Waiting for thr Great Reveal

What can I say I have been eager to see what everyone has created. So I have been cooling my heels by experimenting with copper for my new shop.








Still biding my time you know “Time is too precious to kill” gospel according to Sandy> I had already made a turquoise stone from polymer clay for a sterling silver mounting that I found at a garage sale , sometime ago so on Sunday afternoon I put together a creation . There was a problem, the mounting had three bugle type thingies on the back. What to Do with that. ? I decided to drop chain thru them and attach little balls on them, Here is the results:






Still waiting for the revel: So I went into some polymer beads that I purchased at http://Brazosa Collections when my daughter worked there. I had a problem trying to decide whether to use silver ball beads or black I finally elected to use the black with silver separators. I am pleased with the results.






I am so eager to promote copper for jewelery that I decided to create a what I call African Safari, a bracelet starting with a heavy copper wire and slipped wooden and copper beads and copper elephant charms. One a focal, and three smaller ones. I secured the ends with the larger charm.




Still waiting and now I am so eager I am pacing>So I decided to do a little demonstration. I was a local craft store the other day an found a pendant of sorts and thought I can do that, Then I read Lori Anderson a saw her latest creation, where she used copper (Yea) with her focal. That brought to mind what I saw in the craft store. I decided to use my number 16 copper wire and a sharpie pen for the basic form. I put a short wire under the wire that I am winding around the pen. When I have sufficient wire around the pen .I slip the whole winding off careful not to lose the ends of the under wire. Then I drew that wire up close and formed a circle. Now I mashed the whole thing flat. When I had it just liked I wanted it I glued on a piece of fussed glass. I have not decided just how I will use this creation but it has kept my hands and mind busy






I had an awesome painting class on Friday. I think I had 30- 35. Everyone does something different and with a different media. I demonstrated yellow roses with oil paint first, then later I did a demo of yellow roses with watercolor. The watercolor was on a get well greeting card for a student who is having hip surgery tomorrow. So it wasn’t too involved. Anyway see ya soon on the GREAT REVEAL







Be Blessed.

Improving Photography

No one could be more surprised than me when I went to my new Etsy Shop and found that I had made the Treasury for the second time. I only had been on the web 2 days when WaLa! (voila!) Also my daughter designed me a lovely banner for the new shop. Take a hop on over and take a peek!

Lesley Payne picked up one of my copper necklaces. The one with the dichrotic fused glass pendant. I had just opened the shop on Thursday and made the Treasury on Friday. “Slap my face and call me chicken” (smiles).
• Pounce into a Treasury!



I answered http://jenniferprid.com/ offer of flat-bottomed marbles. She sweetly sent me a dozen, I felt so blessed. Thanks Jennifer. I couldn’t wait to play with them. I made a bracelet right away. My sweet husband made a jig so I could form wire for the backing. I am so pleased with the results.






This is what my table looks like while I play. I don’t call it work, though it is, because I love creating beautiful things, be it jewelry or watercolor. I had an awesome class on Friday. Everyone was so glad to be out from under the snow.





apple crate that I kept it, of course, because I just knew I would find a good use for it. I still don’t have the results I am desiring. It may be that I don’t know how to use my new camera. I plan to go to a class this Thursday for help.

I have been so disappointed with my photos. I ask myself why can’t my photos be as sharp and bright as LoriAnderson.com. (smiles) My daughter has been as concerned about my photos as I have. She sent me a web site to go to with instructions on how to make a Photo Light Box http://www.thadalende.com/ . Here are the steps I took .The web site calls for a cardboard box, but I happened to have a glorified apple crate that I had. I kept it, of course, because I just knew I would find a good use for it.


I still don’t have the results I am desiring. It may be that I don’t know how to use my new camera. I plan to go to a class this Thursday for help.

Be Blessed

TALKING BACK

I have a feeling you all have had the experience of trying at least to talk back to a computer. That is what I have been doing the better part of this week. I was trying to set up a new Etsy Shop just to list my copper jewelry Well they won’t put two accounts on the same email. Well on and on. At last I made in late Monday evening, much too tired to post anything as yet but my new Etsy Shop will be http://coppercandyjules.etsy.com.
I have been doing some experiments with my little 60 year old hand-me-down kiln . I just fly by the seat of my pants. First I was trying to expand on something I noticed. Copper does not melt. So I made charms of glass with copper wire designs inside. A success!



Another experiment was slumping glass. I know that porcelain melts at a much higher temperature than glass. I wanted to slump a piece of glass to decorate a bracelet. So I built a base in the bottom of a small porcelain cup and a piece of resist paper and laid the glass on the top and let it slump. A success!



Be Blessed

Daughter Saturday

I had a lovely Saturday! My daughter came down to spend the day with me. She wasn’t in the mood to go very much further on the road. I suggested going into Fort Worth to the Brazos Collections for bead shopping. Turns out she had already spent her inheritance the day before on beads. So we went to http://Michael’s. I haven’t been there in years. But they have a nice bead collection, all be it all from China. Seems like, you just can’t buy anything made in the good old USA anymore. Anyway I found some copper chain, which I had thought I would be unable to find. That pleased me as making chain is a pain in the patootie. Smiles. My daughter made me a beautiful pair of earrings. She used some of my gold filled wire and two from a string of beads that I gifted her with. I love them


I have been working on my Bead Soup piece. My daughter taught me another way to make loops or rings whatever they are called. They are way harder than I have been doing but so much more beautiful and professional looking. She also taught me how to make the rosier bead chain. Awesome. Also she taught me how to make a list of Blogs I follow for my front page. Well it’s not there yet as I have found a ton of new blogs in the Bead Soup adventure. FUN
I thought I would show you my work table. I was at Office Depot the other day and found 5 of these cardboard divided display boxes. I have used them to organize my supply closet. I have another bookcase type cardboard display that just fits in my supply closet that I have been using for 30 years. I was very pleased with me. The table is from Southern Methodist University, one of the original library tables my husband got for pennies when he worked there. Smiles



I recieved my Bead Soup the other day My pardner is Norma Truvey of moonlightfantseas . She does the most incredible bead work. She sent me some of the most lovely lampwork beads Jullian Cannon and a vile of bead soup which had the smalest beads I have ever seen and glass work novelities. I do have a chalenge which I love.I never give up on a challenge smiles

I got a electronic piano keyboard at Christmas. I am determined to work as hard on my piano as I did on watercolor. So far I am doing very well I can play several pieces with both hands not well but passable. When I started watercolor painting my friend and I painted for several hours everyday Go to htpp://MagpieTreasureTrove.etsy.com to view some of the results of long and expensive hours of study. Be Blessed