BTW: Adventures in Metalwork (and a Giveaway!)

Studio space, wide view. Thanks to a kitchen re-do last summer I now have plenty of working space.
(It's only neat because I haven't started working in here yet!)

Time for Bead Table Wednesday! Now that the weather is warming up, I've decided to move my messier jewelry-making projects and tools out to the little studio in the back yard. This was my mom's painting studio, and last fall I moved my mosaic supplies out there just to free up space in the house and garage; now I'm ready to start working out there and want to make it the kind of quiet, creative space that it was for my mom. It's also a much more suitable space than the dining/family room for my new adventure: metalwork! So this morning I moved my Dremel, new microtorch and soldering accessories, patinas and supplies, metals, and other metalwork stuff out here, and it looks like I'll have plenty of room as well as light and ventilation to start working out here soon.



New studio metalwork area #1: Patina, soldering, and chasing

I've been wanting to learn how to do metalwork for several years now but have not had the time or money for supplies or training. I was on the verge of signing up for a local metalworking class when my dumb car accident last fall took away the money I'd been stashing away for it. Since then I've gradually been accumulating tools to get started, most recently the very affordable Blazer micro-torch shown at right, which (for now) is about as far as I want to go in the playing-with-fire part of metalwork. I was able to get that, a jeweler's saw, and two books (Soldering Made Simple and Mixed Metal Mania) thanks to an Amazon credit from turning in used textbooks, and this week I picked up some sheet copper and brass, shears, butane, heat-proof blocks, tweezers, and a few other supplies at Thunderbird Supply in Albuquerque so I can get started during my upcoming 3-week break from school.

Following suggestions from other metalworkers and common sense, I'll start with copper and brass given my total newbie-ness and the price of silver; this works for me anyway because a lot of my jewelry lately has included those metals. Once I've made a few things I can then play with the patinas I got from the wonderful MissFickleMedia, whose tutorial I also bought and have found really useful as well as readable. While I love the patinated components I've bought from her and other Etsy sellers recently, I also love the idea of making my own, not just to save money but really to experiment and see what I can come up with. Again, this little studio is perfect for that process, which thanks to my experience with Liver of Sulfer I know can become smelly and a bit messy.

So what new things have you all been up to lately? Tell me all about it in the comments section and, if you're also interesting in trying or refining your skills in soldering and other metalwork, I'll enter you in a random giveaway for a copy of Soldering Made Simple! I accidentally ordered two copies, and this fabulous book is a great way for me to thank both my long-time and new visitors and followers. I'll draw a number using a random number generator next Wednesday (March 16) and announce it in that day's BTW post. Good luck, and thanks as always for visiting!

Bead Table Wednesday: This Little Piggy Went to Market



Ceramic beads, button, and pendant from Gaea



Colorful polymer clay beads from EarthTonesOnline

I love these memes -- thanks to Heather Powers of Humblebeads for starting this one! I feel connected to fellow creatives and, while there is a theme, I can do my own thing. So today I'll show you what's on my "bead table" (right now it's a lap table by my bedside because I'm still kind of in hibernation mode) and write about suppliers. Being snowbound and far from civilization isn't what it used to be thanks to the Internet and e-commerce. Although I do sometimes miss going to bead shops to fondle the gemstones and drool over the lampwork glass and dream about how to use the great variety of beads and findings I see, I can do plenty of drooling and dreaming as I navigate through online shops that may be located anywhere from Albuquerque to Sweden to Hong Kong. I have a few reliable suppliers of basics, but lately I'm turning to Etsy for both unique handmade components and basic findings. Recently I went on a bit of a shopping spree and today decided to show some of the amazing creations I've picked up from fellow Etsy sellers. I much prefer to support the artisans and small entrepreneurs, and now that I have a more defined style and have found some wonderful smaller, more personal suppliers I've all but stopped ordering from places like Fire Mountain (their "handling fee" on top of shipping charges really ticks me off).



Ceramic pendants from Spirited Earth

For general supplies such as glass and crystal beads, findings, and cord I usually order from Fusion Beads (free shipping on all US orders and frequent discount coupons via email and Facebook) or Artbeads.com (free shipping on US orders above $10). If I were doing a higher volume I'd surely be ordering from wholesalers, but for what I do these suppliers offer a good range of products, and they also offer some volume discounting and have more artisan-made pieces for sale than larger suppliers. Recently I've found some great Etsy sellers who offer both basic and unique findings for very reasonable prices, and I've been especially happy to find lots of cool brass and copper findings there because, with silver prices going into the stratosphere, I've needed to adjust the composition and style of my pieces somewhat. From necessity has come a new burst of creativity and a shift towards an earthier style, so of course I had to go shopping for new components to better express this new style....



Handmade ceramic pendants and buttons from Beadfreaky

For the really good stuff -- handmade ceramic, lampwork glass, patinated metals, polymer clay, and other artisan components -- I always check Etsy first and have been bowled over by what I have found there. Hence my recent shopping spree (and the title of this post), both because I have found so many beautiful things and because I had let my supplies dwindle over the past two years (since my last trip to Tucson, sniff!!). I can't say I'm done buying because I'm still low on lampwork glass (especially non-focals; I need some rounds and saucers to go with the gorgeous lampwork hearts below), and geez, these creative people keep making more beautiful stuff! Now to find the time to use it all in new creations... given that it's only early February and gardening is still a few months away here, that shouldn't be a problem, so I hope to have lots of new stuff to show here shortly! 

Lampwork glass heart pendants from Boomwire Glass