Tool Addict

I finished my 8 week jewelry fabrication class last night. It was at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas which is a great nonprofit in southeast Dallas.

During the course of the class, I finally admitted to myself what my husband has suspected for a long time...I'm a tool addict.

I recently planned out a day-long errand-running marathon so that I would end up at Harbor Freight. (Tools are nice, but cheap functional tools are even better.) I started to suspect I might have a problem that day when I found myself bribing my 5 year old son with promises of ice cream cones and trips to Toys R Us if he would just let me shop a little longer. Hmmmmm....

So anyway, what exactly is the "draw"? What causes an average middle class chick to develop a tool addiction???

As a jewelry designer, I've always imagined the possibilities. The awesome fabrication techniques would swim around and taunt me, building excitement as I poured through instructional texts. The class I just took only enabled me further, confirming that my suspicions were correct...with the proper tools, I can make some really COOL stuff.



So here are the results of what I learned in class. This is a bezel set leopard print jasper cuff bracelet. I started with sterling silver sheet and wire, cut, shaped, soldered/brazed, oxidized and polished it.

I think the back is pretty
nifty, too...

Our very first project for the class was to create a pendant. I was still too chicken to introduce my saw blade to the sterling sheet, so I used copper for this one. It's kind of neat, but I don't love it enough to re-create it in sterling right now. I used several different shaping and texturing methods on this pendant. The upper portion is domed and hammered with satin margins around the cutouts. The lower portion is a simple texture. I think it looks sort of ethnic or primitive.

Next we tackled rings. This one required a bit more precision. The cuts had to be straight, and the joint had to be completely flush. I sawed the appropriate size strip of sterling from my sheet, formed it into a round shape then soldered it. After soldering, I filed it smooth so the solder joint disappeared, smoothed the edges and added a fun hammered texture. That's it up there at the top of the page.





I also created this toggle that I'm pretty proud of. I showed it off to a couple of my peers, and they wanted to take it from me! Those silly ladies....little did they know this one already has a very special purpose. More to come when that purpose has been fulfilled.



If you'd like to see the kind of stuff I do when I'm not fabricating, have a look at my RazzyJewels website or my Etsy Shop.