craftyGAgal

Meredith Crosby -- craftyGAgal is a wonderful, kind, friendly, and amazingly talented person. Here's a little more about Meredith, from her etsy profile:

I am a Mom to twins boys who amaze me more each day (and at 7 yrs old that is a lot of amazing days), wife to my best friend, etsy lover, a yarn junkie, a beadaholic, a coffee addict, and ALL Round Good Southern Gal who happens to have a bad case of Crafter's ADD! I suffer from chronic pain due to a failed spinal fusion and hurt every minute from the second I open my eyes BUT everything happens for a reason......and now I am here! I craft to keep busy am hoping that it will turn out to at least fund my crafting habit. Wanna know anything, and I mean anything, else- just ask. I am "convo" friendly and love to chat chat chat.

The following are questions that Meredith asks people she profiles on her blog, and she was gracious enough to let me use them, and to answer them for me.

1. What kind of handmade items do you sell in your etsy shop?

Handmade Stained Glass Jewelry, beaded and gemstone jewelry, and coming soon- crocheted items. I also have another etsy shop with a partner http://dylanblue.etsy.com

2. Explain your craft/art for people who may not be familiar with it?

Stained Glass Jewelry is a multi-step process. I do the complete stained glass process myself. I cut, grind, wrap in copper foil, apply flux, solder, clean and finally polish EACH hand chosen pieces of glass. I use the copper foil method and always use LEAD FREE Solder.

Beaded and Gemstone jewelry is a little more simple..I try to let the beads/gems speak to me, and I try to listen.


3. What is your favorite part of the creative process?

My favorite part is when I am all finished and I can see the effort of my hard work. I also like Shopping for supplies & stash.

4. If you have to pick one item in your shop as your Favorite which one would it be?

My favorite, like everyone else,if I HAD TO PICK, would be http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27357768

WINDOW TO THE SOUL Amethyst Gemstone Necklace with Handmade Stained Glass Purple Pendant because it is the first time I've mixed mediums, both stained glass and gemstones.

5. Where do you hope to see your etsy shop in 1 yr?

I would love to be making money.... to make a living doing what I love. Simple!

6. Is etsy the only place people can find you online?

For right now etsy is the only place that I have stuff for sale (besides my other etsy shop I mentioned above). I also love blogging- http://southernhandmadegifts.com , love being a social media butterfly- love Facebook, Twitter, and about 50 more I am members of.

So please visit Meredith's etsy shop, follow her on twitter, become her Facebook fan, and visit her blog. She's a great person to know, a truly caring and kind person, with a wonderful talent.

Jewelry Fabrication -- Mixed Metal Necklace

This necklace was completely fabricated by me.  I started with copper wire and aluminum, copper, and brass sheet metal.  It isn't my design, however, I got it  from "Jewelry Artist" magazine, the August 2008 edition.  "Jewelry Artist" is a great magazine for learning how to fabricate jewelry, every edition has projects for beginners, and advanced jewelry makers.

There was ample opportunity to practice with the jeweler's saw while making this necklace.  I drilled a hole in the center of each flower, and threaded the coiled and hammered wire 'tendrils' through.  I also handmade the copper clasp.

The individual flowers were also textured, using various hammers and surfaces to impress a relief into the metal surface.  And I also patinated the metal, using a variety of techniques.  

It turned out pretty well for a first effort with sawing metal and fabrication.  The patinas on the copper flowers turned them a lovely shade of blue.  To protect the patina, I used a light coating of carnuba wax.

What Exactly Is Sterling Silver?

There is a common misconception about sterling silver that I'd like to address, and also discuss precious metal vs base metal in jewelry making.

I've started making jewelry in sterling instead of base metal. I like the look of burnished copper and brass, but many women prefer precious metal. And with the amount of time it takes me to make one piece of jewelry, it makes more sense to use sterling silver. My designs involve a lot of wire work, and putting 2 or 3 hours labor into a piece makes it deserve a higher price than I feel comfortable with charging for a jewelry piece made of base metal.
Here's an interesting fact about sterling silver. It isn't pure silver. Pure silver is called 'fine silver', and isn't used very often, because of its' softness. Sterling is an alloy of silver, and is sometimes marked .925 This signifies that it's 92.5 % silver, and the rest an alloy, usually copper.
Another type of sterling, is Argentium silver, which is never less than 93% silver, and has a bit of germanium in addition to the copper, which acts to retard tarnishing. Some of the silver wire I use is Argentium sterling, and I can see the difference in the length of time before it begins to tarnish.