Humbug? Just a lil' bit....

I love the Christmas season, so I am usually ready and raring to put up decorations right after T-day turkey leftovers have made there last go-around in the microwave. But this year, not so much... It's already Dec. 14th and my gifts are not wrapped or shipped... in fact, I still have quite a bit of shopping to do yet and I have not put up ONE decoration or a single twinkling light.

I think the stress of whats going on in our world, nation and in my own little universe has knocked some of the wind out of my sails (and sales) this year. However, I am sure I will be bummed if I let this season pass without putting some of the 'icing on the cake' though. I know the decorations are not even close to being the true reason for the season, but it is still one of my favorite parts, so I am hoping my inner elf kicks in soon!

At least I can say my Scrooginess has not extended to crafting. I did make quite a few Christmas themed decorations and jewelry pieces for my online stores and the craft bazaar I did at my office last month. Here's one of the posters I did for it:

It was very casual. We each just had one little folding table set up in a hallway. Unfortunately, we had several participants cancel at the last minute so the selection was not too great. Also, it was right during one of the scariest financial times and just after some jobs and departments were eliminated, so people were not exactly in the shopping mood and they said so as they just walked on by. But it was still a good experience overall and I donated a small amount to charity as a result of sales. Next year will hopefully be better.

On a more upbeat note, check out the sneak peak in my Etsy store 2 showing in the left margin to see some of the ho-ho-holiday items posted recently. Click 'em to see the listing! Thanks!

New "Uniforms"

Tee hee.... I mean, T-shirt. I just designed a tee with my company logo on it. It was fun. Not sure why it took me so long to do. It's great free advertising on the go as I walk around with it and if I do a craft show, it would be fun to wear my company "uniform" so people can tell me appart from a meandering shopper.

I plan to have a whole line of t-shirts targeting crafters coming out one of these days. And maybe even shoes! Yes, shoes! Like canvas Ked types with custom printing. Check back for those!!

How to Create Soldered Glass Slide Jewelry, Part 3

OK. Well, I FINALLY am going to wrap up my blogging 3-parter on soldering glass for jewelry, and with some good news! I thought I was solder challenged but it turns out I just had bum supplies. I am the proud new owner of a functioning soldering system now and armed with some real live class instruction from Lisa Blum of Simply Swank. "SS" offers a full line of soldering products and a book. I purchased the kit and several packets of glass shapes to have some fun creating beyond the 1x3 slide. Check out their website http://www.simplyswank.net/. They teach classes all over the country so look for them in a location near you in the U.S.. I recommend the class. It was very fun and had a nice relaxed "you can do this" atmosphere.

Turns out soldering is really pretty doggone easy with their kit that functions well together. In addition to the kit, I recommend the "third hand" clamp tool they sell on their site and the heat resistant surface sheet. I also got some of the wavy foil. I really like the way it looks. Something to note about foiling... use one continuous piece if possible & burnish it to the glass well or it may lift from the heat during soldering.

After wraping your glass edges in copper foil tape & burnishing it, plug in your iron. On the iron stand in the kit, there is a sponge that you should wet too. The iron gets hot pretty fast. Don't leave it sitting idol and cooking away for a long time. When it's hot and sizzles on the wet sponge, go for it. The first time you use it the blue protective coating will burn of the tip. Wipe it off on the sponge. Then roll out a few inches of solder and touch the end to the tip of the iron on both sides until a tiny bit melts to cover the tip, then wipe a few times on the sponge, leaving just a thin silver layer on the tip. This is like "seasoning" the iron. Do it every time you start it up and again before you put it away.

Put your glass in a clamp so it can sit hands free on your heat resist surface with a foiled edge up. (I recommend starting with a square piece of glass the first time as it is a bit easier.) Brush flux just on the foiled edge pointing up. Now place your iron just slightly above the far left corner of the foiled edge and press the tip of the solder on to the top side of the flat tip until a bead forms and rolls off the tip and on to the foil. Now use the tip of the iron top smoothly "paint" the solder blob from left to right with the tip just barely touching. Don't press hard or you can burn through the foil. The solder should flow like melting butter over the fluxed area. Use tweezers to reposition the glass in the clamp, flux the next side, and do the same process with the solder. Continue until all sides are soldered. You may choose to go over it again to build up a thicker bead of solder.

When you are done, you will probably want to add a bail at the top center to put a necklace through. You can use a jump ring or a metal bead with a large hole. (Note, pewter and aluminum will not work.) Don't flux this time. Just make a mound or blob of solder on the top center and let it cool. Grab the bail with plyers and position just over the top of the mound. Now touch the tip of the iron to the top of the mound. As soon as you feel it give way/melt, move the iron and push the bail into the molten solder and hold it there until the solder sets (a few seconds). If it's crooked, melt it off with the iron and start over.

You can now use a fingernail file & sand paper to smooth the solder. Then use solder polish to bring it to a shine or patina to change it to black or copper. Polish is available through "SS". Patina is available from stained glass suppliers. (Note, the patinas are pretty harsh chemicals so not for the faint of heart. Use caution.)

Pretty simple & fun stuff! Granted, to get a really nice plump and smooth bead takes practice, but you can make a perfectly wearable piece of art jewelry on your first try with the right tools and instructions! Go for it!

How to Make Microscope Slide Pendants, Part 1.5

OK. So I promised a "Part 2" post about making glass slide pendants. It has taken me a while because I have been doing a little research so I can offer the best advise and resources out there on this blog for you as a reader, but selfishly, for my own sake too.

I have two soldering irons, flux and solder from hardware stores that I or my husband bought and they just don't work for me. They are too large and not the right temp, and for all I know, the flux & solder are not right for humans to wear on their skin. The more I read, the more I realize just how dangerous it is to solder with the wrong compounds and in an area that is not well ventilated. PLEASE read all warnings on the packaging if you try this hobby.

When purchasing solder, BE SURE that it contain no lead and no antimony which is commonly used in hardware grade lead-free solders and is toxic. The jewelry you make should not make you or the wearer sick! That would be terrible!

I have made slide ornaments (thankfully none as jewelry with harmful solder), but I admit I am not as good at soldering as I would like to be and have wasted many projects that I started because I messed up. I appear to be "Solder Challenged", so, OK, I give! I am talking a soldering class next month at a local craft store and I can hardly wait.

I think it was meant to be... I was just thinking about looking for a new soldering iron set up when I saw a whole section of soldering, slides, books, etc. at my local Ben Franklin store. Right above it was a class announcement. The teacher is Lisa Bluhm, who wrote a book called "Simply Soldered Jewelry & Accessories" (see Amazon link below) and designed many products specifically for slide jewelry crafting under the trade name "Simply Swank". I almost purchased a whole kit (Around $55.00) of her stuff and the book on the spot, but I decided to wait to see how the class goes. Maybe I truly am solder challenged for life, but if that Lisa can teach this Lisa to solder better, then I will gladly buy all of her wares.

I will let you know how it goes in Part 2 of this blog saga after the class in May!

In the mean time, check out these books about soldering jewelry using glass and collage:

TreeBySea.com - It's Alive!!

Just a quick note. Yea! It's a done deal... I know have a .com as well as my etsy store representing the silver jewelry that I have been making using art clay and my beloved kiln. Please pop in when you get a chance - www.treebysea.com. It's a pretty short and sweet site with just one page, but that's all I need for now I think.

Check back soon for more crafty how to blogs.

Buy Handmade from Etsy - What's an "Etsy"?

In case you did not know it, there is a revolution going on. The movement to buy handmade is growing. People are sick of the mass produced low quality items they see in stores. Thousands are literally making a public commitment to buy handmade. There are many blogs and sites devoted to promoting this trend and I think it is great. Viva la revolucion!

In fact, a new buzz word has been coined as a result of the movement - "Craftivism".

The reasons people give for buying handmade from indie artisans are many, but here's a few that I have seen:

• Better for the environment - No factories, etc.
• Does not promote bad labor practices/slave labor
• Can get better quality items
• Like one-of-kind, unique things
• Keeps crafting and hand work from becomeing a dying art
• Promotes "Made in America"/country pride
• Supports a new generation of crafters
• Better value - Get more for your money
• Promotes the "little guy"
• Crafts are a true reflection of a culture throughout history

Etsy ("Pronounced ett-see") is definately on the forefront of the movement. "What's an 'Etsy'?" you ask. Well, Etsy is a wonderful online community/store/street fair/swap meet/meet & greet where crafty and artistic people from around the world sell their handmand items to people who truly recognize & appreciate the work of an atisan when they see it. A huge number of people sell via etsy including me - My store.

Here's a video talking about how it started. This is now a really big deal. They pretty much set the bar for buying and selling handmade on line. Recently, the founder was featured on Martha Stewart show and I have seen Etsy mentioned in many, many magazines.

Here are some other members of the handmade consortuim:

Craftster.org
indiepublic.com
Craft:

Please buy handmade! Thanks!

How to Make Jewelry from Glass Microscope Slides & Solder

Japanese Cherry Blossom Pendant
Originally uploaded by ashe-villain

If you are into handcrafted jewelry, then you may have already seen or heard of jewelry made by using 2 glass microscope slides to sandwich flat items, which are then soldered around the edge to make a solid piece. Loops are soldered to the top and/or bottom to act as connection points. These are mini framed pieces of art that are as much fun (with practice) to make as they are to look at and wear.

Sample pic is from flickr user "Ashe-villain" who allowed the blogging option (thanks). Visit her store.

What do you need to create this fun art you can wear?
Microscope Slides or other polished edge small uniformly shaped glass piece
Glass cutting tools (optional - only if you want to do a size other than your pre-cut glass)
Stuff for inside the "glass sandwich"
1/8" Copper tape - the type used for stained glass
Burnishing tool
Shiny silver jewelry grade Lead-free solder and compatible flux that matches temp of soldering iron
Small disposable non-plastic paint brush to apply flux
Wire or jump rings
Pliers
Damp Sponge
Glass cleaner and lint free towel
Soldering Iron & sturdy stand
High heat resistant work surface
Well ventilated space
Clamps or "third hand" tool to hold the slide in place while soldering
Safety goggles
Instructions

What can you put inside the slide sandwich?
The possibilities for what you can put inside is limited only by the fact that it must be pretty thin flat, and able to stand the heat of the soldering iron near it. I have seen paper collage, feathers, lace, photos, pressed flowers, glitter, confetti, snips of hair, poems, postage stamps, fabric & fiber, food labels, sheet music, on and on... One thing to note, make sure objects do not contain any moisture, as in wet glue, when you solder. The heat may cause steam to get trapped in side and will ruin your project. Don't get anything that melts or burns easy close to the edge of the project so the heat will not harm it.

End of Part 1.

Go start collecting stuff to put in your slide sandwich and check back here soon for part 2!! Part two will feature more instructions, samples and resources for where you can get the supplies mentioned above.

Open For Business - Tree By Sea Jewelry and Gifts

It's official. My jewelry shop Tree By Sea is now open for business. Only 11 items in there so far, but more coming soon!


Here's a peak:




Keep checking back for new items!

Thanks!

Paper-o-holics & Card Makers-Impress Your Friends and Yourself with Pretty Dalia Folding!

If you you are a rubber stamper, scrapbooker or paper-o-holic like I am, you probably already have a ton of pretty papers just waiting to be turned into something wonderful! How 'bout something dimensional that will pop off the background of a card and grab the viewers attention? Sound good?

There are several paper folding methods out there that are simple to learn which turn out great results that usually really impress the heck out of card recipients. I think most of the folds are generally refered to by the umbrella term "Tea Bag Folding". "What's that?" you say...

tea bag folding
Originally uploaded by taavina

Well, according to various web sources, Tea Bag Folding (AKA miniture kaleidoscopic origami) was created in Holland by a lady who got creative with some colorful square tea bag envelopes she had sitting on her table. She folded each one and then combined them in a way that when they interlocked, they created a symmetrical medallion design. This has evolved into a big thing with many fold and connection patterns & specialy papers now available offering endless possibilities.

Here is a site with many links to patterns and resources for traditional folding with square piece of paper or teabags: TEA BAG FOLDING


My friend Sharon Mott recently introduced me to the "Dalia Fold" which is similar to teabag folding but uses circles instead of squares. I think her cards are really beautiful. Don't you agree?




































Try it...

What you will need:

• Pretty double-sided paper for the dahlia
• Coordinating paper for the background
• 1.5" circle punch or circle cuter
• Paper Glue Stick (I recommend UHU)
• Button or rhinestone for the center
• Bone folder (optional, but helps make crisp folds)
• Premade card blank & envelope
• Illustrated instructions

I hope you try this fun project. If you do, please pop back by and leave a comment and link me to a pic of your work. I would love to see it! HAVE FUN!!

Silver For Sale in My New Jewelry Store... Opening Soon (I hope)

Happy Weekend! Too bad it's almost over. Well at least I finally had some time to start taking some photos of my work for my online jewelry store that I will be opening soon. I will be selling my pure fine silver metal clay jewelry, charms & beads as well as beaded & glass jewelry under the name "Tree by Sea" (I think) on Etsy.com.

In the interim, if you see something here you are interested in, please contact me direct for pricing & purchase information. Lisa@kamerakat.com THANKS!!

I will send announcements when the store is officially up and running!

Here's my store header:





Here's a few sample shots. Hope they look OK.