Happiness is......

a returning customer.

by MaryAnn Carroll

Today I just want to share a little bit about what my friend and LMAJ associate, Karen McGovern, does with discs that I create specifically for her two or three times a year. What I love about working with Karen is that she gives me lots of freedom and doesn't put limits, directions, expectations, etc. on the custom order. I am not one for custom orders because I am a little obsessive and worry that things will not turn out okay. They tend to take me twice as long.  I prefer to create freely without the unpleased customer's fictitious voice echoing in my head, "that's not what I envisioned, wrong color,  I don't really like that... etc."

Karen simply let me know that she didn't need any reds or yellows. I forgot about the yellow part between the message I read upstairs in my house and the walk to the basement where my very messy studio is! Whoops! It's the old being in your 50's thing. You'll see a couple yellows below. I am not a fan of yellow, so it isn't something I tend to favor, unless it has earthy tones to it.

She did tell me the she gravitated toward the discs that are the light caribbean blue, so I decided to make lots for this order in various sizes. The discs range from eensy weensy (1/4") to large (1 3/8"). It is actually those two sizes that are the toughest to enamel. The larger take longer and many coats to achieve a rich color and with the smalls, you have to be careful to be fast, so that the copper doesn't melt in the flame. The color can disappear from that size in a couple of seconds as well as the disc itself!

Here is what I finished up last night.

What I find amazing is how Karen uses these in so many different ways. I think anyone that see her work would agree that she is incredibly talented.

And some of my favorites.....

Karen also offers a tutorial about one way to use discs.

You can find that HERE. You can also find more from Karen on Facebook. 

Creating a Custom Bead Tree

by MaryAnn Carroll

Some History:

It has been awhile since I used my little doll kiln to fire beads. I do fire in our large wood-fire kiln, but that is only when Bill has enough large pieces to fill it up. A few weeks ago I decided I would sit down and create lots of mid-fire (approximately 2200 degrees F) cone 6 beads and a bunch of cone 10 (can fire to approx. 2400 degrees) beads for the wood kiln so I would be better prepared.... I am the type that is often scrambling at the last minute!!

Here they are completely dry and getting bisque fired. I bisque fire to about 1850 degrees F and that preps them for the glaze that will be applied. There are a few other things in there that I am making for our upcoming show that we are organizing called Potters for Pets that will be at the CNY SPCA in Syracuse, NY.  We also have a Facebook page for this event. We are really hoping for a big turnout, since this is the first show that we have been in charge of. (A little promo here) If you are in the Central New York area, it would be great if you could share our event! It is a first annual, so we need all the help we can get!!

So, I typically leave my warped, very used bead trees in my kiln after use. This time I went to look and there were two of the four! I searched and searched..... no luck. Being that I have a husband who most of the time likes to please, he made me a couple more, but it will be weeks before they are ready to use.  My bead trees are made to get the most out of my kiln. The original group has gone through at least 40 firings and are badly warped. Even warped, I make them work.

Since I use a mid-fire clay, my bead trees are made from a higher fire clay (cone 10) which can go to up to about 2400 degrees F. You could make this out of the same cone that your clay is, but I don't know how well it will hold up. My original trees have been fired to cone 12 in the wood-fire kiln many times. They have taken a bit of a beating as you can see. That's okay.... it is just the beads that need to be pretty!

What we originally did is take the measurements of my little kiln. We then designed trees (this was a few years ago) that would work just right inside the kiln utilizing the most space.  The new ones are a tad bit narrower as it was always a tight squeeze getting all four trees in and there is nothing worse when you carefully set the last tree in a your hear, "ping!" A bead has left one the of trees!!!! Yup, that means that they ALL come back out to start all over. Needless to say, loading the kiln is not one of my favorite things.

With all of that said, I thought I would share how to custom make some of your own bead trees. I cannot compare these to what you can purchase online, but I can say that I can use the most space possible with my own design. You certainly need to start by taking your own kiln measurements and go from there. Also, take into consideration that as a rule the clay will shrink 15%.

The Tutorial:

Here is one of the new trees shortly after being built. This time Bill added some supports on the side to see if this will help slow down the warping. To create this, he use a slab of clay that was rolled out. He then scored and slipped the clay to connect the sides and the base.

Here is a link of a score and slip demonstration. 

After doing that we waited until it dried to a leather hard stage.

In the leather hard clay, I used a pencil tip to begin the spacing that I want. It is best to stagger them as you will see later. I start by measuring approximately 1 inch apart.

I did pull out the ruler after the first row. so that I could stagger more accurately to make the most holes that I could. That is another benefit to making your own. 

After the pencil measures, I started to puncture the holes with a toothpick (I use toothpicks for everything when it comes to clay!) Never just push it through. You need to use a rolling motion.

What I found, however, was that the clay was a little too hard and I was afraid that I wold break the tree. I grabbed what was closest to me. I get lazy sometimes and don't like to get up when I am in the middle of something! I then took a that little piece of nichrome wire in my reach (the same high fire wire that you will hang beads on when you fire them) and used that to puncture the rest of the holes.

As you can see, I did not put the hole all the way through. Instead I pushed it (turning the wire) until it just started to poke out the other side. You don't want to put too much pressure on the clay. If it broke, it would be a very sad day.

You then go to where it was punctured on the opposite side and push the wire through tuning while doing that. This process gets repeated multiple times. I think I did this at least three or four times. 

Once you are satisfied,, you can take one of your clay tools. I would tell you what this one is called, but at the moment I cannot remember. If you are over 50, you get it! You can pick a tool that you are most comfortable with. This happens to be my "go to" tool.

Then I wiggle the holes to make them bigger than the nichrome wire that will be used to hang the beads. The reason for this is that the clay will shrink 15% as stated earlier. I also do not like them to fit too tight. I like to balance the beads on the wire.

Here it is after an hour of work. It takes many times to get it just right. Leather hard clay is not something you want to be rough with. It will break. Now the only thing left is to let it dry slowly. It will be a couple of weeks before I can fire this tree for use with my beads. You do have to fire this before using. I would recommend at least a full firing to cone 6. Certainly, if you use lower fire clays such as earthenware, you would have to make some adjustments.

So, as those dry, I am going to use my old dependable warped trees to fire this batch of beads that I made. As you can see I have glazed beads balancing on the nichrome wire.

These are all fired now. It took two firings for all of them.

By custom making my bead trees, I am able to avoid using shelves like you see in this picture. This was a pain and takes up space that I cannot afford.

Here is on group fired. One took a hit by tipping into the kiln brick. I was able to use my dremel to sand that white off of it. It is the pendant on the top left. that is because I just balanced a broken tree between two kiln bricks. Not the the best move...... live and learn.

And..... guess what was found a day after making the new trees.  I am sure that I don't need to tell you that the answer is... the two missing bead trees!!!! Yup, Bill found them out by the wood-fire kiln. Isn't that always the way? The good news is that now I have some extras.

Enjoy your Friday.

Boot Camp Features....

Good Morning.... I'm sure that many of you are celebrating Easter. Happy Easter to you.

I would like to share some pictures that have been shared on our Flickr Boot Camp site. These two lovely selections were created by Lynda Carson from Fresh Baked Designs.

While checking out more of Lynda's work, I found a connection to her blog. Yesterday's post, I think, said it all. Please take a moment to learn more about Lynda by clicking HERE.

Thank-you, Lynda, for sharing what you created for LMAJ Boot Camp.

Please continue to share your textured metal creations. The blog hop sharing will happen on April 8th. Also, please remember that the Boot Camp Flickr account is for those of you who have created something specifically for boot camp. Although, it would be nice to share everyone's beautiful designs, we would like this to be specific to those creations created for this challenge only.

As for Lynda, you can find more about her here:

http://freshbakedjewelry.etsy.com

http://freshbakeddesigns.wordpress.com

As always, thank-you for supporting artists who create handmade with handmade.

MaryAnn

Strut Your Stuff October Winner & November Sponsors

Congratulations to Pennee of All Wired Up Designs who is the winner for October with this stunning pendant!



 Please email Barbara with your mailing address: secondsurf(at)gmail[dot]com

For November: We have several stunning prizes courtesy of our own Love My Art Jewelry Members:

First up is this stunning enameled pendant by Julie Holmes:

Isn't this just perfect for Autumn? Visit Julie here:
Blog
Etsy

And also these beautiful components by MaryAnn Carroll:

This just looks like a delicious mix of Autumn and Winter (perfect for November since many of us are already seeing snow!)

Visit MaryAnn here:
Etsy
Facebook
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Monthly Challenge Rules

1. Take pictures of your current creation and upload it to our flickr pool. (up to 3 per submission). Look for your work to be added to the group when it meets the rules of the challenge.

2. Leave a description of your thought process while creating your jewelry or beads/components. We really want everyone to share their creative thinking so please make sure that you share.

3. Since we are a group promoting "creating handmade with handmade," your jewelry should consist of at least 75% handmade. This doesn't mean that you have to create everything that goes into your piece. You could use beads/components created by other artists. Please give credit to that artist in your description.

4. If your submission will be loose beads/components, it may include any medium that you prefer to make those in. These submissions would also require a description of your creative thought process.

5. You may submit as many pieces as you like in a month, but please note that your name will be put in the hat once for the end of monthly giveaway. And in fairness, you can be chosen only once for designer of the week.

6. This challenge begins the first Monday of each month. Winners from the previous month will be announced the first Monday of the following month. For example January's challenge starts 1/2/12 and the winner announced 2/6/12.

7. Have fun, show off!!

ALSO, Don't forget to enter to win these beautiful earrings generously donated by Laura Jane Bouton!

LMAJ Giveaway....

by MaryAnn Carroll

This is a little clip from Izzy's post on August 3rd.....

This first patina was done with saw dust (which I had plenty of with our deck build) and vinegar. I mixed in enough vinegar to moisten the saw dust and put the concoction in a plastic container. I then buried the earrings in the saw dust, covered the container and let it sit for a few days. It looks a bit like cork, doesn't it? Notice the tiny black specks? I LOVE this patina. (One of these might, just maybe, could be in an upcoming giveaway...)

Well....Izzy was NOT kidding.....

The gorgeous set of earrings below can be yours by answering the question at the end of this post....

 If you don't want to wait to see if you might be the lucky winner...or even if you do want to join in the giveaway fun and possibly own two pairs, check out Izzy's shop Under A Copper Sky for similar earrings and/or other matching jewelry.  I can assure you.... what you get from Izzy will be a quality buy...  I know...  I own a fabulous necklace that I'm in love with!!!!

So, you are wondering what the question is....  I know you are ;o)

Not without a little sharing first....

Persistence....

I DEFINITELY was born with my share of it....

When things don't come easy to me, I usually find some sort of challenge in it.  I want to improve....  I want to learn.....  I want to make it better....  I want it to be the best ...

Izzy inspired me to package up some jewelry that I made a few years ago. I wrote about that in last week's post.

Since I have a personal connection with the domestic violence organization near me, I thought that maybe I could do something to show my appreciation for all that I received from the various services that they offer.  Many people think of organizations like this as "shelters" for women that are in abusive situations.  It's true that shelters are a part of these organizations, but so much more is offered beyond that.  Many women involved with organizations like Vera House never see the inside of a shelter because it never got to that point.  I was so fortunate to have a wonderful contact person there that I still stay connected with and decided that I wanted to give back in a different way as well.  I thought, "maybe I can make some purple ribbons from the enamels that I purchased from Barbara Lewis and create earrings."  They can sell them in their office and keep the money from each sale. I don't always have the money to donate, but I could do something like this in its place.

So..... Did I mention I've got a little of the impulse bug too?   I grabbed my wire, cut, hammered and put it under the torch, dipped it in the enamel, put in under the torch, dipped, torched, dipped again....until I felt I was done...

Here are a few of the first ones that I finished....  I know....

not good.....

maybe I will try again, wrap some wire around the centers and add some ear wire.....

still not working......

I give up....

I'll go to the local chain store and buy some purple colored wire.... 

Maybe that will be the answer...

Nope..... too cheesy....

I think I'll give it some time....

or maybe.....

I'll email Barbara and ask for her advice... DUH!

Why didn't I think about that in the first place?

Thanks Barbara!!!  The color choice fox glove was perfect!

Then, another brilliant thought popped in my head....

Yes.....I was on a roll......

...I have a sheet of copper in my studio.... 

maybe that will be more "ribbon-like" and I can avoid destroying my 51 year old elbows and ears hammering.....

 

A little wide, but much better.....

I think I'll cut that width in half..... 

Maybe then it will work with a matching ceramic bead.....

And there you have it.....

PERSISTENCE.....

I'm still going to work on perfecting this process more.....but I'm well on my way.....

Now, for the question that you have been waiting for to win these beauties...

"What do you do when at first you fail at something that you really have your heart set on doing?"

In addition to answering the question above, if you want to be entered more than once, share this post on facebook, twitter, yahoo groups, your blog, etc. and come back EACH time and tell us that you did.  Your answer to the question will count once each time you let us know where you posted.  Please include a link to that post.  If you add all of those places in one comment, then that will only count one time.  The more times you enter.....

.....well....

.....you know the rest....

So, be persistent and perhaps those fab earrings by Izzy will be yours.

As always....

~Thanks for reading~

MaryAnn

Finding Your Style....

by MaryAnn Carroll

Like many, I started off making jewelry before I began making handmade beads.  My desire to make beads stemmed from my desire to make my jewelry "different" than what I kept seeing over and over again in terms of common gemstones, strands of similar glass beads, etc.  Once I got start creating ceramic beads, I  primarily did just that due to my work schedule as a teacher.  I only made jewelry for gifts.  I have created beads and sold beads for the past 2 1/2 years, became very busy so I hired my son and daughter-in-law to keep me supplied with beads for me to glaze.  I taught them the basics to fit with the my style and then encourage them to evolve into their own style as well. 

Now, my latest endeavor is to find my style when creating jewelry.  Just like the bead making process, I am trying to find out what my style is.  Just like making beads, I went through many experiments regarding what I think "others" might like.  I finally found that what others liked the most were the beads that came the most natural to me.  That's why you will see all kinds of variety with my beads.  Very little planning goes into them when I sit down to glaze.  I just have it all out in front of me a pick up the brush and start going with it.

I'm now doing the same with jewelry.  I'm trying to just find my style.  I've decided that my style is what feels right for me... not what I "think" others will like.  So..... just like beads..... I'm experimenting with what I would like to wear.  I have always (even at 51) been into dressing stylish, but casual.....  Jeans dressed up by wearing shoes rather than sneakers, a nice shirt and, of course, jewelry.  I must admit that I haven't worn a dress is probably 10 years..... well.... maybe one or two times.... That's me.....  and that's where I'm heading with my jewelry.....  by just being me....

Here are a few very recent designs:

So.... What's you style and how did you find it?