Living in the Pacific Northwest, I quickly became a fan of the show Portlandia. It is a comedy sketch show on IFC (the Independent Film Channel), and all the characters are representative of the eccentric people that live in Portland, Oregon. In the first season, there was a famous sketch called, “Put a Bird on It” where two characters go around putting birds on everything and selling it as art. It is one of my favorite sketches! So when I made this necklace, I used that episode as inspiration!
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New York Fashion Week from the perspective of a Jewelry Designer
September 27, 2013Twice a year, New York City is transformed into a fashion mecca. Every September and February, New York City hosts the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and people from around the world flock to the city in their most stylish clothing and accessories. During this time, anything fashion goes. It reaches beyond the Mercedes Benz sponsored events. Fashion bloggers, underground runway shows, and street style make their presence visible throughout the city.
This fall, I was fortunate enough to experience all these things first hand. As a jewelry designer, I was invited to attend an underground fashion show that hosted several fashion designers. I was part of a design team that included a fashion designer, two photographers from WTFashion Magazine, six models, and me, the jewelry designer. Our fashion designer was Alyssah Perez of Eco Chic Clothing, and our collaborative line was called “Leather & Lace Dripping in Gold”. Alyssah made the Leather & Lace gowns, and I made the Dripping in Gold Jewelry. All ten of us boarded a plane in Spokane, Washington and made the 2,500 mile journey across the country to see first hand what New York Fashion Week was all about. It was amazing!When Alyssah Perez came up with the idea to make a line titled, “Leather & Lace Dripping in Gold” she contacted me and asked if I was interested in making the Dripping in Gold jewelry. I jumped at the opportunity to create a collaborative line, and loved her idea to make the jewelry all gold. We worked together and as she created the clothing, I created jewelry that matched the style and cut of the dresses. We debuted our collection at Runway Renegades, a local runway show here in Spokane. It was great practice for the show we would be putting on in New York City, less than one month later.
The day of the show was crazy! It went so fast. The girls had to be at the venue early for hair and makeup. In addition to our team, there were several other teams preparing for the the show. When the show started, we were the first team to walk. One of our models had to walk twice so we had to do a wardrobe change behind the scenes, with only like 3 minutes! It was amazing to see all the photographers as the teams walked. Here are a few shots of the girls walking the at the Mad Girl’s Production Sugar and Art Fashion Show during New York Fashion Week. The angle on these photos is right when they walk out, before they walk down the runway. They stop and pose then do their walk.If you are reading this blog, you are most likely a jewelry fanatic like myself! So let me show you show you some close-ups of the jewelry I made for the show. I was fortunate enough to get a lot of the supplies from Rings & Things. If you have any questions about how I made items or what supplies I used, please feel free to ask in the comment section and I would be happy to help!
Well, I hope you liked the jewelry I created for New York Fashion Week! New York was amazing, a whole different world than Spokane, Washington. I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to travel with my amazing team to this show! I hope it is the first of many, and who knows, maybe one day I will be showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week!
~Tiffany White
Geisha Creations, Jewelry Designer and Owner
Rings & Things, Jewelry-making Intructor
And all around lover of jewelry!
Summer Road Trip part 3
June 29, 2012Hi bloglandia! Today is the deadline for entering the Vintaj Summer Road Trip design challenge. Mollie was a little late in getting her inspiration piece completed…seems her idea of a summer road trip is wandering in the woods. There are no clocks or calendars in the wilderness! Her “Day in the Woods” necklace is well worth waiting for, however. She combined a number of sweet little elements together to make this piece. We’ll have to look closely to see them all, as the sunlight can be a bit distracting!
The vial hangs with a cluster of wire-wrapped bicones in shades of smoky blue and gray from olive green velvet ribbon.
Mollie painted a wee brass feather charm with Vintaj Patina in a muted blue-green color before hanging it inside a glass vial. The vial top is adorned with a Vintaj bead cap, Swarovski rhinestone wheel and a crystal bicone from our new Idewild Blue Crystal Jam mix.
A DecoEmbossed Vintaj leaf and a metal stamped and dapped round Vintaj charm complete the grouping.
And here is a view of how Mollie finished the ends – ribbon clamps (simply flatten with pliers -the teeth inside grip the ribbon securely) and a Vintaj clasp.
With jewelry this pretty, who wouldn’t want to wander in the woods? Hope you all have a lovely weekend! ~ Cindy
Vintaj Road Trip Design Challenge!
June 20, 2012Hi bloglandia! We are really excited to be partnering with Vintaj for their Summer Road Trip design challenge this month. Visit their blog to see the great jewelry their designers created by pairing beads & components from Rings & Things with Vintaj products. The Vintaj blog also has all the details about how to enter the contest! Submissions are due by NOON (CST) Friday, June 29. But wait – don’t go yet!
Over the next couple of weeks we’ll share some of our own Summer Road Trip jewelry pieces, starting with Sondra’s “The Trail Less Traveled” bracelet:
She used so many fun techniques that I’m sure I’ll miss a few, but here are the highlights:
The Vintaj luggage tags were DecoEmbossed with the Sizzix BigKICK. Sondra punched holes to in the tags to link them with textured locking jump rings.
She curved the postcard charm and souvenir penny using bracelet bending pliers.
The Vintaj bee and several other charms have the tips of rhinestone crystal head pins soldered onto them for extra bling.
The memoir stamp bezel from Vintaj is filled with a scrap of map coated with SuperClear resin.
The rest of the sparklies are from our Karma Chameleon Crystal Jam. Check out our Crystal Jam color themed design boards on Pinterest!
Ok. Now you can go get started on your own Summer Road Trip design challenge piece! We can’t wait to see what you create! ~ Cindy
Torch fired enamel jewelry ideas
January 4, 2012[editor’s note: links updated March 2018]
Torch fired enameled metal is really (really!) quite beautiful! You can create your own on copper (or a few other metals) using Thompson vitreous enamels, or purchase artisan copper components from C-Koop Beads. C-Koop components’ colors are deep and lustrous due to the layers of glass fused to the surface of the metal, and since they are handmade, each one is slightly different. Here are a few of the mixed-media jewelry pieces our designers have recently created with enameled copper:
~Cindy
Turn it upside down!
December 22, 2011What happens when you take the oh-so-popular Swarovski crystal tree charm pattern and turn it upside down? Beautiful, festive crystal earrings that can be worn year-round!
The French clips are another nice touch. Melissa made these classic clear crystal margarita earrings while on vacation with her mom and I snatched them off her ears as soon as I saw them. I think they look like frosty pine cones or icicles, but in a subtle way. Unlike the “real” crystal trees, they’ll still look appropriate in June. Something to keep in mind if you’re making last-minute gifts! ~ Cindy
Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 6 – Family Keepsakes
November 22, 2011Not all Christmas crafts or Christmas jewelry designs need to be Christmas-y. Sometimes the best jewelry presents are the ones with special meaning.
Soldered and riveted necklace by designer Mollie Valente. Photo by her sister, Janet, of Pink Poppy Studio on Etsy. The photo inside the one of a kind pendant is of their mother. (I’ll be posting a tutorial on how to sweat solder brass charms onto other metal components – just like Mollie did with the brass key charm and fairy door set – soon.)
If soldering and riveting sounds like too much work (work?!? it is fun!) then check out our hinged pendant frames. All you need to do is cut a picture to size and insert it in the frame. Here is a design by Amy that features a photo from her childhood:
A third option is to glue an image into a bezel and cover it with jewelry resin, like Rita did for her keepsake necklace:
No traditional “jewelry making skills” are required here – she simply strung the pendant on a pre-made choker.
Maybe it is time to print out some of those digital photos languishing on your computer – or make photocopies of antique originals languishing in a box – and make some keepsakes to treasure! ~ Cindy
Hello, bloglandia! Our sales manager, Sondra, was fortunate enough to attend Tracy Stanley’s “Bangles with a Message” class at Bead & Button last month. We’ve been oohing and ahhing over her wristful of chunky metal, so yesterday we got together and made some of our own bracelets.
For a sturdy yet slightly flexible bracelet base, we used 14 gauge copper wire. Start with about 10-11″ of wire. Simply form a large loop on one end with round nose pliers and hammer slightly. Slide on lots of large hole beads: 14 gauge wire is about 1.63mm, so your beads need to have holes that are at least 1.7mm big. Anything marketed as a Pandora or European-style bead will easily fit.
We mostly used metal, but trade beads and gemstones look great too. TierraCast has some especially nice large hole metal beads. You can also add coils of wire as decoration beneath floating beads, or as stoppers between beads. Shape the wire into a bracelet shape around your wrist and finish with another loop.
You can connect the two end loops together directly, connect them with jump rings or add a jewelry clasp. It is better to err on the small side, since a too-small bracelet can be extended with a jump ring or two, while a too-large bracelet will just go flying off your wrist!
A couple of other bracelet-making tips:
- Patina your wire, decorative coils and other components before assembling your bracelet.
- Be sure to file down any sharp wire points or metal edges.
- Have a whole bunch of beads ready, because once you start, you’ll want to make a bunch!
Check out Tracy’s teaching schedule if you’re interested in learning how she makes stamped word charms to fit on bangles. Our new brass and copper strips will save you a lot of sawing and cutting time!
~Cindy
Two ways to color metal using Image Transfer Solution
April 22, 2011Hi Bloglandia! Last weekend I did a demo in our Spokane showroom on how to use Sherri Haab’s Image Transfer Solution (ITS) and thought now would be a good time to share these techniques for colorizing metal with everyone.
Image transfer is just that – transferring an image from the paper it is printed on to a different surface (in this case, metal jewelry components). Image transfers have a vintage, ethereal feel, and I love how the different colors of metals shine through. Unlike many of the other solvents and processes used for image transfer, Image Transfer Solution (ITS) is non-toxic. Yay! Plus, it has another purpose not even mentioned on the bottle: it is an excellent way to seal colors onto metal (more on that in a bit).
Transferring Images – ITS Method #1
One caveat: The images you use must be printed on a laser (toner based) printer. Ink jet pictures will not work. The pictures can be black or white or color. Photos and text should be reversed before you print, since transfers will be mirror images.
To be honest, I did not like ITS the first couple of times I tried it. I kinda hated it. Following the directions on the bottle, I prepped my metal with steel wool and heat-set the images in a 325 degree oven – just like it said! – but things just kept going wrong. Either my images would wash right off the metal or the paper would be so very stuck to the metal that no amount of scrubbing would remove it. But I loved the concept, so I kept playing with it. Below is my own method for using ITS. Maybe the package directions will work like a charm for you. If not, I hope my tips and tricks help:
- Scuff up your metal (aluminum, brass, copper and silver all work great) with a medium grit sanding pad or sand paper. Steel wool leaves the surface too smooth, in my opinion.
- Wash metal with rubbing alcohol to remove dirt, dust and oil – even if it looks clean!
- Using a clean, dry paintbrush, evenly coat the prepped metal with just a couple of drops of ITS.
- Press image face-down onto metal and press firmly into place to remove any air bubbles. ITS is like glue – you will not be able to reposition your paper at all, so be careful to place it where you want it! Let dry. Use an iron (high heat, no steam) to heat the metal for 1 or 2 minutes. Don’t worry, the paper won’t burn. Let metal cool.
- Place the metal into water and using a gentle circular motion, begin rubbing the paper off, leaving the image behind. Don’t get to aggressive or you could lift off parts of the image. Patience pays off here.
- After most of the paper is removed, use a sheet of polishing paper and more water to remove the finer paper fibers.
- After all of the paper is removed, seal the image with a dab of Renaissance Wax and a soft cloth. It really improves the luster.
Complete your jewelry piece! The image is permanently attached. You can even punch holes or dap the metal and it won’t come off!
Sealing Colors – ITS Method #2
Image Transfer Solution can also be used to permanently seal inks onto metal! Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks are tons of fun to mix and blend onto non-porous surfaces, like metal, but since they are ink, they can be rubbed or washed off. That is, unless you seal them with ITS. When you heat-set ITS, it binds the color to the metal. It will not wash off or bleed onto your customer’s skin.
You can color your metal with alcohol inks and then, after they’ve dried, paint a thin layer of ITS over the top. Another option is to mix the ITS directly with your inks (just a few drops of each) and paint that mix onto your metal. Either way, once the ITS has dried, you need to heat-set it to make the bond permanent. Just follow the directions on the Image Transfer Solution package for using an oven to heat-set (the iron won’t work for this application).
There you have it! Two tried and true methods for permanently coloring your metal pieces for jewelry and other applications. Although this post focused on metal, Image Transfer Solution can be used on polymer clay, etched glass and other surfaces too! Since it really only takes a couple of drops per image, you’ll have plenty to experiment with! ~ Cindy
PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to‘s in the Rings & Things blog!
- How to dap & dome metal jewelry
- How to use heat to patina brass charms & filigrees
- How to make interchangeable magnetic jewelry with 1″ buttons
- How to make polymer-clay pie earrings using mini bottle caps as pans
- How to get creative with hair sticks
- How to make wrapped leather bracelets
- How to get creative with hair sticks
How to dap and dome metal jewelry
April 8, 2011Cymbals of Happiness bracelet by Sondra:
stamped, textured and domed copper and brass disks make a tinkling charm bracelet.
It took me awhile to accept “dapping” as a real word. Even now that I am obsessed with dapping every flat piece of metal that crosses my path, I still find the term awkward. Spell check, ignoring the facts as usual, still doesn’t believe.
In jewelry making, dapping simply means taking a flat piece of metal and curving it into a dome with special dies and punches, called a dapping set. The dapping block (or die if you prefer) has a series of concave impressions that correspond in size with the dapping punches.
Simply place your metal piece in the block and use a hammer (preferably brass) to repeatedly tap the punch into the metal. I say tap because your goal is to gently bend the metal into a smooth, even curve. If you just whack as hard as you can, the metal won’t shape up evenly.
Another tip: don’t hammer straight down on your metal. Hold the dapping punch at and angle, and tap tap tap with your hammer, turning your metal after every few taps to ensure that it is shaping up nicely.
As you dap (tap, dome, whatever!), the height of the metal piece increases, while the width decreases. So after you’ve dapped as much as you can in one impression, you can move the metal into the next smallest hole and dap it with the next smallest punch to get a deeper dome.
Doming adds a professional quality to your work. Even just a slight curve instantly makes a metal disk reflect more light.
Brass, copper, aluminum and sterling silver are all excellent soft metals to dap (most of my images are of raw brass blanks). Even copper coins can all be dapped, although coins are thick and will require you to apply a bit more muscle. If you want to stamp, texture, punch holes, or otherwise adorn your metal (and you will!) do all that before you dap for beautiful results:
One word of warning – you might need to upgrade your photography equipment to get good pictures of your dapped jewelry! I think the only way to get a clear picture of Mollie’s “God Save the Queen” necklace would be to use a professional light box. The domed Canadian penny is amazingly reflective. Since my photo-editing software lacks a “rhinestone-reflection remover tool,” this is as good of a shot as I could get. Believe me, the necklace is stunning in person!
I know you are quicker on the uptake than my computer: add dapping to your jewelry-making vocabulary today! ~ Cindy
—————– postscript: —————–
We’ve gotten a bunch of questions about Cindy’s copper and brass “True” ring above, but she has moved away, so I’ll do my best to answer. The ring uses only 3 parts:
- a round bezel ring (#51-205-02-1) as the base
- a textured and dapped copper ring/washer blank (#44-780-25 or -26)
- a dapped brass disk blank
Texture the copper washer using this technique, or simply give it a nice hammered texture with a chasing or ballpein hammer. Stamp “true” on the disk following these metal stamping instructions or this metal stamping article. Then dap (dome) the washer and the brass disk, and glue them into the bezel ring with your favorite adhesive. Cindy used E-6000. ~Polly