Sometimes a Great Idea/Sometimes Not:B'sue Queen of Glue

What You Can Do With a Clear Resin Cuff Bangle

We sell this cool resin cuff bangle at http://www.bsueboutiques.com in the Cuffs, Bases section.  Item number SKU:  clearcuff.

It's maybe an inch and a half wide, thick.   Clear with an amber glow; that amber glow give you this fabulous vintage effect.

You can actually stud them with flatback rhinestones, vintage style.  That's one way to go.

But look at the pix here of what I like to do:

I like to collage them on the INSIDE with old paperscraps....photos, parts of old letters, postcards, tickets, memorabilia....whatever you like.  Things that mean something to YOU.

Start with the small pieces first. Then the medium, then the large, or what I've come to think of as 'facing' pieces.    I use a glue stick to the face of the scrap, press in place, let set for a half an hour or so and gesso over the inside rim.   Let that dry, then paint over.  I like to go over the top and bottom rim with a metallic paint pen, to give it a finish.

Let it cure up well...then wear!

Colorizing Raw Brass

Lots of ways to go about this.

If you go back to my post "Cool Things to Make You Think", (I think it's in the November archive) you'll see a cool dangly piece that is actually plated brass, but it's been painted on with pearly pastel paint pens, like you'll find in the crafts store.

I like Zig Painty Markers, but there are lots of other brands that work great too, if you want to pop a little color into a plated piece.

But RAW BRASS poses the best possibilities for a finish that's uniquely yours.

For years I've had success with a combination of mixed brown and black acrylics, painted on, wiped off, painted on, wiped off, and highlights tweaked into the piece with Topaz Brown Color Magic (stuff is in a bottle, you paint it on like nail polish.)

Some like permanent markers.   They color the piece and wipe off with a piece of paper towel or a flat rag (no lint) that's soaked up some acetone nail polish.  Just watch out if you wear fake nails, acetone will ruin them!   

Others have had success by spraying a combo of black and brown spray paint into a tumbler along with a few drops of paint thinner, adding their components and tumbling for several hours.   Let the components dry on wax paper or newspaper (probably newspaper is best) til dry.  You could also apply the paints FIRST, and THEN tumble.  I honestly have not tried this but my gut says it should work very well, I hear good things about it from others.  What I like about this, too, is that you should have very little exposure to solvents, just maybe put a respirator on, when you spray the paint into the tumbler.

Anytime I can avoid harsh lacquers or solvents, I'm all for that.

Another thing you can try is the buffer  on a Dremel tool, or, if you have access to a big buffer, that's cool, too.  I actually have a great big old bad buffer with a double wheel, in my workshop.  I've used a soft buff with tripoli on raw brass and oh baby, it looks LOVELY.   The yellow in the brass shines up just GORGEOUS, and you get alot of darkening into the crevices of the piece to bring out detail.  So you might like to try that.

Others like Liver of Sulfur.   Warm your components first; you might try just using a blow dryer to do that.   Then dunk 'em in liver of sulfur solution per the instructions on the package (you can get it from a lapidary,  or just Google it, not hard to find a supplier, this stuff is not uncommon) til you get the effect you want.   Let them dry.   You can buff in some highlights with a buffer.

There are other chemical dips you can buy for brass AND copper, most of them require care in use as they are a bit noxious.  Remember, anything you get on your skin isn't that much different than if you ingest it; it will get into your system.  People forget that.   So if you decide to use chemical agers on brass, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS.....KEEP IT OFF!!! YOUR SKIN.....and DON'T WORK WITH IT TOO OFTEN.

There are some cool books out there on the subject of patina on metal, I keep reminding myself to buy them but have given them pause more than once when I visited Barnes and Noble.  If you're into learning more, check out Barnes and Noble online, or visit Amazonbooks.com. ......you know them, they have everything.

Be fun!  Check out my raw brass stampings at http://www.bsueboutiques.com, and BE SAFE.

What to Expect from Raw Brass

I sell raw brass stampings on my website.   

While most of our crafting crowd would rather work with plated material, there are some cool things about raw brass:  you have a bare, clean playing surface that you can colorize any way you want.

The price of brass sheet has risen dramatically in the last few years, and I find that many of the stampings I offer cost fully twice what they did 8-10 years ago.  Toolers are scrambling for any sort of sheet to work with that they can get.   Because the market is lately more volatile and sheet harder to come by, you may see some fluctuation in the color of raw brass stampings.

I prefer to offer what I call 'mellow yellow' stampings....a rich, warm, low golden color metal.   But sometimes they'll be a little dark, a little grey, even a tad bit red.   I welcome the difference, personally, and many times will throw some of those odds back for altered art projects or to sell in lots.

Whoever you get raw brass from, you need to know the stuff will age with time, whether it's in a warehouse, at my place or at yours.  It will even begin to turn in the package as it sits on the shelf.

If you get brass that's starting to turn a little bit, no big deal.  Remember, there's no finish on it.  So just go after it with a bath in Jewelry Joose and a good spit-shine with a Sunshine cloth, and it will come right back up.   If you get it to a color you like and want it to STAY that way, you must seal it.

A light mist with some clear spray lacquer from the hardware store on both sides, should do the job.

Cool Stuff to Make You Think

Everyone needs to keep back a box or baggie or drawer full of stuff that inspires them, little bibs and bobs they pick up along the way.   

This is not stuff you will maybe ever use to make jewelry.  OR...you might.  Just stuff you keep and fondle, look at, think about.  Stuff that leads you to new ideas.

Below you'll see one such piece.   This is a combined stamping, that is a stamping that's soldered onto another.

I just think this is awesome.  The color on it was achieved with pearl paints.  You could do that with acrylics, or maybe heat-set alcohol based paints for altered art and scrapbooking.

This coiled vintage wire just makes me think.....hmmmm.   Maybe cut it and make a necklace and hang stuff all over it.   But I know there is more to it than just that.   That's why I want to save it and just go back to it, again and again.

What would you do with it?

Keys are always fun.   What would you do with this bunch of little sterling-plated keys?

I like to layer keys with heart charms or hang them two or three at a time from one jumpring.

These would also be good on a vintage style card made from handmade paper, combined with maybe some old watchparts, vintage lace, and a cool image under some resin in a bezel, or under a lens like we have on the website at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

These are WONDERFUL old gingerbread brass guilding-weight stampings made in France.   They are what I call industrial stampings, not because they are mechanical or anything, it's just that they have an old fixture-hardware style look to them.   They have little depressions in them; they were orignally meant to be pave'd with little tiny stones.

Well.....that's the obvious, isn't it?   But, get it out of the can and into the hand!   THINK DESIGN POSSIBILITIES.  What can be DONE with this piece, what unsual use can there be?   Save it til you figure it out, in your  rainy-day inspiration box.

These are just a few things that are special to me.   Do you have an inspiration box?   

Organizing Workspace

Aha.....something we'd all love to have, an organized workspace!  But if you are like me, it is a long time in coming.    The office here and little warehouse are well organized, but not pretty, LOL!   

If you want to see a PRETTY workspace that is also the epitome of FUNCTIONAL as well as inspirational, check out Tim Holtz' workspace on his weblog at http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/

Get out the Kleenex and prepare to DROOL!

Brass Stampings, Not be Confused with Rubber Stamping!

I get asked that all the time.....what IS a brass stamping?  Does it have something to do with rubber stamping?

A brass stamping is a a jewelry component.  Brass stampings have been made in the United States for well over a hundred years and have been made in Europe for far longer than that. 

We specialize in brass stampings for jewelry making at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

While I'm sure if you are a clever soul you can certainly find ways to use brass stampings along with your rubber stampings projects (such as in altered art), brass stampings are not used LIKE rubber stampings.   They can be charms, necklace centerpieces, jewelry connectors, brooch tops.  They can be colorized, bent, manipulated, such as jewel wrap with filigree that is so popular right now.   They can be decorative or functional. 

That's all up to you, because YOU are the artist!

Brass stampings are not usually the same on both sides.  Let's discuss the photo, below:

    The top two charms are shown front and back.  As you can see, the back is pretty much the same as the front, but it's bumped up, or hollow, not flat.    The same with the diamond-shaped medallion in the middle row.   The crescent stamping is FLAT on both sides, this is a beading grid.  At the bottom you'll see a little funky rabbit charm, and next to it a fleur-di-lis charm.   These are a little different; they are struck, or stamped from GUILDING brass.   This brass is very fat, thick sheet.   The impression made is flat on the back and the design is on one side.   You usually see this in charms, or small motifs made for enamelling, when you do see it.  It *almost* has a cast look and feel to it.

Here's a closer look at that big heart:

See what I mean?  The design is exact opposite on back.  In the case of this piece, however, the outside dimensions, or edge are the same.  So, what some designers like to do is BOND TWO TOGETHER, front and back, to make a pendant that is same front and back.  You can easily do that with E-6000 glue and jewelry clamps----and yep!   We sell this heart stamping and the clamps and glue at our website!

What do you mean, Brass OX?

Let me give you a quick run down on our plating finishes at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

Our focus is on antique finishes, so we don't have alot of goldplated and silverplated products.   I do have alot of OX finishes such as

brass ox or brox

pewter ox or pwox

copper ox or copox

silver ox or silox

OX means 'oxidized'.    So brass ox is an antiqued brass plate, and so forth.  Our ox finishes are deep and rich because we have a black antique layer added with the plating, to bring out detail.   The look is striking.

Also, our ox finishes are permanent.  You don't have to seal them or do anything to them.  They are ready to go.   Our silver ox finish has a lacquer coat, as well.

Gunmetal is the color of hematite, deep charcoal grey-black, glossy, pretty.   This finish is more brittle than the ox finishes and does not manipulate as well.   We carry all the findings to go with our gunmetal finish at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

Russian goldplate is made like the wonderful finish you find in vintage Miriam Haskell jewelry, and our Russian goldplate is so close to that old finish that you can hardly tell the difference.  It has the glow of Victorian rolled gold.   Our Russian goldplate actually has a drop of real gold in the finish and the antique applied brings out detail.   If you are in the market for Russian goldplated findings,  we've got the best finish out there!

You'll find unplated stampings and filigree at http://www.bsueboutiques.com also!   These are great if you like the look of plain brass.  It can be shined, polished, antiqued with paints, with tripoli on a buffer, or colorized with chemical agents (aged).

Don't hesitate to write me at bsue1441@aol.com if you have questions about the finishes we offer!

Brass Stampings vs. Castings

For the most part, we carry American-made STAMPINGS at http://www.bsueboutiques.com.

A stamping is made from a die that strikes sheet brass.   Think of it this way, if you take a big hammer and hit a piece of metal, now the metal has an impression.  It's not the same on both sides, however.

A casting is made from a mold.    A mold is cut or impressed, then filled with molten metal and processed.   Many cast pieces have two sides, or a flat back, and are heavier.

Stampings can also be made from very heavy sheet and have flatbacks, depending on the process.   Usually this sort of stamping is made from what we call 'guilding' metal, or brass.   Many of the guilding-weight brass stampings are perfect for colorization or epoxy enamels like Colores.

You can get the 'Colores' look by simple acrylic paint (paint your piece as you wish) and topping with Envirotex Resin, which we carry on the website at http://www.bsueboutiques.com

I do carry a little bit of cast product from time to time, but I shy away from cast product not made the US as many times it has too high a lead content.   As much as possible, I like to bring in American made brass stampings.   They are not appreciated nearly enough for their flexibility in jewelry making.   

Brass stampings can be manipulated, caged (basicly embroidered with beads and wire) soldered, glued, colorized---so many ways to go.   Also the detail on a stamping is very fine, much more so than something cast that is popped out of a mold and tends to lose detail the more the mold is used.

ALSO:  brass stampings can be USED as a mold, many times, for polymer clay----even candy and soap making!

It bears mentioning however:   the brass stampings we sell are free to be used in work that is bought and sold, basicly all your designs.  You can really use them however you like.

While it's fine to use them as molds to make candy and soap,  it is not  permissable for you to purchase the pieces to rubber mold them and make castings from them, so you can reproduce them and re-sell the pieces that way.

Brass stampings are also great used in altered art and scrapbooking projects.  Cast pieces are too heavy to use in journals and items based on paper, but stampings, while sturdy, are still lightweight enough to apply to hand-made cards, journals and invitations.

What Sort of Glue Should I Use To Make Jewelry?

That's a question that's oft debated.

If you are REPAIRING jewelry, such as re-setting rhinestones, then you want to use HYPOTUBE cement.   There is nothing better.  It won't eat the foil on your stones, and the hold is great.

We do sell it on the website at http://www.bsueboutiques.com.

Some complain that they do not like the tube on this sort of glue.  I will freely admit, you need to keep the tip clean and you need to develop a bit of a 'hand' in using it.    It's worth the trouble, because again, this is THE glue product you want for this application.

When using hypotube cement, less is more.   Don't fill the cup with glue, just apply it to the back of the stone and set.   If you fill the cup with glue, it will take a long time to set up.

IF YOU ARE MAKING JEWELRY:  For the best hold that will stand the test of time, E6000 glue is the glue of choice every time.  We carry it on the site at http://www.bsueboutiques.com, as well.   You will need to develop a bit of a technique to use it, but basicly it's very simple---I sort of like the chip and dip method, just get a little on one side of the item you are gluing and then slide it.

You do need to be careful when using these two glues, they do have noxious fumes.   Work with adequate ventilation, keep it off your hands and skin, and don't eat while you are using it.   Wash up well when you are done using it or if you have to take a bathroom break.  If you are a production artisan and use glues alot, this is more important than ever.

Another glue that works okay for some sorts of collage is Crafter's Pick Ultimate Glue, and we carry that one as well at http://www.bsueboutiques.com  This is a NON TOXIC glue and has the best hold of any non-toxic glue I have ever tried.  It takes about twice as long as E6000 to set up, however.

Other glues that work are Devcon two-part epoxies (you have to mix this one up and use it fast) and Elmer's Stix-All.   I like the Elmer's product as it is less noxious than many glues, and the hold is very tight.   But, it does not dry clear, so it will not work for every application.

A GLUE YOU SHOULD NEVER USE FOR MAKING JEWELRY is hot glue, not even the industrial-strength ones.  Hot glue expands and contracts with heat and cold, so you can imagine what might happen to your jewelry, given the test of time.    It just won't hold up.

SO.....What do you do with an Up Eye?

I get asked that alot. 

Up eyes are little findings that you bond onto the backs of something else to make it hang.   Here you will find a photo of one of my personal favorite styles, that we offer on my site at http://www.bsueboutiques.com.   

Sometimes an upeye can be a simple little tab, almost like a chain end.  Usually that sort is best soldered rather than glued, especially if you are going to use it to attach chain to a finding to make it into a centerpiece, for say, a necklace. 

I like to use these larger, fluted up eyes to bond onto the back of a flat stamping, or button top, to make it into a button or charm.   Then you can sew it onto apparel, or better yet, make a button bracelet or charm bracelet from things that originally weren't drilled or had no hanging hole.

I use E6000 glue to bond them to the backs of appropriate stamped materials.   What's appropriate?  Hey, that's up to you.  I feel you should try anything.....you might come up with something wonderful.

ALWAYS THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.

Check out this link for more ideas:

http://imageevent.com/bsue/buttonjewelryprojectsfrombsue