Charmed, I'm Sure

Okay - I just couldn't wait. So instead of baking cookies or making those gifts for my Mom and my brother-in-law that are still unfinished, I spent yesterday making myself a charming necklace from my KCPMC Guild Copper Christmas Exchange Charms. It's a little over the top, but just hanging them onto a copper chain wasn't working for me. So, I added a few things: part of a watchband, a couple stone beads, a copper stamped filigree, a few blue glass beads, a cream-colored fossil from a friend and some Harbor Freight copper washers. I pounded the heck out of some 14 gauge wire and the washers, then annealed them with my torch before drilling a couple holes and some hammered texture. (That torch sure adds great color to copper!) Before using 20gauge copper wire to work wrapped loops, I darkened it in LOS to remove the shine a bit. Finished length is about 36" so it can be worn doubled or long.

I can't wait to see what everyone else does with their charms.

December Copper Charm Exchange 2009

What fun! What a variety! Last night 15 intrepid KCPMC Guild members came to our December meeting to share copper clay stories, nibble a snack buffet and swap charms. We felt bad for those who couldn't be there to share with us, but that didn't stop us from a great charm swap.

Here's a glimpse at the loot I brought home - can't wait to make something from all these great charms. Since not everyone made the same number of charms, some people got multiples of some and none of some, but we all got a great stash. (Be thinking about how to do this swap next year - our drawing numbers format got rather complicated toward the end and we are open to a better way to make charm selecting easy and equitable.

As you can see, some people polished, some did not. Some used patina, some tumble-polished, and one person made PMC Silver charms instead (Thanks, Carol!)

To see more pictures and most of the charms up close, go to my online web album or click on the rotating image cloud at top right.

It was very interesting to compare notes about firing the copper clay. Robin didn't know how black the stainless steel box would become and panicked that she had ruined her kiln. (She didn't - it's normal.) Some reports of cintering problems were shared as well as various resources and information about firing schedules. Clearly, there are a lot of variables with this process. Jennifer has had consistent good results with the procedures outline by Hadar Jacobson in her books and website. Check out her information about firing - click on How to Talk to your Kiln on this page.

Hopefully, we'll publish more photos here showing how we use our charms. KCPMC Guild members - please join me and comment, post or send me a pic of your finished project.