Most Recent Posts 
![[]](/clipart/main-cat.gif) Preparatory design work | by lynneglazzard
|  | I have spent most of the day trying to adapt some of the photographs I had taken of the herbaria in Whitby museum into black and white images to make photopolymer plates from. I am quite pleased with the results but somehow working at the computer doesn't feel like I am being creative, even though it is all part of the design process. The pictures I took are of very delicate pressed flowers and are such beautiful graphic images..... | | View full article... |
| Cabochon Cutting Step 3 | by John Rasmussen
|  | Third step is to put dop sticks on the back face of each preform. I try to put them in a balanced place where the weight of the stone is equal in all directions. This can result in a weird looking placement, unlike faceted stones where you need to center and be very accurate and then change the dop to the other side after you have cut the first side, cabochons work well when the stone is balanced by weight,.... | | View full article... |
| JULY 2009: Club and Commercial Shows | by Robyn Hawk
|  | 1-5--CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON: Show, "All American Pow Wow"; All Rockhounds Pow Wow Club; American Forest Teanaway Campground; Fri. 8-9, Sat. 8-9, Sun. 8-3; tailgating, rock swapping, digging for agates, crystals, dadeite, Ellensburg blue agate; contact Pauline Miller, 4900 80th Ave. NE #47, Marysville, WA 98270, (360) 658-8091; e-mail: paulinem280@aol.com1-5--MADRAS, OREGON: Show; All Rockhounds Pow Wow Club of America; Jefferson County Fair Grounds; free admission; field trips, dig for agate, jasper, thunder eggs, petrified wood, 75 vendors, rough rock, finished jewelry,.... | | View full article... |
| Bench Tips #3 Creating Tools and Equipment From Household Items | by Laurie Jane Kern
|  | Before we move to the topic, first another update on the arm.
It has now been 3+ weeks since the surgery and PT is progressing well. I am still having stretching done and my range of motion is wayyy better. I am now using a counter weight, that I pull down with my 'other' arm, to raise (not lift as that would require using the shoulder muscles) the arm. When doing this I can get my right hand over my.... | | View full article... |
| Simple Hammer-formed Brass Candle Holder | by shelbyvision
|  | This is the third one of these I've made, but it's been a few years since the last one, and my tools and expertise have improved a lot, so the results are quite a bit better. I love the shape that it starts with; the economy of material is amazing. I don't know how I came up with it. This would be a good one to make in silver. These first few pictures show the beginning stages: bending into the.... | | View full article... |
| Sugilite: Purple Pleasure | by Delpfine Welch
|  | If you like purple, you'll like sugilite.
The color of sugilite ranges from pale lavender to a deep purple. Pure purple--with no impurities--and translucent, is the most valued and is considered gem grade. Gem grade is the most expensive and the most rare. Gem grade sugilite is also known under the trade names of "Royal Lavulite" and "Royal Azel."
Sugilite is relatively rare and relatively new. It was found first in Japan in intrusive igneous rock in 1944 by Ken-ichi Sugi and named for him. A.... | | View full article... |
| STOLEN!!!! Rare Gems & Minerals! | by Robyn Hawk
| | URGENT NEWS!!!!Rare Earth Mining Company Bill Heher of Rare Earth Mining recently posted the following: A portion of Rare Earth Mining Co.'s unusual and highly recognizable inventory was stolen in a smash and grab theft in Pennsylvania. The thieves gained access to the vehicle by smashing the right rear glass panel window. Suspects have been arrested in the case trying to cash checks made out to the company. The stones have yet to be recovered. "This inventory is highly identifiable",.... | | View full article... |
| One thing I learned today about meshes and polysurfaces... | by skazm
|  | don't try to stretch a mesh after you export it - just go back to the polysurface (NURBS surface) and work from there.... if it still looks good after you do Zoom 1 to 1 it will in practice be OK, but it's preferable to just go back to the original and remesh to take no chances. Thanks, Willem....... | | View full article... |
| Try this when selling your jewelry face-to-face! | by davidweiman
|  | When I go to jewelry shows, I notice that many jewelry sellers, when standing at their booths, cross their arms in front of them. Many say they are doing this as a way of resting their arms. The problem with it is that crossed arms are a universal sign of defensiveness.
In fact, even if you are not consciously feeling defensive, crossing your arms in front of you may send a message to your prospects that you are defensive. Additionally,.... | | View full article... |
| Appreciation Award Given to Hauser & Miller | by midwestmetalsmiths
|  | June 26, 2009
Richard Wuennenberg of the Hauser & Miller Company in St. Louis was presented with an Appreciation Award for supporting and funding the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths' "METAL Inclinations" International Online Exhibition for 2008-09. Go to: www.metalinclinations.org
Hauser & Miller has helped the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths to fulfill their mission of educating the public and providing workshops and exhibition opportunities for metalsmiths since 1999.
[caption id="attachment_39" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ray Wenneker, the founder of the Society for Midwest.... | | View full article... |
| Robert's New DVD "Faux Bone Jewelry Tools and Techniques" | by judyfreyerthompson
|  | Log on to YouTube for a preview of Robert's New DVD, "Faux Bone Jewelry Tools and Techniques with Robert Dancik".
This exciting production will walk you through using Faux Bone in your jewelry making.
To order the DVD, please go to www.fauxbone.com.... | | View full article... |
| Starlight Blog: Thank you to Diane at My Gemstone Box | by dianegeisel
|  | Starlight Blog: Thank you to Diane at My Gemstone BoxMary Anne did such a lovely job with this post I have to share it with all my readers!!.... | | View full article... |
| Chrysocolla Mineral Varieties Rough Slabs and Gemstone Cabochons for Jewely Design ! | by georgeingraham
|  | Chrysocolla is right up there among my most favorite minerals for cutting cabs from. Most all Chrysocolla makes for some stunning jewelry. Then there are some that are truly a bit more unique than others.
We have been sharing a whole lot of different Chrysocolla varieties on my forum.
I especially like a Chrysocolla with Hematite, Tenorite, Silver, Copper, and even Gold.. I love a beautiful metallic finish that these offer.
Then when we start talking about a druzy Chrysocolla……...... | | View full article... |
| Hand Engraving and Padparadscha Sapphires-How can you go wrong! | by Jim Sweaney
|  | [caption id="attachment_138" align="alignnone" width="264" caption="Cad Rendering"][/caption]
Our client wanted a large wearable ring for her 8 mm diamond, with peirced work and floral elements reminiscent of Victorian and Edwardian times. We found a great matched pair of padparadscha sapphires as accents. Hand engraving was the key to making this design sing- see the finished product on the Mardon Blog!.... | | View full article... |
| Argentium and Keum-Boo bookmark | by jasondeck
|  | At my day job, I'm a medicinal chemist. The guy I work for, in addition to being an all around great guy, is one of the top guys in his field, and people come from all around the world to work with him and learn. One of the people here now is the chair of the department of chemistry at Seoul National University. He comes when he can, and stays several months and works at the bench, something he doesn't.... | | View full article... |
| 25 Things That Inspire Me To Create Jewelry #24 Pre-Columbian Art + Architecture | by heatherskowood
|  | #24 Pre-Columbian Art + ArchitectureMy 6th grade history teacher presented the history of Latin America to me in a way that made me fall madly in love with the art and architecture of that part of the world. I fell so hard that I swore that some day I would visit Machu Picchu in Peru. Well, in 2000 the dream came true and I did visit that incredible place. I have yet to visit the Mayan sites of Guatemala, but.... | | View full article... |
| Fourth of July Celebrations | by catheysmith
|  | When planning this years' Fourth of July celebration with friends and family, you will probably be thinking about what foods to prepare, festive interior decorations and what to wear on this fun filled day. Whether you are planning an outdoors event such as a BBQ or beach party, or a fun indoors get together, a cheery attitude and a great outfit will ensure you have a fabulous time.
Dressing up for the holidays, is somewhat of an American Tradition, so.... | | View full article... |
| Two Tourmaline Mines - "The Take" | by Robyn Hawk
| | This beauty came out of the Oceanview mine on the first day of the trip!Our take in Tourmaline - several pinks, a few greens, one dark blue and several nice blacks (shorl).A little Aquamarine - only one that is actually cutting material. Ellen Moe found a really nice bi- color Beryl that was Aqua that went into Morganite at the opposite end.We found some really nice quartz points in both crystal quartz and a couple really nice smokies - the.... | | View full article... |
| Front Page Listing on Etsy | by loiskmartens
|  | On Saturday, June 6, at 10 p.m. EST, one of my jewelry pieces – a silver wolf head ring – was put on the front page list made by Etsy. YEAH! True, probably 10 p.m. on a Saturday evening isn’t prime viewing time but my store has only been open a couple of months and is still quite small (only 12 objects) so I felt real good about having been chose for a list.
With Google Analytics I was able.... | | View full article... |
| Recent Jewelry Creation | by valerieaheck
|  | This is the latest piece of jewelry I have made, they are fine and sterling silver lily of the valley earrings. I made these to go with my wedding dress. I had to create a flat template of the flower, pierce it out with a saw and then dome it to see if I made the petals the right width. I really love how the sheet metal is fine silver and has a white glow.
You can see some wedding.... | | View full article... |
| My blog is moving..... | by andescruz
|  | I have been keeping two blogs for a while, ang have found the interface of this one to the the lesser functional of the two.
I hope you will continue to follow my posting.
They will be interspersed with my personal life :) for now.
http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
sincerely,
~Andes Cruz Designs~
http://www.andescruzdesigns.com
http://www.andescruz.etsy.com
http://www.jadephoto.etsy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andescruz
http://andescruz.wordpress.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andescruz
"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected.... | | View full article... |
| Adding texture | by nenapotts
|  | This thing is beginning to take shape. I was finally able to heat the copper enough to add the skirt or root base to the vertical form. It needed more substance and stability on the bottom, thus the skirt, but how to get it to integrate with the existing shape has been a dilemma, so when in doubt; hammer. A Dremel tool has come in handy to grind a vertical or bark like pattern into the base. After too much.... | | View full article... |
| New File sets for me....yea! | by patpruitt
|  | These were long overdue, but finally bit the bullet and got some new sets from Rio. I do consider files to be a consumable with the work I do, and would like to get new ones on a more frequent basis. The last set of diamond files (red handle) I bought almost a year ago to the day, being my first serious set I milked them for 6 months longer than I should have. The plan will be to replace.... | | View full article... |
| Ode to the Lapidary | by Michael Johnson
|  | I met George Ingraham through these blogs and then on Twitter. The first thing I noticed about his work was the sets that he made and then the uniqueness of his stones. The lapidary is the unsung hero of the jewelry world. We tend to just select a stone and then make something taking all of the credit, as if we had just found this rock lying on the ground. Whoever cut the facets on a ruby or diamond just.... | | View full article... |
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