Luscious African Jade, Red Brecciated Jasper, Silver Blue Kyante Oh My!

Look what came in the mail!  

A small supply order for semi precious gemstone pendants and beads oh my!  

From left to right:

• Red Brecciated Jasper beads and point pendant
• Chubby Faceted Natural Carnelian pendant
• Luscious African Jade beads and pendant
• Chevron Amethyst point pendant
• Sodalite point pendant
• Silver Blue Kyanite pendant

I can't wait to create something beautiful with these!  

I'll be sure to blog about what they become.

Oh I almost forgot!  Today's blog post marks number 1500 in the lifetime of my blog - wow that's a lot of talking...  

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Copper Scripture Cuff Bracelet

My husband Rick has been working on some neat copper cuff bracelets.

This one is The Full Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-18  

It's made from solid copper, he's cut out and soldered and/or riveted each implement using copper and brass.  It's been antiqued and polished then treated with ProtectaClear to preserve the patina he gave it.  It measures 1 1/4" wide and about 7 1/4" in diameter & was made to fit an average wrist size.

Antique Copper & Black Agate Freestyle Bracelet

This bracelet features a Copper Freestyle Swirl center link with Black Agate Coin & Tube Beads. It's been antiqued and polished to bring out the natural beauty of the metal. Finished with a protective treatment to preserve the antiqued finish.  I made it to be adjustable in size from a 7" - 7 3/4"

• Handmade
• Antiqued Copper
• Black Agate Semi Precious Gemstones
• Lobster Claw Closure
• Adjustable Fit

Kingman Boulder Turquoise Necklace

I thought it might be fun to start sharing some of the jewelry I've made using the Kingman Turquoise from our trip not too long ago.  This necklace uses Boulder Turquoise.  This type of Turquoise has more of the "host rock" in it than regular Kingman Turquoise.  I love the look of it!

 I used a rectangle shaped bead for a focal in the center of the necklace that I thought was gorgeous then added the Classic Hoop link between the 8mm Boulder Turquoise beads.  It's finished with a handmade hook and eye closure and has been antiqued and polished to bring out the beauty of the metal then treated with ProtectaClear to preserve the patina I gave it.  It measures about 18" long.

I also made a pair of matching earrings.  My Classic Hoops don't always look identical but these two I focused all my energy on getting them as close as possible!  

If you are interested in learning how to make the Classic Hoops I learned from The Missing Link book by Cindy Wimmer.

Etched Copper Cuff Bracelet - Paisley Design

I have another etched copper project I did back in July to share with you today.

I LOVE the way this Paisley cuff bracelet turned out!

This is a 1 1/4" strip of copper sheet that's been etched with a paisley design.  

The etching process is pretty cool and uses a skill set I learned while making greeting cards if you can imagine that.  I was so excited when I learned how to etch metal, I had some of the supplies already!

In a future blog post I'll take you through the process of etching copper using pictures.  

I need to do a supply order, I used all the Ferric Chloride...

• Available in our ArizonaCopperCraft Etsy shop 
• $35.00 + $3.00 shipping within the USA
• PLEASE DISREGARD THE TEXT BELOW FROM ETSY - IT'S INCORRECT.

Clever Chicks Blog Hop - Check it out!

Sandy Beaches Cold Process Soap

It was soap making day around here back in August,  my hubby's at work, the kids in school...

This is a picture of  Sandy Beaches wet soap just poured into two 3 pound silicon molds.

And, here's a photo of this same soap after it's been cut into bars and cleaned up.

It's rested on the curing rack for six weeks now.

Full cure date for this one has already arrived - September 19, 2016.

If you'd like to purchase any of this soap they are $5.50 a bar before shipping.  Leave a comment here, contact me on Facebook, or e mail me.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Lavender & Chamomile Cold Process Soap

Thursdays & Fridays have been my soap making days.  I'm getting ready for Arizona swap meet season, we sell our soap and body products as well as our jewelry November - March/April in Parker, Az at the La Paz County Swap Meet on Saturdays from 8 AM - 2 PM and in Lake Havasu City at the London Bridge Swap Meet on Sundays from 8 AM - 2 PM.  Since we don't have a brick and mortar store this is a way of getting our handmade products out there and it's a great way to spend the winter weekends in Arizona!

The photo you see above is wet soap just poured into the molds.  

This is Lavender & Chamomile soap.

After leaving the soap in the molds for 24 to 48 hours it gets cut into 1" bars and goes onto the curing rack.  Next week I'll take these bars and clean them up by planing the surface and beveling the edges.  Then they go back on the curing rack because they'll need to cure for six weeks before they are ready to wrap and sell.  Soap making is a process.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Etched Copper Necklace - Friends to the end

Back in July I learned about etching copper.

This fun necklace is made using a disk I cut from a sheet of copper.  I actually made the etched sheet of copper first then cut the disk.  Etching a metal disk like this can eat away the metal around the edges and the outcome has been unpredictable for me.  

After cutting the disk I sanded the edges to make sure they were nice and smooth and antiqued it with Liver of Sulfur.  Then used my dapping tools to give it a domed shape.  I used another cool tool to make a hole for my handmade bail that connects the pendant to the necklace chain.  The antiqued copper mesh chain is 3mm wide and 18" long.  I also treated the pendant with ProtectaClear to preserve the patina I gave it.

A necklace similar to this one is available for sale at our store Arizona Copper Craft.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Kingman Turquoise

Last Tuesday my husband Rick & I had the opportunity to take a day trip to Kingman Arizona.  We visited Colbaugh Processing, the miners and producers of Kingman Turquoise.  I forgot to take pictures when we were there so I've borrowed a few from their website.

There were walls filled with different turquoise beads and boxes and buckets full of turquoise in different shapes sizes and colors, it was cool!

Here's a photo of one of the walls in the store (courtesy of Colbaugh Processing).

This photo also belongs to Colbaugh Processing and is from the mine at Turquoise Mountain.

Here's what we brought home with us from Colbaugh Processing, kind of pales in comparison to what we saw today, but hey, we can go back any time.

Denim Blue Dumortierite Necklace With Fancy Copper Links

I had fun making this Copper & Denim Blue Dumortierite necklace.  

I started by making fancy copper links:

For this necklace my inspiration came from Cindy Wimmer's book The Missing Link.  

I wanted to use more than one style of link so after making up several designs I decided what I'd like to use.  The next step is connecting the links with the semi precious Dumortierite gemstones.  I used a basic wrapped loop for the gemstone beads then connected them with copper jump rings.  I think the jump rings give this fancy link necklace ease of movement when its being worn.  

After putting the necklace links together it's time to tumble it to harden the copper wire.  

When that process is finished I antiqued the copper with Liver of Sulfur then polished it with fine steel wool to take off just enough tarnish to get the look I want.  

The final step in making this necklace is sealing the copper with ProtectaClear.  This is an amazing product for jewelry, it helps protect the patina you've created, preserve the finish and if your skin chemistry is the type that turns green when you wear copper ProtectaClear can help with that too. 

This necklace measures 27" & is available for sale in our store Arizona Copper Craft.
$59.00 + $4.00 shipping within the USA - Or use our green "buy now" button below.

Howlite & Copper Wire Wrap Pendant

I've been practicing my wire wrapping skills and having fun learning new techniques. This pendant is made from Howlite that has been dyed green. It's 2 /34" long from top to bottom and 1" across at its widest point. I don't have a chain for it yet, I was thinking a black braided cord might look neat or a fancy copper link chain...

like this one I found at Rings & Things? I was also thinking maybe it should be a longer necklace instead of my usual in your neckline type.

Howlite is a stone that is naturally white with a fine black matrix and is best known for imitating other semi precious gemstones.  It is quite porous in nature so it absorbs dye well.  Unfortunately for the consumer it can be sold as turquoise, red coral and/or lapis luzuli.  Honest dealers will tell you if their semi precious gemstones have been dyed or altered in any way.  

One day in the near future after I've acquired some real turquoise we'll do a fun comparison blog post. My husband Rick & I are planning a turquoise buying trip soon, we'll go to Colbaugh Processing which is the mine just outside of Kingman Arizona to do our shopping.

 My supplies from Rings & Things arrived yesterday.  I tried the chain pictured above and it looked odd to me so I went with a 3mm antiqued mesh necklace chain.

Etched Copper Bracelet - Be Free

This antiqued copper bracelet has been etched with a fun design.  It measures 3/4" wide and is slightly adjustable.  I made it to fit an average wrist size, it can be opened a little to fit a larger wrist or squeezed together for a smaller wrist.   After being antiqued and polished it's been treated to protect and preserve the finish.

• Handmade
• Etched Copper
• Cuff Bracelet

$27.00 + $4.00 shipping within the USA - use our green "buy now" button below.

Copper & Aventurine Necklace

Aventurine & Antiqued Copper Necklace

I've been working on necklaces and bracelets using semi precious gemstones while learning new techniques for making fancy links with copper wire.  Two books have been helpful learning resources for me, Handcraft Wire Jewelry and The Missing Link. 

This necklace is Aventurine & Antiqued Copper with a fancy link in between each stone. It measures 19" in length from end to end and has a hand forged hook and eye closure. The copper has been treated to maintain the antiqued finish.

ProtectaClear is my go to when it's time to finish a piece of copper jewelry, I like the way it seals and protects copper to prevent it from tarnishing and further than the patina I've given it.  Copper treated with ProtectaClear can also help prevent your skin from turning green if your chemistry reacts to copper in that way!

Wire Wrap Copper Cuff Bracelet

This was another fun project inspired by a jewelry making book I have - Contemporary Copper Jewelry by Sharilyn Miller.  Only I'm not a big fan of bangle bracelets so I improvised and made mine a cuff bracelet.  I made several & I kept one of these for myself, it's one of my go to favorites to wear.

This copper cuff bracelet is made using copper tubing.  It was a challenging project that needed to be heated with a torch a few times to anneal the copper so it would bend into the shape I wanted.  I carefully flattened the ends and sanded them smooth then wrapped copper wire in fun design around the top center of the bracelet.  The antique finish came next along with polishing to bring out the natural beauty of the metal.  Then  ProtectaClear to seal and protect the finish I gave it.

Wire Wrap Antiqued Copper Cuff Bracelet $24.00 + $4.00 shipping within the USA -
use our green "buy now" button below.

Chevron Amethyst & Copper Washer Necklace

Do you like Amethyst?

I love Amethyst especially natural Amethyst or Chevron Amethyst. You might be asking yourself what's the difference?

I love the look of the white with the varying degrees of purple and the chevron like pattern in the stones. I learned that Chevron Amethyst is a combination of Amethyst and White Quartz mixed together in a V - striped or banded pattern. It's even believed by some to have stress relieving qualities. Did you know Amethyst in antiquity was thought to ward off drunkenness?  I think I could feel less stressed wearing a beautiful Chevron Amethyst necklace, how about you?

To make this necklace I chose a Chevron Amethyst coin bead to add to the center of a copper washer.  First I textured the copper washer with a metal stamp.  I also put a couple of extra holes in the copper washer so I could hang something pretty from one side and attach it to the necklace as well.  

After making my pendant I decided to make a matching necklace using small Chevron Amethyst beads and create links using them to help repeat my design.  When I had it all together I antiqued it using Liver of Sulfur then polished each link and surface of copper with super fine steel wool.  After making sure there were no more tiny bits of steel wool I gave it a little added protection with ProtectaClear.  ProtectaClear is my go to when it's time to finish a piece of copper jewelry.  It's a metal sealer that protects a copper finish from oxidizing any further, it also helps prevent the green on the skin from wearing copper that some people experience.    

Today's blog post is part of Clever Chicks link party!

Copper & Denim Blue Dumortierite Bracelet

I've recently discovered Denim Blue Dumortierite!  I've been looking for blue semi precious gemstones and they need to meet certain criteria for my jewelry making process, they need to be beautiful, natural in color and durable.  After doing some research I believe I've found those characteristics to be true of Dumortierite.

What is Dumortierite you might ask?

Here's an excerpt from Gemselect.com,

Dumortierite quartz is one of the rarer and more unusual blue varieties of quartz gemstones. It is a gemstone-quality combination of quartz aggregate, intergrown with the mineral known as dumortierite. Although quartz can occur in a wide range of colors, blue colored quartz is surprisingly quite rare. The traces of dumortierite are responsible for its distinct color, which can range from light to dark blue and in some cases reddish-brown.

This particular bracelet is available in our store Arizona Copper Craft, click the link and it'll take you there.

Blog Revival

Hello Blog Friends!

I think it's time for a blog revival here.  I've felt like if I wasn't making cards I didn't really have anything to blog about but I was wrong.  I've still been making things and life moves forward.

Since I was here last I turned a creative corner, several in fact.

I haven't made any cards, after making thousands of them I just can't anymore.  I still love the images, the supplies to make them, giving and receiving them.  That part of my creative life is done for now.

I started making soap and other beauty/skin related things and have really enjoyed that.

I started a soap business that has been successful here locally.  

The summer of 2015 my husband & I went to Prescott Arizona for a get away trip.  We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast & spent time down town exploring the museums, gallery's and historic homes.  When we returned home I told him I'd like to start making jewelry.  I was inspired by what I'd seen in Prescott.  Mind you, I've never been a big jewelry wearer...  so I wasn't really sure where this had come from.  

Looking at it now I realize it's a love for art and design that inspires me to create jewelry.

It didn't take long to start collecting supplies and looking for online sources for learning and I'd started my journey.  A few weeks into this new adventure my husband told me he'd like to learn to make jewelry too.  How cool is that?!  We started another business creating and selling our jewelry that has been rewarding and something fun to do together.

And, I'm still making soap/bath & beauty products so life is busy!

So, that's what we've been doing and that's what I'll be sharing here mostly.

I hope you'll come along for the ride with us!