News From The Shop — jewelry making
Cutting Corners In Hand Piercing Metal Jewelry
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Cutting corners is one of the hardest things I learned when doing any kind of piercing in metal. I have my own way of doing it. I hope this explanation helps someone else. I love sharing knowledge and will gladly help if I can. Feel free to ask any questions you might have!
Hand Piercing Metal Earrings
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Handmade may not be fast but it's because of the time and attention to detail we put into every single process to create a beautifully crafted item. Worth the wait. Quality over fast fashion. I'm for handmade and slow fashion because how it's made matters.
See a peek into just a little of the work that goes into hand piercing metal for jewelry. In this case earrings will be made out of the final cut pieces.
Hand Piercing Brass Cuff With Jewelers Saw
jewelers saw jewelry making Lora Lee Artist making a cuff piercing metal sawing metal
This video shares a little of the behind the scenes work that goes into almost all my jewelry. Sawing. I do a lot of it. Everything I do is cut from flat sheet or wire. In this case I am making a cuff. The brass is 20 gauge. I've cut it to a 6 by 2 inch piece. I drew random organic shapes and then drilled a hole in each section that I was going to remove with the saw. I use a Green Lion saw. I really do like it a lot, the handle shape especially. Ease of loading...
Sandcasting A Ring
artist casting copper creating handmade jewelry jewelry making Lora Lee Lora Lee Artist metal sandcasting sterling silver
I used the stainless steel ring on the left to sandcast a copy in sterling silver. You can see how rouch and textured the band is from the sand. From there I use files and abrasive wheels on my dremel to smooth the surface. I love playing with different objects in the sandcasting. Just to see what patterns do well or don't do well. I've cast acorns, rings, twigs, and ingots using this process. I got my sandcasting kit from Craig Dabler on Etsy. Great casting tools and patterns for sale in his shop. He also has a great group...
From Reality To Silver - An Acorn's Story
acorn creating handcrafted handmade jewelry jewelry making Lora Lee Artist metal oak reclaimed metal recycling sandcasting small business sterling silver tree
An acorn from our Granddaddy Oak tree in our yard here in Louisiana. The ground is always covered with them every year. I used Craig Dabler's sandcasting kit to cast this one in sterling silver. I save all my scraps of silver from different projects and use them to cast things like this. So no metal goes to waste in my shop. Every bit is saved to use in casting new items. Recycling is Beautiful.