Tuesday, July 27, 2010

This Was Once a Little Gray Piece of Clay...

A few weeks ago, my friend and I took a jewelry class that introduced us to making silver jewelry from PMC-- precious metal clay.  During the class, when we fired pieces, we stuck them in a kiln.  But we knew that once we were turned loose and on our own we would have to learn how to use butane torches to get the job done.

Last weekend, my friend and I successfully made a pendant and earrings.  On our own.  With our torches.

We started out with this:
Then we rolled it, sliced it, and diced it, until it became super cute like this...
Then we dried it out, and fired it up with our torches...
While our husbands did this...
-hours of table tennis in the garage on a 100*F day-
and after hours (we're slow at making all kinds of decisions and we get distracted easily) of intense labor, we came up with this:

We were a little nervous, but we learned a lot and had so much fun!

So much fun, in fact, that the following weekend we made pendants with our clay by using a mold.  Here's mine:
too cute for words, really!
Here are a few things we've learned so far:
1.  Although it's recommended to use the butane torch outside, it's too hard to see the flame in the sunlight well enough to know what is going on.  And it's way too hot in Texas for that right now.  Using the torch in the kitchen is totally fine and we didn't burn the house down or kill anyone.  Yay, Us! 

2.  Certain molds that seem like a good idea... aren't.  The simpler ones are working better for me at this point.

3.  It is not a good idea for me to celebrate our success with PMC by drinking red wine when wearing a white dress.  Oops!  ;)

4.  And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, never drink wine while using the torch!



23 comments:

Marianne said...

Yay ! for not burning your house to the ground.
Yay ! for making these all by yourself.
Yay ! to the the hubby that won the match.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. The dog in my banner is Goldie. There will be stories about her soon. Niki was a husky/malamute that passed away 8/2004. There will be many stories about her too.

Yulia Rahmawati said...

nice blog
I'm glad to find it

Robin Norgren, M.A, R-YT, Spiritual Director said...

oh Kerri I LOVE YOUR WIT!

Laurie said...

I love the necklace but...yikes...I don't think I'd be safe with a torch. LOL! I can, however, manage red wine. ;-)

Abby said...

This necklace and earrings are incredibly beautiful! yay for not burning the house down!

Emelie - C'est LA vie said...

Oh, how lovely! The flower you made is so incredibly delicate.
Happy Tuesday Kerri, hope it's a good one!

HowtoBEaCOOLoldLady said...

Ha - white dress red wine oops. SO been there. And how cool to be using a blow torch anywhere, but in the kitchen... you will be making creme brulee next

Kelly Warren said...

love these Kerri! i took a 2-hour PMC class at a bead show once and loved it. i want to try it more and now seeing what you've created here, you have inspired me!

Anonymous said...

I've been curious about PMC and interested in what it might be like to work with some. You make it look easy and fun.

Unknown said...

They came out gorgeous! I love this, and yes, wine and blowtorches generally don't mix! XO!

Kristen said...

These are very cute, and I have never heard of PMC before - thanks for enlightening me!

-Kristen

jodie said...

:) too funny...

Corinne said...

Uh oh who was drinking wine while torching!? :) Your jewelry came out beautiful! What a fun and creative project.

TBM said...

What fun! Your pieces turned out beautifully. I think y'all had more fun than the guys. I'll take blowtorch, silver and wine over ping-pong and 100-degrees ;-)

and flowers pick themselves said...

so lovely! i adore the way you wrote this, too.

:)

xo Alison

Kim Henkel Creations said...

I love the jewelry ( and your Amazing song)! One day I will have to try that PMC clay - but in the past, I haven't been so good with clay. Great Job!

jacqueline said...

WOW sweet kerri, I love your jewelry!! PMC clay sounds soo fun!! Thanks so much for sharing and you inspire me to try some clay making this weekend! Love to yoU!

Judy said...

WOW! I love creativity!... I need to send my friend here to your blog to see this!

Jo said...

Hee hee!! What gorgeous creations and such fun you had making them too - Looooove them! Its amazing what you can achieve indoors and with a glass of wine in hand!!
hugs xxx

Estelle Hayes said...

Wow, I'm so impressed. Love the jewelry you made and I can't believe those pieces were once clay! Amazing.

malia said...

whoa! this is beautiful! i love it. will you be making more?

Elizabeth Halt said...

I am not entirely sure I would be safe with a torch, even in the garage. ;) I am so impressed! What fun to wear something you made all on your own!

Valerie said...

That is so cool! What beautiful pieces. I think Etsy.com is calling your name. :o)