Tutorials Archives - Page 10 of 10

A True Love of Mine…

He smells and smells some more and I absolutely love him anyway. He is the Pig Pen of patinas. Liver of Sulphur. Sigh. I use this patina pretty much any chance I can. I've even finished a piece that I really didn't much care for only to throw a Hail Mary Liver of Sulphur Patina on it that ended up winning the game. Or in this case saving an ugly piece of jewelry. Here's a little tutorial I did showing how to highlight textured or stamped metal way back in the Candie Cast days that I wanted to move over to this blog. It's an ol' faithful technique so here goes:

The small can with the tweezers on top is filled with the liver of sulphur chunks. Keep all water drips away from your can of LOS, one drop can ruin the whole can and that's a real bummer! It's worth mentioning that these days liver of sulphur comes in many forms like gel or pre mixed. Missy here learned it with the chunks so that's what she's stickin' to.

Make sure your piece is free of dirt and oil or else the patina won't take to the surface. Clean it with dish soap and a tooth brush, maybe even some pumice powder. Dip the piece into the solution or leave it to obtain black. Copper and silver both go through lots of colors when dipped in the solution. Rinse it at anytime to keep the color you like.

Wet your thumb and then dip it into pumice powder. Rub the pumice powder on the surface to remove the patina leaving the LOS in the recessed areas. Rinse when finished.

Here's another true love. Brass the Brush. Get one from a jewelry supply store—not those vicious bristled things in the furniture refinishing section of the hardware store. You know the ones–short and cute on the outside. Wet the brush and add a drop of dish soap.

Brush. Brush. Brush. Brush. Rinse. Snap.

I added some small dots around the square with a center punch for fun. You can apply liver of sulphur to silver plated findings as well. I do that a lot because I love that gunmetal color. It's just one more way to make it your own too.

Rocker is here on my lap. He needs a bath. Bad. My hair is standing on end. I need a shower. Bad. Well wait, lets get you a pic…

It was impossible to get my chicken head hair and him in the shot. You can imagine the hair and Rocker is way more cute. He buries his head in my arm I think to block out the light. Oh, this dog. It's time to get cleaned up and down to the studio. I love you for stopping by.

Beaded Beads…

This is a little re-play post from March of 2006 that I swiped from my ol' podcast site, The Candie Cast. If I remember right, I damn near lost my mind putting this tutorial together because I was living in China at the time and got the pattern from a Chinese beading book….a VERY tiny diagram, lots of loops, arrows and characters…you get the idea. (Sorry for the language, but sometimes there is no other way to describe it. Aiya!) But! A good challenge, none the less. I've had so many people fall in love with making these beads, the latest Terry, from FL. So Terry, this one's for you…

I warn you these are addicting to make. They will be spilling out of your pockets, purses, drawers etc…. I warn you! Now have fun!

Materials-

30 beads of any shape and size (just be sure the hole in the bead is big enough for the cord to pass through twice)
good quality nylon cord
bit of glue

Here goes nothing:

Cut 20" of cord and double it over so the ends meet and string 5 beads onto the left end/side of the tail.

Thread the right end of the cord through the 5th bead in the opposite direction that the left tail is going-I call this a 'cross'.

Pull the two ends snug so it makes a star in the middle of your bead cluster.

String 4 beads onto the left tail.

But on the 4th bead thread the right tail through in the opposite direction that the left tail is going (I call this a cross).

Look carefully at the orientation here. At the top is the original 5 beads and in my fingers is the 4 beads. The right cord comes out and goes into the bead directly to the right of it.

This is how it should look. Notice how the cord looks like it is going through two beads side by side.

String 3 beads onto the left tail.

And cross the right tail through the 3rd bead.

And the right tail goes through the bead directly to the right of it again.

**Repeat the last three steps TWO more times so that you will have a total of 4 clusters around your central star at this point.

Now run your right tail through the two beads to the right of the bead where the right tail comes out (as seen in picture) and string 2 beads onto the left tail.

Cross the right tail through the 2nd bead and pull the two ends snug.

This completes the top half of the bead, making sort of a dome shape. Deep breath, let's push on!

The right tail goes through the bead just next to it.

String 3 beads onto the left tail.

Right tail goes through the 3rd bead, making the cross.

Now this time, the right tail goes through not one but TWO beads to the right of it!

String 2 beads on the left tail.

Right tail crosses through the second bead.

**Repeat the last the last three steps TWO more times! We're almost there!!!!

Now, do you see that tiny gap….and notice you have one bead left?

String the remaining bead on the left tail.

This is where it gets a little confusing, but I think you will understand the idea. The left tail with the bead on it goes across and through the bead on the left, then it keeps going through the remaining 3 beads in the cluster of 5. Same goes for the right tail except it goes through the right side, opposite the left. Remember that the cord should make a triangle at each bead junction and the cord must pass through each bead twice. Tie the tails in a knot where they meet up.

Trim the ends and dot the knot with some glue to secure. Yay! We made it!

Please, please, please let me know if you try to make these and the pattern has a glitch. I've checked over it, but I need a proof-reader so to speak! And also, if you make something with these, please send me a picture of the finished project.