Epic Fail

Not every piece of jewelry you make is going to be a winner - although - usually you can figure out that it's not going to cut it before you finish it. Before you crimp the final crimp.

And, it's always good to remember that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes.

Although, really - I prefer to learn from OTHER people's mistakes. ;-)

Anyway - I should have known better, and as soon as I finished this bracelet - I knew I had goofed.

Let's have a look at it, shall we?









Looks pretty, doesn't it? Why is that a fail?

Well because - it's unwearable and I'm afraid it's going to break the beads. These are the new Graphic Cube shape - coming soon on the website, and I thought they looked really nice and I would make an inspiration from them.

Note the name. Graphic Cube. Cube. c.u.b.e. As in "square thing." Not inclined to roll. Or rather, takes a heck of an incline to roll it. (A little science humour there.)

Now - I know better than to string a bunch of cubes in a row and then try and curve the line. Hence, the rounds in my famous Cubic Bling Bling bracelet. (I know it is famous - I met a total stranger wearing one in the grocery store.)

And I tried stringing these with some 3 mm gold rounds - and I, er - just knew I didn't have enough to do the five strands I wanted to do.

And the silver ones didn't go with the firey colour palette.

So - I went ahead and strung them side by side. And they seemed ok.

Crimped them on. Snugged up the other side. Secured the crimps. Went to try it on.

Nearly impossible to do up. You need a fair amount of lateral displacement - side to side movement - to get the clasp to line up for closing - and it just didn't wanna. And then, when I did get it on - it wasn't just tight - the beads were tight on the strands. A sort of angry groaning sound as the beads pushed and ground against each other. Oh oh. This is going to break these beads.

So - I'm going to have to rethink this design. It's unfortunate - because I really like the look.

I could restring it with the beads looser - leave some slack. Unfortunately - that means that when it is laying around on the desk - it is going to look badly-made, and that might make me insane.

I won't string crystals on stretchy cord. I'm not putting that much money on something that can break. Period.

So I guess I need to find something that will fit between beads that acts as a pivot so it can flex.

But you can see from the photos that it looks good, and if I hadn't told you that it was a fail - would you have known? Which is one of the things that irritates me a little about many of the projects in bead magazines. They don't show them on human models - and you're never sure - until you finish it, if it is going to drape nicely or hang correctly.








Oh, and as I finished it - I noticed the end of the clasp seemed a little wobbly. So I wiggled it. And it fell off.

Perfect. Epic Fail. Failing on so many levels.

If you bought some of these clasps and have had the same thing happen - let us know and we will fire off new ones to you directly. These are the 5-strand base metal clasps. It might just be the one I got, or we might have a bad batch.

BTW - it drapes ok on a gentle curve. Maybe I can incorporate it into a necklace? Except, I really wanted it to be a bracelet. A hot fiery explosion of dazzling colour. D4mn.

PS - I did remake this, and it's gorgeous. See it here.

The Joy of Metal Clay: Copper Clay Part 1: Art Clay Copper

Last week, I talked about many of the current base (non precious) metal clays available. For the next few weeks I hope to cover some of these types of clays more in depth.

Today, I am going to start with Art Clay Copper.

Art Clay Copper like other metal clays is made up of microscopic particles of metal (in this case copper) mixed with water and a binder. Once fired pieces made with Art Clay Copper end up being pure 100% copper.

First let me start by saying that Art ClayCopper is somewhat unique compared to most of the other base metal clays as it does not require to be covered with firing with carbon which makes it appealing to those who wish to stay away from carbon (messy and not a good idea to breath in) or those of you who want to torch fire or use your Speedfire Cone system.

TOOLS:
The tools that one uses to create pieces with Art Clay Copper are the same as the ones you would use with any other metal clay. Wash your tools between use between different clays to preserve the purity of you metals and any problems with firing.

HANDLING:
One important difference I have noticed with Art Clay Copper is that too much oil mixed into the clay can create a crumbly and difficult to work texture. Now don't panic. What I have found is that you can still you olive oil on your hands and textures but you don't want the oil to be pooling in the texture sheets or to find that when roll out the clay you get a film of oil over the clay. I have found that adding a drop or two of oil to your texture sheet then rubbing it in with a toothbrush to spread hte oil works fine. If you have too much oil use a paper towel to remove the excess. Bottom line, if you find that your clay begins to be crumbly and will not form a ball even with efforts to rehydrate it too much oil may be your problem.

The other important tip that I have found is that the clay needs to be conditioned when it is removed from the package. Often I have found that the clay is tough to work with straight out of the package. Kneading the clay and adding moisture for a few minutes will improve the clay significantly. There are different techniques to achieve this, my method includes rolling the clay painting on a layer of water and then folding the water in and then rolling and repeating. I will often repeat this technique at anytime the clay gets dry or difficult to work. (You can refer to my post cracking clay on how to rehydrate silver clay for some photos of this technique, Sometimes I will recommend to do this between two sheets of plastic helps contain messes for beginner, I find that over time you will learn to handle your clay more easily and neatly)

The final tip is to make sure that you attach your pieces well when you attaching two pieces of Art Clay Copper. I have found that my students have a harder time making a good attachment with Art Clay Copper. As for suggestions, I have two thoughts: first, make sure you use fresh paste (you need to make your own paste with Art Clay Copper and the paste can oxidize over time, noted by it turning darker, this paste will not attach as well as fresh and shouldn't be used) and second, hold your pieces together for 20 seconds to enhance the sticking.

DRYING:
Drying Art Clay Copper is similar to silver metal clay. Some people will use a form of heat to dry their clay (such as a dehydrator or an mug warmer). The key as with any metal clay is to make sure you don't heat the piece so hot that you burn off the binder. My general rule of thumb is to keep the piece no hotter than 200F but the literature for Art Clay Copper states that it is at 480F where the binder will be destroyed.

Once your piece is dried you will can fire the piece.

FIRING:

Torch Firing
The general guidelines are: "fire a piece no large that a US Silver dollar and 35 grams on a firing brick and heat until cherry red for at least 3-5 minutes, depending on size. Pieces 10 g and 1mm or less in thickness can fire for 3 minutes: pieces up to 25 g and 2.5 mm thick can fire for 5 minutes."Art Clay World - Art Clay Copper Booklet

I have two comments on these guidelines.

First, is that I think that anything over 15 grams will likely be a challenge to keep hot enough with a simple butane torch. The sintering temperature for Art Clay Copper needs to be around 1778F which is much hotter that traditional silver clay. I have found that at times it is hard to maintain the heat with a handheld butane torch. (of course there are other torches you can use but this is what I have found with the common butane torch)

Second, l recommend torch firing any piece for at least five minutes! It is important to make sure that you start timing only once the piece start glowing red and that you need to keep it glowing bright red for the full five minutes. I experimented once while firing my Art Clay Copper where I allowed it to drift away from this bright red colour briefly during the period of five minutes (what I mean is that its colour became a lighter rosy colour indicating that the temperature has reduced slightly - below ideal sintering temperature). I decided to see what would happen so I quenched the piece and then began to brush it with a steel brush. I noticed the texture didn't seem quite right so I tested it by banging it with my hammer. The piece broke indicating it was not sintered properly. This is a big problem with torch firing, under firing, so be aware.

Once you have fired your pieces you need to quench them. Quenching is important as it will reduce the amount of oxidization on the piece.The longer the copper is exposed to high heat and oxygen the thicker the layer of oxidization over the piece.

Here is a picture of the bits from oxidization that have fallen off in the bottom of my quenching bowl.

I have found that kiln fired pieces will develop more of a coating on them as they are exposed to heat and oxygen longer. I have also noticed that due to the coating that you loose you will loose some thickness in your pieces. Art Clay Copper will shrink approximately 10 percent. I have found that you will loose some thickness in any copper wire that you embed fire due to oxidization.

Below is a picture a fired piece (on left, note the burgundy oxidized layer) and a dry unfired piece on the right):



Kiln firing:
The General rules for kiln firing are: "Pre-ramp the kiln to 1778F. Place the piece into a preheated kiln at 1778F and hold for 30 minutes. Remove the red hot piece with tongs or tweezers immediately after firing is compete and quench with cool water so that most of the oxidized layer peels off to reveal perfect copper. You may also put the piece into a room temperature kiln and ramp up at maximum speed to the listed temperature, but pre-heating the kiln is recommended."

I have a couple of thoughts here. One is to be sure you use proper safety equipment when doing this (kiln goggles, heat resistant gloves, tongs and other) Another important thing to note is that I have found there are times that my pieces will stick to the kiln shelf at high temperature (they will come off when cooled). In order to prevent them from sticking you can use kiln paper on your shelf under your piece. Other recommendations I have heard it that you will get less oxidization on the piece that is next to the shelf so put your "good side" down. One other thing, if you choose to proceed make sure your kiln is on a fire proof table and that you have a large pot to put your pieces in to quench (Be really careful you don't want to drop these 1778F fireballs on the ground or your BODY!!! - I work in a room with a concrete floor and a large metal bucket full of water that I slide the pieces into )

PICKLING & POLISHING:
Once the pieces are fired they will often require pickling. Pickling is used to remove any remaining bits of oxidization. I found that I need to use Sparex to pickle my pieces and was not able to use any less toxic solutions.Put your pickle into a container that you will not use for food. Make sure you do not put any steel into the pickle. I have copper tongs but find it easier to attach my pieces to a copper wire (as I find it hard to fish out my pieces from the bottom of my pickle pots.) Be sure to use safety procedures when working with your pickle!!!!

Once you have removed your oxidized layer you can brush your piece and then polish and/or tumble.

This clay was first released to the public in December 2009. I believe we will see it grow and change over next few years. One area that I hope to see improved is the ability to make repairs on fired pieces. I have yet to figure that one out.

Art Clay Copper can be a fun medium to work with and with it about a fith of the cost of silver clay it more economical too!!!. Enjoy.

There are detailed directions on Art Clay Copper at the Art Clay World website in the Art Clay Copper Booklet.

The Business Chat - Sell me your item online!

Boy do I love shopping online. While I'm not a fan of regular shopping, too many people, my feet hurt and the music in most stores is terrible, sitting down with a good cup of tea and browsing over oodles and oodles of gorgeous creations online sucks up more of my time than I care to admit. It's not time wasted, oh no, it's "research". And there is SO much to be seen online isn't there? Etsy.com has over 218,000 registered sellers! As a customer this is fantastic! As a seller this is terrible. How can you possibly stand out amongst that much noise? Not to mention that Etsy is only one of 1000's of shopping sites.

The most important part of your online store are the photos. I'm not going to get into that today except to say, these MUST be brilliant.

Next, the writing surrounding the photos. Even the most brilliant of photos doesn't stand a chance if your item description sucks. Remember that your customer cannot see the item in person. Don't assume that the qualities of your item are obvious to your customer or that your photos say it all. You might even consider describing your item as if you had no pictures for your customer to look at. Really make them feel like they are right there with your item. When I'm online I look at the items and glance at the text. You have just a few seconds to draw me in with the story of the item. SELL me the item.

Short paragraphs and bullet points are your friends. Visitors to your shop might be looking for a specific size or material, so make it easy for them to glean that info from your descriptions by cutting out superfluous language and making good use of bullet points. Think about your descriptions as a way to answer your buyer's questions.

This is a list to jump start your thinking when you write your next item description.

1. What is it? While it may be totally obvious to you what the item is, never underestimate a customers' power to be confused.
2. What colour is it? The colour on your monitor may not be the same as mine.
3. How big is it? Measure accurately not just the length of a necklace, also the size of the beads in it. Don't just take a photo of the piece beside a ruler, spell it out.
4. What is it made of? Tell me the materials and techniques used.
5. How do I care for it? Tell me how to keep it looking as lovely as when I receive it.
6. What is it used for? Do I wear it or hang it on a wall? Or both! (now there's a feature!)
7. How does it work? Does it slip over my head? Is there a clasp? Do I tie it around my waist?
8. Do I get everything in the picture? I see 6 items in the picture, do I get them all or are some of them just props?
9. Why is this one better than the one in the next shop? What is so special about your work, is it your skills, materials or techniques? This is where you tell me a story.
10. What if it doesn't fit? Will you exchange it? Who pays to ship it back? If I'm giving this as a gift can my friend exchange it if she doesn't like it and how does she do that?
11. How does it arrive? Do you gift wrap and if so what does the gift wrap look like? What shipping methods do you use and how long should it take to get here? It this ready to ship or do you custom make me a fresh one?
12. What do those fancy terms mean? Don't take it for granted that a customer knows what lampworking means, or PMC (is that like PMS?).
13. Will I get the exact item in the photo? I want to know if there's going to be any variations and how big those will be.
14. Can I live without this? Of course, but my life will be SO much more wonderful with it! Tell me why. The earrings will make me feel like a queen, the artwork will lift my spirits every time I look at it. What is so GREAT about your work?

It takes a bit of practise to get all of this together without writing something the size of War and Peace. When you're cruising around doing "research", look at more than the pretty pictures. Really read the descriptions and bookmark the better ones. Some of these answers belong in the item descriptions and some can be grouped into a section such as Shop Policies or a general FAQ. Whatever works best for you. Just remember, always KISS! (keep it simple Sailorgirl!)

Inspiration Friday

I have a new inspiration picture for you this week. Unfortunately, while trying to prepare for my trip, I did not have a chance to make anything using the butterfly picture from last week.

We would love to have you participate! If you make anything from one of our inspiration Friday pictures. Send it to info@beadfx.com with the subject line Inspiration Friday.  You can make anything, it doesn't even necessarily have to be bead related. The idea is to get you thinking (and doing) something creative.



Such brilliant fall colours. Go forth and make something!

Long Weekend Beading

Beading and travel - how do you traipse your beads all over the world? I know you do it. We bead in the car, on picnic blankets, on the subway, and we even used to do on the plane - back in the day when they allowed us beadweavers to take needles on the plane.

Personally, I've got a lightweight aluminum makeup artists case. However, we all know that beads can weigh quite a bit. And if you have the room (just like a big purse) you'll fill it. The case is quite awkward  and heavy once full. I've also got a few of those travel bead boards with lids. They're handy for works in progress.

Are any of you planning on traveling with beads this weekend/ How do you plan to transport them?

Is it Wednesday already?

Ooops - looks like it is :-)

I'm a little distracted as I've been planning a little end of summer getaway with the kids. I had tried to get a camping spot, but everything is booked except deep in bear country. Me, tents, and bears just don't mix. Bear country I don't mind - and in fact, that's where we're headed - but in the comfort of a cabin with a reasonably comfy bed!

Here's some pics of the cottage we'll be visiting:

Of course i'll be packing some beads - in fact I may just pack up a couple books and seedbead projects. I never have time for those. I'll pack them up and hope I get a chance to unpack them!

Fall. Classes.

I love September. And let me say this, this Fall is packed with loads of classes (new classes, and guest instructors) for you all to enjoy. I hope you do, because I'm really excited.

Here are some highlights:

Michael David Sturlin will be visiting Beadfx from the U.S this October, teaching two classes:

FORGED RINGS



SAWING AND PIERCING



Michael's work is nothing but phenomenal, and it would be great to learn from him. Even yours truly might be sitting next to you in class.

For those of you who have been looking to get certified as an Art Clay Instructor, Senior Certified Art Clay Instructor, Heather Bell Denison, also known as finesilvergirl here on our blog, will be teaching this course (Art Clay Silver Level One Certification Course).

And lots of new classes from our instructors!

Why Isn't Marg Driving One of These?

Why isn't Marg driving one of these, I want to know.

"Why?" you ask. "What makes this minivan particularly appropo for our fearless bead buyer?"

Folks, I give you the Mitsubishi Delica.

I'm not making this up folks.

And why would that be particularly on topic at this moment in time?

Well - maybe because the next update looks a little like this!!!!




Go ahead, click on it - revel in them. Print them on the color printer at the office. Cut them out and rearrange them by colour. Tape them into a paper collage/quilt/wall hanging. Photocopy the results. Repeat. Get the gals in next office in on the fun. Try assembling the squares into a likeness of the Mona Lisa. Suddenly realize that it's nearly quitting time and you still don't have that proposal done.

You've been seriously distracted all day. My work here is done. ;-)

The Joy of Metal Clay: Base Metal Clays

This past week I was fortunate enough to play around with some of Hadar's base metal clays. The last time I had used Hadar's clay she only had Copper and Bronze clay, now when I look at her site I feel like a kind in a candy store.

This week I experiemented with combining some pearl grey steel with copper clay (THANKS Liz). Sadly, I have not fired them as they got damaged in transit and I haven't had time to repair them. (I may just fire them as is as I can't wait to see what they look like!).

All this to say I thought I would introduce you to the world of base metal clays. There are many companies developing and selling base metal clays. Unlike silver clay where there are similarities between brands, base metal clays vary significantly on firing and handling.

Generally, most base metal clays require the use of a kiln to fire (there are a few exceptions). In addition most of the base metal clays require that you fire them in an oxygen free enviroment. This is primarily acheived by using a heatproof container filled with carbon.

I know all this can be confusing so let me start by introducing you to the main types of base metal clays. Then in the weeks to come I will comment on specifics.

Here are some of the brands of base metal clay:


Hadar Jacobson (her site is http://www.artinsilver.com/)

In my opinion she has been on e of the pioneers in the whole base metal clay business. Her current types of clays available are:

• Copper (both quick fire and original)
• Bronze (both quick fire and original)
• Quick Fire White Bronze
• Quick Fire Steel
• Pearl Grey Steel

All of her clays come dry and require that the purchaser mix their own clay by adding distilled water and they all require kiln firing in carbon.

Ms. Jacobson's website is a wealth of information about mixing and creating with her clays. It is a FABULOUS resource no matter what type of metal clay you choose to use. She also has a series of fabulous books.


Metal Adventures (formerly Metal Clay Adventures)

This is another North American source of base metal clays. The types of metal clays they create are:

• BRONZclay (http://www.bronzclay.com/bronzclay_education.htm)
  
• COPPRclay (http://www.copprclay.com/)
  
• Fast Fire BRONZclay (just released - Fast Fire BRONZclay information)
  

These clays come already mixed and require kiln firing in carbon. There is a great source of information about BRONZclay by M. Schindlel published on Squidoo BronzClay it is a great resource and it appears she is working on one for the Copprclay too.


Art Clay

Art Clay, the makers of Art Clay Silver released in December 2009 their version of copper clay. It is called Art Clay Copper and is different than the other types of copper. This clay can be torch fired (but it takes over 5 minutes) and can be kiln fired without any carbon or medium to facilitate sintering. I have worked quite a bit with this copper and will post a detailed post about it in the weeks to come. (Art Clay Copper Information)


Prometheus (http://hobbymaxistore.com/)

This company is from Turkey and make the only bronze clay that I am aware of that does not require the use of a activated carbon for firing. Instead you are to wrap it in paper towel then in a fiber blanket. They now have two types of clay available:

• Prometheus Bronze
• Prometheus Copper
  

On their website there is a forum discussing firing experiments.

I have some of this clay, but have not finished my experiments with it. I have tried torch firing it and was successful. The piece is much rosier that the other bronzes I have used.


Make Your Own!!!

Apparently you could make your own. There are tutorials on the web on how to do this. Metal Clay Academy has a whole page of links on how to do this - Make your own MC. I doubt I will ever get around to trying this. If you have let us know what you think.


Base metal clays can all be unique. In the next few weeks I hope to elaborate on the base clays I have tried.

The Business Chat - The price is firm

"How much is this bracelet?" asks the customer.
"Well, ummm.... it's.... um.... $95?" replies the maker. Her shoulders are hunched, she's squirming and her voice lifts at the end of her reply as if she's asking a question.
At this point our eagle-eyed customer has spotted an opportunity.
"I'll give you $50".
"Um... OK."

The maker now turns to her neighbour and bitterly complains that on one appreciates her work, it's so hard to sell and everyone is always trying to bargain.
Sound familiar?
I see this all the time, especially among those new to selling. With an attitude like this our maker will be out of the game very quickly. The problem is that she does not value her work.
As a maker, if you don't value your work and your pricing, why would a customer?
Back to our maker. The cost of raw materials for her bracelet is $20. Using the jewelry pricing formula she learnt in her Start Your Own Jewelry Business book her bracelet has a retail price of $95.
"But I can't charge that!" she sighs. "It only cost me $20 to make. People will know and feel ripped off."
First, people don't know what things cost. Second, a bracelet is more than the cost of the raw materials. It is time and energy. It is the sourcing of good quality wholesale materials, it is the design time and the labour to make it. Most of all it is magic. Just because you can wire-wrap and string well doesn't mean that a customer can. What seems simple to you is a complicated and foreign process to a customer. What you see is a pile of raw materials, what they see is a story, a piece of your soul, a piece of magic. Your magic is worth $95.
Pricing a piece of your work properly (and sticking to the price) guarantees that not only are you covering the cost of making a piece, you are paying the cost of labour, your overhead and making a small profit. This is called running a business. Constantly devaluing your work by thinking "I can't charge that much" is a defeatist attitude guaranteed to kill your business.
Get over it.
See the value in your work and stand tall.
When someone says "I'll give you half" try putting on your employee hat for a minute. You are standing in the booth as an employee of a company. Forget that it's your company and you are the only employee. The company policy is to remain firm on the price. Your boss would not be happy if you gave away the profits. What if it you were selling in someone else's booth? Would you drop the prices? No? Well why would you drop yours?
"I'll give you $50," says our bargain hunting customer to the maker.
She straightens her spine, squares her shoulders, looks the customer directly in the eye and with a pleasant smile states that the price is $95.
"But that's too expensive!"
This is the opportunity to explain a bit about the bracelet. What is it made of? Where did the inspiration come from? What's the story behind the piece? Show the customer the value of the work.
It is important to remember that you can't please everyone. No matter what there will always be people who think your work is too expensive. Sometimes it's tempting to snap a sarcastic remark about the location of the nearest Wal-Mart however it is best to rise above it and smile nicely. A line that's always worked nicely for me is "well, my work isn't for everyone".

Before you go to a show, or sell a piece online, know in advance what the price is. Know why it is that price. Tell yourself the story behind your work so that you can tell your customers. Most importantly, stand firm. You and your work are worth it.

Inspiration Friday

I made pumpkinesque beads last night. They're so, so cute - I'm even convinced hubby to stop by the glass store and pick me up 2 more pounds of this particular glass! They've been posted in my etsy shop - and I'll get some in the store too.

Now, if you remember the post from last week - the challenge was to make something haloween-ish without it being too tacky. I dunno, what do you think? Personally, I like them - but that could be because I made them. :-)


If you would like to participate in our Inspiration Friday posts, here's how it works:

If you're inspired by the picture of the week, make something - anything at all, and send a picture to info@beadfx.com. It doesn't have to be made the same week - if it takes a month to make it, that's ok. In fact, I'm late most of the time too :-)

Here is this weeks pick - go forth and create!

Metal Clay Academy

I may or may not have blogged about this site in the past (see yesterday's post on my addled brain) ;-)

That said - It's an awesome resource for metal clay, and the best part is that the information is not brand specific. There is also a link there to the Masters Registry - This is a course I'm seriously considering signing up for. In this course, you create pieces to a certain specification - but instead of being judged by an individual, you are judged by a panel of your peers. Interesting indeed.

Have a look through the links - this should keep you busy for quite some time

http://www.metalclayacademy.com

Free is good

Ok, so on occasion I can be seriously behind the times. This morning, while blog hopping - I came across an online Metal Clay Today magazine - completely free! 

I say I'm slow here - as I had somehow managed to already 'like' it via facebook - but I couldn't recall ever hearing anything about it. My brain is becoming seriously addled ;-)

Anyway, for those of you metal clay fans (or potential fans) who haven't come across this yet, go check it out now.

http://www.metalclaytoday.com/

Back to the Basics

Taking a Basic Bead Stringing class is always a good place to start. Ease your way into the world of jewelery making by learning to string necklaces and bracelets, and learning to close them - closing jewelery pieces will not be so daunting to you anymore.

It's on Sat. July 28.
Instructor: Nadine Foskin


Now you've learned the basics, and you're thirsty for more? Check out the Make and Take Earrings and Wire Wrapped Pendant, Sat. August 28 . In this class, you'll learn wire wrapping and wire looping - both necessary skills needed for hanging pendants, and making earrings.



To see other classes in August, and what's in store for September!

Adios!

Favourite Childhood Books

Last week, I babbled about childhood songs. These week - it's books.

Those treasured books that I re-read endlessly. They must say something significant about who we grow up to be, but I can't say that I really can make the connection, based on the ones I read.

They were, in no particular order

• All That Katy Did, An Omnibus of What Katy Did, What Katy Did at School, and What Katy Did Next, by Susan Coolidge
• The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, by Margaret Sydney
• Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Ok, the 3rd one makes sense, I was a horse-crazy girl until I became a horse crazy teenager, eventually maturing into a somewhat horse-obsessed adult.

Interestingly - all of them are available online via Project Gutenberg. Black Beauty is also one of the biggest selling books in the English language of all time. (Links above are to Wikipedia entries - scroll down to the bottom of those page to find the links to online versions.)

And they do all reveal fascinating insights into a time gone past, with lessons about being kind and fair, and a nice happy ending. I have to admit, I always felt guilty about "Five Little Peppers," even as a kid. It was clear, even then, that the happy outcome - being rescued from abject poverty by being befriended and adopted by a rich gentleman and his son - was a little too pat to be believable.

But reading about them now, (Wikipedia) is very interesting. "What Katy Did" was contemporary with Alcott's "Little Women" (which I read, but didn't like that much) - but actually also is an interesting window into the expected life of an paraplegic in the mid-1800s.

Oddly enough, the author of Black Beauty WAS a paraplegic in the mid-1800s - although that is nowhere mentioned in the book. And the author of "Five Little Peppers" eventually bought the home of Louise May Alcott. Strange connections there.

Of course, later, came the ad nauseum book series, the endless "girl/boy detective" novels with a million titles, the neverending "Black Stallion" books - the movie/series never really lived up to the potential there, and others.

Would I read or recommend them to kids now? Well - Black Beauty for sure. It's timeless. The others - I'm not so sure. Personally - I think that the Harry Potter series is great stuff, and His Dark Materials (Golden Compass, et al) is awesome too. And Eoin Coffler's "Artemis Fowl" books too.

But really - the more books you can squeeze into your kids the better, or your grandkids. You just never know which one is going to ring the bell!

And then, you can teach them to bead too. Good literary habits, so they can read the classics and get all the in-jokes, and a pleasant beady pastime. They'll be all set. ;-)

The Joy of Metal Clay: METAL CLAY RINGS

I love creating metal clay rings! Today, I am teaching a metal clay rings class at BeadFX.

Rings can be frustrating and problematic at time. Two main problems that one can run into is with SIZING and STRENGTH. Since most of you won't be in class today, I am going to give you a few thoughts, tips and a project.

Sizing: Sizing metal clay rings can be frustrating for the beginner. First, metal clay shrinks, so you need to account for this. Second, everyone handles their clay a little differently so one method that works for one person may not work for you. For example, I may wrap my clay around the mandrel tighter that you may and therefore even if we put our clay on the mandrel at the same spot, my ring will likely be smaller. Alternatively, if you sand the interior of the ring you may run the risk of sanding away clay and therefore making the ring bigger.

I don't have great suggestions on sizing. My tips are to:

• Practice to find out what works for you
• Err on the side of making the ring slightly smaller as it is easier to make your ring bigger as opposed to making the ring smaller.

Ring sizing guides for metal clay are harder to find than I thought. (Art Clay World has a handy guide. One note it can be a little confusing, when looking at the different band types it looks like a wide band it will shrink differently - but the reason why they suggest that you make the wide ring bigger is that everyone takes a larger size when the band is wide!).

Strength: Metal clay is a sintered metal and therefore will be less durable than a milled metal. In addition, when working with silver metal clay the result is fine silver, which is softer than sterling silver (sterling silver has alloys added to it to make it stronger). You need to understand these principles when building your metal clay rings.

My general rules to help with strength are:

• Avoid making a ring band thinner than 1.5 mm.
  
• Kiln fire your silver metal clay at 1650 F for ring bands.
  
• Make sure you work harden your ring when you are finished!
• Alternatively use fine silver wire for your ring band.

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FINE SILVER WIRE BAND RING by Heather Bell Denison

Here is a ring with a fine silver wire band which helps with the problems of sizing and strength!!!

To make this ring you will need:

• Metal clay
• Fine silver wire 2.6mm (approximately 7 cm)
• Your metal clay tools (roller, slats, cutter, textures, olive oil....)
• Kiln to fire you ring

With this ring you can modify the design to suit your preferences!!! Go crazy or keep it simple.

First you need to cut and shape your fine silver wire. Make sure you use fine silver wire as sterling silver will not tolerate the firing at 1650F!

1. First you need to cut and shape your fine silver wire. Make sure you use fine silver wire as sterling silver will not tolerate the firing at 1650F!Shape your wire around a mandrel at the size you want, here, I am making the band to be a size 6.5.

2. Cut the wire and shape the ends with a slight curve. Also make sure that you have approximately 3mm of length on the ends so that they will embed into the clay.


3. Roll and cut a piece of metal clay that is at least 2 mm thick. The shape can vary, but this will be your base for your design. Make sure that the piece of metal clay is wide enough to fit both wire ends in the clay and surround them securely.


4. Embed your wire into the fresh wet metal clay! Press it all the way into the clay making sure the wires are embedded well. Now leave it to dry, don't fiddle with it as you don't want to wire to come loose. Dry your ring (if you find that there is a gap where the wires are embedded, add a little paste and fill this area, you want to make sure the wire is embedded well, otherwise this is a place of weakness).



5. After your ring base is dry, you will want to build your "topper". I have made a large ring to go on top (Note: I modified the round to accommodate my design Your topper could be different, a heart, flower, and so on....) In this piece the texture I used for the topper was done by Canadian Artist Helen Breil - the texture is called Watusi you can see more on her site.

Dry your base before you add it or you could end up warping it. Once your base is dry add some paste and attach securely.



6. Allow the whole thing to dry, touch up and fix any cracks, gaps or problem areas. Then kiln fire for 2 hours at 1650F and polish.



I don't have the sample project fired. Here is a photo of a variation. (In this one I used two smaller wires, I think they were 1.6mm and I embellished the front with balls and layered clay).

Here are some more examples!!!

If you make one and want to share, send me (heather@finesilvergirl.com) a picture and I will add it in a later post. Have FUN!

Sneak Peek at next Week

Swarovski Makes Fish! Who knew?

As a wise man said -

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, and you get rid of him all weekend.

Want one of these? You can make it yourself. It's eee-zzzzeee. It will be reveal on Wed at midnight!

The Business Chat - Working ON your business

One week later and guess what? It's still August, the cicadas are still buzzing and it's still slow season. Let's continue working ON our business rather than IN it. Last week we discussed 5 things to do during a slow season. Here's 6 more:

1. Blog makeover! Hey, the kids are getting new supplies and clothes for the new year, doesn't your blog deserve some spiffying up too? How's your blog looking these days? Could it use some new graphics, maybe a different layout? Do you have a mission statement for it (meaning do you have a purpose behind your blog?) Have you communicated to your readers what your purpose is? People may not be opening their wallets right now but their eyeballs are still online, don't let them down, keep the content coming.
2. Speaking of mission statements, do you have one for your business? Why are your doing what you're doing? Now is a good time to sit down and think about goals for the upcoming season. Rather than just selling because your friends think you should, know why you are doing this and what you want to accomplish.
3. Facebook. How's your fan page doing? (You do have one right?) What could you be doing to increase the number of fans you have? Why not set a goal of getting X number of new fans every month? Is your blog linked to your facebook account? Do you have a posting schedule?
4. Speaking of posting schedules why not create one now for your facebook page, your blog and your online store? One element of a good brand is consistency. Consistency in a blog means that if a reader visits weekly they know that they will see new content even if it's just a new picture. Tell yourself that you will post twice weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays and put that commitment on paper on your bulletin board. It's really easy to let days slide by and realize you haven't blogged in a month. Having a schedule holds you accountable to get it out. I challenge you to create a schedule for the rest of 2010.
5. Store makeover! Take a good long look at your online store. You know you need good photos, maybe yours need to be redone. How about your item descriptions, do they really convey what your work is? Do they tell a story? Are they so compelling that a customer feels she MUST have it? Do they list the items measurements and components? What about your bio? As we previously discussed, you are the product as much as your work is. Make sure that you shine through in your store.
   For those selling at craft shows take a good long look at your booth display. It's much easier to tweak your booth design now than the week before a major show and the Christmas season will be here before you can blink. Maybe you could use new booth signs. Think of previous shows, was the layout of your display all that it could be? Were there dead spots that need to be fixed? (a dead spot is an area that no matter what you put there it won't sell). Do people move around your booth to look at more, or do they walk in and out quickly? A little marketing factoid for you, 90% of people who walk into a store turn right. This means that you need attention grabbing work on the right side of your booth entrance and then you have to guide them left. Think of the storage areas in your booth, were they an efficient use of space, could you find stuff easily and were they hidden from the pbulic? How long did it take you to set up your booth? Spending 10 hours on your feet selling is hard enough, you don't need a 4 hour complicated set up before the show. Why not make a goal to cut your set up time in half? Now think about how you could accomplish that.
6. Learn somthing new! The kids go back to school soon, how about you? Learning new techniques, playing with new materials or trying a whole new craft is not only fun but also adds new dimensions to your work. It's really important to stay fresh and create new work constantly and learning new skills is a great way of doing this. There are so many different ways of learning, go ahead, pick one. Spend a little time now looking for a course for the fall, be it a college course, an evening seminar, or an online weekend workshop. Why not try something totally different from everything you already do? Stretch your boundaries and see what happens.

Thinking about goals, creating schedules, working on your marketing messages are all part of working ON your business. Anyone can work IN your business creating work. It's those who spend the time working ON the business, who have a purpose and a roadmap who will succeed.

Inpiration Friday post

Nathalie pointed out this week that I have forgotten to post the info on how to participate in our Inspiration Friday Posts. Doh!  Sorry about that.

Here's the info right at the top from now on.  We'd love to see what you have made from an Inspiration Friday Post. It doesn't matter what week it's from - I can't even manage to get one done every week ;-)

If you have some pics - send it to info@beadfx.com with the subject line Inspiration Friday. Let me know which picture inspired your creation. Feel free to send us more info - Your process, is the item for sale?, is it posted on your website or blog?



Nathalie made this based on the white flowers post from a few weeks ago:

I made my pendant using PMC3... it’s set on hemp cords with some Greek ceramic beads, and sterling silver clasp/extender.

For more details, you can see my listing here on Artfire:

http://tinyurl.com/FlowerPowerNGO

I think we can all learn some tips from Nathalie's product photography - well done! - and a stunning pendant too. Thanks for participating!

Mine isn't quite ready yet - but here is this weeks pick:

What? I know - OK, so this one is a little weird - but think Halloween! It's coming up,  so let's come up with some cool Halloween jewelry - tacky, or elegant (is that possible)? 

Send your submissions to info@beadfx.com subject: Inspiration Friday

Think outside the box

In this case - think about your business card. How many of you keep business cards? Unless it is particularly useful, or impressively interesting - it probably gets tossed.

While blog hopping this morning, I came across an interesting post by Jen Wallace on the Buzz Blog. Go check it out, and get your promo's ready for the holiday shopping season!