Rings

Rings 

After soldering this is what rings look like after leaving a pickle bath.  Pickle is what cleanse metal that has been soldered it is an acid that  removes the soot from metal.   When metal is under extreme heat it turn black as it is in the process of change.  Pickle cleans the metal and prepares it for more sodering. 

Polishing takes time.  Using different grit of sand paper to soften any unevenness or sharper areas. 

There's even jewelers sand paper that as it sand it prepares the metal to be polished.  

 

This is polish paper that sands and polishes as you go.  It is rougher to finer polishing grit.  

Rub and rub some more is the trick to this.  

I'm excited to now enjoy the fruit of my labor.  To make the bands and do the designing of the ring took a couple of hours but the truth is cleaning, sanding, and polishing the ring takes more time.  

Metal smith jewelry box

Jewelry box

Today I went to my studio to make some rings for my personal jewelry addiction and I found this jewelry  box.  Two  years ago I started this jewelry box and did it for a course I was taking.  It's been sitting in my studio waiting for some attention.  I wanted to place more elements to enhance it more but never had the time till today.  I decided it need some time being rubbed and sanded to get ride of the dross.  

 .... The rings on top are what I made today.  They need polishing too.  

The green patena is from the acid from the pickle that suppose to clean the metal. 

Most of the lid is brass and the bottom of the box is cooper.  Sodered together from flat sheets of metal.  

Three hours of rubbing with different grit of sand paper.  

 You can still see some dark areas where it needs more rubbing.

This is several hours of sanding and polishing with different grits of polishing paper.   

Top

Front

Back view. 

I'm glad I found this little jewel...  

TRAPUNTO VIDEO

TRAPUNTO VIDEO

I just go a new camera and still learning how it works.  So some of the focus would go in and out.  My daughter was also holding the camera and she is so funny started humming as I was meandering in the video. 

 Hope you like the video. 

Old projects never go to waist

I just quilted this beauty.. Made it into a video hopefully I will post it soon.  

Beauty of embroidery

Beauty of Embroidery

I finished the top of my blog on a mission but I now needed to make it more special.  Embroidery give you the ability to personalize and make something already individual more personal.  The person I made this for is a minister. He married me and my husband 21 years ago.  He has been preaching and serving God for many years and I felt it was his turn to be served and honored for his wonderful service for God. 

 I will show the back first.  

On the corner I embroidered on triangle fabric his children, grandchildren, wife, also scripture that was embroidered on the front, who made it, why it was made and date.  

 

Now the front it has all around it his favorite scripture. 

  John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shouldn't perish but have eternal life. 

Each side took three hoops and each hoop took 30 minutes.  I used gold metallic thread in all the embroidery.   

I divided the scripture into four sections.. Each section has 20-31 characters including spaces.   

Now I embroider the scripture that it fload in a circular pattern so that at the bottom it looks like its backward to someone who is looking at it, but to the persons using it, it's readable.  

The center I embroidered his name and position in ministry.