 x 3 1/2 inches Nickle Silver 22 ga sheet
1 ft NS bezel wire
2' brass bezel wire
1x 5 3/4" 28 ga sheet
silver wire:
12 ga half round wire
14 ga dbl HR
12 ga dbl hr
5 ga low dome hr
Okay so I may have went a little over the top here, but I figure if I am going to learn to do this I am going to need my metals to solder and create something exciting and new. Of course I am going to want to try PMC3 silver clay at some point as well.
Nita from Pointy Paws Etsy shop actually got me started and going with my start up kit. It is pretty extensive. I have noticed a lot of other kits are super simple and have just a few of these things.
Nita has been very accomodating and you need to ask her, she most likely will have it or can get it for you. You also are supporting a great cause with Pointy Paws. 100 percent of the income earned goes to support sick and injured animals in Nita's care. She is busy!
Other shops that have great supplies, equipment and tools:
Pointy Paws.Etsy.com
Romazone.Etsy.com
SilverSupplies.com
Rio Grande
Vulcan's Workshop
Contenti
Santa Fe Jewelry
Otto Frei
Monster Slayer
Thunderbird Supply
And a great place to get some beautiful, affordable and high quality cabs is from
101 Best Beads! My bead shop of course.
Okay well I think this is a true to life good starting kit. If you have any questions on some of the equipment you can comment or contact me. I will try to do my best. Lots of nice people are ready to answer your questions in this great forum called Starving Jewelry Artist as well.
I am researching some video's and I will be posting them here in the next few days or so. These video's are other people showing me and you how to do it.
If you have something of interest that would be helpful to us newbies, please contact me!
Thanks everyone. Enjoy the world of creation...playing with fire and having fun!
