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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 15, 2023 23:13:21 GMT -5
rockbrain - those are awesome Gary! My favorite is that spider hanging from the hammered web! 
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 16, 2023 1:01:23 GMT -5
They are wonderful! They want to come live here:  No, it's not the start of my entry--I did this years ago and never got around to the spider, although I've done the cabs to make her. My entry will not have a spider (sigh) since I tried, but failed, to figure out a way to do one small enough. |
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Post by liveoak on Oct 16, 2023 6:06:06 GMT -5
Looks like you were having fun !  I really like the hammered one with the hanging spider- it's particularly nice.
If you have another show this month, I bet they would sell well.
Patty
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 16, 2023 22:48:35 GMT -5
How liberating! I set out to make a mess of a tombstone, and I did. Not enough tool marks so I attacked the wire with a file. Bail was actually fairly straight so I messed it up. The bottom I weaved with 20-gauge wire--that will never happen again. And no steel wool on the patina, although I did scrape it with the file a bit. I cut the cab (2.5" by 1.75") long ago, trying to capture the ghost, then decided to tumble it rather than dome. I loved it--but I dropped on the floor and it broke. Glued back together for Halloween? Perfect! And the 30-gauge fine silver wire I overcut (weaving for some earrings) found a home. FRONT:  BACK:  BACKLIT:  |
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Post by liveoak on Oct 17, 2023 6:13:20 GMT -5
I LIKE it Susan !
Creative, curious, interesting, original, perfectly in theme, and eerie looking when backlit.
I really like the tree branch on the front.
I have to add (not sure I said this before) I always enjoy reading your write ups BEFORE ever looking at your wrap.
It puts it in your perspective - and on my laptop I use in the morning is simple to see that way.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Patty
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 17, 2023 9:32:36 GMT -5
susand24224 Susan, I can always count on you for something creative and surprising. Your piece is very cool and definitely has that Halloween vibe. I love the back lit pic. What are your branches made of?
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 17, 2023 17:31:26 GMT -5
I LIKE it Susan !
Creative, curious, interesting, original, perfectly in theme, and eerie looking when backlit.
I really like the tree branch on the front. I have to add (not sure I said this before) I always enjoy reading your write ups BEFORE ever looking at your wrap.
It puts it in your perspective - and on my laptop I use in the morning is simple to see that way.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Patty
Thank you so much, Patty. I see the silver wires aren't messy enough toward the bottom, so I will fix it; they will be much worse later today! Especially thanks for the comment on my comments; I'm never sure if I should put in all that stuff, but I know *I* like to see the boring stuff, so I err on the side of what I would prefer. Having a broken "cab/tumble" makes it much easier to mess around since no one, but no one, will ever wear this one. BTW, I learned that E6000 will hold up to near boiling water and liver of sulphur. It will not, however, hold up to a sonic jewelry cleaner, it gives up the ghost almost immediately. I also learned that although 20-gauge wire looks innocent enough, it should not be used for weaving 18-gauge wire, although it does (sort of) resemble a bandage, which is what I wanted. |
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 17, 2023 17:43:17 GMT -5
susand24224 Susan, I can always count on you for something creative and surprising. Your piece is very cool and definitely has that Halloween vibe. I love the back lit pic. What are your branches made of? Tela, it is an absolute mess, which is what I was aiming for. I cannot begin to express the joy of using a caliper to hold unstraightened 18-gauge wires even while binding. Not caring if the wire was marred, indeed, hoping it was marred. I have no idea what the branch is made of. I had intended to do a spider and went to JoAnn's to look for black craft wire. And there was the branch--the perfect branch. It is likely some cheap, toxic metal from China but it was perfect. But--this reduced my spider to having to be something so small that its legs would look like lint, so I am disappointed that I missed the spider opportunity. Oh, well, there will be other spiders in my future--and thank you to Rockbrain for easing the pain of my lost spider. PS: For those who have no Winco (next to Joann's), they sell in bulk and their twist ties are huge--far better for securing wires than the usual grocery store ties. I have oodles--so if you need some twist ties, send your mailing address--consider it a gift from the grave. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 17, 2023 18:11:35 GMT -5
susand24224 Susan, I can always count on you for something creative and surprising. Your piece is very cool and definitely has that Halloween vibe. I love the back lit pic. What are your branches made of? Tela, it is an absolute mess, which is what I was aiming for. I cannot begin to express the joy of using a caliper to hold unstraightened 18-gauge wires even while binding. Not caring if the wire was marred, indeed, hoping it was marred. I have no idea what the branch is made of. I had intended to do a spider and went to JoAnn's to look for black craft wire. And there was the branch--the perfect branch. It is likely some cheap, toxic metal from China but it was perfect. But--this reduced my spider to having to be something so small that its legs would look like lint, so I am disappointed that I missed the spider opportunity. Oh, well, there will be other spiders in my future--and thank you to Rockbrain for easing the pain of my lost spider. PS: For those who have no Winco (next to Joann's), they sell in bulk and their twist ties are huge--far better for securing wires than the usual grocery store ties. I have oodles--so if you need some twist ties, send your mailing address--consider it a gift from the grave. I have an insanely difficult time being "messy". Indeed, I find anything that isn't symmetrical difficult to do. Probably why I don't do a lot of curlicues. But, you nailed it and it looks right. The branches are cool. Did the metal patina with LOS? |
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,198
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Post by rockbrain on Oct 17, 2023 19:00:37 GMT -5
rockbrain - those are awesome Gary! My favorite is that spider hanging from the hammered web! Thanks Jason! I'm liking the hammering more and more. What's funny is when I hammered the one for the dangling challenge I thought I would do some more later and put something in the middle. One of my thoughts was a spider web. Then when I looked at tutorial for Oct I saw it had already been done. They are wonderful! They want to come live here: No, it's not the start of my entry--I did this years ago and never got around to the spider, although I've done the cabs to make her. My entry will not have a spider (sigh) since I tried, but failed, to figure out a way to do one small enough. Thank you! It looks like the perfect home. Cool web. How big is it? Looks like you were having fun ! I really like the hammered one with the hanging spider- it's particularly nice.
If you have another show this month, I bet they would sell well.
Patty
They're actually a lot of fun to make. Except for drilling the holes through the stones. Just not a fan of drilling! Funny, I made these for a show and things sold pretty well, but not a single spider sold. Lot's of comments about them and people seemed to enjoy them. I probably had the price too high. They take a lot of labor when you make your own stones. |
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,198
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Post by rockbrain on Oct 17, 2023 19:01:58 GMT -5
susand24224 your tombstone is awesome. I love it and it's completely original.
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 17, 2023 20:30:36 GMT -5
susand24224 - That gravestone is SO amazingly creative! I love the delicate wisps of wire woven around the spooky (what appear to me to be) tree branches! Fantastic!!
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 17, 2023 22:15:30 GMT -5
rockjunquie , Tela, the branch was not patinaed--I attached it after the rest wallowed in patina for approaching an hour, with more drops added occasionally. For me, it's easy to be messy--by nature I am messy, so messy was very relaxing. rockbrain , thank you for the compliment! The web measures between 4.5 and 5" in diameter (not counting the part that extends to the branches. You've got me all excited about finishing it now, so I took a picture with the little zoisite cabs in place. The cabs are pretty bad, but I did them before I tried dopping or attaching to a nail, etc. so since I still have eight fingers and two thumbs I consider them a success. (Photographed on top of the sketch I drew showing which type of garlic was planted where--thus the Russian Red.)  jasoninsd , thank you! I didn't fully realize my macabre side until I went through old cabs and found eight that would work. I was so glad to find a use for my abused tombstone. I should add that there's still plenty of time for you to participate, but I won't.
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 18, 2023 11:38:50 GMT -5
rockjunquie , Tela, the branch was not patinaed--I attached it after the rest wallowed in patina for approaching an hour, with more drops added occasionally. For me, it's easy to be messy--by nature I am messy, so messy was very relaxing. rockbrain , thank you for the compliment! The web measures between 4.5 and 5" in diameter (not counting the part that extends to the branches. You've got me all excited about finishing it now, so I took a picture with the little zoisite cabs in place. The cabs are pretty bad, but I did them before I tried dopping or attaching to a nail, etc. so since I still have eight fingers and two thumbs I consider them a success. (Photographed on top of the sketch I drew showing which type of garlic was planted where--thus the Russian Red.) jasoninsd , thank you! I didn't fully realize my macabre side until I went through old cabs and found eight that would work. I was so glad to find a use for my abused tombstone. I should add that there's still plenty of time for you to participate, but I won't. Well, I'm glad you didn't bring that up! LOL I'm in the process of getting all the slabs off my kitchen table wire-working area so I can get back to doing some wrapping...so there just might be a chance! LOL |
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Post by drocknut on Oct 18, 2023 19:57:05 GMT -5
That branch adds the perfect touch for spooky. Ya done good!
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Oct 18, 2023 22:38:12 GMT -5
Very cool susand24224 ! The backlit shot looks like a spooky moonlit scene to me. |
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Post by susand24224 on Oct 18, 2023 23:56:50 GMT -5
drocknut, khara, Diane and Khara, thank you for your comments. I can't claim credit for the branch except to say that when I saw it in a store I rarely go in I snatched it. And Khara, it definitely works better backlit.
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Post by liveoak on Oct 19, 2023 6:12:08 GMT -5
You just need a drill press, makes it a lot easier to control.
Patty
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 19, 2023 9:48:19 GMT -5
Alright everyone, I have stepped outside my box with this. I faithfully followed a YT tute, which I very rarely do. I used curlicues, which I rarely ever do. And, I wrapped a pebble which I very rarely do. About the pebble- I had no orange cab to do the tute. I swear, I couldn't find an appropriate on on eBay or etsy. So, I reached out to amygdule for a carnelian cab to purchase. He doesn't cab, but he graciously sent me some beautiful wave tumbled carnelian to choose from. I was so happy!!! Thank you SO much! This pebble is a nearly perfect cab in the same size that I needed. It was thick, though, with no girdle, so I had to deviate from the tute a hair, but I think it still came out nice. The carnelian is super nice- much better than in person. Maybe I'll get a back lit picture. So, here it is- the cab is 30x22mm. Here is the tute. I think it was well done.
eta- sorry about the dirty background. I think that might be steel wool.
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Post by liveoak on Oct 19, 2023 10:50:07 GMT -5
OH MY- How wonderful that pumpkin is !
Sweet - curls and all.
I bet the carnelian is spectacular back lit.
Boy this monthly chanllege is definitely getting everyone motivated ! Patty
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... to the New Guys from The ChatBox V.2 Crew