Craft Enabled, Domestically Disabled

Finished enameling

Pretty good, all things considered. Though it is really irritating that trying to get some kind of natural skin tone just comes out with a lot of yellow if you use pink, and the brown comes out really bad. The first time I made the head, the skin came out medium dark brown/yellow, which the teacher had to drill off the piece for me because she just looked like she'd puked. Can't really do jack about the yellow around the eyes and wrist after a certain point either. Oh well. Still cute, and even fairly "realistic" in a way.

Enameling in progress.

Second enamel pendant.

I can't explain why I am doing a guitar, really. It's partially done.

Another enameling piece done.

It's prettier in person, I think.

Two more classes to go and I need to think of another design to do...

Back in enameling again.

I think I am going to try to make a pendant based off of this photo. I can't keep the colors exact because we don't have that much selection in class, so it'll probably be more blue and purple.

My enameling class is done, and so are my pieces.

Voila.

More from enameling class.

Argh, it looks like I need to re-upload my finished tower pendant (which I am wearing today, thank you!), because I saved the wrong one here. But I can still show you the seascape pendant I am working on, because I got to the point of putting wire onto it.

The green in the back is supposed to represent seaweed, btw.

I'm amazed I got the fish to come out as well as I did, particularly that shark. Coolness. HOPEFULLY I can finish off the sucker in our last class.

More enameling!

I got a lot done in class last week, with two layers of enamel on by the end of the night. It took longer than last time because of all the colors.

On the left is how the piece looked after the first layer (I was supposed to put a whitish layer of clear on before doing the orange and yellow). It looks really pretty after the second layer, though I am sad the purple butterfly now looks black. It still needs a few more layers though, even though it looks done from this picture.

Everyone in class keeps comparing this to "The Little Prince," somehow.

Tonight's enameling was fun!

Ironically, after spending special time on the weekend cutting metal and flattening wire and taking an hour to drill a hole in the metal (with, as it turned out, the wrong drill bits)...I couldn't use any of my work, because apparently enamel needs pure silver and the CC apparently doesn't sell it! Dammit!

Oh well, at least prepping it the second time was a lot shorter. Not to mention using the right drill bits.

But after that was done, enameling was QUITE fun. I've got the back and front enameled now in a beautiful blue.

On the left here is the approximate Tower drawing I did for the pendant, planning on leaving a few bits out depending on space.

And here's what I've got- I've pretty much done the wire bending for the piece, but I ran out of time to glue it. Doesn't it look cool already?! I'm so excited. If it comes out well this may be my favorite jewelry piece ever.

Oddly enough, this went so fast, I may need to think of ANOTHER project for this class!

Enameling class

Okay, I don't know if enameling exactly counts as "metalsmithing," but at the moment I don't feel like making a separate category for discussing it.

Anyway, I signed up for an enameling class. I had reservations about it because well, I am not great at metalsmithing, hate soldering, etc.,....but this class looks like it won't be nearly as bad as that. Not all that hard at all, really. A whole lot of putting enameling powder on and then in the kiln. And all you have to do for cloisonne is to take regular wire, flatten it, bend it about, and glue it on to the piece! No soldering! Awesome!

So I'm pretty excited.

I made a necklace awhile back with tarot card pendants. I wanted a Tower pendant, but none were on sale anywhere. But recently I found two. I'm thinking for my enameling project, I may make my own Tower card, out of enamel.