Work Surface Tip

You know those great little 4" x 4" non-stick work surface sheets that are recommended for holding metal clay pieces as they dry?

They are expensive - 4 of them for $4.50 at Metal Clay Supply. That works out to 74 square inches at $.07 per square inch.

Whole Lotta Whimsy has 2 6" x 6" pieces for $4.60 (That's 72 square inches, at $.064 per square inch.)

Compare that to this bargain - a 23" x 16.25" sheet (which you can cut into whatever sizes you need) for $9.99! That's almost 374 square inches - at less than $.03/ square inch.

I found mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but they are also available online at Target, Amazon.com, Sears and probably at many other kitchen supply stores. They are all oven friendly, but not for use inside kilns.

Making Focal Toggles

Thanks to Jules for her demo about large toggles that can be a focal point of your jewelry. A great meeting - lots of people attended and there was a generally happy hum throughout the room all evening.

Jules (Julie Van Hoecke) demonstrated while some watched and others worked along. She shared lots of  great information about pre-finishing, tools she likes and tips. She kindly created a page of website references where she finds her various tools and supplies. View it here.

My favorite tip was how much pre-polishing is possible - check out the shine on these pieces which have not yet been fired.

Jules demonstrated her home-made lavendar oil paste, sanding and pre-finishing, using various syringe techniques and inserting "up eyes" into toggle pieces. Up Eyes can be purchased pre-made or fabrication using fine silver wire.

Pat Kuehn - proud owner of a new jump ring cutting tool - showed off a wonderful copper and crystal necklace made with jump rings.

Cheryl Colman wore her finished charm necklace, using several copper chains and the copper charms from our Christmas copper clay charm exchange.

Lynette wore a pendant made with copper wire and resin.

Other things shared at this meeting included a set of great dichroic cabs made by Jennifer, resin cabs made by Betty, felt food made by Lynette and a needle felted silk scarf (by who??).