We have added a few new design stamps to our Specialty Design Stamp Category-a new flower stamp and the Chinese Symbol for LOVE has been restocked. We also have the Autumn Issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry in stock and ready to be shipped. Free shipping to all fundametals.net customers…
Mary Jane Dodd was my first guest artist. I sent her a small package that included some copper washers, resin and mica and asked her if she was inspired to create with any of these items, to please share them with us!
I love these metal & mica earrings!! Please stop by Mary Jane’s blog to see more of her recent creations Thank you, Mary Jane. I absolutely love these and everything else you created from my humble package.
Mary Jane Dodd, was given a box of copper washers and I asked her to do her magic, which she did, beautifully.
“this design is based upon the egyptian shen ring… it is compromised of a circle for the cycles in life and a line across the bottom to represent the infinite… egyptians used lapis and turquoise in their adornment… lapis blue represented the heavens, water and the primeval flood… turquoise represented joy…
we are complete as represented by the circle… but need to branch out and stretch to grow… winding fibers lead to faceted spectrolite which imparts strength and supports transformation…
‘(wo)man is harder than iron,
stronger than stone
and more fragile than a rose.”
turkish proverb
‘fragile strength’earrings reiterate this point in numerous ways..etched metal
appears delicate yet sturdy..fibers made of silk..kyanite enhances tranquility
and calm while quartz ensures grounding…
work in progress…
‘ a guest never forgets the host
who has treated them kindly.’
thank you, Jeanette for this opportunity..and I have other goodies to play with..so there will be another post about that!
Thank you, Mary Jane!
Melissa Muir has been so wonderful about dedicating so much time in putting together the Tool Time Tuesday Tutorials.. I have the easy part, to share them all with you and I have fallen behind. Please click on the image below and catch-up on some tutorials and some useful tips.
To learn how to “pierce”, mark your solder and tool storage, please click on the image below!
Enjoy,
Jeanette
We’ve just stocked our shop with some cool new Greek Alphabet Stamp sets! Pretty cool, check them out! You can find them under the New Products Category. We also have a few solid heart design stamps still in stock too. We have a few rolling mills in stock and ready to ship and more. Click here to be directed to the New Products page.
Tool Time Tuesday – Bezel Setting Punches, written by Melissa Muir
This weeks Tool Time Tuesday goes along with the past few, Tube Cutting Jig and the Miter Cutting Jig . This week I will demonstrate a set of tools called Bezel Setting Punches. I like to use these when I am doing tube settings on round stones.
There are a number of sets that can be purchased and just like any other tool, there is a wide range in prices. The set I have is an economy set, but still runs about $50 for the 18 piece set. I do have one of these here if anyone is interested in buying it. If you are, just let me know.
Here you will see that I have completed the construction of my pendant and all the clean up work before setting any stones. When I do a tube set stone, I use thick walled tubing. Then I take a setting bur that is roughly the same diameter as my stone and cut a seat into the end of the tubing. Here I am using a 6mm cz. The tubing is 6.5mm OD.
The stone should sit so the girdle of the stone is below the upper edge of the tubing. You don’t want to go too low or your tubing will cover too much of the stone when you push the outer edges over to hold it into place.
The set of setting punches I have come in this nice little box. It makes it easy to keep everything together and I don’t have to go hunting for tools.
I am not even sure how small t he smallest is as I don’t have stones that small. I do use the smaller punches for adding texture to my metal. This set has 18 punches, the largest of them is 6mm which is perfect for my stone. I don’t typically tube set stones larger than 6mm anyway.
Here you see the setting punch and the handle.
Just insert the setting punch and tighten the collet and we are ready to go.
The inside of each punch is concave so it won’t hurt your stone when it comes down and presses the tubing wall over the edges of the stone.
Place your punch so that it sits straight up and down over your tubing. The straight part is VERY important because you want to come down evenly when setting the stone.
Using a rawhide mallet, gently tap to fold the edges of the tubing down. You don’t need to do this with much force.
If necessary, use your bezel pusher to touch up any areas that may need to be straightened out or didn’t go down quite evenly with the punch. This might be necessary if you have a portion of your tubing wall that is slightly thicker than other ares of the wall.
Being careful not to nick your back plate, run the tip of the burnisher around the top edge of your tubing to give it a nice high polish. You can also use the punch for this. Just place the punch back onto the tube, hold it firmly against the stone and twist.
The finished result is a beautiful tube set stone. This is an alternative to making a bezel for smaller stones.
The bezel setting punches can also be used to set prongs on round stones. You would follow the exact same process as above. Be sure not to hit your punch too hard with the hammer so as to not distort the prongs.
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This weeks tool tutorial is about the tube cutting jig-a tool which will make your life so much easier when it comes to cutting metal tubing! Please click on the image to be taken to the tutorial. Thanks Melissa.
Please go to Jeanette Blix.com for tutorial. Thank you!
Hi everyone! I will get this posted today..I am having a heck of a time posting it on my fundametals blog, so I am going to post it on my personal blog. I will let you know when it’s up and provide the url. Thanks for your patience.
Jeanette
