New Tuition Dates!

New private tuition dates have just been added to the Daisychain Jewellery website and can be found here along with all the information you need about prices and how to book. Private tuition is available for one or two people at a time, and dates do go very quickly so if you've always wanted to start learning how to make your own silver jewellery, want to add to your jewellery making skills by learning a particular technique or want to make a special piece of jewellery for someone equally special, now is your chance!

To book a date please visit the website to check availablity and email me at info@daisychainjewellery.co.uk.

New Tuition Dates available

Well, it's all change over here at Daisychain Headquarters! What do you think of the new blog look so far? Definitely more in keeping with my new website, don't you think? There are still a few bits and pieces that need tweeking, but they'll be done soon!

I put some new private tuition dates on the website late last night, and almost before I had a chance to publicise them much half of them were booked up! There are dates in May and June left, so if you would like to come along and learn how to set stones, make chains, learn how to make Keum Boo jewellery or to improve skills that you've already got please see here for more details. Dates for July will be available as soon as possible.

Rushing - but trying to relax!

Thank you for all the lovely responses to my last post - it seems that the word "relax" hit a chord with more than a few people! In the past the word always made me feel a bit, well, guilty, as if I was relaxing then I wasn't making the best use of my time, and as I've always got family, house and business job to do then what on earth did I think I was doing relaxing?! It took me far too long to realise that if I don't relax sometimes then I'm not recharging my batteries and I'm not going to be able to do my best at everything else. Unfortunately I seem to need to relearn this lesson periodically.

Thank you too for the lovely compliments about the cuties in the photos. I have to own up here and admit that I can only lay claim to two of them - the little girl pictured is Gracie, my beautiful God-daughter, but she is just as much a part of the family as my nephews and nieces. I always tell Ben that there is family that you're born with and family that you choose, and as Katie, Gracie's Mummy, and I have known each other since we were 10 and Gracie and my boys are growing up together they, and Katie's husband (T's partner-in-crime!) are most definitely family we have chosen. By the way, this birthday party was only relaxing as it was just family, not lots of children, and for once I had decided not to stress about making a cake myself but bought one. My baking skills are good, if I do say so myself, but I put too much pressure on myself about decorating each one perfectly! I did feel a few twinges of guilt for not making a birthday cake for one of my boys for the first time ever, but only until I saw Jamie's face light up at the sight of Peppa Pig! He does love that pig!

We had another family day this weekend just gone. I spent Saturday teaching privately in the workshop at home, but I can't show you photos of what Brenda made yet as she's coming back later in the month to complete her projects. Sunday, however, my brother and his girlfriend came over for a lazy Sunday lunch as they hadn't been able to make it over for Jamie's birthday the weekend before. They arrived complete with the giant balloon you can see above which both boys think is fantastic!

So, that's family caught up with, what about jewellery making? After all, that is what you've come here for, isn't it? Now that I've got caught up with ordering materials and new boxes and bags etc (always a good sign as it means that I've been using them for orders!) this rest of this afternoon is going to be spent cutting out some new designs I've had planned for a while, preparation for college for the next two nights and also making sure I've got everything I need for tuition for the next two days. It is another busy month for teaching, which is great! A couple of things to share with you though...

Firstly, I wrote another blog post for Artisan Whimsy at the weekend covering one of my favourite topics, hallmarking - you can see it here!

And the latest issue of Beads and Beyond is out, with a simple but elegant pair of earrings that I made from bending wire into teardrops. There's also a gorgeous project by Rebecca Anderson in there as well, so plenty to keep you busy!

New Tuition Dates Available!

Just a very quick post today, and maybe a longer one this evening, depending on how awake I am after teaching my evening classes! I updated the website last night with a new list of tuition dates for January, February and March 2013 (2013!!), and sent out a newsletter letting the people on my mailing list know shortly before midnight. And by midnight over half of the 26 dates available were gone! Thank you so much to those of you who have booked already. My private jewellery making tuition days have been growing in popularity, but it is immensely flattering for so many dates to get booked up so quickly.

If you would like to know more about my tuition days, you can find more information here, and the list of the 10 dates still available can be found on the same page - just scroll down a bit. Private tuition is tailored towards the individual (or individuals, as you can come with a friend too!), with complete beginners usually starting with projects like bangles or chains, whilst more advanced students cover various types of stone setting, riveting, anything you like really! The photos above show some of the work that students have completed this term, and I've got more photos to show you later in the week too.

If you are interested in coming for a day's tuition then email me with your preferred date from my list - but don't leave it too long in case the rest of them go just as quickly!

This summer's students

It's been lovely to get back to teaching this summer. And it's been lovely to have so many students! Some of the pieces that people have been working on have been fairly advanced, needing more than one session - for example making settings for faceted stones - so I can't show you photos of those yet, but I can show you these.....

Syd and Anna are a husband and wife jewellery making duo who have come out for a few tuition sessions now, and Syd has also signed up for the City and Guilds class I'm teaching at college this year. They also have fun making jewellery at Flux'n'Flame over in Dorset, and it was during the Flux'n'Flame summer school this year that Syd made the beautiful stone setting in this necklace. He finished the chain last Thursday - a combination of making loops, melting scraps of silver to make balls and forging to mirror some of the elements in the pendant - a lovely piece of work, especially considering this was the first time he had made a chain.

I had two students visit on separate days the week before. Sue visited on Tuesday, using a gift voucher that her brother had bought her for her birthday. She'd made wire and strung jewellery before and wanted to learn as many basic silversmithing techniques as possible - making a pendant from sheet and a ring from wire taught her sawing, piercing and soldering amongst others. Jane came to learn how to make Keum Boo jewellery. She made a beautifully smooth pendant and the sweetest little pair of stud earrings. I got her to melt some scrap silver as well so that she could recognise the stages that silver goes through before melting - add stud post fittings and you've got another pair of earrings!

I'll be posting new tuition dates for the rest of the year next week, and I'm trying to find a weekend date for a bangles workshop too.

Spreading the jewellery making addiction

Take two friends with hopes of setting up their own jewellery business, silver, hammers, saws, torches, a few files and me in my workshop and this is what you get.....

Sunday was my first day of private tuition since before Jamie was born, and it was lovely to be back - in many ways it was as if I'd never had a break! Susie and Julia made a bangle each and then a pendant in the afternoon. Julia's pendant may look simple but it takes a good eye and careful filing to achieve a smooth symmetrical shape like her tear drop. Susie decided to make a pendant with a more organic feel, with silver balls forming the centre of a flower.

I taught on Thursday this week as well  but as Anna and Syd were both working on more complex pieces they haven't quite finished yet - I'll show you the pictures when all is done and polished! All the tuition dates for August have now been booked, but I have three dates in September with hopefully a couple more to come when Jamie settles into going to the childminder's on Thursday. The dates I have so far are Thursday 1st September, Saturday 10th September and Sunday 11th December. More details of private tuition can be found here - email me if you would like more information or to book a date!

A lovely Sunday's work

Yesterday was my first day teaching in the new workshop. Fiona and Hannah came out for a day's silversmithing tuition to celebrate Hannah's birthday, and despite the fact that neither of them had made any jewellery before they both made some really beautiful pieces of jewellery - just have a look!

They both made bangles from square wire - Hannah's is round and Fiona's is an oval bangle. Square wire is harder than oval or round wire to file to form a really neat join, and they both did great jobs. And they both decided to texture their bangles with my favourite hammer - old and dented to give a gorgeous texture!

Fiona spent the afternoon making stud earrings- one pair that I've had sketched out as an idea for ages but never got round to making, and one pair made by melting scrap silver. I think she got rather addicted to the fun of melting silver!

Hannah made a stunning necklace. It uses the same wire as we used for the bangles formed into five rings, two of them textured to match the bangle. I couldn't get all of it clearly into the very quick photos that I took before the girls left, but trust me, it looks even more stunning worn!

New tuition dates!

New tuition dates are at last on the website and you can find them here!

I've been through my diary and blocked out dates in September, October and November for tuition. December dates will be available later in the autumn. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays are available for either half or whole day tuition, some Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are available for half day tuition in the mornings, and there are some weekend dates available too. B starts big school this term which has meant that I can offer more tuition dates than before during the week. I've been trying to find more weekend dates but as we've got family visiting, I'm teaching at Artisan, I've got craft shows before Christmas and I'm teaching another stone setting workshop too (more details on that later this week!) there are only a few weekend dates available - so grab them quickly before someone else does!

The news that I'm really excited about is that, thanks to the fantastic space in my new workshop, I can now offer one-to-two tuition. This is something I've wanted to do for ages, and something that I've had many requests for, so I am really pleased  to finally be able to do it! A whole day private tuition for two people costs £190, compared to £120 for one person, so if you'd like to spend a great day with a friend or sister (or anyone else you'd like to bring along!) then you can save yourself some money as well as make some unique jewellery, learn some new skills and have a lot of fun!

To book a tuition date please email me on info@daisychainjewellery.co.uk or use the contact page on my website.

The photos above are of jewellery that students made before the summer holidays:
1. Kate made this gorgeous ring for herself as a graduation celebration - isn't it beautiful? The stone is a deep green tourmaline, and, believe it of not, it was the first piece of silversmithing Kate had ever done!
2. Linda made her beautiful flower pendant as part of her most recent tuition session. Linda has been for classes a couple of times now.
3. Debbie has been over for tuition a couple of times as well, and made her lovely daisy pendant set with a sodalite.
4. Adrian came to make a special ring for his girlfriend - and thankfully she loved it! I always get nervous when students make something special as a gift as I feel responsible for the outcome, but everyone always loves what it made for them, at least in part because it is made just for them. This was the first piece of jewellery that Adrian ever made, and he designed it himself.

I've moved in!

I've been on a self-imposed computer ban over the Bank Holiday weekend to make sure that we got the workshed finished - and it worked! Mum and Dad had B to stay for a couple of nights and kept him busy with trips to the seaside, baking cakes, running round the woods near their house and teaching him truly awful jokes, and T and I got all the last jobs done. We finished the roof, painted inside, laid the insulation, floorboards and then carpet on the floor, built new workstations and then finally on Sunday I moved everything back in!

Ummm...my wonky photo makes it look as though the roof isn't quite straight!

 

As you can see there are still a few jobs to do. I need to take back to Ikea the bookcase with a missing shelf I bought on Sunday (yes, I even braved Ikea on a Sunday, armed with a list of exactly what I needed and the relevant aisle locations!) and unpack the two boxes you can see on the floor on the left, put my orders notice board up and we also need to insulate the ceiling - that can wait until the autumn though.

I also need to fit the bench pegs that you can see sitting on the new workbenches. Three workbenches!! I didn't have the traditional semi-circle for the bench peg and skin underneath cut into my old workbench as it gave me a bit more versatility when I had students over, but here I've got room for three good sized work areas. The one nearest the door is mine and the other two are for my friend Katie when she comes over to help me a couple of times a month (she keeps me stocked up with jumprings, headpins etc, helps organise my paperwork and package orders) and for two students - yes, I'm about to put details on the website for teaching two people together!

And this is the soldering station. Isn't everything beautifully neat and tidy?! Don't worry, that definitely won't last!

Today was my first day working in the new shed, and I loved it! I didn't have a full working day but I got so much work done. It had been taking me twice as long to get anything done while I was working in the kitchen as everything was so cramped and disorganised, however much I tried to keep it all tidy. It's so nice having the kitchen table back too! B was so good around my work tools. We had a chat when I moved things into the kitchen and he understood what he could touch and what was out-of-bounds.

One of the things I was working on today was a new tutorial, so I'm going to get on and edit that now - I'll be back later!

P.S. T and I did treat ourselves to an evening out at the cinema on Saturday as B was at my parents. If you haven't seen Inception yet, make sure that you do! It's fantastic - so many twists and turns and great effects.

Tutorial Tuesday - hints and tips for sawing metal sheet

As the project I've got in Beads and Beyond this month is all about sawing daisies from copper sheet, I thought that I'd share with you the hints and tips I give my college and private tuition students.

The main tools I use for sawing and piercing(piercing is sawing inside a piece of metal).

Hammer and sharp tipped steel rod for marking where I want to drill a pilot hole for pierced work.

Bench peg that clamps to my bench to support my work - I like this type as I can move it out of the way when I don't need it.

Two different types of saw frames with saw blades

Saw frames

There are two different types of jeweller's saw frames - adjustable and fixed. The blue one in the picture above is an adjustable saw frame with three wing nuts - two that hold the blade and one that adjusts the length of the frame.

To put a blade in an adjustable frame:

1. Open top nut of saw frame and put in one end of the blade with teeth of blade facing towards you and pointing towards the handle of the saw. Tighten the nut. 
2. Loosen the nut at the side of the frame and adjust the frame so that it is a centimetre or so shorter than the blade. 
3. Loosen the bottom nut, insert the blade end and tighten the nut.
4. Lengthen the frame so that the blade is taut and tighten the nut. When you ‘pluck’ the blade it should make a nice sharp ‘ping’.

·       

The wooden handled saw in the photo has a fixed saw frame, in other words, you can't adjust the length of the frame.
To put a blade in an adjustable frame:

1. Hold the front end of the frame in the V of the bench peg so that it doesn’t slip and support the handle against your chest. 
2. Open top nut of saw frame and put in one end of the blade with teeth of blade facing towards you and pointing towards the handle of the saw. Tighten the nut.
3. Put the frame under tension by pushing on it with your chesor your hand. 
4. Loosen the bottom nut, insert the blade end and tighten the nut. 
5. Take the tension off the frame so that the blade is taut. When you ‘pluck’ the blade it should make a nice sharp ‘ping’.

Posture

·         Posture is really important when you are sawing metal. If you sit properly then you will actually have more control over the blade and find the job easier to do, and it's a good idea to sit properly anyway, especially as you will find yourself sitting still for a long time cutting out complex designs!

•       Saw at eye level – it makes it easier to see what you are doing, helps to keep your back straight to reduce back ache and helps to prevent excessive pressure on your wrist. Most jeweller’s benches are taller than normal tables, or you can use an adjustable chair. 
•       Keep your feet apart and knees over your feet – this helps to keep you stable and more comfortable and so helps to prevent ‘wobbles’when you're cutting!

 With practice you will be able to cut so accurately that you can pierce a shape from metal and use both the negative and positive pieces in your work, as I've done with the daisy above.

 Other tips 

•       Keep the blade upright – holding the blade at an angle will make it more difficult to turn corners.
•       Hold the saw lightly – too tight a grip will make the blade jam and cause blades to break
•       Use as much of the blade as possible – short strokes will jam the blade and cause the blade to wear out unevenly.
•       To remove the blade from your work – saw backwards!
•            If your blade gets stuck – try lifting up the whole piece of metal by the saw. This usually loosens the blade.
•       To cut (pierce) inside metal – drill a pilot hole and thread the blade through it before tightening it in the frame.
•       Always turn the metal not your blade – this helps to make your cutting more accurate.
•       To turn a sharp corner – ‘saw’ up and down on the spot with slight pressure backwards, slowly turning the blade/metal as you do so. 
•       Always buy the best quality blades that you can - it will save you hours of filing to clean up your work afterwards.
•       Always use the correct blade for your work – you should ideally have two or three points of the blade to the thickness of what you are cutting. Too thick a blade will catch in your work, too thin a blade will take ages to cut and wear out very quickly. The blade that I use most often is graded as 2/0

Ruby Tuesday

Sorry, that title only just occured to me, and I couldn't resist it!

No Tutorial Tuesday today. I've been writing up magazine projects all day and to be honest, my brain has gone on strike. It's not that I don't have lots of ideas and tips that I want to show you, it's that I wasn't organised enough to write up a tutorial in preparation over the weekend as I normally do (I was teaching for half of the weekend, a decent excuse I think!) and I can't face taking more photos and writing up more instructions today, sorry! Prehaps I ought to borrow Nic's idea and do a few videos for you. It would certainly be easier and clearer to demonstrate and film something like a bow line drill than it would to take step by step photos. I think I need to borrow my parents' video camera....

Anyway, I realised that I haven't shown you any students' work recently, so I thought I'd show you this.......

Isn't that stone amazing? And the setting is just perfect for it. Any texture or complication would detract from the beauty of the stone, but believe me when I say that a simple, silky smooth setting is actually often trickier than a textured one - textures can hide quite a few sins!

It is, of course, a ruby, the largest one that I had ever seen in real life. It was made by Brenda a few weeks ago ( I haven't edited the photos from Saturday's tuition session yet, but that was on stone setting too). She has a rather large collection of beautiful stones, both faceted and cabochon, and wanted to learn how to set them. I think she did brilliantly, especially as it was her very first attempt at stone setting. I've actually bought and set a couple of her cabs, as she's starting to sell them (only so that she can go and buy more - it's become something of an addiction for her!), and I'll show them to you later in the week when I've finished my magazine work.

P.S. Nic has actually posted a couple of new pmc videos in the last few days - so we have a Tutorial Tuesday afterall! You cna find them at www.pmctips.blogspot.com

P.P.S. If, like me, you are now tunelessly humming "Ruby Tuesday" you may like this!

New tuition dates!

Pictures of jewellery made in private tuition sessions earlier this year

I have just updated the list of dates that are available for tuition - and you can see them here.

They cover the few dates I have left in May, and also my June and July dates. I'm hoping to have a couple more dates in July as well, but I've got to wait and see if T can get any time off work for us to go away for a week first!

If you are interested in coming for tuition then there are a few things you need to be aware of:

• I don't do the "come and learn how to make a bangle" sort of tuition - there's no point in paying for private tuition if you can't choose what you'd like to make! Sometimes people have no idea what they'd like to make and are complete beginners, and then I usually suggest that we start with something like a bangle or a simple ring or chain as they teach the most skills that beginners need to progress further. Sometimes people come with sketches of designs they are interested in, or have come to learn something in particular. For example, a recent student, who had been for tuition a couple of times before, wanted to use this session to learn how to set cabochons. So, what would you like to learn? What would you like to make?

• I can't actually teach all the dates that I've listed on the website. I have other work commitments (magazine deadlines, college prep, gallery orders etc) that have to be done. So, if someone books tuition on, say, Tuesday 8th June, I won't take a booking on Thursday 10th July as well otherwise I won't be able to meet my other deadlines. In other words, if there is a date you are interested in, get in there quick!

• And lastly, and this is definitely the most important point - jewellery making is very, very addictive - you have been warned!
  

What do you mean, it's March already?!

My life seems to be going faster and faster - what on earth will it be like when I'm 50?!

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I got out of the habit of posting over a rather hectic halfterm and it's taken me a bit longer than expected to get back into it! The Daisychain Household has been busy with family birthdays, halfterm fun, magazine deadlines (as always!) and lots of lovely tuition. I've had five people over for private tuition this month, and although I didn't manage to take photos of everyone's work (forgot to set up the photo studio as we were too busy, well, making jewellery!), the photos below show you a few of the pieces they made.

Photos 1 and 2 are the pendants that Amy designed and made when she visited for a day at the start of February. She is the first private tuition student I've had who has come ready with a detailed sketch book - I was very impressed! Her designs involved a lot of melting silver to get the hammered balls you can see on both pendants.
Photo 3 shows the ring and bangle that Snita made during her day. She doesn't have the bangle she made any more, though, as a friend of hers loved it so much that Snita, lovely lady that she is, gave it to her. Don't worry - she's already booked to come back and make another one!
Photo 4 shows the pendant that Debi made last Friday. I love the hammered finish. She also made a bangle - and she's had her first orders already as several friends have asked her to make bangles for them!

When I first started offering private tuition my aim was to teach one person at least every 6 weeks. Well, it turns out that I under-estimated slightly. I had one booking roughly every month for the first 4 months or so, and then people started recommending me to their friends and others also googled me after reading articles I'd written for Beads and Beyond. This year I've taught at least one person a week. March is full, April has one date available and I've got bookings for May, July and August already. I really do love teaching jewellery making and silversmithing - I love that I can combine what I was originally trained to do (teach!) with my passion, and, (although this is going to sound really cheesy!) I love that I'm passing on skills that have been in use for centuries. I sometimes get asked why I'm teaching people how to make jewellery for themselves when those people could (and some have!) set up a jewellery business that could compete with mine. My answer is always that the skills I learnt aren't mine to keep, I have a responsibilty to share them. One of my favourite books is Creative Stonesetting by John Cogswell. What that man doesn't know about setting stones just isn't worth knowing, but I've mentioned him now because the introduction to his book really strikes a chord with me. I won't quote it all because a) this was supposed to be a quick "hello, look what my students made this month" post and b) well, there would probably be some copyright issues there, but this part is really important:

"I am one link in a social order, a metalsmithing tradition, that stretches back to the dawn of human civilization, and which will, I hope, stretch even further into the future. As workers in precious metal we are - every one of us - stewards of our profession, privileged with the gift of information handed down to us, prehaps adding a little something to it, and then passing it on. With privilege comes responsibilty, and this gift of knowledge is actually less a gift than a loan."

P.S. If anyone was hoping for one of the introductory priced (discounted) Keum Boo tuition places there's only one left! And there are only two places left on the Keum Boo Taster Workshop on Saturday 13th March. Just thought someone out there might like to know...

Look what they made!

I thought it was about time that I showed you what some of my private tuition students have made this month. I've had three people come and see me for tuiton this month, and my tuition is becoming more and more popular. If you're interested in booking then you may like to know that the next dates I have available are in the middle of March, and April is looking fairly busy too. And there are only 3 reduced price/introductory offer places left for Keum Boo tuition - see here for details.

Anyway, the photos!

Starting at top left, photos 1 and 2 were made by Carolyn during her Keum Boo tuition. She's visited me for a couple of workshops before, and so already had some experience of soldering and working with silver. The teardrop shaped pendant was a present for a friend, and it's the logo for the UK Association for Milk Banking, of which Carolyn is the vice chair.
Photo 3 is the bangle that Paula made in her half day tuition - she hadn't made any jewellery before and was rightly pleased with what she'd made!
Photo 4 is one of the pieces that Lucy made during her day. Lucy already makes and sells her own jewellery and wanted to add silversmithing techniques to her repertoire. We managed to cover a lot, starting with a bangle, making chains, head pins, clasps and, obviously, this gorgeous leaf pendant. I love the natural 'twist' she put into the shape.

By the way, I'm really pleased with myself for putting together that photo collage as it's taken me ages to find out how to do it!

Keum Boo Tuition

Yes, after mentioning it months ago, Keum Boo tuition is finally here!

For those of you who haven't come across this technique before, let me tell you, it is magical! Keum Boo is an ancient Korean technique that literally translates as 'attached gold'. 24k gold is bonded to fine silver through a combination of heat and pressure - no solder is used, and the process really does look magical! It is a beautiful way of using gold in your designs without breaking the bank. I've been planning on offering Keum Boo private tuition for several months now, and I thought that the New Year was a good time to start, so here it is!



A day's tuition costs £130, including the first £10 of silver, gold foil valued at £15, lunch and refreshments. There will be enough foil for you to be able to take some home with you at the end of the day. I've worked out that a day's tuition will allow most people to produce two simple or one more complicated piece of jewellery, and like my silversmithing tuition, the idea is that you make a piece of jewellery that you like in your own style. There's no point in paying for private tuition if you can't choose what you'd like to make!



There are information sheets to take away with you, and the day will cover lots of general silversmithing techniques as well as the Keum Boo and I could go on, but for more information see here! But one of the most important things to tell you now that, just as when I introduced the silversmithing tuition, I've decided to give a discount to the first five people who book Keum Boo tuition - instead of £130 it will cost £120 - but you will need to be quick as the first five silversmithing places went very quickly when I offered this before!

And if you'd like a go at Keum Boo but you're not sure about the whole day, I'm also running a Keum Boo taster workshop for 6 people on Saturday 13th March at £35 per person - see here for details!

And for those of you who like your silver without any gold, I'm running another hammered chains workshop on Saturday 13th February - and you can find details of that here!

Grinning from ear to ear!

My copy of the latest issue of Beads and Beyond arrived through the door today - and I'm feeling rather happy! Not only have I got a Masterclass article in there (this time on how to make your own ear wires in various styles, with a bonus web project showing you how to make the earrings below) but there's also a review of my silversmithing tuition!


Becky (assistant editor of the magazine) came down to spend a day making beautiful jewellery in my workshed at the beginning of September. We had a great day, a really fun day, and Becky made a couple of beautiful pieces - a bangle and a gorgeous pendant in the shape of a swallow that she cut from silver sheet. It was a really complicated shape, especially for a beginner, but she did a fantastic job. Apparently the necklace was going to be a birthday present for a friend, but Becky couldn't bring herself to give it away!

I'm going to try and get hold of a photo of what she made, but in the meantime, go and buy a copy so you can see it for yourself - oh yes, and learn how to make your own ear wires too!

Today's lesson

Well, Saturday's lesson, but it's taken me until this morning to edit the photos! Sue came round for a day's private silversmithing tuition on Saturday with the aim of learning how to make chains and making herself a bracelet. She learnt how to make the individual links, solder, hammer and link them together - and ended up with enough links to be able to make herself a necklace and a bracelet! The bracelet features a lampwork bead in lovely muted shades of green by Tan.

If you fancy coming and learning how to make your own pieces of jewellery with me, then email me on info@daisychainjewellery.co.uk . January is fully booked, I've got space for one more person in February and there are still spaces in March. I have to warn you though, silversmithing is addictive!

Look at this!

Today was a tuition day - Phil was given a day's silversmithing tuition for his birthday and for once I remembered to take photos of what was made during the day. I usually forget until students have left! Anyway, he was busy working away all day, and I just had to show you my favourite of the things he made - this fantastic ring!



He came to the day with some clear designs in mind, and used the rolling mill to texture the silver with skeleton leaves, calulated how much silver to cut out for the ring, did lots of sawing, filing, sanding and soldering, used my lovely disc cutter to make the holes and melted scrap metal to make the little balls on top of the ring. The ring was oxidised at the end to highlight the texture. Doesn't it look great? And this was his first go at silversmithing too.

And the winner is.....

I wrote everyone's names on bits of paper, put them in B's builder hat and he picked one out for me. Well, I had to explain the concept of picking just one out first and we got there in the end! So the winner is.....

Katy!

Thank you for your lovely comments everyone, and Katy, I'll email you to get your address, and then the earrings will be speeding their way too you!

It's been a busy week - but that seems to be the norm, so I don't know why I bother saying it anymore! I went to the Design Edge trade show at Sandown Park on Monday and had a great time. I saw some fantastic gifts and jewellery, some of which I'll tell you more about later this week, and had a chat with the show organiser about having a stand next year. I left feeling very positive about my work and moving more into wholesale orders. Don't worry, I have absolutely no plans to stop the work I'm doing now, the plan is to increase the whole sale side of my business.

I've also been busy with tuition so far this week. Sunday was a silversmith tuition day, and my student made a fantastic bracelet of stars cut from silver sheet for his wife. Lots of sawing, drilling, filing and sanding involved! Another student came over last night for some wirework tuition and we were going over everything from wrapped loops to earwires and even rings. She told me that she's been selling some of her work through a local library and that it's been selling really well - congratulations Ali! I love it when people coming to my workshops start selling their jewellery successfully! I'm really lucky that I'm still able to teach something I love without having to worry about the school paperwork, marking and targets etc. Teaching jewellery making is much more relaxing than teaching ICT!

The tuition is continuing this weekend too. I've been booked by Three Jays Beading to teach my sterling silver bracelet class in Devizes this Saturday. They'll be making bracelets based on the one to the left. If you fancy making your own have a look in the workshops section on my website as I'm running that class in Southampton in October too.

Silversmithing

A quick update on the reduced silversmithing tuition - there are is now 4 3 2 1 places place no places left at £100 for the whole day or £60 for half a day. Just so you know!