MiShel Designs

Can I Dip My Pearls in a Liver of Sulfur Solution and Other Questions,...

The Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop is coming up this Sunday, September 15^th and I’ve had a few questions from people who are participating, so I wanted to get some answers out to everyone and also give you some helpful hints and places to go for information.

*Clicking on the highlighted links through out this post
will take you to other sites/videos with helpful information.

Plus, I will have a 'Link List' at the bottom of this post with websites and video links full of helpful information for you!

Okay, here we go - one question I received was:

“Can I liver of sulfur my finished wire work piece with my pearls, or do I have to oxidize my metal first and then create my piece?”

Great question! And, safety first here, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on any solution(s) you are using whether it’s Liver of Sulfur, Silver Black, etc. and always wear protective eye gear.

Here’s my answer: You should not place your pearls or other porous gemstones (such as turquoise, etc.) or fragile beads (painted, AB coated crystals, etc.) into a solution of Liver of Sulfur.

Technically, you should oxidize your metal (silver, copper, etc.) prior to working with or assembling your piece.

Now, have I ever placed my finished piece along with my pearls into a solution of Liver of Sulfur – yes.

Should I have? No, not really.

Why did I do it? Because I was lazy (just stating the truth here folks!) and I wanted to see what would happen to my pearls. (Granted, I didn’t do this with my ‘super-good’ pearls!!)

So, what happened?

Well, my pearls came out just fine after about a 30 second dip in some LOS. Absolutely perfect. Not a problem at all.

See?

Pearl, Turquoise and Sterling Silver Wire
Wrapped Pendant "Freya"
Before and After an LOS Solution Dip

Although, another time, when I left my pearls in some LOS solution for a couple of minutes, one of them had a dullness to their nacre that wasn’t there prior to the LOS dip and one time it even turned a white pearl a rather dull, gray color. It was hard to see right off the bat, but in certain lights you could tell it had lost its original white color and that something was a bit ‘off’.

It's a bit hard to see here in this photo, but the pearl on the right has lost
a bit of it's beautiful luster. If I had a before and after pic, it would
probably be a lot easier to tell the difference.

So, if you have poor quality pearls with extremely thin nacre or chipped nacre (think large hole pearls that have chips around their holes, etc.) you will want to LOS your metal prior to assembling your jewelry if at all possible. If not, then a quick ‘dunk’ might be okay – but then it might not. So, ‘dunk’ at your own risk,…or well, at your pearl’s risk!

A great alternative if you cannot oxidize your piece until it’s finished and you have stones in your design that you are afraid may be affected by a Liver of Sulfur solution is the eco-friendly, boiled egg method!

*The highlighted link above takes you to
Rena Klingenberg's site and also has a video!*

Yes, you can boil an egg, peel it, cut it in half and pop it in a seal-able plastic bag or plastic Tupperware type bowl, seal it up, and the sulfur in the egg yolks will eventually oxidize/blacken your piece without harming your stones/beads. Now, this does take time,…20 minutes to 2 hours or more, it just depends on the eggs. So, this is not for the impatient crafter, but it is a great alternative that doesn’t harm your beads/stones (at least none that I know of so far anyway).

*One word of caution if you use Silver Black to blacken your work: don’t let it touch any of your pearls/beads/stones. Or anything else for that matter – clothes, fingers, your desk, etc. - I’ve had it turn mine black,….well, dark gray/brownish. It wasn’t pretty. So if you’re just using a dab of Silver Black to blacken some stampings you’ve done on metal and you’re just touching it to one small area, that’s fine, just make sure you avoid all of your pearls, stones, beads, etc.

If you're interested in further info on darkening your metals (silver copper, brass, etc.), hop on over to the Artisan Whimsy site and watch a little video by Cool Tools that Linda Younkman posted about their Patina Gel.

Okay, some other questions people have asked me recently in regards to my pearls are:

Q: What cord do you use to hand knot your pearls?

A: It really depends on my project(s) but I use Griffin Silk or Griffin Nylon in various sizes to hand knot most of my regular strands of pearls or to string vintage and antique strands that clients give me to re-string/repair and preserve.

I love using C-lon (my pref!) or Superlon nylon thread/cording (oh the colors of both!) for my ‘tin-cup’ style of hand knotted necklaces and I’ve used both C-lon and S-lon along with different sizes of tuff cord for my beaded wrap (Chan Lu Style) bracelets, too.

All of these products work fine with little to no stretch or color fading and it’s a personal preference and usually depends on the stones I’m working with and the flexibility or stiffness I need/want with each project.

This past year, I’ve become a major fan of the waxed jewelry cord that Sandra over at “The Knotty Do It All” has to offer vs. the waxed linen or cotton I’ve found every where else (Etsy and more). There’s three major reasons why I like the waxed jewelry cord that Sandra offers over other cords.

First is its ability to be melted/cauterized with a thread zapper or lighter – a great alternative to snipping cord and using glue – woo hoo!! Even though I’ve had people tell me and I have even seen them use their thread zapper in videos on regular waxed linen, I’ve never really had success with it – just burns it, doesn’t really ‘melt’ it into place - but with the spools of waxed jewelry cord that Sandra offers, you can ‘zap’ away with success because it’s a synthetic, and not actual linen or cotton.

The second reason is it’s large enough to hold up to some really large hole pearls, yet small enough to fit through some smaller holed ones. And, if you twist it just right, you can pull the strands apart and knot/string with them separately for even tinier holed beads and then join them back together. Awesome!

And the third reason is that it comes in a nice array of colors that don’t bleed/fade and it’s just waxy enough, but not overly waxy, which is wonderful.

So, if you’re into waxed linen cord, go check out Sandra’s Knotty Do It All shop – it’s awesome. So’s the Knotty Do It all Board. I’ve had my board for three or more years now. I use it all the time and I LOVE it! And, she just came out with a smaller, more compact and portable size called the

Little Knotty Do It All board, too – way cool!!

Plus, Sandra's got a bunch of videos showing you how to create various designs using the Knotty Do It All Board that are just great, too.

Another Q: Where do you get your larger holed pearls? Do you purchase them from someone or drill them yourself?

A: I do have a couple of places I purchase my large hole pearls, but this year, my hubby started drilling them for me and he's starting to become my main 'supplier'.

He drills them with my foredoom flex shaft using a little drill press that I purchased from Connie Fox several years back (If you ever get the chance to take a class from Connie - DO IT - She's Awesome!!).

He uses titanium drill bits (and yes, he goes through a lot of them – so diamond ones would be better I think), and goes very slowly, so as not to burn or chip my pearls, (my babies!!) and makes sure they are moistened with water while drilling.

I asked him to do this for me so I can provide them in my Etsy shop to sell and he said ‘NO WAY’.
(What??!??)

He says it’s too hot in the garage (especially this time of year here in the AZ desert) and that it’s a slow and tedious process that takes patience and he only does it for me because he loves me and I pay him in Beer! LOL!!

So, sorry, unless I want to start drilling them all myself I probably won’t have any large hole pearls for sale in my Etsy shop.

Or, if I ever do, it will be in extremely limited quantities and possibly only once or twice a year.

I'll give you a 'heads-up' here on the blog and over on both of my Facebook pages should I ever have some listed.

Now, as far as where I purchase my large holed pearls that we don’t drill ourselves,…well, come back on Sunday to the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop to get a list of my suppliers!

(or, check out the link list below and browse through a few of those sites and you might spot some!)

Sorry to make you wait, but part of the blog hop is listing our suppliers and where we get our pearls so that afterwards we can all check out new shops and suppliers and shop for more great pearls! (Fun! Fun!)

I hope this has helped with some of the questions you had about working with pearls in your designs.

For information on how to mix them with various materials in your jewelry designs, if that’s what you’re creating for the blog hop, (but remember, it doesn’t have to be jewelry) you can check out the February 2013 issue of Bead Trends Magazine. I have an article I did for them in their Jewel School Section on using pearls in your handcrafted jewelry designs.

And, feel free to click on over to my ‘gallery’ section here on the blog (button across the top up there under the header) and see some various designs I’ve created using pearls and other materials.

Or you can check out my Pearls! Pearls! Pearls! Pinterest Board for some really cool ideas on using pearls in and on just about everything!
(Gotta love Pinterest!)

If you’ve got any other questions, feel free to post them here in the comments below or email me (email button at the top right side of the blog) and I’ll answer you as quickly as I can!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pearl Talk!

Cheers,

Focus on Life: Week 36 - In Two

This week's prompt from Sally over at

The Studio Sublime for Week 36 of the

Focusing on Life: 52 Photos Challenge was:

In Two

"This week, let's focus on things in twos!"

And this is exactly what I've been doing ALL WEEK LONG!

Yep, over 160+ pairs of 'twos' to be exact.

Ear Wires Galore!

But I thought these 'Two' were much more fun (and cute!) so I decided to get a pic of them as well.

Say hello to Coco and Kiki, our Peach Faced Lovebirds.

Coco and Kiki

Coco's 7 years old and Kiki is just 1 year old. Kiki's a bit more camera shy than Coco. And, she's got 4, (possibly 5 now, I haven't checked this morning) little eggs she's sitting on.

Not sure if they'll develop - her last few batches (or what ever you call them) didn't. But she's a really good Mama and sits on them almost all day for a few of weeks until she realizes they're not going to amount to anything.

Not sure if I'm ready for 'Grand-Birdies' or not,....

I'm down in Tucson this weekend for the Fall Gem, Jewelry and Bead Shows they're having (insert happy squeal here!) and I think I'll find at least "Two" perfect pearls to put on a pair of those ear wires but I may not make it around to every one's posts until Monday when I return.

In the meantime, why don't you hop on over to The Studio Sublime and see what other 'twos' popped up in every one's lives this week!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and 'Two' Much Fun!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Focusing On Life: Week 35 - Growth and Change

It's week 35 for the Focusing On Life Photography Challenge hosted by Sally over at The Studio Sublime and this week's prompt was

"Growth and Change"

"This week, focus on what is

growing and changing about you

or the environment around you!"

I think Sally's psychically linked to all of us because so many times her prompts are completely 'spot on' for what's going on in all of our lives.

There was indeed "Growth and Change" this week in the Buettner (pronounced Bittner, by the way, for those of you who have asked me recently) household.

However, since my camera either wasn't handy at the time of these changes or said subject refused to let his photo be snapped, I waited until this morning (yep, around 6:30a.m. Saturday) to snap some pics as I walked around with my sister up at her cabin
(It's girl's weekend - Woo Hoo!)

Here's the low-down this week for "Growth and Change"

The addition of a licensed driver to our household = Growth (yep, the "Masked Rider" is now legal to drive alone!)

The Passing of an era hit us as we sold "Coach" (our trusty old R.V.) to make room for a third vehicle = Change (the boy's getting the hubs Z3 soon and Mike's gonna need some wheels when that happens!)

Decisions regarding the growth and direction of the various businesses we own were set into place = Change and Growth

And upon arrival at the cabin last night I was anxious to awake this morning so I could see the "change and growth" that has taken place over at Grandma Emma's just since being up here last month.

After the fire - June 2011

After the 2011 Wallow Fire destroyed the family cabin that had stood so beautifully for over 50 years, everything is now grown up and change is coming soon as "S and H" are preparing their section of land for their new cabin (yeah!!)

You can barely see where the site of the original cabin once was, but the fireplace chimney still stands tall and proud.

New Growth - August 31, 2013

There's so many new wild flowers that my sister's head is ready to explode! There's new tree growth, more birdies this year than the last, more pine cones on the ground and Mother Nature is changing and growing,....replenishing her land and rewarding those who call this place home.

New Life Springs Up!

Now, hop on over to The Studio Sublime and see what "Growth and Change" has taken place this week with everyone else!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Growing and Changing with the Times!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Focus on Life: Week 34 - Add Somthing

It's Week 34 of the

Focusing on Life: 52 Photos Challenge

hosted by Sally over at The Studio Sublime

and this week's prompt was:

Add Something

Sally suggested that this week we "Get creative with your photos. Dive into those editing programs and check out all the wonderful effects, actions, overlays and textures!"

So, I took a favorite photo and did just that.

Since I'm still very challenged with Photoshop Elements 10, the program I have, I used the free online editing program Pixlr and came up with these results:

*(click on any photo to enlarge them)

Normal - just clean edits (crop, size, sharpen)

When editing my jewelry photos, I just do clean edits and just crop, size, sharpen and at times stick a frame around them and that's it (I do the frames in Pixlr, too - or PicMonkey or ipiccy).

Overlay, Light Effects and Frame

This week's challenge was fun and allowed me to spend some time experimenting with some various overlays and textures that I hadn't used before.

Antique look, Overlay and Frame

Pretty cool effects if you ask me.

Hog Wild! Overlays, Textures, Frames - you name it.
I love this one for some reason - Looks like a Hallmark Card.

This was a fun one, Sally - Thank you!

Go on over to The Studio Sublime today and check out Sally's new web design and see what all the other participants are snapped and how they've chosen to "Add Something"!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Adding Some Fun!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Pearls Reminder,...

I just wanted to send out a reminder that the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop Sign Ups are Going on this week.

The deadline to sign up is Sunday, August 25th and the blog hop will be on Sunday, September 15th.

Click here to go to the original blog post for more info

and to sign up.

Thanks to everyone who's already signed up!!

It's gonna be a fun hop!

Miss Layla in MiShel Designs Pearls!

Why yes, Little Miss Layla is totally rockin' some gorgeous pearls!

Thank you for noticing.

But then,

she's been rockin' pearls

since she was just a baby!!

I've had some people ask questions regarding how to integrate pearls into their jewelry designs and what to do if you'd like to LOS your pearl and metal/wirework piece but don't want to harm your pearls and things of this nature.

Freya Pendant - Blackened Silver with Pearls and Turquoise

I'll be doing a blog post early next week that addresses some of these issues so that you'll have it for some guidance and I'm hoping it will help spark your interest in using pearls in many different ways.

Peace Bracelet - Pearls and crystals hand knotted on waxed linen

Because remember, even though the pieces I will create will be jewelry related ('cause that's what I do!), you're not limited to just creating jewelry with your pearls - you can crochet mittens decked out in pearls or knit a lovely scarf with pearl dangles (gosh, I wish I could do either of these!!) or you can create some cool wine charms with pearl dangles, be-deck your wine glass or your sunglasses even - you name it!

Nicholas Kirkwood's Pearl Laced Satin Pumps - via Pinterest - are totally awesome!

Just get your pearls out and have some fun!

In the meantime, hop on over to my

Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Pinterest Board

for bits and pieces of inspiration to get you in the

"Pearl Designing" Mood, okay?!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Pages

Can I Dip My Pearls in a Liver of Sulfur Solution and Other Questions,...

Focus on Life: Week 36 - In Two

Focusing On Life: Week 35 - Growth and Change

Focus on Life: Week 34 - Add Somthing

Pearls Reminder,...