Wonder Woman Cuff with Mad Max influence.

Been working on a riveted cuff bracelet.  Rivets and the soft flesh of a woman’s arm?  Yep.  I’ll post it in a moment. It’s NOT done yet though.  I’ve got to smooth and round the edges.

 

Show Tomorrow: Tuesday July 14th, 10AM – 8PM

My friend Jayne is opening up her lovely home for a show this Tuesday, July 14th from 10AM – 8PM.   Grab a friend and treat yourselves to an afternoon out!   Besides my new designs and old favorites check out the great offerings below.   We’ll have refreshments and wine.

I’d love to see you there!
Kim

kg jewelry
noirkim@comcast.net

Jayne’s house: Corner of Awixa & Orchard Hills Dr.
381 Orchard Hills Dr.Ann Arbor, MI48104

p.s. Call me if you can’t find us: 734-476-8167

The Summer Seven…
Plus a Side of Style
Invite you to join in light refreshments and experience:
Sensations of the Senses!
Architectural Tiles, Purses, cookies, flip flops, and lots of jewelers!!!

 

May Jewelry for Sale

Here’s a sampling of May jewelry for sale.

Click HERE to see all 25 pieces.

 

3 Tips for Shiny Silver

Sterling silver tarnishes. That’s the price we pay for wanting white metal without the platinum price tag. So what to do?

1. Keep it enclosed. I keep most of mine in a velvet box or in little jewelry ziplock bag.
2. Use my all-time favorite: Simichrome. First put a dab on paper towel & smear all over jewelry. Next wipe off with paper towel until no more black comes off. Finally with a clean paper towel or kleenex rub a little more to shine it up. and….Voila: shiny pretty jewelry! It’s original purpose was to shine up the metal parts on bikes. (Thanks Jeff Patrick!)
3. Dip it. Although I haven’t need to do this, I’ve heard Tarnex works. There are other silver dips that are ok too. (Careful of pearls or soft stones with these….just test one pearl first).

You may have noticed that I did not include ultrasonic cleaners. They remove dirt and grime, not tarnish.

Share this post with other jewelry lovers: tweet it! Share on Facebook!

More discussion from the experts: The bottom line is if you are going to work with sterling (92.5% Ag) alloys you cannot achieve tarnish free alloys there is just too much silver present and not enough alloy. ….. Silver sulfide is what makes up most of the black compound we call tarnish, this is formed by silver being in contact with sulfur compounds in the air or much more rapidly by contact with strong sulfur compounds like liver of sulfur. ……. James Binnion James Binnion Metal Arts http://www.mokume-gane.com

**Note: When I was in Rome my sterling became tarnished in days! Here in MI it won’t tarnish for years. Hmmmm….

While I haven’t tried this it seems like it makes sense:

Good day, This following article appears on my Silver Care page. Before you pick up that bottle of silver polish, read this: (Copyright Jeffrey Herman) Tarnish is easily removed when first noticed (usually as a yellowish tint), and will become increasingly difficult to deal with as it turns to light brown and eventually black. Occasionally washing an object with a non-lemon-scented phosphate-free detergent is preferred to waiting until tarnish forms and gets so stubborn that polishes have to be employed. (All polishes have some degree of abrasion.) If you start to see very light tarnish that can sometimes only be detected when the object is viewed against a glossy white piece of paper, a liquid, non-abrasive, unscented, aloe-free hand sanitizer, such as Purell, may remove the tarnish. Use a large cotton ball and rotate it regularly to expose unused surfaces, as elements in the tarnish itself can be very abrasive; then dry the piece with a Selvyt cloth or cotton dish towel. Try this technique first, as it is the least abrasive of all silver cleaning methods. Have a tarnish-free weekend! Jeffrey Herman Herman Silver Restoration & Conservation http://www.silversmithing.com/silver

No Ag₂S! Kim

 

Is Jewelry Art?

Just a trinket? Your daily expression of who you are?  A constant sweet reminder?  My jewelry and metalsmith forum discussed the role of jewelry.  One person in particular wrote a beautiful description.   Alastair’s words:

—————————————————————–

Jewelery is an expression of life.

There is something for everyone. A bean, bone or feather, or the most costly and glorious gem. Brass and iron, gold or platinum.

Crude workmanship and cunning artistry…all and sundry are spread out before us.

To some jewelery is a whim no matter how costly. To others jewelery is a lifetime commitment expressed in a modest token. Jewelery can be a chore and a burden to the giver and receiver. It can be a cover to hide behind, a window into a soul, an expression of joy or sadness.

Wealth may widen the options, status may over-extend the mortgage, and life rolls on forever evolving and forever the same.

Alastair

—————————————————————–

What do you think?

Share the love: tweet it! & on Facebook!

 

New Stash

Share the love: tweet it! & on Facebook!

Now La Belle Maison is loaded with hammered silver & gold jewelry.  New styles and the familiar are priced for the recession weary.   So if you’re downtown stop in. The jewelry is right at the counter.  Here’s what’s I brought down:

Small silver and gold hoops that hang no more than an inch.  gold is 14K gold-filled. Medium double hoops are available too.

Silver & gold nests.

Swinging circles.

Balance.

At La Belle Maison for $56

 

@ La Belle

Getting ready to bring a batch of hammered earrings and a couple necklaces to La Belle Maison.  Here’s the first pair.

Dainty circles interconnected about an inch & half long.  The earring hooks and 2 circles are sterling silver.  gold* is 14K gold-filled. They are selling for: $42

2

 

Places Unknown

Starting the blog today.