Happy New Year~

Dear Friends,
Another new year!  Like the first page of a new journal, all clean and ready for writing life experiences.  What will be written in the days ahead?  2017 has had it's ups and downs, but a new year promises new friendships, new horizons of learning, new understandings, new growth, new memories to make.  Shed past mistakes, shed the drama, shed the stresses.

Embrace new paths with beautiful views and possibilities.  Embrace the sunrise on the beach with the sparkles of gold dancing on the water.  Discover the loveliness of purples, reds, browns and greens and golds of the desert.  Listen to the happy rushing of water over rocks in the creeks and rivers.  Notice the swaying leaves and trees in the breeze.  Feel the warmth of the sun on your face.  Enjoy the rain drizzling down the windows or better yet, walk in the rain and smell the good earth. 

See? You can place yourself somewhere happy and peaceful and lovely in the midst of difficulties and receive strength.  Breathe in slowly.  Pray sincerely, meditate with purpose, repeat helpful and positive affirmations.  Talk to yourself in kindness and bolster your courage to do and be.  When things don't work out, it just means there's another adventure out there for you.  Keep going.
                           

                                          

Practice gratitude.  Show mercy.  Make eye contact.  Smile often.  Bless others.

  
You are unique and have purpose in life.  You are divine.  Our Heavenly Father loves you.

Someone is watching over you.  You will succeed.  Pat yourself on the back while repeating after me, "I'm so clever, I AMAZE myself!"

Onward and upward in the new year!

Sincerely,
Julie Pike

Terri Brush Inspiration

Dear Friends,

Wowsers! Time is movin' on faster and faster!  However, "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get" as my Mother used to say. We're already headed for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

One of the aspects of making jewelry that I enjoy, is that there are so many different styles and mediums to work with, such as metal, textile, plastic, PMC, glass, ceramic, and upcycled pieces.  Too many to list, and I love to look at the inspiring work of others and see their wonderful creations.

Last summer I took an on-line class from the Terri Brush Academy. (http://terribrushacademy.com/) I worked on some soldered pendants using Plaster of Paris in the bezel.  I enjoyed using paint and picture copies to make a little artful pendant. I especially liked the brightness of the gold paint accents on the plaster and the picture.  I used copies of some family photos of ancestors for the bezels. 

Check out Terri's blog and enjoy the inspiring work of her students.

Here are some of mine...

 What do you think? 

Have a wonderful and inspiring day!!!

NEED WINGS?  You can make some!

Some days, it's nice to wear affirmation jewelry to help you keep your focus and spirits upbeat.
The following are some pictures and information to help you.
You'll need:
A pattern for your wings
A sharpie marker to trace the pattern onto the metal
22, or 24 gauge copper, nickel silver or brass etched metal
Tin Snips to cut the metal
files, sand paper, sand blocks to smooth the cut edges
1/16th inch hole punch
rivets optional
jump rings
chain, clasp
chain nose pliers
round nose pliers
wire cutter
alphabet stamp set
hammer

 Make a template/pattern from paper or cardstock.  Fold a piece of paper in half and cut it so that both sides are the same.  Trace the pattern onto the metal with a sharpie marker and cut out carefully.  The metal is VERY sharp. You will want to file and smooth the edges.

You can stamp words on the back of the wings.  Careful not to stamp too heavy with the hammer or the word(s) may show on the etched side.  I've done this a number of times.  Sheesh! This picture shows copper, brass and nickel silver metal colors.  I used a fine point sharpie marker in the actual stamped letters and then lightly sanded any stray black marks off the back of the metal.

 

This is an example of copper wings soldered onto brass for a bracelet.

You can rivet the holes for the jump rings but sometimes, I just like it plain.  Add jump rings, a wire wrapped component on one side, chain and a clasp and voila!  

You can fly now!!  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I wanted to share a couple of ideas for using photos in your jewelry.  The first below is a brooch made with etched brass and soldered into a frame.  The rhinestones and pictures are secured with resin. The cute girls in the picture are me and my sisters getting ready to trick or treat! My mother would not let us go door to door and yell "Trick or Treat!" like the hundreds of normal kids did back then.  No, we had to recite all together the following little ditty...

"We're so hungry,

We could die!

Candy, cake or

a piece of pie!"

When we would recite this, many people would ask us to say it again and call other family members to the door to listen to us repeat it.  I must admit that we were often given extra candy, so that made it worth it.  I gave this to my sister who is wearing the clown outfit! I'm the tallest in the background...the oldest sister...

I hope you have a wonderful and art inspired day!
Yours truly,
Julie

Family Photo Jewelry Ideas

Dear Friends,

Where is the year going? "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!"  Today I'm sharing some of the designs I've made from some family pictures.  The group picture below is a one of my sister, Wendy, and I with friends on our 4th and 5th birthdays.  You see, we are "Irish twins" for about 3 weeks a year. My birthday is in August, and Wendy's is in July, so we aren't quite 12 months apart.  My mother would have one birthday party for both of us somewhere between our birthdays.  My sister is 3rd from the left and I'm 5th from the left.  We were all in our "mommy" dress-ups and brought our baby dolls and baby strollers.

I etched the metal and soldered a frame and poured resin over the picture and added the little flower and butterfly beads.  One of the nice things about resin is that you can add little doodads to the picture.

Here's are examples of two different pictures of my mother, Shirlee.  The top is one when she is about 18 months old sitting on top of a round table, looking into a large fish bowl.  Because I used a beveled glass tile, the reflection actually casts a little light onto the bowl.  It's hard to see in the photo but it's a nice affect.

The next picture is my Mother about 2 years old.  I etched the back of the metal frame.  On the front, I soldered the small frame, poured resin and added the rhinestones.  I stamped the word "sweet" at the top. The five little pearls represent us 5 daughters.  I finished it with a sterling silver chain. The pendant is about 2 1/2 inches with the pearls.

Always use a LASER copy of a photo, not the real photo.  I use heavy gauge packaging tape to cover both sides of my photo leaving a small edge around the photo to seal it for the resin.  I make sure the edge around the photo is sealed by running a credit card or my fingernail along the photo to press out any bubbles and the edge to keep the resin from seeping inside. I enjoy making jewelry with family pictures to give as gifts.

I receive commissions to make jewelry for people with their family photos of loved ones who are dear to them.  This is my favorite type of commission work.

Consider making jewelry with copies of your family photos in them.  They make great keepsakes. 

Have a happy day and thanks for stopping by!

Yours truly,

Julie