Beads and Beyond

This is going to be one of those posts with lots of pictures!

The August issue of Beads and Beyond is out today - and I'm in there twice this month!


The first is a project using silver art clay textured with rubber stamps. The finished pieces are oxidised with Liver of Sulphur (a reminder of how to use this can be found here). There are a couple of pairs of earrings, a bracelet, a pendant and the necklace pictured below that you can just about see at the top of the front cover of the magazine. It's a great project (if I do say so myself!) for showing you that you don't have to use the whole of a rubber stamp in your designs.


And the second article is a masterclass on soldering. In my experience most people tend to get into using silversmithing and soldering techniques in their jewellery through two routes - either, like me, they are confident in their wirework, want to extend their skills but are a bit nervous about turning a flame on their work in case it all goes horribly wrong! Or, like the students I teach at college, they've bypassed wirework and gone straight to a course that teaches them soldering from the start.


I wrote the masterclass with the wireworkers in mind, and have written about techniques that use soldered wire to create hammered rings and chains. There are step by step photos to show you each part of the process and 6 ideas for how to use your new skills, and information about the tools and materials that you'll need. My favourites of the designs that I came up with are the pendant and the bracelet that you can see here.


I've got another project coming out in the September issue too, and I'm taking part in the Designer Challenge too - I've been sent the same beads as three other designers and I bet we all come up with completely different ideas!

If you fancy a bracelet or a pendant like the ones here but don't fancy making them yourself, I've put them on the website here and here!