Photos!

Finally! I am able to upload some photos! I tried shutting down my Firewall and now it seems to work. Although until now, I never needed to shut down the firewall for uploading photos.
Anyway, here is a picture of polymer clay pendant pieces I made. I got the idea from a photo in a book on decorative finishes for metal jewelry. I thought, "I could do something like that in polymer clay!" I want to try this again and fine tune it, they did not turn out exactly as I was imagining, and I know what I did wrong, but I think these are pretty cool anyway.
















Also, I have been working more with metal lately. I purchased some decorative punches, a 'raw silk' texturizing hammer and a dapping block.

Here's my dapping/doming block:














And here's my fancy texture hammer:






I have also been working on metal jewelry, using my new tools. With my dapping block I have been able to take flat sterling silver discs and dome them. You place them in one of the round depressions on the doming block, choose a dapping tool-the metal tools with the round ends shown in the photo, and when you place that on the silver and tap with a hammer, you get a nice domed piece of silver. Also, with various hammers you can pound away on the silver and leave really cool textures and impressions. Here's pictures of some earrings I have made using my cool tools:

Praying for Those Affected by Ike

Well Hurricane Ike has made landfall and has done its' damage. It's still going and going like the energizer bunny, but it is getting weaker. I pray for all those who have been affected by the wind and storm surge and those who may have been injured or lost their lives. I would also add that prayers are coming for those killed and hurt in the train collision in L.A. and for their families and loved ones.

Here it is,Saturday night and I am home with my babies: Gizmo and Angel, my chihuahua and cat. I will have to post pictures when I can find the best ones on my computer. Actually I will take new ones I think. My real baby, Jason, is 19 and at work at Carrabbas at the moment.

I've added some new items to my Etsy store. Unlike most of what I've been making, these do not utilize polymer clay and they are earrings, an item that my store was in need of. Also, I had these beautiful Sterling Silver ear wires that were begging to be put to good use. Actually, the ear wires are made of Argentium Sterling silver, which is sterling silver with a touch of germanium, an element that strongly inhibits tarnishing. You can find a large selection of Argentium Sterling wire and findings at Rio Grande. If you are a jewelry crafter and have not made use of this superb supplier of fine jewelry tools, gems and findings, I would strongly recommend checking them out. They will also send you their catalogues free when you register.

Well, until next time, have a great night and enjoy the rest of the weekend.