Weekend Warrior

I'm making good use of my disc cutter and kiln today! After cutting and drilling all these blanks I'm ready to fire up my kiln. These toggle clasps are my best sellers and they're fun to make. I think I will do some experimenting with transparent colors over different base colors. I'll keep you posted!

Using Cloisonne Wire

Zigs and Zags

First of all, I do not know at lot about cloisonne enameling. I have done a little but it's very time consuming and fine work and I hope to master it some day. That being said, I still wanted to share my experiment in putting my zig zag cloisonne wire on an enameled charm.

 I enameled the backs and the fronts in a layer of clear and then counter enameled the backs with one coat of Orient Red. I then cut the wire to fit on the fronts. It's OK if the wire is a bit too long. I placed the wire where I wanted it and using a paintbrush, I put drops of my adhesive under the wire.

 Let it dry completely and fire it for 2 minutes or until the wire sinks slightly into the clear enamel.

Make sure you put it in the pickle after every firing to make sure you get all the fire scale off the wire. Mix a small amount of Orient Red enamel with a few drops of distilled water. If it's too watery just use a "point" of paper towel to absorb the excess.

 Using a paintbrush push the enamel mixture next to the wire.

I decided to put black around the edges. I used a small paintbrush to add some amounts of distilled water to try to blend the colors. Then I put it on top of my kiln until it was completely dry and fired it. When cool I repeated the process but I wanted the colors to be a bit more gradual so I added some Victoria red. After this firing, cut or file the wire to the edges.

 My final coat was another layer of clear. I sifted it heavier over the wire so it would cover it completely and fired until very shiny.  These are my Broken Heart charms!

Weekend Warrior

I wished I had more time this weekend for enameling but the gorgeous weather was calling to me so I went for a long walk, strolled around my yard admiring the new growth in my husband's flower gardens, and chased a butterfly with my camera. (more on that another day) I did work some new toggles. The anticipation of blooming perennial flowers inspired these colorful toggles! I have made sterling bars and I will wrap them with matching colored wire. Wild!

Weekend Warrior (part 1)

                                                 Beads of Many Colors!

Saturday was a bead making day and lots of colorful beads popped out of my kiln!! I love to make coordinated bead sets because I find them very inspiring when I making a finished piece of jewelry.

crayon box colors

I've been dreaming of making a crayon box of beads and here they are. I love how they came out! I think primary colors are so energetic. I didn't put in the brown and black but I think I will when I make the next set. To get these nice smooth colors, I first sifted on a coat of clear, then two coats of the transparent colors. From front to back the colors are Flame Red, Sunset Orange, Buttercup Yellow, Pea Green, Daphne Blue, and Iris Purple. They are all Thompsen enamels.

 

 Orange is the color of the season: Marigld, Pumpkin, and Ochere Yellow (Schauer)

                               



   Beautiful blues:  Bonnet, Harvest, and Darkest Blue

These green beads were made with transparent colors. First I sifted on a coat of clear, next white, and then two coats of the transparent colors. They have a great speckled finish!  The colors are from left to right: Peppermint, Grass, Gem, and Dark Green.

Beads of many colors!!