My First Etsy Listing

I have finally listed my first item on Etsy (http://jmooredesignllc.etsy.com/)! Yea me. I made these as a tribute to the Lakers winning the championship tonight. They are made of amethyst chips on sterling silver headpins and chain. I then attached it to sterling silver ear wires. These earrings are simple yet beautiful.

Check out my other blog (http://jmooredesignllc.blogspot.com). I will give away different a different pair of earrings every month to those who follow my blog. So be sure to click on the follow button on the right side of the page.

The Cheapest Photography Light Box I Could Make

I am learning to take better photos of my work. In my research I found that I need to light my pieces better. While researching light boxes, I came across this wonderful blog called Strobist (http://strobist.blogspot.com/). It has all kinds of information on lighting for photographers. There was this one post that described how to make a photo studio for under $10 (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html). It was very easy to follow and this is how mine turned out. I know its messy but I just threw one together to see if it would really work. IT DOES! My pictures are coming out much better. I don't even have the lights placed on either side and I can still tell the difference.

Here's what you need to make one a box, get it to fit whatever you are photographing. You also need a box cutter, tissue paper, a ruler, tape, and a poster board. For lighting, you need to inexpensive lights. So if you are looking for a way to light your work better, here is a very cheap way to do it. I spent $3.

For complete instructions and a video click on this link http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html.

My latest creations

Here are my lasted creations. I am having such a hard time to naming the things I make. You would think I would be able to come up with a name...LOL. I get brain freeze when it comes to that.

I found the glass green square beads at Michael's. I liked them but I did not know what I was going to do with them. I was playing around with them a couple of nights ago and came up with this design. I alternated a 4 mm silver bead, a square crystal bead and the glass green square bead. I finished it off with a silver clasp. For the earrings, I just followed the same pattern.

For the amber glass bead set, I alternated the elongated amber glass bead with two different silver antique beads. I finished it of with a clasp. For the earrings, I followed the same pattern.

The Care and Cleaning of Sterling Silver Jewelry
I found a very good article on How to care for and clean sterling silver jewelry.
The link is below.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/129536/the_care_and_cleaning_of_sterling_silver.html

I Want This

I want a kiln so bad. I have been looking for a used one but I have not had any luck. I want one so I can work with precious metal clay, learn glass fusing, and a lot of other things.

It is a Paragon SC-2 Silver & Glass Kiln with Bead Door and Window. It can fire precious metal clay (silver, bronze, gold, and copper), decals, china paint, enameling, and glass up to 2000°F. The SC-2 plugs into a 120 volt outlet. So it can be used in a standard household plug. This particular model comes with an optional bead door and viewing window. The viewing window is used with glass fusing. It's necessary to keep an eye on the glass. You must wear protective eye wear when looking into a hot kiln. The bead door is used to anneal beads.

I have been looking at this for over two months. It's a bit expensive (at least for my budget) but I think I am going to break down and get one.

Earring Frenzy

I was in the mood to make something. I made the easiest thing I could think of...EARRINGS. I love making earrings. You can be as basic or as wild as you want to be and it doesn't use up all of your materials.